That concludes our coverage of the 2016 NBA Draft here at VAVEL. This was Brett David Roberts (@33Trigger) giving you my thoughts on the draft, one which may not turn out to be among the best in recent history at all. Ben Simmons seems to be a safe bet for stardom, and Brandon Ingram could be an All-Star too—but outside of the top-two in this draft, there is a lot of uncertainty. Only a few years from now will these things be anywhere near certain, as draft classes often do surprise or disappoint us. Who knows, years from now we may be discussing just how ingenious the Milwaukee Bucks were for taking Thon Maker No. 10 overall after mocks had him in the late 20s. Adios NBA fans!
#30 Golden State Warriors select Damian Jones, Vanderbilt. Damian Jones is a nice young center who will replace the departing Festus Ezeli—that is if he can jump over James Michael McAdoo in the rotation. The Warriors are just making their pick; it is not roster-formative really.
#29 San Antonio Spurs select Dejounte Murray, Washington. Well, the San Antonio Spurs selected him so you can count on Dejounte Murray now being the biggest steal of the first round. In seriousness, Tony Parker will groom him to be the point guard of the future, or Patty Mills will take over. It does not matter much in San Antonio because the program installed keeps the Spurs afloat, not necessarily talents taken at the end of the first round. Murray could have gone much earlier, but he is a good combo guard capable of flourishing under Gregg Popovich.
#28 Sacramento Kings (via PHO) select, Skal Labissiere, Kentucky. Well, Skal Labissiere was projected to go late lottery and he instead goes to a flaming garbage dump that has been graciously referred to as Sacramento. There is no sense trying to make meaning of it all. We wish you the best, Skal. In bizarro world, some team got a useful stretch-4 who is just 19 years old.
Interesting Draft Factoid: Via Adrian Wojnarowski, Twitter: 13 of the 27 players drafted so far tonight are non-American born.
#27 Toronto Raptors select Pascal Siakam, New Mexico State. Pascal Siakam had a huge season last year with 20 points and 12 rebounds per game last year in the NCAA, and he is a full sized power forward to help the Toronto Raptors fortify its frontcourt rotation. Despite being just a sophomore, he is already 22, so the Raptors will count on production coming soon.
#26 Philadelphia 76ers select Furkan Korkmaz, Anadolu Efes, International. Furkan Korkmaz is just 18 years old and will remain overseas for several more seasons most likely. Given that the Sixers are already waiting on Dario Saric to come over, there will eventually be some nice pieces to plug in as their rebuild unfolds. Korkmaz had attracted a lot of attention leading up to this draft and hopes to follow in the shoes of Mehmet Okur and Hedo Turkolgu in being the next big thing from Turkey.
#25 Los Angeles Clippers select Brice Johnson, North Carolina. This has the potential to be the steal of the first round. Brice Johnson is an above-average defender who should be able to be a rotation player even on a talented squad like the Clips. Johnson ranged all over in expert mock drafts, but the Clips seem to have a nice bargain on a Johnson, who had eight blocked shots in the Tar Heels' NCAA tournament opener. The Clippers can afford to be patient with him, too.
#24 Philadelphia 76ers select Timothe Luwawu, Mega Leks, International. Timothe Luwawu had seemingly made a stir in rising up big boards, but he ultimately fell from that ascent, or it just never happened. He is a small forward who averaged 14 points and five rebounds per game last year in Serbia.
#23 Boston Celtics select Ante Zizic, Cibona Zagreb, International. The Boston Celtics grab a seven-footer who will undoubtedly be stashed overseas for a while. This is the juncture of the draft where teams remaining are better off sometimes swinging yard on international long-shots. Celts fans may have preferred Skal Labissiere, who has taken a tumble to irrelevancy after having been projected late lottery. Deyonta Davis also still looms.
#22 Sacramento Kings select Malachi Richardson, Syracuse. Malachi Richardson ends his free-fall on the draft board and will have every chance to beat out Ben McLemore for the starting spot at shooting guard. It is not because Richardson is that great, but because McLemore has failed to establish himself as much and the Kings are a revolving door at every position except center.
