NBA Draft: Regrading all 30 teams for the 2019 NBA Draft
Regrading all 30 teams for the 2019 NBA Draft: B+ Grades
Miami Heat: B+
Tyler Herro (13); KZ Okpala (32)
After an unexpected run to the NBA Finals in 2020, it looked like Tyler Herro might be a top-3 player in this class. Instead, he crashed back to earth this season and proved that the NBA Bubble was just a hot streak, and Herro instead looks like the 9th best player in this draft. KZ Okpala is incredibly athletic but hasn’t shown himself to be much more than that yet.
New York Knicks: B+
RJ Barrett (3); Ignas Brazdeikas (47)
The New York Knicks got the short end of the NBA Draft Lottery stick, dropping to third when they had the worst record in the league. To their credit, they still found the third-best player in this draft class, as RJ Barrett has developed into a stout defender on the wing. He can make plays with the ball in his hands and is coming along as an outside shooter after an abysmal rookie season.
The Knicks’ second-round pick, “Iggy” Brazdeikas, is already bouncing around the league as he tries to show himself worthy of a roster spot.
New Orleans Pelicans: B+
Zion Williamson (1); Jaxson Hayes (8); Nickeil Alexander-Walker (17); Didi Louzada (35)
The New Orleans Pelicans don’t get credit here for earning the first overall pick in the NBA Draft Lottery, but they do get some credit for getting it right. We can ask the Cleveland Cavaliers of 2013 and 2014 how you shouldn’t make assumptions when you pick first overall. They nailed the pick, taking a generational superstar who has already made his first All-Star Game.
The Pelicans had plenty of picks after Zion Williamson as well. They took raw center Jaxson Hayes with the eighth pick; he is still raw and fell 16 picks in the redraft. Nickeil Alexander-Walker, however, has been about as expected as a combo guard with size and shake; he still has the upside to become a starter for the Pelicans.
Finally, the Pelicans used their second-round pick on Didi Louzada, a Brazilian wing who spent most of the past two seasons in Australia’s National Basketball League (NBL) before the Pelicans brought him over at the end of this past season. His three career games net him simply an “incomplete” at this point in time.