Which NBA teams made the most of the 2014 Draft?

The Cavaliers and Bucks added what they hope are franchise changing pieces on Thursday in Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker, but other teams made the most of their 2014 Draft experience as well. Here are the franchises that are better off today than they were yesterday.

Phiadelphia 76ers

As expected, Sam Hinkie threw caution to the wind with respect to Joel Embiid’s injury concerns and selected the big man that most saw as the best overall prospect in a loaded draft class. They then followed that up by selecting Elfrid Payton 10th and trading him to Orlando for Dario Saric (the 12th pick), a 2015 second round pick and a 2017 first rounder.

It’s understandable for Sixers fans to be frustrated right now – they just sat through one of the worst and tankiest seasons in NBA history, and for that they’ve been rewarded with a prized big man sitting on the sidelines for a third season in a row (after Andrew Bynum and Nerlens Noel) and a prospect who won’t come to the NBA until 2016-17 in Saric. But Sam Hinkie continues to take the patient route and refuses to cut corners in his Philly rebuild, and when you add second round picks K.J. McDaniels, Jermai Grant, Vasilje Micic, Nemanja Dangubic and Jordan McRae, plus D-League scoring champion Pierre Jackson, who came over in a Thursday night trade, to Michael Carter-Williams, Nerlens Noel, Thaddeus Young and whoever the Sixers draft next year after surely being terrible again in 2014-15, you get a dizzying array of assets.

Between developing some of those assets themselves and packaging some off in trades over time, it almost feels as if the 76ers can’t not find success eventually.

Utah Jazz

Aaron Gordon going fourth overall to Orlando saw Dante Exum fall to Utah at No. 5, and the Jazz then got what some consider a steal at No. 23 with Rodney Hood. Exum remains a great unknown and Hood’s defense and rebounding are concerning, but the Jazz may have just added a franchise point guard who can share the backcourt with Trey Burke and a big wing who can shoot. With Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter already in tow, Utah’s rebuilding efforts may soon start bearing fruit.

Boston Celtics

Marcus Smart is highly regarded by analytics and may go down as the steal of the draft at No. 6. The Celtics then also selected James Young with their 17th pick, an 18-year-old swingman with a seven-foot wingspan and a high ceiling. It’s possible Smart plays alongside Rajon Rondo, but the more likely scenario might be for the Celtics to turn Rondo into additional assets as they continue into a full blown rebuild. With all due respect to names like Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk, that rebuild now has a clear face and selling point in Smart.

L.A. Lakers

Whether Julius Randle can actually make Cleveland, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Orlando, Utah and Boston regret no selecting him in the top-six remains to be seen, but at No. 7, the Lakers landed a big man once thought to be a dark horse contender for the No. 1 spot and a big man who should be able to contribute immediately in the rebounding and interior scoring departments. That immediate impact should appease Kobe Bryant, as should the fact that the guard the Lakers selected 46th overall - Missouri’s Jordan Clarkson - was seen as a first round talent by almost every credible mock draft.

There won’t be any quick turnaround in L.A. if the Lakers can’t land a marquee free agent or two, but landing Randle in the team’s first trip to the lottery since 2005 is a solid start.

Denver Nuggets

Their injury-plagued 36-win season notwithstanding, the Nuggets entered Draft day as a pretty talented lottery team, and they came out of it with much more talent. Denver traded Evan Fournier and the 56th pick for Arron Afflalo – a two-way scoring guard who averaged over 18 points per game on a 57.4 True Shooting Percentage this season – earlier in the day, then selected Jusuf Nurkic and Garry Harris 16th and 19th in the Draft after a trade with the Bulls that sent the 11th pick (Doug McDermott) and Anthony Randolph to Chicago. They also drafted Nikola Jokic in the second round.

Fournier and Randolph didn’t figure to be key pieces for the Nuggets when the team is fully healthy, Afflalo is much more useful than the two of them combined, Nurkic could be a nice draft-and-stash option (as could Jokic) and Harris’ defensive ability is a nice fit in a backcourt with Ty Lawson and now Afflalo again. Nate Robinson and Randy Foye are still around as well, but a three-guard rotation of Lawson, Afflalo and Harris is a very capable and balanced group.

Afflalo is also on a reasonable contract, as the 28-year-old is set to earn $7.5 million next season with a $7.5 million player option for 2015-16.

Phoenix Suns

The only team that can rival the 76ers in terms of assets, the difference in Phoenix is that the Suns are coming off of a 48-win season that saw them nearly make the playoffs in a historically tough Western Conference, not wallowing at the bottom of the miserable East.

T.J. Warren, Tyler Ennis and Bogdan Bogdanovich is a terrific haul with the 14th, 18th and 27th picks, respectively, and when you add those names to Eric Bledsoe, Goran Dragic, a mountain of cap space and an attractive market, you get a team that remains in prime position to make a big splash at some point in the near future.

