NBA Draft 2014: Andrew Wiggins goes No. 1 to Cavs, Joel Embiid to 76ers

The problem is the implication of drafting two lottery picks who won’t help a 19-win team next season. The Sixers will get Noel, and Hinkie did trade a second-rounder for exciting young guard Pierre Jackson. And there’s the possibility of Hinkie messing around in free agency and the trade market; heaven knows he has assets to deal. But right now, in June, it’s abundantly clear that the Sixers have great odds of being totally horrible again. There’s a really good chance that Philly won’t hit 20 wins again, that the Sixers will be back in the top three for the Jahlil Okafor derby a year from now, that the Sixers aren’t a year or two from being interesting to actually watch, but are more like three or four years away.

Hinkie is flirting with that zone on purpose, to strategically build a powerhouse. It’s brilliant in a selfish way, because by deferring expectations years down the road, he avoids criticism for a lack of performance now. You can’t kill him for the Sixers being awful when he’s made the Sixers as awful as possible on purpose. He’s pursued the most naked, arguably myopic form of rebuilding possible. He’s owned it completely. Because of that, because it’s so obvious and out in the open, it’s hard to criticize.

Xavier point guard Semaj Christon was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the No. 55 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. The pick comes via a trade from the Miami Heat.

Christon averaged The 6’3 Christon averaged 17 points per game on 47.9 percent shooting for Xavier last season as a sophomore. Though Christon isn’t known as a great shooter, he did make 38.8 percent of his 1.4 attempts per game from three-point range. He’s an athletic lead guard who likes to attack the basket.

The 20-year-old helped his NBA stock in the last two years by helping his national team take second place to the United States in the 2013 Under-19 basketball tournament. That performance earned him a spot on the national squad, where he played backup point guard in last summer’s EuroBasket tournament.

Micic has continued to grow in the Adriatic league, where he averaged 12.1 points and 5.8 assists per game this past season. With excellent vision, the 6’6 point guard sees over defenses and can make simple plays to pile up assists.

A rugged big man from New Mexico, Bairstow averaged over 20 points and seven rebounds a game as a senior after not putting up big numbers in his first three seasons. He has the rare combination of strong post play and a good jump shot, making him an intriguing prospect. But he took so long to develop that he was mostly off the radar as an NBA prospect until this season, when he exploded.

Chicago may not keep Bairstow or ask him to go overseas, since they need to preserve all the cap space it can to lure Carmelo Anthony or Kevin Love to Chicago. However, if he stays, he could help provide some depth to a Bulls frontcourt that is currently very thin behind Joakim Noah.

As the 48th overall pick, Patterson joins Adreian Payne and Walter Tavares as Hawks rookies. He put up 17.1 points per game for the Panthers to lead them in their first season in the ACC.

More to come.

The Wizards reportedly sold the pick to the Lakers despite not having another pick in this draft.

Clarkson should be able to help the Lakers, who are light on depth and took a forward, Julius Randle, in the lottery. Clarkson, 22, is one of the older players in the draft after three seasons in Columbia. He averaged 17.1 points and 3.4 assists per game for the Wildcats. His strengths are his athleticism and size, and he fits a type that Mitch Kupchak certainly has liked in the past.

Powell joins Noah Vonleh and PJ Hairston as Charlotte’s 2014 selections. He led the Cardinal to the Sweet 16 last season as the team’s second-leading scorer and rebounder, while leading the team in assists with 3.2 per game.

More to come.

Johnson was at times one of the best players on a talented Arizona team that also included lottery pick Aaron Gordon. The Pac-12 Player of the Year averaged 16.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game in his junior season.

At 6’3 in shoes and 198 pounds, Johnson mostly played off the ball with the Wildcats, but he also played backup point guard and initiated the offense at times. Though his physical build puts him at point guard, Johnson developed an above-average jump shot and hit 36.7 percent of his three-pointers in 2013-14. Johnson is a freak of an athlete and with his strength could potentially play as an undersized shooting guard.

More to come.

