Dresden wrote:CobyWhite0 wrote:Pax for Prez wrote:
I remember reading quite a bit on this board about how the Vuc trade was worthless because Centers are done in this league... but Centers just finished 1 and 2 in the MVP voting this season.
Vuc is not as good as Jokic or Embiid.
Yeah, funny that. I think centers are less valued just because there aren't many real good ones around anymore. You take a guy like Ewing, Robinson, Shaq, Hakeem, David Cowens, Bob Lanier, Nate Thurmond, Kareem, Walton, and on and on, and those guys would be highly sought after in today's NBA. Ok, maybe I'm stacking the deck just listing HOF centers, but OTH, what the hell happened to all the great big men who could dominate in the paint? The league used to always have at least half a dozen outstanding big men at any one time. Now it's 3, maybe 4, and even those aren't true centers all the time, like AD.
Ayton should be dominating more than he does. He's got the body for it, and the athletiicism.
Bigs got lazy as hell. Everyone wanted to be Shaq but no one wanted to put in the work on offense to have great post moves and be able to be built around.
In HS they dominated because they were big and didn't need to be highly skilled. Then they got to the NBA and fizzled out.
Guards and wings overall improved their skill level and became easier to find and build around, the game adapted to suit the talent.