2020 Historical Draft Thread: Draft over. Playoffs coming soon!

[Yoki_IsTheName]

Ah, screw it. He may not be the best player left on the board, but he's the guy we are building around.

For the 12th pick, in the 2020 CelticsStrong Historical Draft 2000s edition, the Oklahoma City Thunder chooses, well, a Captain.

Paul Pierce

[Who]

I liked the idea of building an offense around Wade.

Wade would be unstoppable on a team with a lot of shooting.

Please don't take this as being snarky or being a dink but, isn't pretty much every player chosen so far unstoppable if surrounded with enough outside shooting?

I think the key part of the game is going to be finding enough of that outside shooting to spread the floor enough for all these offensive engines.

I guess I was looking at it as more of a necessity for him - for Wade and for Giannis and for Shaq.

I am not concerned about floor spacing for KG, Duncan, Steph, Durant, Kawhi or Kobe. They have more options in team building because those guys are all good to great shooters at their respective positions.

I was listening to one of those "thinking basketball" podcasts recently and they were talking about Wade and what Wade would've been like had he played on an offense like (PG dodgy shot great athleticism) in Houston since they went to extreme small ball ....

... and the thought of that has stuck in my head for the past week. How insanely unstoppable Wade would be off the dribble in an offense like that. Just too quick. His explosive first step & power combined with the ball-handling, playmaking, finishing ability and ability to create contact and get to the FT line.

It would make Wade one of the most unstoppable offensive forces the league has seen.

I think I listened to that podcast as well, but they were talking about his situational value in comparison to "weaker" MVPs as an offensive vortex instead of some of the finest offensive centrepieces in NBA history. He still lacks the high-end creation to approach those offensive GOATs iirc (eg. a Wade quarterbacked offence with good spacing would still be inferior to say the offence of a LeBron-centric offence with good spacing).

I'd say they would be pretty similar offenses (LeBron vs Wade) but LeBron would have an overall edge on defense & rebounding which would give him the advantage.

Which is why LeBron goes #1.

[Somebody]

Ah, screw it. He may not be the best player left on the board, but he's the guy we are building around.

For the 12th pick, in the 2020 CelticsStrong Historical Draft 2000s edition, the Oklahoma City Thunder chooses, well, a Captain.

Paul Pierce

[gouki88]

Ah, screw it. He may not be the best player left on the board, but he's the guy we are building around.

For the 12th pick, in the 2020 CelticsStrong Historical Draft 2000s edition, the Oklahoma City Thunder chooses, well, a Captain.

Paul Pierce

Bummer, was really hoping he'd fall to the second so I could trade up for him. Was loving the idea of Curry and Pierce.

Interesting choice this early, I like it! He's an easy player to argue for

[RPGenerate]

Ah, screw it. He may not be the best player left on the board, but he's the guy we are building around.

For the 12th pick, in the 2020 CelticsStrong Historical Draft 2000s edition, the Oklahoma City Thunder chooses, well, a Captain.

Paul Pierce

THE TRUTH!!! I don't care if it's a reach or not, he's our guy!

[wdleehi]

Pierce will be appreciated on here more then most locations.  Good pick.

[Somebody]

I liked the idea of building an offense around Wade.

Wade would be unstoppable on a team with a lot of shooting.

Please don't take this as being snarky or being a dink but, isn't pretty much every player chosen so far unstoppable if surrounded with enough outside shooting?

I think the key part of the game is going to be finding enough of that outside shooting to spread the floor enough for all these offensive engines.

I guess I was looking at it as more of a necessity for him - for Wade and for Giannis and for Shaq.

I am not concerned about floor spacing for KG, Duncan, Steph, Durant, Kawhi or Kobe. They have more options in team building because those guys are all good to great shooters at their respective positions.

I was listening to one of those "thinking basketball" podcasts recently and they were talking about Wade and what Wade would've been like had he played on an offense like (PG dodgy shot great athleticism) in Houston since they went to extreme small ball ....

... and the thought of that has stuck in my head for the past week. How insanely unstoppable Wade would be off the dribble in an offense like that. Just too quick. His explosive first step & power combined with the ball-handling, playmaking, finishing ability and ability to create contact and get to the FT line.

It would make Wade one of the most unstoppable offensive forces the league has seen.

I think I listened to that podcast as well, but they were talking about his situational value in comparison to "weaker" MVPs as an offensive vortex instead of some of the finest offensive centrepieces in NBA history. He still lacks the high-end creation to approach those offensive GOATs iirc (eg. a Wade quarterbacked offence with good spacing would still be inferior to say the offence of a LeBron-centric offence with good spacing).

I'd say they would be pretty similar offenses (LeBron vs Wade) but LeBron would have an overall edge on defense & rebounding which would give him the advantage.

Which is why LeBron goes #1.

Not sure if I buy that, I see LeBron's superior playmaking edge allowing him to make life even easier for his teammates (and his scoring at his peak was just as explosive as Wade's iirc with extra ball security). Not saying that a Wade-led offence sucks, but I do think that it'd be lacking compared to offences quarterbacked by the finest offensive engines ever.

[nickagneta]

Ah, screw it. He may not be the best player left on the board, but he's the guy we are building around.

For the 12th pick, in the 2020 CelticsStrong Historical Draft 2000s edition, the Oklahoma City Thunder chooses, well, a Captain.

Paul Pierce

Now THAT is a sexy pick. A bit early but ya gotta love your team and how can you not love a Truthful team

[Donoghus]

I don't think Pierce is that much of a reach here.   It's fine pick & easy to build around.

[nickagneta]

I don't think Pierce is that much of a reach here.   It's fine pick & easy to build around.

I had him early 2nd round so not a reach. Just early.

[RPGenerate]

I don't think Pierce is that much of a reach here.   It's fine pick & easy to build around.

I had him at #17. So nothing to bad. Plus you need an elite scorer to build around, and Paul Pierce is a good choice.

[Donoghus]

I don't think Pierce is that much of a reach here.   It's fine pick & easy to build around.

I had him early 2nd round so not a reach. Just early.

Yeah, I think we're starting to hit that personal preference zone.   The sure fires are gone, IMO.

[Somebody]

Not a huge fan of the Pierce pick this early. Imo the first round is used to stock up on MVP-level talent, but with Yoki's next pick coming up soon I think it'll turn out fine.

[Who]

I don't think Pierce is that much of a reach here.   It's fine pick & easy to build around.

That is how I see it too. Pierce has a fair argument to be the best player on the board. He is so well-rounded and can play with absolutely anyone and he can play SG or SF which gives his team added options moving forward.

There is quite a few players who will see a drop off on a team that isn't built around them but Pierce will maintain his value better than most because of his shooting prowess, off ball game, above average D and rebounding and then throw in his ability to create for both himself and for others.

I'm a fan of Pierce being picked here.

[Somebody]

I don't think Pierce is that much of a reach here.   It's fine pick & easy to build around.

I had him early 2nd round so not a reach. Just early.

Yeah, I think we're starting to hit that personal preference zone.   The sure fires are gone, IMO.

I actually have a few more surefire MVPs left on my board with a bunch of fringe MVPs below them.