I'm not saying Dame necessarily had better players around him. He did have players that were more highly ranked going into the Draft and Drafted at high positions. That said, it is a bit of a crap shoot although the majority of the time, players drafted in the 1st round round or earlier in the 1st round tend to to better than later round picks. Of course there are exceptions, but that is most often what they are.....exceptions.
And it's not all about Clyde.....I've included Walton to. Results mean something. My football team has not been very good for a long time. They finally cut Derek Carr. He is by far the career leader in almost every QB category....except wins and Playoff wins. Is he the greatest Raider ever? Not many Raider fans would think so. Very accomplished stat wise, over a long period of time, but no matter the coach, the players, the GM, the talent, the results didn't arrive.
At some point, that has to mean something. There is no way to exactly quantify how much a player developed or how much a player may have impacted that development. But you can see actual results. I get that Dame is current and there is some recency bias and he is a tremendous offensive player. I completely understand the pushback or debate.....that is what we are here for. The way Walton and Drexler left and their subsequent relationship with the city sours their time here....I get that as well.
Until Dame actually leads his team to a higher plateau to contender status, (which I really hope he does.....this gets missed in some of the more personal, vitriolic responses), I have a hard time with him being 'the Greatest'. I'm of the fandom who believes the goal is to win the game, then win the championship. Even the early Jail Blazers were more of a contender than this team has ever been. That part kills me, but it is what is.
#results
You are using the draft spot of players as a gauge of whether Dame or Clyde had better talent around them???
Im not gonna explain how flawed that is….
but i will say GM’s misgauge talent in the draft all the time. So many lottery draft pick busts. Are they all because they didnt have players around the em to make them better? Or were they just incorrectly analyzed at the draft?
Seriously T, i have mad respect for you, but on this one, i just think you are coming at it all wrong. I know you know many lottery busts are because they were overrated or dont have a gMe that transitions to the nba and has little to do with players around them elevating them.
Draft busts are draft busts. Leonard was a draft bust. Just because he was drafted 11th does not mean he had more talent than cliffy or Kersey or buck.
Walton was arguably more dominant. For about 2 years. Where are the rest of the results?
Systems also play a part. This is a team sport. As much as stars matter in this game, its still a team sport. One guy doesnt win it all. Jordan had Pippen. Kobe had Shaq. Curry had Thomson/Green
Duncan had Ginobli and Parker
On and on and on..
Dame has had… who? Washed up Melo? Hollow stats Whiteside?
what all star caliber player has Dame had to play with? None. So then the only argument is the players we drafted, like you said, Dame not elevating them to be an all star?
Do you honestly think players like Harkless, Aminu, Leonard, Crabbe, Collins, etc. would have become stars next to Curry or Embiid? Or Drexler or Jordan?
Not me. Not one bit.
I totally believe its arguable who is the best. But the reasoning behind you choosing Clyde does not make sense to me.
I think what you are mixing up is a Gm’s talent to put a cohesive team together vs players elevating other players games. Cant blame Dame for his GM or coach. Dame has done soo much with soo much less i don't think thats arguable.
Best Blazer ever? Def debatable.
Done less with more? Not debatable. Clearly incorrect in my opinion.