05-20-2023, 11:17 AM
(05-20-2023, 10:33 AM)Luka77 Wrote: First, Dirk had just come off a championship winning season in that year was the best version of himself. He was in his prime. A NBA players athletic prime is usually between 27 y.o and 34 years old. Dirk didn't start showing decline until he was 35 with ankle and other injuries starting to catching up to him.
Next, during a similar time in Dirk career (his 6th season) they made the best decision in it which eventually led to being a high seed in the playoffs and a championship. They drafted Josh Howard and inserted him into the starting lineup. Josh would eventually be traded for Caron Butler a move that was key to bringing toughness to a championship team that was considered soft.
I wasn't referring specifically to the year after the championship. You mentioned a lot of players from various seasons. Dirk was far from his peak by the time most of them were acquired. When they decided to sign Barnes for example, Dirk averaged 18/6 on a team that went 42-40 the prior season. If it wasn't already, that was certainly time to go in a different direction.
As for Josh Howard, he was the 29th pick in the draft. That pick didn't have anywhere near the trade value that #10 does this year. When Washington eventually traded for him it was primarily to save money. He had already declined pretty significantly.
And what about all the other failed 1st round picks? Mo Ager, Jared Cunningham, Justin Anderson. You could even include DSJ, although they cut bait in time to get some value out of him.