Did I miss something, or did Steve Kerr leave Rockets off his draft report card?

Draft report card

By Steve Kerr, Yahoo! Sports
June 29, 2005




More NBA draft:
Winners and losers | Pick-by-pick analysis

Yahoo! Sports' NBA analyst Steve Kerr grades the most important classes of the 2005 draft.




Atlanta Hawks – Marvin Williams is a great talent who might end up being an All-Star, but he didn't even start for his college team last season. It's tough to tell how good he really is. Salim Stoudamire was the best shooter in the draft, but he's not really a point guard, which is what Atlanta desperately needs. The Hawks may have gotten two dynamic offensive players, but will they fit the puzzle?
Grade: B

Boston Celtics – The Celtics were shocked to find high school sensation Gerald Green land in their laps at 18, so they snapped him up. He had been projected to go in the top 10. They also landed Providence forward Ryan Gomes with the 50th pick, and although he is a bit of a tweener, he's a steal at that spot. Gomes can play. It looks like Danny Ainge had his second straight good draft.
Grade: A

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Charlotte Bobcats – On paper, it looks great – Raymond Felton and Sean May, best of friends and teammates at North Carolina – both going to the in-state Bobcats. They're winners and good kids, so I'm leaning towards giving them the thumbs up. But Felton is awfully small at the point, and May has several medical issues and a potential weight problem before his career even begins. We'll see how it all plays out.
Grade: B

Cleveland Cavaliers – New general manager Danny Ferry inherited zero draft picks, yet he ended up trading for Martynas Andriuskevicius, the 7-3 Russian who can shoot the ball from the perimeter and is an active, athletic player. There are questions about his strength and he did not look good in predraft workouts, but this is a great gamble for Cleveland. He might turn into a good player.
Grade: B

Denver Nuggets – The Nuggets needed a shooter, but they took Julius Hodge with the 20th pick. He's an athlete and a nice player, but he doesn't shoot well. Add a couple of European big men to the mix in Linas Kleiza and Axel Hervelle, and it's tough to see what the Nuggets accomplished. Only time will tell, of course.
Grade: C

Golden State Warriors – The Warriors are trying to pattern themselves after Phoenix, with a running style led by a dynamic point guard and a slew of great athletes. Can Ike Diogu be the inside threat to complement the perimeter talent? Monta Ellis is a high school point guard who is very gifted, and Chris Taft is an enigma – a talented big man from Pittsburgh who would have been a lottery pick last season. These guys could all work out for Chris Mullin, but they could all fail, too. No sure things here.
Grade: B

Indiana Pacers – The Pacers somehow landed Danny Granger with the 17th selection after the New Mexico forward slid down in the first round. Granger is ready to step in and play, and he is a versatile forward who can guard the inside or the perimeter and score from anywhere. He is an excellent player who should have gone much earlier.
Grade: A

Los Angeles Lakers – Phil Jackson will be gone before Andrew Bynum – the 10th overall pick – is ready to play in the NBA. Bynum is a high school center who could one day be good, but he's a project. This was the highest selection the Lakers have had in years, and they had a chance to add any one of a number of players who could have helped immediately. The Lakers' second-round picks might be more ready to play – Ronny Turiaf and Von Wafer are talented – but Jackson traditionally doesn't trust rookies. They'll have to wait their turn.
Grade: C

Memphis Grizzlies – Jerry West supposedly wanted out of the draft a week ago. He probably didn't think he'd end up with Hakim Warrick – a freak athlete who was a four-year player at Syracuse and is also an outstanding person. Then, West traded for Seattle's selection of Lawrence Roberts, who would have been a first-round pick a year ago. Another great job by The Logo.
Grade: B

Milwaukee Bucks – Andrew Bogut may not be a franchise player, but at 7-foot and 245 pounds, he has soft hands and is a wonderful passer. At the very minimum, Bogut will be a good NBA center, and those are extremely difficult to come by.
Grade: A

Minnesota Timberwolves – A team that had terrible chemistry issues last season took Rashad McCants with its first pick. He's a great talent, but he has a history of attitude problems. The Wolves passed on several talented players who offered more stability. Minnesota could have used someone like Granger or Francisco Garcia, but the Wolves rolled the dice with McCants. Will it work?
Grade: C

New York Knicks – Isiah Thomas landed three good prospects – Channing Frye, Nate Robinson and David Lee – in the first round. They can all play. But it's what Thomas does from here that will determine the Knicks' future. They need to sort out their roster, find a coach and begin to develop an identity as a team. These three draft picks can help them do that.
Grade: B

Orlando Magic – The Magic desperately needed a shooter and had their pick of several good ones – Antoine Wright, Garcia, McCants or Green. Or they could have gone for an athletic forward like Granger or Warrick. Instead, they took Fran Vasquez, the Spanish big man who may not be ready to play in the league. With Dwight Howard in the mix already, did the Magic need this guy? Then, in the second round, the Magic added Travis Diener, a small point guard who will play behind two other small point guards – Steve Francis and Jameer Nelson. Hmmm.
Grade: D

Portland Trail Blazers – The Blazers traded down from the third spot and ended up with high schooler Martell Webster and Georgia Tech point guard Jarrett Jack. Webster might be good someday, but does Portland need to roll the dice in the beginning of a rebuilding project? And if they traded down because they already had Sebastian Telfair at the point, why did they need Jack?
Grade: C

Seattle SuperSonics – A team that may lose a good chunk of its roster to free agency drafted shrewdly despite not having high picks. Johan Petro is a sleeper who could develop into a good shot blocker and defender. Mickael Gelebale is an intriguing French wing player who is very talented.
Grade: B

Toronto Raptors – Charlie Villanueva was a surprise at No. 7, but there's no arguing that he, Joey Graham and Roko Ukic will help the Raptors soon. This is a team that needed a lot of help, and Toronto got it. Villanueva and Graham are athletic, versatile forwards, and Ukic was considered the fourth-best point guard in the draft.
Grade: B

Utah Jazz – The Jazz traded up to draft Deron Williams, whom they feel will finally be the replacement for John Stockton. Utah has some talent already, but it needed someone to tie it all together. Williams sure looks the guy to do so. In the second round, the Jazz selected high school wing man C.J. Miles, an extremely athletic wing player from Dallas. Miles could still go to college – he signed with Texas and doesn't have an agent – but he could also go to the NBDL and develop into a very good player.
Grade: A


Steve Kerr is Yahoo! Sports' NBA analyst. Send him a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.