2015 NBA Draft grades: Timberwolves, Lakers get high marks for high picks

Unlike the Eastern Conference, the NBA’s Western Conference annually features a bunch of really good teams jockeying for playoff position. And, thanks to the quirks of the NBA Draft’s lottery system, two Western Conference teams snagged the first two picks for the 2015 NBA Draft.

That didn’t just allow those teams to grab potential superstars at the top of Thursday night’s draft. It set the tone for a night the West’s best teams spent nailing pick after pick. The 2015 NBA Draft grades reflect that performance.

The Wolves might well have gotten A’s all around merely for taking Karl-Anthony Towns, the obvious No. 1 pick and an ideal fit for their young, tantalizing roster. But then Minnesota turned a pair of second-rounders into the steady, steely Tyus Jones, who could be, at minimum, one of the better backup point guards in the NBA behind Ricky Rubio. To reiterate: A franchise once roundly mocked for an addiction to point guards after a draft in which it passed on Stephen Curry twice made a smart play for a backup point guard on Thursday night.

The Wolves’ savvy approach was widely prasied as a result: The Towns pick received an A for both fit and opportunity from SB Nation’s Kevin O’Connor and an A+ from CBS Sports’ Matt Moore. Moore gave the Jones pickup an A, while O’Connor assessed an A for fit and a B for opportunity to the Jones selection. The overall A from ESPN’s Chad Ford is well-backed, as well.

The Lakers doing the simple and obvious thing hasn’t always been the hallmark of a franchise renowned for big swings and bold moves, but taking D’Angelo Russell with the No. 2 pick was simple, obvious, and widely praised. Moore gave it an A+, O’Connor awarded two A’s, and Ford gave the Lakers’ whole draft a B+.

The Russell pick wasn’t L.A.‘s only one, and the Lakers’ selections of Larry Nance Jr. (Moore: C-; O’Connor: B for fit, C for opportunity) and Anthony Brown (Moore: B) weren’t home runs. But Russell could turn out to be the biggest star of this draft, and the Lakers were desperately lacking for stars without the injured Kobe Bryant in 2014-15.

The Kings’ public turmoil over the fate of DeMarcus Cousins threatened to overshadow their draft efforts, but plucking super-defender Willie Cauley-Stein with the No. 6 pick (their only one of the night) proved polarizing enough to reclaim some of the spotlight. Moore gives the pick an A+, saying it should make Cousins happy. But O’Connor is skeptical about whether Cauley-Stein’s level of effort will transfer to a team in flux, and awards a C for fit and a B for opportunity. Ford’s B- sort of splits the difference, and he notes that while Cauley-Stein “has major star potential,” the pick carries great risk, and “will either be brilliant or a disaster.”

Trey Lyles boasts a ton of skill and versatility, but Utah already has a similarly versatile forward in Derrick Favors; that’s most of why Moore gave the Lyles pick a D. But O’Conner handed out an A and a B for Lyles, and both Moore (a B for the pick) and Ford (a B+ overall) like second-rounder Olivier Hanlan.

The Spurs’ two selections were entirely in keeping with what has been their draft philosophy for decades: Nikola Miulatinov is a European-born big with potential who will likely take his time coming to the NBA, while Cady Lalanne is a tall guy who could protect the rim and was probably worth a flier late in the second round.

Hilariously, that still produced a spread of opinions: Moore gave Miulatinov an A+ (“It’s the Spurs”) and Lalanne an F (“Big person is big and will not play in the NBA”), O’Connor gave the Miuatinov pick two A’s while writing, “This was an obvious pick,” and Ford assessed a C, his lowest grade for any Western Conference team, while a) admitting the Spurs are trying to clear cap space for LaMarcus Aldridge and new contracts for Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard and b) calling Miulatinov “a prospect” and Lalanne “a solid choice.”

But, well, they’re the Spurs. These grades don’t matter.

Every team in the West managed to get through the first round without getting an F from Moore (the Celtics didn’t), and no team in the West scored lower than the Spurs’ C in Ford’s eyes. Maybe these teams are just good at this?