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ESPN 2024 NBA draft grades: Orlando gets a D

  • June 29, 2024


From Kevin Pelton’s write-up:

I can see the logic in Orlando drafting da Silva, a skilled big man whose shooting ability (1.9 3s per game as a senior on 39.5% accuracy) fits well alongside Magic building blocks Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. I question whether da Silva will do enough else to justify getting on the court to utilize that shooting. If Orlando envisions playing da Silva in the frontcourt with Banchero, his poor rim protection (just 0.7 blocks per 40 minutes) could be an impediment. Da Silva is also a poor rebounder, topping out at 5.1 RPG.

Calling a 6’8” shooter a “big man” is definitely a choice. Also, Orlando seems to be the only team to have received a draft grade below a C- from ESPN. Thoughts?

15 comments

  1. Draft grades mean absolutely nothing. I trust in Weltman’s evaluation of him much more than these “analysts.”

  2. That’s a pretty egregious misunderstanding of what Da Silva is and does…

  3. Pretty terrible evaluation in my opinion. Feels like the weaknesses he’s pointing out are just simply not his game. I couldn’t care less about his blocks per game. He will play the 3 and maybe 4 in small ball. He’s also definitely going to be a bench player so talking about his fit with Paolo is not really a key point to make. And 5.1 rebounds per game does not sound poor to me. Maybe average but cmon now

  5. I’m sure the less a writer cares about a team the easier it is to shit on a pick. Most of us see the reasoning for drafting him. Hopefully he can help us get to the second round of playoffs this year.

  6. I don’t see many better options available at 18. And if a draft grade says “they should’ve traded up”, the trades available might’ve been garbage? Not something you can say unless you know what the potential trade terms were.

  8. I think the rebounding concern is the only valid point in this write-up. I think it’s always fair to expect better rebounding numbers from someone TDS’ size.

    However, rim protection? Big man? He’s a wing. This also completely ignores the things he happens to do exceptionally well. Sam Vecenie, a basketball writer who actually watches basketball, called him the best cutter in the draft. He’s also a very good connective passer that shot well in various capacities (aka he’s not just a spot up shooter).

    Draft grades in general are a pointless exercise anyway.

  9. I’m excited to see what TDS does but, I don’t see many paths for him to be a particularly useful NBA player.

    I would had rather we taken a shot on a more raw player with better physical tools and more upside

  11. What were we supposed to do. We missed out on Knecht by 1 pick. Still not convinced any rookie we’d draft would getting immediate minutes.

  13. These grade are purely based off of his made up stat projections for their careers. Go thumb through some of his others grades, some real head scratchers in there.

  15. All this means, since its ESPN reporting it, is that Da Silva will make All Rookie First Team now.

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