NBA Draft 2019: 5 Biggest Losers

The NBA Draft used to be an occasion for the basement teams in the league to consolidate their resources and plan their rebuild up until last year. With the changed lottery odds for 2019, however, there were a couple of upheavals, and the #1 overall pick went to the New Orleans Pelicans, who had only the 8th best odds of getting it.

Also riding their lucky stars were the Los Angeles Lakers, whose 11th place finish in the lottery sweepstakes was negated by them bagging the #4 overall pick in the actual lottery. They used this asset to get verbal confirmation for the Anthony Davis trade. The Lakers, in turn, dealt him to Atlanta in exchange for cap space and assets this upcoming season, and the shadow of this trade loomed large over draft day.

Let's take a look at the 5 most crestfallen stakeholders from NBA Draft 2019:

#1 Phoenix Suns

While the organization actually may have won the trade on the day, the Suns may end up regretting their decision to trade down to pick 11th instead of 6th. With a glaring abyss at the point guard position within the roster (DeAnthony Melton was their best traditional 1-guard), they could have taken a punt at Coby White or Darius Garland to pair with their max player Devin Booker in the backcourt.

Instead, they will now have to look to a free agent market that has historically never worked in favor of a relatively small market like Phoenix, Arizona. Admittedly, the likes of Ricky Rubio, Patrick Beverley, Darren Collison or Elfrid Payton may be up for grabs even if they strike out on the Kembas or the D'Angelo Russells of the world, but the likes of Garland/White present a higher upside than any of these 4 players. The Suns continue to be the worst-run organization in the league despite stiff competition from the likes of the Knicks and the Wolves.