2021 NBA Draft results, takeaways: Cade Cunningham No. 1 to Pistons, Jalen Suggs slips to No. 5

It was a wild night with plenty of trades going down at the NBA Draft

The 2021 NBA Draft is in the books. As expected, the Detroit Pistons got the busy night started by selecting Cade Cunningham, the do-it-all guard out of Oklahoma State. He had been the presumptive top pick ever since Detroit won the Draft Lottery last month, and got the No. 1 pick for the third time in franchise history. 

Rounding out the rest of the top five were Houston picking G League star Jalen Green at No. 2, Cleveland going with USC's Evan Mobley at No. 3 and the Raptors, in a surprise, taking Florida State's Scottie Barnes at No. 4 before Orlando grabbed Gonzaga's Jalen Suggs at No. 5    

As always there were a number of trades on the night, and you can keep track of all the movement below. You'll also find draft grades for all 60 picks, and can see how your favorite team did. 

Draft tracker | Grades for each pick | Trade tracker

Here are some key takeaways from the night:

Pistons get Cunningham

This pick has pretty much been locked in since the Pistons won the Draft Lottery a few months ago, but now it's official. Cade Cunningham is on his way to Detroit. He's just the third No. 1 overall pick in franchise history, and if he has a career anything like the last guy they took in this spot -- Hall of Famer Bob Lanier -- the Pistons will be in great shape for years to come.

A 6-foot-8 guard out of Oklahoma State, Cunningham is one of the most complete prospects to enter the league in sometime, and has drawn comparisons to Luka Doncic because of his all-around ability to control the game. He can pass, he can shoot, he defends, he does it all. Perhaps the only criticism is that he's not going to blow you away with athleticism. But you don't need to do that when you're as skilled as Cunningham.

The talent is the most important thing, of course, but it helps that Cunningham is already embracing the city.

"I've already been listening to Detroit music and things like that way before the draft lottery or any of that stuff," he said earlier this month. "If Detroit picks me, that's the main thing I would try to do: step in and embody the swag that people from Detroit walk with, the people from Michigan in general. They kind of have an underdog go-get-what-you-want feel to them, and I like that about the city."

Rockets stock up with four first rounders

The Rockets are in full rebuilding mode after trading James Harden and Russell Westbrook last offseason, and it didn't take them long to get started. They already had three first-round picks entering the night, including No. 2 overall, and then traded for another to wind up with four. That was more than any other team on the night, and accounted for 13.3 percent of the entire first round.

First up, they went with Jalen Green out of the G-League. Despite being just 19 years old, he didn't have much trouble adjusting to the pro level, and put up an impressive season for Ignite. A truly explosive athlete who can score at all three levels, Green has a chance to be a real star in this league, and should bring plenty of excitement to Houston.

Later on in the night they took Alperen Sengun out of Turkey at No. 16, Usman Garuba from Spain at No. 23 and Josh Christopher out of Arizona State at No. 24. Sengun was an analytics darling and the MVP of the Turkish League last season. Garuba, who played for Real Madrid and is currently in Tokyo at the Olympics, is an elite defender and has had success playing at a high level. Christopher could be more of a project, but he can score the ball and will provide depth in the backcourt.

There's still a long way to go before the Rockets can be a playoff team again, but after this draft there's some real reason for hope in Houston.

Warriors keep their picks (for now)

Heading into the draft, the Warriors were one of the main teams that everyone was tracking. They were one of only two teams with multiple lottery picks, but it was clear from all of the rumors and reports that they were desperately trying to trade those selections for a star or player(s) who could help the team right away.

Nothing materialized, so they ended up keeping the picks, and took Jonathan Kuminga out of the G-League at No. 7, and Moses Moody from Arkansas at No. 14. Kuminga is a very talented and athletic wing, but he's generally seen as a longterm project after a disappointing season with Ignite. Moody, on the other hand, should be able to help right away as a 3 & D wing.

The Warriors were in an interesting spot here. From a pure talent perspective, Kuminga was impossible to pass up, and Moody might end up being the steal of the draft considering where they got him. In terms of maximizing value in the draft, the Warriors had a great night. In terms of maximizing the final few years of Steph Curry's prime, however, it's not so clear.

Between Kuminga and James Wiseman, they've made two lottery picks in the last two years who probably won't make a meaningful impact for years to come. And Moody is no guarantee either, though he's less of a project. Even though the Warriors made the picks, don't be surprised if any of these players end up on the move after all. 

