2015 NBA Draft
1 – Los Angeles Lakers – C Matt Bailey
No doubt about it, the clear cut #1 choice for the draft.
2 – Cleveland – C MAXIME Videnov
I didn’t think he would go this high but he does have his advantages. Huge body and a fantastic rebounder.
3 – Denver – PF Joshua Potter
Great pick as he has picked up a bit of a post game which will complement his outside game.
4 – Atlanta – PG Jermaine Carroll
Huge (6’5, 207lbs) PG is a great floor general. I would have thought they would go with one of the excellent SGs on the board but not a bad pick.
5 – New Orleans – SG Kyle Craig
Very, very good scorer who is being compared to Dwayne Wade. Not as good but has a similar playing style.
6 – Cleveland – SG Matt Davis
Probably better than Craig at the moment and is a nugget of a player. Great rebounder for his size and the Cavs have come out with a good draft at the moment.
7 – Milwaukee – SF Jason Thornton
Still young but is a knock down shot. Good defender as well so will fit in well with the defensive focus of the Bucks. Might have been reaching but still a decent pick.
8 – New Orleans – PG Brian Iacona
Skinny guard but will play well with Kyle Craig. Very quick player and will be a starter in the league.
9 – San Antonio – PG Carlton Abrams
Even skinnier than Iacona at only 156lbs and will be beaten up on defence. Decent PG but is a reach for the Spurs.
10 – Los Angeles Clippers – C Mike Ohnstad
Fantastic pickup and he is a blocking monster and can spread the floor out to 15 feet. Dropped like a stone and is a steal for the Clips.
11 – Memphis – PF Tyron Younger
Look at this, the Grizzlies have drafted another PF. Great rebounder and is clutch in crunch time. Good pick but the Grizzlies picked TWO PFs last year and already have Claudio Carrera on the team.
12 – Indiana – PG Dana Moore
Not a good shooter but is a decent passer. A little turnover prone which will need to be reduced. A reach at #12.
13 – Boston – C Derrick Chambless
Is a great shooter, even to three point range. They wanted a C at any cost and they have reached a long way to pick one.
14 – Orlando – SF Jason Roe
I really liked this guy as he is a great worker and is a great passer. Not the best shooter but will help out with the rebounds and defence. Solid pick.
15 – Golden State – C David Phillips
Very much a reach here, as Phillips can’t shoot, is soft and has terrible defence. If Boston reached then Golden State fell off their chair trying to reach for Phillips.
16 – Sacramento – SG Demond Neeser
Great pick for the tall Neeser. An extremely streaky shooter but when he is on he is hotter than anyone on the court. Great pick.
17 – Phoenix – SF James Harris
Hmm, I don’t like this pick. The experts like it but Harris is just too inconsistent to be picked here, but I hope I’m wrong for his sake.
18 – Los Angeles Lakers – SG Eric Marshall
A retro player as he is not the best athlete but has a great head on his shoulders and will have no qualms about taking his opponent down low and post up.
19 – Chicago – SG Derrick Magloire
Was probably looking for Marshall but Magloire is still good. Very raw but if he gets it all together then he will be a decent fringe starter.
20 – Houston – SG Estell Phillips
The hometown guy gets picked up by the Rockets and it’s a huge steal. I wouldn’t be surprised that he starts sometime during the year as he is a fantastic pick. Houston should give gift baskets to the teams who overlooked him.
21 – New Jersey – PG Cerrah Melen
The Turkish national team player is small but can jump out of the gym. Great conditioning and has fantastic hands. Dropped a little and the Nets are happy.
22 – Dallas – PG Jeremy Dumic
Another case of a team wanting a player and the player being picked right before the team. So they reach and Dallas did just that.
23 – Charlotte – PF Erik Jones
Quite a slow player and has poor hands but when he holds onto the ball then no-one can get remove it. Good pick for the position they are in.
24 – Los Angeles Lakers – PF Kyle Colter
Very good rebounder and leaper, and is improving every day. Give him time and he will pay off for the Lakers.
25 – Philadelphia – C Ime Livas
Who? Oh that’s right; it’s the massive kid who can do a 360 dunk. And when I say massive he is as big as MAXIME. Too bad he doesn’t have much skill in any other areas but being tall and athletic will keep him in the league for a while.
