The 9 winners and 5 losers of the 2019 NBA Draft

The 2019 NBA Draft had its surprises, but the top three picks were exactly who we thought they’d be. Zion Williamson, Ja Morant, and R.J. Barrett are likely to define this year’s class when we look back at it, and for good reason. Williamson is set to rebuild the New Orleans Pelicans, who just traded away Anthony Davis. Morant will join Jaren Jackson. Jr. in Memphis, and Barrett will look to build the Knicks a new identity.

But there was so much more to draft night, which featured double-digit number of trades, picks swapping left and right, and a whole lot of surprise selections. After five-plus hours of drafting, here are the winners and losers from the night.

They got Williamson! Duh! They were a winner from the opening five minutes.

The Pels also traded down to unload Solomon Hill’s contract, turning the No. 4 pick from the Anthony Davis trade into Texas’ Jaxson Hayes and Virginia Tech’ Nickeil Alexander-Walker. They’ve given themselves a ton of chances to find a brand new star to replace AD.

The Hawks moved up to select Virginia’s DeAndre Hunter at No. 4, and then took a gamble on Cam Reddish at No. 10. That feels like as good a draft as Hawks fans could’ve hoped. Hunter is a versatile wing who can defend, and if Reddish turns into a fraction of the player we thought he’d be coming into college, the Hawks are stacked with young talent.

The mystery man of the 2019 draft, Reddish has so much talent that he didn’t fully show at Duke. Behind Williamson and Barrett, Reddish was lost and forgotten at times, which scared teams away from drafting him in the top five.

But in Atlanta, he’ll have room to operate. With eyes on Trae Young, Kevin Huerter, John Collins, and Hunter, Reddish won’t be subject to intense scrutiny on any given night. In Atlanta, he can just be himself and grow at his own rate.

The Wolves were able to move up five spots to take a high-upside wing in Jarrett Culver, and it only cost them their No. 11 pick and Dario Saric. That’s a huge win for Minny. Saric struggled after his midseason trade from Philly and was going to become a restricted free agent next season anyway, so he probably wasn’t in their plans. Sacrificing him cleared the way for Culver to play in Year 1.

The Oregon big men fell drastically to pick No. 44, giving him the dubious honor of having the longest wait of any prospect invited to the green room.

But his fit stole the whole damn night. Spider web suits forever.

The top three picks of the night — Williamson, Morant, and Barrett — all knew they were going to the teams they ended up on, but their emotions took over in the moment all the same. These were such amazing glimpses into the hard work these guys have put in and what it all means to them.

After some thought he’d slip to the second round, the UNC senior was taken No. 11 by the Phoenix Suns. The moment is best summed up by his former UNC teammate, Coby White:

The Grizzlies’ pieces are out in front of them now after they added No. 2 pick Morant to a young core that includes last year’s No. 4 pick, Jaren Jackson Jr. The Grizzlies also got a late steal by trading their No. 24 pick and a 2024 second-rounder to move up three spots to draft Gonzaga forward Brandon Clarke. The future is here.

Barrett wanted to play for the Knicks, and the Knicks wanted him back. Barrett had a reason to want play in New York. “My late grandfather, rest in peace, he was the biggest Knicks fan,” he said. “He always told me I’d play for the Knicks. So it would mean a lot for me to play for the team.’’ What a great moment.

In a span of hours, the Suns dealt productive forward T.J. Warren, the No. 6 pick, the No. 32 pick, and a protected 2020 first-round pick from the Bucks. In exchange, they received Aron Baynes, Dario Saric, Cam Johnson, Ty Jerome, and cash.

Baynes is a solid veteran talent for a team looking to compete (which the Suns are not), so he could get bought out. Saric is coming off a crummy year and is due loads of money next season. Johnson was expected to be a late-first round pick at best.

I’m not sure what they were thinking.

Just weeks after Sexton was named to the All-Rookie second team, the Cavs drafted Darius Garland, another point guard, at No. 5 overall. There’s talk the two could play together, but the reality is that Sexton is going to have competition already.

The Wizards reached at No. 9 on Gonzaga Rui Hachimura, a scoring forward who isn’t a skilled defender, which has been a fault of their’s for some time. Then, the Wizards traded back into the second round while taking on the contract of Jonathon Simmons from Philly. Simmons is another player who — you guessed it — doesn’t defend well.

This is what happens when you don’t have a general manager.

Poor Bol Bol. After concerns over the stress fracture in his leg cost him all but nine games of his college career, he fell out of the first round to pick No. 44. No player invited to the draft has ever fallen further.

At least his suit was incredible.

After the Sacramento Kings big man called himself the best rapper in the NBA earlier in the day, he watched Damian Lillard drop a diss track hours into the draft. Bagley dropped his own track, too, but it garnered a fraction of the attention. You hate to see it.