[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

I have been following the NBA playoffs and the NBA lottery.  The top guy in the draft is supposedly going to be Kyrie Irving, because people say that the point guard position is the most important position now.  But what is the NBA playoffs saying about who to build around?

Well, some point guards are left, as are some forwards.  Derrick Rose was the league MVP and helped win game 1, but the Heat figured him out and he missed a ton of shots last night.  Out West, the Thunder are in the conference finals with the help of awesome scoring point guard Russell Westbrook.  However, he struggled in game 1 and seems to be more of a score-first point guard.  … as far as other point guards go, Jason Kidd is still doing well, but he is more of a pass-first guy who knows how to feed his team’s superstar (Dirk).

Chris Paul and Tony Parker lost in the first round.  They couldn’t do it alone. 

Interestingly enough the 3 best forwards in the league are still playing: LeBron, Dirk, and Kevin Durant.  All three are matchup nightmares, very long, and solid rebounders.  All three are also good shot-blockers, especially for their positions.  Each one has hit clutch shots and can get hot from long-range.  Also, each one is fairly unselfish with LeBron being a great passer with KD and Dirk being fairly solid passers.  LeBron, Dirk, and KD can score on jumpers, drive to the basket, get to the line, or finish in traffic.  … the Bulls lack a super star forward but often rise or fall with the play of Luol Deng.  In game 1 he scored well and defended LeBron well and they won.  

It seems like a team needs a top tier superstar these days with a blend of size, athletcism, and all-around scoring skills.  Even the Memphis Grizzlies, who were basically the fifth team standing rode Zach Randolph who willed his team to wins by rebounding and scoring inside and on mid-range jumpers.  If not for Perkins, Ibaka, and Collison doing a fairly effective job of slowing him down, the Grizzlies probably would have won the series.  Next year the Grizzlies should also contend and look to improve with Rudy Gay coming back (a top small forward), even with a point guard who isn’t exactly an all-star (Mike Conley).  … the Heat rely on a two wings (LeBron, Wade) and an all-star finesse power forward (Chris Bosh) for their success.  Their lack of solid point guard play (first Arroyo, now the ghost of Mike Bibby) hasn’t really hurt them yet.

Jason Terry and JJ Barea are score-first small guards but they come off the bench and are very effective there.  But, the Mavs have Jason Kidd to get everyone involved and to control the tempo. 

So as far as the draft goes,  a team needs to take the best player available.  If Enes Kanter is the best player then he should be the pick.  If Derrick Williams is the best guy out there then he should be the pick.  Jalen Rose noted that the best guys in the league, Howard at center, Rose at point guard, and LeBron at small forward are elite athletes at their position.  For that reason he thinks the Cavs should take Derrick Williams at 1, who is a great athlete with good size and would have great upside as a small forward.  Then at 4, Jalen Rose says the Cavs should take either Brandon Knight or Kemba Walker.  Both are great guards, but Knight is the better shooter and a little taller.  That would give the Cavs a great athlete to build around and a great shooter with a winning mentality at point guard.  Also, Knight and Irving are about the same in terms of athleticism, Knight is the better shooter, and his team went to the Final Four (Irving’s team got blown out by Derrick Williams and Arizona even though Irving had 28 points.  Irving scored a lot but didn’t effect the game — that’s a red flag for me).

Yes, having a great point guard with elite athletic ability would be great, but the Bulls and Thunder have yet to win a title around Rose and Westbrook.  This might be the year that one of those teams wins, or the Heat or Mavs win the title, built around a superstar forward, some other good scorers, solid defensive centers (Tyson Chandler, Joel Anthony), and two veteran point guards (Kidd, Bibby), who don’t dominate the scoring duties and hit timely 3 pointers. 

Ideally, you want a team with a top wing player, inside guy, and a top tier (top 5-10) point guard.  I don’t see Irving being better than Rose, Westbrook, Chris Paul, or Derron Williams.  He will probably be somewhere in the John Wall, Rajon Rondo, Tony Parker, and Stephen Curry range.  … I can also see Brandon Knight and Kemba Walker somewhere in their too. 

The Cavs might want to take Derrick Williams at 1 and hope that Enes Kanter drops to 4.  That would give them a great small forward to go along with a good scorer inside.  They Cavs could play JJ Hickson at at the 4 and bring Varejao off the bench.  That would give them an awesome and young front line.  Baron Davis would have some good guys to pass to next year.  Then the Cavs should try to trade their second round picks and a player to move up and get Darius Morris or Nolan Smith, two solid point guards who won’t dominate the ball.  Or they can wait until next year when Kendall Marshall might come out.  Marshall is a guy they need, a pass-first point guard who made his teammates better and controlled the tempo. 

 

[torontoraptors10Participant]

I think the Cavaliers should select Irving. He has that mindset where he wants to win, I’m still iffy about Derrick Williams being the same way. Not at all am I saying Williams doesn’t win, I just think Irving has more of that drive.

Why not select Irving with the 1st pick and use the 4th pick to choose a forward or centre. Maybe select Kanter? That way you two strong pieces to build around and you address the interior presence as well.

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

Irving and Kanter would be a solid draft for them.  That’s who I have them taking.  I think though that Derrick Williams and Brandon Knight might have more upside as a combination.  I think they will be fine either way.  It will take the Cavs a few drafts to rebuild anyway and I guess they can go after a wing player next year such as Perry Jones, Austin Rivers, or Harrison Barnes. 

Hopefully these players work out.  I would love to hear about workouts between Kyrie Irving, Brandon Knight, and Kemba Walker.

[thparadoxParticipant]

I think that championships in the nba are generally won by one of the top 5 players in the league. (last decade: Shaq, Duncan, Kobe, KG, Wade). Exception being the Detroit Pistons.

I think it is clearly best to build around a dominant big man. Olajuwon, Duncan, Robinson, Shaq, KG, … a guy like that who can  really dominate on the defensive end and the glass. Plus give you extremely efficient points. That’s the ultimate player to build around.

Unfortunately there are no great centers like that in the league right now. Dwight is decent, but not on that level.

 

So, I think you just have to go with the most talented player. Building around Chris Paul, Wade, Lebron, Durant, Rose seems like a good idea to me. Then guys who you think have a high probability to become that good…. Wall and Blake Griffin come to mind.

Otherwise, I think teams are too quick to commit to building around a player. If he’s not going to be an MVP candidate, your chances of a championship are very low.

[HitsterParticipant]

In recent years the draft has moved away from drafting the best big man available as teams have seen how PG’s have developed and in recent years taking a ball carrier and playmaker seems to be the prefered option. Of course if there is a superstar in the draft like say LeBron in 2003 then they go number one regardless of position.

Also a lack of top big men in recent drafts maybe Blake Griffin excepted and possibly DeMarcus Cousins who GM’s have seen as being able to build a team around have made backcourters the favoured option. Maybe the 2008 draft was the start of this with D-Rose MVP, there were many good big men in that draft who have since gone onto have good NBA careers notably K-Love, Brook Lopez, Roy Hibbert to name but 3 yet none were considered a likely top 3 pick that year. Blake Griffin was pitched around 7 to 10 in most mocks that year before he decided to return to college.

[JoeWolf1]

That is some interesting analysis, but it seems like you didn’t include enough information.  The Bulls and Thunder are still very much in their respective series at a 1-1 and 1-0.  If Chicago and OKC end up winning their series does you opinon change?  Or if one wins and one loses are both options viable?

 

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