All of that is beside the point I'm making, which is that I doubt they would have gone all-in on the tank if the pick earned by tanking would be required for a Grant trade. And given the effort made to procure such pick, if they intend to trade it for a veteran player, I seriously doubt it will be for a middling player such as Grant.
I don't know about that Anthony Edwards LaMelo Ball Tyrese Haliburton Cole Anthony Tyrese Maxey Immanuel Quickley Desmond Bane were all in their 2nd seasons this year and certainly helped their teams this season in fact, Cade Cunningham Jalen Green Evan Mobley Scottie Barnes Jalen Suggs Josh Giddey Jonathan Kuminga Franz Wagner Davion Mitchell Chris Duarte Bones Hyland Herbert Jones were all rookies this year and certainly helped their teams and, Ja Morant RJ Barrett De'Andre Hunter Darius Garland Coby White Rui Hachimura Cameron Johnson P.J. Washington Tyler Herro Brandon Clarke Jordan Poole Keldon Johnson Kevin Porter Jr. were all in their 2nd seasons last year and sure did help their teams. Now, I'm not going to go thru and calculate which ones were 1-and-done but I'm guessing it was most of them. Quite a few 1st and 2nd year players, especially out of the lottery, become integral members of rotations and starting units
That's why I'm scared. The amount of the TPE is too perfect to not have had Grant in mind. Dame and Grant being seen together in Portland confirms Dame will want him. If the Pistons wanted the Bucks 2025 1st I think Grant would already be a Blazer. It's why I always come back to this: The plan to trade all those guys and create "flexibility" was a good plan! However, in order to execute a plan like that you need assets to pull it off or you need to get lucky (i.e. the pick moving up). Almost every asset they currently have to help them this year they already had on the roster or in the case of their own 1st, could've tanked whether they made the tradeaor not. If they use those few assets on Grant, man that's tough to justify trading a those guys and tanking for. What's even scarier is thinking about what might happen if Cronin finds a way to get our future 1sts tradeable again. I think that pick owed to Chicago saved us already from overpaying for Grant.
Yeah, the whole draft picks don't help for several years theory has been destroyed for at least 5 years now. The caveat is you have to pick the right player, but blanketed statements about draft picks not helping right away aren't true.
The point is more. Help them do what? Win a few more games? Blazers could have won a bunch more games. Make the playoffs? Doesn’t seem like simply making the playoffs has been good enough. I can see trying to rebuild at this point but it ain’t gonna happen in a year.
dame isn’t the GM, and if Cronin was willing to trade his best friend then I’m confident he’ll do what’s best for the team, not for Lillard. Only way I see him trading our pick for Grant is if we drop in the lottery multiple spots.
Zach is rumored to be having knee surgery this Summer. Enough said. Rather keep Ant, Nurk and Hart. Can’t see the addition of Zach financially fitting without a complete gutting of the current roster. And with a bum knee….I would have to pass
Kind of have to read the whole context of the conversation. I'm not sure just getting a rookie to help the team become a contender (Which is what i assume we are all looking for) is going to put them in that position. Getting a good pick 1-4 5,6, and getting Grant might help a bunch but still not sure? It's where the team is right now so we wait and see while continue to hope for the best.
Nobody NEEDS to get gutted from the roster. I just meant that I doubt the core of the roster is set. At least I hope not.