method man Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 Today, I was thinking about the Portland Trailblazers and how in the past two drafts, they have drafted 8 guys in the first round and a bunch of 2nd rounders as well. I think it is easy to see that this team's strategy is to build through the draft. However, I don't think I've seen any other team focus this much on the draft. Sure, there are teams in the NBA that get their stars through the draft (LA-Kobe, SAS-Duncan, Parker, Ginobili,...). However, the NBA is definitely a league in which you build through free agents, because you don't see NBA GM's paying that much heed to their 2nd round picks. Baseball to me is somewhat similar. While teams may use 5-6 that they have drafted on their major league roster, it seems most players and most key players on championship teams arrive through FA. I think the same is true in hockey. Your team will draft an Ovechkin or a Crosby but it seems that you tend to get key players via trades and free agency. I think this is what makes the NFL somewhat unique. I think it is because of the parity of the players. Your 1st round pick is not worlds better than your 7th round pick. We kind of saw that last year with Golston contributing much more than McIntosh. That's why in the NFL it is feasible to build through the draft; out of the 7 guys you draft, it is fair to say that at least 5 a year + an undrafted FA will make your team. Over 5 years, this adds up to more than half your roster being players you drafted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terpfan Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 Yeah thats pretty much true. The NBA draft is important, but only if you get a lottery pick, otherwise its a crapshoot. Pretty much the whole MLB draft is a crap shoot. I dont know that much about the NHL, but it seems similar to the NBA draft (aka a few cant miss prospects - then mostly guessing) I think part of it is that there are a lot of football players on a team, and a lot in the country, and that because its a pretty much 100% domestic game, and everyone goes to college, it is much easier to scout each player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
method man Posted July 20, 2007 Author Share Posted July 20, 2007 Yeah thats pretty much true. The NBA draft is important, but only if you get a lottery pick, otherwise its a crapshoot. Pretty much the whole MLB draft is a crap shoot. I dont know that much about the NHL, but it seems similar to the NBA draft (aka a few cant miss prospects - then mostly guessing)I think part of it is that there are a lot of football players on a team, and a lot in the country, and that because its a pretty much 100% domestic game, and everyone goes to college, it is much easier to scout each player. Even in the NBA, the whole draft is a crapshoot. There have been so many top 3 busts (ie Milicic, Kwame, Olowokandi, Jay Williams). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevind Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 the charlotte hornets actually drafted kobe then traded him for vlade divac lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Lloyd Christmas Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 baseball the draft is important even though a lot of people think its not. every sport you need to develop talent and you do that by finding young guys who you feel can grow. the big difference is that in baseball theres tons of kids who get signed at age 17 who they bring over here and have them develop over 5 to 6 years, whereas football, its 3 years in college then ready for the pros. the learning curve in baseball seems to be waaaay higher than in football. basketball kids can come out of highschool and compete, not as large a curve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mad4comp Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 Even in the NBA, the whole draft is a crapshoot. There have been so many top 3 busts (ie Milicic, Kwame, Olowokandi, Jay Williams). I dont think Milicic is really a bust... When given the minutes, he's produced pretty well. His first two or three (i forget) years at detroit, he barely got a sniff at the hardwood. Then in Orlando, once he was given more PT, he became a defensive monster and a scoring machine (in the playoffs). But I agree with the rest of the list... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhead36 Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 You have to develop your own young talent in every sport simply because it is the economically viable way. You get much cheaper production through the draft and can occasionally snag stars that will play at a high level for bare bone money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HitStickTaylor21 Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 hockey is a possibility, Caps got Ovechkin throught the draft and the Penguins turned it around with Crosby and Malkin in back-to-back drafts. MLB's farm system is a way of building but it seems like the team they come up with is never the team they become stars with, so I guess NFL is the one true league who does it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spanishomelette Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 Today, I was thinking about the Portland Trailblazers and how in the past two drafts, they have drafted 8 guys in the first round and a bunch of 2nd rounders as well. I think it is easy to see that this team's strategy is to build through the draft. However, I don't think I've seen any other team focus this much on the draft. Sure, there are teams in the NBA that get their stars through the draft (LA-Kobe, SAS-Duncan, Parker, Ginobili,...). However, the NBA is definitely a league in which you build through free agents, because you don't see NBA GM's paying that much heed to their 2nd round picks. Costs and salary cap became a big concern in recent years that added to the already existing player character problems with the Blazers. I think money factored more into the current drive to draft than anything. And the strategy is working great in terms of fan support and filling the seats, but not in terms of success on the court (at least not yet). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deejaydana Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 Don't let the Snyder-era and its disregard of the draft fool you: NFL success is built upon using the draft. Now someone please tattoo this to the Danny's forehead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peregrine Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 I think there are 3 main factors in how big of a role the draft plays. 