OFFICIAL AROUND THE NBA: SEPTEMBER 2024

I don't disagree. I just wanted to ride it as long as we could and hope for the best. I didn't see any fast way of rebuilding after he was traded. We were going to have to tear it all down. And I didn't have a lot of faith that we were going to do it well. And, quite frankly, I'm starting to worry that I was right about that and this is going to be a very long stretch of losing/mediocrity that we only avoided the prior decade because we had Dame.

Entering the season with Grant and Ant both on this team and hearing rumors of management talk about wanting to try for the playoffs with this group is frightening. We don't have near enough talent. We would have to have Scoot and Sharpe and Klingan all meet their maximum potential and we'd have to surround them with great moves. And Ayton would have to get really really motivated.

And we'd have to have great coaching.

It's insane to count on all of that happening. That almost never happens.

 

I look at this as Minny turning the reigns to the franchise over to Ant. Couldn't do it with KAT there. They have two other capable bigs and throw Randle into the mix along with DDV. I haven't checked but I would suspect they save some money and are positioned for Ant's big contract. Could be wrong though.

 

Afflalo was our splashy trade deadline deal to get us over top

 

….and I’m sure Advija is going push us into contention.

lolz

 

Except when it comes to women! #BAM

 

The talent just isn’t there. A few decent pieces. Not much that can create their own. The only way anything changes is if Sharpe becomes elite.

I liked Scoot as a prospect, but after watching him for a year I see no miraculous turn around. He’s more Mudiay than Derrick Rose (prime).

I hated the Clingan pick. Hopefully he proves me wrong. Grant and Simons make no sense at all. I can live with Ayton. Camara is fun but would be much more of an asset with a put together team.

Are these things I want to say about my favorite pro sports team? No. But I’m practical and have an understanding for the game.

I was super optimistic with Cronin at the beginning. Now I feel like he just plays it safe to prolong his inevitable demise.

 

Yeah. I can't argue with any of that. I think you're right and I have the same concerns.

 

I'm not so sure that's true. KAT is the 21st century SAR. Plus the Knicks broke up the Villanova boys before they had a chance

 

Agreed. (And I just don't think he's got the personality. He's like (a lesser) Vince Carter - insane talent but just not driven to dominate. Too much of a well-balanced individual.)

Agreed. What really upsets me is that he's not better at defense. I mean, he has no chance at being Russell Westbrook but he had a chance at being Jalen Suggs, but he just seems clueless on D.

Well that's just insane. Just pretend he went to Gonzaga.

 

For those discussing the merits of trading the vets for future draft picks, you seem to forget Portland currently owns all of their own picks. In such a scenario they would surely have top fivish picks. Trading the vets puts Scoot/Sharpe in featured rolls with Avdija and Ayton with whomever they start in the final spot. Everyone would soon know if Scoot or Sharpe are keepers. The next draft has what appears five great draft prospects, all of whom would have gone first in this last draft. It could be as deep as eight depending how they work. I've said it before, it would be criminal to tank for a top pick in the worst draft in a decade or more and then go all in for a play in in one of the deepest drafts of all time.

 

But we CAN count on success by tanking? Here we go...

 

I can agree with this for sure. If ya gonna tank then tank at the right time. Blazers don't even seem to be able to do that? Why win 33 games when Wemby was available and 21 to get Clingan? What are they going to do this year? Huh?

 

That means we should do everything in our power to give us every possible advantage to gather more and better talent.

The absolute best way to do that in the NBA is by drafting consistently higher in the draft when you have the opportunity.

Keeping middle-aged marginal players around to prevent you from drafting higher is self sabotage.

 

KAT makes New York pretty scary on paper, and boy is the East getting top heavy, but we'll see how his lack of defense fits in there.

Technically, that's incorrect. Jrue came after trading Dame, and he fit that bill. We gave Jrue away for way too little, and that's what left us with no one like that for big trades.

 

That's kind of the point though. You're going to get injuries. You're just going to lose guys.

You need enough talent to overcome that if you want to actually be competitive.

 

The difference between getting a top 3 pick by having the worst record and that of one 6th or 7th is not that big. To get a top pick, you have to get lucky. Wished we could just tank and it be determined solely by record. It is not and we should not act like losing will guarantee a high pick.

 

My opinion on the KAT trade is that Minnesota did well. KAT has more accolades but also more absolutely horrible decisions on the court. The team can clearly become Edward's and think Randle/DD fit great with that roster.

For NY, hopefully Thibs can get KAT to play smarter. Brunson should help with that.

 

Yes, getting a top 3 pick significantly increases your odds of drafting an all star.

But nobody has suggested that there is a guarantee. Only that losing more gives you better odds of getting a higher pick. Which gives you better odds of gathering better talent.

Leaning into that when you have to rebuild is how you build a deep team with guys who can contribute at every position and have assets to trade for missing pieces.