Not moving the goalposts. When highly regarded 1st round players with immense talent come in and show from the get go they deserve minutes, then they have earned them. But those without immense talent, those players that are often chosen late in the first round, the second round or are undrafted, they have to earn a spot by showing they are better than the guys in front of them.
You've said that Marcus Smart has 'immense talent', and after watching him for two years, I completely disagree, and yes, you're moving the goalposts. When we discussed the issue of player development ad nauseam, a player's draft position was never mentioned. All you kept saying, which I accept, btw, is that if so-and-so is good enough to play, the coach will play them, even if some of the best coaches make mistakes like Rick Carlisle with Jae Crowder, but that's neither here nor there, at the minute. What's important is that a player's draft position was never part of the playing time equation as you explained it to me. If Marcus Smart has such 'immense talent', why did Stevens entrust Terry Rozier, a ROOKIE who was picked 10 spots lower than Smart, with being the primary ball handler during the playoffs when he was out there, and why did RJ Hunter receive more playing time during his rookie year than James Young did in his second, despite the difference in draft position between those two, at 28 and 17, respectively, not to mention the fact that Young had more NBA experience than Hunter? Could it be that a person's draft position is not always indicative of their talent level (sarcasm)? Could it be that some guys work harder than others (sarcasm)?
I thought the whole point of this team is that nothing is given and that everything is earned, as you pointed out, but then you come back and say that while the higher picks earn minutes by proving their worth from day one, while the lower level draft picks have to earn minutes by proving that they're better than the guy(s) in front of them?

Umm, what? Isn't the latter the whole point, in the first place, team-wise, or is that only reserved for the 'lower classes' aboard the Titanic?
Just because Jaylen Brown was the 3rd pick in the draft shouldn't mean that he gets an easier road to becoming a fixture in the rotation, because he's certainly not starting, this year, barring injuries or him making a quantum leap, which may very well be possible, but the point, here, is that if he wants to be the first wing off of the bench or even a fixture of the rotation, which often seems like a game of musical chairs under Stevens, lol, he has to earn those minutes by proving that he's better than the other guys IN FRONT OF HIM, right, because that's how you explained it to me, and especially on a team filled with castoffs, preferential treatment of any kind just doesn't seem to be in line with the way that this team operates.
You also said that veterans are not interested in developing young guys, so again, doesn't EVERYONE have to beat out their competition for playing time regardless of how things panned out on draft night? Are not all things equal in regards to earning playing time? I'm only using what your words, here.