It's a bogus drafting strategy. There, I said it. I know it has become in vogue to draft the "best player available" regardless of position, but that is a recipe for disaster when there are no trade partners who want what you have. "Let's see, a guard who is undersized and can't shoot - surely I can flip him no problem!" Ridiculous. Ainge might be right that he was the best player available at 16 - but when you HAVE to trade to get rid of the logjam, and WHEN ALREADY WE'VE SEEN THAT NOBOSY WANTS MARCUS FREAKING SMART - you have to realize nobody will want rozier. How stupid can you be? It's a waste of a draft pick.

Gee, reminds me of David Kahn's defense of his drafting strategy.

Lastly, can Ainge acknowledge two things: 1) shooting matters unless you're a transcendent player like peak Rondo 2) it's moronic to draft "shooters" that can't shoot. Look at RJ Hunters' percentages and tell me it's something to write home about. There's a reason James Young couldn't sniff the floor last year.

The general consensus was that the talent was relatively flat after around the 15 mark or so, and that some of the top players had injuries.  This is why, for example, Looney, who had been talked about as a late lottery player, fell to 30, and why Hunter, was often mocked to us at 16, was available at 28.  It's why teams just didn't want to trade out of the lottery but for an expensive price, because there really was a drop-off.  It's also why the mocks had no clue after the lottery -- I swear every mock I looked at had one or both of Upshaw and Cliff Alexander going in the first round, and yet both went completely undrafted, and as already noted Looney went all the way down to 30.  No one had the Spurs pick at 26, for instance.

Quote from: saltlover on June 26, 2015, 09:23:42 AM

The general consensus was that the talent was relatively flat after around the 15 mark or so, and that some of the top players had injuries.  This is why, for example, Looney, who had been talked about as a late lottery player, fell to 30, and why Hunter, was often mocked to us at 16, was available at 28.  It's why teams just didn't want to trade out of the lottery but for an expensive price, because there really was a drop-off.  It's also why the mocks had no clue after the lottery -- I swear every mock I looked at had one or both of Upshaw and Cliff Alexander going in the first round, and yet both went completely undrafted, and as already noted Looney went all the way down to 30.  No one had the Spurs pick at 26, for instance.

Well if all the guys available at 16 were just about equal then we should have taken a guy that was more of a fit.

I dont think people realize there is an element in drafts that are "agent relations". Players will get drafted just to make relations with agents who may return the favor later on.