Clemenza wrote:Those are once in a generational players you mentioned. But how many cornerstone players are even coming into the league these days? Luka, Anthony Edwards, Wemby(maybe?). Blake was "that cornerstone guy" but we took the ball out of his hands, slowed the offense down, and everything became a half court affair when we got CP3. Half of these kids are f*ckups now coming into the league. How's the Zion, Ja Morant situation going? The league was literally theirs for the taking. Charlotte is still struggling to turn somebody into a star if they can even keep them on the roster. These hyped up G League players aren't panning out. OKC has 30+ picks over the next six years and is still rolling and getting by with SGA, the guy that we gave them. After all these drafts, newcomers, and hype the league is still promoting Bron, Curry, Lillard, Kawhi, Giannis, etc.
Trust I love the draft and getting new young players but this league isn't even what you think it is anymore. Its 2023-24. This kids want to whil out and be NBA Youngboy not LeBron James.
Imagine if the Chiefs had talked themselves out of drafting Mahomes because of all the busts like Bortles, Manziel, and Paxton Lynch in the years leading up to that draft. They'd be a laughingstock right now and no rants about how "kids these days don't really love the game" would make them look better.
Yes, not every player who gets drafted is going to be a generational prospect, but giving up on the draft entirely for a decade is not a tenable solution. Having no patience and chasing after every declining veteran in their mid-to-late '30s to win now is the antiquated way of running a team. We're like 20+ years behind the rest of the league at this point.
I don't know how anyone can watch us get run out of the gym every night by young athletic teams and think that getting older and slower is the wave of the future. You're writing off Zion and Ja, and I understand why, but their teams still whoop the Clippers' ass virtually every time we play them because they're so much younger and more athletic.