Basketball Insiders: Redrafting the 2011 Draft

[golden]

I agree, current rules make those players important, I just disagree with your concept that there is only 10-15 guys who can play that role. Because I view that player as more attainable, I view the stopper of said player more important, cause there are maybe 5 guys who can defend at an elite level, while contributing to scoring/rebounding.

Another lower cost guy, Isaiah Thomas of the Celtics. As the feature guy in Boston, scored 19 PPG (57.9% TS%), 5.4 APG; getting 30.5% of his shots at the rim. I think the deeper you look, you'll find more of these guys than 10-15.

Agreed. Lowry is also one of those guys. But, IMO, the problem with PGs as "the" go-to-guy on a championship team is that they are just too small to get their shot off at those crucial moments when everybody in the building knows they are taking that shot. We all saw that first-hand with Lowry. Even CP3, as a great as he is, has had very few clutch shot defining moments in the playoffs. In fact, last year against the Spurs was the first one that even sticks out. This (size), IMO, is the reason why CP3 and other small PGs have a hard time being the franchise centerpiece on championship teams. At least to this point in the NBA it's been possible to win without an elite PG, but you almost always need that clutch, shot creating wing player.

I think you also need above average to great defense at the point of attack defending opposition PGs, so again Kyrie falls pretty short on that basis and as a guy to build around. You'd have to pair Kyrie with a great defender, like Nash and Raja Bell, but even that's tough in the new NBA with many teams having great backcourts these days.

[BobLoblaw]

I agree, current rules make those players important, I just disagree with your concept that there is only 10-15 guys who can play that role. Because I view that player as more attainable, I view the stopper of said player more important, cause there are maybe 5 guys who can defend at an elite level, while contributing to scoring/rebounding.

Another lower cost guy, Isaiah Thomas of the Celtics. As the feature guy in Boston, scored 19 PPG (57.9% TS%), 5.4 APG; getting 30.5% of his shots at the rim. I think the deeper you look, you'll find more of these guys than 10-15.

I don't know if you can be a contender if Isaiah Thomas plays that role (and starter minutes). It would be interesting to see. I think he was exposed in the playoffs a little, a good hero ball player, probably a great 6th man on a contender, but not someone I'd call elite. Plus, I think he's major defensive liability. Kyrie is a below average defender, but I think there's a big gap between him and I.Thomas.

When you say "5 guys who can defend at an elite level, while contributing to scoring/rebounding," I think you aren't including guys like Ariza, Carroll, and such. They play great defense against multiple positions and contribute to the offense.

Sure, elite defensive wings who can score 15-20 points like Kawhi are rare, but that's not an absolute "must have," in my view. You can build a contender without your defensive wing scoring 15-20 points, you'll just have to get those points elsewhere.

On the other hand, a star penetrating guard (or wing) who can shoot, pass, drive -- in my eyes -- is a more essential piece for a contender. It's hard to build a contender without that.

Just because someone is more rare, doesn't mean he's automatically more valuable. There might be ~5 guys who can score 15-20 points while playing elite wing defense, but if you don't have one of those, you can get away by having an Ariza and finding someone else to score a few more points. On the other hand, there are more than 5 star level creative penetrators, but if you don't have one of those, you probably aren't a contender. So it's apples and oranges, rarity argument doesn't really work here, I think.

In the end, besides positional value, I think Kyrie is just a bigger talent and better player, so I'm mainly drafting him as the best player available here. But yeah, I think his skillset is more essential too.