GoldandBlack.com - NBA Draft Grades: Atlantic Division

July 1, 2007

Jonathan Givony of draftexpress.com
Rivals.com College Basketball

NBA DRAFT GRADES

EASTERN CONFERENCE

? Atlantic Division
? Central Division
? Southeast Division

WESTERN CONFERENCE

? Southwest Division
? Northwest Division
? Pacific Division

Rivals.com has partnered with NBA Draft expert Jonathan Givony and his staff at DraftExpress.com to analyze the results of Thursday's draft. Givony hands out grades for each team, and we have grouped them by division. Below, please find the grades for the Atlantic Division.

This report card was based off three things:

I: How well the team satisfied its needs or filled gaps on the roster with the hand they were dealt.
II: How much value teams received from the picks they had.
III: Subjective opinions on the player(s) they landed and how well they fit with the team's style of play, the direction they are headed and what we know about the organization.

Draft Grades Methodology:

A: The team probably could not have done any better considering the situation.
B: The team did well in filling their needs, getting fair value from their pick and getting a prospect that fits their system and the direction the franchise is heading.
C: The team had an average draft, not great - but also did not embarrass their fans.
D: The team should have done a better job with the picks they made.
F: The team did a terrible job and their fans have every reason to be angry.

Atlantic Division:
Boston Celtics | New Jersey Nets | New York Knicks | Philadelphia 76ers | Toronto Raptors

Boston Celtics

Draft Grade: C
This reeks of a panic move on Danny Ainge's part to try and save his job after the flurry of trade rumors that never materialized. If this was a matter of trading for Ray Allen now or trading Paul Pierce for pennies on the dollar, Ainge may have made the right choice. However, it's hard not to feel like he could have gotten more value out of the No. 5 pick. If Ainge turns around and flips Theo Ratliff, Al Jefferson and change for Kevin Garnett, then we'll stand corrected. But right now there's not a whole lot to get excited about here. Celtics fans won't get any excitement from maybe having a chance to be knocked out of the playoffs in the first round.

Sel#

Player

Pos

School/Organization

32.

Gabe Pruitt

USC

35.

Glen Davis (from Seattle)

LSU

New Jersey Nets

Draft Grade: Incomplete
A cop-out, indeed. However, there is no way of grading this pick until we see whether Williams flames out of the league after a year or two like his history indicates he will. If he miraculously cleans up his act and decides to pick basketball over smoking marijuana, the Nets will have done extremely well here. If he doesn't, then obviously everyone will say that the writing was on the wall. Considering where they were drafting and the fact that they needed an athletic power forward that can play in Lawrence Frank's system right now - they'll tell you that they really didn't have a choice here. Only time will tell if that was indeed the case.

Sel#

Player

Pos

School/Organization

17.

Sean Williams

Boston College

New York Knicks

Draft Grade: B-
Wilson Chandler being picked at No. 23 was the second-worst kept secret of this year's draft. That was another scoop that we broke at DraftExpress more than a week before the draft. This move makes very little sense considering the current makeup of New York's roster, but it is typical of Isiah Thomas. He chooses length and athleticism over skills and intangibles. He clearly could have landed Chandler 10-15 picks down at a lesser salary slot. Thomas then went out and traded what is probably going to be a very nice second-round pick next year to get into the bottom of the draft and pluck Demetris Nichols, yet another small forward. We like Nichols, and he clearly fills a need as a shooter. However, you have to wonder how he is ever going to get any playing time behind (or next to) Jarred Jeffries, Renaldo Balkman, Quentin Richardson and Chandler.

The one saving grace that we can see here is the trade packaging Steve Francis and Channing Frye for a legit 24-point, 10-rebound player in Zach Randolph. Ignoring the salary cap ramifications, this has to be considered a very shrewd move considering the caliber of talent that was swapped. The Knicks just added some major firepower to their roster to compete in the East, and did so without giving up on all that much. How all that talent actually meshes on the floor is anyone's guess, but for a team that has been looking to cut corners constantly for the past five years or more, this was definitely one of their better moves.

Sel#

Player

Pos

School/Organization

23.

Wilson Chandler (from Philadelphia)

DePaul

53.

Demetris Nichols (from Portland)

Syracuse

Philadelphia 76ers

Draft Grade: C
This probably wasn't a bad draft for Philadelphia, but you get the feeling that they could have done more with three first-round picks. Thaddeus Young was a reach at No. 12 and doesn't really fill a need. Jason Smith had solid value at No. 21 and certainly will fill a need a few years down the road. He should get the minutes to play through mistakes and build confidence as he makes the very difficult transition from the cellar of the Mountain West Conference to the NBA.

Rather than hold on to a player with real talent and potential in Koponen, the Sixers traded him away for yet another swingman. Koponen could have had a great chance to gel with Philly's young roster. Now, they have a logjam with Byars joining Rodney Carney, Bobby Jones and Thaddeus Young. At least they got cash out of it, which should make their fan base feel terrific. We do like the Herbert Hill pick at No. 55. If he gets a fair shake, he might end up stealing minutes from Smith at the 4-spot.

Sel#

Player

Pos

School/Organization

12.

Thaddeus Young

Georgia Tech

21.

Jason Smith (from Miami)

Colorado State

42.

Derrick Byars (from Portland)