I am all for trading out of this draft...First off: It's a weak ass draft...

Yeah, I'm gonna disagree with the thread premise. It may be a "weak draft" (TM) but there are literally a couple of dozen players that I think would've made our team last year (and would next year).

Who would you rather have, Freeland or Zeller/Olynyk? Pavlovic or Shabazz? Ronnie Price or Caldwell-Pope? Nolan Smith or Nate Wolters? Jared Jeffries or Gobert/Withey/etc.?

The "youth" thing doesn't make your point well, either. GSW just went to the 2nd round playing a lot of Curry (2009), Thompson (2011), Barnes (2012), Ezeli (2012), Green (2012), etc. It's talent that wins, whether you're as old as Tim Duncan or young as Steph Curry.

I had been leaning this way, but it's getting stronger each day/combine/drill/measurement, to not only keep our pick but to embrace this draft. Trade LMA for Thompson/3/19 and see what you can get for Wes. Use 3/10/19/39/40/45 to get a mixture of young difference-makers and role players to start building this team back up.

Just spit-balling to say you keep Dame/X/Batum/Thompson/X with Leonard, Claver, Barton, Freeland, Papanikolou (maybe Wes?) on the bench. If you can add:

3: McLemore or Oladipo or Porter (assuming Noel's gone)
10: Zeller/Olynyk/Gobert/(Shabazz if you picked Porter and Wes isn't going to be here)
19: Adetokuombo or Saric
39: Wolters
40: Jamaal Franklin
45: Muscala

You end up with the following:

Dame/Wolters/x
(McLemore or Oladipo or Shabazz)/Barton/Franklin
Batum/(maybe Porter?)/Claver
Thompson/(Olynyk or Zeller)/Papanikolou/Muscala
X/Leonard (or Gobert)

And you'd have roughly 20M in cash for free agents and the rights to Saric/Adetokuonbo. If you can't get who you want in FA, play the younguns. If they have growing pains, next year's draft is supposed to be loaded. But I think they have talent, they can be put into roles where they can flourish, and you have team control for a long, long time.

 

If you think somehow that we're "keeping (LMA's) talent" for more than 23 more months, i don't know what to tell you. And I don't think that GIVING UP (?!?!) assets like a lotto pick in a poor and unsustainable attempt to try to get him to stay (with no guarantees) is a worthwhile endeavor. Put another way....the #3 picks from the last decade are:

Bradley Beal (who would start for us)
Enes Kanter (who would start for us)
Derrick Favors (probably wouldn't start, but decent young player)
James Harden (duh)
OJ Mayo
Al Horford
A_am Morrison (ok, so don't pick Morrison)
Deron
Ben Gordon
Melo
Pau Gasol

Would you rather have one of those guys for the next 8-9 years (AND the #19 pick), or 23 more months of the difference between LMA and Thompson on a team that's only making a difference if you cash in on your hope can bring in someone with the #10 pick and cap space?

 

Because they don't have control over it. LMA does.

Look, here's the situational difference b/w LMA and, say, Lillard. LMA has 23 months before he's an unrestricted free agent. Think LeBron/Bosh in 2010, Melo/Deron in 2011, Dwight last year (before he signed his extension), and now this year. Everyone except Melo said the right things as well, and every one of their teams that tested FA got nothing more than 2nd-rounders in return for losing their star. Chris Paul/Josh Smith/Bynum this summer can just sign a contract with whoever they want to sign with. Portland will likely get NO compensation at all--maybe not even a 2nd-rounder and a trade exception, since it doesn't make sense in the new CBA to S&T anything for max-ish players anymore (they can't get longer contracts or higher raises). So if the Mavericks--or anyone else-- offer him a contract (doesn't actually matter the amount), POR can't do anything about it when he signs it, and not only do they not have their all-star PF anymore, but they don't have young players, draft picks, or cap space to replace him.

Lillard, otoh, is on a rookie deal through summer 2016. He will almost certainly be extended for 5 years, in the summer/fall of 2015, meaning that he will be on the Blazers (unless traded) until 2021. He can't do anything about it. Even if he ISN'T extended, it would be the same situation as Batum last summer---it doesn't matter if your heart's in MIN, you will be matched and playing here, unless someone sweetens the pot enough in an S&T to have POR let him go. Whoever is drafted with the 3rd and 10th picks are in the same situation, plus one year (extensions in fall of 2016 or RFA in 2017).

You don't want Oladipo or McLemore or Porter (or Melo or Gasol or Harden or Horford or Deron or Gordon or Beal) for 9 minutes? Wow.

 

Are you being deliberately obtuse in this? Aldridge for Thompson, #3 and #19? Or did I just get trolled hard?

 

that word doesn't mean what you think it means, especially if you're applying it to Al Horford and Beal and Oladipo and Porter and...nevermind.