NBA’s future revealed
Draft winners and losers: Edey, Spurs, France come up big
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The first round of the 2024 NBA draft wrapped up late Wednesday night, and though there’s still one more round — comprising 28 selections — left, it’s not too early to break down the implications from the night.
The biggest winner, arguably, wasn’t a team or player or executive, but a country. France has had an unprecedented run of success in getting players drafted in the first round. No team made more selections than the Washington Wizards, who came into the night with two but aggressively added another in the middle of the round, and now they appear to have infused talent onto a roster that badly needed it.
Here are the winners and losers from the first round of the 2024 NBA draft:
WINNERS Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs
The No. 4 overall selection was all about the Spurs giving last year’s top overall pick, Victor Wembanyama, help. But taking that one step further, one of the biggest frustrations Spurs fans had last season was watching Wembanyama fighting to get position in the post, or slipping through the paint only for the team’s ball handlers to totally miss Wembanyama — as difficult as it may be to miss a 7-foot-4 player streaking down the floor.
Stephon Castle played both guard positions at UConn, but he’s most comfortable with the ball in his hands, creating for others. He has excellent size for the position at 6-foot-6 and perhaps what will endear him most to coach Gregg Popovich is his effort and willingness to embrace the challenge of defending the other team’s top guard.
Zach Edey
Edey, the two-time college player of the year at Purdue, went from a late first-round pick to fringe lottery pick to
the No. 9 pick by the Memphis Grizzlies. Yes, he still has to prove there’s room for a massive 7-4 big in today’s NBA, but he impressed executives and scouts with his strength, low-post play and ability to pass out of double teams. He also gives Memphis versatility for different styles based on opponent lineups. And he heads into a favorable situation. Before injuries and off-court problems sidelined Ja Morant, the Grizzlies were one of the ascending teams in the West, winning 51 games in 2022-23 and 56 in 2021-22.
UConn
Huskies coach Dan Hurley may have turned down overtures from the Lakers, but his team still had a massive imprint on the draft, in particular early on. Connecticut had two players selected in the lottery for the first time since 2012, when Andre Drummond (ninth) and Jeremy Lamb (12th) were drafted. This time, the Huskies actually had two players picked in the top 10, with Stephon Castle going to the Spurs at No. 4 and Donovan Clingan going to the Trail Blazers at No. 7.
France
Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr went 1-2 in the draft, marking the first time two French players were selected with the first two picks. Tidjane Salaun was drafted sixth, marking the first time three players from a country other than the U.S. were selected in the top 10. New York took another Frenchman, Pacôme Dadiet, at No. 25 in Wednesday’s first round. There’s a French renaissance happening in the NBA right now with rookie of the year Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs and impressive rookie Bilal Coulibaly of the Washington Wizards. This draft marks the third consecutive year that at least four French players were drafted.
Washington Wizards
Washington started the night with two first-round picks — No. 2 and No. 26. But an aggressive front office, led by president Michael Winger and general manager Will Dawkins, made a trade with Portland to get another lottery pick at No. 14. The Wizards selected Alex Sarr second, Carlton “Bub” Carrington 14th and Miami’s Kyshawn George at No. 24 after a minor trade with the New York Knicks. Now, the Wizards need those picks to work, but it’s clear the Wizards spent considerable time investing in this draft as part of the franchie’s major rebuilding effort.
LOSERS Brooklyn Nets
The first round of the draft was at the Brooklyn Nets’ Barclays Center, and the Nets did not have a first-round pick. They also don’t have a second-round pick Thursday, however, they could trade into the second round. The Nets traded their 2024 first-round pick to Houston as part of the deal that sent James Harden from Houston to Brooklyn in 2021. That 2024 pick Houston received in the deal ended up being the No. 3 pick, and the Rockets selected Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard.
This isn’t about the selection as much as it’s about roster construction. Former