cjbulls wrote:MrSparkle wrote:cjbulls wrote:
This team needs a star more than any position. So they should draft BPA or highest upside.
I would love to see the team with a playmaker (that would be my personal top priority), but not at the expense of trying to draft the best player.
But the point is that playmakers have the highest upside in the league. Even Simmons does more for the Sixers than Embiid, and that's with absolutely no perimeter shooting ability. But any playmaker who can also defend and give you 15 ppg, that's basically a franchise corner-stone.
The only guy in the top-5 who has that classic athletic star with elite scoring potential is Edwards, and he's got flags too. I suppose Obi does too, except he's at that dreaded PF position with no defense and a really late rookie age.
Eh, for the most part a star is a dominant scorer first, and that transitions into a playmaker. With notable exceptions for Jokic, Luka and LeBron, most of the league's stars are scorers first and playmakers second.
I'm not sure there are a lot of comps for playmakers that play defense and average close to 15ppg. Rubio, Jrue Holiday, George Hill and Malcolm Brogdon? Fine players, but definitely not franchise cornerstones and definitely not turning around this Bulls team.
In a "bad" draft, are you sad coming away with a 19-20yo version of one of those 3 guys? Excluding Hill; I wouldn't call him a playmaker at all. He's a 3D PG.
I also quite honestly don't believe 1 rookie on his own can turn a team around on their own. Even Luka, Durant, Kobe, Lebron, Bird, Magic, Jordan, Duncan. Every guy had the benefit of joining a good organization, good coach (except MJ, who truly is the most long-shot story of an over-looked 3rd pick who changed everything about Chicago, the Bulls, basketball, sports shoes and the NBA).
I'm not denying that a Duncan, Bird or Luka are jackpot picks... But I'm just saying that the idea of expecting your draft picks to single-handedly turn a franchise around, I think it's not the way to look at it. The team needs to be turned around at the development, coaching and veteran level. Otherwise, that turn-around is gonna flame out early... like the Cavs of the 00s, the Rose Bulls... And then OKC and SAS did most things right and lost 2 top players of the decade.
But my point is that this team has a lot of work to do before it's even a good environment to drop a star in and contend. I imagine we have a losing season regardless what rookie comes in. There's no chance in hell any of these top-5 picks are contributing right away -- maybe Obi if his defense doesn't keep him off the floor.