The last draft where I remember the whole talk was about how terrible it was, how there was no big talent, all role players, no stars, was 2006. For some reason, Portland decided to use that supposed "weak" draft to build a team and was wheeling and dealing. Danny traded out so save one year of Raef's contract rather than try to build through it. He grabbed a young kid by buying a late pick, but nobody expected much of it, usual hype that accompanies every one of Danny's picks aside.
Turns out, it wasn't so bad after all.
Here's a little 15-player roster built from players selected in that draft (slight fudging of positions):
PG: Rondo, Kyle Lowry, Jordan Farmar, Randy Foye
SG: Brandon Roy, Ronnie Brewer, Shannon Brown, Daniel Gibson
SF: Rudy Gay, JJ Reddick
PF: Lamarcus Aldridge, Ty Thomas, Paul Milsap
C: A. Bargnani, Ryan Hollins
Not too bad for a "weak" draft, huh?
Danny used a lottery pick to improve the cap position that year, but also bought a later pick (Rondo at 21). Considering the team's current cap position is pretty good, that there are few options for bringing in top FA's (or top FA's available at all), the team has lots of space on the roster, and that only 10 guys really play anyway, I suggest the following:
Get all the picks possible in this draft. Buy, swap, whatever. Let's have three, four rookies next year and send them all to Portland or whatever. They won't play next year anyway, there's room on the roster for projects, and we have a near-desperate need to build assets for the future.
There might not be the next KG in this draft, but there might be another Paul Milsap, possibly even an Aldridge. Maybe a Ronnie Brewer or Kyle Lowry-level talent. Perhaps not super-duper-stars, but all-star talent none the less.
Let's hope for a very active (and expensive) draft night!
Thoughts?