2015 NBA Draft Needs: The Crossroads
Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Each NBA front office has its own plan on how to win a title. Some have a vision for contention in one year, while others plan to be competitive in five years. It all depends on the ownership group’s expectations and the assets they have at hand.
Throughout the course of that plan, a team will likely face a few crossroads that can make or break their future. Take the Oklahoma City Thunder as an example. They had to make a choice on whether to pay James Harden superstar money or trade him away in return for young assests in 2012. The decision has come back to bite the Thunder with Harden solidifying himself as an MVP candidate this season.
SCOUTING REPORTS: Stanley Johnson | Justise Winslow | Kentucky’s NBA exodus
All of the teams in this edition of 2015 NBA Draft Needs are in the middle of their building plans. The problem is, several of these teams are at a crossroads with some of the decisions they need to make.
(Note: All of the first round picks these teams have are not set and stone until the NBA Draft Lottery. Current pick projections are based on the odds each team has to win the lottery. For example, Orlando has the fifth best chance, so they are projected to get the No. 5 pick)
5. ORLANDO MAGIC
Needs: SF, PF
Picks: 5, 51 (from CHI)
The Magic had an up-and-down season that included the firing of their head coach Jacque Vaughn. James Borrego stepped in on an interim basis and while he is still being considered for the head coaching position, the Magic are keeping their options open. Either way, they need to get someone who is going to continue to develop their young players but also figure out how to make their funky parts fit.
Orlando has a number of weird and extremely talented players that don’t really fit together. Vucevic is a back-to-the-basket scorer and the focal point of their offense. Elfrid Payton and Victor Oladipo are both talented defenders and ball handlers but neither have shown consistency to shoot the ball well from outside. Both Tobias Harris and Channing Frye were hoped to bring some much needed floor spacing, but pairing them with three non-shooters made it hard to generate offense. As a result, Orlando ranked in the bottom four in offensive efficiency this season.
In addition to their coach, the Magic need to make a decision on restricted free agent Harris. Harris has blossomed into an intriguing player who is set to get a lot of money this offseason, but it remains to be seen if he is a part of the Magic’s long-term core. They weren’t able to come to terms on an extension last summer, making it possible that they let him walk if a big offer is thrown his way.
That’s where the No. 5 pick comes in.
Justise Winslow is a prospect they could draft to fill the void for Harris. He can guard multiple positions, space the floor (he shot 41.8 percent from 3-point range at Duke), and has many different skills that can help an offense. He is a swiss-army-knife player along the lines of Andre Iguodala.
Winslow is the perfect prospect for the Magic in this draft and is a no-brainer unless they wind up winning the lottery. In that case, they’d be silly not to draft Karl Anthony-Towns.
Drafting Towns would be a huge addition for Orlando because he is the elite rim protector they so desperately need to pair with Vucevic. The Magic allowed opponents to shoot 53.3 percent at the rim this season, ranking in the bottom 10 in the whole league. Along with shooting, rim protection is a huge need for Orlando in taking that next step towards playoff contention.
6. SACRAMENTO KINGS
Needs: PG, PF
Picks: 6
Where do we even start?
The Kings have gone through three coaches in one year and are thinking about firing their GM. Not the most desirable situation to be in going into a highly important offseason for the franchise.
The big question mark surrounding this organization is the future of their franchise star DeMarcus Cousins. Sacramento could flip Cousins for another top ten pick and young assets, which would mark a fresh start with two more young pieces to build around. That’s unlikely to happen, however, since new owner Vivek Ranadive is all in on trying to be a playoff team right now.
A big part of the reason Mike Malone was fired shortly into his second year as the head coach was because he didn’t want to play the up tempo, fast, dynamic style that the front office is envisioning for this franchise. George Karl is the right guy for that, but DeMarcus Cousins might not be the ideal fit for his up-tempo offense.
For now, if they intend to keep Cousins (the most likely possibility) and their pick, the first plan of attack is to add a rim protector. Two prospects who comes to mind: Willie Cauley-Stein and Kristaps Porzingis.
