Sports Illustrated’s Maggie Gray and Chris Mannix discuss the trades from the 2014 NBA draft and what kind of impact they might have.
Gray: Which team helped themselves the most in the NBA?
Mannix: I think a lot of teams helped themselves out this draft. But you have to look at the top of the drafts to teams that got what they kinda needed. I expected all along that Wiggins was going to be the top over-all pick. I thought the Jabari Parker stuff was a smokescreen.
Jabari Parker is the guy that Milwaukee wanted all along and for maybe the first time in basketball history he was the guy that wanted to go to Milwaukee all along. He said after the draft that he wants to be a one-team player for his entire career. He has high scoring potential.
Gray: Let’s look at the trade specifically between Denver and Chicago. Chicago gets Duncan McDermott but Denver gets two picks with Jusuf Nurkic and Gary Harris.
Mannix: I like this trade for both teams. I mean, Chicago and Denver have been talking for the last couple of weeks specifically about this trade that would flip-flop picks. I think McDermott is a great fit for the Bulls. They’re still going to pursue Carmelo Anthony, they’re still going to pursue LeBron James, but as long as McDermott’s coming off the bench, I think he’s going to be very effective. And any coach in the league can hide McDermott’s defensive deficiencies.
Everybody across the league knows that McDermott can score at the MBA level. And for Denver, a team that is not exactly rebuilding but not exactly contending for a championship, they’re going to guide Nurkic. And Gary Harris slid a lot during this draft but I think if he can get his jump shot right, he can be an excellent perimeter defender who can step in and be in the play right away.
Worst kept secret in the NBA was that Miami was after Shabazz Napier and they got their man. We all know that LeBron is a big fan. It was obviously a step towards LeBron. And Miami got a man they needed.
