Before we start, let me preface this piece by saying that all 30 players who got picked last night in the first round of the NBA Draft are "winners." Their dreams came true and they all did the work to get here — how can hearing your name called on draft night not be a "win?"
From the viewpoint of the teams, however... there were plenty of losers. Some picks didn't make sense, some trades didn't make sense, some approaches to the night at large didn't make sense.
Winner: San Antonio Spurs
Of course, drafting Dylan Harper already puts San Antonio in the winner's circle, but I love what the team did at No. 14 as well, picking Carter Bryant of Arizona. I'm not sure if Bryant will ever live up to his billing of a 3-and-D force, but I love the pick nonetheless. San Antonio has plenty of young talent, and picking Harper was close to a "sure thing."
Why not balance that out with a pick that could pay massive dividends if developed correctly? Say Carter doesn't work out — Harper almost certainly will, and Wemby, Castle and De'Aaron Fox are all still there. This is a heat check, and a perfect time to let one fly.
Loser: Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets had five picks in the first round... and used them all.
Why?
What's the point of having five rookies on the team at once? There's not nearly enough minutes to go around for all of them, and development is going to be so hard. It's like when there's way too many kids in a school classroom so the teacher can't give everyone adequate attention.
Winner: Charlotte Hornets
My brain almost broke writing the words "winner" and "Charlotte Hornets" in the same sentence, but I love what Charlotte did in the first round. Kon Knueppel at No. 4 will age very well, getting two first-rounders from Phoenix for Mark Williams is a heist and Liam McNeeley at No. 29 is a smart swing.
The Hornets got their guy, added assets and got rid of a player (for great value) who they probably had to part with anyway after they already tried to trade him four months ago. I'm impressed.
Loser: New Orleans Pelicans
This has nothing to do with Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen, the two players NOLA drafted in the lottery. Instead, the Pelicans get the "loser" tag because in order to get Queen, the Pels gave Atlanta an unprotected 2026 first-rounder. Unprotected. To move up 10 spots in this draft.
If New Orleans was a clear-cut Finals contender in 2025-26, this move would make a little more sense. But... it's not. This team's starting backcourt is probably going to be Jordan Poole and Jeremiah Fears (at least until Dejounte Murray returns from injury.) The ceiling for this team is the play-in. The worst that pick is going to be would be around No. 15, and it's not hard at all to envision that pick landing in the top four. Why, why, why would New Orleans make this trade?
Derik Queen could be good! I am all for trading up to get your guy. But the process here is the problem; handing out unprotected picks probably isn't too savvy from a team that misses the playoffs most years.
Winner: Yang Hansen
Yang Gang, we rise!
A projected second-round pick before the night began, Yang was the most stunning selection of the night when Portland snagged him at No. 16. The Blazers don't have a second-round pick in this draft, so they decided to just take Yang, a 7-foot-2 center from China, on the edge of the lottery instead.
Fortune favors the bold, right?
This pick has "Mike Schmitz" written all over it, the Blazers assistant GM who came to the Blazers from DraftExpress. I have a vivid image in my brain of the Blazers front office discussing draft picks at No. 16 like Drake Powell, Nique Clifford, Asa Newell, and then Schmitz busting down the door and breathlessly screaming "YANG HANSEN!"
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NBA news roundup
- The Phoenix Suns entered draft night with no centers, and left with two after drafting Khaman Maluach No. 10 at almost the exact same time they acquired Mark Williams from the Hornets. Can't have too many bigs, right? (You can.)
- There's plenty of talent available after round one of the NBA Draft. Rasheer Fleming, Kam Jones, Maxime Raynaud and more can all make impacts pretty quickly in the league.
- Jaylen Brown and Derrick White are both still on the Celtics. I don't think they were ever really on the trade block, but that didn't stop the rumors from swirling.