02-23-2022, 01:59 PM
(02-23-2022, 12:26 PM)cow Wrote: What's the point of the draft? Zion might have superstar talent but he's no superstar. Pretty depressing, especially considering they've had pretty good talent around him. Most teams would kill to have a core of Zion + Ingram, + CJ.
For the most part it's because the draft works for the most part!
Usually when these star players move on, it's on their 3rd contract and 2nd time hitting free agency. By then, it's been around ~7-8 years since they were first drafted. These stars have seen how the teams operate and what they value. If they decide to move on it's normally because they have aspirations of wanting to win (*and have an easier time doing so), and not because they don't want to be in the city that drafted them from the get-go. If it's been 7-8 years and a team has failed to make noticeable improvements, then that's their fault for creating a situation that incentivizes the star to want to leave (ala Anthony Davis and CP3).
Zion appears to not have ever wanted to be in New Orleans. Despite the talent they've surrounded him with. That is a much rarer case. The only other time I've seen that happen off the top of my head was Steve Francis and the Vancouver Grizzlies. Dude forced his way out of there as soon as he could.
14x All-Star, 12x all-NBA, 1x MVP, 1x Finals MVP, 1 NBA Championship: Dirk Nowitzki, the man, the myth, the legend.