The 2019 NBA Draft is complete and with it, all 60 picks were made including the OKC Thunder who did make a selection albeit later than the expected 21st pick.
The OKC Thunder fanbase finally got an answer on whether Sam Presti was, in fact, going to keep the team’s draft pick on Thursday night. Granted, the pick came later than expected and the prospect wasn’t even on the radar for any pundits list of who Presti would select.
Here’s how the night played out and where each of the top 60 prospects landed.
The Lottery Picks:
Zion Williamson – New Orleans Pelicans
Ja Morant – Memphis Grizzlies
RJ Barrett – New York Knicks
De’Andre Hunter – Atlanta Hawks: In the first shift of the evening the Atlanta Hawks made an exchange where they swapped picks and sweetened the pot with additional picks in order to get Hunter with the fourth pick from the Pelicans (who had received the pick from the Lakers as part of the Anthony Davis trade).
Darius Garland – Cleveland Cavaliers
Jarrett Culver – Minnesota Timberwolves (via trade with Phoenix Suns)
Coby White – Chicago Bulls
Jaxson Hayes – New Orleans Pelicans (via the trade swap with the Hawks)
Rui Hachimura – Washington Wizards (a bit of a surprise at nine Hachimura was selected by the Wizards without ever having seen or spoken to him).
Cam Reddish – Atlanta Hawks
Cameron Johnson – Phoenix Suns: No one anticipated CJ getting selected this early in the draft. Cited as arguably the best shooter in the class he was anticipated to draw attention, but again, it was expected he would be picked after the middle of the first round. This pick came courtesy of a trade with the Wolves.
P.J. Washington – Charlotte Hornets
Tyler Herro – Miami Heat: At this point in the selections it became clear teams were hyper focused on adding shooters as Herro became the third shooter (Hachimura, Johnson) selected well ahead of their anticipated seeding.
Romeo Langford – Boston Celtics
Remainder of Round One Picks
15. Sekou Doumbouya – Detroit Pistons
16. Chuma Okeke – Orlando Magic
17. Nickeil Alexander-Walker – New Orleans Pelicans (obtained via trade with Hawks conveyed through Nets)
18. Goga Bitadze – Indiana Pacers
19. Luka Samanic – San Antonio Spurs
20. Matisse Thybulle – Philadelphia 76ers: This pick was obtained via a trade swap which sent the 76ers 24th and 33rd picks to Boston. In truth Danny Ainge didn’t do himself any favors around the league with other GMs by stealing Thybulle with this pick knowing he had been promised to the 76ers. It’s a business move by Ainge and smart, but it still won’t garner him much love from his counterparts. Perhaps that’s part of the reason why Ainge hasn’t had much success with trades lately because other General Managers know he likes to fleece his peers.
21. Brandon Clarke – Memphis Grizzlies: Sam Presti answered OKC Thunder fans nagging questions on whether the team would keep their pick when they swapped with Memphis for their 23rd pick (which they landed courtesy of the Mike Conley trade to the Jazz) in addition to a 2024 second round pick.
22. Grant Williams – Boston Celtics
23. Darius Bazley – OKC Thunder: In a shocker, Sam Presti selected a player on no one’s radar. That’s partially because Bazley elected to forgo attending Syracuse University electing instead to intern at New Balance so there wasn’t a year’s worth of NCAA experience to compare to his peers.
24. Ty Jerome – Phoenix Suns: This pick made the rounds as the 76ers made the choice for the Celtics (see earlier trade) who then traded it to Phoenix. Jerome’s selection was a shocker this high in the draft.
25. Nassir Little – Portland Trail Blazers: After joking the OKC Thunder could usurp the Blazers in my mock by stealing a pick they want and now it may be Portland who gets the last laugh landing a player many assumed would be a lottery pick and has the potential to be a star. Let’s just wait and see if Little ends up getting playing time next season while Bazley ends up either developing in the G-League or riding the bench as Billy Donovan is wont to do with his young talent.
26. Dylan Windler – Cleveland Cavaliers
27. Mfiondu Kabengele – LA Clippers: This pick will be conveyed as part of an earlier trade with the Brooklyn Nets. Although many hoped the OKC Thunder would select a shooter the fact Sam Presti let a player of this quality slip by is head scratching.
28. Jordan Poole – Golden State Warriors
29. Keldon Johnson – San Antonio Spurs: This pick was part of the Kawhi Leonard trade with the Raptors. And, just like the Spurs seemingly always do they nabbed the best pick available (by a long shot) as KJ should’ve been picked at worst in the early 20s.
30. Kevin Porter -Cleveland Cavaliers: Although the Bucks made the selection Porter will eventually land with Cleveland as part of an earlier trade.
Round Two:
A quick glance at the top picks made in the second round will no doubt serve up more questions than answers about the OKC Thunder pick which also selected a raw talent. It may take years before the answers on whether Darius Bazley was the right selection.
31. Nicolas Claxton – Brooklyn Nets
32. K.Z. Okpala – Miami Heat (via trade with Indiana Pacers)
33. Carsen Edwards – Boston Celtics (via trade with 76ers)
34. Bruno Fernando – Atlanta Hawks (via trade) 76ers
35. Marcos Louzada Silva – Pelicans (via trade with Hawks)
36. Cody Martin – Hornets
37. Deividas Sirvydis – Pistons (in trade with Mavericks)
38. Daniel Gafford – Bulls
39. Alen Smailagic – Warriors (via trade with Pelicans)
40. Justin James – Kings
41. Eric Paschall – Warriors (via trade with Hawks)
42. Admiral Schofield – Wizards (via trade with 76ers)
43. Jaylen Nowell – Timberwolves
44. Bol Bol – Nuggets (in trade with Heat)
45. Isaiah Roby – Mavericks (in trade with Pistons)
46. Talen Horton-Tucker – Lakers (via trade with Magic)
47. Ignas Brazdeikis – Knicks (via trade with Kings)
48. Terance Mann – Clippers
49. Quinndary Weatherspoon – Spurs
50. Jarrell Brantley – Jazz (via trade with the Pacers)
51.Tremont Waters – Celtics
52. Jalen McDaniels – Hornets
53. Justin Wright-Foreman – Jazz
54. Marial Shayok – 76ers
55. Kyle Guy – Kings (via trade with Knicks)
56. Jaylen Hands – Nets (in trade with Clippers)
57. Jordan Bone – Pistons (in trade with 76ers)
58. Miye Oni – Jazz (via trade with Warriors)
59. Dewan Hernandez – Raptors: For the Champions of 2019 who won the first ever title with no lottery picks on their roster this may turn out to be yet another insightful move by Toronto’s front office. Hernandez is the player who served as the poster boy for the NCAA looking for a scapegoat simply because he slept in a hotel room not knowing that would be considered inappropriate and when asked about it told the truth. His punishment was not being able to play all of last season.
60. Vanja Marinkovic – Kings
That wraps up the 60 picks of the 2019 NBA Draft. Fans won’t know for months and in some cases years how wise the picks were and where the steals occurred. There will be some immediate insights in Summer League and throughout next season.