Built not bought: Drafting and development is king in today’s NBA

Oct 15, 2021; Miami, Florida, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) dribbles the ball around Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) during the second half at FTX Arena, Built not bought: Drafting and development is king in today’s NBA. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Free agency may be the craziest period of the NBA calendar, closely followed by the last 24 hours before the trade deadline. But, as the four conference finalists are displaying, teams should still be focused on drafting and player development over anything else.

Many have despised the modern age of player movement. The idea that teams, especially big market ones, can buy their way to success rather than the more traditional means of the draft. But this season has provided us with a counterpoint to that idea. Building something from the ground up and instilling a collaborative, team-first culture remains the most fruitful process.

Built not bought: Drafting and development is king in today’s NBA – Stars

Of the four teams remaining in the postseason, three of them have developed their own draft pick into a bonafide superstar player. Stephen Curry, now in his 13th season, is a two-time MVP who the Golden State Warriors selected with pick seven in the 2009 draft. Jayson Tatum was selected by the Boston Celtics at pick three in 2017. The Dallas Mavericks traded for Luka Doncic on draft night in 2018.

Jimmy Butler is the only franchise star who was traded for, with the Miami Heat acquiring him in a sign-and-trade in 2019. Still, you could make the argument that the Heat have developed Butler into his best possible self, as he’s notched career-highs in rebounds, assists, and field goal percentage in Miami while maintaining his 20+ point per game scoring average.

Built not bought: Drafting and development is king in today’s NBA – Starters

Starting with the Western Conference, we could foreseeably have eight of the ten starters as single-franchise players. The Warriors have Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Kevon Looney, while the Mavericks have Doncic, Jalen Brunson, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Dwight Powell. This leaves wings Andrew Wiggins and Reggie Bullock as the only starters to have been drafted by different teams.

It’s a similar case in the Eastern Conference. Along with Tatum, the Celtics drafted Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, and Robert Williams, leaving Al Horford as the only player to have started with a different franchise.

With Kyle Lowry out with a hamstring injury, Gabe Vincent has been starting at point guard, an undrafted player the Heat signed as a two-way contract. They similarly picked up Max Strus off the NBA scrapheap, although he did play two games with the Chicago Bulls. Finally, of course, center Bam Adebayo was selected by the Heat with the 14th pick in 2018.

Not to be forgotten, other important players drafted by their respective teams include Jordan Poole, Tyler Herro, Grant Williams, and Maxi Kleber.

These teams display the importance of development and the fact their cultural imprint can’t be bought. Conversely, the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets tried to buy success this season, moves which ended in highly publicized, disastrous ends to their campaigns.