sonictecture wrote:ThunderBolt wrote:getrichordie wrote:
I think the problem is more so that we've been picking later in the first round where there just aren't many guys who are good shooters who also have the athleticism to be positive defenders, enough so that it makes an impact next to a Westbrook.
Somewhat, yes. In the case of diallo we actually purchased a specific player who had already been drafted by the nets so it’s clearly a philosophy from the front office.
The pick that was used to select Diallo was traded for, Diallo wasn't purchased. Presti targeted Diallo and found a deal to get an extra second round pick and gave up a future second and cash.
Look at the 2018 draft. Diallo was selected at 45th overall. There were two other players deemed shooters still on the draft board, in Mykhailiuk (Kansas) and Hall (Virginia). Should Presti have targeted Mykhailiuk over Diallo?
I don't think the organization is as rigid as they are made out to be. It is important to look at the context of every player acquisition.
Was Darius Bazley drafted because he was an athlete?
It should be clear why Presti has a team building strategy of targeting long athletic players when available, but these are not the only attributes being targeted.
We traded one of our “fake picks” from Boston that conveyed in the following years draft. So either the hornets had high hopes for the end of the second round of the 2019 draft or a notoriously cheap organization wanted some cash. You are correct that we included a pick but the crux of the deal was cash for diallo.
In the case of Diallo vs the field, it’s somewhat irrelevant since most of those guys don’t became rotation players. In the case of Diallo, he’s probably the type of player to take a risk on at that stage in the draft.
I’m not saying the organization is rigid. Abrines, McGary and Sabonis don’t fit that athletic type. I don’t think bazley is an exceptional athlete. He’s got the wingspan that the FO likes but he’s not exceptionally quick. The issue with bazley is he wasn’t considered a good shooter and that’s what the team needed. There may be exceptions to the thunders decisions but do you think they’ve prioritized shooting enough when constructing their rosters the last 5 years?
