Around the league part 2

[Johnny Utah]

Think the Kings can play like this?

 

[Herby]

I don't see it as crushing as you do, not saying you are wrong......but I don't think it drastically alters this franchise the way it is now.....

You don’t think having Stutzle and/or Zegras over Byfield and Turcotte doesn’t completely alter the franchise both in the current and the future? In particular, Stutzle?

Kopitar turns 36 this summer, just how much longer do you think he can play at a high level? You are holding out all of your hope in Byfield, maybe he makes it big, maybe he doesn’t. He could be Tage Thompson, he could be Nolan Patrick, or anywhere in between. But with Stutzle we have no concerns about 1C for the next dozen years, and he’d be the teams best offensive player in the present.

I’m just shocked you think such bad results four and three years in from players taken that high hasn’t changed a lot of what the Gm was trying to do.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

I wouldn’t say he had no plan. It just likely didn’t come to fruition.

I think Blake’s original plan was to add high end young pieces through the draft for a final run with 11 and 8. The other option would have been to completely tear it down and trade 11 and 8. This is what myself and others such as bland and K17 wanted to do.

Unfortunately for Blake some key things didn’t work out as planned. Vilardi had injuries and struggled mightily when he did play. He came around this season but there was no way to know this when they brought in all of these other guys. An incredibly flukey 2018 season resulted in the Kings having the 20th pick instead of what should have been another top 10 one. Kupari is a nice 4th line PK guy but imagine this team with someone like Hughes. 2019 produced what four years later may be the worst pick in franchise history, over basically everyone else who have all developed into difference makers including the guy they debated taking. 2020 they had a decision on 2 guys and they guy they passed on is off to a Hall of Fame Caliber start.

After all this happened it was to late to try and get value for 11 and 8, so Blake went the DT strategy of trading for the things you couldn’t draft, trying to build a team through trades and FA signings.

I’m sure if Blake had those boxes DL had back around at the end of the 2019/2020 season, you probably have by the end of this current season and into next some combination of Kopitar, Byfield, Turcotte and Vilardi at C.

A defense of Doughty, Anderson, Roy, Faber, Bjornfot and Spence as the key pieces. You end up drafting another defenseman in 2021 which crowds things a bit but it also means you should have enough at RHD to let Roy go and use some of that money to hopefully be giving 1-2 of your young centers the type of deals that the elite young centers sign after their ELC’s. In the real world that’s not even close.

Give Blake the benefit of the doubt that his C strategy was as RJ says similar to MLB teams SS drafting where guys move to 3b or 2b. And that did happen in reality with Vilardi

Is it crazy to think something like this was the plan?

??? / Kopitar / Kempe
Iafallo/ Byfield/ Vilardi
Moore/ Turcotte / Kaliyev
?? / Lizotte / Kupari

Anderson/Doughty
Bjornfot / Roy
Clarke / Faber
Spence

If this was Blake’s plan it’s pretty fair to say it was well thought out. You have what should be a strong top 9 lead by a still very good Kopitar and two top 5 pick centers who you should have expected would be very good impact players. The wing is still weak, but you can address it by trading Roy when you have two young stud RHD on ELC’s able to replace him.

You have plenty of opportunity for guys to move up the lineup too. Kopitar’s contract ends after next season, by then you hope he is your 3C or close to it, passing the torch to Byfield and Turcotte.

On D you can avoid paying Roy and also be prepared for the inevitable slow down of Doughty with the 2 young RHD’s. Anderson/Clarke is seen as a long-term #1 d-paid and your 1st rounder from 2019 in Bjornfot paired with your 2nd round steal from 2020 in Faber. But you still have time to let them grow as you still have probably 2-3 good years left from Doughty.

They probably had Cal pencilled in as their #1G, that was just a whiff.

But this all just fell apart because they’ve gotten almost nothing from the high draft picks like they (reasonably) should have hoped for. So they had to bring in Danault and lay him into his mid 30’s to play one of the C roles, and they had to bring in Gavrikov as a rental to be a LHD at the cost of a 1st. And they had to trade Faber and another 1st to address the scoring that hasn’t been provided from people they expected. With Faber gone it makes it very unlikely they could now trade Roy but due to the Danault and Gavrikov contracts it means they still likely lose Roy as a FA.

