RADIO
We're just a couple of days removed from the 2021 edition of the NBA Draft. As is always the case, just a couple of picks were virtual locks with the rest of the picks going left and right and handing us more than a few surprises. And that is without even entering the trade realm and the likes of Russell Westbrook and Ricky Rubio getting moved on different deals.
All of Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, and Evan Mobley retained their expected no. 1-2-3 spots, but the draft became a thing one pick earlier than expected as Toronto drafted Scottie Barnes over Jalen Suggs. And that was only the start. The excitement only grew inside of us all watching, but we weren't the only ones glued to the TV. Who else, you say? Vets all around the Association trying to come up with a clear vision of where they'll fit into their teams' rotation factoring in the freshly drafted rookies.
With the draft in the rearview mirror and free agency around the corner, let's take a look at a few veteran players than can be considered winners after the moves that happened on the night of the latest draft. This is mostly focused on fantasy basketball, but there might be a few takeaways that look at the broader picture.
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Christian Wood, PF/C & Kelly Olynyk, PF/C - Houston Rockets
With the no. 1 pick of 2021 pretty much a no-brainer for Detroit to draft, all Houston had to do was to choose its fighter between the two of Jalen Green and Evan Mobley. They opted for the guard in Green, leaving the frontcourt open for the pairing made of Wood and Olynyk to stay there (assuming Houston re-signs the latter) and keep racking up starts, minutes, and tasty numbers. Not only that, but they'd benefit from the presence of Green on the court along with them.
As long as John Wall is healthy, he would most probably man the point-guard position. Green is not what you'd call a floor general, profiling more as a pure scorer than anything else. Pro: defenses staying honest on the wings, floors getting stretched, and inside lanes for Wood/Olynyk to exploit. It's all good, biggie bois.
The Rockets are obviously rebuilding--and just starting to--so while Wood and Green are locked to stay in Houston for long, the Rockets shouldn't pass on bringing Olynyk back. Olynyk was fantastic in the short time he spent in Texas after getting traded from Miami putting up a 19-8-4-1 line. Lots of assuming in projecting Wall to stay healthy for 50+ games, right, but even then Green only brings stuff to the table without taking anything from it--something that would have happened had Evan Mobley been the pick.
Russell Westbrook, PG - Los Angeles Lakers
Playing next to Bradley Beal clearly helped Westbrook's upside last season. As if he needed any boost... Russ went on to drop a season-long trip-dub for the fourth time in his career (and past five years), which is crazier than we think and will only be appreciated when we let such feat marinate for a few years. The Lakers might or might not benefit from Russ' presence because, well, the on/off splits he put up last season were negative when he was alone on the court. That's how/when LA will feature him to make up for LBJ's bench minutes.
But for Russ himself? This is an absolute win. However Westbrook gets deployed by the Lakers, he will keep demolishing stat sheets. There is just no point in arguing about that. If Hassan Whiteside or Andre Drummond are the fantasy darlings of the center position, Russ is definitely the bonafide fantasy guard. The shooting is ridiculously bad--only Charles Barkley has logged worse three-point percentages on such a massive volume of long-rangers in the history of the game--but the triple-doubles keep piling on and Russ failed to put up a double-double in only six of his 65 games last season. Insane.
AD/LBJ/Russ will be starting for the Lakers when the season finally arrives in a few months' time. Drummond should be a fantastic partner for the PG when it comes to throwing alley-oops. LeBron is LeBron, and LeBron will command all of the D's attention. Anthony Davis is the actual no. 1 of this team these days (assuming he stays healthy) and can do it all, both inside and outside. I just see no way this doesn't work for Russell Westbrook, whose threads will also shine under the bright lights of Hollywood.
Jerami Grant, SF/PF - Detroit Pistons
Grant bet on himself a year ago when he declined Denver's deal and signed the very same contract handed to him by the Pistons. The main reason for doing so was clear: a go-to role and the chance to lead Detroit's new basketball era while trying to get Motown back to contention for the first time since the mid-aughts. The Pistons are still ways away from getting there, but both Grant and flashy no. 1 pick Cade Cunningham should help the franchise going forward.
