technomaster wrote:Knickoftime wrote:TripleThreat wrote:
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The point remains the same, look at the Nets, even with a Big Three, you need to win through the draft, you need to hold onto some of your draft picks and you need to limit middle class contracts and those deviating against league trends. And you can't let your best players become defacto GMs. I'm waiting for Kyrie Irving to sit on the TV and watch the couch.
What a gaggle of ****ing morons.
This is all an interesting narrative, but just for fun let's focus on this:
You need to draft well and keep drafting well and esp draft your "stars" in the NBA. The system is designed to reward that.
Again, just for the exercise of it, can you look up the top 10 players in terms of mins played for the last 2 NBA champions?
How many of those 20 players were drafted by the team that won the chip?
Hmm... it's become the league of Lebron the GM. He breaks TripleThreat theory that active players suck as GMs. He's a shining example of a great player GM. He's been in the finals in 9 out of the last 10 seasons. Where he goes, success has followed.
Not limiting ourselves to just the champs, but let's look at both sets of finalists.
2020:
Lakers - Drafted players: Kuzma. That's it? But draft picks Ingram (#2 overall), Ball (#2 overall), plus a #4 in 2019 (that became DeAndre Hunter) were traded for AD. Worth it? You bet!
Heat - Not all were "drafted" by the Heat (some signed as undrafted FA's): Bam, Herro, Nunn, Duncan Robinson... Udonis Haslem!?! (well, 17 years ago he was picked up as an undrafted FA) - This is a great example of how scouting and developing your young players can get you places fast. And they still have assets to make a few moves while they're still under cheap contracts.
2019:
Raptors: Siakim, Powell (technically traded on draft day from the Bucks). VanVleet was an undrafted free agent. They traded a lot of assets to get Kawhi (DeRozan, Poetl), Green, Ibaka, and Gasol. HUGE gamble but it paid off. Totally worth it.
GSW: Well... come on, the Steph and Klay, Green, and Looney. The Warriors are still squeezing value from those awesome picks years ago.
So... in short: there are a few formulas to building a winning team in the NBA:
1) ELITE SCOUTING. That helps you get the most out of the draft. If you have lottery picks, don't miss! And getting a star LATE is arguably more valuable than hitting early. And even better, find undrafted gems. If you can get a top 10-15 player in the draft after the 15th pick, you've done a great job.
2) GET GM LEBRON.
3) Develop your assets - this goes hand in hand with #1. If you can get your players looking like stars, you can use them to acquire elite players via trade. (but choose your trades carefully!)
Back to the Nets: They developed LeVert (#22 by the Pacers, but traded to Nets before his rookie season for Thaddeus Young) and the Fro Allen (also a #22 pick) in order to get Harden. Two #22's for a former MVP in his prime? Wow. That's killer value - especially considering that Harden has been more of an iron man relative to Durant and Kyrie in recent seasons.
They're in a bit of a bind. But built into their plans was to grab some waiver help. They picked up Blake Griffin and Aldridge - but as it turns out, Griffin really is on his last miles and Aldridge developed his unfortunate irregular heartbeat that ended his career. (Derrick Coleman haters - that man played with an irregular heartbeat condition for like a decade. Where's the respect?)
The simple fact is there is no formula for a team to follow.
The overwhelming factor in the Lebron James era is to have Lebron James on your team. Not the GM, the player, period.
Other than having him on your team, no methodology has a track record that proves anything.
San Antonio, once regarded as the model org hasn't produced a superstar since Leonard.
Golden State scored big with 3 non op 5 drafted players, but again, where is the elite scouting and/or developmental ability since 2012?
Green was a second rounder and they haven't found or developed anyone comparable to Curry, Thompson or Green since 2012.
The current contenders are a mix of teams with some homegrown talent mixed with free agents and traded players along with teams who are predominantly the latter.
5/15/2021 4:31 PM
