The 2024 NBA Draft is now in the rearview mirror. Before we take a few months off and start diving into a loaded 2025 class, let’s look at some of the best fits and some of the more questionable ones:
Best Fits
Utah Jazz: With the 10th pick in the draft, the Jazz selected Colorado wing Cody Williams. Williams is the younger brother of Oklahoma City Thunder rising star Jalen Williams, and there are some similarities between the two players. At the Draft Combine, Williams measured in at 6’6.5’’ without shoes, and he also had a 7’1’’ wingspan and 8’7’’ standing reach. He has superb length and he couples that with some serious all-around ability.
Williams shot 55.2% from the field and 41.5% from three in his lone college season. He didn’t shoot a ton of triples, but he flashed good mechanics and a nice overall feel as a catch-and-shoot player. Williams is also a good ball handler for a player his size, and he can create for both himself and his teammates. On top of that, Williams is a very good defensive prospect. All in all, he just has an insane amount of upside, and the Jazz badly need that. This is not a team that typically attracts free agents, so building from within is crucial. Williams has a real shot at turning into a great two-way player.
The Jazz were also able to grab Isaiah Collier with the 29th pick in the draft. Collier had a disappointing freshman season at USC, and he measured in a little smaller than expected. But Collier was the No. 1 player in the 2023 ESPN 100. He just has a lot of talent as a strong guard that likes to get downhill. The jumper will definitely be a big swing skill for him, but adding him to the roster this late in the draft was a great move. Utah develops players extremely well, so Collier is going to have a real shot at turning into a good pro.
Utah also added another first-round talent in Kyle Filipowski, who slipped to No. 32 in the draft. There are some interesting off-court rumors surrounding Filipowski, but there’s no denying the on-court ability. Filipowski is a 6’11’’ big man that can shoot the three, score in the post and handle the ball a little bit. He’s also a good playmaker for a big man, and he works hard defensively. In our RealGM profile of Filipowski, we mentioned Lauri Markkanen as a comparison for the Duke product. Well, Filipowski will now get to develop his skills with the same coaching staff that turned Markkanen into an All-Star.
Ron Holland: Holland’s lack of an outside shot made it hard to completely buy in on him as a prospect. The G League Ignite wing has great size, length and instincts, which makes him a good driver and transition player on offense and a potential All-Defense talent on the other end of the floor. But drafting off-ball wings that can’t shoot the basketball is a risky proposition. Well, the Pistons just hired former New Orleans Pelicans assistant Fred Vinson a couple of weeks ago. Vinson is considered the best shot doctor in the NBA, and he is credited with the improvements Lonzo Ball and Herb Jones made in New Orleans.
If Vinson can turn Holland into a respectable three-point shooter, there’s a good chance he ends up being one of the best players in this class — and it isn’t impossible that we’ll look back and say that Holland was the best. With that in mind, Holland was one of the biggest winners of the NBA Draft. He’s walking into a situation in which the organization is fully committed to working on his biggest weakness.
Minnesota Timberwolves: The Timberwolves were extremely aggressive in the draft, as they moved valuable future assets to go up and take Rob Dillingham with the eighth pick. Dillingham’s lack of size and strength has people worried about whether or not he can hold his own defensively. That won’t be as much of a concern in Minnesota. Dillingham will be playing with jumbo-sized lineups, with Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert there to cover for him. That will allow Dillingham to focus on scoring the basketball, and he’s going to be electric when it comes to that. Dillingham is one of the best shooters in the class, capable of knocking them down in spot-up situations and also creating off the bounce. Dillingham will also get to learn the nuances of the point guard position from Mike Conley Jr., one of the league’s best floor generals.
Minnesota also happened to get Terrence Shannon Jr. with the 27th pick in the first round. A 23-year-old that played five seasons of college basketball, Shannon should be ready for rotation minutes rather quickly. The 6’6’’ lefty wing is a good scorer that really likes to attack the basket. He’s also an active defender. If Shannon can replicate the 36.2% he shot from three in his final season with Illinois, he should be one of the biggest steals of the draft.
