LTTG is just saying that Griffin would immediately bring a level of noteriety to this team that Shock couldn’t have no matter how well he played this season. And maybe hype has some value in the NBA.

Last year it was initially Beasley, Rose, and a big drop off. Mayo was a head case, Lopez and Love were slow and/or short, Westbrook and Bayless were ’tweeners, Augustin was too short. On the other hand, some of us really liked Anthony Randoplh and Joe Alexander.

I think that this draft may lack a lot of star quality, but if most of these guys come out I like the depth as it pertains to potential players avaiable with our 2nd and 3rd picks.

Wade was drafted 5th, and ironically, Amare 9th overall. (I always get amusement out of what could have been had the Clippers, who drafted Wilcox 8th overall that year, drafted Amare instead.)

That doesn’t change the fact that it is has been proven that the higher your pick, the better your chances of finding a “franchise” type of player. Our reward last season for Theus continuing to play the vets even at the end of the season? Some poorly-timed wins that shot us all the way down to the 12th pick.

That is why being stuck as a team that is mediocre or a borderline playoff team for long stretches is actually worse in many ways than having a horrible year. If your horrible, at least you get a better shot at top talent who can get you back into that upper echelon. Not that you can’t sitll screw it up of course, as some teams (including ours in the past) have proven.

LTTG probably has a better shot at the cheerios if he’s not doing the JT spin and lose control move we all love.

That said, he’s a stud. I think given time he’ll break out and become a young Webber. That’s right. He’s smooth, he just has to get ahold of it. 3-4 years, and he’s going to be Thebeast. Not to be confused with Th*beet.