People always like to rag on teams for passing on players in the draft. “Oh look at all those teams who passed on Drummond what an obvious pick so much potential I should be a GM.” This usually happens when the team they are a fan of made the pick in question or was later in the draft.
So there’s the reason why no one ever brings up all the teams that missed out on Isaiah Thomas. Every team blew it. Most blew it twice. But the Kings lucked out, and now they have a franchise-ish point guard on a cheap deal.
The league as a whole has recently realized the true value of first round picks and aren’t very willing to part with them in trades. But second round picks are still thrown around like candy, even though they can be a good source of cheap talent for teams who get lucky with them. How long until second rounders, too, are hoarded like bibles in a bunker?