After selecting former UNLV star Anthony Bennett with the first pick, the Cleveland Cavaliers set the stage for one of the most  unpredictable and entertaining drafts in recent memory. USA Today/PHOTO CREDITS

2013 NBA Draft: Biggest Winners and Losers

            The 2013 NBA Draft may have been the most confusing, exciting and unpredictable draft in quite a while, and it made for an entertaining night. The Cavaliers began the night by delivering a shocker, selecting Anthony Bennett at number one overall. Nerlens Noel dropped to the Pelicans at number six, when most people had him going no later than number four. After the Pelicans’ selection, a flurry of trades had players switching teams like it was nothing. There were plenty of reaches (Solomon Hill) and free falls (Jamaal Franklin and Tony Mitchell) and an incredible surge of international talent. NBA general managers were in high gear Thursday night, but only time will tell who truly made the right choices on draft day 2013.

Winners: New Orleans Pelicans

Draft Activity: Selected Nerlens Noel 6^th overall, Selected Nate Wolters 38^th overall, Selected Pierre Jackson 42^nd overall, Trade rights to Nerlens Noel and a 2014 top-five protected pick to Philadelphia for Jrue Holiday and the 42^nd pick

            The new-look team in New Orleans is undoubtedly the biggest winner from last night’s draft. After Nerlens Noel’s fall from number one, the Pelicans jumped on the former Kentucky star and selected him with the sixth pick. At first it looked like the team intended on pairing Noel with last year’s number one pick, Anthony Davis. However, New Orleans flipped Noel to Philadelphia for all-star point guard Jrue Holiday and a second round pick. The pick New Orleans gives up next year is top-five protected, meaning that if the pick is within the 1-5 range, they will retain the pick. Overall, it was great night for the Pelicans. The team gets their franchise point guard in Jrue Holiday in exchange for a player coming off a season-ending knee injury. A combination of Holiday, Eric Gordon, and Anthony Davis (And don’t forget Ryan Anderson) will be scary.

Losers: Detroit Pistons

Draft Activity: Selected Kentavius Caldwell-Pope 8^th overall, Selected Tony Mitchell 37^th overall, Selected Peyton Siva 56^th overall

Going in to the draft, it was known around the league that the Pistons were targeting two things, a point guard and a wing shooter. The Pistons got there shooter in former Georgia wing Kentavius Caldwell-Pope at eighth overall. However, with Trey Burke still on the board, Detroit’s pick is questionable. After drafting Brandon Knight as a point guard in 2011, the team moved Knight into the starting shooting guard role this past season. Now, it looks like Knight is headed back to the point. With Jose Calderon an unrestricted free agent and Knight’s point guard abilities in question, the point guard situation in Detroit is as hazy as it was heading in to the draft. No knock on Kentavius, as I think he fits in well with the Pistons, he just did not fit their most immediate need, considering the number one point guard was still on the board. On a bright note, Tony Mitchell and Peyton Siva were both great value picks in the second round. Expect both players to contribute immediately.

Winners: Utah Jazz

Draft Activity: Trade the 14^th (Shabazz Muhammad)and 21^st (Gorgui Dieng) picks to Minnesota for the rights to the 9^th pick (Trey Burke), Selected Rudy Gobert 27^th overall, Selected Erick Green 46^th overall

            Trey Burke and the Utah Jazz...a match made in Heaven. Utah needed a point guard badly going into the draft it was largely considered they would select either Shane Larkin or Dennis Shroeder with the 14^th pick. However, after Trey Burke’s fall to Minnesota at number 9, Jazz took the opportunity and traded for their point guard of the future. Burke will be given the reigns immediately in Utah, and the potential starting lineup (Burke, Burks, Hayward, Favors, Kanter) is young and energetic again. Also, with big men Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap likely on the outs, they made a great pick by adding frontcourt depth with French big man Rudy Gobert. Former ACC Player of the Year Erick Green was not too bad of a value pick at 46^th overall either.

