big j 33
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- May 31, 2006
The OKC model will be damn near impossible to duplicate.
Look at Orlando as an example.. OKC had similar picks and ended up with Durant, Westbrook, and Harden, 3 all-stars/MVP candidates... then hit on Ibaka later on. By comparison, Orlando ended up with Aaron Gordon, Oladipo, traded for Payton, and might end up with WCS or someone like Mario. Potentially a great haul a few years down the line, but does anyone believe those guys will be an MVP? Or all three will be consistent all-stars/first team all-nba players?
The OKC model is "Be awful enough to get a franchise changing talent, but awful enough to STILL get a couple more top 5 picks, and then hit on all of those picks". It's not a model you want to follow. People see "young, talented" kids and assume they'll all develop into all-stars and they just won't.
What OKC did isn't a model you can follow, it's a very rare combination of great evaluation, luck (Portland picking Oden over Durant), and player's reaching their full potential.
Look at Orlando as an example.. OKC had similar picks and ended up with Durant, Westbrook, and Harden, 3 all-stars/MVP candidates... then hit on Ibaka later on. By comparison, Orlando ended up with Aaron Gordon, Oladipo, traded for Payton, and might end up with WCS or someone like Mario. Potentially a great haul a few years down the line, but does anyone believe those guys will be an MVP? Or all three will be consistent all-stars/first team all-nba players?
The OKC model is "Be awful enough to get a franchise changing talent, but awful enough to STILL get a couple more top 5 picks, and then hit on all of those picks". It's not a model you want to follow. People see "young, talented" kids and assume they'll all develop into all-stars and they just won't.
What OKC did isn't a model you can follow, it's a very rare combination of great evaluation, luck (Portland picking Oden over Durant), and player's reaching their full potential.