People love watching a treadmill team apparently. We're gonna be
in Knicks/Nets land for the next decade. Awesome
Treadmill teams don't have a huge stockpile of draft picks. Teams end up like the Knicks/Nets when they devalue picks so much that they have traded away the next five years of second-round picks on top of moving every tradeable first.
Or they squander them in drafts. Those Nets picks will be good but they'll be an 8 seed for a number of years. Good for mid teens but not high enough for a major impact. Ainge missing on Giannis makes me question his ability these days. Not just him but JJJ and others. His drafting record IS historically solid but I question whether he'll use the picks the right way or cash them in for another 30 year old to go with Rondo.
For one, Giannis could still very much end up not amounting to much while KO could end up having more value.
People were lamenting about how Ainge didn't draft Marshon Brooks. Jajuan Johnson was drafted for need with so many questions looming.
2010 Ainge drafted AB. 2011 Ainge drafted E'Twaun Moore (who, together with Jajuan, got us Courtney Lee and now Jerryd Bayless), 2012 Ainge drafted Sully (and Fab Melo, a reach but still got some value out of him by getting under the tax line).
2013 Ainge got KO (1. Giannis has not shown anything to indicate that he's a surefire all star, just a lot of potential 2. KO at least looks like he will be a NBA player worthy of being in a rotation. Dennis Shroeder may bust, Shabazz looks like a bust).
Giannis is an athletic freak with loads of potential. Much better than KO. Fab Melo was a wasted pick with PJ3 on the board and Festus. Everyone knew Melo was terrible but Danny still drafted him. He had zero BBIQ and just sucked. I personally loved Moore and would love to see him back in green one day. Solid role player. I don't know how you could even say that Ainge didn't screw up up this draft royally by passing on Giannis. You just can't defend that. He's an athletic freak that can play.
There are plenty of athletes who can't play basketball in the league.
Anthony Randolph for one.
Jeff Green is somewhat guilty for that (from your comparison of Rondo to Chalmers, I'd venture to guess your opinion of Green isn't that high either).
Gerald Green for a long while.
Shannon Brown.
Wes Johnson.
Based on a rookie year of 7 points 5 rebounds, you're ready to call Giannis a star?
There are plenty of players with incredible potential but never reach it.
Sure, I don't deny drafting the Greek Freak would have been nice. I would take him given a re-draft.
But KO has not shown anything to indicate that he's a bust. In his rookie year, he's showing solid signs of at the very least being a solid bench big.
Ainge avoided the landmine in Shabazz. Screwing up would be drafting a guy who can't get any minutes/can barely get any minutes.
Consider Tyreke Evans, a guy who put up historical averages in his rookie year. He's no doubt incredibly talented, more talented than KO or Giannis. But he never became much more. Rookie year performances could end up meaning very little.
As for the Fab Melo debacle, Ezeli would certainly have been a nice pick. But Ezeli wasn't drafted until mid-2nd so many teams missed out. And Ezeli is currently injured.
Perry Jones looks like a nice player but Ainge drafted Fab as a project. Fab had more upside than any other player available.
With 2 picks, I'd still say it was a good move using one of them on a gamble.
Topic: The next 10 games will obliterate our lottery chances. (Read 89507 times)