So: are we going to be TOO good?

What I really mean is, are we going to be not bad enough?

There have been encouraging signs in the preseason (but this should be tempered by the fact that we don't look half as good as... The Knicks, Nuggets and Hornets) and certainly, if nothing else, our team is going to hustle (or "scrap"). But you would have to be pretty much insane to think that, barring extreme injuries to several other teams, we can make the playoffs. So we'll be just good enough to miss out on the really good players in the draft. But, not to worry - there's always free agency, right?

 

Que @PtldPlatypus

 

If Damian gets hurt, I think we'll get a top 5 pick, but if we stay relatively healthy, i think we'll get close to .500, but that's still a lotto pick in the West. We already have so many young lotto picks on the roster. You have to get super lucky to be the worst team at a time when a super star is coming around.

 

Someone tell Dame he needs to take a year off to work on his rap album.

 

I sure fucking hope so.

 

You hope we're too good to get a top 5 pick, but not good enough to make the playoffs?

 

This.

If we're 10-13 with this youthful roster, I'd have to think we're in a great spot overall. Think back to 2012-13 team (Dame's rookie year). We'd be in a similar position, but with a deeper roster of young talent.

 

While there's no guarantee you're going to get a stud if you draft in the top 7, the chances are a helluva lot better there than they are at 14-ish, so it'd be pretty disappointing to see this team get stuck in the muddle middle and miss out on a chance at a player who could (hopefully) give us that second star we're going to need if this team is ever going to do anything besides be Miss Congeniality.

Who knows, maybe a lot of guys will have mysterious ailments come March? But I still believe this team has the ability to suck properly without having to "cheat."

 

I hope we win as many games as possible. Winning culture > ping pong balls.

 

Personally, I think building a winning culture and being well coached is more important than tanking for a top 5 pick. There's a tradeoff there too, you can get a top 5 pick but you're unlikely to lure any free agents or be a destination target for superstar trades. Which is more important? Not sure, there's too much luck involved in both, but I tend to think karma favors the teams that don't try to suck a lot versus the ones that are obviously dropping their games. See: Rockets, Houston for the former and 76ers, Philadelphia for the latter.

 

This!!

And this....

I asked in another thread, conveniently know one had a good answer.

What is one more lottery pick going to do to help this team, other than be a potential trade offering in the offseason?
I mean with how many we already have, what is one more really going to do? Especially when he will more than likely be a few years younger than the core we are trying to build around Dame?

Why aren't people embracing the guys we have and wanting them to develop? Another lotto pick means another guy to develop, taking coaching time away from who we already have.

If we make the lottery then this means our team is a lot worse than we/I thought and most of our new acquisitions have not panned out and our other guys didn't take the next step we were hoping for. If we miss the lottery and are in contention for the 8th spot, NORMALLY that's a dead zone, but with this young roster full of upside? Id much rather just miss the playoffs this year, than be a lotto pick. Im pretty sure anyone with long term thoughts on this team will see the reasoning behind my opinion... I hope.

 

I don't necessarily think 25 wins would say that most of our guys had a worthless season. We have a very inexperienced team. Very talented, very athletic, but very inexperienced. So unless we're blowing people out, it's going to be a struggle to stay consistent and close teams out. Dame is going to have to really step up, especially in the 4th quarter.

 

Too much room for growth? Who are the guys that you see turning into All-star or All-NBA caliber players on this team (aside from Damian?) If the team plans to compete for a title it needs to find a stud in the draft, because I'd say the odds are kind of low that there's anybody on the roster (maybe Vonleh?) who has the potential to be one of those top-20 players that serious title contenders need - and if history is any guide that guy isn't coming via free agency and probably isn't going to force a trade to Portland.

 

Injuries can not be emphasised enough.

For really good teams a key injury or two will knock them from contention, but not necessarily the playoffs.

For low end playoff teams it knocks them into the bottom of the lottery.

And for struggling teams.....it puts them into contention for a top 5 pick.

And it happens every year. It's not really if it will happen, but rather ...which teams will it happen to. So although it is fun to speculate where we will finish, it is inevitable that things are going to drastically change for a lot of teams. We could make the playoffs (7-8th spot) or we could get the #1 pick.

But if no one got hurt........ for any team, I would say we are outside of the bottom 10.

 

a.k.a. "Fuck the lottery!"

 

Rockets lost McGrady and Yao to injuries, flirted with .500 for a few years before trading for Harden. Then managed to get Dwight the next year. They did this with smart, calculated trades and good drafting without having top 10 picks. There is a pretty good example for you right there.

Blazers are already ahead of the curve in the sense that they already have an all-star/potential super star in Damian. It's about finding the right guys that fit along side him.