This is why the inability to get anything from two top 5 picks four and three years in has been crushing. If even one of those picks had been Stutzle or Zegras things look much different. I know people hate to talk about it, but it’s a big reason for the change in course Blake has had.

If the plan was to augment Kopitar/Doughty with quality youth, why were players like Arvidsson, Danault, and Fiala brought in?

And if the plan was win now, why draft a project like QB when an NHL ready forward in Stutzle was right there for the taking?

When I say Blake has no plan, I don’t mean it 100% literally. I mean it in the sense that he has never 100% committed to rebuilding *or* win now despite obviously wanting to win now from the start. He spends assets plugging win-now holes only to turn around and hoard prospects in depth roles (or the AHL) where their development is stunted. Everything he does strikes me as spur of the moment, with very little consideration for a long term vision of the team (he literally admitted the Fiala trade was purely spontaneous).

It just is what it is at this point. Blake has been GM for six years now. I’m ready to see his teams push deep into the playoffs. He has made trades. He has made free agent signings. He has drafted very high in the first round. It’s time for results.

I wouldn’t say he had no plan. It just likely didn’t come to fruition.

I think Blake’s original plan was to add high end young pieces through the draft for a final run with 11 and 8. The other option would have been to completely tear it down and trade 11 and 8. This is what myself and others such as bland and K17 wanted to do.

Unfortunately for Blake some key things didn’t work out as planned. Vilardi had injuries and struggled mightily when he did play. He came around this season but there was no way to know this when they brought in all of these other guys. An incredibly flukey 2018 season resulted in the Kings having the 20th pick instead of what should have been another top 10 one. Kupari is a nice 4th line PK guy but imagine this team with someone like Hughes. 2019 produced what four years later may be the worst pick in franchise history, over basically everyone else who have all developed into difference makers including the guy they debated taking. 2020 they had a decision on 2 guys and they guy they passed on is off to a Hall of Fame Caliber start.

After all this happened it was to late to try and get value for 11 and 8, so Blake went the DT strategy of trading for the things you couldn’t draft, trying to build a team through trades and FA signings.

I’m sure if Blake had those boxes DL had back around at the end of the 2019/2020 season, you probably have by the end of this current season and into next some combination of Kopitar, Byfield, Turcotte and Vilardi at C.

A defense of Doughty, Anderson, Roy, Faber, Bjornfot and Spence as the key pieces. You end up drafting another defenseman in 2021 which crowds things a bit but it also means you should have enough at RHD to let Roy go and use some of that money to hopefully be giving 1-2 of your young centers the type of deals that the elite young centers sign after their ELC’s. In the real world that’s not even close.

Give Blake the benefit of the doubt that his C strategy was as RJ says similar to MLB teams SS drafting where guys move to 3b or 2b. And that did happen in reality with Vilardi

Is it crazy to think something like this was the plan?

??? / Kopitar / Kempe
Iafallo/ Byfield/ Vilardi
Moore/ Turcotte / Kaliyev
?? / Lizotte / Kupari

Anderson/Doughty
Bjornfot / Roy
Clarke / Faber
Spence

If this was Blake’s plan it’s pretty fair to say it was well thought out. You have what should be a strong top 9 lead by a still very good Kopitar and two top 5 pick centers who you should have expected would be very good impact players. The wing is still weak, but you can address it by trading Roy when you have two young stud RHD on ELC’s able to replace him.

You have plenty of opportunity for guys to move up the lineup too. Kopitar’s contract ends after next season, by then you hope he is your 3C or close to it, passing the torch to Byfield and Turcotte.

On D you can avoid paying Roy and also be prepared for the inevitable slow down of Doughty with the 2 young RHD’s. Anderson/Clarke is seen as a long-term #1 d-paid and your 1st rounder from 2019 in Bjornfot paired with your 2nd round steal from 2020 in Faber. But you still have time to let them grow as you still have probably 2-3 good years left from Doughty.

They probably had Cal pencilled in as their #1G, that was just a whiff.

But this all just fell apart because they’ve gotten almost nothing from the high draft picks like they (reasonably) should have hoped for. So they had to bring in Danault and lay him into his mid 30’s to play one of the C roles, and they had to bring in Gavrikov as a rental to be a LHD at the cost of a 1st. And they had to trade Faber and another 1st to address the scoring that hasn’t been provided from people they expected. With Faber gone it makes it very unlikely they could now trade Roy but due to the Danault and Gavrikov contracts it means they still likely lose Roy as a FA.

