Less than a week after Michigan dominated the NHL Draft, the NBA Draft rolled around and presented the Wolverines with another opportunity to show out. Though the basketball team isn't oozing the pro talent of the hockey team (because what other college team of any sport does?), it was a solid showing for Juwan Howard's team. Franz Wagner was picked early in the first round, while Isaiah Livers went in the mid-second round, making Michigan one of just two B1G teams to have multiple NBA draft pick this year. That'll help sell the program to recruits. 

How do Wagner and Livers fit with their new teams? And what about Michigan players who didn't get drafted? Let's run through each and examine the futures of our departing Wolverines, as well as take stock of how other familiar names and rival programs fared at the NBA Draft: 

[AFTER THE JUMP: a few dudes got drafted, a few dudes didn't] 

Franz is sprinting to Orlando [Campredon]

Franz Wagner, 1st round, 8th overall - Orlando Magic

Franz was Michigan's first lottery pick since Stauskas back in 2014 and he became the 9th first rounder that Michigan has produced in the Beilein/Howard era, joining Burke, THJ, Stauskas, McGary, LeVert, DJ Wilson, Moe Wagner, and Jordan Poole. NBA scouts bought into what they saw from Franz this season, with the immense wingspan making many believe he can be a switchable defender in the best league in the world. His dominant defense for Michigan this past season and projectable size led the prospect evaluation, but his ability as a glue guy on offense also intrigued NBA scouts. Though Franz only shot 34.3% from three this past season, the higher free throw percentage enticed as a window into his still high shooting upside, and of course all Michigan fans know how smooth the stroke is. His basketball IQ and ability to play within a system that will have a primary ball-handler also intrigued the NBA community, and the combination of high upside on defense and tools on offense made him an easy lottery pick. 

I suppose it's worth discussing how Franz is the case of someone who really did help their draft stock by coming back to school. He was not considered a top tier prospect a year ago, and certainly no one had the lottery even in their mind if Wagner had declared for the draft in 2020. Instead, he returned to Michigan and improved considerably as a defender, particularly in his agility, and the improved shooting stroke caught the eye of NBA minds. Now, a year later, here we are and Franz went inside the top 10 picks, a pretty cool finish to his saga. Returning to college doesn't always have benefits for prospects. Some don't have all that much to gain from coming back and are just stuck in how the NBA evaluates them. For them, coming back simply delays the inevitable draft slot. But Franz had more to show if he could improve defensively and with his shooting. He bet on himself, improved in both areas, and now he's a high draft pick. 

As for the Magic, the team made it out of the draft with quite a haul, as they actually had two picks inside the top eight. At pick #5 they took Gonzaga standout PG Jalen Suggs, and then with pick #8 (which they owned from Chicago in the Nikola Vucevic trade), they tabbed Franz. The 2021 Magic were a really bad team, finishing with a record of 21-51, so Franz will join a rebuilding project in Orlando (to be fair, the Magic are much like the Buffalo Sabres in the tier of teams who have basically been in a perpetual rebuild for nearly a decade). The core of the Magic is a bit murky, with their last three first round picks (Cole Anthony, Chuma Okeke, and Mo Bamba) combining to average just 27.8 points per game this season. Jonathan Isaac, their 2017 first rounder, was starting to play a bit better in 2020 before an ACL injury caused him to miss the entirety of this season.

All of this is a way of saying that the Magic are not close to competing for much of anything and so if Franz can play well for Orlando, he could be a part of the nucleus of the new era in franchise history. Interestingly, he may not be the only Michigan product on the Magic: Iggy Brazdeikis played 8 games for the team last season, scoring 11 points per game, all at the tail-end of the season. The team initially signed him to a ten day contract, then re-upped him for a deal lasting for the remainder of the season. He's a free agent this summer, so who knows if Orlando brings him back, but they liked him enough to play him 29 minutes per night in the last couple weeks of the season, so we'll see. 

Prepare to photoshop this photo with a Pistons jersey [Campredon]

Isaiah Livers, 2nd round, 42nd overall - Detroit Pistons 

Michigan's other draft pick was Isaiah Livers, who went 42nd overall to the in-state Detroit Pistons. For those wondering whether John Beilein's involvement with the Pistons as their new Senior Player Development Advisor played a role in the team picking one of his former players, GM Troy Weaver indicated that the answer is "not really". In the post-draft press conference, Weaver said that the team had done plenty of scouting on Livers before Beilein was hired and already had him pretty high on their draft board. For the Pistons, what makes Livers appeal to them is also his greatest strength as a prospect: his shooting ability. I always like to say that if you can shoot three pointers at a high clip, there will always be room for you in the NBA. No one can attest to that better than another former Wolverine, Duncan Robinson, who is now a $90 M man. 

