Winners & Losers As NBA Gets Jimmered

Brigham Young guard and worldwide sensation "The" Jimmer Fredette greets commissioner David Stern after being selected tenth overall by Milwaukee in last night's NBA Draft before being traded to Sacramento. Kings were one of few winners last night in Newark. (Photo courtesy of NBA.com)

After all the speculation, we can finally leave the NBA alone for another twelve months as we return to following the college game we all know and love. In the interim, there's one last order of business relevant to last night's NBA Draft that we have to cover; and that's a recap of the winners and losers as free agency (and maybe even an impending work stoppage) draws closer in David Stern's world. Who gained and dropped the most, you might ask? We'll help you out with that in the following evaluations:

Winners

Sacramento Kings - Far and away the best draft last night in my opinion, something that gives the city of Sacramento something to hold on to while owners Gavin and Joe Maloof figure out another way to move the team to Anaheim while also managing the Palms resort and casino. The Kings orchestrated a three-way trade hours before Kyrie Irving was selected first overall by the Cavaliers, trading John Salmons to Milwaukee for the tenth pick in a deal that also involved the Charlotte Bobcats. The Bucks then proceeded to select Jimmer Fredette for Sacramento, a player that the Kings heavily considered taking seventh had they stayed where they were. The arrival of The Jimmer allows Tyreke Evans to move to shooting guard as had been widely expected in the month leading up to last night's rookie convocation in Newark, while giving Sacramento a backcourt filled with two combo guards that can score and enable DeMarcus Cousins to become a solid post presence for years to come. The Kings gave The Jimmer some help in the final round as well, picking up swingman Tyler Honeycutt after the UCLA product was expected to go late in the first round; and capped off the night by drafting Washington's Isaiah Thomas as "Mr. Irrelevant," the final pick of the draft.

Washington Wizards - The Wizards were already winners after revising their logo and uniforms. Now, the team in our nation's capital adds a trio of players that can make an immediate impact. Czech center Jan Vesely already did in the eyes of many with his celebration after being announced by commissioner David Stern.

In addition to Vesely, Washington used their second pick of the opening round to steal Florida State's Chris Singleton, a scoring forward that many expected to be a lottery pick. Singleton can also shoot from mid-range and will upgrade a Washington frontline featuring two role players in Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee that are ready to become future stars. In the second round, Washington used their lone selection to take a proven winner in Butler's Shelvin Mack, who led the Bulldogs to two consecutive national championship games. Mack is a combo guard that will give Flip Saunders the flexibility to play him off the ball alongside John Wall, or even at the point when last year's top overall choice is on the bench.

Golden State Warriors - Golden State got the man they wanted all along when they drafted Klay Thompson of Washington State at No. 11. The son of former No. 1 pick Mychal Thompson, Klay is a deadly shooter that reminds me of a cross between Clyde Drexler and former Warrior legend Chris Mullin; and it wouldn't surprise me to see this kid average 20 points per game sooner rather than later. The Warriors also picked up Hofstra's all-time leading scorer Charles Jenkins in the second round to join Stephen Curry and (barring a trade) Monta Ellis in their backcourt while also buying the rights to Jeremy Tyler from Charlotte. Although he only played sparingly in international competition after decommitting from Louisville, Tyler's numbers equate to 32 points and 19 rebounds per contest when they're adjusted for a 48-minute game. If that's not production, I don't know what is.

Denver Nuggets - Denver had their hearts set on Tobias Harris, but had to change that on the fly when the Tennessee product was scooped up by Charlotte at No. 19 and subsequently traded to the Bucks. Denver followed up with two impressive moves, drafting Kenneth Faried three spots later and trading for Jordan Hamilton after the Texas forward was drafted by Dallas at No. 26. Faried, whose national coming-out party came during Morehead State's upset of Louisville in the NCAA Tournament, gives the Nuggets a rebounding presence they desperately need as Kenyon Martin gets older; and Hamilton is a Carmelo Anthony clone that really could become the next big star in the NBA after carrying the Longhorns following the graduation of Damion James two years ago.

Fran Fraschilla - The former St. John's and Manhattan (#mcmbbcoachingsummit) head man proved to be the one real expert on ESPN's draft panel, especially during the second round when international players were seemingly chosen out of a hat as the draft came to a close. This man is a jack of all trades: International expert, color commentator, and still a great coach. With Steve Lavin and Mark Gottfried leaving ESPN to return to the sidelines in each of the last two years, don't be surprised to see Fraschilla get a long look or two in 2012; especially after his inspiring performance last night.

Losers

Toronto Raptors - The Raptors had a chance to solidify their backcourt by drafting either Brandon Knight (who went eighth to the Pistons) or Kemba Walker, (taken right after Knight by Charlotte) but went down the international road with Jonas Valanciunas, who may not even get to come to the NBA right away due to contractual obligations in his native Lithuania. Bismack Biyombo (taken seventh by the Kings and ultimately traded to Charlotte) would have been the selection had Valanciunas not been available.

New York Knicks - There are some out there that will say the selection of Iman Shumpert was Donnie Walsh's symbolic way of sticking it to owner James Dolan after their tumultuous tenure together inside Madison Square Garden. The Knicks really didn't need another guard as much as they needed a big man; and with Chris Singleton AND Jordan Hamilton on the board when the NBA's biggest joke of the last decade got on the clock at No. 17, either of those two (not to mention Kenneth Faried) would have made more sense. The Knicks redeemed themselves by acquiring the rights to Josh Harrellson in the second round, but the jury is still out until Shumpert proves he was the right man at the right time for New York.

David Stern - Maybe his reaction last night signifies that the time could be right for a changing of the guard. Stern was booed louder than Alex Rodriguez at Fenway Park by the Prudential Center crowd last night, and the start of the second round was greeted by a loud ovation for deputy commish Adam Silver. Stern got the ratings and the exposure he desired last night; but when you're the authority figure in your league and you're received apathetically by the fans, (see: Gary Bettman...by the way, Bud Selig and Roger Goodell are getting closer to that territory as well) it doesn't bode well for your popularity or reputation. Who knows? Maybe Russ Granik will come back to the delight of certain members of the Daly Dose fan base.