Today we discuss who “won” the 2018 NBA draft and the Sacramento Kings selection of Marvin Bagley III.
It is often easy to evaluate the NBA draft and crown the teams toward the top of the order as the winners of the night. After all, the best players are normally taken in the lottery.
The Dallas Mavericks acquiring European phenom Luka Doncic; the Phoenix Suns drafting both the #1 player DeAndre Ayton and Mikal Bridges made compelling cases for being dubbed winners of the NBA Draft. But in my opinion, the real winners were four teams already at the top or pushing to become the next NBA champions.
That is right. These teams are the Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, and Houston Rockets. The rich keep getting richer.
Golden State Warriors
Jacob Evans
Golden State selected Jacob Evans, a talented 3-and-D prospect out of Cincinnati with their lone selection at the 28th spot.
Evans is really a perfect fit for what the Warriors do. He is the perfect complimentary piece to add to their championship squad because he brings shooting. Last season, he shot 37% (60-162) from three.
The former Bearcat can also create his own shot, but on Golden State, he will not have the ball in his hands a lot. But with that said, he will thrive off the ball with opportunities to knock down open jumpers.
Defensively, he is a massive improvement from Nick Young and is a much better offensive talent than Patrick McCaw, the players he most likely will take minutes away from. In addition, Evans as a late-round selection will have an affordable contract for years to come.
Marcus Derrickson
Acquiring young talent does not end after the annual 60 picks during the draft. Many valuable players are passed over on draft night and are then signed as undrafted free agents.
One player who went undrafted who I had my eye on was a player ranked 50th on my board, Georgetown forward Marcus Derrickson.
Derrickson was a sneaky pickup for the Warriors. He has a legitimate shot to make the roster and develop into a nice NBA role player. His frame is reminiscent of Draymond Green as he stands at 6’7″, weighs 250 pounds, and has a 7’1″ wingspan. He has the size to play down low and can shoot the ball as well. During his tenure with the Hoyas, he shot 39.7% from the perimeter and 85.6% from the charity stripe.
Boston Celtics
Robert Williams
The Boston Celtics used the 27th pick in the draft on Texas A&M center Robert Williams. Williams was a consensus top 15 player in the eyes of most draft analysts. The former Aggie falling to 27 was one of the biggest surprises of the draft night.
Williams is a developmental big man the Celtics did not have on their roster. Boston is the deepest team in the league and had young players at every position but center. Now they have their potential center of the future once Al Horford starts to lose a step.
For Williams, he displayed defensive prowess in college as he averaged 2.6 blocks per game last season. He may have fallen due to medical or off-court concerns, but he could not be going to a better situation with Brad Stevens as his head coach. Williams projects as a very good rim protector, athletic rebounder, and rim runner/lob threat at the rim.
Philadelphia 76ers
Zhaire Smith
Philadelphia initially selected Villanova small forward Mikal Bridges with the tenth pick. But they eventually traded him to Phoenix for Texas Tech wing Zhaire Smith. In addition to acquiring Smith, they also acquired from Phoenix a 2021 unprotected first-round pick (originally Miami’s).
Philly remained on brand and per usual stockpiled assets. The assets acquired by them on draft night could play a role in acquiring an established superstar this offseason (Kawhi?) However, if they do not move Smith, he will be an exciting wing for Sixer fans, and in my mind, the early favorite to win the 2019 NBA Dunk Contest.
Landry Shamet
Later in the first round, the 76ers selected Landry Shamet, a combo guard from Wichita State who is capable of knocking down outside shots at a high percentage. Shamet could develop into a valuable outside shooter to space the floor for Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.
Shake Milton
In the second round at pick #54, Philly acquired Shake Milton from the Dallas Mavericks, a guard from SMU. I ranked Milton 24th on my board, ahead of Shamet. Milton is a deadly outside shooter (career 42.7% from three) and could develop into a secondary playmaker.
Houston Rockets
The final team I highlight for their draft performance and undrafted free-agent signings are the Houston Rockets.
This offseason the Rockets are expected to re-sign Chris Paul, match offers for restricted free agent Clint Capela, and potentially make a run at LeBron James. Things are going to get expensive in H-town.
Houston’s general manager Daryl Morey was just selected NBA Executive of the Year for a reason. Morey and company made the most of their picks and acquired talented prospects late in the draft and in the undrafted market. All of these assets come with low salaries and enabled them to have greater cap flexibility.
De’Anthony Melton
The Rockets’ first selection was USC guard De’Anthony Melton with the 46th pick. Melton is 6’3″ but has a 6’10″ wingspan. He projects as a good defender and if he develops his three-point shot he will fill in nicely as the Rockets’ backup off guard to play in lineups next to Chris Paul or James Harden.
Melton will be able to defend opposing team’s lead guards, decrease the defensive demand on Chris Paul, and allow the Rockets to “hide” Harden on opponent’s weaker offensive guards.
Vincent Edwards
The Rockets also acquired Vincent Edwards with pick #52. Edwards could develop into a 3-and-D role player for Houston, but he is a few years away from seeing the floor.
Gary Clark
To add to the depth of their roster, the Rockets were able to sign undrafted forward Gary Clark out of Cincinnati. Clark was a four-year senior who played in 139 career games and started 137 of them. He was also selected as the American Athletic Conference (AAC) Player of the Year in the 2017-2018 season.
Clark was simply overlooked due to his age (23.5). He finished his final season with college basketball’s highest defensive rating at 81.6. Furthermore, he finished with the nation’s top Box Plus/Minus (BPM): 15.5. Clark is a big-bodied versatile defender who can guard multiple positions. He might see the floor as an undrafted rookie.
Trevon Duval
Additionally, the Rockets added Duke point guard Trevon Duval to their summer league roster. Duval has his limitations offensively, but is a good defender and had his best performance in college during his final game as a Blue Devil against Kansas in the NCAA tournament.
Sacramento Kings
We have had a week to internalize feelings from the NBA Draft and the Sacramento Kings selecting Marvin Bagley III (MB3Five) with the second overall pick. Now that we have taken our collective breath, let us discuss the selection of Bagley and the Kings passing on European phenom and the darling of the Kings’ fanbase Luka Doncic.
Leading up to the draft, it seemed like a no-brainer for Sacramento to select Doncic. There was a myriad of reasons why. 1) The Kings’ biggest hole on their roster is at small forward (Luka’s position), 2) Doncic was the consensus number #1 player on most draft boards, and 3) Doncic was the most popular pick amongst Kings fans.
But the Kings’ front office had their eyes set on Marvin Bagley III all along. There are four players in this draft who have superstar potential and Bagley is one of them. He is only 19, has very good athleticism, and is already a polished scorer.
If Bagley improves his handle, learns to finish with his right hand, and develops a reliable three-point jumper, he could average 25 points per game in his prime. Defensively, he played mostly in a zone scheme, but there is no doubt he has to improve on that end of the floor.
Overall, Bagley is a great kid and has presented himself well during his first week in Sactown. He has a bright future, and as someone who was entrenched in the Luka Camp, I am excited for Bagley as he is an intriguing player to have in the picture for Kings fandom. Only time will tell who will be regarded as the better player between Bagley and Doncic, but it is fair to assume both of them have All-Star games in their respective futures.
NBA free agency hits this weekend and A Royal Pain will be providing analysis throughout the weekend covering all of the Kings’ personnel decisions.