As an NBA prospect, DRob wasn't all that different from Livers, even down to the fact that both are 6'7". Both had shooting listed as their greatest strength, while concerns around athleticism-related defensive problems was their greatest weakness (the defensive concerns were far worse for DRob, hence why he wasn't drafted at all). NBA guys see Livers as a possible bench option if he can continue being a 40+% three point shooter, as he was for each of his final three seasons at Michigan. He's not going to be a primary scoring option and probably won't be much of a ball-handler at all in the NBA, but if he can keep draining three pointers on catch-and-shoot looks all over the court, there will probably be room for him on a bench, even if he'll struggle to guard higher end athletes. 

The Pistons drafted Livers specifically because they're looking to add shooting to the mix, and Weaver said as much in his press conference. That may also be why they tabbed Iowa's Luka Garza with their next second rounder (more on that later). With two young primary ball-handlers as franchise cornerstones in 2020 draft pick Killian Hayes and 2021 #1 overall pick Cade Cunningham, the team is looking to surround those playmakers with shooters, and Livers could be one of those options. The Pistons will be a young team next year mostly playing with house money as they see how much of an impact Cunningham can make in year one. It's hard to know how much Livers will get to play, if he's in the NBA at all (G-League could be an option), but given that he's already 23, one of the appeals of him as a prospect is that he's pretty NBA-ready. Or, as NBA-ready as he'll probably ever be. Rehabbing from his foot injury will be a primary focus for him, though, and it was a knock on his scouting report during the pre-draft process. If all goes well, he could play a few minutes per night as a wing shooting option on an exciting young team not far from where he played his college ball, but that's far from guaranteed. 

Mike Smith is now on an NBA Summer League contract [Campredon]

Chaundee Brown and Mike Smith get UDFA tryouts 

As expected, Mike Smith was not drafted, and Chaundee Brown also did not get picked in the second round. However, both received tryout offers that will give them a shot (albeit a slim one) at having a real North American pro basketball career. Smith was signed by the Milwaukee Bucks to play on their Summer League team, which takes place in Las Vegas from August 8-17. The Summer League is for young players/recently drafted guys and would be the first step for someone like Smith or Brown to begin to try and fight their way into the G-League. Brown's contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, an Exhibit 10 deal, is a bit more favorable, as it guarantees an invitation to training camp and has a much clearer pathway to the G-League. That's indicative of Brown being seen as a better pro prospect than Smith given his taller height and better athleticism. 

Not to rain on the parade, but it's not terribly likely either will stick in North American pro basketball long-term. They could, but the more likely option is that they both wind up in Europe or Australia, if they choose to continue playing outside of the US. That said, trying to forecast this stuff is not easy. I don't think anybody in the summer of 2018 thought that three years later Duncan Robinson would be one of the top free agents in the NBA but here we are. 

Both Hawkeyes in this photo were 2nd round picks [Campredon]

Other familiar names get picked

Michigan wasn't the only B1G team to see some players get picked. Ayo Dosunmu, consensus 1st team All-B1G guard, was picked 38th by the home state Chicago Bulls, the only player on 2021 B1G Champion Illinois to get drafted. Iowa saw two players get picked by NBA squads in the second round, with SG Joe Wieskamp going 41st to the Spurs and C Luka Garza going 52nd to the Pistons. It will definitely be quite a sight if Livers and Garza were to ever share the floor for the Pistons in the NBA. Nebraska's Dalano Banton went 46th to the Toronto Raptors, while Maryland's Aaron Wiggins went 55th to the OKC Tunder. OSU's Duane Washington Jr. went undrafted but signed a contract with the Indiana Pacers, while MSU's Aaron Henry slipped from a second round prospect to being undrafted, despite John Hollinger's best efforts to remind people he was on the board. Henry has signed with the Philadelphia 76ers. 

Outside of the conference, some other names from the past were tabbed. Florida State, who Michigan downed in the Sweet 16, saw three players get drafted, including Scottie Barnes surprisingly going #4 overall to the Raptors. Moses Moody and Jaden Springer, who you may remember Matt D talking about in recruiting updates past, went 14th and 28th, respectively. Speaking of ex-recruiting prospects, Josh Christopher went 24th to the Houston Rockets following a rather uninspiring collegiate career at Arizona State. The pro talent was still too much for the NBA to pass up. Isaiah Todd, who chose the G-League Ignite over coming to Michigan, went 31st overall to the reigning NBA Champion Milwaukee Bucks. If nothing else, it shows that the talent Juwan Howard is recruiting really is appealing to the NBA.