Not sure how you got there. I'm saying passing on great talents/difference makers is bad and can't be spun as good. You're the one who tried to move the goal posts on this debate by including a very good talent (Drummond) when we were discussing wiffing on great talents. At age 24, Giannis is a generational talent and the MVP of the league. STOMP
What's with you arguing with multiple posters about something that is ridiculous? As far as making it personal, you made it personal when you said "the constant reason why it is wearing thin for me." and all I told you is that's for you to deal with as I am fine with the way things have gone. Now unless you can go back and find posts in or around the 2013 draft with you stating Giannis should be the #1 pick, then your hindsight analysis really has no bearing on how Olshey should be graded. What's interesting is that many NBA sites graded Milwaukee a B for their pick. Wonder why?
Whats with you making it personal with multiple posters in this thread from the get go? You made it personal in your very first response to me with the "what you fail to understand..." shit. And again, what you somehow still fail to understand is that this thread is about poster's opinions of Neil's ability to manage the club, not mine. Neil should be graded exactly how any poster feels fit. I feel a GM's ability to recognize young talent is very important in constructing a club that contends or not. That my evaluation doesn't fit your silly confines... oh booo hooo hooo for ridiculous you. Get a grip. STOMP
So you have no posts that show you touting Giannis as the number 1 pick. I didn't think so. As for the highlighted part of your post, are you not a poster in a thread about grading Olshey's performance thus far? Otherwise your statement makes little sense, but that's fine as I am done trying to have a discussion with you as it appears all you want to do is argue and tout yourself as superior to everyone else. Good luck and have a nice day.
So they went with Barnes. Not Drummond. There are very few Generational Type talents when it comes to a draft. Even those players expected to be "Generational" can come up short. Portland fans know this all too well. He who shall not be named was a prime example.
Good luck with him kj. I guess we should judge all drafts in hindsight even though that's not available when decisions have to be made.
KJ and I are fine, we're just quibbling over whats a "great" player. You and I are not on the same page at all. Pretty funny that after you proclaim to the world you're done with me, you continue lobbing silly insults. Looking at your participation in this thread, theres been lots of this sort of petty personal crap from you. STOMP
We just got a different way of looking at things. No stress here cup. Matter of fact that Bob Meyers has been stellar no question. I had to reach to find a bump in the road. I almost got STOMPED on that one.
I have no problem with his Bob Meyers assessment but to blame Olshey for not drafting a player that was projected middle of first round? No where have i found any supporting evidence to lead one to believe that Giannis was going to be a generational talent. The fact that Olshey was able to grab an easily top 5 talent in the draft at #11 is a plus not a negative.
Where would Donovan Mitchell have played on our team? The 3? lol. Just because he's good on one team doesn't mean he's a fit on every team.
It really irritates me how the consensus now is that Lillard was the obvious choice at #6 that year and that the GM who drafted him only drafted him because the scouts had already chosen him as our target. KJ, your posts earlier could've applied to the Blazers too. Harrison Barnes was a higher rated prospect who Olshey could've taken at #6, same with Drummond. Heck there was plenty of people who thought we should take Kendall Marshall at the time instead of Lillard. It's still entirely possible that had Olshey taken Barnes or Drummond at 6 that Lillard could've still been available at 11 or that the Blazers could've traded up from #11 to get Drummond and Lillard. We'll never know the answers to that but I just went back and looked at some prospect rankings from before the draft and in May Draft Express had Dame as the #14 prospect and ESPN had him at #12. Drummond was #2 and #5 respectively. It wasn't until after pre-draft workouts and rumors that the Blazers were targeting him got out that people started being All-In on Dame. People who do mock drafts want to be right so when it became clear that's who the Blazers were taking they all moved Dame up in their rankings.
Once upon a time, the Blazers didn't draft the GOAT because they had a young Clyde. I'm for learning history's lessons and applying them. The first step in building a contender is acquiring the best assets possible. I don't see any issue with playing any combo of Dame, CJ & Mitchell together, so they can split all of the backcourts 96 minutes at 32 each. Mitchell already logs some short stints at SF in Utah if you want to play them together and get a little more PT. It's pretty obvious to me that there are plenty of minutes available for those 3 to all shine. If NO had drafted Mitchell, it would have meant passing on Zach Collins who has averaged all of 17 MPG so far. Pretty sure Donovan would fetch far more then Collins on the trade market if the GM wanted to balance their roster. STOMP
Again, it's Neil's job to form an opinion on guys who are developing young talents. While we and the average press guy doesn't get to travel all over the world to attend obscure games and have an array of scouts working for our benefit, Neil does. Further, he can bring in prospects for private workouts. It's not like GMs pick up an SI hoops issue to form any part of their opinion. Especially with all the 1 and dones entering the NBA, it is essential for a GM to not just recognize talent that is before him but project development. STOMP
So this type of post goes back to my original point that you are basing your decision on factors that would be different had certain players been drafted by other teams. Giannis in his rookie year shot 41% from the field and barely made an impact despite playing around 25 minutes a game. His 2nd season was better but still not anything more than an average NBA player. It wasn't until his 4th season that he started playing at a high level. So if Giannis and Mitchell were the same draft class you'd be saying that Olshey messed up taking Giannis over Mitchell???
If the Blazers still had their draft pick in 2016 (Afflalo trade) and drafted Pascal Siakam at 19 then last summer you could've made an argument that was a miss. A wing that can't shoot 3's or FT's in today's NBA? Flash forward one season and Siakam might be the best player in that draft class.
I giarantee Donovan Mitchell wouldnt be the Donovan Mitchell we know now if he got stuck on the bench. He got put in the perfect situation.
Then at least show me all the reports that touted him as going to be the best player in the draft. Before the draft and not 4 years later Giannis was drafted pretty much where he was expected to be drafted. Similar players that were drafted low and exceded their draft position are players such as Kwahi, George, Green, as well as both Lillard and McCollum. With so many one and done players it makes it extremely tough to project a players ability to make the leap.extremely tough. It is why i am an advocate for college players 2 years or at least one year of the g league or over seas. I watched the draft that year and none of the analysts touted him as the best player in that draft.
Nope! Giannis came into the league at age 19 Mitchell at age 21 so it's not apples to apples. By Giannis's 3rd year (when he was the same age as Mitchell was as a rookie) he had a PER of 19 which is better then all of CJ's seasons save 1 so don't give me the wasn't until the 4th season stuff. I watched him as a rookie and was extremely impressed with the young Buck. He oozed talent and athleticism and clearly had major upside. On Mitchell, go back to the post where I brought him up and you'll see that it was to counter the claim that the ONLY miss that NO has had in the draft was Biggie. Thats extremely arguable to say the least. STOMP
