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NBA Draft 2016: Grades for every team

By Cody Williams

Jun 23, 2016; New York, NY, USA; A general view of a video board displaying all thirty draft picks in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 23, 2016; New York, NY, USA; A general view of a video board displaying all thirty draft picks in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jun 23, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Wade Baldwin IV (Vanderbilt) greets NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number seventeen overall pick to the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 23, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Wade Baldwin IV (Vanderbilt) greets NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number seventeen overall pick to the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

Memphis Grizzlies

Picks: No. 17 Wade Baldwin, No. 31 Deyonta Davis, No. 35 Rade Zagorac, No. 57. Wang Zhelin

It’s certainly also a strange time for the Memphis Grizzlies heading into this offseason as they are facing some major questions about what to do with their roster moving forward. The chief concern for the organization this summer, though, is the free agency of point guard Mike Conley. Conley has been the quiet heartbeat of this team for some time and the Grizzlies are now left in a position where they have to plan for him to maybe leave.

Therefore, I love the selection of Wade Baldwin out of Vanderbilt for Memphis. Many believe that the guard is a lottery-type talent and he slipped slightly passed that. So that the Grizzlies were then able to capitalize on their draft position and get a player of his caliber at No. 17 is a great look. They then got great value once again at No. 31 when they traded up for Deyonta Davis, another potential lottery talent that slipped tremendously. He could be a valuable piece to add depth in the frontcourt.

Sure, No. 57 being used to take Wang Zhelin is curious to say the least, but the first two picks for Memphis and even Rade Zagorac out of Serbia were all really great picks that more than maximized the value of where they were selecting in this draft. In the end, Memphis did a bang up job of doing what they needed to in this draft and you have to applaud them.

Final Grade: B+

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