Author Topic: Is Ainge Drafting position less players  (Read 2640 times)

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Is Ainge Drafting position less players
« on: November 30, 2015, 09:06:16 PM »

Offline KG Living Legend

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 We now have four player's 6'2" and under yes Smart is 6'2" with no shoes. And not one true point guard.

 Kelly Olynyk what the heck is he anyway? I don't think I'll ever know. Sully is our center.
 
 It seems everyone he drafts is some type of tweener or position less player.

 Is this going to continue? Is this something to legitimately be concerned about?

 I fear it is becoming a problem.

Re: Is Ainge Drafting position less players
« Reply #1 on: November 30, 2015, 09:13:17 PM »

Offline KG Living Legend

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 Terry Rozier. I like the kid. I really do. He's 6'1" he can shoot he can dribble. He's not a point guard.
 
 Same thing with Smart. Love the kid. He's not a real point guard. Edited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline.. 4 undersized shooting guards on the same team. Something is wrong with that picture.

Re: Is Ainge Drafting position less players
« Reply #2 on: November 30, 2015, 11:48:24 PM »

Offline Greyman

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I also struggle to see AB, Smart, IT and TR existing long term on this team. That said, the group is doing a job for now and three are a big part of how this group play. I get the feeling that IT and AB are the longer term players on this squad. That remains to be seen though.

Amir and Lee are here due to Sully and KO not doing everything required in those positions, that is not a long term fix either but is working for where this team is now.

Bottom line, there does seem to be a theme in DA's drafting but I think it is coincidental, not a plan.

Re: Is Ainge Drafting position less players
« Reply #3 on: December 01, 2015, 06:28:33 AM »

Offline KG Living Legend

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 Trade Smart for parker!

Re: Is Ainge Drafting position less players
« Reply #4 on: December 01, 2015, 07:56:33 AM »

Offline CFAN38

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DA drafts the player who he reviews as BPA and the best value at any given point in the draft. I think the plan has always been get the best player you can and get by short term with a less then ideal mix of players. Then consolidate these talents into a legit contending 8-9 man rotation. The Cs are still in that talent gathering mode it just so happens that they are also competing and winning games while they do it.

To answer the posters question more directly the league as a whole is becoming much more position less. By the standards of 10 years ago there are a lot of undersized SG who in the past would have been converted to PGs and PFs are getting smaller, quicker and more perimeter oriented. 
Mavs
Wiz
Hornet

Re: Is Ainge Drafting position less players
« Reply #5 on: December 01, 2015, 08:48:17 AM »

Offline saltlover

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People are getting carried away with this "positionless player" thing.  When you think about it, most players are "positionless" in that they can play multiple positions depending on the lineup.  There are a few players in the league who really can only play the 1 (the Rondos) and a few that can only play the 5 (the Howards).  But nearly everyone else can slide between multiple positions depending upon team need.  And it makes sense, because when injuries strike or you shorten the rotation in the playoffs, you probably aren't going 10-deep.  And unless you play someone 48 minutes, you're going to have people slide around in different lineups.  It's been that way for years. 

Re: Is Ainge Drafting position less players
« Reply #6 on: December 01, 2015, 09:16:22 AM »

Offline chilidawg

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Players who can only defend one position are in trouble in today's game.  You need the ability to switch and defend multiple positions.

Re: Is Ainge Drafting position less players
« Reply #7 on: December 01, 2015, 09:18:49 AM »

Offline Fafnir

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Olynyk can play the 4 or the 5 same with Sullinger.

Smart and Bradley can guard 1/2 very well though struggle against many 3s. Turner is similar though is defense isn't great at any of the three positions.

That's our biggest "position" issue, the lack of a bigger wing. Crowder is all we've got at the moment.

Re: Is Ainge Drafting position less players
« Reply #8 on: December 01, 2015, 09:20:13 AM »

Offline PhoSita

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Ainge has always liked drafting guys who are undervalued or who slip in the draft for one reason or another.  This tends to net us guys without an obvious position at the next level, or who have an obvious position but lack one of the archetypal characteristics for that position.
You’ll have to excuse my lengthiness—the reason I dread writing letters is because I am so apt to get to slinging wisdom & forget to let up. Thus much precious time is lost.
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Re: Is Ainge Drafting position less players
« Reply #9 on: December 01, 2015, 09:25:50 AM »

Offline chambers

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Players who can only defend one position are in trouble in today's game.  You need the ability to switch and defend multiple positions.

Bingo.
I'll add 'and shoot threes' to the recipe.
"We are lucky we have a very patient GM that isn't willing to settle for being good and coming close. He wants to win a championship and we have the potential to get there still with our roster and assets."

quoting 'Greg B' on RealGM after 2017 trade deadline.
Read that last line again. One more time.

Re: Is Ainge Drafting position less players
« Reply #10 on: December 01, 2015, 09:47:02 AM »

Offline Jon

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Ainge has always liked drafting guys who are undervalued or who slip in the draft for one reason or another.  This tends to net us guys without an obvious position at the next level, or who have an obvious position but lack one of the archetypal characteristics for that position.

Exactly.  And when you're usually not drafting at the top of the draft, you are left with two choices: draft players who are talented but lack conventional attributes of a given position or draft those who have those attributes, but lack the talent. 

Given that Ainge's end game is to really build value through trades (essentially the "One Red Paperclip" of the NBA), it's not a bad plan.  At some point the end game has to be to consolidate some of these guys into more talented (and perhaps more conventional) players. 


Re: Is Ainge Drafting position less players
« Reply #11 on: December 01, 2015, 09:50:01 AM »

Offline MikeJelly

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Ben Simmons is a positionless player  ::)

Re: Is Ainge Drafting position less players
« Reply #12 on: December 01, 2015, 10:01:34 AM »

Offline Rosco917

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So if Smart is 6-2 with no shoes, then AB is really 6' with no shoes, IT is 5-6, Crowder is 6-4? You can't pick on one player to measured without shoes, and all other players with shoes.

So I guess Lebron is 6-6.

The NBA measures player with shoes on, because that's how they play.

Re: Is Ainge Drafting position less players
« Reply #13 on: December 01, 2015, 10:15:15 AM »

Offline obnoxiousmime

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Sullinger and Bradley were taken because they were highly ranked prospects before college and at pick 21 Ainge thought it was great value despite their physical shortcomings. He turned out to be right, both are clearly players in this league despite their lack of prototypical height/size. Are they stars? No, but you get what you can at such a late pick.

Olynyk I really can only guess that he thought he was getting a late bloomer whose athleticism was underrated. Well, it turned out the scouting report was more or less correct about him, only I think they believed Olynyk would be a better shooter overall. Since his defense will always be limited he really has to shoot a lot better to be a useful player. All his basketball smarts won't really help if he can't defend or make shots.

Ugh, I just thought of the time he tried to pull a "Nowitzki" on Nowitzki and MISSED THE SHOT.

Re: Is Ainge Drafting position less players
« Reply #14 on: December 01, 2015, 02:07:18 PM »

Offline KG Living Legend

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So if Smart is 6-2 with no shoes, then AB is really 6' with no shoes, IT is 5-6, Crowder is 6-4? You can't pick on one player to measured without shoes, and all other players with shoes.

So I guess Lebron is 6-6.

The NBA measures player with shoes on, because that's how they play.









 Nope.  I do all heights shoes off, just like when you were growing up at the doctors office shoes off.

 Bradley is 6'2"
 Smarts      6'2"
 Rozier.      6'1"
 Thomas.  5' 8.75"