Los Angeles Lakers: There weren’t many mock drafts that had Dalton Knecht falling outside of the Top 10. But the Tennessee sharpshooter ended up landing with the Lakers, who had the 17th pick in the draft. Apparently a lot of teams were worried about Knecht’s age, and there was also some talk about the wing not working out with a lot of teams. Well, things couldn’t have possibly worked out any better for Los Angeles.
Only six teams in the league made fewer threes per game than the Lakers last season. That was almost certain to change the second Los Angeles hired JJ Redick as head coach. But grabbing a 23-year-old that averaged 21.7 points per game and shot 39.7% from deep on 6.5 attempts per game last year is only going to help. Knecht’s combination of shooting ability and size should help him earn big minutes as a rookie. And Redick is going to know exactly how to free him up for open looks, as he’ll run a lot of the actions that his NBA teams did throughout his playing career.
With the Lakers being a top-heavy team, it’s not easy for them to find cheap rotation help. So, Knecht falling into their laps was a massive win. The 6’5’’ guard should also be happy himself. Sure, he lost a little bit of money in sliding, but he landed in a winning situation. And he’ll now have LeBron James creating opportunities for him.
San Antonio Spurs: A lot of people didn’t like San Antonio’s decision to trade No. 8 for picks in drafts that are more than five years down the road. But the Spurs still did a lot to improve their roster between the two days. San Antonio grabbed Connecticut guard Stephon Castle with the fourth pick in the draft. Castle is a jumbo-sized guard that creates off the bounce, makes plays for teammates and does all of the dirty work you can possibly want. He should immediately be a menace on the defensive end, and he and Victor Wembanyama are going to form a dynamic duo on that end of the floor. Castle’s only real concern is his jumper, but he doesn’t have terrible mechanics. And he shot 75.5% from the free throw line as a freshman. With that in mind, he should be able to figure the shot out. If he can, there’s a chance he flirts with All-Star production.
The Spurs also drafted Spanish guard Juan Nunez and North Carolina wing Harrison Ingram in the second round. Nunez was the best pick-and-roll passer in the draft this year, so it isn’t hard to think about why the Spurs wanted to bring him in. He’s going to make life on Wembanyama a heck of a lot easier whenever he’s ready to go to San Antonio. Meanwhile, Ingram was a player that was viewed as a potential one-and-done prospect when he was at Stanford. He ultimately decided that he needed a little more seasoning, and he ended up improving his jumper significantly over his three years in college. Ingram might not have eye-popping athleticism or any truly elite skills, but he’s capable of contributing in a lot of different ways. Don’t be surprised if he’s a nice rotation piece for the Spurs eventually.
Shaky Fits
Milwaukee Bucks: The Bucks made the most surprising pick of the draft, selecting AJ Johnson at No. 23. Johnson was considered a second-round prospect by most draft analysts, and he’s also a prospect that seems very far away from contributing. That made the decision somewhat puzzling. Milwaukee hasn’t shown much of an interest in developing prospects in recent years, with MarJon Beauchamp and Andre Jackson both being ignored as rotation options last season. And overall, you’d think the Bucks would want some NBA-ready talent with the core of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton not getting any younger.
Maybe Johnson will end up significantly outperforming his draft position one day, but the Bucks had an opportunity to add some cheap bench help. Milwaukee also drafted Tyler Smith in the second round. Smith is a big man that can really shoot the three-ball, but he also has a lot of developing to do. All of that was confusing for a team with Doc Rivers at the helm.
Miami Heat: With Dalton Knecht and Jared McCain on the board, the Heat selected Indiana big man Kel’el Ware. It was a bit of a shocker from Miami. It’s hard to question the Heat organization, as things seem to always work out for Pat Riley and Co. And Ware is definitely a player with big-time potential. But Miami is a team that can use some offensive juice, especially on the perimeter. That said, adding a center didn’t feel like the right move — even though the Heat love them some double-big lineups.
Ware has also had some attitude concerns in the past. His lack of a motor was a big part of the reason he couldn’t hold down a consistent rotation spot in his freshman season at Oregon. And while things got better with Indiana, his effort seems to come and go. That doesn’t sound like a Heat Culture player.
Clearly, Miami feels like it’s possible that Ware can put those issues to bed, and the team is also confident that his ability to space the floor will allow him to play next to Bam Adebayo long term. It just felt like a bit of an odd move when looking at the Heat roster.