We’ve all seen Cauley-Stein block shots at Kentucky this season, helping Towns anchor that UK back line that was one of the greatest in history. What makes Cauley-Stein so special, however, is his ability to guard any position 1-5, a vitale skill in today’s NBA. Porzingis is long and can protect the rim, but he can’t guard multiple positions like Cauley-Stein can. What Porzingis can do, though, is stretch the floor, shooting 45.9 percent from 3-point range in the Eurocup.
7. DENVER NUGGETS
Needs: SG, SF
Picks: 7, 57 (from LAC)
Like the two teams before them, the Nuggets have a coaching dilemma on their hands. Melvin Hunt took over as the interim coach after Brian Shaw was fired during the later part of the season. Shaw tried to craft an offense completely opposite of George Karl’s run and gun system, aiming to replicate the slow paced offense the Pacers have had the last few seasons. Finding a coach has to be priority No. 1 for the Nuggets before they decide who they are going to draft.
The Nuggets have several front court players currently on the roster that see consistent minutes: Kenneth Faried, J.J. Hickson, Jusuf Nurkic, Darrell Arthur (free agent this summer), and Joffrey Lauvergne. It would be a surprise if they took a front-court player at No. 7 unless they intend to trade away a few of their aforementioned bigs. Even if someone like Porzingis or Cauley-Stein are available at No. 7, drafting and playing them limited minutes would not be the optimal use of the pick.
There are several guys in play for the Nuggets. I doubt Justise Winslow falls this far — if he does, the Nuggets would strike gold — seeing as most draft experts project him no later than No. 5. That leaves prospects such as Stanley Johnson, Kelly Oubre, and Mario Hezonja.
Johnson’s game will translate to any style. He is a solid spot-up shooter who can also create his own shot in the half court. He is hyper-athletic and would also be a great fit getting out and running in transition in an up-tempo offense. Oubre was very inconsistent in his first year at Kansas, and so much is unknown about Hezonja and his situation with his coach overseas that it might be a risk to take him this high.
8. DETROIT PISTONS
Needs: SF, PF
Picks: 8, 38
The first team on this list that doesn’t have a coaching problem, the Pistons had a rollercoaster first year under Stan Van Gundy.
As expected, Van Gundy has implemented the spread pick-and-roll system that he had a lot of success with in Orlando. When newly-acquired Reggie Jackson and Andre Drummond were on the floor together, they had a positive plus-minus of 3.3. Throw another shooter alongside Drummond, like Anthony Tolliver, and that number rose to +4.2.
Tolliver is a nice player, but I’m sure that Detroit would love to have another player to space the floor alongside Drummond for the long-term. Greg Monroe’s fit next to Drummond doesn’t generate the spacing that SVG would normally like, and there has already been a ton of speculation as to what is going to happen with Monroe’s future. One prospect the Pistons could select that makes sense is Myles Turner.
Eight might be a bit of a reach for Turner but there is no denying the extremely high ceiling he has. He is an elite shot blocker, averaging an absurd 4.7 blocks per 40 minutes at Texas. Imagine teams trying to deal with a front line of Turner and Drummond at the rim.
What makes this such as great fit is Myles’ ability to stretch the floor on offense. Before conference games started, Turner shot a solid 37.5 percent from three. Although he struggled with his shot later in the season, the potential to turn into a spot up shooting, pick and pop threat is certainly there.
If the Pistons see it as too much of a risk for them to take Turner at eight, they will definitely look to fill the hole they have on the wing. Jodie Meeks fits well in Stan’s system but Kentavious Caldwell-Pope still has yet to blossom into a viable scoring option. Justise Winslow is the obvious prize at that spot but he probably won’t be around at that point in the lottery. That leaves the likes of Mario Hezonja and Stanley Johnson.
As for their second round pick, a guy that intrigues me is Justin Anderson from Virginia. Before he had a hand injury, Anderson was lighting up college basketball, shooting 45 percent from deep. He can switch between both forward spots in big and small lineups, making him a very versatile wing option.