1. How is the talent in the draft(how sure are they to make an impact in 1-2 years)? 2. What percentage of your team is one draft pick(5 players per team versus 22 etc)? And is there some salary cap in the sport that gives the draft added importance? If you take the major 5 sports in this country, Football, Baseball, Basketball, Hockey and Soccer, they all have drafts. In baseball though, there is no real salary cap, there are 14 starters, and players that get drafted usually dont see the field for a LONG time. Theres no such thing as a sure pick. In Hockey, you have around 21 starters, draftees do make an impact, and there is a salary cap(I believe). The sport isnt that big though. Players also dont see a whole tone of time since its split between 4 lines of guys. In Soccer, you have 11 starters, draftees do make an impact, and there is KIND of a salary cap. Due to the nature of the business however, players are signed through many methods outside of the draft, lessoning its importance. Players come from other leagues and teams often, and get loaned out as well. In Basketball you have 5 starters, draftees do make an impact, and there is a salary cap of sorts. Due to the low number of players, and the nature of the sport where one player can make plays and pick up his teamates, I think building through the draft in the NBA is probobly more important than any other sport. Two drafts in a row with top 5 picks will get you 40% of your team with future superstar talent. In football, your team is made up of roughly 24 starters, more than any other league. However, draftees make immidiete impacts, and it is the only way players can be added to the league. Plus the salary cap is strict unlike every other league with a form of one. I think that alone makes drafting a big deal in the NFL. However, Im of the opinion that the NBA puts more emphasis on it. Not so much "building" as that implies many bricks, as drafting 2 players and turning your team into a contender. Look at the Spurs draft picks, the Cavaliers the two finals teams, and how much their draft picks meant to them. Absolutely everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audible_Red40 Posted July 21, 2007 Share Posted July 21, 2007 Trust me, hockey is a capshoot. There are WAY more first round busts then first round stars, and this gos way back before players being eligible from all around the world. I think football is your safest bet to build through the draft. Followed by baseball, basketball then hockey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
method man Posted July 21, 2007 Author Share Posted July 21, 2007 Costs and salary cap became a big concern in recent years that added to the already existing player character problems with the Blazers. I think money factored more into the current drive to draft than anything. And the strategy is working great in terms of fan support and filling the seats, but not in terms of success on the court (at least not yet). That definitely was a reason but they have bought like 3 or 4 first round picks the past two drafts. It is just insane the number of players that they have drafted the past two years. It's not just about salary cap; I think Kevin Pritchard is trying a new strategy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
method man Posted July 21, 2007 Author Share Posted July 21, 2007 It does seem in the NBA that you get your stars through the draft and you get your supporting cast through free agency with most teams only getting the mid-level exception. I think the fact that a lot of draftees contribute right away in the NFL, whether it be on special teams or offense or defense, is a big factor in a league where the average career is pretty damn short. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted July 21, 2007 Share Posted July 21, 2007 The Spurs build through the draft. The Yankees dynasty in the 90s was built through the draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koolblue13 Posted July 21, 2007 Share Posted July 21, 2007 baseball the draft is important even though a lot of people think its not. every sport you need to develop talent and you do that by finding young guys who you feel can grow. the big difference is that in baseball theres tons of kids who get signed at age 17 who they bring over here and have them develop over 5 to 6 years, whereas football, its 3 years in college then ready for the pros. the learning curve in baseball seems to be waaaay higher than in football. basketball kids can come out of highschool and compete, not as large a curve. Well put. This is another good ATN thread i've seen this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosher Ham Posted July 21, 2007 Share Posted July 21, 2007 You have to develop your own young talent in every sport simply because it is the economically viable way. You get much cheaper production through the draft and can occasionally snag stars that will play at a high level for bare bone money. The NFL draft is as much of a crap shoot as anything else. Lets look back 5 years (typically I would say 3, but why not 5). Some guys ended up great, others...not so much. 1 Houston David Carr QB Fresno State - At this point a bust, bust still has a shot. 2 Carolina Julius Peppers DE North Carolina - One of the best in the game. 3 Detroit Joey Harrington QB Oregon - Talented, just not good. 4 Buffalo Mike Williams T Texas - Terrible. 5 San Diego Quentin Jammer CB Texas - Pretty Decent, I would say underrated. 6 Kansas City Ryan Sims DT North Carolina - Bust. 7 Minnesota Bryant McKinnie T Miami - Pretty Good player 8 Dallas Roy Williams SS Oklahoma - Good player 9 Jacksonville John Henderson DT Tennessee - Great player 10 Cincinnati Levi Jones T Arizona State - Good player 11 Indianapolis Dwight Freeney DE Syracuse - Great player Go through the rest on your own and research other years. 12 Arizona Wendell Bryant DT Wisconsin 13 New Orleans Donte' Stallworth WR Tennessee 14 N.Y. Giants Jeremy Shockey TE Miami 15 Tennessee Albert Haynesworth DT Tennessee 16 Cleveland William Green RB Boston College 17 Oakland Phillip Buchanon CB Miami 18 Atlanta T.J. Duckett RB Michigan State 19 Denver Ashley Lelie WR Hawaii 20 Green Bay Javon Walker WR Florida State 21 New England Daniel Graham TE Colorado 22 N.Y. Jets Bryan Thomas DE Ala.