Subscribe our newsletter and get notifications to stay update
A look at the winners and losers of the first round of the NBA draft:76ersA home run of a pick, landing Alabama guard Labaron Philon Jr.at No.
22.He should’ve gone in the late teens at worst.
He was one of college basketball’s top guards last season, averaging 22 points, five assists and shooting 39.9 percent from distance on 6.1 attempts.He’s terrific going to the basket, has a sweet jumper and made a major leap from his freshman to sophomore season.
Teams were concerned that he would struggle to hold up defensively at only 176 pounds.But with Philadelphia, he’s a third guard, behind Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe.
That’s a heckuva young trio, all 25 or younger.SpursSan Antonio addressed a major weakness that hampered it in the playoffs: big man depth behind Victor Wembanyama.They used the 20th pick on Kentucky center Jayden Quaintance, then traded for a second first-round pick, and used No.
26 on Connecticut’s Tarris Reed Jr.Quaintance is a lottery-level talent with injury questions after playing in just four games this past season after ACL surgery.
It was a worthwhile gamble.Odds are, he won’t play much next year, but could be a major factor in time.
Reed is not a prototypical NBA big man, because he doesn’t shoot 3s or guard well in space.But he’s physical, tough and can be an enforcer type.ThunderDid Oklahoma City find an answer for its Wembanyama problem? Aday Mara, the Thunder’s pick at No.
12, is at least an option.The 7-foot-3 center is a defensive dynamo who helped lead Michigan to its first national championship in 37 years in April.
The more size you can throw at Wemby, the better.At No.
16, the Thunder added Iowa sharpshooting guard Bennett Stirtz.At worst, he’s a court-spacer.
Don’t count him out from being more than that, though.ClippersKeaton Wagler over Darius Acuff Jr., Kingston Flemings and Mikel Brown Jr.? The three players the Clippers passed on for him at No.5 will all be better pros.
Wagler isn’t a bad pro...