NBA Draft: The Top 3 Biggest Losers of the 2022 NBA Draft
NBA Draft: The Top 3 Biggest Losers of the 2022 NBA Draft
I will be sharing my opinions on the three biggest losers of this draft after giving my biggest winners yesterday. Keep in mind that I am just one person and my point of view holds no real weight so take everything you read with a grain of salt. Although I do well as a gambler, that doesn’t make me qualified to question NBA GM’s. With that being said, I think the idea of doing that is fun so here I am critiquing these people who are much more qualified them me, lets do this!
Top 3 Biggest Losers of the 2022 NBA Draft
New York Knicks
The Knicks didn’t exclusively make bad moves but overall they could have done much better than they did. The Knicks were one of the most active teams in the draft but that doesn’t directly translate into doing well.
They originally wanted to trade up to grab either Jaden Ivey or Shardon Sharpe, either would have been a homerun assuming they traded up for equal value. No one budged so they were stuck with the 11th pick, and they selected Ousmane Dieng until they didn’t. I thought the pick was fine, probably a B- pick but it turns out they were flipping him to OKC for 3 protected OKC picks. Although all of those picks could be late-round picks I didn’t entirely hate the move the way most people did.
Then reports came out that the Knicks traded up for Jalen Duran at pick #13, I loved this for them. Mitchell Robinson is often injured and Duran has the potential upside of being a Bam Adebayo type of guy one day if everything pans out. Then the news came out that the Knicks were attaching him and Kemba Walker to Detroit for a 2025 Milwaukee Bucks pick. Trading pick #13 and $9 million of bad money in Kemba for a pick likely between 25-30 in three years. If there was an elite free agent with mutual interest I would completely understand shedding the salary but the Knicks are reportedly freeing this money to offer Jalen Brunson over 25 million a season. That feels like an overpay even with Brunson's stellar postseason. Not to mention, there’s no guarantee they even get him.
The Knicks also selected Trevor Keels who I’m indifferent about. It seems like his max ceiling is a solid bench player. The Knicks could have just taken Dieng or Duran and had a C+ to B- draft but they are freeing up money for a player who won’t live up to it and barely improved the young talent on the team as other teams got much better. Simply not the best draft for Leon Rose.
Sacramento Kings
I am not going to sit here and slander Keegan Murray like he’s some bum. I actually believe he will have a solid career and compares very similarly to Tobias Harris. What I will say is that if the Kings knew that Ivey didn’t want to play there or knew that other teams wanted to trade up for Ivey why wouldn’t you take full advantage of that? This front makes me mad and I’m not even a fan of the team. I can’t speculate on what was offered to move up to #4 but I can say for a fact I promise it’s better than just standing pat and selecting Keegan Murray.
These same numbskulls are the ones who traded away Tyrese Haliburton, makes me sick. There was definitely a world where they trade back and get another great lottery talent while stockpiling other picks. Ivey had so much value to so many other teams. They could have used what they received in a trade back and traded back up and potentially still could have gotten Murray but with additional assets. But the Kings did what they always do, beat themselves.
The Kings also traded away the rights to Jaden Hardy away who is the exact type of high-risk/high-reward talent they could have used. The Kings have the longest playoff drought in the NBA for a reason, the team lacks aggressiveness and when they choose to be daring they get fleeced. Sorry Kings fans, it’s not looking great for y’all.
LeBron James
I’m one of those people who hate when people bring up Lebron in every NBA discussion but this is a real top loser of the draft. The Lakers don’t have the draft capital to swing for any help for LeBron. Although Russell Westbrook is massively overpaid he actually has a contract that you could move if you attach a pick because it is expiring. If the Lakers were to get off Westbrook's salary we could see LeGM start recruiting players in pursuit of his 5th ring.
The Lakers only move of the draft was drafting Max Christie out of Michigan State. I feel no way about that pick. LeBron isn’t getting any younger and he needs more help than just Anthony Davis. Davis can’t even stay healthy, Westbrook is about as efficient as a white crayon on computer paper, and the rest of the roster doesn’t mesh together well at all. LeBron can’t single-handedly beat the Warriors or Suns with this supporting cast at this age.
I could have named a team like the Nuggets who I think reached on some guys but I wanted to address that LeBron is a secret loser here in all the mix as many teams get better as the Lakers don’t. LeBron wants to go down as the undisputed GOAT but if he ends his career missing the playoffs routinely or having 1st round eliminations then it will put a damper on peoples outlook on him post-retirement.
Looking for the best sportsbook offers? Check out the free bets page