-Birmingham 23 Oakland Napoleon Harris MLB Northwestern 24 Baltimore Ed Reed FS Miami 25 New Orleans Charles Grant DE Georgia 26 Philadelphia Lito Sheppard CB Florida 27 San Francisco Mike Rumph CB Miami 28 Seattle Jerramy Stevens TE Washington 29 Chicago Marc Colombo T Boston College 30 Pittsburgh Kendall Simmons G Auburn 31 St. Louis Robert Thomas MLB UCLA 32 Washington Patrick Ramsey QB Tulane Crap shoot I tell ya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalex41 Posted July 21, 2007 Share Posted July 21, 2007 Today, I was thinking about the Portland Trailblazers and how in the past two drafts, they have drafted 8 guys in the first round and a bunch of 2nd rounders as well. I think it is easy to see that this team's strategy is to build through the draft. However, I don't think I've seen any other team focus this much on the draft. Sure, there are teams in the NBA that get their stars through the draft (LA-Kobe, SAS-Duncan, Parker, Ginobili,...). However, the NBA is definitely a league in which you build through free agents, because you don't see NBA GM's paying that much heed to their 2nd round picks.Baseball to me is somewhat similar. While teams may use 5-6 that they have drafted on their major league roster, it seems most players and most key players on championship teams arrive through FA. I think the same is true in hockey. Your team will draft an Ovechkin or a Crosby but it seems that you tend to get key players via trades and free agency. I think this is what makes the NFL somewhat unique. I think it is because of the parity of the players. Your 1st round pick is not worlds better than your 7th round pick. We kind of saw that last year with Golston contributing much more than McIntosh. That's why in the NFL it is feasible to build through the draft; out of the 7 guys you draft, it is fair to say that at least 5 a year + an undrafted FA will make your team. Over 5 years, this adds up to more than half your roster being players you drafted. I think that all sports franchises have multiple means of rebuilding their teams. The draft is only one of them. Talent and money go hand-in-hand and you might be surprised how some players are obtained. Use your imagination and do not become naive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InTikiITrust Posted July 21, 2007 Share Posted July 21, 2007 A key difference between football and other sports, mainly baseball, is guys can't play football forever. In football, once you hit the early 30s, you're getting old. In baseball, some guys hit their prime at 30 and can play another 10 years. In basketball, you can be a bench player once you get up there in age. Not sure about hockey as I don't follow it. But football? It's not an old man's game. Alex Rodriguez is 31 and will get a huge, monster deal at the end of the season if he opts at. He could easily play until he's 40. No NFL team will offer a huge deal to a 31 year old. That's why building through the draft is so important - guys can't do it forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKM311 Posted July 21, 2007 Share Posted July 21, 2007 The reason why the NFL draft is more important than any other draft and why rookies make a bigger impact is because teams have 53 players. NBA is 12 MLB is like 20 NHL is like 18 or something Thats the reason why the NFL uses the draft more and needs a more immediate impact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Tater Posted July 21, 2007 Share Posted July 21, 2007 Don't let the Snyder-era and its disregard of the draft fool you: NFL success is built upon using the draft. Now someone please tattoo this to the Danny's forehead. That is a foolish statment. In the Redskin SB years much of the team was built on guys who came from trades, free agency, UDFAs or late-rounders that would be UDFAs now. Our 1970s teams were known for the vets we pulled from trades and FA pickups. The era 1 Gibbs teams were built mostly from guys who were fall into similar catagories. Except for May, our whole starting offensive line came from trades or free agency (we were able to draft Grimm because we gave up choices to do so). Further, the Pats were also built mostly from trades, free agents and UDFAs. Finally, even the greatest draft guys find only 1 or 2 good selections (who only may be on the team for 3-5 years) out of every 10 picks (and maybe a couple more that are good enough to become back-ups in the NFL). While the draft is a key component in building a team, its only a piece of the puzzle.:doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
method man Posted July 21, 2007 Author Share Posted July 21, 2007 The Spurs build through the draft. The Yankees dynasty in the 90s was built through the draft. I think in baseball you can do on either a draft-reliant or a FA-reliant strategy, because you have to remember the Diamondbacks, a team of FAs, and Boston, another team of FAs, did win the World Series as well. After thinking about this more, I think in basketball, you have to get at least 1 star through the draft, just because they are so hard to acquire in other ways without giving up other pieces. The Spurs did get their 3 stars through the draft but that is about it; they get ALL their role players through FA (Finley, Barry, Horry, Bowen, Oberto in the present; guys like Kerr, Mohammed, Nesterovic in the past). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom [Giants fan] Posted July 21, 2007 Share Posted July 21, 2007 The NFL is the only sport where the Draft is hyped up so much and it is made to be the offseason Super Bowl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isle-hawg Posted July 21, 2007 Share Posted July 21, 2007 I think in baseball you can do on either a draft-reliant or a FA-reliant strategy, because you have to remember the Diamondbacks, a team of FAs, and Boston, another team of FAs, did win the World Series as well. Good point, but the best Yankee team and perhaps the best team in baseball the last 20 years was made up of young Yankees (non-all stars) who were drafted and brought up through their farm system in the early '90's. Since then GS spent more $$ than any other owner in baseball. His team (unlike our beloved team ) has been competitive every year nonetheless but has not won another WS in many years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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