There were a record number of underclassmen picked by NBA teams Wednesday in its annual draft. Because those players are foregoing their college grades, they will be graded by their teams from now on. Here's one report card for the teams.
1. Philadelphia 76ers, Allen Iverson: Has star quality, but is a shooter playing with shooters Jerry Stackhouse and Derrick Coleman, so there will have to be some meetings. Good second-rounder in Ryan Minor, considered a high first-rounder last year. Grade: B.2. Toronto Raptors, Marcus Camby: Good low-post player, if a little thin now, to go with rookie-of-the-year point guard Damon Stoudamire. Still some questions about Camby's heart episode last year. Grade: B.
3, 22. Vancouver Grizzlies, Shareef Abdur-Rahim: Great talent and he gets to stay on the West Coast, so he may decide to stay when he becomes a free agent after what would have been his senior year of college. And a solid power forward in Roy Rogers with their second No. 1, providing lots of support for Bryant Reeves.Grade: A.
4. Milwaukee Bucks, Ray Allen: Through trade with Minnesota. Solid player, more mature than most rookies and looks like he'll fit a need at shooting guard. And they get a future No. 1 for just trading one place. But they did take a pass on a future big talent in Marbury in hopes of keeping Allen for the long term. The deal with Minnesota is expected to include center Andrew Lang. Grade: A.
5. Minnesota Timberwolves, Stephon Marbury: In trade with the Bucks and throwing in a future No. 1, which may be too high a price. How far can a team go led by two college freshman, which is what Marbury was and Kevin Garnett would have been last season. This could help keep Garnett. Grade: B.
6. Boston Celtics, Antoine Walker: Good athlete and all-around player to begin building a team that had become ugly to watch. Grade: B.
7. Los Angeles Clippers, Lorenzen Wright: Broke his ankle in a pickup game recently, but is expected to be ready for training camp in October. They need a center. The question is whether he's the right one. Grade: C.
8. New Jersey Nets, Kerry Kittles: The first senior taken is a solid choice, although the Nets have Kendall Gill, who likes and needs to play big minutes. Grade: C.
9. Dallas Mavericks, Samaki Walker: Strong player to help newly acquired center Eric Montross, whom they got by just going from No. 6 to No. 9. He may help keep Jason Kidd, Jim Jackson and Jamal Mashburn from fighting each other in the locker room. Grade: B.
10. Indiana Pacers, Erick Dampier: Considered the best center prospect going into the draft, though there's a feeling the Pacers might move him in a Charles Barkley deal and would grade higher if they did. With Rik Smits injured so often he can fill a need. Still, the Pacers need experience and firepower. Grade: C.
11. Golden State Warriors, Todd Fuller: Serviceable big guy, but hardly the long-term answer with the team ready to dump Rony Seikaly and Kevin Willis. Grade: C.
12, 20. Cleveland Cavaliers, Vitaly Potapenko: Potapenko is a highly regarded big man who has the weight to bang around in the Eastern Conference. Then they added center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who could have gone much higher and has potential. Addressed needs better than anyone in the league. Grade: A.
13, 16. Charlotte Hornets, Kobe Bryant: Charlotte expected to complete a deal with the Lakers to get Vlade Divac and experienced players who can help. But Divac doesn't want to go and is threatening to retire. Also, Tony Delk is considered a small shooting guard, although this is a team with Muggsy Bogues. Grade: B.
14. Sacramento Kings, Predrag Stojakovic: Good athlete with potential for greatness. That's what drafts are supposed to be about after the top 10. Grade: A.
15. Phoenix Suns, Steve Nash: Draws comparisons to John Stockton, which is a little unrealistic. But Kevin Johnson may retire in a year or be traded and they're ready to rebuild, so he's a good piece. Grade: B.
17. Portland Trail Blazers, Jermaine O'Neal: Again, a risky pick considering he's a high school player and not even considered one of the top three. But Portland took a risk with Arvydas Sabonis 10 years ago and it paid off. Grade: B.
18, 19, 21. New York Knicks
John Wallace, Walter McCarty and Dontae Jones: You get the idea they want a small forward. It should be a tryout camp, but the Knicks are such an old team. If none of these guys are to be packaged in a deal this is hard to understand. Wallace has a chance to contribute. Grade: C.
23. Denver Nuggets, Efthimis Retzias: The Greek center is highly regarded and may have to replace Dikembe Mutombo. Also got North Carolina guard Jeff McInnis with the No. 37 pick and many had projected him much higher. Grade: A.
24. Los Angeles Lakers, Derek Fisher: This is why Jerry West is the best general manager in the NBA. Not because of Fisher, who is a quick little point guard (bye-bye Nick Van Exel), but in Kobe Bryant he saw a player who may be great and went for him. That kind of risk-taking is rare in the NBA. Grade: A.
25. Utah Jazz (trade to Miami Heat), Martin Muursepp: Estonian was picked by Jazz, then traded for future first-round pick. Not much is known of Muursepp. Grade: Incomplete.
26. Detroit Pistons, Jerome Williams: Doug Collins knows how to pick players who do what he needs. Williams is reminiscent of a smaller version of Horace Grant, a guy who will go get the ball for you. He fits with Collins' aggressive philosophy. Grade: A.
27. Orlando Magic, Brian Evans: May be able to shoot some in the NBA and not defend, which should make him a perfect fit for the Magic, even if that's not much help. Grade: D.
28. Atlanta Hawks, Priest Lauderdale: Not very refined, but perhaps biggest player in draft and a nice risk for team that didn't have a first-round pick and didn't give up much to get one. Grade: B.
29. Bulls, Travis Knight: There's never much at No. 29, and Knight fits in that category. He'll probably never play for the Bulls as he heads to Europe to beef up. There wasn't much to follow, but perhaps a shot at McInnis, Minor or Moochie Norris would have given the Bulls a more talented player to build with in the next few years. Grade: D.