The first round of the NBA was completed last night, and the top of the draft went as expected. We’ve known for about a month how the first four picks would land, with the consensus that these players could all be future All-Stars and immediately help whichever team they landed on.
To most, the draft truly started at pick five, so I’m here to grade my three winners of the draft outside of the teams who picked in the top four.
Golden State Warriors: Yaxel Lendeborg
Most people believe this iteration of the Warriors might be past their prime; however, if they can stay healthy, they might have found a big man who can help immediately.
I don’t love drafting a 23-year-old in the lottery, but Yaxel Lendeborg is so toolsy that I love the pick. He was one of the best two-way players in the country while helping to lead Michigan to a national title this past year.
He’s a guy who can do a little bit of everything. He defends well, and can float off-ball as a help defender, space the floor where he shot 37.2% this year from three, and even has potential to be a solid playmaker in an offense that has Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler.
Sometimes in a draft, you don’t overthink it, and take the best player available, and I believe that’s what the Warriors did with pick 11 in the draft.
Phoenix Suns: Koa Peat
The third pick in this draft, Cameron Boozer, is an old-school, high-IQ, undersized forward with a massive wingspan that is explosive on the block. He felt like one of the safest picks in the draft, especially with his above-average jump shot. Koa Peat feels like a watered-down Boozer to me.
The Suns desperately need to add some physicality to this team, and while they still didn’t add a ready-to-play center, Peat will bring immediate physicality to the Suns. He hustles, rebounds really well for his position, can guard multiple positions, and can drive and finish at an elite level.
He has a ton of tools despite not having an NBA-level jumper. You can never expect a player to develop a jump shot while in the league, but mechanically, I don’t think it would be impossible for Peat to do so. He has an incredibly high ceiling for the last pick in the draft, and a steal for a team that came into the night without a pick.
Charlotte Hornets: Christian Anderson Jr.
While I don’t love the Hornets’ first pick in Hannes Steinbach, I think their second pick of the night might have been the biggest steal of the evening.
The Hornets developed an identity as a great shooting team last year with Brandon Miller, LaMelo Ball, and Kon Knueppel. Now they’ve added what might be the best shooter in the class in Christian Anderson, making them one of the most dangerous teams to guard on the perimeter.
Charlotte was one of the most fun watches last season, and that got even better with this pick. Anderson has his weaknesses as a scorer, since he struggles to get to the hoop, and he will also be an undersized defender, but the team around him hides those weaknesses very well. He can mostly be a spot-up shooter with the Hornets, and will get a ton of open looks with the guys surrounding him. I expect him to have a long NBA career because shooting will always play in the modern NBA.
