Jerry West Says 2014 NBA Draft is a “Poor one”
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 18, 2014 3:50 am    Post subject:

I never doubt the LOGO, NEVER
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 19, 2014 9:07 am    Post subject:

I think West's comments - in their entirety - are quite accurate. I interpret his main points from that interview as:

- today's draft-eligible players (this season, especially) are presenting themselves to the NBA less well-branded by a known college program, and as a result are probably less developed to a known standard, and certainly less well understood than usual

- Among the current draft-eligible players, there's fewer than usual players who are likely prepared to positively impact a club before having three years NBA experience, compared to the best players of most draft years
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 20, 2014 9:07 am    Post subject:

Mike@LG wrote:
Druggas wrote:
West drafted Kobe as a "luxury" not a need. He had Eddie Jones as a starter, and he had signed this new center called Shaq.


He signed Shaq months after Kobe got drafted.

Elden Campbell would be the center otherwise.



Plus, I remember reading comments from West after the fact (I think in some book) where he talked about the potential greatness of Kobe was worth trading Divac even if he knew that he would lose out in the Shaq sweepstakes. West didn't view kobe as a luxury.
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 21, 2014 2:10 pm    Post subject:

LTD3 wrote:
Mike@LG wrote:
Druggas wrote:
West drafted Kobe as a "luxury" not a need. He had Eddie Jones as a starter, and he had signed this new center called Shaq.


He signed Shaq months after Kobe got drafted.

Elden Campbell would be the center otherwise.



Plus, I remember reading comments from West after the fact (I think in some book) where he talked about the potential greatness of Kobe was worth trading Divac even if he knew that he would lose out in the Shaq sweepstakes. West didn't view kobe as a luxury.


I remember reading of a Jerry West quote in The Times, published some time after Eddie Jones was traded. It was regarding the special pre-draft workout the Lakers held with Kobe. After watching Michael Cooper work out with Kobe in one-on-ones, West was heard to say something like "... get him; he's already better than anyone we have."
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 1:33 am    Post subject:

LTD3 wrote:
Mike@LG wrote:
Druggas wrote:
West drafted Kobe as a "luxury" not a need. He had Eddie Jones as a starter, and he had signed this new center called Shaq.


He signed Shaq months after Kobe got drafted.

Elden Campbell would be the center otherwise.



Plus, I remember reading comments from West after the fact (I think in some book) where he talked about the potential greatness of Kobe was worth trading Divac even if he knew that he would lose out in the Shaq sweepstakes. West didn't view kobe as a luxury.


Maybe the word luxury had some validity in 1996 considering he was the first guard ever taken out of HS. As such, he slipped to 13, he wasn't even stated as a "need" by Charlotte's owner (who wanted a C because they lost Zo to the Heat). As his future projections became increasingly clear, then he went into the "need" category for sure.

Anyway, I think the Kobe signed his first contract on 7/11 and Shaq signed his contract late nite on the 18th.
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 6:24 am    Post subject:

non-player zealot wrote:
LTD3 wrote:
Mike@LG wrote:
Druggas wrote:
West drafted Kobe as a "luxury" not a need. He had Eddie Jones as a starter, and he had signed this new center called Shaq.


He signed Shaq months after Kobe got drafted.

Elden Campbell would be the center otherwise.



Plus, I remember reading comments from West after the fact (I think in some book) where he talked about the potential greatness of Kobe was worth trading Divac even if he knew that he would lose out in the Shaq sweepstakes. West didn't view kobe as a luxury.


Maybe the word luxury had some validity in 1996 considering he was the first guard ever taken out of HS. As such, he slipped to 13, he wasn't even stated as a "need" by Charlotte's owner (who wanted a C because they lost Zo to the Heat). As his future projections became increasingly clear, then he went into the "need" category for sure.

Anyway, I think the Kobe signed his first contract on 7/11 and Shaq signed his contract late nite on the 18th.



Here's an excerpt from an article regarding Kobe's predraft workout. There are also comments from West from his book. I think this makes it pretty clear that the Lakers (specifically West) did not view Kobe as a luxury.

As Cooper himself hinted, that stretch of Bryant battling in the post with rising intensity became a knockout punch.

"Kobe was just posting up and taking that turnaround jump shot that he still makes all the time to this day, hitting that fadeaway from 16-17 feet," Ridder said. "He must've hit 10 or 12 of them in a row at one point. It was breathtaking to watch a kid do that. He had no regard for this being Michael Cooper."

Black and Ridder are in the business of postgame quotes, and they remember vividly what West said when he called off the one-on-one game: "OK, I've seen enough."

West's summation was plain: "Best workout I've ever seen. He's better than anybody we have on the team right now. Let's go."


"Never in my life have I seen a workout like that," wrote West in his 2011 book, West by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life, about Bryant's session. "When I said I had seen enough, I meant it. I knew who he was, and just from looking at his eyes, I knew what he wanted.
"Even though he was only 17 years old, Kobe was a once-in-a-lifetime player who could cast his shadow on the franchise for years to come. His fierce, competitive drive was innate, could not be purchased on the street or in a store or anywhere.

"You need to possess more than a little nastiness to play basketball at the highest level, and Kobe had that in abundance. You need to have the cold-bloodedness of an assassin, and he possessed that, too."



http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2108226-kobe-bryants-predraft-workout-has-become-stuff-of-lakers-and-nba-legend?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=programming-national
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 06, 2014 4:12 am    Post subject:

LTD3 wrote:
non-player zealot wrote:
LTD3 wrote:
Mike@LG wrote:
Druggas wrote:
West drafted Kobe as a "luxury" not a need. He had Eddie Jones as a starter, and he had signed this new center called Shaq.


He signed Shaq months after Kobe got drafted.

