Nazrmohamed wrote:stuporman wrote:And100 wrote:
Your first and last sentences are obviously true, but neither changes whether is it ACTUALLY standard practice for top 5 picks to start.
I know Wiggins and Parker did, and Noels did for like 70 of the 75 games or so he did, despite not playing competitively for a year and a 1/2.
I suspect we'd find most (but of course not all) top picks do. The crux of the question IS is SOP, not should it be.
One of your many assumptions seems to include that there is an actual standard practice for top 5 picks when it's not clear that there is. In fact, it seems more reasonable to think that teams handle it with each player according to what the player shows they can do and not with a blanket practice.
The other thing to consider as well are the goals and overall makeup of the team. The Knicks stunk last year enough to land a lottery pick, yet at the same time want to get out of that situation right away. We know we don't have a pick next year and while that isn't the only deciding factor, couple that with the fact that we signed two starters that are 27 plus and have Melo and Calderon, whether you feel this is a playoff team on paper or not, its a team where the top tier of players are vets. That doesn't mean rookies should be buried, in fact I wanna give them near starters minutes but feel that at least on this team theres no reason to rush to start them. To me Grant could develop, get good minutes as 6th and 7th men.
You are aware that there is a middle ground between being thrusting a rookie into the starting lineup right away and being "buried" on the bench, aren't you? I'd rather let their play dictate how many minutes they get according to how effective they are in them and how their body holds up with those minutes. Not predetermine before they even get to their first camp and on the floor in preseason games.