Lol look at Oklahoma how this works out when you have athletic guys who cant shoot. And of course a rookie can play in the Playoffs, there are hundred's of examples.
At 25 you either pick super young/high upside (Simons/Bazley) or you pick someone with a lower ceiling but an NBA ready asset that fits your team.
This is why Windler is on my personal short list. He is close to NBA ready and I believe his ceiling is under-estimated due to his small college/"where did he come from?" background.
So are you agreeing with me or disagreeing? I honestly can't tell. As for hundreds of rookies playing in the playoffs....how far back are you going? I am talking about now with so many 1 and done's. And more specifically I am talking about late 1st round picks where we are currently drafting. More than likely we are talking about drafting for the future.
in the last 10 years. notable draft picks in the 20's: * 2009: Darren Collison, Taj Gibson, DeMarre Carroll (2nd round): Patrick Beverley, Danny Green * 2010: Trevor Booker (2nd round): Hassan Whiteside, Lance Stephenson * 2011: Kenneth Faried, Nikola Mirotic, Reggie Jackson, Cory Joseph, Jimmy Butler (2nd round): Bojan Bogdanovic, Chandler Parsons, E'Twaun Moore * 2012: Evan Fournier (2nd round): Jae Crowder, Draymond Green, Khris Middleton, Will Barton, Mike Scott, Kyle O'Quinn * 2013: Tony Snell, Mason Plumlee, Tim Hardaway, Reggie Bullock, Andre Roberson, Rudy Gobert (2nd round): Allen Crabbe, Isaiah Canaan, Mike Muscala, James Ennis * 2014: Rodney Hood, Clint Capela, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kyle Anderson (2nd round): Joe Harris, Spencer Dinwiddie, Jerami Grant, Glenn Robinson III, Nikola Jokic, Dwight Powell, Jordan Clarkson * 2015: Justin Anderson, Bobby Portis, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Tyus Jones, Larry Nance Jr., Kevon Looney (2nd round): Montrezl Harrell, Richaun Holmes, Josh Richardson, Norman Powell * 2016: Caris LeVert, DeAndre Bembry, Pascal Siakam, Dejounte Murray (2nd round): Cheick Diallo, Malcolm Brogdon, Patrick McCaw, Jake Layman * 2017: Terrance Ferguson, Jarrett Allen, OG Anunoby, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart (2nd round): Jordan Bell, Dillon Brooks * 2018: Josh Okogie Landry Shamet (2nd round): Jalen Brunson, Mitchell Robinson I'm not sure how many of those guys were capable of any significant playoff contributions in their first couple of seasons. Certainly some of the 3 & 4 year college players were still, that 74 players out of a possible 410. Less than a 1 in 5 chance. Furthermore, it sure looks like a team has at least a good of a chance, and maybe better, of landing a good player in the second round instead of the last third of the 1st round