This is why the inability to get anything from two top 5 picks four and three years in has been crushing. If even one of those picks had been Stutzle or Zegras things look much different. I know people hate to talk about it, but it’s a big reason for the change in course Blake has had.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

So it took Zadorov one night to match Byfield's season totals...

Oh and local product and former Junior Kings goalie Dustin Wolf won in his NHL debut. He's put up spectacular numbers at every level, yet the Kings couldn't even use a 7th round pick to select him.

They drafted Lukas Parik that same year and look where he's at now.

 

[Herby]

If the plan was to augment Kopitar/Doughty with quality youth, why were players like Arvidsson, Danault, and Fiala brought in?

And if the plan was win now, why draft a project like QB when an NHL ready forward in Stutzle was right there for the taking?

When I say Blake has no plan, I don’t mean it 100% literally. I mean it in the sense that he has never 100% committed to rebuilding *or* win now despite obviously wanting to win now from the start. He spends assets plugging win-now holes only to turn around and hoard prospects in depth roles (or the AHL) where their development is stunted. Everything he does strikes me as spur of the moment, with very little consideration for a long term vision of the team (he literally admitted the Fiala trade was purely spontaneous).

It just is what it is at this point. Blake has been GM for six years now. I’m ready to see his teams push deep into the playoffs. He has made trades. He has made free agent signings. He has drafted very high in the first round. It’s time for results.



If the plan was to augment Kopitar/Doughty with quality youth, why were players like Arvidsson, Danault, and Fiala brought in?

And if the plan was win now, why draft a project like QB when an NHL ready forward in Stutzle is right there for the taking?

When I say Blake has no plan, I don’t mean it 100% literally. I mean it in the sense that he has never 100% committed to rebuilding *or* win now despite obviously wanting to win now from the start. He spends assets plugging win-now holes only to turn around and hoard prospects in depth roles (or the AHL) where their development is stunted.

They were brought in because it became apparent the youth was nowhere close to as good as they thought and they had to call an audible because the time had passed to move on from Kopitar and Doughty.

They needed a center and scoring, despite drafting three centers with very high picks. If either Vilardi had crushed it in his 2C audition or Turcotte had a development similar to Cooley or Beniers do you think they are signing Danault?

I don’t buy the argument that QB was this 4-6 year project like people seem to think. Players like that are just not drafted that high because the expectation from a player that high is to get multiple years of good play on an ELC. The comments went from “don’t expect a star year 1” to suddenly now that it was always this long cook planned. I think it’s something that kind of grew out of rumor and innuendo like the “Faber only wants to play in Minnesota” stuff. If you go back and read potential future lineups people had after that draft, they all had QB assuming the 1C spot by now. No one expected this to be a 4-5 year thing.

I think their organizational philosophy in handling youth is terrible but I don’t think they are completely incompetent. If they truly thought QB was 4-6 years away and still drafted him with the goal of competing with 11 and 8 when they were 33 and 31 then that is incompetence. I just think they chose the wrong player, and much of our fanbase has issues accepting that.

 

[deaderhead28]

NHL Draft Lottery System Remains Broken to This Day​

April 12, 2023 by Mark Scheig

NHL Draft Lottery System Remains Broken to This Day - The Hockey Writers Latest News, Analysis & More

Tuesday night in the NHL was a night of exciting action. But see also why it proved that the current NHL Draft Lottery system remains broken.

thehockeywriters.com

 

[All The Kings Men]

NHL Draft Lottery System Remains Broken to This Day​

April 12, 2023 by Mark Scheig

NHL Draft Lottery System Remains Broken to This Day - The Hockey Writers Latest News, Analysis & More

Tuesday night in the NHL was a night of exciting action. But see also why it proved that the current NHL Draft Lottery system remains broken.

thehockeywriters.com

"Here in lies the problem with the current system the NHL has in place. It still provides an incentive to lose. That’s never acceptable."



The solution to this particular problem is obvious.

Get rid of the incentive. Get rid of the draft.

 

[Statto]

"Here in lies the problem with the current system the NHL has in place. It still provides an incentive to lose. That’s never acceptable."



The solution to this particular problem is obvious.

