2024 NBA Draft Night: First Round Winners

Mike lists his top five teams that he considers winners from the first round of the 2024 NBA draft and explains why he thinks they nailed it with their picks.

The first round of the 2024 NBA Draft is in the books. It wasn’t the best of draft classes, but it also made for an unpredictable evening with no consensus top overall player.

Some big splashes were made leading up to the draft, including the Knicks trading for Mikal Bridges and re-signing OG Anunoby. There were also some deals made during the draft that included picks changing hands.

Now that the dust settled, let’s dig into some of the winners from the first round.

1. Minnesota Timberwolves

Big Win - Potential future starting point guard.

The Timberwolves made one of the biggest moves of the draft, acquiring Rob Dillingham from the Spurs. The Spurs selected Dillingham with the eighth pick, which was their second selection inside the top 10. After having already drafted Stephon Castle at fourth overall, the Spurs felt that moving the eighth pick and acquiring future draft capital was the way to go.

The Timberwolves are a win-now team after making it to the Western Conference Finals last season. They didn’t give up any players in the deal, sending the Spurs their 2031 unprotected first-round pick and a 2030 top-one protected pick swap.

Dillingham has the potential to provide the Timberwolves with a scoring punch off the bench, while also learning behind Mike Conley Jr. at point guard. Conley will be 37 years old at the start of next season, so Dillingham could be their starting point guard in the not-too-distant future.

Further making this a potentially successful draft for the Timberwolves is that they selected Terrence Shannon Jr. at 27th overall. He’ll be 24 years old at the beginning of the season, so he could end up being a viable rotation player sooner rather than later.

2. Portland Trail Blazers

Big Win - Added a defensive powerhouse at center.

There were some projections that Donovan Clingan could be selected within the first three picks of the draft. As he started to fall, the Trail Blazers made sure he didn’t last past them at seventh overall. Despite already having Deandre Ayton and Robert Williams in the fold, the defensive presence that Clingan can provide in the middle was too good to pass up. All three players probably don’t fit together on the same roster, so don’t be surprised if Ayton or Williams gets moved at some point this summer.

Back-to-back national champion Donovan Clingan is headed to the Portland Trail Blazers with the No. 7 pick 🔥 pic.twitter.com/JkISc3QxkP

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 27, 2024

The Trail Blazers made a trade leading up to the draft, sending Malcolm Brogdon, the 14th overall pick, a 2029 first-round pick, and future second-round picks to the Wizards for Deni Avdija. Avdija is coming off the best season of his career, averaging 14.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.2 three-pointers per game. He is only 23 years old, so he fits the current timeline of their rebuilding team. His addition also could help them part with Jerami Grant in another trade to bring in more young players and/or draft picks.

3. Houston Rockets

Big Win - Added shooting.

It’s no secret that the Rockets need shooting. They addressed that need by selecting Reed Sheppard with the third overall pick. While Sheppard doesn’t bring much size to the table, he was one of the best shooters in college basketball last year. He shot 52.1 percent from behind the arc, while also averaging 4.5 assists per game.

Got our guy 👏@reed_sheppard | #Rockets pic.twitter.com/0u20ejZczL

— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) June 27, 2024

With Fred VanVleet and Jalen Green in the fold, Reed isn’t going to start for the Rockets out of the gate. However, he could form an intriguing bench unit alongside Amen Thompson, Cam Whitmore, and Tari Eason. In addition to a strong starting five, the Rockets are loaded with young talent coming off the bench. Should a superstar become available in a trade, the Rockets have the ammo to acquire one.

4. Washington Wizards

Big Win - Added size.

The Wizards need size. After trading away Daniel Gafford, they were rolling with Marvin Bagley III and Richaun Holmes at center. After the Hawks took Zaccharie Risacher with the first pick, the Wizards landed Alexander Sarr with the second overall pick.

Sarr was at the top of many draft boards, so having him fall to the second spot is a win for the Wizards. He should play a ton during his rookie season and he comes with significant upside. The Avdija trade has freed up more playing time for Bilal Coulibaly, who was their first-round pick last year. They used the 14th overall selection that they acquired in that deal to select Carlton Carrington, who has plenty of size for a point guard and will only be 19 years old at the start of the season.

5. New York Knicks

Big Win - Brought in some future draft capital.

The Knicks already felt like winners before the draft even started by landing Bridges and bringing back Anunoby. They also entered with the 24th and 25th overall selections. They gave away a lot of draft capital to get Bridges, so for a team that is ready to compete for a championship now, two late-round selections in the first round weren’t exactly ideal.

The Knicks started to rebuild the draft cupboard, sending the 24th pick to the Wizards for the 26th and 51st picks. They then traded that 26th pick to the Thunder for five future second-round picks. At 24, they selected Pacome Dadiet, who turns 19 in July. He isn’t going to see the light of day off the bench for the Knicks, but for a team lacking first-round picks moving forward, he represents a young project with upside.

The reason that the Knicks are winners is that they turned two late first-round picks in a bad draft into an intriguing wing with some upside and a total of six second-round picks. Those second-rounders could be key for them as they try to acquire veterans to help build out their bench.