Well, yeah. I guess that was common knowledge for the last 2 decades (that is not to come off as a dick), so I guess I didn't understand your point. I mean, when I look through the last several drafts, you have guys throughout much of the draft that put up similar numbers, nothing that necessarily makes anyone stand out. But some of the guys are seniors, some are freshmen (some are foreigners), some play lesser talent versus player tougher talent. But some guys are fundamentally sound and put up the numbers they do while other guys look terrible at times, yet still put up their numbers. So the thinking is get them to cut their mistakes and reach their potential, and they'll be studs. And if you fail to get them to cut the mistakes and grow as a player, then they're weaknesses are exploited and they just continue to show flashes while never putting it together (like Travis Outlaw - though his issue was mostly in his head/brain). I think we pretty much agree. I just think the NBA went through this period where they overdid the youth/potential, and now the pendulum is swinging back where we're not drafting "more and more" non-NBA ready players. More NBA-ready guys are being drafted than a few years back, but still far less than a few decades ago.
I think for a lot of these guys it is not going to matter whether they went to college or not. They have to want to work. If Young had worked to improve in Detroit, they would have kept him. I think comparisons could be made between Young and Lance Stevenson. Lance probably learned little about working on his game the one year he went to Cincinnati. However, Bird took a chance on him and put him in the right situation to mature. I still would not trust him enough to give him big money, but the Pacers were certainly helped by his play last year. The one year of college did not do much for Michael Beasley either. A huge amount of the fault also has to go to his parents.
Yes, but I think college causes some of the negatives to shake out. A lot of people were scared by Beasley after his year in college. But many felt his potential was so great that you had to take him at number two. He's underachieving for what he could have been, and he's a knucklehead, but he's still having a better career than most that make it to the NBA. It's never going to be an exact science. Sometimes that year of college (or more) is going to expose players, sometimes it won't. There will always be busts. But in the long run, forcing players to go to college at least one year is, without a doubt, better for the NBA and for the players.
Yeah you have some good points. I tend to think there is less development nowdays than years ago. There aren’t any high school guys that need multiple years of practice like Jermaine Oneal or Tracy McGrady. With the new salary cap I think the smart GM’s will change the strategy of shooting for home run potential. Lets say a guy like McLemore has no business playing this year, well he probably will be an average player next year. Maybe he becomes a good player in his 4th year. At that time his rookie contract will be ending, so if he is beginning to develop into a stud a team has to pay him a max contract to keep him. Then when he’s on a max contract the team doesn’t have the resources to surround him with as many other quality players. It used to not matter as much if a team had to give players these raises after their rookie contract since the team held his bird rights. Teams could collect as many studs as they wanted and have the bird rights to keep them all. That just isn’t the case anymore with todays NBA. Now the main value of draft picks is that they are on a small rookie salary while their production exceeds their cost. Drafting projects players or guys with high ceilings robs a team of that beneficial value. Yes if you have all-star potential some team will put you on their roster, so its not as if these players will be out of the league. But a guy who used to be taken #2 like Marvin Williams might drop to #4. A guy who teams would take at #18 might drop to the second round. I think that will be good for the league. Also having more of the projects in college or oversees instead of sucking up a roster space and practice time from NBA ready players would be a good thing.
The supposedly best GM in the NBA, Morey, had picks 12, 16, and 18 in 2012. He drafted Lamb, Royce Williams, and Terrence Jones. They played a combined 423 minutes as rookies. I give up. I'll read the other half.
