Future Jazz: Dylan Harper / Drake Powell / AJ Dybantsa / Lauri Markkanen / Kyle Filipowski with Keyonte George / Cody Williams / Isaiah Collier off the bench
If you pick Flagg then you are putting a lot of requirements on the 3rd guy. Would be dumb to just think you can just magically go and grab a winning player who is also good enough to be the primary handler and cater for both.It's not that their intentions are fake, although I do think it becomes more likely as time goes on that building around Lauri is less likely. But that's not really the point.
My logic is this:
1) Having two players that can play together, but still leave holes on the roster is not the same thing as having two players that cannot play together. The former matters, just not nearly as much as the latter. Lauri is one of the easiest fitting players to begin with, so no matter how much you consider him it's not really a huge deal.
2) You do not have to put all the puzzle pieces together immediately, the Jazz roster isn't going to be set after this one draft. For example, the Jazz need a ball handler....but that doesn't need we need to draft the best lead ball handler. If you think Flagg and Harper are on the same tier without much separation, that is when I think you can start to think about fit. But if you think Flagg is better than Harper, I wouldn't draft Harper (or anyone else who you don't believe is as good as Flagg) because that player is a better fit. Flagg would still leave you with a need for on ball creation, but you don't have to try to resolve that through the draft.
I don't think they're in this dilemma that you presented where they must draft for fit or trade. I think they can simply take the guy they believe is the best player available wherever they pick.
This I'm afraid is the truth. As I said in another thread development year was delayed by a year by Hendricks injury and Cody being as raw as he is.I think we're getting to the point where it becomes more and more clear the Jazz won't have any chance of contention until Lauri is 32+ years old and may not have the ability to defend anymore.
Out of all the star prospects in the two drafts, only really Boozer is ready to go now. Like, if the Jazz get a top 2 pick (which is only 27.4%) and get Flagg or Harper, these guys are probably 3-5 years away from being able to be like a #1 guy on a contending team.
With Hendricks' development being delayed by the injury and Cody being two years away from being two years away, it's just going to be many years until they can try to contend and it's not clear what Lauri will be like by the time that arrives.
I think we're getting to the point where it becomes more and more clear the Jazz won't have any chance of contention until Lauri is 32+ years old and may not have the ability to defend anymore.
Out of all the star prospects in the two drafts, only really Boozer is ready to go now. Like, if the Jazz get a top 2 pick (which is only 27.4%) and get Flagg or Harper, these guys are probably 3-5 years away from being able to be like a #1 guy on a contending team.
With Hendricks' development being delayed by the injury and Cody being two years away from being two years away, it's just going to be many years until they can try to contend and it's not clear what Lauri will be like by the time that arrives.
And everything is truly fluid.GMs are like politicians. They always lying. The only times they tell the truth when its convenient to fit my personal narrative on how I see things. Just an FYI
The Celtics drafted Brown and Tatum in back-to-back drafts. Then it took 6 years for them to make the Finals and 8 years to win a chip.
Giannis was back-to-back MVP. He made the Finals and won a chip in his 8th season.
SGA was drafted in 2018. If OKC makes the Finals this year, it will be his 7th season.
This is normal.
If you pick Flagg then you are putting a lot of requirements on the 3rd guy. Would be dumb to just think you can just magically go and grab a winning player who is also good enough to be the primary handler and cater for both.
If you draft Harper over Flagg, then you at least give yourself a chance to complete the roster in the Lauri window.
Of course no GM would ever go overboard with the lesser talent thing, but fit still needs to be high on your priorities if you want to realistically become a contender with Lauri on the roster.
Yeah but now you are arguing against building around/involving Lauri. Thats a whole different scenario. In that world you draft BPA without a doubt.I don't agree with the idea that you have no chance to compete with Lauri if we don't draft a ball handler right now. In order to compete with Harper and Lauri, you are also going to have to "magically" go and grab significantly more talent. No matter who we draft there will need to be a serious talent upgrade elsewhere on the roster.
If we were closer to contending and had more established pieces, that would be one thing. But we're so far away and Lauri is one of the least rigid players to begin with. I don't think it's a must that you have to go for whatever you think is the most pressing need first. When you're lacking so much talent, the best player is also the best fit.
Yeah but now you are arguing against building around/involving Lauri. Thats a whole different scenario. In that world you draft BPA without a doubt.
Grabbing talent is easier when you leave your options open on what kind of talent you can target. Grabbing specific type of talent is damn hard.
There is no harsh rule and no one argued that there was. Its just reading the situation.No I am not. I don’t know how you came to that conclusion. I’m saying the best way to build around Lauri is the best player. There isn’t this harsh rule that we must draft a ball handler or give up on building around Lauri. I see no reason why you must be specific at the draft but cannot be more fit specific in the future. One draft move is not making us title contenders.
Let me put this as plainly as possible so there is no confusion.
If we want to build around Lauri, draft the best player available. That is the best way to build around Lauri. I hope that is clear enough.