08-13-2021, 11:12 AM
(08-13-2021, 10:09 AM)Branduil Wrote: If I wanted to point out another difference with Draymond, he came into the league as a 2nd round pick, he played limited minutes until he broke out in his 3rd season under Kerr. In other words, he showed his drive to improve, no one handed him anything. Simmons came into the league as a 1st pick, with people calling him the next Lebron. Since then he's improved NOTHING about his game, he's still the same player he was as a rookie.
And even if the comparison was valid, we can look at GS last season for what happens when Draymond is your 2nd best player... it's not a high ceiling.
I never get takes like this. Simmons was the first overall pick. Doesn´t make him a better or worse player. Just changes the narrative. One is a disappointment. The other is a media darling because he made it against all odds. I take the mediocre top 3 pick over the feel good story as long as the on court performance is better.
Top picks that never reach superstar level get crucified. Shawn Bradley is actually a good example. Good player. Especially on defense. Never lived up to the hype. Ended up on a lot of posters and now most casual fans think he was a scrub.
And Simmons improved a lot. But I already know that you don´t really care about his defense. Not to mention that he is only 25. It will be interesting to see how his first offseason away from the 76ers staff works out for him.
He wasn´t the 2nd scoring option but I think Draymond was the 2nd best player on the 14/15 championship team. Again. Defense matters. And Draymond was by far the most important part of the Warriors defense. He was the advanced and impact metrics darling of the league for a reason.
Really cannot compare this years version of Draymond to the 14/15/16 peak version. But that wasn´t even the biggest problem for the Warriors. They had a better g-league roster next to Curry/Draymond/Wiggins.