Quote:
Originally Posted by GP
Here is the problem I have with the Draft 'n Stash concept. Draft a guy on potential, he plays in Europe for 2, 3 even 4 years. He comes to the Mavs. He is good. Has an adjustment phase to the NBA and it takes him basically 1 to 2 years before making his impact. Heck, you are looking at 4, 5 or even 6 years before getting any return on that investment. Not a sound strategy if you ask me.
My preference is to pick a guy with maybe less upside by can play in the NBA and improve. Maybe you won't hit the home run but getting a guy that can have a solid NBA career is the way to go. Every year guys fall through the cracks. Sometimes stars fall through the cracks. Mavs could really use anything in this draft because the team is the most complete it has ever been. No screaming "need" so they can draft the best guy on the board.
And lets be honest, for stars this draft absolutely sucks. I've read that the best player in the draft might never be a top 10 point guard. Wow! Just wow! This happens from time to time though and in these kinds of draft there always seems to be a plethora of guys who become solid NBA players. I'd bet money that some kids from big time programs turn out way better than expected and of course there is going to be a lot of over hyped players who can't play a lick.
There are some very interesting names that are projected to fall to the Mavs. Weird thing about this draft is that there is not much separation between the lottery picks and guys in the upper 2nd round. Teams are going to flub a lot of these picks. Mavs have a golden opportunity to get a steal in this draft. Also, teams are going to want to trade out of this draft or trade down.
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If we can look back a few years, I'd a hell of a lot rather have a Nick Calethes than a Mo Ager. Mo was from a big program, had a nice reputation. Couldn't play a lick.
I think that "late-in-the-draft-steals" are overrated, too. People like to bitch that we didn't do something to get DeJuan Blair, before the Spurs did. Well, who cares. Blair is never going to be more than a guy who can't find important minutes in a playoff series.
And don't get me started on Josh Howard. The kid went exactly where he should have in the draft, and no later.
There is one simple thing that makes the NBA draft such a volatile exercise when it comes to value, and that is the small number of players in the rotations. Each team needs about eight. And good players go for way more years than that. It's a hard clique to break into.