Losers: Boston Celtics

Draft Activity: Selected Kelly Olynyk 13^th overall, Traded Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Jason Terry to Brooklyn for Keith Bogans, Kris Humphries, Gerald Wallace, Kris Joseph, MarShon Brooks, and 3 first round picks (2014, 2016, 2018). The trade will not be complete until July 10^th.

            The Boston Celtics effectively ended the Big Three era in Boston by agreeing to trade Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Brooklyn Nets. This is a horrible trade for Boston and simply does not make sense for their team. Danny Ainge took the idea of rebuilding and ran with it, even though the Celtics were maybe one piece away (Al Jefferson) from competing at the top of the Eastern Conference. Now, the Celtics are in a horrible state. The lone bright spot is point guard Rajon Rondo, who may also be dealt in the coming weeks. Unless the future first round picks turn into something special, this trade looks horrible for Boston. Also, it was upsetting to see how easily Boston got rid of Paul Pierce, who has been the face of the franchise for the last fifteen years. It’ll be weird to see Pierce in anything other than green and white.

Winners: Portland Trail Blazers

Draft Activity: Selected C.J. McCollum 10^th overall, Selected Jeff Withey 39^th overall, Selected Grant Jerrett 40^th overall, Selected Marko Todorovic 45^th overall, Traded for the 31^st pick Allen Crabbe

 

The Portland Trail Blazers had a heck of a night on Thursday. After rumors circulated that C.J. McCollum was going to Detroit (8^th) or Minnesota (9^th), Portland selected the former Lehigh standout with the 10^th pick. McCollum is a pure scorer and perhaps the most underrated player in this year’s class. The Trail Blazers can add McCollum to the backcourt of Damian Lillard and have two former mid-major studs. Lillard and McCollum are the future of the backcourt in Portland and will be one of the best young tandems in the NBA. In the second round, Portland made some value picks, in selected big men Jeff Withey and Grant Jerrett. Withey is a great shot blocker and will help push along the development of Meyers Leonard. Also, receiving Allen Crabbe may turn out to be one of the steals of the night. As one of the best shooters in this year’s class, Crabbe somehow fell to the Cavaliers at 31, and quickly traded him to Portland. The Trail Blazers will have young and versatile wings to choose from with Nicolas Batum, Wesley Matthews, and now Crabbe all under contract.

Losers: Philadelphia 76ers

Draft Activity: Selected Michael Carter-Williams 11^th overall, Traded Jrue Holiday and the 42^nd pick to New Orleans for the rights to Nerlens Noel and a 2014 top-five protected pick, Traded the 35^th pick (Glen Rice Jr.) to Washington

Philadelphia is in full rebuild mode after Thursday. The 76ers are taking a chance on the boom or bust potential of Nerlens Noel after trading all-star point guard Jrue Holiday to New Orleans for the former Kentucky star. After trading for Noel, Philadelphia selected their point guard of the future in Michael Carter-Williams with the 11^th pick. To me, there is just too much riding on potential at this point. Noel is coming off a season-ending knee injury and may never be the player he was before. And even at that, Noel has close to no offense skills and will need to put on weight to play in the NBA. As for Carter-Williams, he is a very gifted passer but struggles to score and is turnover prone. As for the pick, it will most likely be in the 6-10 range next year, which will probably give Philadelphia two picks in the top ten of a very loaded draft class. However, I cannot believe the Sixers were so ready to deal Holiday. He was an all-star this season and is one of the best up-and-coming point guards in the league. And plus, he’s TWENTY-THREE YEARS OLD, why not build around him? This deal would’ve benefited the Sixers much more if Evan Turner was heading the trade rather than Holiday. At this point, this trade has to be a bad move for Philadelphia, but that could change over the next year or so. If Noel shows similar skills once he comes back and Philadelphia ends up with two picks next year in the top six or seven, this move was brilliant. But for now, Philly may be the most dreadful team in the NBA.

