KennerLeaguer wrote:Didn't mean to make this a back-n-forth but with all due respect I gotta say your NFL comparison is absurd. There is no way one can compare the 1st round of the NBA draft to the 5th, 6th and 7th rounds of the NFL draft. The vast majority of 1st round picks of the NBA draft actually make the roster of their teams and all get guaranteed contracts. You know this, I know this. It feels stupid to even go down this road.
But even saying that NFL teams are at least trying to find undiscovered gems in those late rounds, gems who can end up being steals and display the ability to help their respective teams IMMEDIATELY. Ah, there's the difference. The NFL teams aren't typically worrying about who has the most upside. They aren't saying to themselves that a guy who they are drafting in the first, second or even third rounds won't be able to play for them the upcoming season but "may" turn out to be really good in four years. The NFL teams are attempting to respect fans by getting dudes who can help get Ws during the season AS SOON as they put on the jerseys. The only exceptions are quarterbacks who are sometimes brought along slowly (but still will often be called upon to play in their first or second years if the veteran quarterbacks falter or fall to injury). The NBA though is full of teams who essentially disrespect the ticket buyers/consumers by wasting picks on guys they know can't help them the coming season. Whether its a college player who only played one or two years in the NCAA and needs a few more years before he is really ready or a foreign guy drafted very late in the first round, it means teams are willing to toss money at guys who can't make a true contribution for at least an entire season.
Now, I may accept the reality that that is necessary when it comes to college or foreign guys drafted early to mid first round. Those guys are the highly regarded players whom teams don't want to lose out in grabbing even if they have to wait for (hopefully) results. Its a stupid way of doing things but its part of the game now that kids don't want to stay in school for long. However there is no reason to draft foreign guys, who are nothing but projects, at the end of the first round when the same executives who make those decisions realize that college upperclassmen who can contribute quickly are still available. Considering that the majority of these foreign guys end up not playing that first season in the NBA (if ever) and go back overseas instead, it suggests NBA teams don’t care as much about immediate results. And immediate results mean that even if you draft a guy that late and expect him to not be in the top ten rotation, you at least have the player as a possible backup in case injuries pile up and/or veterans aren’t getting the job done. And who knows? Maybe that guy becomes the next Gilbert Arenas. Who wouldn’t want that type to fall in their laps at the end of the first round? But also to really get back to my original point NBA teams are also doing this in order to not pay money to a first round draft pick. Period. And if I was a season ticket holder I would be ticked off.
As for your list of the top ten players the Cavs have, not one of those guys is a tall, rangy outside shooter. Budinger and Summers may never become NBA stars but they have the potential (maybe you folks would be more excited if I use the word “upside”) to be the type of guys who can really provide a spark from the perimeter when they get hot. They are in the mode of some of the players that helped lead to the Cavs’ downfall when they faced the Magic. If you want to win now you want guys like that even if its only as the third player at a position. The two I mentioned would give the Cavs the tall shooters that the team lacks right now (unless Wally is ready to play like a true pro again). Who cares about Eyenga if he can’t help over the next 10 to 11 months? Who cares what he MAY become? If the Cavs are earning as much money as you claim they can grab him via free agency in a few years. You know, when he’s actually ready to play and help an NBA team.
NFL draft issues aside, because I agree it has nothing to do with the NBA I have a couple of points Id like to add.
First, I dont mean to make it sound like you arent right, because in a lot of ways you are. If I saw someone out there that I felt could help this team this season that we didnt draft for financial reasons, then I would be upset. Again, I just dont see that in Budinger, Summers, etc... Maybe thats where our whole disagreement is at. I would much rather use the pick on someone who could potentially be much better than anyone else available at that spot rather than someone who is better now but likely wont progress much more. A difference in opinions perhaps...
Second, you are right we didnt have tall rangy shooters last year. We did however bring in two guys that are going to help that problem considerably. Anthony Parker seems to definately fit that bill and surprisingly Jamario Moon does as well. (Look up his stats) I still would argue that both of them would be in the rotation ahead of Budinger or Summers or quite frankly anyone else available when we drafted.
I definately dont feel disrespected as a fan who buys tickets (not season tickets mind you). I would, however, feel more disrespected if we wasted money on a guarenteed contract for someone like Budinger in the first round and he never panned out and then ticket prices went up. That would be more of a slap in the face to me, in my opinion. Its just the world we live in right now. As well as the Cavs are doing financially they still cant afford to make poor financial decisions, and Im OK with that.
