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Brooklyn, N.Y. • All season long, pundits and experts had gone back and forth on who would go first.
Andrew Wiggins or Jabari Parker?
Plenty of teams explored the possibility of trading up Thursday night to grab one of college basketball's two most intriguing talents. And if the Utah Jazz had been successful in dealing with the Cavs, Parker would have been the guy.
From what I heard last night, the Jazz's top five, in order, went like this: Parker, Wiggins, Dante Exum, Aaron Gordon, and Marcus Smart.
The Jazz, of course, didn't get a deal done and were plenty happy to have Exum slip to them at five.
Cleveland held onto its pick and made Wiggins the No. 1 choice.
But he and Parker know there will be comparisons for the rest of their careers.
"Good players will always be compared to each other," Wiggins said. "But I never think of anything as a rivalry. I think that's what the media portrays it to be. On the court, it doesn't matter who I'm going against, I'm going to go hard. Off the court, we can be friends, but on the court, it's a different story."
Parker, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, had narrowed his top three college choices to include BYU a year ago. But once again, he won't be coming to Utah.
Said Parker, a Chicago native who will play for the nearby Milwaukee Bucks."I get to enjoy that Great Lake water again."
Great Lake. Just not the Great Salt Lake.
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Despite missing out on Parker, the Jazz won't be too down.
Exum had the chance to be a top-three pick but fell to five. And the team's pick at 23, Parker's Duke teammate Rodney Hood, was one of the draft's best values late in the first round.
Here's how the Jazz graded out:
USA TODAY: A
YAHOO!: B for Exum; A for Hood
ESPN Insider: A
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Wiggins was the top pick and he also beat every other prospect in another category.
"This is Waraire Boswell. He customized this suit for me. But a style by Brandon Williams," Wiggins said of his flashy draft-night attire. "We just wanted to do something to just stand out and try to win on both points, stylish point and become No. 1."
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Hood, a terrific scorer who shot over 40 percent from 3 at Duke, slid Thursday night. In the weeks leading up to the draft, the wing player never worked out for a team with a pick lower than 18 — and that's just because Phoenix also owned 14.
Hood said he was told 16 to Chicago was the farthest he'd fall.
"But things happen," he said. "Everything happens for a reason."
Hood's first ever trip to Utah will be today. He and Exum will be introduced at a 4 p.m. press conference in Salt Lake City.
"I watched them a lot. They got Trey already. Just drafted Dante. I know Derrick Favors. They got good young bigs and some good guys on the wing. I think I can add depth to their team," Hood said of his new team.
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By the way, Exum will wear No. 11 for the Jazz.
— Aaron Falk