At what point did the NBA start drafting these players based on “potential” but didn’t even start or put up numbers?

[get these nets]

The overwhelming majority of players in the NBA are not stars, and will never get league accolades/awards.

So teams are drafting players with physical tools to be an NBA player and all that entails in the modern era.

Trying to chase and project superstars is difficult in this era, and its better to evaluate who you can plug in and develop in your system , and can be a functional player.

 

[FTBS]

Hence why I no longer watch the draft. Bunch of no name players who you may or may not hear about in 3 years. Miss when you had spent the last 2-4 years watching a player dominate college then hoping your team could pick him in the draft. It didn’t always pan out but at least you understood why they got drafted.

Its been 30 years breh. KG was drafted in 1995. His contemporaries were the last ones to go to college multiple years as highly touted players.

Draft been about potential. The one and done rule is coming up on 20 years. Only difference now is that you got dudes from France or Ignite.

 

[FTBS]

I agree, I was just answering brehs question.

I remember it well. They didn't really entertain Melo mainly because of Prince's play. Also, they just drafted Prince in 2002 so it wasn't a situation like having an older vet that Melo would eventually take over for.

They hit on Prince later on in the previous draft and looked at another position in 03

If they had the top pick they woulda taken Bron. The Palace Prince my dude but you aint passing on a superstar for him. They had Ben Wallace, Memo, Corliss, and acquired Sheed. This wasnt about position it was about chasing the next big thing which was 7 foot tall Euros that could shoot at the time.

 

[FaTaL]

It’s always been like this, the euro version was the most extreme with guys like skita

 

[GoldenGlove]

If they had the top pick they woulda taken Bron. The Palace Prince my dude but you aint passing on a superstar for him. They had Ben Wallace, Memo, Corliss, and acquired Sheed. This wasnt about position it was about chasing the next big thing which was 7 foot tall Euros that could shoot at the time.

And they still ended up passing on a Superstar (Wade) and a fringe one in Melo. They reached for Marko because of an idea and potential. But to say that Prince being there wasn't a factor is not true.

And they added Sheed because they saw that Darko wasn't ready to contribute for them

 

[ISO]

So why draft an 18-19 year old that has shown nothing? I guess they would rather draft them and try to develop the players themselves. Even with Brandon Jennings not getting minutes over there, he was one of the top HS players in the country. Nowadays, you”ll see players who were marginal starters in HS, then role players in college become lottery picks because of “measurables” and how they tested in the combine.

Those players with marginal stats most likely played on stacked teams with other high level talents played a national schedule and went far winning state titles.

They could have easily averaged 30 if they played in some public school league.

As for the European leagues they play a different style of basketball, different minutes distribution, different offensive systems, dudes don’t get gaudy stats even the best players, and the young prospects be it they’re in grown man leagues not college don’t get the most PT.

 

[FTBS]

And they still ended up passing on a Superstar (Wade) and a fringe one in Melo. They reached for Marko because of an idea and potential. But to say that Prince being there wasn't a factor is not true.

And they added Sheed because they saw that Darko wasn't ready to contribute for them

If Darko wasnt there they draft Melo. The Sheed thing was talked about in the prior offseason. It was just a matter of time. That wasnt a reactionary move.

 

[Fresh]

They just won the title vs the Lakers and they were all in on their core guys.

Tayshaun Prince was there already and they didn't take Melo because in their eyes, they had their guy at SF. They talked themselves into Darko and bought into the hype.

And it wasn't just Melo who they passed on either. That class had Bosh and Wade in it as well

thanks breh

because I remember even LeBron said he thought Melo was going to Detroit at the time.

Yeah Detroit was tripping, I know they didn't technically NEED Melo, but they still should've used common sense and drafted based on talent, they should've drafted Melo imo

 

[CarltonJunior]

It's been a thing for a long time.

I think Giannis was the one that made it feel "justified" and now everyone's doing it.

 

[gtj1982]

Its been 30 years breh. KG was drafted in 1995. His contemporaries were the last ones to go to college multiple years as highly touted players.

Draft been about potential. The one and done rule is coming up on 20 years. Only difference now is that you got dudes from France or Ignite.

And old men have been yelling at clouds forever. And no it's definitely different today because even during the one and done era those players were at Duke and Kentucky making tournament runs. I'm not saying it's good or bad just that I don't care about the draft anymore.

 

[get these nets]

They just won the title vs the Lakers and they were all in on their core guys.

Tayshaun Prince was there already and they didn't take Melo because in their eyes, they had their guy at SF. They talked themselves into Darko and bought into the hype.

And it wasn't just Melo who they passed on either. That class had Bosh and Wade in it as well

They won the ring in Darko's rookie season

 

[cartierhoe]

And old men have been yelling at clouds forever. And no it's definitely different today because even during the one and done era those players were at Duke and Kentucky making tournament runs. I'm not saying it's good or bad just that I don't care about the draft anymore.

Duke made it to the Final 4 and had 3 top 10 picks this year

 

[IsThatBrothaMouzone?]

NBA drafts are typically top heavy due to nature of the game and roster composition, so it makes a lot sense past a certain point to go for high ceiling or boom/bust prospects than lower ceiling "safe" guys who will be like 5-7 ppg players who are end of the bench status


I feel like this is the same reason protected picks are always passed around like two dollar hoes

Makes sense.

If I have to pick between a 6'0" volume-shooting guard that "knows" the game but can't keep anybody in front of him......

or.....a dude with the size/athleticism of peak LeBron but is still rawer than a bag of unwashed potatoes, you take the athletic potential.

Higher in the draft, you go for the surer thing.