OT: The Draft Wheel proposal

Discussion in 'Portland Trail Blazers' started by speeds, Dec 23, 2013.

  1. Natebishop3

    Natebishop3 Don't tread on me!

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    The NBA needs to do a better job developing talent. We're lucky if there's 30 quality players in a draft. Why is the NFL filled with so many more decent players? Why does baseball have such a good farm system?

    The NBA is a joke.
     
  2. blue9

    blue9 Well-Known Member

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    Because in those sports players only have one thing to concentrate on? And for about 10 seconds at a time, with a chance to regroup after every single play? Whereas basketball is a fluid game where every player has to be aware of everything that's going on, and the rapid changes that occur?

    I dunno, just spit-balling...
     
  3. PtldPlatypus

    PtldPlatypus Let's go Baby Blazers! Staff Member Global Moderator Moderator

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    Draco for commissioner! I love the idea of a three-day single elimination tourney for the 8 seed. I'd reward that tourney's winner in the draft too. There's your ticket out of mediocrity right there.
     
  4. Natebishop3

    Natebishop3 Don't tread on me!

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    Riiiiight.... that's why we have shooting specialists in the league, and shot blocking specialists, and guys like Rubio who can't hit the broad side of a barn, but can pass?

    You're only confirming my point... that the NBA doesn't develop their talent very well.
     
  5. Draco

    Draco Well-Known Member

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    Umm the NBA has 5 starters. The NFL has 22 plus special teams.
     
  6. Natebishop3

    Natebishop3 Don't tread on me!

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    Yeah, but think about this... the NBA has one good round of talent per year. If that. So the entire planet can't muster more than 30 really good players every year? Yes, the NFL has an ungodly number of draft rounds, but you'd think the NBA could at least have one good round. How many actually decent players come out of the draft every year?
     
  7. Draco

    Draco Well-Known Member

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    Thx. Yeah its a great idea. I'd love to say I came up with it but there are a number of articles on it as a "plain-in" tourney.

    One change I would do is the night when the playin is finished have the #1 playoff seed pick their first round opponent, #2 seed pick the next opponent, then #3 picks and #4 gets whoever is left. That way the #1 seed wouldn’t be penalized if a strong team wins the playin tourney and is a tougher matchup than the #7 seed. Also it would create more rivalry in the playoffs as “this team wanted to play us because they think we are weak!” Each round would be reseeded in the same manor so being the #1 seed would be a larger advantage which puts more of an emphasis on the regular season.
     
  8. Natebishop3

    Natebishop3 Don't tread on me!

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    I say make a gameshow of it.

    Wheel of Fortune: NBA edition.
     
  9. Draco

    Draco Well-Known Member

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    They only look bad because the competition is at such a high level. How many players look awesome in the Olympics, oversees or college but are crap in the NBA? Happens all the time. The window to shoot are so quck in the NBA, defenses are so fast and everyone is extremely athletic. Even fringe NBA players are amazing at basketball. Old geezers like Michael Holton still dominate today in rec leagues and are very impressive to watch in person. When you see an NBA game you are watching some of the best 200 basketball players on the planet.
     
  10. Natebishop3

    Natebishop3 Don't tread on me!

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    They say the same thing about the NFL though. Fast defenses, everyone is crazy athletic, etc etc etc.

    I just think the NBA doesn't do a good job of developing talent. Take the Blazers for example. Guys like Barton, Leonard, and Crabbe should all be playing on our NBDL team. Instead, they're sitting on our bench collecting dust. The NBA drafts on potential, probably more than any other league. It's better now than it was, with the huge influx of shitty Euro players and high school busts that flooded the market in the early 2000's, but it's still really bad.

    You're right, there's only 5 positions and there's only so many minutes, so the NBA needs to do a better job of promoting the D League, scouting, and developing the guys that don't get playing time.
     
  11. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

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    I think the NBA should auction off the 1st 5 picks in the draft every year.
     
  12. VanillaGorilla

    VanillaGorilla Well-Known Member

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    Lots of people think that playing in the D-League doesn't actually help players develop as much as being on the real team, even if they don't get playing time. It makes sense to me.. Have you seen a D-League game? They're fucking garbage.

    Aaaaaand I've just realized that kind of adds to your point, if all NBA teams actually used the D-League as a farm system, it'd probably get much better.
     
  13. VanillaGorilla

    VanillaGorilla Well-Known Member

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    I do think comparing the NBA to the NFL in terms of scouting and developing talent a little disingenuous though. They're both sports, but other than that, you can't compare them too much.
     
  14. Natebishop3

    Natebishop3 Don't tread on me!

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    I posted this in the other D League thread, but I think it would make it so much more effective if that team was located in Portland, the two teams practiced together, and guys like Crabbe and Leonard could spend time with the Blazers while getting minutes on the court with the D League squad.
     
  15. Draco

    Draco Well-Known Member

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    If they had a hard cap this wouldn't be a bad idea.
     
  16. Natebishop3

    Natebishop3 Don't tread on me!

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    Can you imagine if the NBA conducted its draft like some fantasy leagues? It would be interesting if they had a zero sum auction for draft picks.
     
  17. Draco

    Draco Well-Known Member

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    The DLeague is a guard oriented league. I think the problem is there aren’t enough legit 7 footers on the planet. Maybe that is a better way to expand on NateB’s point. In baseball it doesn’t matter if your only 6’. In the NFL there are plenty of guys who are 6’5” and they eat 7000 calories while lifting heavy weights to get over 300lbs. But there isn’t anything you can do to become taller.

    Theres very few NBA sized big men in the world so it’s a tiny pool of people the NBA is filling out rosters from. In Football quarterbacks who are 6’4” are tall. 6’4” is far shorter than the average NBA player.
     
  18. Natebishop3

    Natebishop3 Don't tread on me!

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    The NBA has changed so much though, in the last 20 years.

    Guys like Aldridge, Dirk, and Garnett are legit seven footers, but they don't play center. The old school centers who can dominate in the paint are pretty few and far between.

    But this really goes back to teams wanting their young prospects staying with the team so they can work with them. I just think if the league put more money and effort into their farm system, they could get much better results out of the development. Guys like Barton and Leonard NEED playing time. I'd love to see Thomas Robinson play in the D League a bit, but the coaches have to be top notch, otherwise they're not going to get any real benefit out of it.
     
  19. ponderguy

    ponderguy Member

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    I like this proposal. I prefer the idea of weighting the teams last 3 years combined record for the lottery though
     
  20. speeds

    speeds $2.50 highball, $1.50 beer Staff Member Administrator GFX Team

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    On the topic of players not declaring based on who's drafting:

    I don't know how often a 20xx Minnesota 1st overall pick would precede a 20xx+1 Lakers 1st overall pick but I imagine it wouldn't be often. If a top recruit could be so unwise as to pass on a guaranteed ~$12-million contract and risk picking up an injury playing another year of college or Euro ball I imagine that'd be a rare case and not a trend. We've seen with guys like Eric Lindross and Steve Francis that you can reject a team if you so desire.
     

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