NBA Draft 2022 – Hits & Misses + ROY Odds

After Golden State wrapped up its fourth NBA title in the last eight years, the NBA draft was held on June 23 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Each and every year, there are teams that win with the draft and there are some franchises that lose. The 2022 version of the NBA draft was no different. There were a number of hits and one franchise stands out as a miss for now. 

HIT:  DETROIT PISTONS

Last year, the Pistons took Cade Cunningham with a lottery pick. He has proven to be something special and Detroit is looking up after this year’s draft. It had appeared the Pistons lost out when they ended up with the No. 5 pick, but it all worked with Detroit drafting after Sacramento (more on the Kings later). 

Somehow, Purdue point guard Jaden Ivey, who averaged 17.3 points and 4.9 rebounds last season for the Boilermakers, fell to Detroit at No. 5. He will pair with Cunningham to give Detroit one of the best young backcourts in the league. 

Then, the Pistons pulled off a deal that secured the No. 13 pick Jalen Duren. Duren played one year at Memphis where he averaged 12 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game. He is the best post player in the draft and has been compared to Bam Adebayo. At 6-11, he’s bigger and he’s even more athletic. He and Ivey make the Detroit the biggest hit of the 2022 NBA draft.

HIT: ORLANDO MAGIC

Paolo Banchero drafted #1 overall from Duke

The Magic won out by winning the No. 1 overall pick. It was speculated that Auburn F Jabari Smith would go first, but the Magic surprised everyone and took Duke’s Paolo Banchero. At 6-10 and 250 pounds, Banchero is the most NBA-ready of all draft picks. He can do it all which he showed last year with the Blue Devils. Banchero averaged 17.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game. 

Orlando then took Michigan wing Caleb Houstan in Round 2. Houstan is a big (6-8) wing who can shoot from outside. He averaged 10.1 points a game for the Wolverines last season.

HIT: HOUSTON ROCKETS

With Orlando taking Banchero at No. 1, the Rockets scored a hit by taking Smith at No. 3. He’s 6-10, can shoot, plus he’s good defender. The Rockets took Tari Eason, a 6-7 forward who averaged 16.9 points and 6.6 rebounds for LSU last year, with the 17th pick. Houston also worked out a deal for Kentucky guard TyTy Washington, who was picked at No. 29 by Memphis. 

Houston has plenty of young talent including last year’s top pick Jalen Green. The Rockets should feel the positive effects of these last two drafts for the next few years.

MISS: SACRAMENTO KINGS

This has happened before. In 2011, Sacramento drafted prolific shooter Jimmer Fredette. He turned out to be a bust. The pick after Fredette was Klay Thompson. The same thing happened again a year later when the Kings took Thomas Robinson with the No. 5 pick. Robinson was out of the league by 2017. The Kings passed on Damian Lillard who went No. 6 to Portland. 

Keegan Murray of Iowa

It 2018, the Kings took Marvin Bagley III who they just traded last season to Detroit. Bagley was a marginal player who had only started 17 games for the Kings in 2021-22. Sacramento took Bagley with the No. 2 overall pick in 2018. The player that went next ? Luka Doncic.

This year, the Kings passed on a bona fide elite prospect in Ivey. Instead, Sacramento opted for 6-8 Keegan Murray of Iowa. Murray is a solid player and averaged 23.5 points and 8.7 rebounds last year for the Hawkeyes, but he was not considered a top-5 pick in this year’s draft. Time will tell, but it appears the Kings will miss again.

Rookie of the Year Odds for 2022-2023

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