Grant spent two years learning under Jim Boeheim but didn’t become a household name until this past season, when he tripled his scoring and doubled his minutes per game to average 12.1 points and 6.8 rebounds a game.

The 6’8, 214 pound forward played well off fellow NBA draftee Tyler Ennis and especially worked well rolling to the rim for Syracuse. Grant is an aggressive face-up forward who has a 7’2.25 wingspan that allows him to finish at the basket -- it helps that he’s a player who went to the foul line often. Yet his NBA niche remains to be seen as a wing player who doesn’t have many perimeter skills.

He decided to forgo his senior year, but was inconsistent most of the 2013-14 season and likely wouldn’t have commanded so much draft attention if he hadn’t strung together nine consecutive double-digit scoring games before scoring eight in the title game against Kentucky. At 6’9 and with a 7’2 wingspan, he has potential written all over him.

The most promising part of his game is the jumper. Given Daniels’ length and reasonably good athleticism, his 41.7 percent three-point shooting could be quite a weapon considering how hard it is to contest.

Mission accomplished. Now there’s no way LeBron can leave Miami. It would break Shabazz’s heart and force Riley to Hulk out. LeBron is staying.

Hairston, 21, spent two seasons under Roy Williams at North Carolina. In 2012-13, he averaged 14.7 points per game as a sophomore and shot nearly 40 percent from three-point range. Expected to return for his junior season, Hairston never made it on the court after first being suspended due to NCAA violations and an arrest for possession of marijuana.

After North Carolina refused to reinstate Hairston in the middle of the season, the gunner left school and joined the D-League. He started off well for the Texas Legends but eventually tailed off and hit bouts of inefficiency. Still, Hairston averaged 21.8 points per game while shooting 36 percent from the pro three-point line.

But instead of deciding to leave to become a potential lottery pick after the 2013 postseason, McGary returned. His decision to leave Michigan following his injury-defined sophomore season came after McGary was posed with a one-year suspension following a positive test for marijuana use.

At 6’10 and 266 pounds, McGary projects as a big-bodied energy player and a space-sucker. His ceiling may be limited, but he is in a fortunate position entering a market not over-saturated with physical big men.

That is a Vine depicting the first words out of Zach LaVine’s mouth after he was chosen by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 13th pick in the NBA Draft. It’s not clear what LaVine’s saying, although it does look a lot like the first word begins with the letter F, ends in an “uck”-like sound, and is not very long. It’s the sort of word you can say when you’re happy, and it’s the sort of word you can say when you’re not. It’s a very useful word in that way.

For instance, you could say it with the word “man” after it, and it could express awe at the remarkable way in which your life has changed, and amazement at the sudden eruption into reality of a lifelong dream. You could also say that short, useful word in an exasperated way, with the word “me” after it, and have it mean something like “Sweet, I guess I’ll get really good at shoveling next winter, when I’m living in Minneapolis and playing for the Timberwolves.”

Harris, 20, improved upon a promising freshman season with a stellar sophomore campaign, averaging 16.7 points, four rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. He’s a very fluid perimeter shooter who can also defend multiple positions on the other end. He isn’t a good enough playmaker to serve as a point guard, but he can definitely serve a secondary ball-handling role.

Harris has a very well-rounded game inside and out, but some evaluators wonder whether he has the range to be a consistent threat. His three-point percentage dipped this season as he got a bigger role for the Spartans, but it was still respectable. He also is a tad undersized at 6’4 and isn’t supremely talented at finishing around the rim, but he’s adequate at it. With a more consistent long-range jump shot, Harris could become a great addition.

Ennis is another member of the wave of Canadian talent in this draft. The 6’2 point guard had a solid freshman campaign at Syracuse, manning the point for an Orange squad that started 25-0. Ennis made a name for himself as a clutch performer during the streak, hitting numerous big shots in close games.

On the season, Ennis averaged 12.9 points, 5.5 assists and 3.4 rebounds. He did struggle with his shot at times, shooting just 41.1 percent overall and 35.3 percent from long range. However, his ability to effectively create offense for others while taking care of the ball as a freshman makes his future promising.

Via @gifdsports

It was a touching move noticed by many.