The Detroit Pistons and Jabari Smith Jr. highlight our list of the biggest winners and losers of the 2022 NBA Draft.
The 2022 NBA Draft wasted no time getting to the drama, making this one of the more exciting and unpredictable drafts in recent memory.
Paolo Banchero surprisingly went No. 1 overall to the Orlando Magic after Jabari Smith Jr. had been almost unanimously slotted there throughout the pre-draft process. A total of eight first-round picks were traded and a handful of prospects projected to go safely in the first round fell to the middle of the second.
Who flourished in the chaos and who had a rough night? Here’s a look at the draft’s three biggest winners and three biggest losers.
Winner: Detroit Pistons
The Pistons raised some eyebrows earlier this week when they sent Jerami Grant to Portland for only a 2025 first-round pick.
General manager Troy Weaver then flipped that pick as part of a three-team trade with Charlotte and New York in order to land Jalen Duren, the top-ranked center in the class and projected top-10 pick who the Hornets had drafted at No. 13. This comes after Detroit’s top-rated prospect, Jaden Ivey, fell to them at No. 5 overall.
Ivey’s game, on paper, looks to mesh well with that of last year’s top overall pick, Cade Cunningham. That gives them an extremely promising backcourt to build around. Throw Duren in the frontcourt with Marvin Bagley, with Saddiq Bey on the wing, and the Pistons could contend for a play-in spot.
Detroit is now an intriguing team to watch next season when they really were not praised much coming into the night. Tonight’s success sped up Detroit’s rebuild timeline immensely.
Loser: Jabari Smith Jr.
Smith had been the projected No. 1 pick throughout the entire pre-draft process, from the time Orlando won the lottery up until the start of the draft. But, instead of hearing his name called first, it was called third.
It’s not the worst thing in the world — Smith was still a top-3 pick, will start immediately for the Rockets and play a significant role right away — but that drop will hit him in the wallet.
The rookie salary scale is set by the NBA prior to the season, essentially setting up the amount each first round pick will earn on their rookie deal. According to RealGM, Banchero will earn just under $9.1 million this coming season, while Smith will earn $7.3 million. Over the four-year course of their contracts (assuming both team options are picked up), Banchero will earn over $8.1 million more than Smith.
Smith is going to make a lot of money no matter what — that projected contract is for over $33.1 million — but losing out on $8.1 million certainly hurts!
Winner: West Coast Conference
Knowledgeable college basketball fans have been yelling this for years but the WCC is more than just Gonzaga!
The conference sent three teams to the NCAA Tournament with two winning at least one game, and now had two prospects from two different teams selected in the top 12. Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren went No. 2 overall to Oklahoma City as expected, and then the Thunder selected Santa Clara’s Jalen Williams with the No. 12 pick.
Only the Big Ten (three) had more players selected in the lottery than the WCC. That’s a notable accomplishment that shows there was legitimate talent that NBA teams valued, even further validating a banner year for the league.
Loser: Johnny Davis
This selection has nothing to do with Davis as a player because he has the potential to develop into a really solid two-way player in today’s NBA. However, he’s isn’t headed to a situation that will be conducive to his development.
A lot of this is tied to the uncertain future of Bradley Beal. If he stays with the Wizards — and perhaps even if he doesn’t — Washington’s plan is to play Davis at point guard, which does not suit his game. He had a below average assist rate in college and didn’t consistently create for others. Wisconsin put the ball in Davis’ hands a lot, but that was to create for himself and attack the basket. Often, he took some questionable shots instead of trying to find the open man.
His game is better suited to play off the ball, which is going to come in handy for the Wizards if Beal were to leave. However, being Beal’s replacement would put a lot of expectations on his shoulders. Davis isn’t a great perimeter shooter and needs time to add that to his game. If he’s forced to be “the guy” right away without Beal, I’m not sure he can deliver to the level Washington would need.
It’s a lose-lose situation for him.
Winner: New York Knicks
The Knicks rarely find themselves as winners of any offseason transactions but were extremely active and effective tonight despite not making any picks in the first round!
First, New York dealt the No. 11 pick to Oklahoma City and received three first-round picks in return. They took one of those picks, along with four second-round picks, as part of a three-team deal that allowed them to part with Kemba Walker’s contract, receiving another future first-round pick in return.
In short, the Knicks dealt the No. 11 pick and four second-round picks and got three future first round picks in return while also shedding Walker’s contract.
New York was able to select Trevor Keels in the second round, too, proving immense value with the No. 42 pick considering he was projected to be taken at the end of the first round.
Loser: Charlotte Hornets
Charlotte entered the draft with two main objectives: address its need in the frontcourt by drafting a center and try to offload Gordon Hayward’s contract in a trade.
Few were expecting Jalen Duren — the top center in the class — to be available with the No. 13 pick so, when he was available, the Hornets moved quickly to select him. However, the Hornets quickly flipped him in that trade that sent him to Detroit.
Charlotte still got a starting-caliber big man with the No. 15 pick in Mark Williams, but that feels shallow after potentially having Duren. Plus, as part of the three-team Duren trade, it was New York that offloaded a bad contract (Kemba Walker) instead of Charlotte doing so with Hayward despite the fact they had the key piece of the deal.
The Hornets are so eager to move Hayward’s deal because they need that money to match a pricey offer sheet Miles Bridges is likely to sign in restricted free agency. If Hayward is still on the roster, Charlotte will have to let Bridges walk, losing a key piece of their core and setting their rebuild way back.
Not a good night for Buzz City!