NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 23: Ben Simmons poses with Commissioner Adam Silver after being drafted first overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 23, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NBABy Yaron Weitzman on

The 2016 NBA Draft is officially in the books. Daps were given. Players were traded. Funky suits were worn and tweets were sent.

So who were the winners and losers out of Thursday night’s festivities? Glad you asked.

Best Pick: Ben Simmons to the Sixers

Let’s start with the basketball portion of the evening, and with the first player to hear his name called. Simmons is a stud. He’s built like LeBron, and handles the ball like him, too. He’s a marvelous passer and excellent finisher. Sure, his shot is kind of crooked, but that can be fixed in the NBA. And ignore all noise about his lack of effort at LSU and attitude issues. Some LSU teammates, such as senior Keith Hornsby, say they have no issue with how Simmons handled himself last year.

“Some people couldn’t handle that Ben was always the one getting credit,” Hornsby said to me earlier this year. “It wasn’t Ben’s fault; it was just hard with all the media attention.”

Simmons is the best player in this draft and the type of stud the Sixers have spent years hunting for. Speaking of which…

Saddest Draft Day Observer: Sam Hinkie

RIP The Process. Poor Hinkie. Dude spent four years tanking, just so he could get his hands on a player like Ben Simmons… only to get fired right before things start looking up.

Of course, Hinkie deserved to get canned. Tanking is one thing; alienating every agent and executive in the league and ignoring player development is another. But you do have to feel for him just a bit.

Most Disappointed City: Boston

This was supposed to be THE NIGHT for the Celtics. They spent the past few years collecting talent and assets, and building a winner with the hopes of eventually flipping a bunch of them for a stud. Then this year, thanks to that fleecing of the Nets, Boston stumbled into the No. 3 pick in the draft. Finally, GM Danny Ainge was going to pull the trigger. Maybe there’d be a package for DeMarcus Cousins. Or Jimmy Butler. Or Jabari Parker.

But no one bit and the Celtics were instead stuck drafting Jaylen Brown, a talented but raw forward out of California. Brown has a bright future, but is not ready to be a major contributor on a playoff team, which the Celtics are. Boston might have more assets today than they did yesterday. But it’s hard to see how they got any better.

Best Shoutout: Kris Dunn to JCPenney.

Your mother’s favorite department store has never been so in vogue.

https://vine.co/v/5B9j71HBwwM

Also, while we’re talking about Kris Dunn…

Best Moment: Kris Dunn Overcome With Emotion

For those not aware of his backstory, I urge you to check out this interview he did with ESPN on Thursday. The Cliffs Notes: Dunn grew up in a broken home. His mother was in and our of jail. At one Dunn and his brother lived alone in an apartment. He was nine years old at the time.

https://twitter.com/HQonESPN/status/746081719225200640

There’s a lot that goes down on draft night which is easy to poke fun at. But for some guys, being drafted and getting the multi-million dollar contract that comes with hearing your name called, well, let’s just say it can be a special night.

Also, from a basketball perspective, man, you have to love Dunn going to Minnesota. You already had Tom Thibodeau along with Andrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns and Ricky Rubio. Now they add another defensive stud. The Timberwolves should have a top-10 defense next year, if not better.

Best Tweet

This came after the Kings decided to send the No. 8 in the draft to the Suns in exchange for picks No. 13, 28 and a future second-rounder on Bogdan Bogdanovic — and then proceeded to use that 13th pick on a Greek center named Georgios Papagiannis. This, after they drafted Willie Cauley-Stein in the first round last year.

Oh, and let’s not forget that Cousins himself is a center. Dayenu, right? Except Sacramento then used the 28th pick on Kentucky center Skal Labissiere. It might be a good idea for Vivek Ranadive to stay clear of Boogie for a bit.

Worst Draft Show: ESPN

To be clear, I don’t blame Rece Davis, Jalen Rose (more on him in a bit) Jay Bilas (The Gawd) or Michael Wilbon (zzz). It’s not their fault. It’s just all the #WojBombs and sourced tweets put these guys in an position. The ESPN broadcast was two picks behind Twitter throughout the first round. There were points where the guys were discussing a selection’s fit with his team, only the player had actually been traded.

I understand ESPN views the draft as a TV show and so doesn’t want to spoil picks. But I don’t get why producers can’t feed all the wheeling and dealing to the on-air talent.

Best Reporter:

Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski got off to a slow start…

But ended off strong.

It’s Woj’s world — at least on draft night. The rest of us are just living in it.

Biggest Moment: The Serge Ibaka trade

The lone transaction from Thursday night that will actually impact the 2017 title run. Serge Ibaka was sent to the Magic; in return, the Thunder got Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova and the draft rights to Domantas Sabonis.

It’s a strange trade, but a good one for the Thunder. Ibaka never developed into the player OKC wanted him to be. He’s no longer the defensive beast he once was and never improved his offensive game. Also, he shot just 36 percent from deep last season and is a free agent in a year.

The Thunder can now give the bulk of their frontcourt minutes to Steven Adams and Enes Kanter. If they re-sign Durant, they can play him at power forward next to Adams. And Oladipo, an fine athlete, should form an electric partnership with Russell Westbrook.

As for the Magic, I understand wanting Ibaka, but Orlando gave up a lot for a player who’s going to be a free agent in a year.

Best Draft Comparisons: Jalen Rose

Some, I saw, were hating with the names Rose was dropping on the ESPN broadcast.

I disagree. The way I look at, anytime you get names like Voshon Lenard, Michael Redd (where’s he now?!) and Michael Ray-Richardson onto TV, I consider that a success.

Word of the Night: Wingspan

A draft night tradition lives on.

About Yaron Weitzman

Yaron Weitzman is a freelance writer based in New York whose work frequently appears on The Comeback, SB Nation and in SLAM Magazine. He's also been published on SB Nation Longform, The Cauldron, Tablet Magazine and in the Journal News. Yaron can be followed on Twitter @YaronWeitzman

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