Originally Posted by
MichaelMcNamara
To me, in almost every draft..... the outcome of 90% of the first rounders careers is entirely dependent on where they go. There are a few guys who will be great regardless of where they go. A few who will stink regardless. The vast majority are so raw that their career will be shaped by their situation, the stability of that situation, what they are asked to do in that situation, and most importantly what they aren't asked to do in that situation. For years, I have said that if Kawhi gets drafted by the Kings, he is never even an All Star, let alone a Finals MVP and an MVP candidate. Conversely, if Dragan Bender is taken by the Celtics, I believe he'd be a borderline All Star right now.
With that in mind, I cant see taking a guy whose strengths involve needing the ball in his hands if I were the Pels. A guy like Avdija is fine with the ball in his hands, but he would be maybe the 4th best guy to create on this team 3 or 4 years from now when he's starting to reach his ascension. Right now he'd be 6th or 7th. So, we wouldn't use him for that, and therefore he wouldn't turn a quasi strength into a super strength because he won't get the reps. And without the ball, he doesn't impact the game either.
What you want with this core that will clearly be here the next 5-8 years(Ingram, Zion, and probably Ball) is guys who can impact the game without touches, without dribbles. Now, that is not me saying to draft for positional need. It is just saying that you don't throw another guy who needs to be higher usage to have plus value into this mix. As for the term "combo forwards" - all I care about is what a guy defends. I would never use "position" on offense. I am looking for guys who can both defend the Paul George's of the world and the Melo's when I say combo forwards. But yes, you are right - offensively, the skill sets on those guys vary greatly.