I found the Kai comments interesting. I think it's a mistake to downgrade every player 6'10" and over if they aren't a natural 5. That thinking would drop the next Kevin Durant.
I think you are right when you say Golden State shouldn't overemphasize the short run. I feel the same way with my Pacers. I get that Carlisle wants a game ready player, but I doubt he'd play any rookie wing ahead of Justin Holiday or Lamb.
Perhaps the worst trade in Pacer history was sending young Alex English to Denver for an aging George McGinnis thinking that was the piece we need for the playoffs. A nice piece of trivia is that the person who made that trade for Denver was Donnie Walsh. The next worse trade was a future first for Tom Owens.
I'm hoping we draft with an eye to the future. I'd also want some insurance should we decide midseason that Turner or Sabonis must go. That takes me back to why I like Kai.
I think it's always the right bet to draft with an eye toward the future. I go deeper into that in my Draft Buzz column today on the track record of players 22 or older in the draft lottery. It isn't pretty. But I understand the Pacers dilemma for sure. As for Kai, I do think it's thinking outside the box with him that delivers the most positive outcomes. That didn't happen at Texas and I think it's going to have to be the case with him. With that said, he doesn't have the instinctual feel that Giannis always had or the killer drive that he always had. Watch Giannis as a rookie. He looked terrible at times but you also couldn't take your eyes off him. Kai has some amazing plays but can also completely disappear.
I've long been a BPA guy which is drafting completely for the future. I've softened that recently though and have come around to thinking that rebuilding teams should take the BPA regardless of position, but the good teams can draft for need. I have no formula for the dividing line, and as mother always said, "everything in moderation."
I see the Pacers as having two needs: 1) a 4 who can play with either Turner or Sabonis, and 2) a guard who can stay in front of small, speedy point guards. I see Wagner, Johnson, Garuba, and Jones for the first need, and Mitchell for the second. Of this group, Mitchell probably has the highest floor with Kai having the most potential to be a reach.
The GROUP THINK mock draft list continues just look at those green room invites. So uncreative but at the same time if I was an NBA GM I wouldn't tell anyone who my real targets were either. Let everyone believe it's the usual suspects so your guy is still available. Since there are usually about 20 rotation guys taken in the draft it really blows my mind the lack of free-thinking decision-makers there really are.
I found the Kai comments interesting. I think it's a mistake to downgrade every player 6'10" and over if they aren't a natural 5. That thinking would drop the next Kevin Durant.
I think you are right when you say Golden State shouldn't overemphasize the short run. I feel the same way with my Pacers. I get that Carlisle wants a game ready player, but I doubt he'd play any rookie wing ahead of Justin Holiday or Lamb.
Perhaps the worst trade in Pacer history was sending young Alex English to Denver for an aging George McGinnis thinking that was the piece we need for the playoffs. A nice piece of trivia is that the person who made that trade for Denver was Donnie Walsh. The next worse trade was a future first for Tom Owens.
I'm hoping we draft with an eye to the future. I'd also want some insurance should we decide midseason that Turner or Sabonis must go. That takes me back to why I like Kai.
I think it's always the right bet to draft with an eye toward the future. I go deeper into that in my Draft Buzz column today on the track record of players 22 or older in the draft lottery. It isn't pretty. But I understand the Pacers dilemma for sure. As for Kai, I do think it's thinking outside the box with him that delivers the most positive outcomes. That didn't happen at Texas and I think it's going to have to be the case with him. With that said, he doesn't have the instinctual feel that Giannis always had or the killer drive that he always had. Watch Giannis as a rookie. He looked terrible at times but you also couldn't take your eyes off him. Kai has some amazing plays but can also completely disappear.
I've long been a BPA guy which is drafting completely for the future. I've softened that recently though and have come around to thinking that rebuilding teams should take the BPA regardless of position, but the good teams can draft for need. I have no formula for the dividing line, and as mother always said, "everything in moderation."
I see the Pacers as having two needs: 1) a 4 who can play with either Turner or Sabonis, and 2) a guard who can stay in front of small, speedy point guards. I see Wagner, Johnson, Garuba, and Jones for the first need, and Mitchell for the second. Of this group, Mitchell probably has the highest floor with Kai having the most potential to be a reach.
The GROUP THINK mock draft list continues just look at those green room invites. So uncreative but at the same time if I was an NBA GM I wouldn't tell anyone who my real targets were either. Let everyone believe it's the usual suspects so your guy is still available. Since there are usually about 20 rotation guys taken in the draft it really blows my mind the lack of free-thinking decision-makers there really are.