I don't think Grant's upside was ever threatened by anything related to the past draft; it was always clear that Detroit would take Cade with the first-overall pick over any wing or big man, and there was just no way they would trade the pick away or package it with Grant in any shape, way, or form. Grant was good in his first year in Detroit and he helped fantasy GMs with a borderline top-60 finish thanks to his 22-4-3 line to go with 2.1 3PM and 1.7 stocks per game.
Everything Grant did, he had to do with the likes of washed players (Blake Griffin), subpar talents (Wayne Ellington and Mason Plumlee), developing rookies (Isaiah Stewart and Saddiq Bey), and virtually no NBA-caliber point guards feeding him (Delonte Wright? Dennis Smith Jr.? Cory Joseph? Killian Hayes?). That will change for the awesome in 2022 with Cade thrust into the starting-PG role from the get-go and Killian Hayes back healthy. Grant will definitely welcome that change after spending a year sharing the floor with a middling cadre of guards.
Gary Trent Jr., SG - Toronto Raptors (Restricted FA)
The Raptors could have very well gone with Jalen Suggs as their first-round selection with the fourth-overall pick. I mean, every living soul was expecting that to happen, so it wouldn't have surprised anyone. But Toronto's actual pick (Scottie Barnes) did, though. This means that Toronto is doubling down on their current assets while bolstering the interior/big-man game.
Toronto's approach isn't that far-fetched. After re-signing Fred Van Vleet, the Raps are facing quite important decisions when it comes to the other two prime guards in the squad: Kyle Lowry (UFA) and Gary Trent Jr. (RFA). If you remember, Lowry was put on the market last during the last trade deadline, and although a move didn't come to happen ultimately, it would have had the proper offer arrived. The Raptors traded Norman Powell away in exchange for Gary Trent Jr. knowing that the latter would become a free agent just months later. I'm sorry, but I see no future in which Toronto doesn't re-ink Trent.
If Trent is back with the Raps, I have to assume Lowry will be on his way out, as sad as that makes me. It's true that neither FVV nor Trent are natural point guards, but neither is 6-foot-9 Scottie Barnes. We will see how this develops, and how the different pieces involved in this puzzle end fitting (or, simply, where they end after free agency) but so far, so good for Trent Jr. and his future in Canada as things stand today.
Aaron Holiday, PG & Montrezl Harrell, C - Washington Wizards
The Wizards obviously made the headlines because of Russell Westbrook's trade, but let's not forget about the other transaction they pulled off yesterday: the 22nd-overall pick in exchange for Aaron Holiday to become their new starting point guard. I know that Holiday has never been a league-winning player in fantasy basketball nor the real world, but he's definitely a tier or two above Raul Neto's (the otherwise-starter if he gets an extension) level.
Holiday is entering his fourth season as a pro, and he might be in front of his first chance at starting pretty much every game if the Wiz trust him, which I think will be the case--obviously, pending further moves or the eventual Bradley Beal trade and its potential collateral damage. On the frontcourt side of the equation, Washington added Harrell in the Westbrook-to-LA deal (along with KCP and Kuzma, the latter a clear loser).
Harrell is expected to opt into his player option as that seemingly was part of the agreement between the Wiz and the Lakers. That means he will get to rebuild his value in the capital before reaching free agency (this time for good) a year from now. Harrell was horrid in Los Angeles--Lakers, that is. After a great regular season in 2020 with the Clips and a bad postseason with the lowly brother, his move to the Lakers didn't really help him that much even though he got to play six more games in 2021 than in 2020 and logged 1,616 minutes on the year.
We shouldn't expect a change in Harrell's role as he will probably come off the bench in 2022. We shouldn't expect a trade out of Washington as Holiday should at least cover for the PG position to start the year. And if Harrell gets moved down the road, being on an expiring deal, he should get to a contender trying to boost their chances at a ring. No way Harrell ends on the losing end of this move--other than leaving a true title candidate in the Lakers, that is.
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