26 – Cleveland – PF DJ Welch
Is an absolute monster dunker and he loves to dunk. If he could marry dunking and have little dunking kids he would. Decent pick-up for #26 as he will be a rotation player.
27 – Indiana – PG Mike Harris
Another decent pick up late in the first round and he is a great spot up shooter so can be brought off the bench for a sharpshooter. Not a great defender as he is a small frame but he won’t be on the court for his defence.
28 – New York – PG Myron Anderson
6’6 PG who is pretty much a spot up shooter. I don’t know if he is going to get any playing time with both Raymond Felton and Varlam Bebutov above him in the depth chart.
29 – Miami – SF Sean Scruggs
I love this guy because of his last name. Scruggs just sounds awesome. Is a great three point shooter and that is all Miami needs with the Big Three on the court.
30 – Miami (from Toronto) – PF Brian Henderson
We traded this pick to get Kenny Costa which I’m happy about as even though Henderson dropped and will be a decent bench player, Costa will be a much better player.
There were a few trades including a big one.
Charlotte trades:
PG Louis Williams
New Jersey trades:
PF Yi Jianlian
Why for Charlotte:
The Bobcats have Povilas Tailos and Kyle Lowry at the PG position as well as the legendary Kobe Bryant at SG so Williams was being squeezed out. They also needed some big man depth so in comes Yi who will be the first big off the bench.
Why for New Jersey:
The Nets are basically in the opposite position to the Bobcats. They need some guard depth while their big man depth is adequate. Louis Williams becomes the first guard off the bench.
Winner – Both
They both got what they needed and gave away what they didn’t need.
New York trades:
SG Kelenna Azubuike
Cleveland trades:
PG George Hill
Why for New York:
Azubuike was owed over $12 million in two years while Hill is an expiring. George Hill will be good off the bench but won’t get as much playing time as he did in Cleveland.
Why for Cleveland:
Matt Davis looks like the real deal but is still very young, so he will need some mentoring. Azubuike has been around and will push Davis to fulfil his potential.
Winner – New York
Hill is an expiring and they weren’t really using Azubuike so they get what they want out of the deal.
Portland trades:
PG LaVell Deeter
Cleveland trades:
C Kenneth Thornton
Why for Portland:
They drafted Thornton last year but traded him on draft day. They must have had buyer’s remorse and got him back. Thornton is a great defending big man and will complement both Greg Oden and Chris Kaman.
Why for Cleveland:
Deeter is the opposite of Thornton as he is a great offensive player but a very poor defender. Will be valuable for the Cavs as he is a good PG who will take over from Clark Kimm.
Winner – Portland
They fixed a mistake and have a very good front line now.
Minnesota trades:
SG Corey Hines
Detroit trades:
PG Adam Holley
Why for Minnesota:
They were sick of Hines and had to get rid of him, getting a quality replacement in Holley. They had SG Travis Howard backing up Ricky Rubio so getting a proper back-up PG was crucial.
Why for Detroit:
They have tried to pick up the great but spoilt players with Travis Randolph and now they try again. Hines can be a great player but his attitude has held him back so for Detroit’s sake he clicks.
Winner – Minnesota
Any time a team trades away Corey Hines they will win the trade.
Indiana trades:
SF Danny Granger
Milwaukee trades:
PF Josh Smith
Why for Indiana:
They have decided that they need more defence and more front court depth so they trade away their best scorer for a better defender. Hasheem Walker has been decent at SF and they slide Greg Monroe to the bench as a super-sub.
Why for Milwaukee:
Andrew Reed has been a very big surprise as he was outplaying Smith in some occasions so they ship out the older Smith and bring in a huge piece in Danny Granger. He may be 32 years old but Granger can fill up the stat sheet as good as anyone and will make the Bucks very dangerous.
Winner – Milwaukee
The Bucks are looking very dangerous now as Granger may be the missing piece for them to be a contender.
Huge trade for Milwaukee as they look very good with a B. Jennings/M. Thornton/D. Granger/ A. Reed/D. Floyd lineup.