Elden Campbell would be the center otherwise.



Plus, I remember reading comments from West after the fact (I think in some book) where he talked about the potential greatness of Kobe was worth trading Divac even if he knew that he would lose out in the Shaq sweepstakes. West didn't view kobe as a luxury.


Maybe the word luxury had some validity in 1996 considering he was the first guard ever taken out of HS. As such, he slipped to 13, he wasn't even stated as a "need" by Charlotte's owner (who wanted a C because they lost Zo to the Heat). As his future projections became increasingly clear, then he went into the "need" category for sure.

Anyway, I think the Kobe signed his first contract on 7/11 and Shaq signed his contract late nite on the 18th.



Here's an excerpt from an article regarding Kobe's predraft workout. There are also comments from West from his book. I think this makes it pretty clear that the Lakers (specifically West) did not view Kobe as a luxury.


Mind you, I'm not disputing your point or West's, just giving mine. Luxury or need is a subjective argument, either way, but it IS the offseason, so what the hell? My take about him in 1996 is based on Harris' tendency to keep him glued to the bench. He looked like a boy, he was very thin, not yet jaded, less developed as a player than Eddie (yes, he was). I've kept many gms from 96-98. In his rookie season, he showed some of the blatant earmarks of a kid who was extremely talented and full of potential, but who still had a learning curve that he could not just skip over, much as he may have wanted to. Granted, Kobe didn't remain at that beginning level for very long. The Year 2 version was already more bulked and more serious about taking that starting spot. He didn't become a superstar until 1999/00, imo. I think the word luxury in the beginning has validity, but your point has its own merits too. His predraft workout that prompted some of his strongest praise was a lot less bumpy that his actual first season as a player. Predraft workout is a different thing than actual games with teammates and a coach as playoffs are a different thing than the RS, which Kobe also discovered in 96.
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 06, 2014 5:47 pm    Post subject:

I guess I'm confused as to why his production his first year is even being discussed. Even if kobe would have ended up being a bust, it wouldn't change what West thought that he would become when he decided to draft him. That's the only point I'm trying to make. It was originally stated that West drafted kobe as a luxury, and West's words say something totally different. What happened after kobe was drafted had no bearing on what west thought when he drafted him.
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 14, 2014 9:58 am    Post subject:

Jerry was quoted "He's better than anyone else we got". The hell are you talking about luxury?
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 13, 2014 1:13 am    Post subject:

GoldenThroat wrote:
This is the same Jerry West that drafted Kobe Bryant out of High School, right?


That's the same thing he said right before they actually GOT Kobe. Summer 1996, he said we don't want teens in this league. "We don't want em...", is a direct quote snippet from his larger televised opinion on the matter. Musta been just -right- before they worked him out and then obviously, all things changed.

I don't think he likes teens and youngsters as draftees and he never has, but he also thought Kobe was good enough to change his mind. Fairly, he should be allowed one exemption in his overall thought pattern, especially since the decision in Kobe's case worked out well. I actually give West credit for being this consistent on the subject overall. However, if there were another pre-pubescent projected superstar like Kobe down at the rung that the Wariers are drafting at, Logo would advise to take him too, guaranteed. Even if that did happen, I would still expect him to continue thinking the way he does -- that the Kobe's and KG's et al are exceptions to the rule. Gotta take em when you can, but he would ultimately prefer them to go to college either way.

It's an old mentality, frankly. I used to think that way, but I've started to see the pointlessness of these kids going into that usury for-profit system. I think that at one time not too terribly long ago, kids could mature and learn and become what Jerry still wants to see (i.e. Eddie Joneses - guy was 23 as a rookie, a year older than Shaq, a mature gentleman, a guy who plugged in immediately). Today, the NCAA is monstrous and corrupt even at some of the flagship schools. To me, it just seems like NCAA athletic programs have bloated into money machines and I don't know how able athlete-students are anymore to go in and absorb the standards we all like to see in prospects (Timmy Duncan, Grant Hill) and now the kids are hip to it like they never were before. I could be wrong, but I am seeing way too much unsavory shht in college sports these days that I just don't remember hearing about to the same extent when the Dookies had Laettner/Grant/Hurley.
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 13, 2014 7:35 am    Post subject:

Jerry West was right.

A draft with no impact players whatsoever.

Weak.
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 13, 2014 10:47 am    Post subject:

cyclo7 wrote:
Jerry West was right.

A draft with no impact players whatsoever.

Weak.


You'll have to reserve judgment until Randle comes back
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 13, 2014 1:51 pm    Post subject:

22 wrote:
cyclo7 wrote:
Jerry West was right.

A draft with no impact players whatsoever.

Weak.


You'll have to reserve judgment until Randle comes back


Or maybe a couple months into the season. lol

This always happens. A bunch of 19 year olds don't go 18/10 immediately, and they're busts. Same thing happened with the 2012 draft.
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 13, 2014 9:44 pm    Post subject:

22 wrote:
cyclo7 wrote:
Jerry West was right.

A draft with no impact players whatsoever.

Weak.


You'll have to reserve judgment until Randle comes back


Best case scenario: A leaner Zach Randolph
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 13, 2014 11:07 pm    Post subject:

cyclo7 wrote:
22 wrote:
cyclo7 wrote:
Jerry West was right.

A draft with no impact players whatsoever.

Weak.


You'll have to reserve judgment until Randle comes back


Best case scenario: A leaner Zach Randolph


the Zbo comparison is how you lose credibility man. thats so far off
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 14, 2014 12:13 am    Post subject:

cyclo7 wrote:
Jerry West was right.

A draft with no impact players whatsoever.

Weak.


looking weak so far.
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 14, 2014 7:58 am    Post subject:

How can you judge this draft class not even a month into the first year? Get a grip you guys.
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