It's possible to lament the Celtics not drafting Giannis and still think Olynyk is/will be a solid player. However, if the objective is to get the most valuable/best player you can, as of now it seems Ainge failed. Giannis right now has much more value than Olynyk. Giannis is a guy who could possibly be a centerpiece in a deal for a star, while Olynyk is just a nice role player.
If the objective is "just come away with something" then of course Ainge succeeded by taking the safer pick Olynyk. He is probably not going to be a bust, but he will also not be a star.
It's too bad, because Giannis would have accelerated the rebuild and not only because he has more talent. He has more value than Olynyk as a trade commodity and doesn't play the same position as Sullinger. Green could have been dealt this season and you'd have an obvious replacement there. It's evident now that Olynyk and Sullinger playing together just creates too large of a defensive hole to be sustainable. That doesn't mean either loses value, just that they lose value to us because the mix is untenable.
BTW, I'm not including James Young in this conversation because 1) he was drafted the next year, we don't know what Ainge would have done if Giannis was already on the roster - it's possible he doesn't even draft Young and 2) it's too early to tell whether Young will be any good.
If Milwaukee offered Giannis for Olynyk right now, would anybody turn that down? If not then Ainge simply didn't get the best player. Not bashing him because I actually support Ainge, but the bottom line is he made the wrong decision here.
as has been brought out before, THAT depends on what the decision was. to simply say that ainge needed to maximum the celtics talent does not take into account that there are various measures and criteria that go into such a decision. it rarely is a simple either/or choice.
if ainge is looking at player A and sees "high ceiling, high risk of bust" and then sees player B as "very likely high floor, ok ceiling" he makes a choice. if, if, if player A pans out, then A is the right choice. but if player A washes out, then what are the celtics left with aside from a wasted pick and a set back in the rebuilding plan?
on the other hand, player B may never achieve the ceiling of player A, but perhaps the odds of player B becoming a viable, usable, valuable nba player is much greater. the odds of being a bust are much lower, thinks ainge. so, yes, ainge MIGHT miss out on a higher ceiling player by picking B instead of A, but ainge may be thinking "a good player in the hand is worth two high potential busts." and with this high floor player (player B), the rebuilding plan can move ahead.
on draft night i hoped ainge would pick antetokounmpo... but i am a "swing for the fences" type of guy. yet, i fully understand ainge's decision. it was a reasonable, rational, and understandable decision. he played the odds to ensure the highest chance of walking away with a good player instead of swinging and possibly missing on a higher ceiling player.
and lets face it, olly is not some sort of booby prize. thus far he has done fairly well as an nba player.
i dont blame ainge or disparage his choice here even if i disagree. often it is possible to disagree and have no one be wrong. perhaps that does not provide the drama that often pops up in the online-chat world, but so be it.
Topic: Looks like Giannis is starting to live up to the hype (Read 57599 times)