Friday, June 28, 2013

2013 NBA draft grades: Western Conference teams

A wild NBA draft is over after trades galore and one huge move that had nothing to do with the draft and won't even be official for another two weeks. So who won?
USA TODAY Sports' draft grades take into account only what happened on draft night that was relevant to the draft itself. They are not weighted for the impact of the players, so that a team with only one second-round pick could get an A or an F depending on what the team did with its pick, even though the selection might not have much impact on the franchise's future.
With that said, here are the 15 Western Conference teams:
DALLAS MAVERICKS
New face: No. 18 PG Shane Larkin
The Mavericks slid down the board twice in the first round and have little to show for it aside from the player they may have picked 13th anyway. They received two future second-round picks from the Boston Celtics, but those only go so far, and they gave away last year's first-rounder, Jared Cunningham, in an effort to cut salary. Larkin is a good point guard and good fit in a need position, but this draft was all about freeing up cap space for the Mavericks. They did that to some degree but might have been better off going with someone like Giannis Antetokounmpo, the No. 15 pick who likely will stay in Greece for a couple years and therefore off the Milwaukee Bucks' payroll.
Grade: B-
GALLERY: NBA draft first round

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