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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.
Vaughn is a gunner who can score from anywhere but still needs to hone his skills and how to best use them. The Bucks have a glut of bodies at the wing already so the 18-year-old will be given plenty of time to develop. I liked the move they made with their second-round pick, swapping UCLA's Norman Powell for Toronto's backup point Greivis Vasquez. Milwaukee needed a steadying hand to back there incumbents Michael Carter-Williams, Jerryd Bayless and Tyler Ennis hardly inspiring confidence. Maybe some size up front would've made more since than Vaughn, but the Bucks seem committed to using the Greak Freak as a stretch four.
Detroit Pistons: B-
8. Stanley Johnson, SF, Arizona (12)
38. Darrun Hilliard II, SG, Villanova (77)
The Pistons have badly needed perimeter help forever and they passed up on Duke's Justise Winslow and Wisconsin's Sam Dekker in favor of Johnson, a high-energy, high-motor player who has a good three-point stroke but is a bit reckless with his shot selection and not overly explosive. Hilliard is of a similar mold. He plays hard, shoots threes well and can guard people, but he shoots poorly from the field and is adequate athletically at best. I can see Stan Van Gundy's thinking here. Detroit's had plenty of springy guys who can't shoot and don't always try. Let's try the opposite.
Chicago Bulls: C+
22. Bobby Portis, PF, Arkansas (18)
Portis looks like decent value as another potential stretch four with a solid developing three-pointer and a good motor, so he makes sense from a "best player left on our board," perspective, but they already have so many bigs as it is, including Nikola Mirotic in the same specific role. They could've used a backup guard.
Indiana Pacers: C+
11. Myles Turner, PF, Texas (11)
43. Joseph Young, SG, Oregon (30)
The Pacers appear ready to move on from David West, who opted out of his deal to enter free agency, and Turner offers them similar tools as someone who can score both in the paint and all over the floor, but it's not going to happen right away for him as a 19-year-old. Apparently there is some concern as to whether his knees can hold up long term, so he decided to come out after his freshman year while the getting was good. Young was good value where he was taken and while he lacks ideal size, he projects to be a dynamic scorer off the bench like an Isaiah Thomas or a Lou Williams. The Pacers needed someone like that.
31. Cedi Osman, SF, Turkey/Macedonia (32)
36. Rakeem Christmas, C, Syracuse (34)
53. Sir'Dominic Pointer, SF, St. Johns (78)
My favorite moment of the draft broadcast was Jalen Rose going on an extend soliloquy about LeBron James' power and how the Cavs drafted Duke point guard Tyus Jones specifically because he reminded Rose of Shabazz Napier, who James angled the Heat to draft last year. Rose makes this grand argument explaining and justifying James' status as the Cavaliers top decision-maker while everyone on basketball Twitter already knows that Jones was traded to Minnesota.
Anyway, in exchange for Jones the Cavs got back Osman, a non-athlete with a spotty jumper who might be a point guard instead of a wing, and Christmas, who might be able to buy Tristan Thompson a few minutes of rest. The ironically surnamed Pointer will probably have trouble scoring in the pros since he can't shoot. The Cavs will have so much money tied up in their stars that they clearly didn't want to tie up cap space with the guaranteed contract a first-rounder commands. We saw similar stuff when James was in Miami with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.