NBA Draft: Regrading all 30 teams for the 2020 NBA Draft
Regrading all 30 teams for the 2020 NBA Draft: D Grades
Orlando Magic: D+
Cole Anthony, 15
Cole Anthony played a lot of minutes and took a lot of shots, but he wasn’t very good. He could still get better, and he was thrust into a difficult role with injuries all around him, but the Orlando Magic would have been much better off going in a number of different directions.
Los Angeles Lakers: D
The Los Angeles Lakers used their first-round pick to pair with Danny Green and trade for Dennis Schroder. One season later and the trade does not look very good, and it will look even worse if Schroder leaves in free agency or signs a mammoth contract to stay with the Lakers. Danny Green plus Desmond Bane would be a much nicer spot for the Lakers to be in right now.
Dallas Mavericks: D
Josh Green, 18; Tyrell Terry, 31; Tyler Bey, 36
The theory of everything the Dallas Mavericks did on draft night still holds up. They took a wing in Josh Green in the first round, traded Seth Curry for a better defensive guard in Josh Richardson, and then drafted Curry’s replacement in Tyrell Terry with the first pick of the second round.
Unfortunately, none of those acquisitions played very well this past season. It’s still early, but neither Green nor Terry could crack the rotation for the Mavericks, and Richardson ended up on the fringes of the rotation in the playoffs himself. Both Green and Terry could still become very useful players, but a slow start likely caps their upside.
Utah Jazz: D-
Udoka Azubuike, 27; Elijah Hughes, 39
The best player on the Utah Jazz is a center, and backup big men are always available in free agency, as the Jazz proved when they signed Derrick Favors to a three-year contract. Yet the Jazz decided the best move they could make was to draft one at 27. If they were going to do that, at least they could take one with a different skillset, perhaps a stretch-5 or a rangy center who can potentially guard on the perimeter.
Instead, they took Udoka Azubuike, a ground-bound dinosaur whose best-case scenario is a rim-runner who can only survive in a deep-drop scheme. The Jazz could have taken Jaden McDaniels to give them a defensive option in the frontcourt; they could have taken Desmond Bane and had another bench shooter. They could have whiffed on a better type of player and they would not be graded this poorly. The Jazz made a move with little upside and it also hasn’t worked out, and that is inexcusable for a team trying to win a title.