Race to the Bottom thread

[QWERTYLICIOUS]

A team in our position should not draft for fit in the first round. We should draft the best player available and move forward from there. Fit should be considered in the second round, where a player who fits poorly is likely to get logjammed and never earn playing time.

Especially when you're picking in the top 10. I can see where a strong argument can be made for drafting for need/fit with a later pick in the first round, though. But, for sure, you should always draft BPA with a top 10 pick (Yes, Vlade, I am looking at you).

 

[sactowndog]

Me personally? No, I do not care. I find the clash of differing points of view stimulating. The hate-watching can sometimes be disruptive when those voices take over the game thread. As a matter of decorum I think it's polite to give fans who still want to root for wins the space to do that. But in general, I don't believe in silo'ing different points of view into separate little bubbles so everyone gets to be right in their own domain. I think it's healthier to get our disagreements out there where we can all chew on them and maybe even change our minds just a little.

Okay fair enough.

 

[sactowndog]

Minor edit - because we are the Kings, you know. We screw up draft picks all the time.

That sparks a question for me - who is the last all-star caliber player we drafted and then kept beyond their rookie contract, besides Fox? Would it be Peja?

Man, for a team picking in the lottery/early picks for decades, that is HORRIBLE.

A big part of the problem is we usually pick in the late lottery and that spot tends to be a larger crap shoot to whom you pay larger salaries.

 

[sactowndog]

A team in our position should not draft for fit in the first round. We should draft the best player available and move forward from there. Fit should be considered in the second round, where a player who fits poorly is likely to get logjammed and never earn playing time.

At any rate, the only player who could be a fit issue for the Kings in any way at the top of this draft is Boozer, and that's if the FO is indeed intent on keeping Domas (which is not clear). But if Boozer is BPA, take him and figure the rest out. Or, if somebody will offer a juicy trade to move up one or at most two slots to get Boozer and you still like the available players in those slots, consider that.


The rules changed several years ago. Now the top four slots are selected in the lottery.

I agree with this for this team.

But I also think if a comparable big wing is available you take them because it is much harder to find a top wing later in the draft. Because of that if we are picking 6-8 in the draft I look hard at Ament.

 

[sactowndog]

Especially when you're picking in the top 10. I can see where a strong argument can be made for drafting for need/fit with a later pick in the first round, though. But, for sure, you should always draft BPA with a top 10 pick (Yes, Vlade, I am looking at you).

No you do not and Davion is the perfect example. He was widely considered the BPA at our spot but we had Fox and Haliburton. He had zero chance to develop and the pick was horrible for us and them.

 

[sactowndog]

Exactly that...The odds are more in favor of us DROPPING all the way down to the 5th pick than they are of us staying at #1 or even dropping down to 2 or 3.

Also, my comment wasn't directed at you, per se, but everyone in general who claim that we have the greatest odds at landing that #1 pick if we finish with the worst record in the league.

Does anyone claim that?

 

[QWERTYLICIOUS]

No you do not and Davion is the perfect example. He was widely considered the BPA at our spot but we had Fox and Haliburton. He had zero chance to develop and the pick was horrible for us and them.

Then you draft him with the intention of flipping him for additional assets. Or you utilize the pick to trade down and hopefully acquire multiple picks.

But you definitely don't go out and draft someone who would be available later in the first round. In my opinion, that would be considered as sacrificing value to ensure you end up with a player who "fits".

 

[QWERTYLICIOUS]

Does anyone claim that?

Maybe not so much on this here forum, but yes, I've heard that being tossed around some.

 

[Insomniacal Fan]

And I'm not arguing any of this, except possibly the bolded part. This is the kind of hyperbole that get said somewhat frequently when NBA drafts roll around. Then it's an Oden, or a Fultz, or whatever, and the fans and team have to stew in their disappointment for years. Let's just hope (not "expect") we get something better than a 4 or 5 pick post lottery, not put these players up on some kind of unattainable goal pedestal, and hope they all end up at least "good". Unless you think they are all as good as LeBron or Kareem?

Even a "miss" in the top 5 is significantly more likely to be a Keegan Murray (a useful player) than to be a Oden/Fultz/Bagely. And currently, Keegan seems to be the only player on the team with any noticeable trade interest.

I don't think building through the trade market is even viable at this point; anyone with remote interest in a Kings player is noticing the smoke and is waiting for fire sale prices.

I suppose the remaining option is that we can keep signing Schröeder, Westbrook level vets. I personally don't consider "making the play-in" to be a prize worth competing for.

It's important to consider the worst-case scenario, "what if we get a dud in the draft", but is that really the worst-case? Isn't being a sustainable loser worse?

 

[sactowndog]

Then you draft him with the intention of flipping him for additional assets. Or you utilize the pick to trade down and hopefully acquire multiple picks.

But you definitely don't go out and draft someone who would be available later in the first round. In my opinion, that would be considered as sacrificing value to ensure you end up with a player who "fits".

As we have proven, you can’t “flip” small guards for larger wings. We ultimately had to spend a pick to dump Davion.

If a trade down is available you can do it. But questionable large wings are going before many guards as shown by Davion and Hali.