Draft Critique: Eastern Conference

This is the first part of a three-part review of the NBA Draft. The Western Conference review, as well as a few extraneous thoughts, will be posted later today. For now, here's my rundown of each team in the East and a grade on what they did last night. Note that the Magic did not have a draft pick, so they do not receive a grade.

THEY GET AN "A"

Detroit Pistons (A-): Detroit ended up with three first-round quality guys. Austin Daye gives them security for Tayshaun Prince, DaJuan Summers has a unique skill set that creates mismatches at both the 3 and 4, and Chase Budinger has drawn Brent Barry comparisons for his shooting form. Taking Ty Lawson, Darren Collison, or Eric Maynor at #15 to give them a true point guard would bring this to the A+ range, but it's still a nice group of picks for a team that really needed a good draft.

THEY GET A "B"

Atlanta Hawks (B+): Jeff Teague was a tremendous pick at #19. He has insane speed and does everything else pretty well right off the bat. Their second round pick, Sergiy Gladyr, was a bit of a curveball that some (self included) know nothing about, but Teague should be the point-guard presence they've lacked for a while.

Charlotte Bobcats (B): They had three picks, and Jordan and Company brought in three safe players. Gerald Henderson is a versatile player who will be solid on both ends of the floor, Derrick Brown was a good pick in the second round (even if he's a little undersized for a PF), and Robert Vaden slid a pretty long way, as ESPN had him projected as a late-first, early-second guy. Charlotte got close to the playoffs last year, and this could conceivably put them over the hump in 09-10.

New Jersey Nets (B): They only had one pick, but they made it count, taking Louisville's Terrence Williams. I like Williams; he was a superb all-around talent in college, and they can probably move him to the 3-spot if need be to complement Brook Lopez. Earl Clark may have been a better fit for the team, but Nets fans can certainly live with what they brought in.

Boston Celtics (B-): They get bumped down a few notches for not making deals to try and move up for picks that could be used to replace any one of the players they're shopping. However, Lester Hudson was a really nice find in the late-second round. Try these per-game numbers on for size: 27.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 88% FT shooting. Small college, yes (Tennessee Martin), but if you're a fan of Stephen Curry and Patrick Mills, you have to like Hudson as well.

Indiana Pacers (B-): Indiana reached a bit for Tyler Hansbrough, but got even by stealing AJ Price in the second round. #13's a bit early to be taking a role player, but who else were they going to take at that spot in terms of filling needs? Price, meanwhile, helped lead UConn to their usual deep run in the Big Dance, and could be a surprise at the next level.

Chicago Bulls (B-): They went big with their two picks, taking James Johnson at #16 and Taj Gibson at #26. I like Gibson as a developmental prospect, as he was lost in the shadow of DeRozan at USC despite averaging 14 points and 9 rebounds a game. Johnson, though, is a tweener, and did they really need another semi-awkward forward when they already had one in Joakim Noah?

Miami Heat (B-): They did well with the two mid-to-late second-round picks they had. Marcus Thornton put up big numbers for LSU, and Robert Dozier was a nice find with the draft's final pick. There are question marks (the SEC stunk the last two years, and Dozier is very raw despite his impressive 6'9" size at SF), but the two picks they made were of the low-risk, high-reward variety, and at that stage of the draft, I can't knock them too much for that.

THEY GET A "C"

New York Knicks (C+): Part of this grade is simply due to bad timing. They desperately wanted Stephen Curry, but he was taken one pick before they went on the clock. Instead, they got Jordan Hill, and while it's not an earth-shaking selection, Hill gives them sorely-needed depth in the frontcourt. He's a bit of a project, but he should have some time to develop.

Milwaukee Bucks (C+): The humor of Brandon Jennings showing up late is something that will be touched upon later. As crazy as he can be, he's a good pick that has some professional experience under his belt already. Their second-rounder, Jodie Meeks, is also talented, but why would they take a one-dimensional scorer when he'll be playing behind a BETTER one-dimensional scorer in Michael Redd?

Cleveland Cavaliers (C+): Any picks they made were going to be shadowed by the Shaq trade. In the case of Christian Eyenga, who some international scouts didn't have getting drafted and who Cleveland used their first-rounder on, that's a good thing. However, don't overlook their second-round swipe of Danny Green, who was a key player in UNC's national title team this year.

Philadelphia 76ers (C): Their one pick was at #17, where they ended Jrue Holliday's free-fall. I never saw a stud in Holliday. His stats weren't great at UCLA, and he entered the draft in a year where the position he played at was the only one filled with talent that may have made the first round in any other draft. He has a good ceiling, yeah, but I don't think he gives the Sixers anything more than what they had last year.

Toronto Raptors (C): Curry going to Golden State shook up the rest of the lottery, as Hill was probably tops on Toronto's list. They ended up with USC's Demar DeRozan, and I'm not crazy about it. He's a bit of a boom-or-bust guy, and while he came on strong at the end of the season, I don't see what makes him better than guys like Terrance Williams and Gerald Henderson.

THEY GET A "D"

Washington Wizards (D): Their trading of the fifth pick for a decent sixth man and an overrated guard was one of the worst NBA deals in recent memory. They needed to rebuild, and an array of talented guards were going to be available (Rubio, Curry, and Flynn, just to name three). They did pick up a good scorer in the second round (Central Florida's Jermaine Taylor), and that saves the draft from being a complete failure for them, but it remains to be seen if the rest of his game will translate to the NBA level.

THEY GET AN "F"

None, surprisingly.