Like, say in all likelihood another team drafts Flagg.... would they even consider a combo offer of Ayton, Simons, Grant, Thybulle, Williams and five 1st round draft picks for him? Is he worth THAT much?? I know there would be salary matching but they could do something with other teams in the deal.
No. Not IMO. We don't have enough assets to trade for Flagg unless he turns out to be a bust. That's why we want to tank as long and hard as possible and trade as many of our non core pieces for the best draft capital and young players possible.
No team in their right mind is going to trade a unicorn for 7 dwarfs, no matter how adorable they are.
I'm not hurt, I don't even know who you are. But seriously, why? It's a legitimate question. The idea of having a lot of good players and assets to deal and exchange for one possibly great superstar.
This made me literally laugh out loud! But those guys really aren't the seven dwarfs, lol. Seriously, one of the funniest things I've ever read on the internet. I guess it turned out good that there were seven players. Did I really list seven? I didn't even go back and count.
Whoever gets the #1 pick (or possibly #2) will control what needs to be given up for Flagg. None of those players you list would have any significant worth. Now if you start offering 3x unprotected picks or more perhaps you could start having a discussion. We've never really seen a trade like this in NBA history so it just doesn't seem plausible. The team that's has that #1 pick is going to be super concerned they go down in history giving up a hall of fame player for pieces that all become scraps. The team acquiring the #1 would be super concerned the player flops or is injured and they ruined the future of the franchise for a decade. Probably just too much downside to both teams.
Also the Blazers don't have that many unprotected picks to trade. Their pick is encumbered until 2028 possibly going to Chicago so none can be traded the next 3 years. They could trade one of their two 2029 picks, then a 2030 pick, and a 2032 pick after the draft. So that's a max of 3 picks the Blazers can trade in the summer - not 5.
Top picks have been traded before, example we traded 4 for 2 in 2006 to get Aldridge. Boston had #1 pick and traded it down for the 3rd and picked Tatum. There has been more just go through the drafts and you will see em. Top 5 picks get traded in the same draft all the time, but it’s more like they get swapped. So we would need a top pick like 2 or 3 to swap up and get 1, if the other team is even interested.
if Portland had the 3rd pick and was willing to add another 1st to it, plus some seconds....maybe. Forget any Blazer vets having value in that kind of pick exchange....unless the Blazers are willing to take back really bad salary but if the Blazers have the 8th-10th pick, which is a lot more likely than 3rd....no way at all
No, and I'll tell you why. The team who gets the #1 pick will be rebuilding. One, they want a future superstar. Flagg brings that, none of the players we will trade them do. Two, the plays we have and will trade to them, will not help them in their rebuilding endeavor. It will just saddle them with players they will have to trade for less than they got. We could send some picks, and they'd trade our players for picks...if they even can and be back at square one. With Flagg they have some potential progress. And three, they'd have to send out other players as well in a trade where they get several of our guys. That's going to be hard to do under the current CBA plus they aren't going to want to do it.
Cooper Flaggs of the day....former number ! picks Zion Williamson and Deandre Ayton! Count their collective championships? Who's gutting their team to trade for these guys? I just watched the Ducks play Purdue live and honestly I don't think anybody on either team would even start for the Remix....college talent doesn't always translate and the Wizards or Nets aren't trading Flagg for Ant and Grant either anytime soon.....lose organically and draft well but don't throw your own talent under the bus to gamble on a rookie anytime soon....the last number one pick went to the Hawks and they should have had the 10th pick.....ping pong balls aren't sure bets. The best players we have we acquired through trades.Tou, Rob, DA and Deni
Lol, I wasn't counting, just trying to be funny. These special players are often called unicorns so I riffed on that.
And, honestly, if the Blazers had the third pick, I'd be fine staying pat or maybe even trading down if a great offer came along. Flagg's excellent, but he's not Wembanyama. He's clearly No. 1, but there's not the gap between Flagg and some of these other players like in some other drafts. The talent pool for the lottery this year, I think, is very, very good, better than usual. If you told me in five years Bailey or Harper or a couple of other guys turned out to be better pros, I wouldn't be shocked. It won't be as good, but I think this is a draft that's similar to the LeBron, Carmelo, Wade, Bosh draft. If you're picking in the top 10, you should get a great prospect. Not going to say there won't be a bust or two, but I think there's going to be a high hit rate, a higher than usual number of all-stars and a lot of players that are starters on championship level teams when it's all said and done.
