You aren't passing on Okafor for nothing. You are getting Towns.
Rim protection isn't the end all to winning but it's a critical part of the equation. You better have a damn good team surrounded by your center if he can't protect the rim otherwise it's going to be hard. Good luck protecting the pick and roll against the guys you noted above.
Exaclty my point, there is more than 1 style to win in the NbA. The best coach with the best talent wins.
ZBo isnt a good defender. Even if Okafor isnt a good defender, there are 4 other players on the floor.
The Atlanta Braves signed Nick Markakis for 4/45 - Never forget 12/3/2014
"Klay Thompson > James Harden" - Heyward
"Chris Bosh is the MVP of the Miami Heat" - Heyward
"Hibbert is better than Dwight Howard"- Heyward
"Steven Adams will be a top 10 center in two years - thethe
But again, all those teams had great defensive bigs. The point still stands. You build a team to have elite wing players who shoulder the scoring load and have them chase players off the 3 point line. At that point your bigs are the last line of hte defense. This is how defense is played in the NBA now.
Natural Immunity Croc
Ok, so you're passing on Okafor who has the skills of Duncan on O but needs to work on D and you're taking Towns who is getting comps to Andrew Bogut? Because he's a rim protector? that's stupid.....you take the best talent and you build your team around Okafor and Melo.
The Atlanta Braves signed Nick Markakis for 4/45 - Never forget 12/3/2014
"Klay Thompson > James Harden" - Heyward
"Chris Bosh is the MVP of the Miami Heat" - Heyward
"Hibbert is better than Dwight Howard"- Heyward
"Steven Adams will be a top 10 center in two years - thethe
This is true. No disagreements.
But the issue is (and this is the basic assumption) if Okafor is a zero on defense and plays center then you have to find a stretch 4 that can defend the pick and roll (like a Draymond Green) or have some stellar perimeter defenders like what Memphis has. Even still you will never have the defensive ceiling as a team with a true rim protector.
Or you could try to out score everyone 130-120.
There are different ways to build your team, but some ways are better and realistic than others.
Miami won 2 rings because of Bron/Bosh/Wade not because of Chris ****ing Anderson. How are you not understanding this? You take Okafor and pair him with Melo and have elite scoring talent at SF and C and then you build around that with a pass first PG and a defensive PF. You don't need an elite defensive C to win a NBA title, you need stars.
The Atlanta Braves signed Nick Markakis for 4/45 - Never forget 12/3/2014
"Klay Thompson > James Harden" - Heyward
"Chris Bosh is the MVP of the Miami Heat" - Heyward
"Hibbert is better than Dwight Howard"- Heyward
"Steven Adams will be a top 10 center in two years - thethe
Please, say this a couple of more times.......
If you have an all-time great on your team, you're going to win a title, defensive center or not. Pairing Melo with a defensive big that can't score when you have nothing else on your roster is stupid. He has 3-4 years left, you don't blow the #1 pick on a guy that can't score that might have an offensive game in 2019.
The Atlanta Braves signed Nick Markakis for 4/45 - Never forget 12/3/2014
"Klay Thompson > James Harden" - Heyward
"Chris Bosh is the MVP of the Miami Heat" - Heyward
"Hibbert is better than Dwight Howard"- Heyward
"Steven Adams will be a top 10 center in two years - thethe
The Atlanta Braves signed Nick Markakis for 4/45 - Never forget 12/3/2014
"Klay Thompson > James Harden" - Heyward
"Chris Bosh is the MVP of the Miami Heat" - Heyward
"Hibbert is better than Dwight Howard"- Heyward
"Steven Adams will be a top 10 center in two years - thethe