Superstardom doesn't happen until you have playoff success. Oden and Durant both got hype as rookies, but only one (at most) went on to super-stardom.
Exactly. Kanter and Favors and Hayward and Burks will NEVER be superstars until THEY have playoff success. Not watching Al get swept by the Spurs. Thanks for making my point. You HAVE to play the young guns to have them develop into stars.
However, the answer to your question is Detroit.
This is NOT true at all. I covered Detroit in my first post. They drafted one of their key players (Richard Hamilton #7), so they had a crappy season. They then pulled a SA with Ben Wallace (great draft pick later than usual). Then, after they had their core (which included Memo as a draft pick as well), they made a few key trades (Rasheed Wallace) and signed a solid vet (Billups).
They fit the mold of EVERY team not named LA, Miami or Dallas (the more recent version). They had a crappy season and drafted well. They drafted Hamilton and Wallace. We have drafted well as well (Kanter, Burks, Hayward). They then signed a good vet (Billups). We haven't done that. We have tried, but failed. Then they made that trade to put them over the top (Rasheed).
We need to let Al walk because he isn't that FA that will put us over the top and if resigned, he would be that contract that would prevent us from making that move to put us over the top. Millsap likely falls into this category as well and possibly Mo depending on their price tags.
If you want to evaluate the results of a "draft high" strategy, you can't just look at the successes; you also have to evaluate the failures. I don't want to root for the Utah Bobcats, Raptors, Warriors, or Timberwolves.
Again, give the Jazz front office credit. They don't draft as poorly as those teams. Look at the Jazz's last four "high" picks: Deron, Hayward, Kanter, Burks. They have excelled in the draft.
The beginning and end of my argument is this:
The Jazz have done a wonderful job of putting us in line for a title (except for the last two years). Resigning Al kicks us off that line and into the line of the Bobcats, Raptors, Warriors, Timberwolves. Letting him walk keeps us on that line.
It's too bad that Jazz have wasted the last two years with Al. Imagine if the Jazz had gotten rid of Al last year and we ended up with the sixth pick and the GS pick. We would have this lineup this year:
Lilliard, Mo
Hayward, Burks
Barnes, Carroll
Millsap, whoever
Favors, Kanter
That team goes to the NBA finals in the next five years. Because we jackpotted around with Al so long, it will be harder for the Jazz to get that much talent so quickly.
So, like the title says, you have to suck to be great in the NBA.