2022 NBA Offseason - The NBA Draft
Time for an exciting NBA Draft. The Pistons enter with a chance to snag the third piece of their young core to play alongside LaMelo Ball and Evan Mobley. After finishing nine games out of the playoffs, the Pistons are doing what they can to slowly develop their talent.
Meanwhile, the Warriors lurk at no. 2 with a chance to grab another excellent piece to their already loaded stockpile of assets.
Full draft results below, story to come first.
For weeks, all signs pointed to the Pistons taking Ibraham Mobley with the top selection. The consensus top overall pick seemed like an ideal pairing alongside Ball and Evan Mobley. When the Pistons got on the clock, they kicked the night off with a bang.
Desmond Cooper, shooting guard, Fresno State.
The pick was shocking. Cooper is a great player, but at 21 scouts fear that his upside may come sooner than other players available, most notably Mobley who was college’s best power forward and Freshman of the Year. Cooper does however provide a shooting punch that the Pistons are lacking. A deadly deep threat, Cooper and Ball are a backcourt that should be able to score in bunches. However, it will also likely be a backcourt that gets scored on in bunches as neither posses the defensive acumen of a top-flight stopper. A risky roll but one the Pistons are banking on pulling off.
Luck favors the fortunate apparently, and with Cooper off the board, the Warriors waste little time in taking Ibraham Mobley. Scouts within the organization said they saw Mobley developing into a Chris Bosh-esque player with an ability to defend inside and outside and be a knock down shooter from the perimeter. Considered the best player in the draft by many, Mobley is an absolute steal at two.
The Rockets, looking to build one last contender out of the Russ-Harden pairing, jump for Kareem Livingston. The NCAA Tournament MVP, Livingston should slot in as a day one starter at the three for a Rockets team still looking to generate shots from the perimeter. Livingston will be allowed to contribute right away but won’t be lead on heavily, which should benefit him in the long run.
At four, the Spurs do the most Spursy thing possible, taking Sasha Kasparov out of Russia. The top international prospect in the draft, Kasparov should be a nice fit alongside Dejounte Murray and Cole Anthony, the Spurs’ young guards.
Atlanta has to be happy. After sliding back from the first overall pick to the fifth, the Hawks snatch up Julius Walker. The South Carolina bigman gets to stay home in the South and provides a unique attack for Atlanta. The Hawks have built their roster on shooters, and this should allow Walker to not only start right away, but also compliment the rest of the roster well. The big question mark for the Hawks now is the impending restricted free agency of Trae Young.
Other notables from the draft: Tre Hunter is taken eighth overall by the Magic. The Magic just drafted Jalen Green with the top pick a year ago and have shown a commitment to Markelle Fultz, so the Hunter selection is a bit of a head scratcher. If he develops a shot, the Magic could go the route of a three-guard lineup, and since the Magic feel they are deep with defenders, a pure scorer might be just what they need.
Memphis Reed falls to 12 and is taken by the Nuggets. A nice fit for their roster, Reed will be given time to develop and won’t be leaned on right away to produce.
The Cavs take Emanuel Barkley (PG) and Nico Claver (PF) with the sixth and seventh picks. Cleveland needs these picks to pay off. The Cavs took Onyeka Okongu two years ago before trading away their first last year, but after making the playoffs in 2021, they won 21 fewer games last year and appear to be trending in the wrong direction.
| NBA Draft - Round 1 Recap |
| Pick | Team | Player | Pos | Ht | Wt |
| 1 (6) | Detroit Pistons | Desmond Cooper | SG | | |
| 2 (9) | Golden State Warriors (via CHA) | Ibraham Mobley | PF | | |
| 3 (5) | Houston Rockets | Kareem Livingston | SF | | |
| 4 (3) | San Antonio Spurs | Sasha Kasparov | C | | |
| 5 (1) | Atlanta Hawks | Julius Walker | C | | |
| 6 (2) | Cleveland Cavaliers | Emanuel Barkley | PG | | |
| 7 (4) | Cleveland Cavaliers (via NYK) | Nico Claver | PF | | |
| 8 (7) | Orlando Magic | Tre Hunter | PG | | |
| 9 (8) | Phoenix Suns | Raul Acy | PG | | |
| 10 | Washington Wizards | Dontay Hopson | SF | | |
| 11 | Sacramento Kings | Dexter Jenkins | SG | | |
| 12 | Denver Nuggets | Memphis Reed | PG | | |
| 13 | New Orleans Pelicans | Ivan Gates | SG | | |
| 14 | Atlanta Hawks (via OKC) | Kyree Gils | SG | | |
| 15 | Chicago Bulls | Stanley Hawkins | PG | | |
| 16 | Indiana Pacers | Elton Dawkins | C | | |
| 17 | Oklahoma City Thunder (via LAC) | Ayden Slay | PF | | |
| 18 | Phoenix Suns (via MIN) | Shamar Hayward | SF | | |
| 19 | Memphis Grizzlies | Koby Alston | PF | | |
| 20 | Brooklyn Nets | Paul Giddens | PF | | |
| 21 | Philadelphia 76ers | Calvin Brand | PG | | |
| 22 | Toronto Raptors | Jay Kingston | SF | | |
| 23 | Cleveland Cavaliers (via MIL) | Oliver Carson | PF | | |
| 24 | Dallas Mavericks | Haden Best | PG | | |
| 25 | Miami Heat | Darius Miller | PG | | |
| 26 | Boston Celtics | Ethan Bowden | PG | | |
| 27 | Memphis Grizzlies (via UTA) | Viktor Pressey | C | | |
| 28 | Portland Trail Blazers | Kaden Dickerson | SG | | |
| 29 | New Orleans Pelicans | Marcel Adams | PG | | |
| 30 | Charlotte Hornets (via GSW) | Mike Gray | SG | | |