Charles Curtis
June 28, 2024 9:42 am ET
The two days of the 2024 NBA Draft are over!
All 58 selections have been made, with a few trades, too,but not a ton.
And now, afterwe 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, as you’ll see, did well. Others did not in a draft class that’s a bit harder to peg.
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:
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30
Brooklyn Nets (D)
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
No picks
Can’t give them a good grade if they had no picks (thanks, James Harden trade!).
29
Dallas Mavericks (C-)
(Photo by Tim Heitman/Getty Images)
Melvin Ajinca (51)
Seems like he’ll be stashed and there isn’t a ton of buzz. So, here you go.
28
Golden State Warriors (C-)
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Quinten Post (52)
Taking an older big man seems kind of weird.
27
Milwaukee Bucks (C)
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AJ Johnson (23), Tyler Smith (33)
Feels like the contending Bucks needed a better draft class.
26
Miami Heat (C)
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Kel’el Ware (15), Pelle Larsson (44)
Ware is a floor-spacing big man, so I guess it’ll work with Bam Adebayo? It’s hard to question #heatculture, so I might look foolish here.
25
Orlando Magic (C+)
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Tristan Da Silva (18)
Let’s see how he fits in with the emerging Magic, who needed shooting and got it here. But there are enough questions about the other end of the court to put Orlando here for now.
24
Charlotte Horrnets (C+)
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Tidjane Salaun (6), KJ Simpson (42)
OK, so maybe they should have traded down. Or Salaun will develop into being worth this spot. Simpson is a sleeper. But there’s risk here!
23
Detroit Pistons (B-)
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Ron Holland (5), Bobi Klintman (37)
Sigh. I have gone back and forth here. It’s possible to like the pick and player in Holland and then wonder if his shooting problems on a team that has them will be an issue.
Ultimately, the Pistons swung for the fences here and I don’t hate it. But I worry.
22
Cleveland Cavaliers (B-)
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Jaylon Tyson (20)
A fine pick, not a home run, but that’s not what Cleveland needs right now.
21
New York Knicks (B)
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Pacome Dadiet (25), Tyler Kolek (34), Kevin McCullar Jr. (56), Ariel Hukporti (58)
The Knicks are hampered by cap issues, so they had to maneuver and trade and figure out how to get the most out of cheaper players in the second round. And I LOVE their second round picks. The Dadiet choice might be a questionable one, but if he stays in Europe, it might work.
20
New Orleans Pelicans (B)
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Yves Missi (21), Antonio Reeves (47)
Intriguing pick there with Missi as the young center they need.
19
Phoenix Suns (B)
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Ryan Dunn (28), Oso Ighodaro (40)
They needed defense, they got it. The Suns are kind of a mess, so we’ll see if all that pans out.
18
Denver Nuggets (B)
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Da’Ron Holmes (22)
I love the fit for the backup-big-man starved Nuggets and think this pick could be a steal.
17
Boston Celtics (B)
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Baylor Scheierman (30), Anton Watson (54)
Just the Celtics doing Celtics things and getting another shooter.
16
Los Angeles Clippers (B+)
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Cam Christie (46)
A great second-round pick!
15
Memphis Grizzlies (B+)
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Zach Edey (9), Jaylen Wells (39), Cam Spencer (53)
It all depends on how you feel about Edey. Was he a reach here? Will he fit into the modern NBA? I’m leaning toward a yes to the latter, but it’s the question that will hang over this franchise.
14
Chicago Bulls (B+)
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Matas Buzelis (11)
Love the story of taking the Chicago native, but also there was some top-10 buzz on him that could mean he’s a big sleeper pick.
13
Sacramento Kings (B+)
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Devin Carter (13)
So long Davion Mitchell (via trade), hello Devin Carter. Great pick.
12
Oklahoma City Thunder (B+)
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Nikola Topic (12), Dillon Jones (26), Ajay Mitchell (38)
The Thunder continue to do the right things, this time taking the injured Topic and presumably letting him sit for a year as they contend. The other two picks were solid.
11
Indiana Pacers (B+)
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Johnny Furphy (35), Tristen Newton (49), Enrique Freeman (50)
Furphy seems like a possible steal.
10
Minnesota Timberwolves (B+)
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Rob Dillingham (8), Terrence Shannon Jr. (27)
The biggest move of the two nights (besides that Bronny James selection, more on that in a minute) was the trade the T-Wolves made with the San Antonio Spurs to get Dillingham, who could slot in right away into the rotation alongside Anthony Edwards. It’ll be risky in, uh, 2031, but the contenders are more worried about now, and therefore this could be a smart move.
9
Atlanta Hawks (B+)
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Zaccharie Risacher (1), Nikola Djurisic (43)
Maybe passing up on Alex Sarr will haunt them someday, but Risacher has had No. 1 buzz for a little while. So, good job.
8
Utah Jazz (A-)
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Cody Williams (10), Kyle Filipowski (32)
Two upside picks with some value. Can’t ask for better than that when rebuilding.
7
Toronto Raptors (A-)
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Ja’Kobe Walter (19), Jonathan Mogbo (31), Jamal Shead (45), Ulrich Chomche (57)
Say it with me: “Value! Value! Value!”
6
Philadelphia 76ers (A-)
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Jared McCain (16), Adem Bona (41)
Love the McCain pick this much.
5
Portland Trail Blazers (A)
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Donovan Clingan (7)
When you’re a team with too many centers, but you take the one with top-pick upside as you rebuild, you get to this ranking. Good problem to have. I also dig the Deni Avdija trade.
4
San Antonio Spurs (A)
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Stephon Castle (4), Juan Nunez (36), Harrison Ingram (48)
Castle was the right pick there to fit in with Victor Wembanyama and there’s a little sleeper buzz on the other two picks. Trading away Dillingham was probably the right call given where the Spurs are at right now, although in 2031 we could see how much that’s true.
3
Houston Rockets (A+)
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Reed Sheppard (3)
The Rockets needed a shooter. They got arguably best one in the draft. Simple.
2
Los Angeles Lakers (A+)
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Dalton Knecht (17), Bronny James (55)
Let’s talk Knecht for a sec. The lottery talent dropped right in their laps and they scooped him up.
But the headliner is Bronny. Forget about whether he’s talented enough to be an NBA Draft pick right now. This is a move that made LeBron happy. And that’s worth a lot more.
1
Washington Wizards (A+)
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Alex Sarr (2), Bub Carrington (14), Kyshawn George (24)
You could argue that loading up in a weak draft class is a fool’s errand. Or you could look at a team that needs to stock up on as many young talents as possible and realize that getting three players with some buzz around them — including Sarr, who could be better than the guy taken ahead of him — is great.