Get rid of the incentive. Get rid of the draft.

I don’t particularly like the draft but there would be huge implications. Certain markets will struggle to ever attract quality players and you’d quickly end up with a situation where a small handful of teams repeatedly contend each year. I actually think it wouldn’t hurt LA too badly. The other factor that would be important, is the ability of each organization to develop players as it affects long term earning prospects. Teams with poor development would be forced to raise their games, which is a positive.

I think ultimately you would definitely have teams needing to move, but the butterfly effect could easily result in contraction of the league. The joy now is that every team over a cycle can completely in theory (Arizona apart) but removing the draft would mean a number of franchises would never do so. That is a problem.

I am thinking as I type (so haven’t properly thought it through) and I certainly understand your view but I think there would be far reaching implications. It’s an interesting though experiment though, perhaps one for the off season so we can distract ourselves from repeating the same arguments we’ve been having for 2+ years lol.

 

[KingsFan7824]

NHL Draft Lottery System Remains Broken to This Day​

April 12, 2023 by Mark Scheig

NHL Draft Lottery System Remains Broken to This Day - The Hockey Writers Latest News, Analysis & More

Tuesday night in the NHL was a night of exciting action. But see also why it proved that the current NHL Draft Lottery system remains broken.

thehockeywriters.com

It once again proves that players will not tank. They will perform to the best of their ability even if it destroys a chance at the future with someone like Connor Bedard or Adam Fantilli.

If players won't tank, what's the problem? Because fans cry? How about fans be realistic, understand that players who may not be part of the team's future are part of the team today, as playing in the NHL is a job, and they're looking out for their own best interests, not those of the franchise, and definitely not those of fickle fans.

Management puts out the worst possible team they can from day to get the high pick? There's an argument somewhere in there, but there's a fine line between cheap and tank. There's a flaw in any system that can be thought of.

Actively choosing to cheer for your favorite team to lose, for whatever reason, is a choice that you make. That's on you. The lottery system does not force you to do that. Same crap with the "loser" point. The point people are talking about, is not, and never has been, a loser point, and still to this day, your best option as a team is to win in regulation.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

You don’t think having Stutzle and/or Zegras over Byfield and Turcotte doesn’t completely alter the franchise both in the current and the future? In particular, Stutzle?

Kopitar turns 36 this summer, just how much longer do you think he can play at a high level? You are holding out all of your hope in Byfield, maybe he makes it big, maybe he doesn’t. He could be Tage Thompson, he could be Nolan Patrick, or anywhere in between. But with Stutzle we have no concerns about 1C for the next dozen years, and he’d be the teams best offensive player in the present.

I’m just shocked you think such bad results four and three years in from players taken that high hasn’t changed a lot of what the Gm was trying to do.

Not what I said, I said I don't think it's as damaging as you are making it out to be, it of course changed a lot of what he wanted/was trying to do. Stutzle is a good player on a bad team that can't make the playoffs.....let them be a perennial playoff team before we go further with that, can we?

Thornton was effective into his 40's, why is it hard to believe Kopitar has 1-2-3 good years left? I'm not hoping for anything beyond what is in front of us....

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

 

[King'sPawn]

I don’t particularly like the draft but there would be huge implications. Certain markets will struggle to ever attract quality players and you’d quickly end up with a situation where a small handful of teams repeatedly contend each year. I actually think it wouldn’t hurt LA too badly. The other factor that would be important, is the ability of each organization to develop players as it affects long term earning prospects. Teams with poor development would be forced to raise their games, which is a positive.

I think ultimately you would definitely have teams needing to move, but the butterfly effect could easily result in contraction of the league. The joy now is that every team over a cycle can completely in theory (Arizona apart) but removing the draft would mean a number of franchises would never do so. That is a problem.

I am thinking as I type (so haven’t properly thought it through) and I certainly understand your view but I think there would be far reaching implications. It’s an interesting though experiment though, perhaps one for the off season so we can distract ourselves from repeating the same arguments we’ve been having for 2+ years lol.

Teams will continue to operate as they do. Arizona, Anaheim, and other teams will continue operate on low budgets and get subsidized by the league. Large market teams, like New York and Toronto, will have large budgets.

The NHL operated without a draft before. So exciting to watch all the talent go to Montreal.

