Linked Decision-Making Process Analysis

Every offseason, teams go into free agency looking to find that one player that will put them over the top. Some teams look for that game changing player on defense, while others look towards the offensive side of the ball.

The NBA coaches will look at whether they were dominating on the glass (rebounding), did they have a player who could push the basketball, and a player that can shoot the basketball as well. The coaches’ look at something called draft lingo. This is a breakdown for seeking players. Examples are ball hawk, can’t miss prospect, can’t teach size, NBA body, nose for the ball, project, and sees the floor, separation,

It does not come as a surprise to see the Sixers pick up both players’ fourth-year options. They both played an integral role in helping the team win basketball games over the years and ultimately making the NBA playoffs this season.

Being the first person drafted in the 1990s in the 2009 NBA Draft Ricky Rubio went from enigma to one of the league best passers. In ____ seasons, he’s averaged ________. During his time with the Wolves his teams have never sniffed the playoffs, and for the most part the Timberwolves remained a team marked with a lot of change instead of building a team built consistency. At only ____ years old Rubio is Minnesota most tenured player. He’s the point guard of the team and, is viewed as the quarterback, the leader, an extension of the coach while the team is on the floor.

Elgin Baylor, drafted the same year as Wilt Chamberlain, can be accredited for having the most hands on approach of fighting racial issues and prejudices in the league. While Bill Russell made change by winning, Wilt Chamberlain with his superior talent, Elgin Baylor made change with his resiliency and star power. Baylor’s road to the NBA began during one of his college games for Seattle University. John Kundla, The Los Angeles Lakers head coach, was attending the game with the purpose of scouting players for his struggling team. While watching the game, Kundla took notice of Elgin Baylor and his ability to effortlessly score the ball. John Kundla wrote in his scouting report that Elgin Baylor was ‘By far the best player,’ From that point on Elgin had his future set as the Lakers continued to keep tabs on him the rest of his college career and were determined to draft him.

All of that and the thought that the franchise made a lateral move at the draft is a bit premature and I'm partially to blame as well. I hadn't been too high on Jahlil Okafor in the pre-draft process, ranking him fifth on my big board, a decision the Sixers hope looks hilariously awful in just a few short seasons, playing up his defensive limitations and woes from the charity stripe and overlooking his deft footwork around the rim.

In the 1956 NBA draft, Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach had set his sights on Russell, thinking his defensive toughness and rebounding prowess were the missing pieces the Celtics needed. In retrospect, Auerbach's thoughts were unorthodox. In that period, centers and forwards were defined by their offensive output, and their ability to play defense was

In recent news the Lakers have picked up Timofey Mozgov and Loul Deng out of free agency and Brandon Ingram and Ivica Zubac out of the

Two players step to the forefront of about every conversation surrounding who the best centers are in the NBA today. Ironically, they both came to professional basketball 3 years apart from the same legendary college program.

One way that the NBA Draft can affect a team is the following season. Teams who have the number one pick usually don’t do well the following year, it usually takes two or three years to turn the team around. In the last three seasons, the team with the number one pick hasn’t made the playoffs in the following season. In 2012, the New Orleans Hornets select Anthony Davis. The next season, the Hornets did not make the

In December 2011, Jeremy Lin a graduate of Harvard University was signed to the historic NBA franchise of the New York Knicks. Not many people paid attention to this signing as there was a strong likelihood that in two months he could be waived and no longer have a spot on the team. Yet, just two months later Lin would go on to lead the Knicks to numerous victories, including a 38 point performance against the Los Angeles Lakers and legend Kobe Bryant. The unheralded prospect revitalized a floundering organization in a matter of weeks; though this prosperity was short lived, it started a conversation that had not been talked about before. In some eyes this was seen as a

The reports also say that the addition of Smart and Ellis to the Kings will solve their problem on their backcourt and as for Johnson, he can be a mentor for the young frontcourt of the Kings. On the Pacers side, they will also get what they wanted by acquiring Gay. It's been a while that the Pacers are also hunting Gay this offseason and this is their chance to make it happen.

We all know the names that move the needle. LaMarcus Aldridge, the last big fish on the market to make his decision, and had suitors holding their collective breath from Portland to Toronto before he finally signed with the San Antonio Spurs. Kevin Love at least had his commitment to Cleveland

As for the Lakers, some are in opposition on giving up two promising players (Clarkson and Randle) for an aging player (Anthony), but having a high caliber player like Anthony is something that it is hard to pass up. It may affect their plans in the future but if the Lakers are looking for immediate impact on their current campaign this seems to be a viable option.

As modern decision analysis has been studied for more than five decades, there has been significant improvements in the practices used. These methods have been implemented by companies and organizations and proved to be successful as well as constructive. However, there are also plenty of examples when the recommendation were not implemented or even if they were, they failed to truly support the decision maker(s). Kusnic and Owen found that the implementation rate decreases with the importance of the problem (1992).