Article: Eastern Conference Draft Grades

[UOducksTK1]

Boston Celtics - dthomas=ddixon
GRADE: C+
Personally, I love his first two round picks. John Stockton and Benoit Benjamin are cornerstone pieces that could last for a decade. But where's the rest of the team? There was no effort to try to trade up for another key piece. Sure they're young, but with no other serious young pieces, I worry for the future of this team.

Miami Heat - jfox96
GRADE: B+
IMO having a middle of the round pick in a fantasy draft can be a rough draw but the Heat have assembled a solid team. THey still have all their picks, and if they can resign Mullin this offseason and maybe add one more piece, they should be a contenders.

New Jersey Nets - cordy02c
GRADE: C
Isiah Thomas is a great piece to build around. And I like the look of Rik Smits, but this team is very thin at the SG, SF, and PF position. The Nets don't even have their 1992 first. If they can't resign Smits in 2001 and add more pieces, that 1992 1st could be valuable.

New York Knicks - Zyme
GRADE: B
Knicks have a lot of defensive minded players (ie a lot of useful pieces to deal around). They also have all their draft picks. With 2 first rounders this year, the Knicks are set up to build something special if the right moves are made. Still a lot of work to be done, but a good setup.

Orlando Magic - pudgejeff
GRADE: A-
I'm a fan of aggressive trading. The Magic have 7 draft picks over the next three years, yet they still have one of the best backcourt duos in the league. Sure their front line is weak, but they have a ton of picks to deal with. The only reason I didn't give the Magic an A was because I don't like them dealing away their 91 and 92 1sts.

Philadelphia 76ers - gregspechtismyhero
GRADE: B+
I really like the 76ers starting 5 (Rivers, Kersey, Pressley, Cummings and Lister), and see them as a serious contender in the East. But they have some older players, and don't own any of their firsts until 1992. As we see some talented drafts enter this league, the Sixers might regret parting ways with some of those firsts.

Washington Bullets - rpmunn
GRADE: B-
A safe, but effective draft for the Bullets. They have some nice young pieces in Reggie Theus and Mark Price, but this team is missing an identity and a direction. They need to be careful not to be stuck in limbo in the middle of the league and either commit to winning or try to rebuild.

Atlanta Hawks - Marzeial
GRADE: D
You get one of the best players in the league in Karl Malone, and surround him with nothing. Kenny Walker was a terrible choice for the Hawks. There's no reason they shouldn't have gone for a title after picking Malone. They have very little to help build this team into a contender. It wouldn't surprise me if the Hawks were forced to trade Malone down the line to get some value as they struggle .

Charlotte Hornets - lukeyrid13
GRADE: A-
It's not easy getting two guys like Patrick Ewing and Dominique Wilkins on the same team, but lukey did just that. I even like their complimentary players in Michael Cage and Xavier Daniel. My only concern is their PG play. Cheeks isn't bad, but in a PG heavy league, having a good enough PG is very important.

Chicago Bulls - RanDux
GRADE: C+
Moses Malone with the 7th pick was a stretch. I don't think I could justify taking any 30 year old or older with a top 10 pick in a fantasy draft unless I could guarantee myself a championship. But the Bulls do have a robust front court, which should help them compete. However, I think we see the Bulls rebuild in a couple years. I do applaud though that a new GM like RanDux didn't trade his future firsts, wise. Maybe the Bulls can make a couple runs, but after that I fully expect them to rebuild.

Cleveland Cavaliers - UOducksTK1
GRADE: B
The cavaliers are set up perfectly for rebuilding. They have 5 1sts in the next 3 years (including all their own), and will have more cap space than any other team in DASL. My only complaint is that the Cavaliers should have tried to pick up a young player they could have built around, especially in a fantasy draft with so many options.

Detroit Pistons - eddy_zamora
GRADE: B+
It's a lot easier to make your team look good when you have the 4th pick in the DASL draft, but the Pistons still deserve credit for the roster they've built. This is another team with a great looking top 5. Also, Magic Johnson is probably the best player at his position, and should be a serious MVP candidate. BUT! With Parish looking to retire in the next couple seasons, and many of their players expiring soon (including Magic Johnson), trading their 91 and 92 1sts could proof to be foolish.

Indiana Pacers - bugsmalone
GRADE: F
Ugly. If you are going to take an older player like Larry Bird in the first round, you HAVE to build around him and make trdes to try to win right away. Othewise, what's the point? There is nothing around Bird, and now they have a couple of bigger contracts to just sit on. Pacers will be irrelelvent for the next 3 years, that's for sure.

Milwaukee Bucks - dd10snoop28
GRADE: B+
The Bucks have assembled almost as much overall talent as any other team in the East. They have a great balance, and have a good mix of youth on their team. But they got a really rough draw with contracts and all their players are expiring within the next 3 years (most within the next 2). You cringe at that because they don't have any 1sts from 90-92. If they can keep their key pieces around, they'l be contenders.

Toronto Raptors - tales
GRADE: B-
I give the Raptors a B- solely for being smart enough to take MJ at #2. It still saddens me to see a lack of supporting cast, however, their front court of AC Green, Joe Barry Carroll, and Kevin McHale should help them make some noise. With two of their starters already at the age of 30 , and with no reliable PG, I question how far the Raptors can go with just MJ and little else.

[Phenom]

You doing the Western Conference?

[UOducksTK1]

Yeah when I have free time I'll do the west too.

[dthomas=ddixon]

Agreed on my grade. I'm really happy with my 1st, 2nd and 4th picks (PF Derrick McKey is 22 and leading my team in scoring) but I had to sim my 3rd round pick because of class and ended up with Reggie Williams who is pretty meh. If I had the time I could have gotten another good piece in the 3rd.

[lukeyrid13]

I think my grade is fair. I knew I needed a PG but from the third round on there was not much left and I figured I'd wait until a team was selling a star PG rather than picking a decent PG a round or two too high.

Also I hope you're right about the Pistons picks, I hold those in high esteem currently.

[Zyme]

Fair grade, I'm in position to go two ways, my moves allow me to go down or up, and hopefully my trades will be in the former

[UOducksTK1]

Thanks guys, tried to be honest and just. Hard to grade though on paper too until simming happens.

[FlDuckFan]

is there an ETA on the West article?

[UOducksTK1]

Sometime this week hopefully.