Faried was NCAA rebounding champ and Defensive Player of the Year. It's unusual for one player to win both awards, I think. Why did all those GMs pass him up? Even if he lacks quickness or something, I'd still have taken a gander on him so I wouldn't get goosed.
So why did they all pass up Faried? At least with Blair there was a valid reason (which turned out to be wrong so far).
He was overlooked because he's 6'7" But if you did your homework on him you'd know he makes up for his lack of height: 9'0" standing reach -- On par with a 6'10"-6'11" player 11'11" max reach -- On par with a 6'11" player He also plays with a Joakim Noah-like motor. He was there and they whiffed bigtime by taking such an inferior prospect/fringe NBA player in Nolan Smith.
There are 2 issues, 1) Faried and 2) Nolan Smith. 1) In the main draft day thread, I was critical that we didn't take Faried because we had lost games in 2010-11 due to going with 7 guards and 5 forwards (because the idiots undervalued Juwan Howard and dumped him for being old even though he had started half of 2009-10 and prevented a meltdown like 2011-12). We needed a PF so much (now we have Hickson). 2) But given the insane fact that the boneheads snubbed Faried and any other forward, then if it had to be a guard (and that low, guards are better than forwards), I didn't think Nolan Smith was a terrible choice. He was expected to go near the end of the 1st, but Nate's friendship with Coach K pushed him to 21, up about 6 spots. Not an unusual move up.
Plenty of teams passed on Faried before he was drafted. What's your point, other than some unknown blame for Nate for drafting Smith? Seems to me had Nate loved Smith so much, he might have actually played him?
Actually it's the opposite. Everyone acts like this mistake was our team's alone, and I'm the only one wanting to spread the blame, asking for a reason why other teams passed on him, too. Glad to see you want to join my team. You're wising up.
I don't care what other teams did\did not do..... POR missed out on Faried...bottom line....they had a need at b\u PF...Faried was pegged as a POR pick, he pegged as a legit 1st round pick....Nolan Smith was pegged as a 2nd round pick....Not to mention Nolan Smith was a SHOOTING GUARD....still is....So we chose a 3rd string SG over a b\u PF....who was clearly the better player.....
This. I'd like to hear some "insider" information on whom was the most responsible for this pick. Not only is he a undersized SG but he doesn't do anything well. Once he stepped outside that Duke box he's totally lost. The NBA caliber talent just isn't there. Thanks, Chad!
I'll get bashed, but I am used to it. This was a Nate pick 100%. I don't know how Buchanan felt though.
I thought us passing on Faried was quote-unquote part of the Felton deal?? We'll never know for sure one way or the other, but it's been bantered about, and was mentioned on both The Game and The Fan during the draft and in the days after the draft last year. Obviously, it turned out to be a terrible deal. But at least it would explain why our organization passed up on Faried, and put the blame on those who are in charge of making deals, rather than pointing a finger at those who are responsible for evaluating talent.
He's right, it was my pick. I heard that Nolan was going through a bad case of the Mondays so I thought it might cheer him up if he was picked in the first round.
Oh no no. The alternative theory is correct: In a wild, crazy coincidence, running 2 years in a row, our 1st round pick was a guard formerly coached by Nate's summer bosom buddy. His talking to Coach K for hundreds of hours per year had absolutely no influence, Scout's honor.
If McMillan had nothing to do with this pick, which I don't believe, than my opinion goes down a few more notches for Chad's ability to evaluate talent. He was clearing drafting under the influence.
To me all of this speculation about who should have responsibility for a pick just underscores how muddy the decision making process and organizational hierarchy really are ... maybe this lack of ultimate accountability is by design?
