Tag: 2023 NBA Draft

NBA draft grades: Rockets effusively praised after landing Amen Thompson, Cam Whitmore

With an impressive haul consisting of Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore, the #Rockets and general manager Rafael Stone are earning high draft grades from NBA analysts.

After finishing at No. 4 in the 2023 NBA draft lottery, the Houston Rockets didn’t land the ultimate prize of No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama, who went to the San Antonio Spurs.

But with two first-round selections, general manager Rafael Stone did add to Houston’s talented young prospect core, headlined by a potential point guard of the future in No. 4 pick Amen Thompson.

Later in the round, the Rockets shocked the NBA world by landing Villanova’s Cam Whitmore at No. 20 overall. Days earlier, Whitmore was believed to be in competition with Thompson!

While the 2023 draft night won’t be quite as memorable in Houston as it was in nearby San Antonio, Stone adapted quite well to the lottery hand he was dealt, and the Rockets emerged with key pieces that may help the franchise take the next step in its ongoing rebuild.

With that in mind, early draft grades from expert analysts across the NBA were favorable. Here’s a look at some of their assessments.

OKC Thunder voices zero concerns over Keyontae Johnson’s heart condition

“We have seen all the information, the league’s seen all the information. So you know, you’re careful with every player but we feel really good about it.”

The biggest story surrounding second-round pick Keyontae Johnson revolves around what happened to him on the court two and a half years ago.

In December 2020, Johnson collapsed on the court and was subsequently in a coma for three days. In the aftermath, he was offered an insurance settlement worth millions. Instead, he passed up on the guaranteed money for a shot to eventually make the NBA.

After totaling just five games in two seasons following his collapse, Johnson elected to transfer out of Florida to Kansas State for his senior season. In 36 games last season, he averaged 17.4 points on 51.6% shooting, 6.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists.

The NBA cleared Johnson to be eligible to be drafted after reviewing his heart condition — known as “Athlete’s heart” — on May 26.

Johnson’s dreams were finally realized on Thursday when the Oklahoma City Thunder selected the 23-year-old with the No. 50 pick.

The first question in most people’s minds when it comes to Johnson’s future is his health. After suffering a health scare of that magnitude, is it possible for him to play professional basketball for the long term?

All signs point towards yes.

In his post-draft press conference, Thunder general manager Sam Presti confirmed they did their due diligence on Johnson’s health and came away confident he’ll have a normal NBA career.

“In this particular case, the league is really the body that approves that. We were obviously very comfortable with all the information and the last week, you know, really, are the people that are saying he’s able to be drafted,” Presti said. “But we didn’t really have any concerns with that. We have seen all the information, the league’s seen all the information. So you know, you’re careful with every player but we feel really good about it.”

Thanks to modern medicine and medical professionals, Johnson will get the chance to live out his dream as an NBA player. It’ll be a tough battle as he fights to climb the roster totem pole. He will likely start his rookie season on a two-way deal and spend most of it in the G League.

With that said, his upcoming battle in staying with the NBA will look trivial compared to his previous battles and victories in overcoming his scary on-court incident and dealing with the aftermath of it.

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5 reasons why Brooklyn Nets fans should be excited about drafting Alabama’s Noah Clowney

5 reasons why Brooklyn Nets fans should be excited about the decision to draft Alabama forward Noah Clowney with the No. 21 overall pick.

The Brooklyn Nets selected Alabama forward Noah Clowney with the No. 21 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

Clowney spent one season in Tuscaloosa. He averaged 9.8 points per game, 7.9 rebounds per game, and 0.8 assists per game. Clowney recorded three double-doubles and had eight double-digit rebounding games. Clowney was also named as an All-SEC Freshman Team selection.

The South Carolina native inserted himself into Alabama’s starting lineup from the get-go and was one of the most impactful players on the roster.

Roll Tide Wire lists five reasons why Brooklyn Nets fans should be excited about drafting Alabama’s Noah Clowney with the No. 21 overall pick.

2023 NBA draft: Grading the OKC Thunder’s selections

Handing out draft grades for both of the Thunder’s selections:

The 2023 NBA draft is officially over and the Oklahoma City Thunder ended the night with a pair of new rookies.

In a trade with the Dallas Mavericks, the Thunder acquired Kentucky guard Cason Wallace with the No. 10 pick. At the No. 50 pick, the Thunder drafted Kansas State forward Keyontae Johnson.

Wallace will get a chance to earn rotation minutes right off the bat, as he will likely start the year off the bench. Meanwhile, Johnson will likely spend most of his rookie season on the G League’s OKC Blue as he will likely slide into the new third two-way spot.

Let’s hand out draft grades for both Wallace and Johnson as the Thunder continue to fortify their young roster.

5 reasons why Charlotte Hornets fans should be excited about drafting Alabama’s Brandon Miller

5 reasons why Charlotte Hornets fans should be excited about forward Brandon Miller.

The Charlotte Hornets selected Alabama forward Brandon Miller with the second overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

Miller was stellar during his freshman season. He averaged 18.8 points per game, 8.2 rebounds per game, and 2.1 assists per game.

He was listed as a finalist for the Julius Erving Award, Oscar Robertson Award, and Naismith Award. He was named the SEC Player of the Year and SEC Freshman of the Year. Not to mention, he was also a John R. Wooden All-American and an AP First-Team All-American.