2021 NBA Draft selections

R1TeamSelectionR2TeamSelection
1Detroit Cade Cunningham | Okla. St. | PG
31Milwaukee
(to Indiana)		 Isaiah Todd | USA | PF
2Houston Jalen Green | G League | SG
32New York  (to Oklahoma City) Jeremiah Robinson-Earl | Villanova | PF
3Cleveland Evan Mobley | USC | C
33Orlando (to LA Clippers Jason Preston | Ohio | PG
4Toronto Scottie Barnes | Florida St. | SF
34Oklahoma City (to New York) Rokas Jokubaitis | Lithuania | PG
5Orlando Jalen Suggs | Gonzaga | PG
35New Orleans  Herbert Jones | Alabama | SF
6Oklahoma City Josh Giddey | Australia | SF 
36Oklahoma City
(to New York) 		 Miles McBride | West Virginia | PG
7Golden State Jonathan Kuminga | G League | SF
37Detroit 
(to Charlotte)		 JT Thor | Auburn | PF
8Orlando  Franz Wagner | Michigan | SF
38Chicago Ayo Dosunmu | Illinois | SG 
9Sacramento Davion Mitchell | Baylor | PG
39Sacramento Neemias Queta | Utah St. | C 
10New Orleans
(to Memphis)		 Ziaire Williams | Stanford | SG
40New Orleans
(to Utah) 		 Jared Butler | Baylor | PG 
11Charlotte James Bouknight | UConn | SG
41San Antonio Joe Wieskamp | Iowa | SG
12San Antonio Joshua Primo | Alabama | SG
42Detroit  Isaiah Livers | Michigan | PF 
13Indiana Chris Duarte | Oregon | SG
43New Orleans 
(to Portland) 		 Greg Brown | Texas | PF 
14Golden State Moses Moody | Arkansas | SG 
44Brooklyn  Kessler Edwards | Pepperdine | SF 
15Washington Corey Kispert | Gonzaga | SF
45Boston Juhann Begarin | Guadeloupe | SG
16Oklahoma City
(to Houston)		 Alperen Sengun | Turkey | C
46Toronto Dalano Banton | Nebraska | SF 
17Memphis
(to New Orleans) 		 Trey Murphy III | Virginia | SG
47Toronto  David Johnson | Louisville | PG 
18Oklahoma City  Tre Mann | Florida | PG
48Atlanta Sharife Cooper | Auburn | PG 
19New York
(to Charlotte)		 Kai Jones | Texas | PF 
49Brooklyn  Marcus Zegarowski | Creighton | PG 
20Atlanta Jalen Johnson | Duke | SF
50Philadelphia  Filip Petrusev | Serbia | C 
21New York (to LA Clippers) Keon Johnson | Tennessee | SG
51Memphis
(to LA Clippers) 		 Brandon Boston Jr. | Kentucky | SG 
22LA Lakers
(to Washington)		 Isaiah Jackson | Kentucky | PF
52Detroit  Luka Garza | Iowa | C 
23Houston  Usman Garuba | Spain | PF
53New Orleans
(to Philadelphia) 		 Charles Bassey | WKU | C 
24Houston  Josh Christopher | Arizona St. | SG
54Indiana
(to Milwaukee)		 Sandro Mamukelashvili | Seton Hall | C 
25LA Clippers
(to New York)		 Quentin Grimes | Houston | SG 
55Oklahoma City  Aaron Wiggins | Maryland | SF
26Denver Nah'Shon Hyland | VCU | PG
56Charlotte  Scottie Lewis | Florida | SG 
27Brooklyn Cameron Thomas | LSU | SG
57Charlotte
(to Detroit)		 Balsa Koprivica | C | Florida St.
28Philadelphia Jaden Springer | Tennessee | PG
58New York  Jericho Sims | Texas | C
29Phoenix
(to Brooklyn) 		 Day'Ron Sharpe | UNC | C
59Brooklyn RaiQuan Gray | Florida St. | PF
30Utah
(to Memphis)		 Santi Aldama | Loyola-Md. | PF
60Indiana
(to Milwaukee) 		Georgios Kalaitzakis | F | Greece 

2021 NBA Draft results, grades, updates

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July 30, 2021, 4:50 AM
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With pick No. 60 the Bucks select Georgios Kalaitzakis out of Greece. And with that, the 2021 NBA Draft is officially in the books!

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July 30, 2021, 4:46 AM
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Winding down now we have just five picks left on the night

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July 30, 2021, 4:32 AM
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