The first round of the 2024 NBA Draft has ended (the second round is on Thursday), and there was actually more action leading up to draft prospects hearing their names called on Wednesday. In case you missed it, the New York Knicks have been busy. They did some smart draft work that may have gone under the radar between the Mikal Bridges trade and the re-signing of OG Anunoby.
That said, franchises changed on Wednesday and so did many lives. We won’t know the full truth about this night for some time, but we can make some educated guesses about how it might unfold over time. With the caveat that it could all look very different with the benefit of hindsight and with the information available to us, here are some first-round NBA draft winners and losers.
Despite all the talk about whether or not the Lakers would take Bronny James at No. 17, they had no idea that SEC Player of the Year Dalton Knecht, who was universally projected to go in the top 10. Will fall so low. But he did it. And the Lakers, who needed to address their shooting for basically the entire tenure of LeBron James, ended up with perhaps the best shooter in the draft.
CBS Sports Analysis…
This is a total no-brainer who I would have taken in the top seven. Big time scorer, big time shot-maker. He’s not just a shooter, but he can run off screens and be the primary domino and unlock the playbook. I like the coach-player fit for JJ Redick, who is a shooter himself, because Redick will know how to utilize him. Grade: A+
Loser: Dalton Knecht
It’s a tough decision because in many ways it couldn’t have worked out better for Knecht, who instead of ending up on the Hornets or Blazers, gets a chance to cut his NBA teeth as a potential rotation player for a Lakers team. The sights are set on competing for a title. A rookie shooter taking passes from LeBron James and instruction from JJ Redick, one of the best shooters and off-ball movers in history? it’s a dream.
What isn’t a dream is to potentially lose in the neighborhood of $16 million — the difference in slot salary between the No. 6 overall projection Knecht received in our CBS Sports mocks (he was right in this range in most mocks) and the No. 17 slot where he Landed.
As the No. 17 overall pick, Knecht is expected to make $18.5 million in his first four years in the league. Had he gone No. 6, he would have been in line for more than $34 million. It’s nice to play with LeBron, but give me $16 million. There is no guarantee that any draft pick, no matter where they go, will make it in the NBA. As stated, money on the first round slots is guaranteed during the first three seasons.
Prioritizing money over basketball fit sounds shallow, but it’s not. It’s just life. When you’ve already collected your generational assets, you can prioritize where you play. Till then, you may get a chance to secure the future of yourself and your family. You want to maximize it. This doesn’t mean that anyone should feel sorry for the 23-year-old who made $18 million for himself despite receiving zero scholarship offers out of high school and taking the junior college route, but the simple truth is that She hoped he would do that and make many more. And so did everyone else.
Winner: Knicks
It’s been a great few days for the New York Knicks, who traded for Mikal Bridges on Tuesday and then re-signed OG Anunoby on Wednesday. They also made some smart moves in the draft, trading one of their first-round picks with the Oklahoma City Thunder for five second-round picks and taking Pacom Dadiet with the No. 25 pick.
What’s the big deal in those steps? Well, they’re short on money after signing Anunoby to a five-year, $212 million deal and trading for Bridges, who will soon be in line for a big payday. By trading the first pick for five second-round picks, you don’t have to pay guaranteed slot money to the first-rounder.
Second-round players aren’t guaranteed, and the Knicks can get more creative in how they pay those guys as they close out their books in the coming years. They can sign guys for the minimum, or use the new second-round pick exception (this basically lets teams sign second-round picks to three- or four-year deals without using the mid-tier exception. allows them to sign), or you can give them a two-way contract. In other words, there are much more options for controlling their finances in the future.
Additionally, Dadiet, the 25th pick, is viewed by most as a draft-and-stash player, meaning he will remain in France for a while longer while New York retains his rights but will not have to pay him immediately. Assuming that happens, the Knicks would have to go from building the roster this season and paying two first-round picks to not paying a single first-rounder, thus saving approximately $5.5M. When you’re so close to the Knicks that most people assume they’ll have a second-apron hard cap hit of around $189 million with multiple spots to fill on their roster, pulling that kind of money out of the couch cushions is a big deal. Is .
