DCZards wrote:Ruzious wrote:GM's who pick someone at 9 that would be available at 15 - without trading down - are stupid or lazy - no matter how good that player turns out to be.
Btw, why do you think Precious chose to go to the same school as Wiseman - knowing Wiseman would likely start at center?
Are you suggesting that a GM who drafted Kawhi Leonard ahead of Vesley, Fredette and Biyombo in the 2011 draft or one that drafted Giannis ahead of Vesley, Trey Burke and Shabbazz Muhammad in the 2013 draft would now be looked upon as “stupid and lazy” for "reaching" and taking Leonard and Giannis over players mocked ahead of them?
I really don’t get this thinking that treats mock drafts like some sort of Holy Grail and that you're making some sort of colossal mistake if you go against conventional wisdom and draft a player at 8 or 9 who is "projected" to go in the 12-14 range.
I don't think "stupid or lazy" is fair -- more likely a GM who takes at guy @#8 doesn't think he'll be available lower down. IOW, he might just be
wrong.
In any case, don't you have the problem backwards, Zards? Everybody knows how good players are in retrospect.
On draft day in 2011, nobody knew that Kawhi would become one of the top handful of players in the league. If you had a crystal ball & knew that for sure, of course you'd take him higher up. & if you had a crystal ball, & you were Charlotte that year instead of taking Kemba, you'd hope to find a way to trade down & get both Kawhi & Butler. Then the following year, since you happen to have the #2 pick, you'd trade down & get Lillard, Draymond & Khris Middleton. Nor would you pick Jeffery Taylor at #31; instead you'd trade down again to get Will Barton & Kyle O'Quinn.
But, Charlotte's GM didn't have Kawhi rated best player in the draft in 2011. As we know, 14 of 30 teams passed on him, & SA likely didn't have him ranked as the best player in the draft either (at least they never said that) -- but they had him ranked best when they took him. Then they got a good player at #29 too -- not as good as Jimmy Butler, but better than the guy who went #2 that year, and also better than the guys who went #3, #6, #7, #8, #10, #12, #13, #14, #17, #18, #19, #20, #23, #24, #25, #26, #27 & #28.
Wherever Precious Achiuwa is taken, obviously, he may turn out to be the best player out of the 2020 draft. Or, he may turn out to have been the best guy to pick at whatever spot he's picked, but, you know what -- it ain't likely. In fact, substitute any name you want, & it
still isn't likely -- because that's the way life works. Those examples above, 2011 & 2012, that's how life works more often.
In fact, there's no way a GM can say "I'll pick the 9th best guy at #9." All he can say is, for example, "I've got 4 guys on the same tier." Then, if he gets to #9, & they are all still there, & the guy with the #12 pick proposes to swap picks & throw in, say, the #32 pick, he'd be a fool not to make the trade. For reasons that I hope are obvious.
