The NBA draft is often the highlight of the season for some teams, especially when a franchise altering player declares for the draft. Hindsight is a wonderful thing when it comes to the NBA draft as we can look back and see the mistakes various GMs over the course of any given draft night
Pick 1: Luka Doncic to the Phoenix Suns
Actual pick: Deandre Ayton
Less than 2 full seasons into his NBA career and Luka has made the Suns look like fools already. He is already an MVP calibre player and the fact Phoenix did not want to pair him with Devin Booker is crazy. From the Suns point of view they had a horrible front court rotation and did need an inside scoring presence. To be fair the Ayton, he has been pretty solid and looks like a lock to average 20-10 for years to come I just don't feel he is or will be on the same level as Luka.
Pick 2: Trae Young to the Sacramento Kings
Actual pick: Marvin Bagley III
Similar to the Suns, the Kings chose a frontcourt player over a potential franchise altering backcourt player. The Kings backcourt was very good in comparison to their frontcourt so I can understand the need for a big, however with the Kings possessing the longest playoff draught in the NBA they should have taken the best player available who was Trae Young. As the famous saying goes, beggars cant be choosers. It's also worth noting Bagley has only started 10/75 games for the Kings.
Pick 3: Deandre Ayton to the Atlanta Hawks
Actual pick: Luka Doncic (traded to the Dallas Mavericks on draft night)
The Hawks had a bit of a mismatch roster entering this draft so I think its fair to say they should take the best available. They had Dennis Schroder at PG who has proved to be a solid player. John Collins was probably their player with the most potential and I think Ayton alongside him would be a great big man tandem on both sides of the ball.
Pick 4: Jaren Jackson Jr to the Memphis Grizzlies
Actual pick: Jaren Jackson Jr
JJJ fall to Memphis at 4 again. The Grizzlies were at the tail-end of the grit'n'grind era and it ultimately did not have too much success, so drafting a player ready to hit the ground running was key. His shooting splits are good and can improve (possibly a dark horse for the 50-40-90 club).
Pick 5: Shai Gilgeous Alexander to the Dallas Mavericks
Actual Pick: Trae Young (Traded to the Atlanta Hawks on draft night)
Similar to Memhpis, Dallas where experiencing an end of an era with their own team. On paper this roster wasn't great, they had some players with potential like Dennis Smith Jr but no one worthy of replacing Dirk. With Shai still left on the board, he would be a great selection for Dallas, someone hungry and keen to learn. So far he has proved great both on and off the ball.
Pick 6: Devonte Graham to the Orlando Magic
Actual pick: Mo Bamba
Looking back now, I do not blame the Magic for not seeing this because truthfully no-one envisioned this breakout season for Graham. The Magic selected Mo Bamba, despite having a pretty good frontcourt rotation of AG, Vucevic, Biyombo, Jon Isaac and Mario Herzonja. Clearly a backcourt player should have been chosen, and Graham would be a great fit here.
Pick 7: Duncan Robinson to the Chicago Bulls
Actual pick: Wendell Carter Jr
It's hard to be that Robinson went undrafted considering his jump to an elite shooter this season. He's shooting a ludicrous .448 from 3 and would fit into any team perfectly. When the Bulls originally drafted Wendell, they had Lauri and Portis as their PF rotation. They really needed someone to ease Zach Lavine's load and Robinson would be perfect for this.