Grade GP's past drafts?

[fnordius]

Yeah.

I'm not trying to say that Petrie's bad at picking guys in the draft, although I wish he'd show a little more diversity lately. I just don't go for the aura of infallibility. I don't think that anyone can claim that GP ever got the best possible guy in both rounds, and that's OK -- hardly anyone ever does that in a single year, let alone multiple years.

I used to think that he could never go wrong, that any pick he made would be just what we needed. Instead, I now hope for the best but don't expect anything extraordinary.

He's a manager, not a miracle worker.

 

[fnordius]

Just for the record, here are players GP did and did not get. Because they are listed as not picked doesn't indicate that I consider them clearly better, but I do consider them to be at least arguably equal.

Anyway, for posterity, here's the list.

1996: Got Stojakovic (14) and Jason Sasser (41). Passed on: Nash (15), O'Neal(17), ZI (20), and a few lesser guys in the 1st, passed on Malik Rose (44), Chucky Atkins (undrafted) and Ben Wallace (undrafted) in the second.

1997: Took Tariq Abdul-Wahad (11) over Croshere (12), Brevin Knight (16), Scot Pollard (19), Bobby Jackson (23). Took Anthony Johnson (40) over Stephen Jackson (43), Mark Blount (50), Troy Hudson (undrafted) and Damon Jones (undrafted).

1998: Picked JWill (7) over Larry Hughes (8), Nowitzki (9), Pierce (10), Ricky Davis (21), Rashard Lewis (32). Picked Jerome James (36) over Rafer Alston (39), Cuttino Mobley (41), Earl Boykins (undrafted), Mike James (undrafted) and Brad Miller (undrafted).

1999: Traded away the pick that landed Ron Artest, and could have gotten Kirilenko or others. In the second round, picked Ryan Robertson (45) over Manu Ginobili (57), Raja Bell (undrafted) and Milt Palacio (undrafted).

2000: Picked Turkoglu (16) over the same 17+ list as I previously provided. Picked Jabari Smith (45) over a forgettable crop highlighted by Jason Hart (49).

2001: Picked Gerald Wallace (25) over Sam Dalembert (26), Tony Parker (28), Gilbert Arenas (31), Mehmet Okur (38), Bobby Simmons (42) and others. Picked Maurice Jeffers (55) over Maurice Evans (undrafted) and Carlos Arroyo (undrafted).

2002: Traded away the first round pick, which might have acquired Boozer, Gadzuric, Songaila, or a number of others. Picked Corseley Edwards (58) over Jannero Pargo (undrafted), Smush Parker (undrafted) and a few other folks.

2003: Our traded-away pick (27) got Kendrick Perkins, but could have as easily been used on Josh Howard (29), Barbosa (28), or most of the other guys I mentioned in the earlier list. Our traded away second round (56) could have gotten Marquis Daniels (undrafted) or Udonis Haslem (undrafted).

2004: Got Kevin Martin (26), probably the best choice. In the second round, took Ricky Minard (48) over Andres Nocioni (undrafted).

2005: Cisco (23) over Luther Head (24), Johan Petro (25), David Lee (30), Salim Stoudamire (31), Ronny Turiaf (37), Monta Ellis (40), and Ryan Gomes (50). Second round pick was traded away, but probably wouldn't have gotten anyone who will ever be noteworthy.

 

[rumpled]

Charles Barkley actually DID have a Hall of Fame career. So did Kevin McHale. Wes Unseld. Bill Russel. I might suggest genuflection based on such irrelevancies is a tad misplaced. There are thousands of people out there wiht a better feel for the game than those guys (off the court of course).

I'm trying to objectively rate his overall draft performance, not start a fan club. Rather than "genuflection", I was suggesting that like recognizes like. I do consider someone with that kind of high-level experience to be more of an expert than myself (or some internet writer) in what it takes to succeed in the NBA. I'm sure he watches more tape than we do too.

I like to second-guess from hindsight too, that's why I was looking for how many Boozers we missed. But I'm trying to be fair and rate the overall talent we did pick up objectively. As in, at their current salaries, what sort of trading talks could we have going. And which teams have done better or worse with similar draft positions.

He hasn't hit a home run in the draft yet but there's a consistent pattern of singles and doubles. It's pretty clear we don't draft for size and try to get the best "most likely to succeed" player available. The only issue is whether that's the best gambling strategy in the draft.

It really looks to me like GP has an eye for, uhh, willpower. For lack of a better term to combine competitiveness with that gym rat approach. I think he puts a high value on having that drive to begin with, if you could put a rating on it like vertical leap or size. He'll draft a skinny kid with a strong work ethic and sign the unsung BJaxes and both Christies too for their fighting spirit. It seems like a basic and sound strategy, like buying a car based on the motor rather than the body. Its all a gamble anyway so I'll go with trying to bet on the guy that seems to have the one thing all the great ones have in common.

I was actually hoping more people would remember wanting to draft certain players instead and be honest whether they were right or wrong. Other than Boozer I can honestly say that I was wrong every time. I would have drafted boozer and a couple madsonesque scrubs though, but then he would have burned me like the cavs I guess...huh. You know what, I take it back about Boozer.

There's mistakes but he doesn't get us stuck with a bunch of lemons either, basically. I'm not genuflecting but I'd have to see a better reason than this to stop mateening the man who gave us Chris Webber for Mitch (bless him) Richmond.