It’s time for the 2019 NBA Draft. The Denver Nuggets don’t possess any draft selections currently, but that could change throughout the night. The New Orleans Pelicans have made a number of moves and just selected Zion Williamson first overall. More picks will come, and tonight will be full of surprises.
Denver Stiffs will run a live draft tracker throughout the night.
1. New Orleans Pelicans – Zion Williamson, PF
Lots of intrigue went into this selection. Sucks that he will be in the Western Conference.
2. Memphis Grizzlies – Ja Morant, PG
No surprise here. Grizzles get their Mike Conley replacement after sending Conley to Utah.
3. New York Knicks – R.J. Barrett, SG/SF
The Knicks get their guy at third overall. Let’s see if he actually pans out.
4. Atlanta Hawks – De’Andre Hunter, SF/PF
The Hawks really wanted Hunter. They acquired this pick using the 8th, 17th, and 35th picks while absorbing Solomon Hill’s contract.
5. Cleveland Cavaliers – Darius Garland, PG
The Cavs take their next version of Kyrie Irving after selling Collin Sexton as the next version of Kyrie Irving.
6. Minnesota Timberwolves – Jarrett Culver, SG/SF
After a surprise trade-up that featured Dario Saric moving to Phoenix, the Timberwolves select the best player available in Jarrett Culver.
7. Chicago Bulls – Coby White, PG
This is a great fit for the Bulls, but they need to get some veteran talent fast.
8. New Orleans Pelicans – Jaxson Hayes, C
The Pelicans are getting all of the athleticism and vertical leap after selecting Zion first overall and Jaxson Hayes here.
9. Washington Wizards – Rui Hachimura, PF
The Wizards don’t currently have a general manager in place, and they probably should have found one of those.
10. Atlanta Hawks – Cam Reddish, SF
The Hawks moved up to get De’Andre Hunter fourth overall and now they get another forward in Cam Reddish. A sizable fall for “the other Duke Blue Devil.”
11. Phoenix Suns – Cameron Johnson, SF
Why?
12. Charlotte Hornets – PJ Washington, PF
Michael Jordan sticks to what he knows: North Carolina, Kentucky, Michigan State, and Wisconsin.
13. Miami Heat – Tyler Herro, SG
I can be your Herro baby!
14. Boston Celtics – Romeo Langford, SG
Romeo, Romeo, where for art thou All-Stars, Boston?
15. Detroit Pistons – Sekou Doumbouya, PF
The Pistons draft BPA after Sekou falls to them after questionable decision making ahead of them.
16. Orlando Magic – Chuma Okeke, SF/PF
One of my favorite prospects, the Magic double down on athletic defenders that will look to figure out offense at a later time.
17. New Orleans Pelicans – Nickeil Alexander-Walker, SG
The Pelicans have a lot of talent now. Zion, Jaxson Hayes, Jrue, Lonzo, Ingram, Hart, and now Alexander-Walker. Holy cow.
18. Indiana Pacers – Goga Bitadze, C
A third center behind Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis? Let’s see what happens with Indiana. They could be in line for another trade.
19. San Antonio Spurs – Luka Samanic, PF
Apparently, Samanic is good, and he will probably be better because the Spurs draft him.
20. Philadelphia 76ers – Matisse Tybulle, SG/SF
The Sixers acquired this pick from the Celtics to make sure they got Thybulle. Good pick for them. Role player and defender.
21. Memphis Grizzlies – Brandon Clarke, PF
This was my guy. Oklahoma City moved back to 23rd to pick up another asset. Too bad.
22. Boston Celtics – Grant Williams, SF/PF
And there’s the other guy. Nuggets fans can stop paying attention now.
23. Oklahoma City Thunder – Darius Bazley, SF/PF
Bazley makes sense for the Thunder because he’s an athlete who doesn’t shoot the ball well right now.
24. Phoenix Suns – Ty Jerome, PG/SG
Boston traded this pick to the Suns, who are desperately trying to make up for selecting 23-year-old Cam Johnson at 11 by drafting Ty Jerome, a veteran college guy.
25. Portland Trail Blazers – Nassir Little, SF
The Blazers get Nassir Little, who fell hard this year after ranking as one of the top high school recruits in the nation. Good pick.
26. Cleveland Cavaliers – Keldon Johnson, SF/PF
A solid pick. Nothing to write home about. Standard Kentucky role player.
CORRECTION: The Cavs are selecting SF Dylan Windler. Not great!
27. Los Angeles Clippers – Mfiondo Kabengele, PF/C
The 27th pick would have been Denver’s selection had they held onto Kenneth Faried and Darrell Arthur rather than performing a salary dump. It feels like the Nuggets were okay to do that here since Brooklyn also just traded the pick.
28. Golden State Warriors – Jordan Poole, SG
The Warriors need floor spacing really badly on the wing after the injuries to Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant. They hope to have found a short and long term solution in Jordan Poole.
29. San Antonio Spurs – Keldon Johnson, SF/PF
Hey look, Keldon Johnson ACTUALLY got picked now! Good landing spot for him.
30. Cleveland Cavaliers – Kevin Porter Jr., SG/SF
The Cavs going to going all out to get a bunch of scoring guards, which is certainly a choice. They sent out four second round picks to get Porter here.
Alright, that’s it for the the first round and the live updates. Denver Stiffs will provide more pertinent updates and rumors as they become available going forward.
