The first round of the 2024 NBA Draft was completed Wednesday night, an evening full of minor trades and some surprising selections. Here are 10 takeaways from draft night.
1. NBA has a French connection
Pardon our French, but three of the top six picks in Wednesday’s NBA Draft were teenagers from France, including the top two picks. The Hawks took Zaccharie Risacher at No. 1, the Wizards took Alexandre Sarr at No. 2 and the Hornets took Tidjane Salaun with the sixth pick. Later, the Knicks drafted Pacome Dadiet, setting up an inevitable “WHO’S YOUR DADIET?” headline in a future edition of the New York Post.
No foreign country rivals France in producing top-level basketball talents. Rudy Gobert won Defensive Player of the Year, 2023 No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama was Rookie of the Year and Les Bleus have home court advantage in Olympic basketball in Paris this summer. In France, the sport is skyrocketing in popularity. Plus, talented French teenagers regularly play against professionals, preparing them for a high level of competition, which they’ll certainly face in the NBA.
2. Grizzlies continue to make questionable picks
After picking Jaren Jackson Jr., Ja Morant and Desmond Bane from 2018-20, the Grizzlies have hit a bad slump when it comes to their draft picks. Since 2020, they’ve used first-round picks to add Ziaire Williams, Jake LaRavia and David Roddy, none of whom have panned out. They hope Zach Edey won’t be added to that list.
Memphis used the No. 9 pick on the two-time Naismith Award winner, who will replace Steven Adams as the Grizzlies go-to giant body/screen-setter inside. Edey is clearly huge, standing 7-foot-4 and weighing in at 290 pounds, but his mobility is a big question. Maybe his offensive rebounds and interior scoring will work, but it seems like an overdraft this high in the lottery.
3. The first round skewed older
While a teenager went No. 1, there were a surprising number of older prospects taken in the first round. Since 2008, there have been 11 players 23 or older picked in the top 20. Two of those players were taken Wednesday night when Dalton Knecht and Tristan da Silva went at No. 17 and No. 18. 23-year-old Baylor Scheierman went to the Celtics at No. 30, while 22-year-olds Devin Carter and Edey also went in Round 1.
Some of that is due to COVID-19’s disruption of college basketball seasons and longer eligibility for NCAA players. But it does seem like teams aren’t shying away from older prospects as much as usual, with five first-round draftees who have been able to legally drink for over a year.
4. The Wizards loaded up
Not only did Washington add their center of the future in Alex Sarr with the No. 2 pick, it picked up two more prospects in the first round. The Wizards got Pittsburgh’s Bub Carrington at No. 14 after trading Deni Avdija to the Blazers, then traded up to No. 24 to add a high-upside project in Kyshawn George. The Wizards also got a 2029 first-rounder from the Blazers on Wednesday.
It’s hard to say how these players will turn out for Washington, though Sarr and Carrington should get plenty of playing time on a sparse Wizards roster. But for a team that needs help at every position on the court, the Wizards did well to get a variety pack of prospects.
5. T-Wolves got a steal
Facing the restrictions of going over the second apron of the luxury tax while many of their reserves are free agents, the Timberwolves managed to trade into the lottery and get Kentucky’s Rob Dillingham at No. 8. After one of the best seasons in franchise history, Minnesota added a dynamic scorer for their bench and an heir to Mike Conley at the point guard position. For a team that’s getting very expensive, Dillingham’s rookie deal provides four very affordable years, and it only cost a pick seven years from now. The T-Wolves also added wing Terrence Shannon at No. 27.
6. Jazz score with two picks
The Utah Jazz are slowly rebuilding after two mega-deals sent Donovan Mitchell and Gobert away two summers ago. They got two intriguing prospects when Colorado’s Cody Williams fell to them at No. 10 and Isaiah Collier from G League Ignite lasted until their pick at No. 29. Williams, the brother of the Thunder’s Jalen Williams, saw his draft stock fall while playing through multiple injuries last season. Point guard Collier was once considered a potential No. 1 pick before a rough year with G League Ignite.
But with All-Star Lauri Markkanen in place and a bevy of picks in reserve, the Jazz want players with star potential, not safe bets. Both guys they got Wednesday are risks, but they also have huge ceilings.
7. We saw why G League Ignite is shutting down
While Ron Holland went to the Pistons at No. 5, the rest of the players from G League Ignite had a bad draft night. Presumably a development vehicle for some of the best young prospects in the game, membership on Ignite mostly hurt its players on draft night. Matas Buzelis fell to No. 11, saved only by his hometown Chicago Bulls picking him up. Collier dropped to the end of the first round, and Tyler Smith wasn’t selected at all.
No wonder the NBA is no longer funding the program, if it can’t produce NBA-ready players.
8. Denver got aggressive again
The Nuggets know that their high-salary core is tough to replace, so for the second year in a row they were aggressive on draft night. Last year, they added three old-ish players between selections 29-37 to restock their bench. This year, they gave the Suns three second-rounders to move up from No. 28 to No. 22 and nab Dayton’s Da’Ron Holmes II, who will turn 22 before the season, to give them another front court option behind Nikola Jokic.
Their title defense ended in a second-round heartbreak, but the Nuggets are sticking to their plan and adding cheap reserves in their early 20’s. Holmes’ shooting and energy should be a welcome addition as Denver hopes the new generation of Nuggets can get them back to the promised land, and was well worth the trade-up price.
9. The Knicks passed on the draft to save money
Look, the Knicks did their important business before the draft, trading for Mikal Bridges and locking up OG Anunoby long-term. When their back-to-back picks came along at Nos. 24 and 25, the Knicks essentially told Adam Silver, “We’re good.”
First they traded down to No. 26, then traded out of No. 26 entirely, turning No. 24 into five second-round picks. At No. 25, they picked Dadiet, who might stay in Europe next season. All in all, the Knicks saved about $5.5M in salary for next year, which could be used on one of their free-agent centers, Isaiah Hartenstein or Precious Achiuwa. Or perhaps after dealing five first-rounders to get Bridges, they’re practicing for not picking in the first round for a while.
10. Ron Holland had the most surprising musical taste
When an 18-year-old NBA prospect talks about his favorite music, he’s usually not discussing an R&B star from the late 1970’s. But that was the case with the Detroit Pistons’ new wing, Ron Holland, who told ESPN’s Monica McNutt that his favorite artist was Teddy Pendergrass.