Would there be a cap on how much teams can offer? If yes, then how are some teams supposed to lure talent when most kids want to stay close to home? If no, then how are some teams supposed to afford talent if they have to keep outbidding big markets?

What about lower leagues that also use the draft, such as the USHL and CHL? Should they also be rid of since it takes away player agency?

You can look at the NCAA, Europe, and Russia to see how non-drafting works. There's less variance in the top teams in the league. And guess what? The bad teams are still bad teams.

People have to relocate for their jobs. Some offices are shittier than others. These kids join a union which has found a way to spread the talent as fairly as can be expected. If we want to go after teams that lose on purpose, maybe the NHLPA could file a grievance on poorly run teams if it mattered enough. Start actually addressing the problem instead of, you know, creating a whole new set of problems and ultimately STILL leaving people unhappy, because not everyone who wants to go to their team of choice will go.

The Kings would absolutely be hit. While they have the benefit of being an ideal place for young guys (something Lombardi told me - they had an easier time luring single guys than ones with families), they are generally so far from home that it still wouldn't be a first choice.

I get if you don't like the draft. I disagree, but I get it. It's unpredictable and people prefer more order.

You want to discourage tanking? Expand the randomness of the draft order. Any team that missed the playoffs has a chance to pick 1-16. And heck, randomize the picks from rounds 2-7 too. Of course, add some weight to the lower performing teams - as they shouldn't always be kicked when they're down. But you'll see that "playing to lose" boogeyman go away real quick once the guarantee of a top-5 pick disappears. And teams suddenly can't guarantee their pick will be 33, 34, 35, which is like getting a very late first-round pick.

 

[KINGS17]

Oh noes, how can the Blackhawks do this? Toews should be a Blackhawk for life!

Chicago will climb the mountain of being a contending team again way before the Kings climb it a second time.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

Oh noes, how can the Blackhawks do this? Toews should be a Blackhawk for life!

Chicago will climb the mountain of being a contending team again way before the Kings climb it a second time.

Of course, you can't recognizes the difference between an obviously injured debilitated Jonathan Toews at 35 vs a healthy Kopitar just off of a Hart nomination....

What fun would that be? I mean just downright brilliant analysis there.....

 

[KINGS17]

Teams will continue to operate as they do. Arizona, Anaheim, and other teams will continue operate on low budgets and get subsidized by the league. Large market teams, like New York and Toronto, will have large budgets.

The NHL operated without a draft before. So exciting to watch all the talent go to Montreal.

Would there be a cap on how much teams can offer? If yes, then how are some teams supposed to lure talent when most kids want to stay close to home? If no, then how are some teams supposed to afford talent if they have to keep outbidding big markets?

What about lower leagues that also use the draft, such as the USHL and CHL? Should they also be rid of since it takes away player agency?

You can look at the NCAA, Europe, and Russia to see how non-drafting works. There's less variance in the top teams in the league. And guess what? The bad teams are still bad teams.

People have to relocate for their jobs. Some offices are shittier than others. These kids join a union which has found a way to spread the talent as fairly as can be expected. If we want to go after teams that lose on purpose, maybe the NHLPA could file a grievance on poorly run teams if it mattered enough. Start actually addressing the problem instead of, you know, creating a whole new set of problems and ultimately STILL leaving people unhappy, because not everyone who wants to go to their team of choice will go.

The Kings would absolutely be hit. While they have the benefit of being an ideal place for young guys (something Lombardi told me - they had an easier time luring single guys than ones with families), they are generally so far from home that it still wouldn't be a first choice.

I get if you don't like the draft. I disagree, but I get it. It's unpredictable and people prefer more order.

You want to discourage tanking? Expand the randomness of the draft order. Any team that missed the playoffs has a chance to pick 1-16. And heck, randomize the picks from rounds 2-7 too. Of course, add some weight to the lower performing teams - as they shouldn't always be kicked when they're down. But you'll see that "playing to lose" boogeyman go away real quick once the guarantee of a top-5 pick disappears. And teams suddenly can't guarantee their pick will be 33, 34, 35, which is like getting a very late first-round pick.

Unfortunately, there is not a large percentage of players in the NHL where winning means everything (despite what they say). Many are happy to just be playing a sport they excel at and collecting a big fat paycheck.