Honorable mention: New York Knicks

If someone had told you 48 hours ago that the Knicks would get something out of the 2014 Draft…

Well they did. After acquiring the 34th and 51st picks in the six-player deal that netted them Jose Calderon, Samuel Dalembert, Shane Larkin and Wayne Ellington for Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton, the Knicks used those second round picks to select Cleanthony Early and Thanasis Antetokounmpo. They also grabbed the 57th pick from Indiana and selected French big man Louis Labeyrie.

Calderon’s contract is a little long with three years and over $22 million still owed to the 32-year-old, but the Knicks landed a hot shooting point guard for the triangle offense Derek Fisher is expected to implement, a Dalembert contract that is not fully guaranteed for next season and some much needed assets that are actually on the upswing rather than rapidly declining.

Labeyrie is an unknown, the older Antetokounmpo brother is nowhere near the prospect Giannis is and Ellington is of little use, but Early is probably a steal in the second round after a successful career at Wichita State and Larkin could hold some value going forward.

The Knicks didn’t exactly set the world on fire with these moves, but they have more in the form of modest future assets than they did a couple of days ago, and with or without Carmelo Anthony, that’s a small step in the right direction.

Some additional thoughts on the 2014 Draft…

Without trying to take a shot at Tristan Thompson, Dion Waiters or Anthony Bennett, the Cavs selecting Andrew Wiggins' two-way, long-term potential over Jabari Parker's immediate impact offense feels like the first thing Cleveland has gotten right since taking Kyrie Irving.
If Jabari Parker's offense is as NBA-ready as everyone expects, the Duke product should get the chance to score out of the gates. The Bucks' highest usage players this past season were Brandon Knight, Gary Neal, Caron Butler and O.J. Mayo. Enough said.
The Magic will be in desperate need of some shooting and floor spacing, especially with Afflalo now out of town, but the trio of Aaron Gordon, Elfrid Payton and Victor Oladipo is insanely athletic and should make for some highlight reel material in Orlando next season. They won't be very good, but they will be fun to watch.
After years wandering the NBA abyss, you get the feeling that Charlotte is finally starting to figure things out. Having Noah Vonleh fall to them at No. 9 in a pick they acquired from a then short-sighted Pistons team and grabbing P.J. Hairston, who already has pro experience in the D-League, at No. 26 (after trading No. 24 pick Shabazz Napier to Miami) was a very solid first round showing for one of the most surprising teams of 2013-14.
The Bulls added some much needed shooting with the acquisitions of Doug McDermott (11th pick) and Anthony Randolph in a trade that sent the 16th and 19th picks to Denver, but after everyone expected Chicago to trade their picks to save cap space in their pursuit of superstar free agents, they ended up taking on salary. Based on the NBA's rookie salary scale, the 16th and 19th picks would have cost a combined $2,734,900 in 2014-15, whereas the 11th pick and Randolph's salary equals $3,723, 659 - a difference of $988,759.
The Hawks are already an intriguing team with Al Horford, Paul Millsap, Jeff Teague and cap space in a weak Eastern Conference. Adding Adreian Payne to that mix with the No. 15 pick (and Spanish center Walter Tavares with the 43rd pick) is another nice get for them, although they still have a clear need at the wing positions.
The Raptors were mocked by many fans and pundits alike for their out-of-left-field selection of Brazilian Bruno Caboclo with the 20th pick, but Masai Ujiri is clearly swinging for the fences, and at No. 20, going for the highest ceiling over the safest, quick-result role player might not be such a bad idea. As Ujiri and coach Dwane Casey admitted, they had already lost target Tyler Ennis to Phoenix at No. 18 and were concerned that their target at No. 37 - Caboclo - was also going to be scooped up. So they pounced at No. 20 on a guy that only they and a few other teams got a look at. The 'Brazilian Kevin Durant' stuff is ridiculous and unfair, but the Raptors did land a raw, 18-year-old, 6'9" forward with a 7'7" wingspan that can shoot and put the ball on the floor.
If Shabazz Napier makes an instant impact with the Heat and is actually a part of convincing LeBron James to stick around, people should seriously just start kissing Pat Riley's rings, Godfather style, when they enter American Airlines Arena.
The Clint Capela selection by the Rockets at No. 25 was a great pick for them. The Swiss big man was probably the best prospect remaining in terms of upside, but as a draft-and-stash candidate, won't necessarily take up any immediate cap space in Houston as the team chases maximum value free agents. Capela might also be a valuable trade asset for the Rockets if they look to engage teams in sign-and-trade scenarios involving star free agents.
Basketball aside, the best moment of the night and probably the most touching Draft moment we've ever seen was the NBA honorarily drafting Isaiah Austin, whose NBA dream was shattered by a recent diagnosis of Marfan syndrome. Adam Silver and the league made a really special, memorable moment out of a heartbreaking and unfortunate situation, while Austin's positive perspective can be a lesson for all of us.