Winners and losers from the first round of the NBA Draft

Winners

Dallas Mavericks

Cooper Flagg was the obvious choice at No. 1, but after Nico Harrison traded Luka Doncic, there was still some chance the beleaguered GM might try to trade down or otherwise miss on the can't-miss Flagg. The Mavs got more good news when they got Kyrie Irving to extend his contract through 2028 — and save them enough money next season to use their mid-level exception on a free-agent point guard to hold the fort while he recovers from his ACL injury.

San Antonio Spurs

Like the Mavericks, the Spurs deserve credit for not messing around. They got the second-best player in the draft at No. 2 with Rutgers point guard Dylan Harper, a big strong lead guard who got to the rim, got to the line and got into the heads of ball handlers he was guarding.

Then, at No. 14, the Spurs got Carter Bryant, a 6-foot-7 forward from Arizona who looks like a prototypical three-and-D forward. Bryant may not be much of a playmaker, but he's already a strong and versatile defender who can really shoot the ball. With the Spurs' plethora of guards and Victor Wembanyama at center, Bryant is a perfect fit who could help right away.

Charlotte Hornets

The Hornets made two safe picks after rolling the dice on high-risk, high-reward Tidjane Salaun at No. 6 last season, a player for whom the jury is still out. This year, Charlotte took Kon Knueppel from Duke, a very safe, well-rounded pick who should help their shooting right away. At No. 29, they got UConn forward Liam McNeeley, another wing who should add a lot of shooting while not hurting them on defense.

Plus, they managed to get more first-round picks out of the Phoenix Suns in yet another trade for a center. Since January, Charlotte has picked up three first-round picks and netted one second-rounder in deals that sent Nick Richards and Mark Williams to Phoenix and placed Jusuf Nurkic in Charlotte.

Jase Richardson, Orlando Magic (No. 25)

Richardson was a divisive prospect as an undersized guard (6-foot-1) who scored and shot well at Michigan State, but wasn't a true point guard or a strong pull-up shooter. However, he landed in a perfect situation with a Magic team that desperately needs his scoring and shooting, but doesn't need him to show point guard skills with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner running the offense. There may not have been a better fit in the NBA to showcase Richardson's strengths and hide his weaknesses.

Losers

Portland Trail Blazers

The Blazers shocked the NBA, draft scouts and even the People's Republic of China by selecting 7-foot-1 center Yang Hansen at No. 16, after trading down from No. 11 (and adding a 2028 Orlando Magic first). It's not just that Hansen is a questionable NBA prospect, who most insiders expected to last well into the second round. He's a skilled passer and has moves around the rim, but he's neither explosive nor quick or agile, a very tough combination for the modern NBA.

The real question is why Portland opted for another center after drafting 7-foot-2 Donovan Clingan with the No. 7 pick last year. Plus, the Blazers still have Deandre Ayton on their roster, going into the final year of his contract. After acquiring the veteran Jrue Holiday to play point guard and seemingly moving to compete, the Blazers made a strange gamble on a redundant project center.

Phoenix Suns

The Suns used the No. 10 overall pick they acquired in the Kevin Durant trade to draft Duke center Khaman Maluach. Then they turned around and added another center, sending their other first-round pick, No. 29 overall, to the Charlotte Hornets for Mark Williams, along with a 2029 first.

While Maluach is an intriguing prospect, adding the 23-year-old Williams is a risky proposition, given that he's never played more than 44 games in his three-year NBA career. A trade sending Williams to the Los Angeles Lakers in February fell apart when Williams failed his physical.

The Suns have struggled for two straight seasons in large part due to how much time their key players have missed. Now they've spent some of their limited draft capital on a players who has sat out 57 percent of his career games.

Brooklyn Nets

The Nets deserve credit for adding the No. 22 pick in the Kristaps Porzingis trade, just for taking on Terrance Mann's contract. That gave them five first-round picks, and they ended up using every single one of them. Simply put, that's too many first-rounders and too many rookies.

It seems clear that Brooklyn is planning to tank next season, so it will have some time to develop players like No. 22 pick Drake Powell, an excellent defensive prospect with zero offensive game. Egor Demin was a reach at No. 8 as a tall guard who is an amazing passer, but can't shoot. Guards Nolan Traore and Ben Saraf might end up stashed with their European teams, while Michigan's Danny Wolf is a skilled big man who can't necessarily shoot or defend.

It's just hard to make five first-round picks and not be able to feel great about any of them. Perhaps there were no deals to be had, but it feels like the Nets missed a chance to consolidate their hoard of picks for better players.

New Orleans Pelicans

You can't say new Pelicans GM Bryson Graham isn't taking big swings. He traded for the Indiana Pacers No. 23 pick last week, acquired Jordan Poole this week and then surrendered a 2026 first-round pick (the better of the Pels or Milwaukee Bucks selection) to move up 10 spots to No. 13.

It's just that the players he got were risky. No. 7 pick Jeremiah Fears is a dynamic scorer, but he's small (6-4). A Fears-Poole backcourt could be a nightmare on defense. No. 13 pick Derik Queen has a ton of skill as a scorer and can play on the perimeter, averaging 16.5 points for Maryland. But he's struggled with his weight, conditioning and defense, which have all been constant issues with Pelicans big man Zion Williamson.

It was a bold draft night for New Orleans, but probably overly optimistic.