Seth Romsa

The NBA Draft has come and gone and while there were some obvious picks that were made, there were some shocks that led to players dropping late in the process.

The top two picks were obvious by the time the draft started, with Victor Wembanyama and Brandon Miller the projected top two picks for almost months at this point going one and two.

So I started out two for two, not to a lot of people’s surprise.

Then things went downhill.

I don’t know what is going on in Portland, and I don’t think Damian Lillard or the Trail Blazers do either at this point.

While I believe Scoot Henderson is the second best prospect in the draft overall, the fit just isn’t there in the current Trail Blazers team, which already has a strong backcourt duo in Lillard and Anfernee Simons.

This team has to learn to make the difficult decision like the Indiana Pacers, Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards have learned in recent times and potentially just blow up the whole team and start from scratch.

I know Lillard wants to show loyalty, but sometimes you have to learn to move on and seek out a championship elsewhere from an organization that has not shown the ability to build a winning team around you.

I knew both of the Thompson twins would go early, having Ausar going to the Trail Blazers at three and then Amen later to the Magic, but both of them going back to back was a really cool story.

Amen heading to Houston to create a likely athletic duo with Jalen Green could set up the Rockets nicely in the future, while Ausar will likely find a way to rotate into the small forward role for the Detroit Pistons with his strong 3-and-D potential for a young organization with the highest paid coach in league history.

That No. 5 pick was probably my biggest miss, and the late slide of Cam Whitmore was surprising since I had him going top five and he went No. 20. Unfortunately, it typically does happen to a top prospect late in the process and it happened to Whitmore this year.

Anthony Black went one earlier than I felt to the Orlando Magic, but a guard is what I felt like they needed and they got it with the pick at six.

Washington and Indiana swapped picks at seven and eight, with Bilal Coulibaly going to the Wizards as a guy with huge upside due to his length and skill after playing with Wembanyama in France.

In hindsight, not having Jarace Walker going in the lottery was a huge miss by me, as a slightly undersized power forward in Walker may have the chance to shine in a  rebuilding Pacers team.

I had Taylor Hendricks going a few picks earlier to the Pacers, but him going to the Utah Jazz at nine feels right, being a strong 3-and-D candidate for a team that is good at utilizing wings with his skill set (see Joe Ingles’ career in Utah).

Dallas ended up being an under-the-radar winner of the night, getting rid of the horrific Davis Bertans contract and trading back from No. 10.

That means that Cason Wallace from Kentucky heads to Oklahoma City alongside Bertans, with Wallace going a little bit earlier than I anticipated, but again, a backup point guard the Thunder needed alongside Bertans’ shooting will be good additions to the roster despite the contract situation.

Jett Howard was in consideration for me to go in the lottery but I wasn’t certain he would. He has potential for a long career in today’s league and has a good foundation surrounding him in his father Juwan, who had a 19-year career in the NBA and was also his coach at Michigan.

Dereck Lively II being the pick for the Mavericks, who moved back to 12, is a little confusing to me. I understand that they needed help defensively on the interior but I felt as if the team needed more perimeter shooting to surround Luka Doncic and potentially Kyrie Irving if he returns in free agency.

Gradey Dick made a strong first impression for Toronto at 13, already wanting to make friends with Drake after being selected by the Raptors.

After Utah, where I had him going, I felt as if Toronto was his best landing spot as a lengthy guard for a team that appears to value length consistently over the past few years.

Jordan Hawkins, who slipped a little bit for me in the draft, rounded out the lottery after winning the national championship with UConn this past year.

Overall I got two right, the obvious two so not a fantastic showing. Fortunately, I was one or two off on most and was mostly right in picking who would go in the lottery.

Keyonte George at 16 was a slight miss, but not horrible, but the only other major miss was Whitmore at 20, where the Rockets got a potential steal. Also, not having Walker as a selection in the lottery was a dumb move in hindsight.

The biggest steal of the night could have been by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round, getting Emoni Bates, who many considered a top five pick just two years ago before things went wrong in college, causing him to drop.

FREE AGENCY FRIDAY

Free agency is set to kick off this upcoming weekend, beginning at 4 p.m. Mountain Time on Friday.

This offseason has already been in high gear after Bradley Beal was traded to Phoenix and Chris Paul to the Golden State Warriors, after being traded to the Wizards in that deal.

Thankfully the Wizards finally hit reset, also trading Kristaps Porzingis to the Boston Celtics. 

I feel rebuilding will be a good option in years to come. I will be intrigued to see how Jordan Poole works out because I felt like his contract was bad with the Warriors. Him being the focal point in Washington may work out since he won’t be coming off the bench behind two of the greatest shooters of all time.

This year’s free agency has big names that are likely in the latter stages of their careers, which includes Draymond Green, James Harden, Kyrie Irving and Kris Middleton among strong role players.

Green declined his option in Golden State, but the question is who is he more loyal to? The team that drafted him and he won four championships with, or LeBron James?

I feel like the Los Angeles Lakers will heavily favor recruiting Irving to the team over Green, feeling an upgrade over D’Angelo Russell is needed despite the season turning around after trading for Russell.

I think Green will return to the Warriors at a slightly decreased salary, looking for another championship run.

Harden is between two options, go back to Philadelphia and try to win a title with Joel Embiid and new coach Nick Nurse, or go to Houston and help mentor a young Rockets team.

I feel like it’s now or never for Harden, and he needs to return to the 76ers to try and have one last go at a title before potentially returning to Houston to mentor.

Middleton I feel is loyal enough and will return to the Milwaukee Bucks, spending a few more years with Giannis Antetokounmpo and trying to win another title.

If Green leaves then I feel Middleton may be an option for the Warriors to pursue if he feels the need to leave.

Fred VanVleet is another name that will demand attention, and he may return to Toronto but I’m not sure he will return. A sign-and-trade is likely, and he may leave to mentor a young guard or may head to a team like Utah or San Antonio to help a young core improve.

There are tons of notable restricted free agents, and a ton of teams will have decisions to make with young players such as Austin Reeves and Rui Hachimura on the Lakers, and Cameron Johnson on the Brooklyn Nets who can match what is offered but who knows how much another team will offer him and how much they are willing to match.

If Lillard is traded to the Miami Heat I would not be shocked, but again I don’t know what is going on in Portland and I don’t think they know either.

This free agency period may be wild, and I don’t think we’ve scratched the surface yet of what this NBA offseason will become.