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Many professional basketball teams, perhaps even the one you support, drafted players in the hopes of bolstering their rosters the other night. Here are some snap judgments of their efforts from a fellow who watches a handful of college games per year. The numbers in parentheses are where they fell on ESPN.com draft guru Chad Ford's big board. Save those for posterity because he'll probably change them in a year or two.
New York Knicks: A-
4. Kristaps Porzingis, PF, Latvia (4)
19. Jerian Grant, PG, Notre Dame (19)
35. Guillermo Hernangomez, C, Spain (37)
I really don't understand why Knicks fans at the draft booed so vociferously. With the three sure things taken, Porzingis had the highest ceiling of anyone on the board. At bare minimum he'll be Andrea Bargnani, and that guy was taken first overall once upon a time. Hoping for another Dirk might be a bridge too far, but Porzingis should be a match-up nightmare. Trading for Grant, the point with the best combination of size, athleticism, play-making and leadership, and giving up just Tim Hardaway Jr. to get him, seems like a steal. They sent two future second-rounders to Philly for Hernangomez, who was teammates with Porzingis overseas. Hernangomez was linked to the Spurs in several mock drafts and he'll probably stay in Spain for a bit more seasoning. Maybe Phil Jackson has a clue what he's doing after all.
Toronto Raptors: B-
20. Delon Wright, PG, Utah (27)
46. Norman Powell, SG, UCLA (49)
Wright, a 6'6 point who's pretty good at everything but maybe a bit slim and not elite athletically will be groomed to take over for Kyle Lowry. He was someone I was hoping would fall to the Spurs at 26. Wright improved his three-point shot to 35.6 percent in his senior season and figures to play a lot with backup Greivis Vasquez sent to Milwaukee. In exchange the Raptors got Powell's rights and a protected first round pick in 2017. Powell lacks ideal size and he's strictly a raw athlete for now, still working on developing a jumper. Toronto still needs to find perimeter help.
37. Richaun Holmes, PF, Bowling Green (44)
47. Arturas Gudaitis, C, Lithuania (43)
58. J.P. Tokoto, SF, North Carolina (52)
60. Luka Mitrovic, SF, Serbia (60)
The Sixers were thrown for a loop when the Lakers took D'Angelo Russell second overall, I have to think that was the guy they really wanted and it discombobulated GM Sam Hinkie for the rest of the night. Still, they took the best player available, which you can't blame them for. Okafor and Nerlens Noel might very well make for a nice offense/defense combo inside, but you have to wonder if Joel Embiid, who's more of a two-way prospect than either, will ever play for them. Holmes is another redundant raw big with no offensive game, Gudaitis is a draft-and-stash who seems like a stiff and Tokoto is a wing who won't be able to score either. Where will the perimeter points come from with this squad? Mitrovic was a good value pick at 60, someone to take a flyer on if Dario Saric doesn't work out. You have to check out his profile pic, it looks like he's seen a werewolf.
Brooklyn Nets: C-
23. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, SF, Arizona (20)
29. Chris McCullough, PF, Syracuse (29)
39. Juan Pablo Vaulet, SF, Argentina (39)
The Nets traded Mason Plumlee and second-round pick Pat Connaughton to Portland for Hollis-Jefferson and Steve Blake. In a separate deal, they acquired the rights to Vaulet from the Hornets for two future second-round picks. RHJ will give them much-needed speed and energy in transition, but one scout said his shot is "ten times worse" than Tony Allen's, which doesn't even sound possible unless he shoots backward toward his own basket. McCullough, meanwhile should've spent at least one more season in school. He's skinny as a rail, lacks a motor and tore his ACL in January. Vaulet was a huge surprise at 39, perhaps a reach, and I think if he has any integrity at all, he needs to donate 10 percent of his first contract to PtR for discovering him and hyping him up. He might drive and jump like a young Manu, but apparently he can't shoot like him at all.
16. Terry Rozier, PG, Louisville (23)
28. R.J. Hunter, SG, Georgia St. (24)
33. Jordan Mickey, PF, LSU (45)
45. Marcus Thornton, SG, William & Mary (95)
Celtics couldn't package their picks in an enticing enough package to move up in the draft. I hate the Rozier pick for them. He's in the mold of Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart, yet another guy who's got a point guard's body but not a point guard's game. Not a playmaker and not a shooter. Hunter is a good value pick at 28, but a mediocre athlete and a minus defender. Mickey is a 6'7 energy guy trying to bang down low in the pros. My favorite pick of the bunch might be Thornton. He's undersized, but at least he can shoot it.