andalusian
Season - Restarted
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2008
- Messages
- 15,321
- Likes
- 14,836
- Points
- 113
Taking Josh Giddey over Franz Wagner, Sengun (which he actually drafted and traded to the Rockets) and Trey Murphy certainly was not a great win in the 2021 draft.
Of course, taking Adams in 2013 over Giannis was a mistake.
You could argue that trading Lively to Dallas in 2023 was a mistake as well, as they had to go and get Hartenstein in the FA market a year later to fill the position Lively could have filled for them.
What worked for OKC great is the fact that SGA made such a jump when he was just a nice player to get as part of the PG13 trade - they basically got 5 picks and a prospect for that trade, luckily for them, SGA went from a nice to have player, potential all-star, into an MVP candidate within a couple of years.
They did not mess the Chet pick (their own), although it was pretty hard to do at the #2 spot, just like the Oden/Durant draft, once Paolo was off the table, it was clear that Chet is the pick (and no, Smith was not it). They did nail the J-Williams pick, which is great for them.
So, OKC sure did draft very well, but like every other team out there, they made mistakes.
If you want to argue that someone is a master of drafting, Danny Ainge should be in the conversation, he basically built the superstar backbone of the Celtics through the draft and unlike OKC, they already proved they can make it to the finals and win there... That Rondo / Perkins picks way back in the KG/Pierce/Ray Ray era was another example of him drafting players that can get them into contention and help bring a title.
Of course, taking Adams in 2013 over Giannis was a mistake.
You could argue that trading Lively to Dallas in 2023 was a mistake as well, as they had to go and get Hartenstein in the FA market a year later to fill the position Lively could have filled for them.
What worked for OKC great is the fact that SGA made such a jump when he was just a nice player to get as part of the PG13 trade - they basically got 5 picks and a prospect for that trade, luckily for them, SGA went from a nice to have player, potential all-star, into an MVP candidate within a couple of years.
They did not mess the Chet pick (their own), although it was pretty hard to do at the #2 spot, just like the Oden/Durant draft, once Paolo was off the table, it was clear that Chet is the pick (and no, Smith was not it). They did nail the J-Williams pick, which is great for them.
So, OKC sure did draft very well, but like every other team out there, they made mistakes.
If you want to argue that someone is a master of drafting, Danny Ainge should be in the conversation, he basically built the superstar backbone of the Celtics through the draft and unlike OKC, they already proved they can make it to the finals and win there... That Rondo / Perkins picks way back in the KG/Pierce/Ray Ray era was another example of him drafting players that can get them into contention and help bring a title.
Last edited:
