Recent disasters change Jalen Duren's standing in the 2022 Draft class

The 2022 NBA Draft was hyped as one of the best in years with endless debate about who should go number one between Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith and Paolo Banchero. But if we had to do it all over again now, it might be Jalen Duren who claimed the top spot. 

The Pistons took Jaden Ivey with the 5th pick, which got all of the attention, but then worked a trade to nab Jalen Duren, who was chosen 13th overall. Now Jaden Ivey is out of the league, and Duren has already made his first All-Star team and may be headed for an All-NBA selection, though the recent ruling in Cade Cunningham’s favor didn’t help Duren’s case. 

The 2022 Draft has largely been a disappointment, and there is a strong argument that Duren is the best player to emerge from it. 

The 2022 NBA Draft has turned into a disaster for the top 10 

What was heralded as such a strong draft hasn’t turned out that way thus far, as several of the players in the top 10 have not lived up to their draft status. 

Number five pick Jaden Ivey is out of the league. We’ve talked about this one plenty, so I won’t belabor it. Ivey is likely to get another job at some point, but injuries and bizarre off-the-court behavior may prevent that if he’s not careful. 

Johnny Davis, who was the 10th pick, is a certified bust and also out of the league. Most of the rest of the top 10 is hanging around, but barely, as guys like Jeremy Sochan and Bennedict Mathurin have already bounced around. 

Those that haven’t have been largely disappointing, as number one pick Paolo Banchero is already on the hot seat after a down season and poor showing in Orlando's play-in loss. If Orlando gets bounced by Charlotte tonight and Banchero has a bad game, that talk is only going to get louder. 

Jabari Smith Jr. has been up and down, and though he was much better this year and earned himself a big extension, I don’t think anyone would argue he’s a superstar. 

Keegan Murray fell off the map this season after getting his big extension, hitting just 27 percent of his 3-point shots. 

The Pacers shipped Bennedict Mathurin off to LA, where he did have a good game in their play-in loss, but the Pacers were still willing to trade him away rather than deal with his upcoming contract. Not terrible, but not a star. 

The best picks came from outside the top 10, with Jalen Williams (12), Jalen Duren (13), Tari Eason (17), Christian Braun (21), Walker Kessler (22), Peyton Watson (30) and Andrew Nembhard (31) looking like the savviest picks. If you want to know why Denver is good all of the time, this is a good illustration, as they have two of those guys. 

In fact, if you had to do it all over again, Williams, Holmgren and Duren would probably be your top three picks in some order, which is not what people were expecting. 

The 2022 Draft shows you can find talent anywhere if you are good at it and that the most hyped picks don’t often end up as the best players. 

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow