Speaking of no talent U.S. born white centers

Oh yeah, totally agreed - it is very arguable. I know I was on the fence regarding who is better (and who will be better). But if it's a push, you probably choose the rarer of the commodities (especially if you need a center), which is what the Blazers did. Especially if you're concerned about Lamb's mindset, which I'm sure they were after that interview on Lamb (that terrified me).

And yeah, Oden was a 7-0 center. One with a ton of talent. Anyone who has seen Oden play knows he's a game-changing center when healthy. A rare find. Durant was always going to be an all-star caliber SF (nobody debated that). If you have your choice between a legit AS SF and a legit AS center, you take the center. Unless you have serious concerns about injuries/health of the center (which the Blazers clearly should have been concerned, from what I've read about tests/reports leading up to the draft).

 

i wonder if lamb was taller with more reach than most of the sgs he played last year...hmm...

 

Thing is, players like Durant rule today's NBA. You need the star player to make the big shots in the 4th. ISO's, create for others, etc.

Durant is the 2nd best player in the NBA right now, and that wouldn't change even if Oden was healthy imo.

That said, let's not turn this into Oden/Durant. I'm tired of that discussion.

 

Yeah, agreed - let's not go there. You just made the BPA available comment and related it to Oden/Durant. Was just saying that was quite a bit different than the Lamb/Leonard debate. No harm, no foul.

 

Why does it always have to be, player A is awesome and player B is horrible?

It is very possible that both Leonard and Lamb will be quality players in the NBA.

 

I was just making the point of teams taking the big man

Darko over Bosh/Wade/Melo is another one

 

I know this isn't directed at me, but I didn't tear either one down, and was equal on both. So, I debunked your use of "always".

Just sayin'.

 

Yeah, but these just aren't great comps. All of those guys listed were considered locks to be All-Star talents (Wade was arguably the one who wasn't a lock, but many felt he'd be solid). These are top-of-the-draft picks, generally. Leonard and Lamb were not top-of-the-draft talents. In any draft, draft position, potential, etc, get very murky after the first 5-8 picks. So you're talking about a completely different tier of prospects when talking Oden/Durant/Bosh/Wade/Melo versus Leonard/Lamb.

 

What I was originally getting at is basically always take bpa and don't get sucked into taking a big man because it's hard to obtain a quality big man.

OKC wanted to take Thabeet in that draft because they wanted a big man. They "missed out" because Memphis took him second and they selected Harden instead with the #3 pick.

 

Get back to us when Lamb can get even just a little burn.

 

Darko wasn't drafted as a true center such as Oden. He was supposed to be Bosh but with better handles.

 

Because BPA is not a subjective thing...

7 footers with Leonard's abilities are not a dime a dozen. When Leonard's putting up double-doubles and one of the best true centers in the league are you going to play the same angle on him that you do with Batum.

Not sure why you still argue with people at this place. We chew you up and spit you out.

 

It was definitely during the European craze when teams were looking for the next Dirk and Gasol.

Like when Denver selected Nikoloz Tskitishvili with the 5th pick the year before.

 

Yeah, kind of like what this guy said a bit ago!

 

And I don't disagree. Same thing, I just expanded it. Figured it might help explain to the dissenter to arrive at a different conclusion, but I was wrong.

Of course, I don't think the dissenter disagrees with the general gist. I just think he rates Lamb and Leonard, and their current talent levels and future potential differently than we do. His opinion would go against popular thinking, obviously (this thread is proof). And his arguments are weak. But this is a message board, and this is subjective topic.

 

It all comes down to your view of truly taking bpa, and it still applies to Leonard/Lamb (or any two players)

 

You're talking about top 5 picks. The 11th pick is pretty different than the 1st pick.

 

Subjective, ya know, kinda like thinking players are better because of the eyeball test instead of poo-pooing at advanced statistics.

 

It still applies, and it depends on how you rate the players.

Teams could rate Lamb higher but still take Leonard because he's a center.

We're still talking about lottery picks here