Journal-World Sports Editor Tom Keegan comments on the first round of the NBA Draft.
First Round
1. Cleveland, Anthony Bennett, F, UNLV
Tom Keegan says: Serious offensive force has star potential. Nice pick.
2. Orlando, Victor Oladipo, g, Indiana
Safe selection. Second is too high to play it safe.
3. Washington, Otto Porter, Jr., f, Georgetown
Solid pick. You don’t pass on Ben McLemore for solid.
4. Charlotte, Cody Zeller, c, Indiana
Love this bold choice. He’s a terrific shooter and runs the floor well.
5. Phoenix, Alex Len, c, Maryland
Two first names, a la Ray Allen, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade.
6. New Orleans, Nerlens Noel, c, Kentucky
Has one first name, his last name. Like Royals, has trouble scoring.
7. Sacramento, Ben McLemore, g, Kansas
Steal of the draft will prove he should have gone first or second.
8. Detroit, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, g, Georgia
Great shooter will enjoy long career as instant-offense reserve.
9. b-Minnesota, Trey Burke, g, Michigan
Aptly named point guard will get most out of his talent.
10. Portland, C.J. McCollum, g, Lehigh
Chasing small-school success of 2012 pick Damian Lillard. McCollum no Lillard.
11. Philadelphia, Michael Carter-Williams, g, Syracuse
He sees all from high vantage point for point guard. Talented.
12. Oklahoma City (from Toronto via Houston), Steven Adams, c, Pittsburgh
Looks like Lurch from Addams family, but no relation. (Different spelling).
13. c-Dallas, Kelly Olynyk, c, Gonzaga
Skilled big man could bring hippie look to Texas. Finally.
14. b-Utah, Shabazz Muhammad, f, UCLA
Marketing department must have insisted on Shabazz to Jazz.
15. Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokunbo, f, Filathlitikos (Greece)
Gesundheit!
16. c,d-Boston, Lucas Riva Nogueira, c, Estudiantes (Spain)
Brazilian a healthier version of Nerlens Noel?
17. Atlanta, Dennis Schroeder, g, New Yorker Phantoms (Germany)
A point guard this long and quick should have gone higher.
18. d-Atlanta (from Houston via Brooklyn), Shane Larkin, g, Miami
High-character guy, low-ceiling basketball player.
19. Cleveland (from L.A. Lakers), Sergey Karasev, f, Triumph (Russia)
Just 19, a great shooter, will fill out. Potential steal.
20. Chicago, Tony Snell, g, New Mexico
Might he be every bit as good as No. 3 pick Otto Porter?
21. b-Utah (from Golden State via Brooklyn), Gorgui Dieng, c, Louisville
Backup centers can make a ton of money in the NBA.
22. Brooklyn, Mason Plumlee, c, New Jersey
Duke players overrated so long they’re now underrated.
23. Indiana, Solomon Hill, f, Arizona
Size more suited to the college game for a power forward.
24. New York, Tim Hardaway, Jr., g, Michigan
Shooter brings plenty of confidence.
25. L.A. Clippers, Reggie Bullock, f, North Carolina
Survived Bill Self pounding scorer’s table, so we know he’s tough enough.
26. e-Minnesota (from Memphis via Houston), Andre Roberson, f, Colorado
First-rounder? Really? OK.
27. f-Denver, Rudy Gobert, c, Cholet (France)
Arms as long as Eiffel Tower. Surprised he lasted this long.
28. San Antonio, Livio Jean-Charles, f, ASVEL (France)
Fran Fraschilla advises French players tend to do well in NBA.
29. g-Oklahoma City, Archie Goodwin, g, Kentucky
Didn’t perform well enough in one year at Kentucky. Bad pick.
30. h-Phoenix (from Miami via L.A. Lakers and Cleveland), Nemanja Nedovic, g, Lietuvos Rytas (Lithuania)
Warriors had greater need for Jeff Withey and should have taken him.
Proposed Trades
a-New Orleans and Philadelphia traded the rights to selected players.
b-Minnesota and Utah traded the rights to selected players.
c-Dallas and Boston traded the rights to selected players.
d-Traded the rights to Dallas for the rights to Lucas Riva Nogueira, c, Estudiantes (Spain). Dallas traded the rights to Atlanta and the second-round (No. 44) selection for Shane Larkin, g, Miami.
e-Traded to Golden State for cash and a future second-round pick.
f-Traded the rights to to Utah for cash and the Jazz’s second-round (No. 46) selection.
g-Traded the rights to Golden State for the rights to Andre Roberson, f, Colorado and a future second-round draft pick.
h-Traded the rights to first-round (No. 30) selection Nemanja Nedovic, g, Lietuvos Rytas (Lithuania) to Oklahoma City for the rights to first-round (No. 29) selection Archie Goodwin, g, Kentucky.
