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Winners And Losers From The 2012 NBA Draft

By Jonathan Maness

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It was a typical 2012 NBA Draft with a lot of surprises, some reaches and some picks that just have you scratching your head.

WINNERS

  • PERRY JONES: Jones was an average college basketball player that got by with his sure talented at Baylor. That talent alone had some considering him a lottery pick. However, Jones dropped to Oklahoma City for a couple of reasons injuries and his attitude. He is one of the most talented player’s in the draft, but it won’t matter if he doesn’t improve his work ethic. Enter the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are coming off of an NBA Finals appearance and are the perfect place for an young, talented athlete to succeed – especially behind Kevin Durant. If Jones can’t succeed with the Thunder than he has not shot at making it in the NBA.
  • GOLDEN STATE: The Warriors biggest need was at small forward. Before the draft they were trying to trade for Loul Deng, Andre Igoudala, Rudy Gay and Wilson Chandler. That was before Harrison Barnes dropped right into their laps. Barnes may not be the go-to scorer which many hoped the former Tar Heel would be, but he doesn’t have to be one in Golden State – which already has Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry. He’s a perfect fit for G.S., working off of his teammates and not being forced to be the team’s star. The Warriors also got Draymond Green, who is one of the more versatile players in the draft.
  • HOUSTON: The Rockets were the most active team going into the draft, adding the 18th pick and trading up for the 12th. There were talks that they wanted to move further up in the draft in order to get pieces to trade for Dwight Howard, but that didn’t happen. Instead Houston landed three very talented players in the middle of the first round. Jeremy Lamb in time should be a starting shooting guard in the NBA, Royce White was the most versatile player in the draft and Terrence Jones had to be the most underrated rated player in the draft. Jones was Kentucky’s top on-on-one defender in the post and the squad’s most versatile player. All three players was drafted by the right team.
  • CHARLOTTE: The Bobcats shocked the world last week when they signed Mike Dunlap to be their head coach. They then traded Corey Maggette for sharpshooter Ben Gordon and a 1st round pick. And on Thursday they added two hard working small forwards, Michael Kidd Gilchrist and Jeff Taylor. Kidd Gilchrist has a competitive streak that is matched by few in the game and Taylor is one of the few players in the draft that is ready to play from Day 1.  Both also have potentials to be lockdown defenders in the NBA and both have the drive to win. Charlotte is building something and the only question is how good?
  • KENTUCKY: The Wildcats followed up winning the National Title by having six players drafted on (Anthony Davis, Kidd Gilchrist, Jones, Doron Lamb, Marquis Teague and Darius Miller), including the top two picks in the draft (Davis and Kidd Gilchrist) and four in the first round (Davis, Kidd Gilchrist, Jones and Teague).

LOSERS

  • INDIANA: The Pacers won the award for the WTF Pick. Miles Plumlee was an average college big man at best, who was suppose to sneak into the second round. Instead Indiana drafted Plumlee with the 26th pick. Plumlee has a role in the NBA, but it won’t be much more than a big body with six fouls.
  • THOMAS ROBINSON: Sacramento was the last place any of the top prospects wanted to play. The Kings are threatening to leave Sacramento and the team in it self is dysfunctional. Andre Drummond was the only top prospect that was willing to workout for the Kings.
  • PHOENIX: The Suns are in a tough spot. Their best player is a free agent and their chances of re-signing him seem sleem. And they just got slimmer after Phoenix selected  his replacement Kendall Marshall. It seems the Suns are fine with letting Steve Nash go. If so, it will be a long season for the Suns, especially with the lack of talent surrounding Marshall.
  • MIAMI: The NBA Champions had one of the top prospects, Arnett Moultrie, fall right into the their laps. A big man that would have worked great for this scheme and would have been cheap. However, instead of taking advantage of Moultrie, they traded him to the Sixers. No doubt, Miami is strapped for cash but players like Moultrie don’t usually drop this late in the draft.
  • TYLER ZELLER: It’s not always a bad thing to fall in the draft, especially to the right team. And it seemed like that was the case for Zeller when he was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks. Zeller could have beem a quality big man playing next to Dirk Nowitzki. However, the Mavericks traded Zeller to the Cleveland Cavaliers, a team that is still trying to find its identity. Zeller’s job just got a little tougher as Cleveland tries to work their way back into a playoff team. The Cavs also reached on Dion Waiters, who may or may not pan out in the NBA.
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