Draft, Trades, or Free Agency???

[Aurress Dearing]

So I saw that there is a Draft Thread going, so I'm sorry if I'm being redundant. But I'd like us to play imaginary GM for a moment & pose a question:

Would you rather build your team up to Championship Caliber via the draft, trades, or free agency?

I know, I know. A lot of you will say that its not an either/or situation, but a combination of all 3. And I agree. But allow me to explain. Being mostly a basketball (NBA) & football (NFL) fan, I've seen many successful teams built without much use of the draft. In the NBA, the Celtics put together the 1st "Big Three" mostly via trade. The Miami Heat made the 2nd "Big Three" via Free Agency. A few years ago I happily watched my Denver Nuggets make it to the Western Conference finals with basically no players that they themselves drafted (except Melo... & Nene was actually originally drafted by the Knicks, although he was a draft-night trade, I think). And the Lakers became a Championship team again when they traded for Pau Gasol. But I'm talking about the NBA too much for an NFL thread.

In the NFL, we've seen the Jets (Booooooooo!) make a lot of moves in free agency & trades, specifically with WRs. They did draft Sanchez though. The Pats seem to do really well with a combination of the 3 (Draft, Free Agency, Trades). The Vikings made it to the NFC Championship game after acquiring Brett Favre, although they did draft A.Peterson. Brees arrived to the Saints not via the draft.

And so, in all honesty, I bring this up because the Dolphins (or just Dolphins fans, because I have no idea what the front office is exactly doing behind the scenes, thanks to the Parcells philosophy of secrecy) are once again questioning their QB situation. A lot of fans are getting all excited about the new young QBs coming out of college this year. Locker, Luck, Martinez, Newton, Mallet, etc. And I'm just thinking "Isn't this exactly what people were saying when Sanchez was coming into the draft? when Clausen was coming into the draft? when JaMarcus Russell was coming into the draft? Matt Leinart? Brady Quinn?" And maybe there wasn't such a hoorah for Henne coming into the NFL when the Fins drafted him in the 2nd round, but the point I'm making is... Why not trade or sign a proven guy? Drafting a QB is just such a gamble (see: JaMarcus Russell &/or Ryan Leaf).

The draft in general, regardless of the position just seems like such a gamble. If picks are so valuable to other teams, why not trade away those picks for proven players? or future picks? or cash assets? I'm no GM, just "making pretend" here.

And you could say "Well the time you will have a proven player on your team is far less than you will have a newly drafted rookie." But keep in mind that 4-5 quality years with a proven player is roughly equal (or better than) 7-8 years with a rookie that will take roughly 3 years to become a quality contributor. You're paying a guy for 3 years while you just wait. You're expending time, energy, & money developing & grooming this guy, hoping he becomes a contributor. Why not take advantage of the fact that someone else did that?

Sorry so long, sorry I flip-flopped between the NBA & NFL in an NFL Thread. Admin can move it if you want.

[YEM]

The Jets screwed themselves. They have a bunch of FA contracts to take care of and barely any draft picks. They sold out to win now, which could end up killing them in the next few years

[lotus]

In a perfect world, I'd want to do everything via draft. You're not then forcing veteran players to "un-learn" another pro system they've worked in. You're also dealing with younger players, so generally you could expect better endurance and energy. Plus there's the bragging factor, being able to say that you're an awesome judge of future talent and ability.

In the real world, teams care only about winning in the short term, until they inevitably lose, at which point they claim they're in a rebuilding phase, which is, in the vernacular, "our team sucks and we made bad moves". The temptation for every owner is to go out and grab a handful of mercs to come in and put you over the top, but it doesn't work that often.

Recall the scene in "Miracle", when Herb Brooks tells his assistants, after dismissing some of the more talented players, that he's looking for the "right players", not the best ones. Real winning is usually a result of superior chemistry rather than raw talent.