The Hornets fanbase has a wealth of reasons to fall in love with Miller. Roll Tide Wire lists five reasons why Hornets fans should be excited about drafting Miller.

Report: OKC Thunder sign undrafted free agent Adam Flagler

The Thunder have added another undrafted free agent.

The Oklahoma City Thunder continue to inject youth into their roster. They signed undrafted free agent Baylor guard Adam Flagler, per HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto.

Flagler didn’t hear his name called during the draft but was one of the more notable undrafted free agents available. The 23-year-old spent four seasons in college from 2018 to 2023. He spent his freshman year at Presbyterian before transferring and playing three seasons at Baylor.

In 32 games last season, Flagler averaged 15.6 points on 42.6% shooting, 4.6 assists and 2.4 rebounds. He also shot 40% from 3 on an average of 6.3 attempts.

It’s unknown what kind of deal Flagler signed with the Thunder, but it’s likely a similar non-guarantee deal fellow undrafted rookie Caleb McConnell signed, where OKC gets a shot to see how they play in summer league before making a roster decision.

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What’s being said: NBA experts grade Jett Howard, Kobe Bufkin selections

What did you think of the picks? #GoBlue

Michigan basketball had a pair of first-round selections on Thursday night during the 2023 NBA draft.

Many experts believed Kobe Bufkin would be the first Wolverine off the board, but it was in fact, Jett Howard. The Orlando Magic took Howard with the No. 11 pick in the draft.

Not too far after Howard, sophomore Kobe Bufkin heard his name called with the No. 15 pick to the Atlanta Hawks. Bufkin has a little tougher path to playing time than Howard does though — or at least starting. Bufkin has Trae Young and Dejounte Murray ahead of him at both guard spots for now.

With Jett Howard & Kobe Bufkin going 11th and 15th, Michigan has multiple top-15 picks in a draft for the first time since 1994 (Juwan Howard & Jalen Rose).

We are going to show you what different NBA draft experts thought of the selections and the grades that were given to the Magic and Hawks for selecting the Michigan duo.

2023 NBA draft recap: Every SEC player selected in this year’s draft

Every former SEC basketball player selected in the 2023 NBA draft!

The 2023 NBA draft took place on Thursday night from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York and a total of ten former SEC players were celebrated as draft picks, six of which went in the first round.

Alabama’s Brandon Miller was not only the first SEC player picked in the draft, but he was also the first collegiate player selected as the No. 2 overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets just behind the French unicorn, Victor Wembanyama who went No. 1 overall. Miller’s Alabama teammate Noah Clowney joined him as a first-round selection when he was taken by the Brooklyn Nets at No. 21 overall.

Arkansas joined the Crimson Tide in producing a pair of first-round picks with Anthony Black going No. 6 overall to the Orlando Magic and Nick Smith Jr. going No. 27 overall and will be joining Miller in Charlotte.

Let’s take a quick look at each former SEC player that was taken in the 2023 NBA draft.

NBA Draft grades: Ranking all 30 teams by their 2023 draft classes

We graded every 2023 NBA Draft class from worst to first.

It’s over!

All 58 — not 60! — selections have been made at the 2023 NBA Draft. There were some trades, too, but not a ton.

And now, after we graded every pick in the first round, it’s time to hand out some grades and rank all 30 teams by their draft classes.

Some teams — mainly those at the top of the draft, which went somewhat as expected — did well. Others, did not, and it’ll be a little tricky to grade those teams who didn’t have a pick at all.

So we’ll rank each of the teams by how they did, and we’ll count trades in these, too.

Away we go, from worst to first:

The best takes and the sharpest bets on all the hoops storylines you need to know. Sign up for our Layup Lines newsletter, hitting your inbox on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

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Four Pac-12 players hear names called during 2023 NBA draft

This list (and #USC’s streak of top-50 picks in consecutive #NBADraft events) would have been longer if Boogie Ellis turned pro.

Pac-12 basketball was a disappointment in the 2022-2023 college basketball season. No teams made the Elite Eight or Final Four. Only four teams reached the NCAA Tournament, and only one made the Sweet 16. The league fell far short of expectations, with Oregon failing to make the NCAA Tournament for a second consecutive season under Dana Altman, and Stanford continuing to waste talent under coach Jerod Haase.

Given that the conference did not measure up on the basketball court, it’s not a surprise that the Pac-12’s 2023 NBA draft contingent was small, and mostly attached to only one school. UCLA provided three of the four players at this year’s draft, getting Jaime Jaquez, Amari Bailey, and Jaylen Clark into the NBA.

Jaquez went at No. 18 to the Miami Heat, the lone first-round pick for the Pac-12 this year. Mouhamed Gueye of Washington State, the only non-UCLA Pac-12 player taken in the draft, went at No. 39 to the Atlanta Hawks in a trade with the Boston Celtics. Bailey went at No. 41 to the Charlotte Hornets, and Clark went at No. 53 to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

This draft class would have been larger if USC’s Boogie Ellis had turned pro. USC’s five-year run of having a top-50 draft pick came to an end for that reason alone.

Notably, Arizona big man Azuolas Tubelis went undrafted.

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