Teams that are competitive without hiting the home run

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

There seems to be this misconception that we MUST build through the draft or that the only successful free agent signings are big-name ones, and they would never want to sign here, so why bother. Well, let's look at some other existing teams that have built great teams without relying on getting the #1 or #2 pick or sexy free agent signings:

Atlanta Hawks Starting Lineup:
Al Horford - 3rd pick by Atlanta, but hardly the "homerun" guy from that draft (that was Durant and Oden).
Paul Millsap - Free agent signing
Jeff Teague - 19th pick by Atlanta
Kyle Korver - Acquired in a trade for cash and a trade exception (no other player involved!!!)
DeMarre Carroll - Free agent signing

Memphis Grizzlies Starting Lineup:
Marc Gasol - Originally a 2nd round pick acquired in a trade with the Lakers for his brother Pau Gasol
Zach Randolph - Acquired in trade for Quentin Richardson, who is no longer in the league
Tony Allen - Free agent signing
Courtney Lee - Acquired in a trade for Jerryd Bayless and 2nd rounder
Mike Conley - 4th pick in a draft that featured Durant and Oden as the consensus top picks.

Memphis and Atlanta are hardly "destination" teams with an illustrious history and not one of their key guys was ever considered a highly prized lottery pick or major free agent. Yet they are two of the best teams in the NBA this season.

Both have only one lottery pick that they selected in their starting five. There is value to be found out there, without having to rely on massive free agent signings or winning the lottery.

[Phenom]

There are certainly many ways to build a good team. OKC and San Antonio essentially drafted their whole starting lineup. What do all of these teams and their rosters have in common? They maximize their high picks, their late picks, their high dollar signings, low dollar signings, and trades. They also have some continuity, which is an underrated trait.

[mjs34]

So you came up with two teams?

Have either been championship contenders in the last 15 years?

Do either regularly have below zero temperatures during the BB season?

Q, there is a world of difference between Minny and those two cities. Our own born and bred coach just chose Memphis over us after being dissed by the owner!

[Coolbreeze44]

There seems to be this misconception that we MUST build through the draft or that the only successful free agent signings are big-name ones, and they would never want to sign here, so why bother. Well, let's look at some other existing teams that have built great teams without relying on getting the #1 or #2 pick or sexy free agent signings:

Atlanta Hawks Starting Lineup:
Al Horford - 3rd pick by Atlanta, but hardly the "homerun" guy from that draft (that was Durant and Oden).
Paul Millsap - Free agent signing
Jeff Teague - 19th pick by Atlanta
Kyle Korver - Acquired in a trade for cash and a trade exception (no other player involved!!!)
DeMarre Carroll - Free agent signing

Memphis Grizzlies Starting Lineup:
Marc Gasol - Originally a 2nd round pick acquired in a trade with the Lakers for his brother Pau Gasol
Zach Randolph - Acquired in trade for Quentin Richardson, who is no longer in the league
Tony Allen - Free agent signing
Courtney Lee - Acquired in a trade for Jerryd Bayless and 2nd rounder
Mike Conley - 4th pick in a draft that featured Durant and Oden as the consensus top picks.

Memphis and Atlanta are hardly "destination" teams with an illustrious history and not one of their key guys was ever considered a highly prized lottery pick or major free agent. Yet they are two of the best teams in the NBA this season.

Both have only one lottery pick that they selected in their starting five. There is value to be found out there, without having to rely on massive free agent signings or winning the lottery.

How many NBA finals have they been to?

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

So you came up with two teams?

Have either been championship contenders in the last 15 years?

Do either regularly have below zero temperatures during the BB season?

Q, there is a world of difference between Minny and those two cities. Our own born and bred coach just chose Memphis over us after being dissed by the owner!

Championship contender? How about we string together a winning season for once! It's been a decade after all. Both of these teams are competing and fielding a product their fans can be proud of. At least last year we went out and competed, a rare glimmer of competency in the midst of a decade of losing.

As for our city versus the others, we already have examples of mid-tier players willing to come here. They just rarely seem to work out. And trades are trades - Kyle Korver and Zach Randolph didn't choose to go to Atlanta and Memphis originally.

I could come up with more examples: San Antonio had one homerun draft pick (meaning consensus top pick at the time) in Tim Duncan. They just won a title with him no longer playing like a #1 pick surrounded by a bunch of middle 1st and 2nd rounders. Golden State was built mostly through the draft, but not one of the guys they drafted was in the top tier of their class, and Draymond Green was a 2nd rounder. Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry (who could have been ours as we all know), and Harrison Barnes were all in the 2nd or 3rd tier of prospects from their respective draft classes. Golden State didn't have to lose 65 games games to obtain those guys.

Again, I'm not saying the draft is useless. I just fail to see the silver lining of losing a bunch of games just to get more ping-pong balls. The downside outweighs the upside in my opinion.

[Papalrep]

SJM---So you came up with two teams?

Have either been championship contenders in the last 15 years?

Do either regularly have below zero temperatures during the BB season?

