Take a look at the championship contenders around the NBA right now, and one will see a good amount of superstars and key players who have been “home-grown.”
The Golden State Warriors have Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. The Phoenix Suns possess Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton. The Boston Celtics boast Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Green, the Milwaukee Bucks have raised Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Philadelphia 76ers have been patient with Joel Embiid.
The common thread? All of them were drafted by the team they play for.
Furthermore, all those men, other than Ayton, have been All-Stars, but not all of them were lottery picks.
To seriously contend for an NBA championship these days, a team needs to draft well. Plus, there have been signs that the “superteam” era is coming to an end.
Look no further than the Los Angeles Lakers’ failed attempt at having a superteam this season, and the Brooklyn Nets’ own disappointing season.
None of the stars the Nets have had the last couple of years (Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, James Harden or Ben Simmons) were drafted by the organization.
In recent years, L.A. has traded away a number of draft picks. They got away with it in 2020, winning the world championship, although there will always be a lingering perception that it was a “lucky” championship or that it doesn’t fully count because it took place inside the Walt Disney World Resort bubble.
If L.A. is to return to the championship level soon, it needs a philosophical shift when it comes to draft picks.