By: Nick LaPorte, 6/20/2019
Coming into the draft, we all knew three things:
Zion Williamson was going to be selected first by the Pelicans. Ja Morant would head to Memphis at pick #2. And R.J. Barrett would land with the Knicks 3rd overall. We were sure of this, or at least as sure as you can be. This has been described as a “three-player draft,” and those three guys are the ones we mean. With certainty at the top, this draft had unpredictability in the picks after the top three. The Lakers traded the 4th pick to New Orleans, who then traded it to Atlanta.
The Hawks took De’andre Hunter from UVA, which is reminiscent of their draft strategy last year. They wanted Trae Young in 2018, and they moved up and got him. This year they wanted Hunter, so they made it happen. Hunter fits in well there, where the Hawks have built a solid core. With Young running the show, and John Collins manning the middle, Hunter gives them that prototypical 3-and-D style wing they desperately need. Hunter has been compared favorably to Kawhi Leonard as a prospect. This is a great move by Atlanta.
Another team that found a guy that fits their system is Portland. The Trail Blazers sat there at pick #25, and UNC forward Nassir Little fell into their laps. Little’s draft stock has dropped these past few months, in which his production on the court didn’t match up with his potential. Still, Little carries the frame of an NBA wing, and he has enough upside for Portland to feel like they got the steal of the draft. In a winning environment with Damian Lillard as a mentor, Little can develop into a great 3rd option in Portland.
The draft is headlined by the big three prospects I mentioned at the beginning of this post, and rightly so. Zion is the best prospect since Anthony Davis in 2012. Ja Morant has superstar potential. Barrett came into the 2018-2019 as the presumptive #1 pick, and still has that skillset even if Williamson and Morant have surpassed him. After those 3, this draft is light on superstar potential, but as we saw with Toronto, sometimes your role players can make the biggest difference of all. This draft should produce a lot of rotation players for multiple teams, and even if there are few future All-Stars, this draft is deep.
One other team that impressed me was the Timberwolves. Minnesota traded up to select Jarrett Culver 6th overall, and I think this is a steal. They had to give Dario Saric to Phoenix to make it work, but Culver has way more potential. Minnesota has been searching for a wing to pair with Karl Anthony-Towns and Andrew Wiggins, and with Culver, I think they have found their guy.
There’s a lot more to discuss on this draft, which we will try to get to on a podcast later this week, but for now these 3 teams impressed me the most. Atlanta and Minnesota moved up to get Hunter and Culver respectively, and I think both of those guys have 2-way star potential. Portland had Nassir Little drop to them, and that is an absolute win. Stay tuned for more draft coverage, but for now, these are the moves that stand out.
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