Which Teams Didn't Fare Well at the 2022 NBA Draft?

The NBA Draft is unpredictable, and there won’t be accurate conclusions drawn from last night until four to five years down the road, but which teams potentially messed up the future directions of their franchises? 

Look no further than this graphic below about the Sacramento Kings. Of course, many teams missed out on these players, but this is still pretty glaring. 

this is legitimately staggering pic.twitter.com/ShwwPxGxB2

— claire de lune (@ClaireMPLS) June 23, 2022

There’s no doubt that some of these teams listed below could make us look foolish down the line, but for now, they cracked the top three list for worst performances at the draft. 

Sacramento Kings

Let’s get this out of the way; the Sacramento Kings didn’t select an alarming prospect fourth overall. They got a very good one in Keegan Murray. With that said, it’s difficult to fathom how they passed on Jaden Ivey, a player with much more upside than Murray. This pick felt extremely safe by the Kings, and it’s not a direction this franchise needs to take after missing the playoffs for an NBA-high 16 consecutive seasons.

It’s fair to question whether or not De’Aaron Fox and Ivey would have meshed well together, but it still feels like the Kings played this one far too safe. It’s hard to envision a scenario where we don’t look back on this in five seasons and wonder how they missed out on another excellent talent. 

Cleveland Cavaliers 

The Cleveland Cavaliers showed promise this year, posting a 44-38 record and owning multiple building blocks, including Evan Mobley and Darius Garland. Considering that, with more growth expected from this talented young team, the Cavs had the opportunity to swing for the fences with the 14th selection in this draft.

Instead, they played it safe and tried to bunt their way to a base hit. Ochai Agbaji has a good shooting stroke and played well en route to the Kansas Jayhawks, winning the National Championship. Still, this prospect doesn’t have a great ceiling, even if he’s relatively NBA-ready.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Sticking with the theme of safety and question marks surrounding their selections, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ pick at 22nd overall was strange. With Karl-Anthony Towns in the fold for at least the next two seasons, it was somewhat weird that the team decided to pick a big man for their top selection. Maybe there are questions about whether or not Towns will stay and sign a max deal in Minnesota, but the choice of Walker Kessler left many scratching their heads after draft night.

The T-Wolves have been looking for someone to spell Towns minutes off the bench, but there are better ways to do that than using a coveted first-round selection on one when other needs were more prevalent.