#21 Atlanta Hawks select DeAndre Bembry, St. Joseph's. DeAndre Bembry is a three-year swingman and the Hawks seem to be doing whatever they can to reel in more swingmen. As mentioned, Bazemore may be headed elsewhere and Atlanta never really recovered from the loss of DeMarre Carroll two summers ago.
#20 Brooklyn Nets select Caris LeVert, Michigan. Caris LeVert had foot surgeries, and that likely caused him to slip to No. 20. He has lottery talent and is a proven scorer from a major program. He should get his chances early with the woeful Nets.
#19 Denver Nuggets select Malik Beasley, Florida State. Malik Beasley adds further to a crowded Denver Nuggets backcourt. It may be several seasons before the Nuggets take form as an actual team. What does this mean to incumbents Gary Harris and Will Barton? Anything?
#18 Detroit Pistons select Henry Ellenson, Marquette. Henry Ellenson is a long-bodied power forward who should function in the role Josh Smith never could. He gives the Pistons some youth and strength inside to play behind Andre Drummond this season. Stan Van Gundy should be able to develop him well with last year's lottery pick Stanley Johnson.
#17 Memphis Grizzlies select Wade Baldwin, Vanderbilt. Wade Baldwin is a combo guard who should be a decent role player in time, but the Memphis Grizzlies have their own issues with Marc Gasol and Mike Conley both hitting free agency. Baldwin will be a solid rotation player, but that is about all that can be expected by the middle of the first round (barring steals).
#16 Boston Celtics select Guerschon Yabusele, Rouen Metropole, International. Guerschon Yabusele is a 6’8” 240 pound forward from France that the Boston Celtics will select and stash overseas for a few seasons.
#15 Denver Nuggets select Juan Herangomez, Estudiantes - International. Juan Herangomez is a long swingman and seems a lot like a much less talented version of current Nugget Danilo Gallinari. He has top-level experience in the best league not known as the NBA (The ACB league of Spain). It is sort of a case of Denver just adding as much talent as it can because the Nuggets are several seasons away from being relevant again and Hernangomez does not change that.
#14 Chicago Bulls select Denzel Valentine, Michigan State. The Bulls just parted ways with Derrick Rose and have been shopping Jimmy Butler. Selecting a young NBA-ready shooting guard like Denzel Valentine makes perfect sense. The Bulls will begin its rebuild in earnest and Valentine is a strong-bodied 2-guard who should get help the Bulls get back on track.
#13 Sacramento Kings (via PHO) select Georgios Papagiannis, Greece. The Kings are in absolute disarray and it is hard to guess where this franchise is going next. Georgios Papagiannis will not radically transform a team that can never achieve the potential it seems to hold on paper.
**ANNOUNCED TRADE: The Phoenix Suns have acquired No. 8 overall pick Marquese Chriss from the Sacramento Kings, in exchange for Bogan Bogdanovic, and the #13 and #28 overall draft picks.
#12 Atlanta Hawks select Taurean Prince, Baylor. Taurean Prince will step in at small forward where Kent Bazemore was slotted last year. The Hawks still could re-sign Bazemore of course, but he is in for a serious pay increase and the Hawks have been known to avoid high payrolls.
**ANNOUNCED TRADE: The Orlando Magic have dealt the right to No. 11 overall pick Domantas Sabonis, Victor Oladipo and Ersan Ilysasova to the Oklahoma City Thunder for forward Serge Ibaka, per Adrian Wojnarowski of Y! Sports' The Vertical.
#11 Orlando Magic select Domantas Sabonis, Gonzaga. Domantas Sabonis seems like a redundancy given that the Orlando Magic already have a highly skilled defensively weak big man in Nikola Vucevic. New coach Frank Vogel needs interior defenders, and that is not really what Sabonis is. Skal Labissiere may have been the other option here, and Orlando certainly went an interesting direction with Sabonis.