Winners: Orlando Magic

Draft Activity: Selected Victor Oladipo 4^th overall, Selected Romero Osby with the 51^st pick

            A year removed from trading Dwight Howard, the Magic’s future is looking bright, as the team has amassed many young assets to build around. Still in full rebuilding mode though, many NBA scouts thought the Magic would draft former Kansas star Ben McLemore second overall. But instead, Orlando passed on McLemore to draft Indiana standout Victor Oladipo. Oldadipo is a great fit for a young Magic team. He’ll bring a winning mentality and strong work ethic to Orlando. I fully expect Oladipo to mature into one of the better players from this year’s class. If the Magic decide to deal Arron Afflalo to the Clippers, they could have a tremendously promising young team of Oladipo, Eric Bledsoe, Tobias Harris, and Nicola Vucevic.

Losers: Indiana Pacers

Draft Activity: Selected Solomon Hill 23^rd overall, Selected Colton Iverson 53^rd overall, Trade the rights to Colton Iverson to Boston for cash

            My beloved Indiana Pacers are on here because, well, they’re my beloved Indiana Pacers. After reaching for Miles Plumlee last year with the 26^th pick, Larry Bird does it again by selecting Solomon Hill with the 23^rd pick! As a jack of all trades, master of none type of player, Hill does a lot of things right. He has good basketball intangibles, can score the ball, rebound well, and is a solid defender. Solomon Hill is a good NBA prospect, as he flew up many team’s big boards leading up to the draft. While Solomon Hill can do a lot of things well, he will struggle to provide scoring off the bench, which was Indiana’s main focus heading into the draft. Hill will get minutes in the second unit, which really shows how horrid the Pacers’ bench is becoming. The Pacers definitely reached here. With players like Tim Hardaway Jr., Allen Crabbe, Jamaal Franklin, and Reggie Bullock still on the board, this was a poor pick. If Indiana was so keen on selecting Hill, they should’ve at least traded back into the second round. But now Indiana fans are given yet another reach pick, and I went to bed the second year in a row wondering why? Just why? Well, at least he’s better than Sam Young.

Winners: Minnesota Timberwolves

Draft Activity: Selected Trey Burke 9^th overall, Selected Andre Roberson 26^th overall, Selected Lorenzo Brown 52^nd overall, Traded the rights to Trey Burke to Utah for the 14^th pick (Shabazz Muhammad) and the 21^st pick (Gorgui Dieng), traded the 26^th pick to Oklahoma City for the 59^th pick and cash, Selected Bojan Dubljevic 59^th overall

In selecting Trey Burke with the ninth pick, Minnesota was certainly using the 2013 national player of the year as trade bait. The Utah Jazz took the bait and sent the 14^th and 21^st picks to Minnesota. This trade is nothing but a win-win for both sides. Utah receives their franchise point guard and Minnesota kills two birds with one stone. Shabazz Muhammad will come in and play shooting guard, which is currently occupied by Luke Ridnour, while Dieng will work in with the big men. I absolutely love both of these picks for the Timberwolves. Muhammad will have a chance to showcase his true talent/potential by competing for the starting role. Dieng may be the answer at center if Nikola Pekovic decides to leave in free agency. Star player Kevin Love can aid in the offensive maturation of Dieng on the block. Minnesota is loading its roster with young players, who will hopefully, for Minnesota’s sake, reach their maximum potential over the next couple of years.

Winners: Washington Wizards

Draft Activity: Selected Otto Porter Jr. 3^rd overall, Acquired the 35^th pick (Glen Rice Jr.) from Philadelphia, Traded the 38^th pick (Nate Wolters) to New Orleans, Selected Arsalan Kazemi 54^th overall

           In selecting Otto Porter Jr. with the third pick in the draft, Washington has created a young big three on the perimeter in John Wall, Bradley Beal, and Porter. Coming into the draft, Porter was definitely the most NBA prospect. I think a lot of people undervalued his stock due to his low ceiling. Regardless, he will contribute scoring immediately for Washington and will be a dark horse candidate for the Rookie of the Year award. Trading for Glen Rice Jr. was also a wise decision from the Wizards’ front office. The former D-League star will score off the bench and could possibly become one of the NBA’s best sixth men in a couple of years. Overall, the Wizards made great value selections and are quietly building an intimidating young core in the nation’s capital.