FW: letter to Art Thiel

[OzerskyJA <OzerskyJA@cmog.org>]

This guy wrote a truly idiotic column, so I came down on him 
hard with both feet.  Here's the URL, and my response follows.

http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/basketball/24440_thie24.shtml

Subject:  With all due respect....

Body:
that was one of the dumbest column's I've ever read,
a heady brew of ignorance, sanctimoniousness, and 
tortured logic.  The NBA draft will always be of paramount
importance in the league, and the higher the pick, the more
fascinating it will be.  No sport is as  dominated by individual
superstars as professional basketball; and the chance to 
acquire the next Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, or Gary Payton
will always be genuinely akin to winning a lottery.  Where do 
you think the Sonics got Payton from?  Do you think there will
never be a player of his caliber again?  If there is, where do you
think he will be drafted?  The upper echelon of the draft is not nearly
as cloudly or uncertain as you may think.  Nor is Dave Cowens being
very farsighted in his praise for a player who, whatever his merits,
will almost surely never be a star.  Here's the news:  NBA teams
need superstar talent to truly succeed.  Maybe you know about a
superstar talent in recent years who wasn't drafted in the top five, 
but if you do, please let me know.  The only examples are Kobe 
Bryant and Tracy McGrady, and guys like you have been decrying the folly of
drafting high-schoolers for years.  Meanwhile, I'm sure Sonics fans would
mortage everything from the Space Needle to their own mothers
to get a Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, or Kevin Garnett signed on
for five years at a manageable sum.

The draft is plenty relevant; what isn't relevant are platitudinous 
sportswriters, whose dislike of the league they cover is palpable,
and not disguised in the least by pseudo-cyncism or empty put-downs.

Yours,
Josh Ozersky