Winner: Jackery Resacher
If you go No. 1 in the NBA draft, you’re a winner. The researcher benefits from being in this special category; It’s not often that a 3-and-D wing goes first overall. Rishaer wasn’t projected as the unanimous top pick during most mock seasons, but he landed with the Hawks, who could enter a rebuild by the time this offseason ends if they trade Trae Young or Dejounte Murray. , or even both. Oh, by the way, Riesacher has secured himself nearly $57 million in his first four seasons in the league.
CBS Sports Analysis…
It’s solid but unspectacular, but that’s what you expect in this draft. Resacher is a 3-and-D prototype, which is more than you would expect from the No. 1 overall pick, but that’s what you’re getting in this class. The better course of action would have been to trade down, but that option did not seem to be presented to the Hawks. grade B
Winner: French Basketball
A year after French sensation Victor Wembanyama became the No. 1 overall pick to the Spurs, the top pick in 2024 was once again a Frenchman in Jacques Rissacher. Alex Sarr, selected at No. 2 overall, also hails from France, as does Tidjane Salaun, who went to the Hornets at No. 6 overall. These are three of the top six selections for France. not bad.
Memphis apparently had its eyes on Donovan Clingan, and it was also being reported that the Grizzlies were close to a deal to move up from No. 9 to take him. It would have been an incredible stroke of luck for Klingon, who was getting legitimate buzz as the potential No. 1 overall pick, to fall so far and be able to swing back. But they couldn’t seal the deal, and Clingan had to go to Portland, while the Grizzlies had to go with Zach Addey at No. 9. Maybe Ade is really good. I just don’t see it.
Winner: Blazers
If the Grizzlies are losers because of missing out on Clingan, the Blazers, naturally, are winners because of landing him. There was credible talk that the Hawks would take him at No. 1 overall. Getting him at No. 7 is a gift on paper. You never know exactly how this one will work out, but you’ll bet this on a potential defensive anchor who can comfortably serve as a rolling finisher and short-roll playmaker.
Winner: Spurs
Having top-tier perimeter defenders with on-ball force and multi-positional athleticism has become increasingly important in the NBA. If you have a specific rim protector behind them it’s even better. This blueprint helped Boston win a title, and the Timberwolves advanced to the conference finals. San Antonio has Victor Wembanyama as a generational paint protector, and now with the No. 4 pick it gets 6-foot-6 Stephen Cassel, who Jay Bilas has compared to Jrue Holiday for his physical defensive force.
After that, the Spurs traded the rights to their No. 8 pick, Rob Dillingham, to the Timberwolves in exchange for Minnesota’s unprotected 2031 first-round pick and a protected 2030 first-round pick. That doesn’t mean Dillingham won’t prove to be really good (he’s got some serious scoring, but he’s small and will probably never be able to play reliable defense), but for the Spurs, this is a long-term game like- As Wembanyama continues to develop into a superstar, it’s opening up a lot more roster-building options.
If the Spurs become as good as they hope to be with Vembanyama, their own future draft picks will fall even further down the board. So it becomes important to control other teams’ picks who may be better suited to move up in the draft, in order to equip your team with cheap rookie-contract support as the payroll increases around the stars. In short, the whole goal is to stay below the second-apron tax line, where a lot of roster-building avenues go off track.
our sam quinn laid out This is how many picks San Antonio has managed to compile from other teams:
Most teams use draft night to build for the next few years. Spurs, with Victor Wembanyama, are taking the very long view. Over the past few years, they have slowly built up a deep war chest of draft picks for the future. 2028 pick swap with the Celtics. 2030 swap with Dallas. Now, another 2030 swap as well as an unprotected pick in 2031 from the Timberwolves. Throw in the 2025 and 2027 picks that the Spurs have from Atlanta, the 2026 swap the Hawks owe and the protected pick finally coming from Chicago, thanks to DeMar DeRozan. With the trade and suddenly, the Spurs are set to control at least one of another team’s first-round picks in every draft from now through 2031 with the exception of 2029.
You may be wondering: How valuable could the Wolves’ 2030 and/or 2031 picks be, given how good of a team they have? Well, it’s been more than half a decade now. In fact, it may make more sense to bet on good teams five or six years from now than to bet on bad teams still being bad. Maintaining excellence in the NBA is extremely difficult. The more you bet on other teams’ picks, the better the chances of some of them striking gold. Spurs are putting more and more chips on the table.
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