1) Yes they are contenders, though not favorites. They are respectable NBA Franchises. That puts them miles out in front of us.

2) Three things - Money, Money, Money. The guy from sunny Spain just re-upped here, because he likes Minny, they are on the road half the time anyway, and Money. Third point is the one that matters.

I would add to that list of two Toronto. Wish we had their coach.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Oklahoma City, Chicago, Portland, Los Angeles Clippers, Washington, etc.

So many other examples trump yours, Q. High picks, when used correctly, build teams more often than free agency and diamonds in the rough.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

So you came up with two teams?

Have either been championship contenders in the last 15 years?

Do either regularly have below zero temperatures during the BB season?

Q, there is a world of difference between Minny and those two cities. Our own born and bred coach just chose Memphis over us after being dissed by the owner!

Championship contender? How about we string together a winning season for once! It's been a decade after all. Both of these teams are competing and fielding a product their fans can be proud of. At least last year we went out and competed, a rare glimmer of competency in the midst of a decade of losing.

As for our city versus the others, we already have examples of mid-tier players willing to come here. They just rarely seem to work out. And trades are trades - Kyle Korver and Zach Randolph didn't choose to go to Atlanta and Memphis originally.

I could come up with more examples: San Antonio had one homerun draft pick (meaning consensus top pick at the time) in Tim Duncan. They just won a title with him no longer playing like a #1 pick surrounded by a bunch of middle 1st and 2nd rounders. Golden State was built mostly through the draft, but not one of the guys they drafted was in the top tier of their class, and Draymond Green was a 2nd rounder. Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry (who could have been ours as we all know), and Harrison Barnes were all in the 2nd or 3rd tier of prospects from their respective draft classes. Golden State didn't have to lose 65 games games to obtain those guys.

Again, I'm not saying the draft is useless. I just fail to see the silver lining of losing a bunch of games just to get more ping-pong balls. The downside outweighs the upside in my opinion.

Bogut was a #1 overall pick and their contention pretty much relies on his ability to be healthy in the playoffs. Duncan was a #1 pick who is probably a top 5 player of all time. Those are 2 of the best defensive anchors in the game who were former #1 picks.

Randolph was an absolute mess before they put him next to Gasol and in that organization in general. That was pretty lucky for them considering he easily could have blown the whole thing up if Portland Zach Randolph shows up. That's why it cost next to nothing to get him.

Memphis and ATL have been the only two to do anything with secondary level FA's which are the level of players we would get and they have yet to win anything significant.

The list of guys drafted over guys signed in terms of significance to teams winning is still higher.

ATL - Horford/Teague v. Korver/Millsap
Toronto - Derozan/Valanciunas/Ross v. Lowry
CHI- Noah/Butler/Rose/Gibson v. Pau
Wash - Wall/Beal v. Nene/Gortat
Cleveland- Kyrie/Lebron (would have never gone there if he wasn't drafted and from there) v. Love
Milwaukee- Giannis v. Knight
GS-Curry/Klay/Green v Iggy/Bogut
Portland- LA/Lillard/Batum v. Wes
Houston- no draft v. Harden/Dwight
Mem-Conley v. Zach/Gasol
Dallas- Dirk v. Rondo/Chandler/Parsons/Ellis
LAC- Blake/DJ v. Paul
SA- everyone v nobody
OKC- everyone v nobody
PHX- 1 Morris twin v. everybody else

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Oklahoma City, Chicago, Portland, Los Angeles Clippers, Washington, etc.

So many other examples trump yours, Q. High picks, when used correctly, build teams more often than free agency and diamonds in the rough.

I would amend your statement there to, "draft picks, when used correctly....."

We have the last two #1 picks on our roster plus a handful of other lottery picks. We are not lacking in high-priced lottery picks, that's for sure. The only reason we keep on getting them is because we keep on sucking. That's actually not a good thing. So color me skeptical when I hear things like, "If we get a top 3 pick this year we will be set!".

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Oklahoma City, Chicago, Portland, Los Angeles Clippers, Washington, etc.

So many other examples trump yours, Q. High picks, when used correctly, build teams more often than free agency and diamonds in the rough.

I would amend your statement there to, "draft picks, when used correctly....."

We have the last two #1 picks on our roster plus a handful of other lottery picks. We are not lacking in high-priced lottery picks, that's for sure. The only reason we keep on getting them is because we keep on sucking. That's actually not a good thing. So color me skeptical when I hear things like, "If we get a top 3 pick this year we will be set!".

And one of those #1 picks wasn't ours at the time of selection or else you might be thinking differently. What if we had Nerlens Noel or Victor Oladipo right now? We'll never know because Cleveland messed that up so I don't think it's fair to hold that against Minnesota.

Wiggins, Dieng and Muhammad have shown plenty of promise as well as production. LaVine may or may not work out, but at pick #13, it was a homerun swing that has years until we know if it was a hit or miss.

Also, that wasn't my point. My point is that most of these playoff teams hit on a top pick who became a franchise player. How often does one find a franchise player below the fifth or so pick?