Fanbase Rookie Approval Rating: Troy Brown

[EvanZ]

Hey so I'm embarking on a litte project to compile fanbase approval ratings for the rookies your team drafted (or traded for on Draft night). Very simple poll like a Presidential approval. Use whatever subjective or objective criteria you feel is necessary to decide.

[Eli Babak]

I hated the pick when they announced it - I wanted Zhaire Smith or Robert Williams IIRC - but it didn't take too long to realize his potential and fit in today's NBA. Right now he should be playing Rivers' minutes. Feels bad to credit Ernie but Brown is a nice prospect and Bryant was a good pick off waivers.

[nate33]

He can handle, rebound, pass, penetrate and defend; and he's got great instincts for the game. He's got everything except a jumper. Unfortunately, his jumper is really, really bad.

His ultimate effectiveness as an NBA player is going to hinge on him improving that jumper. He could be a legit star if he shot 38% from 3-point range. But if he never develops a shot, he's going to have a hard time getting minutes and his best case upside is Evan Turner.

It was a good pick though. I'm not complaining.

[payitforward]

I hated the pick when they announced it - I wanted Zhaire Smith or Robert Williams IIRC - but it didn't take too long to realize his potential and fit in today's NBA. Right now he should be playing Rivers' minutes....

As I wrote at the time of the draft & (probably too often) in the weeks that followed:

there is a difference between how good a player (or prospective player) someone is & how good a draft pick that same player is at the position where he was chosen.

To take an obvious example, Mitchell Robinson is clearly a very promising player. Moreover, in that he was taken #36, he was an absolutely terrific, utterly tremendous draft pick.

Now, if Robinson had been taken lets say #4 in R1, it wouldn't make him any better or worse a player -- obviously. But it would clearly affect how good a draft pick he was!

A draft pick in my possession is an asset. I spend that asset to acquire something for my team. The more value I acquire in return for that asset -- i.e. higher quality prospect(s) -- the better.

We spent a #15 pick on Troy Brown. He would be just as good a player if we'd picked him, say, at #22. But, picking him at #22 would make him a better draft pick (better pick not better player).

No one had Troy Brown projected to go as high as #15, where we got him. I think it's fair to say that if we'd had the #19 pick, we might still have been likely to get Troy Brown.

I take it as a given that we (or anyone) can trade a pick for 2 lower picks. Lets say we could have traded our #15 pick to the Hawks for their #19 pick & their #30 pick. In that case, we could have still picked Troy Brown -- but we would also have been able to pick Omari Spellman. All for that 1 #15 pick.

Of course you might say that the Bucks or Spurs might have picked him at #17 or 18. True. In that case we'd have had to take one of Donte DiVincenzo, Kevin Huerter or Lonnie Walker IV. Plus Omari Spellman at #30. Still better value for that pick than Troy Brown alone.

Of course, the Hawks might not have given us both the #19 & 30 for the #15 -- but let me remind you that we gave the #19 & two (not 1) R2 picks for the #15 just 3 years ago. Still, you might be right. They might only have been willing to give us the #19 & the #34 pick they had in R2.

In that case, we'd have had to take one of Donte DiVincenzo, Kevin Huerter or Lonnie Walker IV. Plus Mitchell Robinson at #34.

Again... this is not a comment on Troy Brown as a person or player. Not a criticism of him. Not a suggestion that we should have picked someone else at #15. This is a comment about better & worse draft picks, not about better & worse players.

I'd love to have Troy Brown & Mitchell Robinson (or Spellman), wouldn't you?

Oh, & Hamidou Diallo as well, whom we passed on @#44 in order to place a bet on the distant future of Issuf Sanon.

While we're at it, please add Gary Clark whom I would have signed 5 minutes after the end of the draft so that no one else could beat me to it.

Troy Brown (or Donte DiVincenzo or Kevin Huerter)
Mitchell Robinson (or Omari Spellman)
Hamidou Diallo
Gary Clark

Any arguments with that haul?

[truwizfan4evr]

So you guy's giving Ernie credit on a good draft pick? Everyone was hard on him when he was drafted.

[payitforward]

...Feels bad to credit Ernie but Brown is a nice prospect and Bryant was a good pick off waivers.

Definitely give Ernie credit for picking up Thomas Bryant. But he gets no credit whatever for his work in the draft which was awful.

Did Ernie make Troy Brown a good player? No. Did Ernie make any move(s) to get maximum value out of the draft? No.

[payitforward]

So you guy's giving Ernie credit on a good draft pick? Everyone was hard on him when he was drafted.

Not me.

Yes, it's better that he picked a player who hasn't come in & looked like a bust immediately. Brown looks like a very good prospective NBA player.

Why is it so hard for people to grasp the difference between a good player (a player is a person) & a good draft pick (a draft pick is, essentially, money - an asset - you use to purchase the rights to a player).

It's not a hard distinction to grasp! If I buy a car, the car is as good as it is. Period. If I pay twice as much as I should for that car, then I made a bad use of money -- even if the car is good!