We couldn’t give them an equally good pick this year. You reckon CJ and Collins is better than Ingram, Ball, Hart and Garland/Hunter/Culver for a rebuilding team? Not for me. And as you say, Portland would have never given them all those picks anyway.
It’s also a very bad deal from Lakers perspective as it gives them zero flexibility, basically for the next 4 years. Either they succeed with James and Davis, or they don’t. No way out of this.
I don't think that's necessarily so. What I'm saying is if you'd got a bunch of guys who are role players or, worse, on a team that lacks the star or stars to allow those role players to shine in a special role, and the draft picks you are getting are 25-30, you probably are filling your roster with a bunch of guys who do nothing but keep your team hanging around the periphery of the lottery. If you are treading water between 6-10 in your conference everywhere, that actually can be worse than being horrible, where you can draft a guy with star potential. Did the Pelicans get anyone in this deal who move the needle? It remains to be seen. I wrote somewhere else that both teams could end up drafting in the teens for years. The Pelicans might have gotten just enough to be competitive but not enough to be really successful.
Both sides mention good points as to the pros and cons. I enjoy conversations like this. Do the Pelicans have a top-notch scouting program in place? I honestly don't know much about their scouts. It'll be interesting to see what NO does going forward.
I've been on the record multiple places that after Morant, I think the rest of the players in this draft look like at best role players and maybe a few starter level guys, I'm really not high on this draft. I mean there are definitely a few guys I like in there. I could be wrong and this ends up being the best draft ever who knows. I am also not thinking about this from the perspective oh Portland should have gotten him, I think it was pretty apparent Portland didn't really have the type of assets that they wanted and the future assets they wanted Portland wouldn't have given up. I just don't believe that this is an amazing haul for New Orleans, but time will tell. You may end up being right.
I like this place a lot when it's basketball conversations like this, I think @Sarni has made some good points. At the end of the day time will tell, maybe it ends up being just ok, maybe it ends up being great, maybe it's bad who knows. I don't know a ton about New Orleans front office, other then the more obvious things like GM / Owner / Coach.
I think both teams did what they needed to do. As a fan base that's all you can ask for in a trade. LA got a superstar to make a run with Lebron and whoever else signs there NO got assets to build around Zion. Now, both teams could screw it up, but the start worked out for both teams
I'm very surprised New Orleans got such a great haul of picks. With the #4 and a future first the Lakers still had the best offer on the table. New Orleans got 3 potential lottery picks, even #1 overall picks, beyond that. The Lakers current 4th and 5th best players on the roster are Moritz Wagner and Isaac Bonga. Sure they will add someone in free agency, but even then their depth will be horrible. Add in an extended injury as LeBron and AD both had last season and this team may miss the playoffs. Does Davis resign to a lottery Lakers squad? Could be Dwight Howard 2.0 Not saying this is for certain happening... But it's all a very realistic scenario just as all the Lakers picks being in the second half of the 1st round is possible. I'm just in shock New Orleans got such a haul for a player on an expiring contract.
Frankly, I find it laughable that Paul is claiming that AD might not stay in LA. IMHO, this is just a half-hearted attempt at spinning this as something other than a player/agent/big market team working together to screw a small market team.
Yep New Orleans got about as much as they could have. They had a gun to their head. They were never going to get equal value. Anytime you are forced to trade a super star you might think you are getting good young players back in return but 9 times out of 10 when you look at the trade in 5 years the team who gets the all "nba player" is far and away the winner. But again New Orleans was never going to come out the winner. and they knew that. Just like Orlando wasn't when they got Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant and a future first-round pick for Shaq or Philly receiving Jeff Hornacek, Tim Perry and Andrew Lang for Sir Charles. It sounds good at first, but not after a few years when the team with the super star is playing for championships and the draft picks you received for him turn out to be.....easily replaceable.
Denver did better than the Knicks with the Melo trade. Orlando did better than the Lakers with the Dwight Howard trade. Anthony Davis is closer to those two than an MVP Shaq or MVP Barkley.
You are right that the Knicks never did anything with Melo. They didn't have anything left to build around. Plus No free agents wanted to play with Melo. Do players dislike AD and LBJ in the same way? But its not like Denver did anything with what they got in return. Denver Nuggets traded Anthony to the Knicks along with Chauncey Billups in exchange for Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov, a 2014 first-round pick and the swap rights in 2016. (Denver also landed Kosta Koufosin the deal from the Minnesota Timberwolves.)
