NBA Draft 2022: Biggest overall takeaways from draft night

Team Hauls

A few teams had multiple picks inside the top 45, so let’s break down the bigger hauls and how they fit.

San Antonio Spurs

Jeremy Sochan – Pick No. 9

Malaki Branham – Pick No. 20

Blake Wesley – Pick No. 25

By my board, the Spurs are huge winners in this draft nabbing the players I had ranked 9, 12, and 13th. They possess an interesting roster with some solid veterans, and good but not-cornerstone younger guys, meaning they could go a variety of ways with their picks.

Sochan could potentially start from day one with his defensive versatility and ability to play-make out of the short-roll and the dunker spot. His offense is a bit raw right now outside of that, especially the shooting given the indicators for projection weren’t great. But San Antonio is historically a great place to develop as a shooter. I’m not sure if it’ll be in San Antonio, but Sochan is someone I’d bet on being an impactful two-way player down the line.

Branham is a score-first wing, with some interesting upside as a shooter. He needs to bulk up, but he has the ability to be a legitimate three-level scorer. The Spurs have some young-ish wings, but Branham projects to be the best scorer of the bunch and maybe a No. 1 or No. 2 option.

I’ve been high on Wesley all year and think he’s one of the best advantage creators in the class. He is still pretty raw though (he is a poor finisher at the rim, the shot was inconsistent and he’s a bit turnover-prone as the lead guy), but the Spurs won’t ask too much of him from the go. It wouldn’t shock me if he spent time developing in the G-League. If he can continue to develop at the rate he’s on and with the skills he has, then I think Wesley would go way higher in a potential re-draft a few years down the line.

Houston Rockets

Jabari Smith Jr. – Pick No. 3

Tari Eason – Pick No. 17

TyTy Washington – Pick No. 29

The Rockets were already big winners nabbing my No. 1 prospect at pick three. They then doubled down on wing/front-court defense taking Tari Eason at No. 17. He’s a menacing defender, posting good steal and block rates at LSU last year. I worry about some of Eason’s offensive skillset (shooting and attacking with his weak hand), but with the gravity, Jalen Green and Jabari Smith will draw as shooters, it should open up easy driving lanes for Eason.

Smith and Eason are two of the better, versatile defenders in this class and should wreak havoc on that end and lock up big wings and fours for years to come. The Rockets’ best two young players currently (Green and Alperen Sengun) aren’t great defenders, to begin with, so this makes their group more solid on both ends.

They drafted TyTy Washington at No. 29 and while I’m not overly enthusiastic about Washington as a prospect, he was the best guard available. He played a little on and off the ball in his lone year at Kentucky and was good but not great at either. His role can be similar in Houston playing next to Jalen Green.

The Rockets have a somewhat-proven young point guard already in Kevin Porter Jr. and now have two interesting long-term swings in Washington and Daishen Nix. There’s a chance one of the guys doesn’t make it, but if one really hits, then the Rockets’ future looks a lot brighter. I like this swing here.

Memphis Grizzlies

Jake Laravia – Pick No. 19

David Roddy – Pick No. 23

Kennedy Chandler – Pick No. 38

Vince Williams Jr. – Pick No. 47

It was a classic Grizzlies draft where they took some weirdo prospects higher than anticipated, but they fit the mold of what they want to do, and were generally well-liked across the scouting community, so I think it was a pretty good haul.

Laravia’s pre-draft rise was finalized with him going in the top 20. He’s a big-bodied four-man, who is maybe the most cerebral and intelligent off-ball player in this class. Laravia is a keen weak side defender, constantly in the right spots and using his 6’9, strong frame to cut off drivers and actions. Offensively, I don’t expect him to score a ton. But he’s a brilliant cutter, consistently makes the right plays, and has been a good three-point shooter over his career. He should fit next to the Grizzlies’ ball-dominant guys well from day one be an impact guy.

Roddy is kind of inverse from a prospect perspective. He’s undersized and had a large usage as a college player. But I think his skills can be scaled down and he can easily become an effective role player. Roddy is a plus-shooter, made some great reads as a passer, and is a better finisher than he gets credit for with a good understanding of angles and is a deceptively good athlete. Defense will always be an uphill battle, but the Grizzlies have enough players that can compensate for their weaknesses. He can play some small-ball five when needed and give them a new look.

I don’t love Chandler as a prospect given how hard it is for 6’0 point guards to succeed in the NBA, but the Grizzlies need help in the backcourt and this was around where I had Chandler on my board. I had Williams Jr. just outside my top 60, but he was one of my priority UDFA/two-way contract players, so using the 47th pick on him to secure that potential two-way was a good move. This felt like a classic Grizzlies draft, and when you have had success team-building in the draft, that’s a compliment.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Chet Holmgren – Pick No. 2

Ousmane Dieng – Pick No. 11

Jalen Williams – Pick No. 12

Jaylin Williams – Pick No. 32

After Holmgren, I don’t entirely love what OKC did here. They traded three protected 2023 firsts to snag Dieng, who they’ve been enamored with for a while now. I had Dieng a little lower on my board so I don’t hate it in a vacuum, but three firsts is a lot, even if they have a million picks. He’s an interesting long-term bet, but the optimized version of Dieng is as a playmaker and the Thunder already have two young guards that also need the ball (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey).

Jalen Williams at No. 12 may have been a bit early, though I had him at No. 17 on my board, and if he’s your guy, he may not be there if you try to trade back a bit. Again, I like Williams as a prospect, but his ball-handling, pick-and-roll operating skills as a wing are what made him so enticing. I’m just not sure there are enough on-ball reps for everyone to go around. Neither Dieng nor Williams is a great defensive prospect either, and OKC could use some help on the wing.

I don’t think there were a ton of great options at 12. People seemed a bit scared of Adrian Griffin Jr., Ochai Agbaji helps in the short-term, but as an older prospect he doesn’t necessarily fit the timeline, and it was probably too early for Tari Eason, but the fit here is just weird and I’m curious to see how it all works.

I do like how they doubled down on Jalen Williams and took the other Jaylin Williams, but I had him in the 50’s and while I do think he could play next to Holmgren, I’m not sure he does enough things well to stick in the NBA.