With all the talent in the 2012 draft pool, some teams made questionable early-round picks.
Want to know who did not squander their opportunity?
The New Orleans Hornets.
Already expected to be winners as they picked up Anthony Davis for the first overall pick, the Hornets did a great job with their later picks too.
With the 10th pick of the draft they selected Austin Rivers from Duke. Rivers, the son of Doc Rivers, is a clutch player with guts and does not lack confidence.
He sounds like a Nate Robinson or Jason Williams who can take over games and end up taking the team out of competition. In reality, he has the potential to be great, especially as a teammate of Eric Gordon.
The next team that won was the Sacramento Kings. They only had one pick, but they made it count.
They already possess DeMarcus Cousins who has incredible rebounding instincts. In 2012, he averaged a double-double in points scored and rebounds a game.
Adding Thomas Robinson, who somehow made it all the way to the fifth pick, will help the team control the boards.
The Philadelphia 76ers also did a great job in the draft.
What is scary about their team is that they have proven they can play in the postseason.
They added Moe Harkless and two big men, Arnett Moultrie and Justin Hamilton. All players can rebound, which was a weakness in 2012 for the Sixers.
The biggest loser in the 2012 Draft were the Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers and Denver Nuggets.
The Pacers and Nuggets stacked up on players they have no space for on their rosters.
Denver picked up forwards event though they have Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler and Jordan Hamilton. It seems like the Nuggets might be interested in trading a few of these pieces.
The Pacers used their 26th pick to get a center, Miles Plumlee. They have Roy Hibbert, who expressed interest in staying with the team.
Then finally the Pistons got a talented player in Andre Drummond, but he does not seem ready for the NBA yet. For a 9th pick it is a waste of a selection if he still needs to develop and not able to impact the team immediately.
Although winners and losers have been named after the draft, the real talking will be done once the players get out on the court. It will be great to see which one of these young stars can provide the biggest spark once they make their team's rosters.
