BrotherDave wrote:BlackOutBobcat wrote:BrotherDave wrote:We drafted Zeller while Noel, McLemore and even Len were all available. Technically, we passed on all those guys. Just like we passed on Drummond, Lillard, etc last year.
I mean, I'm gonna put on my GaZeller hat and root for him like everybody else but I have no faith that we will draft well anymore, even in a stacked draft.
Hindsight is great, huh?
Why would we take Lillard, who dominated D2, when we already had Kemba, who dominated in the Big East and all the way through to the NCAA Championship? Lillard was never considered a top 5 pick, the Blazers gambled and won. And despite being a rookie he's only 2 months younger than Kemba.
All those guys you mentioned went 5th or lower (all the way to 9th for Drummond), so anywhere from 4 to 8 teams passed on them; and aside from Len, their slides didn't stop right after our pick. It's not like we were the only team that passed on some sure-fire, franchise-altering talents. Otherwise, guys like McLemore and Drummond would have been taken right after us, not sliding to the bottom half of the top 10.
Wiggins, on the other hand, will not be passed on by anyone unless Randle, Parker or whoever has a crazy season. We draft based on BPA, and while Zeller had fallen in the eyes of the media that doesn't mean he did to the teams (we know that both the Suns and Sixers wanted him). I didn't like the pick either, but if the rumors about Cho from earlier today have any credence, Cho is risking his career on this pick. If he has enough faith in Zeller to put so much on the line, then I think I can get behind the pick.
Now, off to convince myself that we just got the next LMA. 'Tis the season of optimism.
Forget hindsight, you can go find my posts. I loved Drummond and thought he should have been the pick. I was very high on Lillard after seeing his Kings' workout vid. Yeah, Kemba and Lillard on the same team would have been a conundrum but it doesn't matter b/c the Bobcats should be drafting for TALENT and not need. I don't know how anybody can honestly believe that we draft for BPA and not for need. All we have ever done is fill needs.
What happens if Wiggins isn't assertive enough? And Parker has a stress fracture? And Randle tears an ACL? We will probably reach 5 spots too high for Marcus Smart is my guess because "he's a hard worker."
I definitely think MKG was the BPA. Don't the Kings take the misses out of their workout videos?
Cho said himself he doesn't like "one-on-zero" workouts, and that he'd rather have guys compete. He had MKG and Beal compete against one another last year and apparently MKG showed him something. I don't know if you can truly say Lillard was the BPA when his only real tape came against lesser competition; and Drummond is a fair argument but there were a huge question marks about his work ethic. MKG was a monster his freshman year, a key cog in a national championship team, and for all intents and purposes had a pretty damn good year as the youngest player in the league. Regardless, BPA is a subjective term that is difficult to assess without hindsight anyway; but the consensus was that we made the right pick. With Zeller though, I understand the doubts over whether he was the BPA. The only guys we actually brought in were some, and not all, of the top bigs (granted, a few of the top guys turned us down), but I don't think Cho would make such a risky move without being certain he was the best player on the board. I agree with the majority, in that, both McLemore and Noel (and maybe Len) were objectively better picks, but I don't get paid for this stuff. Frankly, only time will tell whether Zeller was the right choice; all the projections, speculations, and Sheridan are moot now.
Finally, I just think you're comparing apples to oranges with this and next year's draft. This time last year it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that this would be a weak draft; whereas next year's looks like the best one since 2003. The top 3-7 guys are being hailed as franchise changers, which can obviously change, but that is a designation none of this year's prospects received (and if any did it was Shabazz). They're called "can't miss" for a reason, and with this year there just wasn't a guy that fit that description. If Bennett can miss the combine, have shoulder surgery, and just be a tweener, yet still go number one; then next year's crop of superior prospects can overcome similar injuries or a lack of assertiveness.
Everybody needs to calm down and Listen.