Of course, you can't recognizes the difference between an obviously injured debilitated Jonathan Toews at 35 vs a healthy Kopitar just off of a Hart nomination....

What fun would that be? I mean just downright brilliant analysis there.....

Health has nothing to do with it. For both these franchises it was time to move on from their 1C's a number of years ago. You want evidence? Look at the standings and playoff results the last 6 or 7 years.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

A draft free league would just see most players gravitate to NYR and TO even more than they currently do, no thank you

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

Unfortunately, there is not a large percentage of players in the NHL where winning means everything (despite what they say). Many are happy to just be playing a sport they excel at and collecting a big fat paycheck.


Health has nothing to do with it. For both these franchises it was time to move on from their 1C's a number of years ago. You want evidence? Look at the standings and playoff results the last 6 or 7 years.

Lol you are lying to yourself if you think health and production aren't the two driving forces in that equation

 

[KINGS17]

Lol you are lying to yourself if you think health and production aren't the two driving forces in that equation

...and you continue to inanely miss the point that it isn't Kopitar's production that matters, it is the Kings not even getting close to a whiff of the 2nd round during the entire length of his current contract.

When Kopitar is done someday things will be worse for the Kings, because they have developed nothing behind him. Had the Kings moved on from Kopitar, signing Danault would have been a fine idea as a bridge player (much like Handzus was back in the day).

This isn't Kopitar's fault, this is BLuc's fault.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

...and you continue to inanely miss the point that it isn't Kopitar's production that matters, it is the Kings not even getting close to a whiff of the 2nd round during the entire length of his current contract.

When Kopitar is done someday things will be worse for the Kings, because they have developed nothing behind him. Had the Kings moved on from Kopitar, signing Danault would have been a fine idea as a bridge player (much like Handzus was back in the day).

This isn't Kopitar's fault, this is BLuc's fault.

Lol not even a whiff of 2nd round, but took edm to game 7 of 1st round while missing doughty and ardvisson....sure lol

 

[AbsentMojo]

Avs and Preds have a makeup game in Nashville on Friday... could effect LAK playoff pairing.. for Avs pretty annoying for them to have to travel when rest of the league is off

 

[Nasti]

The Kings should sign him to be their enforcer.

 

[Schrute farms]

Am i the only one that actually likes the draft and that setup? The alternative would suck as a fan imo.

Heck, look at Soccer -- it's the same biggest teams each year with the richest owners.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Oh noes, how can the Blackhawks do this? Toews should be a Blackhawk for life!

Chicago will climb the mountain of being a contending team again way before the Kings climb it a second time.

I think Chicago fans may need to wait for a long time for their team to get back to that level. They don’t have anything close to another Kane or Toews. It might change if they’re able to add a Bedard or Fantilli, but they also haven’t found replacements for Crawford, Keith, Seabrook, Sharp, Hjalmarsson, etc.

It’s going to be a long and painful process for Hawks fans to wait.

 

[Nasti]

Draft should stay as is. People are always looking to fix what isn’t broken. If teams wanted to lose, Chicago wouldn’t have just killed both Calgary’s and Pittsburgh’s playoff hopes.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

They were brought in because it became apparent the youth was nowhere close to as good as they thought and they had to call an audible because the time had passed to move on from Kopitar and Doughty.

They needed a center and scoring, despite drafting three centers with very high picks. If either Vilardi had crushed it in his 2C audition or Turcotte had a development similar to Cooley or Beniers do you think they are signing Danault?

I don’t buy the argument that QB was this 4-6 year project like people seem to think. Players like that are just not drafted that high because the expectation from a player that high is to get multiple years of good play on an ELC. The comments went from “don’t expect a star year 1” to suddenly now that it was always this long cook planned. I think it’s something that kind of grew out of rumor and innuendo like the “Faber only wants to play in Minnesota” stuff. If you go back and read potential future lineups people had after that draft, they all had QB assuming the 1C spot by now. No one expected this to be a 4-5 year thing.

I think their organizational philosophy in handling youth is terrible but I don’t think they are completely incompetent. If they truly thought QB was 4-6 years away and still drafted him with the goal of competing with 11 and 8 when they were 33 and 31 then that is incompetence. I just think they chose the wrong player, and much of our fanbase has issues accepting that.

I think we can certainly settle at and agree on "terrible but not completely incompetent." I think that sums up Blake's tenure rather well.