#10 Milwaukee Bucks select Thon Maker, HS Australia. Internet senesation Thon Maker was not expected to go until the late first round. The Milwaukee Bucks clearly saw something we did not, but with a roster seemingly only made of lanky forwards, where does he fit in?
#9 Toronto Raptors select Jakob Poeltl, Utah. Jakob Poeltl will become the backup center in Toronto with Bismack Biyombo off to get paid in free agency. Poeltl can be developed slowly behind Jonas Valanciunas.
#8 Phoenix Suns select Marquese Chriss, Washington. Marquese Chriss climbed up the draft boards and he could be the next great stretch-4 in the NBA. His skill set is taylor-suited for the new era of NBA basketball and he could be the draft's biggest steal having slipped to No. 8 overall.
#7 Denver Nuggets select Jamal Murray, Kentucky. Jamal Murray and Buddy Hield are now both off the board, the two premier shooting guards in the 2016 class. Murray will give the Nuggets some shooting, but it is starting to get crowded on the wing positions in Denver. They may have some more moves to make tonight.
#6 New Orleans Pelicans select, Buddy Hield, Oklahoma. The New Orleans Pelicans got their guy. Hield will give them the wing scoring and promise that simply was not to be found in either Eric Gordon or Tyreke Evans. Hield will capitalize on all of those Anthony Davis double teams.
#5 Minnesota Timberwolves select, Kris Dunn, Providence. Kris Dunn is unarguably the best point guard in the class, and though the Wolves need shooting, this pick signals that the team will eventually look to move away from incumbent point guard Ricky Rubio.
#4 Phoenix Suns select, Dragan Bender, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Intl. The Phoenix Suns are fairly stacked in the backcourt but have not had a reliable option at the 4-spot since Markieff Morris became their favorite headache. Bender brings length, offensive skills and plenty of upside to help Suns fans forget Morris the rest of the way.
#3 Boston Celtics select, Jaylen Brown, California. Brown may be the best two-way player in this draft, but it is a bit of a surprise to see him go this early. Brown can play the 2 or 3 spot, but the Celtics may deal him still given the mass interest their pick seemed to have been generating. If Brown remains in Boston, the backcourt has gone from crowded to super-saturated.
#2 Los Angeles Lakers select, Brandon Ingram, Duke. The L.A. Lakers add the other potential franchise talent in this draft. Brandon Ingram has the makings of a Kevin Durant or Tracy McGrady, and though he is thin it may not matter much. At 6'9" 196 pounds, he is built very similar to Durant, and at just 19 years of age, he has a full future in front of him to help the Lakers fight back to respectability.
#1 Philadelphia 76ers select, Ben Simmons, LSU . The Philadelphia 76ers had been seeking the franchise talent to build its team around, and Ben Simmons will give them that. His upside is higher than anyone in this draft, and now the Sixers can start shaping the core of its rebuild. Simmons has drawn lofty comparisons to the likes of Blake Griffin and LeBron James. Though former GM Sam Hinkie will not be around to reap the benefits of his rebuild, the Sixers finally have what Hinkie pursued: a franchise player.
What this draft lacks in high-end talent it makes up for in depth, so do not write off the possibility of this class being better than expected! After the first two picks, a lot of this year's order is random guesswork (is it ever any different?). But we will stay abreast of all developments and relay the craziness of the NBA Draft here at VAVEL! See you all at 7 PM (EST)!
Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins are both franchise players, and Minnesota possesses the No. 5 overall pick to add yet another dominant youngster. The Wolves need shooting badly, which seems to scream for the drafting of either Murray or Hield. But if Minnesota is enamored with Kris Dunn, the Providence floor general could be selected to replace Ricky Rubio. Rumors have been swirling around this notion already. Dunn has drawn comparisons to one-time scoring champion Russell Westbrook.
A team a lot of people will be watching closely is the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves now have the league's last two Rookies of the Year, and an elite coach in Tom Thibodeau to put the final touches on the roster, while guiding it as a president and head coach. He is being given full reigns to a team that could make a quick ascent in the tougher of the two conferences.
