Actually where things really went off the rails is where he asked "when was the last time a team drafted a player that made them a championship caliber team?" (paraphrase) and off-hand without spending more than two seconds I listed Jordan, Duncan and Kobe ...
Yep--it was a poorly-conceived statement & question that detracted from his original intended point, and by the time he clarified, the argument was too far gone.
To shift gears slightly, I think this discussion shows us two things: 1) New York probably made the right call by trading half their team for Carmelo, since they'll need two stars to have a shot at a title. 2) Our FO needs to operate with a "swing-for-the-fences" mentality; the Harris' and Feltons of the world aren't going to bring us a title unless we get another all-star-level player (by whatever means) to pair with LA.
But that, even if we count Kobe, is not a particularly impressive list considering it spans 25 years. How many draft picks were made over that time? How many total team seasons? Of course, the list is a little longer. We could add Olajuwon and Wade to that list, of franchise players that led to titles for their drafting team since Jordan (and counting Jordan). That gets us up to five. Five in about 25 years, with all the teams and draft picks that have been made...really underscores how infinitesimally low the chances of drafting that kind of player is.
Agreed. Which is why I, for one, am in the "don't use Oden as a throw-in" camp. If Oden helps us get back a Felton-level player, we go from "about average" to "about average+", while giving up the potential of Oden taking us to elite level. To take your (2) a bit further... I don't think all-star-level will do it. It will take LMA plus a top-10 level player, IMO.
I accept partial responsibility for that one. Slow work week; nothing big going on until Friday. Just killing time and trying to somewhat stimulate my brain...
Is it? Or is it more of an indicator of the likelyhood of a player being drafted and winning a championship on the same team? Most players don't spend their career with one team. Rookie contracts are a really good thing if you are a team that scouts other teams players and then steals them when it is over. Because you know at a certain point, those players will be available.
