lakersin4 wrote:Let's take a look at previous drafts to see how many of the top 7 ended up better than Klay.
2013: 0/7.. Too early to judge this draft class but as of today, not a single player went in the top 7 that is better than Thompson.
2012: 3/7.. Anthony Davis & Lillard no brainers over Klay. Beal is a comparable player but I'll give the edge to Beal because of his age.
2011: 1/7.. Kyrie is the only player that went top 7 that's better than Klay.
2010: 2/7.. Wall is a no brainer.. Cousins love him or hate him is 1 of the best post up bigs in the league. You could make a debate for Favors & Monroe but I'll give Klay the edge over both (yes I hate Monroe)
2009: 3/7.. Probably the best draft of all of these.. You have Griffin, Curry, Harden who are all stars. An argument could also be made for Tyreke & Rubio.
2008: 3/7.. Seeing a trend with these last 3 drafts.. The players have had long enough to develop into the player they're going to be & thus there's more quality. Westbrook & Love clearly better, & I'll put Rose as better because he could still be an allstar when healthy. Gallo is close but I'll give the edge to Klay due to health & Gallo likely already hitting his ceiling.
I know people claim this draft is loaded but history shows us that our odds of getting a better player than Klay in the top 7 are less than 50% in even the best drafts. The majority of the players that are no brainer picks over Klay went #1 (Davis, Kyrie, Wall, Rose, Griffin)
& the thing about Klay demanding a big $ extension next summer is a cop out to me.. We'll still have this summer & next to spend our cap space & then as long as Klay doesn't sign an offer sheet before we use our cap space, we can go over the cap to keep him. Getting Klay doesn't hamper our cap space plans 1 bit.
People like picks the same reason they buy lottery. Of the first 7 players drafted this year, in 2-3 years, 2 at most 3 will be clearly better than Klay, and maybe 1-2 as good as Klay. Combined, it's roughly a 50% success rate if you are lucky.
But don't worry, GSW management knows all about lottery pick chances and isn't going to trade Klay for a #7. In fact, if you read the rumor was the Lakers calling. Mitch has to do something, and what other assets could he offer - Nash?