The Orlando Magic finished 35-47 last season and will select No. 11 overall. Orlando recently hired Frank Vogel, who is noted for being excellent at developing young talents. Might it not make sense for the Magic to keep this pick after all? Vogel could probably work wonders with either Deyonta Davis of Michigan State or Skal Labissiere of Kentucky, and the Magic need a lot of help at the 4/5-spots. The Magic do have Aaron Gordon as the next big thing at power forward, but he is the only lock in a frontcourt that could see some turnover this offseason. Orlando is said to be interested in free agent Al Horford, and even if he is signed the Magic are likely going to re-stock the cupboard in the frontcourt this offseason. Seeing what GM Rob Hennigan does draft night will prove interesting, especially given his previous comments this summer about wanting immediate veteran help. The Magic have assets that teams will value, but how stingy will Hennigan be about including it in deals?
Murray has climbed draft boards and seems quite likely to go No. 5 overall to Minnesota (all guesses not being even exactly). It will be an interesting case study to see how Murray and Hield develop, posing different sides of whether it is worth it to stay four seasons in the NCAA like Hield did.
Buddy Hield of Oklahoma seems to have suffered a bit of a hit in his stock. Hield, initially billed a potential No. 3 overall pick, seems he is more destined to fall outside the top-5 now. He won the Naismith Player of the Year award, but at this point anyone who makes the claim four years of college helps is pretty much wrong. Hield is NBA ready to be sure, but teams know that the ceiling for the sharpshooter might be lower than say the likes of 19-year-old Jamal Murray of Kentucky.
It is not as though Kobe Bryant’s 35 percent shooting was going to win the Lakers a lot of games, but with Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson and D’Angelo Russell already aboard, the Lakers could produce a competent offensive team pretty quickly. L.A. is seasons away from being relevant, but adding Ingram is a lot better than having to give its pick up (Which is what would have happened had the Lakers fallen outside of the top-3).
The L.A. Lakers own the No. 2 overall pick, and now that Kobe Bryant has headed off into the sunset, the Lakers can finally turn its attention to the young guns on the roster. L.A. should really take Brandon Ingram and see what the Duke Blue Devil can become. His high upside on the offensive end could be that of a Tracy McGrady or Kevin Durant, and with the lanky and athletic frame, he has he could be a quintessential small forward for the next decade. Ingram is rail thin, but not adding bulk never slowed the evolution of Kevin Durant as he became one of the best swingmen in the league. The same chance is there for Ingram, and the Lakers need an efficient high-volume scorer.
Former Kansas Jayhawk Joel Embiid is a total mystery box after spending two seasons on the injured list. He was thought to be a superstar center in the making, but his feet have given him problems since fractures he sustained before ever starting his NBA career. Even so, the Sixers are not in a bad place. There is some good talent on the roster and after the team makes some moves for backcourt help, it can begin carving a real roster. Former GM Sam Hinkie took a strange route to rebuilding, but landing the No. 1 overall pick in a top-heavy draft like this one is a pretty strong place to operate from.
The Philadelphia 76ers finally got what it wanted in this long fruitless rebuild: a No. 1 overall pick and chance at a true franchise-defining talent. The Sixers now have selected Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor in the last three drafts. With LSU's Ben Simmons expected to go No. 1 overall, Philly’s best four talents would all be at the 4/5-spots. That means there is some roster balancing to occur, and the Sixers have been said to be shopping Noel and Okafor already.
Hello and welcome to VAVEL’s coverage of the 2016 NBA Draft! This is Brett David Roberts (@33Trigger) here to bring all the live commentary and reaction tonight as the 2016 rookie class finds out where they will begin their NBA careers. The event begins at 7:00 EST in Brooklyn, New York at the Barclays Center. The Philadelphia 76ers will select first overall, and be sure to follow along with our live commentary and analysis here at VAVEL.