Does Danny want to build through the draft?

[piercetruth34]

As his main focus?  Kobe, Dirk, Duncan, Lebron all were lottery picks  although 2 were top picks the other 2 were bottom lottery.  3 of them were drafted by the team that got them the rings.  Lebron wasn't.  That's 4 players though in the last 15-20 years or so and how many other players drafted that didn't carry their team to a championship.   Pierce would be the other.  So basically finding that guy who is going to be the face of our franchise in the draft is pretty slim.  He has to have a good eye for that and be able to build a team around a young player like that as well. Most kids come in especially now  coming in a freshman where it takes them a bit.  Andrew Wiggins isn't even close to that level yet. 

It seems to me like the chances of finding a face of the franchise player is about 50/50 in the lottery if you go the draft route.  It could be the #1 pick. It could be the last pick in the lottery.  Plus  once that player becomes good you have to be able to resign him.

I also think players like Kobe and Dirk were going later because Kobe was a highschooler and Dirk was a Euro. Even that has changed where teams aren't sleeping on  players like that.  Players do slide though. Pierce did.  Sully slid to us because of injury and that stuff still happens.  It almost happened with Embiid last year.

Kevin Garnett would be the other guy.  He was a highschooler who went 5th or 6th I can't remember, but he didn't stick with the twolves. 

Players are moving around more and more now where players sticking with the team that drafted them is becoming less and less.

[obnoxiousmime]

Actually, the CBA pretty much ensures the drafting team controls their drafted player for 7-8 years if they are so inclined. That is because the player can't become an unrestricted free agent without sacrificing a lot of money. This means that getting a franchise player in the draft is probably the most valuable asset you can possibly have. That is why tanking is a valid strategy when there is a once in a generation talent available. When Anthony Bennett is the top pick, probably not. However, you better be sure of your scouting ability.

I think Ainge has always been consistent in hoping for lottery luck to bring him a franchise star but not banking everything on that strategy. For example, when he did identify Paul as a special talent he was willing to deal Pierce for him. He wouldn't just deal Pierce for say, someone like Marvin Williams though. If we had won the 2nd pick the Oden Durant year, I'm positive he wouldn't have dealt that pick for Garnett or Allen. Having Durant for a career is better than say, three peak years of Garnett. When the Celtics ended up with the 5 pick, Ainge decided nobody there was worth it over Ray Allen.

I expect his philosophy to stay the same for this year's draft as well, the difference being the current team is young and lacks a player in his prime like Paul Pierce. That makes a trade for a star in his late 20s unlikely.

[piercetruth34]

That's true and why ainge has so many picks because there is no guarantee we are going to get that guy this year for all we know right now.  Obviously we'd like to.  The thing is all those players and every player that has won has been up in drafts but choosing that guy who is going to be the next kobe, dirk, Duncan, LeBron can be tricky.  For every kobe there are guys like Dwight Howard or Barkley who just cant seem to get over that hump maybe it's the team or whatever.

It's like the knicks with Ewing all those years.  We don't want that.  or Karl  Malone.  We hopefully can find the right guy and mix.

Pierce struggled without  KG.  Cousy without Russell. Point being is it takes a special player usually. The 70's we saw havlicek and cowens. Larry Bird.

[BornReady]

It's smarter to build through the draft so we would be contenders for a longer time period
compared to when we traded for stars
Our championship window was much shorter (we probably only had 4 years to win it all)

Ainge's wants us to be the Spurs and try develop our players this time round

[piercetruth34]

Danny has protection in picks.  So he has more than one shot at it.  But if Okafor is it we should get him.  If Cousins is it we should get him. Like I was saying there are probably a handful of guys every 15  years or so that get over the hump.

Len Bias happens and we stink  for years but that's why we have more than one shot at it.

[crimson_stallion]

I don't think that building via the Draft is Danny's "Plan A" by any means.

I think for Danny the approach goes something like:

Plan A - Use draft picks (and other assets) to bring in a star player via trade
Plan B - Use cap space to sign a star player via free agency
Plan C - If both of the above plans fail, then build through the draft

If Danny had a chance tomorrow to trade Boston's #1 pick this year (completely unprotected), for a player like Demarcus Cousins or Paul George... I think he would say yes in approximately 5 tenths of a second.

If we had won the 2nd pick the Oden Durant year, I'm positive he wouldn't have dealt that pick for Garnett or Allen. Having Durant for a career is better than say, three peak years of Garnett.

I would have to disagree.

The acquisition of Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett ultimately brought the Celtics a championship.

OKC got Durant and how many other elite talents through the Draft, but they have zero championships and only even really competed seriously one time.  It doesn't look like they're getting better any time soon either given their cap situation and the fact that their star players are ultimately already at the peak of their careers.