Grading 2020 NBA Draft: OKC Thunder are active and aggressive
Buy, Sell, Trade:
This group all made trades that had a bigger impact on their roster than the subsequent picks they made (or in the case of the Lakers – no draft picks).
Blazers
- CJ Elleby (46th), SF, Washington
Not a big fan of the Elleby pick but the grade is more about the fact the Blazers’ other pick was tied to the trade to nab Robert Covington. RoCo’s addition gives the Blazers a win who can defend at an elite level and will be an ideal third or fourth scoring option behind the star backcourt.
Grade: C
Lakers:
The champs did not get to make a selection on draft night based on trading away the 28th pick to the OKC Thunder in the Dennis Schroder deal.
Hard to discount the move as it sent a Sixth Man candidate to LA. With the Lakers expecting Rajon Rondo to leave in free agency (he’s joining the Hawks) Schroder offers another playmaker who can run the bench unit and he’s a clutch time scorer that gives LA many more options than they had in 2019-20.
Grade: B
Nets
- Traded 19th pick to Clippers for Landry Shamet
- Reggie Perry (57th), PF, Mississippi State
The trade was a more significant move than the draft pick. The Nets weren’t going to add a player of Shamet’s ilk in the draft so this was a smart move.