Zach Eddy became surprise early NBA draft pick; Blazers, Kings have headaches

BROOKLYN, NY – The first round of the 2024 NBA Draft ended late Wednesday night, and although there is still one more round left – featuring 28 selections – it’s not too early to understand the implications of the night.

Arguably, the biggest winner was not a team or a player or an executive, but a country. France has had unprecedented success selecting players in the first round. No team had more picks than the Washington Wizards, who came into the night with two but aggressively added another in the middle of the round, and now appear to have infused talent into a roster that was sorely lacking in its was required.

Here are the winners and losers of the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft:

Winners

Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs

The No. 4 overall pick was all about the Spurs giving help to last year’s top overall pick, Victor Wembanyama. But taking it a step further, one of the biggest frustrations for Spurs fans last season was watching Wembanyama fight for position in the post, or simply slip through the paint to the team’s ball handlers. Was to be completely missed – as difficult as that may be. Seeing a 7 foot 4 inch player fall through the floor.

Stephen Cassel played both guard positions at UConn, but he is most comfortable with the ball in his hands and setting up for others. He has excellent size for the position at 6 foot 6 inches and perhaps the thing that will endear him to coach Gregg Popovich most is his effort and willingness to accept the challenge of guarding the other team’s top guard.

zack eddy

Eddy, a two-time college player of the year at Purdue, went from a late first-round pick to a fringe lottery pick to the No. 9 pick by the Memphis Grizzlies. Yes, he still has to prove there’s room for a mammoth 7-4 in today’s NBA, but he impressed executives and scouts with his strength, low-post play and ability to overcome double teams. He also gives Memphis the versatility to play different styles depending on the opponent’s lineup. And he moves towards a favorable situation. Before injuries and off-court problems sidelined Ja Morant, the Grizzlies were one of the rising teams in the West, winning 51 games in 2022-23 and 56 games in 2021-22.

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Yukon

Huskies coach Dan Hurley may have turned down an offer from the Lakers, but his team still made a big impression on the draft, especially early on. Connecticut had two players selected in the lottery for the first time since 2012, when Andre Drummond (ninth) and Jeremy Lamb (12th) were drafted. This time, the Huskies actually had two players selected in the top 10, with Stephen Cassel going to the Spurs at No. 4 and Donovan Clingan going to the Trail Blazers at No. 7.

France

Zackary Rissacher and Alex Sarr went 1–2 in the draft, marking the first time that two French players were selected with the first two selections. Tidjane Salaun was selected sixth, marking the first time that three players from a country other than the United States were selected in the top 10. New York took another Frenchman, Pacom Dadiet, at No. 25 in Wednesday’s first round. There is a French renaissance happening in the NBA at the moment, including rookie of the year Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs and impressive rookie Bilal Koulibaly of the Washington Wizards. This draft marks the third consecutive year that at least four French players have been drafted.

washington wizards

Washington started the night with two first-round picks – No. 2 and No. 26. But an aggressive front office led by president Michael Winger and general manager Will Dawkins traded with Portland to get another lottery pick at No. 14. The Wizards selected Alex Sars 2nd, Carlton “Bub” Carrington 14th and Miami’s Keyshawn George 24th after a minor trade with the New York Knicks. Now, the Wizards need those picks to work, but it’s clear the Wizards have spent a lot of time investing in this draft as part of a major rebuilding effort for the franchise.

lost

Brooklyn Nets

The first round of the draft was at the Brooklyn Nets’ Barclays Center, and the Nets did not have a first-round selection. They also don’t have a second-round pick on Thursday, however, so they could trade up in the second round. The Nets traded their 2024 first-round pick to Houston as part of the deal that sent James Harden from Houston to Brooklyn in 2021. The 2024 pick Houston received in the deal became the No. 3 pick, and the Rockets selected Kentucky guard Reed Shepard.

g league ignite

The G League Ignite had two players selected in the lottery (Ron Holland at No. 5 and Matías Buzelis at No. 11) and last season, the Ignite’s Scooter Henderson went at No. 3. However, the 2023–24 season was the last season for Ignite which served as a place for players who were not interested in college or playing internationally to develop and earn money. However, NIL rules changed the college landscape and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver decided to shut down Ignite. Silver said, “With Team Ignite we have now reached the point where frankly we felt it made no sense to compete against these top college programs, which in many cases have better facilities, top-tier coaching, There are charter planes and so on.” At the start of the NBA Finals on June 6.

Lots of bigs for the Portland Trail Blazers

It’s not about selection as much as it is about roster construction. Former UConn center Donovan Clingan should be an immediate rim protector, and all indications are that his offensive game should continue to improve at the next level. He stands 7 feet 2 inches and 282 pounds and averaged 2.5 blocks in his two seasons with the Huskies, both of which resulted in national championships. The issue is that Portland is set to acquire another 7-footer, Deandre Ayton, for approximately $70 million over the next two seasons, according to Spotrac.com.

While Ayton’s offensive game is more sophisticated than Klingon’s, at least at this level, their play styles are nearly identical, making the Klingon selection almost meaningless. Also, as NBA teams are turning to speed and athleticism to increase speed in the name of scoring, having two big players like Clingan and Ayton could make the Blazers’ offense a little more deliberate and difficult.

Lots of guards for the Sacramento Kings

Like the note about the Blazers above, it’s all about roster construction. Devin Carter could actually end up being one of the better picks of this draft, going No. 13 to the Kings, but that leaves a huge hole in the backcourt. Sacramento has star point guard De’Aaron Fox and shooting guard Kevin Huerter starting, with Sixth Man of the Year runner-up Malik Monk, Keon Ellis and Davion Mitchell all on the bench.

After Huerter (shoulder) and Monk (right knee) were sidelined with injuries, Ellis stepped into the starting role and performed well. The odd one out appears to be Huerter, who is under contract for approximately $35 million over the next two seasons, according to Spotrac.com. Now, Kings general manager Monte McNair has a job to do. Still, the most likely outcome is that one or more of these talented guards will waste away on the bench, barring injuries.

winners and losers

Dalton Connacht

Tennessee shooting guard Dalton Knecht was a projected lottery pick – even in the top 10 in some mock drafts – but fell to No. 17. He also “fell into” a good situation with the Los Angeles Lakers. He gets a chance to play with LeBron James and Anthony Davis and with new Lakers coach JJ Redick, who embraces the modern NBA and 3-point shooting. This will work well for Knecht.