The 2020-2021 NBA regular season is about to end and it’s time to see if teams are experiencing drafter’s remorse. What is drafter’s remorse? It’s the mental anxiety or regret that a team will feel after drafting a player. Did the team make the right choice? Was the next player taken a better option? Remember how everyone keeps making fun of the Minnesota Timberwolves for drafting Jonny Flynn before Stephen Curry? That’s drafter’s remorse right there.
It’s time to scrutinize every team’s highest pick and compare them to the next player taken in the draft. It is way too early to tell if these rookies are going to be superstars, or just fade away after a few years. But we’re here to have some fun so let’s see how this goes.
ATLANTA HAWKS
Highest Pick: Onyeka Okongwu
Next player: Killian Hayes
Verdict: A little bit of regret.
Hawks lost backup point guard Kris Dunn to injury for most of the season. If they had Hayes, it would have been a big help.
BOSTON CELTICS
Highest pick: Aaron Nesmith
Next player: Cole Anthony
Verdict: No regrets anymore.
Nesmith, in the last few games, has been producing well due to his increase in playing time.
BROOKLYN NETS
Highest pick: Saddiq Bey
Next player: Precious Achiuwa
VERDICT: Hard to tell.
The Nets have a bunch of superstars and probably do not care if Bey is playing well after moving to Detroit.
CHARLOTTE HORNETS
Highest Pick: LaMelo Ball
Next player: Patrick Williams
Verdict: No regrets!
Ball’s style of play is what the Hornets needed. The team gained a lot of new highlight reels and their fan base grew for sure.
CHICAGO BULLS
Highest Pick: Patrick Williams
Next player: Isaac Okoro
Verdict: No Regrets.
Williams has potential and all the Bulls need is patience.
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
Highest pick: Isaac Okoro
Next player: Onyeka Okongwu
Verdict: No regrets.
Okoro’s play in the last two months made him a worthy pick.
DALLAS MAVERICKS
Highest Pick: Josh Green
Next player: Saddiq Bey
Verdict: A little bit of regret.
Bey has been playing well. It might be a little unfair to compare him to Josh Green who has less playing time.
DENVER NUGGETS
Highest pick: Zeke Nnaji
Next player: Leandro Bolmaro
Verdict: Not Applicable.
Nnaji is in the NBA while Bolmaro is playing in Europe.
DETROIT PISTONS
Highest Pick: Killian Hayes
Next player: Obi Toppin
Verdict: No regrets.
Hayes is doing fine while Toppin isn’t even the best rookie for the Knicks.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
Highest pick: James Wiseman
Next player: LaMelo Ball
Verdict: No regrets.
The only problem with Wiseman is availability. He’ll be healthy next season.
HOUSTON ROCKETS
Highest pick: Kenyon Martin Jr. (Sacramento’s pick)
Next player: Cassius Winston
Verdict: No regrets.
The Rockets like what they see in Martin. He’s been scoring around 20 points per game with good field goal percentage lately.
INDIANA PACERS
Highest pick: Cassius Stanley
Next player : Jay Scrubb
Verdict: Hard to tell.
Stanley and Scrubb are both stuck on the bench.
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
Highest Pick: Reggie Perry
Next player: Paul Reed
Verdict: Hard to tell.
Both Perry and Reed are stuck on the bench.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Highest Pick: Jaden McDaniels (plays for Timberwolves)
Next player: Malachi Flynn
Verdict: No Regrets
When your team has LeBron James and Anthony Davis, it will be easy to forget how your picks are doing.
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
Highest Pick: Robert Woodard II
Next player: Tre Jones
Verdict: Hard to tell.
Woodard is now with the Sacramento Kings and doesn’t have much playing time. It would have been nice for Memphis to grab Jones and pair him up with his brother Tyus.
MIAMI HEAT
Highest pick: Precious Achiuwa
Next player: Tyrese Maxey
Verdict: No Regrets.
Miami can always use the help they’ll get from power forwards.
MILWAUKEE BUCKS
Highest Pick: R.J. Hampton
Next player: Immanuel Quickley
Verdict: No Regrets
The Bucks are satisfied with their current backcourt players.
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
Highest Pick: Anthony Edwards
Next player: James Wiseman
Verdict: No Regrets
Their current pick has the potential to be the rookie of the year.
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS
Highest Pick: Kira Lewis Jr.
Next player: Aaron Nesmith
Verdict: No regrets.
The Pelicans need to hang on to Lewis who is currently their backup point guard.
NEW YORK KNICKS
Highest pick: Obi Toppin
Next player: Deni Avdija
Verdict: A little bit of regret.
Toppin is being overshadowed by his fellow rookie teammate so maybe Avdija would be a better fit.
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
Highest Pick: Immanuel Quickley (traded to New York)
Next player: Payton Pritchard
Verdict: Regret… but only a little.
Quickley has been providing meaningful minutes for the Knicks but this won’t bother the Thunder one bit. The Thunder are so busy stockpiling on future draft picks that they’ll have their own superstar-in-the-making soon.
ORLANDO MAGIC
Highest Pick: Cole Anthony
Next player: Isaiah Stewart
Verdict: No Regrets.
Anthony has been clutch for the Magic a few times this year already.
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
Highest Pick: Tyrese Maxey
Next player: Zeke Nnaji
Verdict: No regrets.
Maxey has been valuable off the bench for the Sixers this year. He scored 39 points at one point in time so the potential is there.
PHOENIX SUNS
Highest Pick: Jalen Smith
Next player: Devin Vassell
Verdict: Regret.
Smith has no playing time and Phoenix could use the scoring outbursts that Vassell could provide.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
Highest Pick: Isaiah Stewart
Next player: Aleksej Pokuševski
Verdict: No regrets.
Stewart was traded for assets that the Blazers need right now. It should be noted that Stewart is doing well in Detroit so releasing him might haunt Portland in the future.
SACRAMENTO KINGS
Highest Pick: Tyrese Haliburton
Next player: Kira Lewis Jr.
Verdict: No regrets.
Haliburton is always in the right place at the right time on the court. The Kings made a good choice with the 12th pick in the draft.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS
Highest Pick: Devin Vassell
Next player: Tyrese Haliburton
Verdict: Regret.
Haliburton’s play this year was one of the early surprises of the season. Imagine that talent being groomed by coach Gregg Popovich.
TORONTO RAPTORS
Highest pick: Malachi Flynn
Next player: Desmond Bane
Verdict: Regret.
Bane is the better shooter. The Raptors needed all the help they could get this year.
UTAH JAZZ
Highest Pick: Udoka Azubuike
Next player: Jaden McDaniels
Verdict: No Regrets.
The Jazz have been on top in the standings for most of the season. They’re happy with their current line up.
WASHINGTON WIZARDS
Highest pick: Deni Avdija
Next player: Jalen Smith
Verdict: No regrets.
Avdija contributed right away for the Wizards. He had some inconsistent games but flashes of brilliance were shown even if the team kept losing in the early parts of the season.
Disclaimer: The players mentioned in this article were judged in their first NBA season. Some of these players are going to be better than expected. They could be superstars in their third, fifth, or 10th season. No one knows yet.
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3 Responses
Nice article. 🙂
Nice article…
Nice article… 🙂