2024 NBA Draft: Five Best Fits Among the First Round Picks

With the first round of the NBA Draft complete, we take a look at five the players who fit best with the team who drafted them.

Jun 26, 2024; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Dalton Knecht poses for photos with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected in the first round by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2024 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The first round of the 2024 NBA Draft seemed to result in many teams and their fans being satisfied with their selections, with many organizations filling current needs of their team, drafting higher potential players for the future, or a combination of both. Let's take a look at five selections that were a great fit between the prospect and the team that drafted them:

5. Yves Missi (Pick No. 21) to the New Orleans Pelicans

With Jonas Valanciunas being an unrestricted free agent this offseason, the Pelicans are essentially without a center. Missi, a near-seven footer with a 7-foot-2 wingspan, weighed in at almost 230 pounds at the combine and is an extremely fluid athlete for his size. Offensively, he's a threat as a roller and even showed flashes of putting the ball on the floor -- an area of his game that could be esepecially intriguing in the short roll. Even without these offensive parts of his game, he's guaranteed to impact the game in two ways: as a rebounder and defensively. His fluidity translates defensively, and he showed potential as a rim protector as well. Lastly, he is an excellent rebounder -- especially on the offensive end. His 14.4 offensive rebounding percentage was 32nd in all of college basketball (out of players participating in over 40% of their team's minutes). The combination of him and Zion on the offensive glass is sure to generate a multitude of second chances for the Pels as well.

Overall, a young core of Dyson Daniels, Jordan Hawkins, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III (assuming a long-term contract extension), Zion Williamson, and Yves Missi is intriguing for the Pelicans.

4. Rob Dillingham (Pick No. 8) to the Minnesota Timberwolves

The Timberwolves went on an impressive run in the NBA Playoffs and looked a true contending team for years to come. However, against the Mavericks, it felt like when Edwards' shots weren't falling, there wasn't a ton of advantage creators on the roster they could easily rely on. Dillingham relieves most of those fears now, as he's someone who can come off the bench or even work simultaneously with Edwards to create offense. Dillingham is shifty, has a crafty handle, and is one of the most skilled shotmakers in the class. His lack of size is concerning (measured in at 6-foot-2 with a 6-foot-3 wingspan and only 164 pounds), but these worries of him being targeted defensively are slightly alleviated with the amount of versatile wings and the two bigs down low the Timberwolves have. Even so, the Timberwolves have enough firepower that Dillingham will likely not need to finish games for them -- especially in the beginning as he comes along defensively. Learning from Mike Conley these next two seasons will likely be helpful as well.

3. Dalton Knecht (Pick No. 17) to the Los Angeles Lakers

Likely one of the best possible scenarios for the Lakers, an older, NBA-ready prospect with positional size and shooting ability was available at pick seventeen. Knecht played at a junior college for two years before transferring to Northern Colorado for two seasons, and then playing his final season at Tennessee. The 6-foot-6, 212 pound wing with a 6-foot-9 wingspan is a great shooter -- both off the catch and coming off of screens. If nothing else, Knecht will provide shooting gravity (alongside Gabe Vincent) and can be used more as an off-ball mover and fourth offensive option. However, his legitimate shooting and slashing are more likely to make him an immediate contributor for the Lakers this season. A lineup of Reaves-Knecht-LeBron-Vanderbilt-Davis with Gabe Vincent and Rui Hachimura coming off the bench might be the best the Lakers have looked in a couple of seasons. It'll be interesting to see what other moves they make this offseason as well.

2. Donovan Clingan (Pick No. 7) to the Trail Blazers

While there's some uncertainty regarding how this roster may play out in the mid-term, one thing is for certain: the Blazers got their big man for the future to help rebuild with. Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant, Matisse Thybulle, Robert Williams, Kris Murray, Toumani Camara, Doup Reath, DeAndre Ayton, and now Donovan Clingan is an intriguing mix of young, developing players and talented veterans that could work well together.

Clingan brings immense value on both ends of the floor. Offensively, he's a valuable passer in dribble handoff and short roll situations, is an efficient finisher, and is a threat in the pick-and-roll. The Blazers finished 8th in Pick-and-Roll Roll Man frequency and 5th in Pick-and-Roll Ball-Handler frequency this past season. Defensively, Clingan is one of the best rim protectors in the draft and has been improving his mobility. He'll make a significant impact defensively for a team looking to improve on that end of the floor.

1. Ryan Dunn (Pick No. 28) to the Phoenix Suns

The Suns have three of the best offensive scorers in the NBA in Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal, as well as surrounding shooters in Eric Gordon and Grayson Allen. Ryan Dunn may be an intriguing puzzle piece that could fit right into the Suns' needs: wing defenders. At 6-foot-7 with a near 7-foot-2 wingspan, Dunn was widely considered the best all-around defenders in the draft, both on and off-ball. He has the potential to act as a wing stopper for the Suns, relieving some of the defensive responsibility of their offensive stars. If Dunn can develop the ability to hit corner threes, he may play an extremely valuable role for the Suns in the next few seasons. Dunn's potential as a shooter isn't unfounded either, as he shot 40.6% from three on 3.2 attempts per game in the Adidas 3SSB circuit.

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