[rabb]

If I could choose it would be draft all day long because that is how you build and sustain a solid team. The top teams all draft well. What happens with FA is, you fill an immediate need (yes, sometimes you are forced to) but if you do that, then have a couple bad draft classes...you end up with shitty young guys and aging vets. I have seen it happen first hand here in Denver for the last 6 years or so, and it sucks.

[sabresrule30]

I wanna be the Carolina Panthers who have the first pick next year and all hopes were dashed when unLuckY decided to stay at Stanford.

[rabb]

I wanna be the Carolina Panthers who have the first pick next year and all hopes were dashed when unLuckY decided to stay at Stanford.

they are going to get a nice D lineman out of it, for much less than a top QB...hard to complain about that

IMO, Luck is going to bust

[YEM]

That why that rookie cap needs to be put in place. Make these kids earn their $$$ on the field. Not just because they were a top 10 pick

[Aurress Dearing]

You're not then forcing veteran players to "un-learn" another pro system they've worked in. You're also dealing with younger players, so generally you could expect better endurance and energy.

I didn't think about the "unlearning" part. Good point!

[Falling Man]

They sold out to win now, which could end up killing them in the next few years

This. If you can't manage a title in a few short years by bringing in big name players what have you accomplished?

If I had to pick I would say Draft.

[sabresrule30]

That why that rookie cap needs to be put in place. Make these kids earn their $$$ on the field. Not just because they were a top 10 pick

No way YEM, theyre ENTITLED because they were a top 10

people dont have to work for anything

[rabb]

That why that rookie cap needs to be put in place. Make these kids earn their $$$ on the field. Not just because they were a top 10 pick

No way YEM, theyre ENTITLED because they were a top 10

people dont have to work for anything

while I agree with the premise here...they certainly do work pretty hard to get to that point IMO

now, earning it in the league and working hard...those are 2 different arguments

[RayRay]

For me it's draft but I have Ozzie Newsome so may be a little biased. I know the Raven's didn't win it but they have a great model, draft great young talent and fill in where necessary to get you over the top. The Steelers are great at this, look at their young WR's who outplayed guys making 5x what they do. If you aren't wasting money on big name divas but can snag a Mike Wallace late for peanuts while funneling cash into the defense, you win.

[rabb]

For me it's draft but I have Ozzie Newsome so may be a little biased. I know the Raven's didn't win it but they have a great model, draft great young talent and fill in where necessary to get you over the top. The Steelers are great at this, look at their young WR's who outplayed guys making 5x what they do. If you aren't wasting money on big name divas but can snag a Mike Wallace late for peanuts while funneling cash into the defense, you win.

yep

same with the Patriots, Packers, Giants, Colts

there is a common theme and it's all drafting strategies and sticking to them

now, take a team like the Bears, they are going to be screwed if they don't nail the next couple drafts...same with us, we absolutely need to get 4 starters and at least a couple immediate impact guys out of this draft and that is asking a ton

[ptrain86]

Yep. Draft. I like TT from day one and the fact he rarely signs fa's unless they are middle tier and fill a need. Most fa's are that way for a reason... not all of course, but its such a gamble that they fit in for a number of reasons. Nope... go draft and save the fa cash to sign your own players.

[RayRay]

For me it's draft but I have Ozzie Newsome so may be a little biased. I know the Raven's didn't win it but they have a great model, draft great young talent and fill in where necessary to get you over the top. The Steelers are great at this, look at their young WR's who outplayed guys making 5x what they do. If you aren't wasting money on big name divas but can snag a Mike Wallace late for peanuts while funneling cash into the defense, you win.

there is a common theme and it's all drafting strategies and sticking to them

Yeah, it drives me absolutely bat shit crazy sometimes but Ozzie always sticks to the "best player available" model. I kick and scream on draft day then they turn out to be pro-bowlers and I feel a little better. Two years ago prime example. We were in desperate need of a corner and he takes Oher, didn't turn out too bad.