# NBA Playoffs 2014 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 26, 2014, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-playoffs-2014/687016 "2014-04-26T02:51:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-playoffs-2014/687016/141 "2014-05-21T16:41:27Z")
It was a really bad draft class. But nobody outside of Cleveland thought Bennett was the best player, and there were at least a couple of guys who might’ve helped the Cavs more in the long term if not this season. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-playoffs-2014/687016/142 "2014-05-21T16:42:24Z")
Who?! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-playoffs-2014/687016/143 "2014-05-21T16:53:30Z")
I already named a handful. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-playoffs-2014/687016/144 "2014-05-21T16:56:50Z")
So nobody thinks Bennett was the best, yet you can’t name anyone who was clearly better than him, just guys who might have been more helpful to the Cavs long term. Might. That’s exactly my point. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-playoffs-2014/687016/145 "2014-05-21T17:22:56Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > So nobody thinks Bennett was the best, yet you can’t name anyone who was clearly better than him Huh? I named several players who were much better than Bennett was this year: Oladipo, McLemore, and Burke. You don’t think Bennett is a Rookie of the Year contender, do you? I didn’t mention Carter-Williams because of the way he cooled off after a great start, but you can’t tell me he didn’t contribute far more than Bennett did. Now, there are various reasons the Cavs might not have wanted those guys, but then they could’ve made any number of deals or just stashed the talent and worked it out later. And you can keep going down the draft and find guys like Hardaway and Plumlee and Deng, who were also much more useful than Bennett. > [@](#): > > just guys who might have been more helpful to the Cavs long term. Might. Nerlens Noel wouldn’t have helped them this season and they wanted to try for a playoff spot, but who would you be more excited to have? Bennett Year 2, or Noel as a rookie coming off an injury? NBA players need time to develop, but some of the guys I listed will turn out to be good and we don’t know if Anthony Bennett will do the same. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-playoffs-2014/687016/146 "2014-05-21T17:24:44Z")
Those are all guards. The Cavs weren’t looking to draft a guard. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-playoffs-2014/687016/147 "2014-05-21T17:30:52Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > Those are all guards. The Cavs weren’t looking to draft a guard. Well I hate to question their decision-making. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-playoffs-2014/687016/148 "2014-05-21T17:32:13Z")
They had taken guards in the previous two drafts. No team in the league would draft another guard after that, especially not guards with average ceilings like McLemore and Oladipo. And I like Oladipo. But he wasn’t so awesome as to justify the Cavs taking him as a luxury pick. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-playoffs-2014/687016/149 "2014-05-21T17:38:41Z")
I don’t think any other team would’ve taken Bennett either. I think Oladipo and McLemore will be better than average, and how hopeful are you that Bennett is even going to be average? > [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > And I like Oladipo. But he wasn’t so awesome as to justify the Cavs taking him as a luxury pick. It made more sense than gambling on a guy who wasn’t expected to go that high and who contributed almost nothing. They could’ve used Oladipo’s defense while they waited for his offensive game to come along. They could’ve traded him if they got a good offer or dealt away Dion Waiters, which they might have to do anyway. They were hoping to make the playoffs this year but nobody thought they were competing for a title, so why not gather talent and find a way to use it? ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-playoffs-2014/687016/150 "2014-05-21T17:39:27Z")
A luxury pick is taking someone nobody predicted to be in the top ten just because “fuck it, everyone sucks”. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-playoffs-2014/687016/151 "2014-05-21T17:46:03Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I don’t think any other team would’ve taken Bennett either. I think Oladipo and McLemore will be better than average, and how hopeful are you that Bennett is even going to be average? I’m reasonably hopeful he can be average. I’m also reasonably concerned that he’s a bust. But it won’t devastate me if he’s a bust, because it was a weak draft, and in a weak draft I don’t think it’s any more meaningful if you pick a bust #1 than if you pick him #8. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-playoffs-2014/687016/152 "2014-05-21T17:59:47Z")
There’s some truth to that, but a weak draft doesn’t turn the whole process into a 100% crapshoot. You have a shot at some useful guys even in a weak draft class and you can really set yourself back by screwing up. The 2006 draft class wound up being terrible, but Toronto would’ve been a lot better off if they’d picked LaMarcus Aldridge instead of Andrea Bargnani, wouldn’t they? Or the Bulls, if they hadn’t stupidly traded LMA for Tyrus Thomas. And to evaluate the Cavs fairly you have to admit that people did not think Bennett was going to be the top pick. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-playoffs-2014/687016/153 "2014-05-21T18:06:06Z")
Yeah, I can appreciate that they weren’t looking at a choice between Bennett and Hakeem, but… they took a bad player with the first overall pick. And people at the time said holy shit, why did they do that? And there were ways to avoid doing it. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-playoffs-2014/687016/154 "2014-05-21T18:14:47Z")
Noel and Oladipo were the two I remember getting top pick buzz. Noel fell to #6. Was that obviously foolish of the five teams that passed on him? Was Kenyon Martin a bad #1 pick? Hindsight tells us Michael Redd was the best player from the 2000 class. If the Nets had taken Stromile Swift at #1 instead, would that pick have gone down in infamy, or would we evaluate it within the context of a weak draft? ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-playoffs-2014/687016/155 "2014-05-21T18:18:27Z")
I think we’re all in agreement that you evaluate it in context, which is why we all keep saying things that wouldn’t make sense if we weren’t doing that. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-playoffs-2014/687016/156 "2014-05-21T18:20:09Z")
No, you guys talk like Bennett was the consensus 20th best player or something. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-playoffs-2014/687016/157 "2014-05-21T18:35:46Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > Was Kenyon Martin a bad #1 pick? No. He was useful to good for about a decade and made an All-Star team once. > [@](#): > > If the Nets had taken Stromile Swift at #1 instead, would that pick have gone down in infamy, or would we evaluate it within the context of a weak draft? Martin was a piece of a team that made the NBA Finals. I don’t think they would have gotten there with Swift. The overall draft would still be weak, but that doesn’t mean the good picks don’t count. I can understand teams passing on Noel because he was coming off a major injury. And Cleveland was trying to win last season, so they weren’t in the same position as a team like Philly or Orlando or someone else who had tons of needs and didn’t mind waiting for him to get well. Even in a bad draft you do need to take advantage of your opportunities or you’re not going to get any better. Otherwise you end up in the lottery year after year. > [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > No, you guys talk like Bennett was the consensus 20th best player or something. Just from glancing around, most of the mock drafts I saw had him in the 6 to 10 range. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-playoffs-2014/687016/158 "2014-05-21T18:38:18Z")
Bennett was an intriguing prospect. Big body, had some post moves, had a decent jump shot and some range, he was (and is still) not without a lot of upside. We really won’t know for a few more years, and in a draft that weak, why not take a guy who fills a big need and you see as having a high ceiling? ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-playoffs-2014/687016/159 "2014-05-21T18:45:36Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > Noel and Oladipo were the two I remember getting top pick buzz. Noel fell to #6. Was that obviously foolish of the five teams that passed on him? The fact that he was injured and out most/all of the season had something to do with that. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-playoffs-2014/687016/160 "2014-05-21T18:47:00Z")
Both sides are correct. At this stage, it seems to have been a pretty suck-ass draft, **and** Cleveland should have picked better. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-playoffs-2014/687016.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-playoffs-2014/687016.md?page=9)