A lot of big men went at the top of the NBA draft this year. But should your team have used its pick on a more valuable position?
Some of the highest picks in this year’s draft included DeAndre Ayton, Mohamed Bamba, and Wendell Carter Jr. — all centers. If you include Marvin Bagley III and Jaren Jackson Jr., half of the top 10 selections in the draft could end up playing a majority of their minutes at center in the NBA.
But in a league where switch-everything defense is in vogue, post-up touches are nowhere to be found, and big men are routinely played off the floor in the playoffs, one has to wonder: are these centers worth the high draft picks that were used on them given the evolution of the center position in the modern NBA?