Guess what pick Curry was... 7th! He wasn't top 3 pick...he was a good talent a team got lucky on landing with a top 10 pick...Just like we got Dame at 6th....Sharpe and Cling are 7th... And as it was pointed out, the Warriors made the playoffs 07, as 8th seed and beat the #1 seed Dallas Mavs...how could you forgot that?
They weren't getting very high draft picks before that. During all of that losing they rarely drafted in the top 10 more than twice in a row. They didn't really have a strategy. They were trying to win too much (like people are suggesting we do) rather than embracing the rebuild with high draft picks to build their talent pool. Prior to getting extremely lucky and having Curry fall to them at 7, (after which they got an incredible ownership and management team) they only drafted in the top 5 three times the prior decade. And 2 of the 3 were much better than Ant or Grant. Their top 5 picks were 1998 - Vince Carter 2001 - Jason Richardson 2002 - Mike Dunleavy And I honestly consider any California team a big market team. There are so many people there. So much money. They simply have advantages that we don't.
13-14 Is win GSW popped...and got knocked out of 1st round - They were trading for key pieces, veterans, Bogut, Jermaine, David Lee, Iggy.... 14-15 They win the WCF's with more vets added, Barbosa, Livingston, Varejao, Speights, Rush 15-16 NBA champs, and added more vets, Durant, David West, McGee, Pacchulia Having 2-3 star youngsters to build around is great when you add season solid vets. Even the Celtics & Bucks finally won win the coupled season vets with their 1-2 stars. Most teams that made a practice of tanking for success (with few exceptions) struggled for years, even Philly and Minnie. Wasn't until they made trades for seasoned vets that allowed them to break the ice and contend. Afters years. You won't have to many SA's that hit jack pot with Robinson, Duncan & now you know who. But even the Spurs now will need a few seasoned star type vets to bring home the jewelry.
But you need talent to send out for those vets. Look what the warriors had a trade to get those good quality vets.
I've never made a single post talking about the all importance of the #1 overall pick or top 3. You seem regularly confused as to who said what and are just throwing out random responses to individual posters about things said by a mishmash of posters. Again... I want the team to acquire enough talent to compete for championships. If that means shutting some guys down as a less then mediocre season winds down so as to improve their chances of moving up in the lotto I'm for it. What I don't want is to be stuck over the cap with a roster full of vets who can squeek into the playoffs but never have the talent required to truly contend. Hope that helps STOMP
The playoff appearance you're refering to was in 06-07 and no one from that roster was still on the team 6 years later when they made their next appearance. That was their only time making the playoffs over a span of 18 seasons. Two of their lotto picks from the losing years that came after that playoff annomoly are going to the HOF with 4 rings on their fingers. I sure would like Conin to hit on his lotto picks like that. Of course they also struck gold in the 2nd round with Draymond who was their 3rd pick in the 2012 draft... I'd be up for some of that too STOMP
...an interesting note. In the lead up to the Bogut trade the W's decided that going forward Curry and Monta Ellis were too small of a backcourt combo to be successful. They'd just drafted Klay who was ready for a bigger role and reportedly offered the Bucks the choice of either Steph or Ellis in exchange for the big Aussie. STOMP
Well then what’s the problem, we have been doing that for the last 3 seasons. We had Ant and Grant the last two seasons and have gotten the 7th pick and 3rd pick with them being on the roster. And got Shapre at 7th the year before. We didn’t make the playoffs with Ant or Grant on our team, if we make the playoffs next season it won’t be because of them it will be because Scoot or/and Sharpe made a leap. And if they don’t, we will probably be getting another high draft pick Enough tanking already, let’s see if Sharpe or Scott can take a leap this next season. Hope that helps. SHEED!
What a dumb response. My response to you was normal with no disrespect. I recapped what you said because you mentioned Simmons back injury but that wasn’t the context of then discussion, it was about not knowing he was a mental midget BEFORE he was drafted. What you said made no sense since he had back surgery after his 5 year in the league. That one went over your head because you didn’t understand the context of what was being discussed and instead of addressing that you made that silly comment looking like a grumpy old man. Hope that helps. SHEED
so sorry that you got everything wrong and are now throwing a hissy because the square peg facts don't fit into the idiotic round hole argument you keep trying to make about players at the top of the lotto across thread after thread. The original post of yours I responded to was that "Simmons is great example of tanking for the #1 and getting greatly disappointed lol" to which I responded sarcastically that teams should only draft guys who don't go on to suffer debilitating injuries. After missing his first year in the league to a broken foot (which I would contend was a debilitating injury), Simmons was a monster the next 4 years in the league earning honors of ROY, 1 All NBA team, 2 All NBA Defensive teams & 3 All Star appearances. Despite being a horrible jump shooter (as he always had been) 5 years in he absolutely looked like he was among the very best players from a pretty decent draft class. Philidelphia was so disappointed in their decision to draft him that they signed him to a 5 year max extension. Then he hurt his back and hasn't been nearly the same player since and has struggled with mental issues as well. As someone who personally suffered back injuries from car accidents that kept me in my home for 2 straight years a couple decades ago, I can assure you it's pretty rough mentally to have your life sidelined indefinitely. Injuries are random and people are fragile... hoops is a rough sport. Shit happens, but again injuries are a wild card that can not be predicted. The comment about him being a mental midget was then made saying that was his only issue & how that is "tough to scout". Not only did you mess up the timeline of when that comment by kjironman1 was made, the comment didn't hold water. Going into that draft there was lots of chatter questioning his seemingly prima donna nature but that was countered by the upside of his skills, athleticism & feel for the game. Questions about his mental state absolutely was scouted but the 76ers coach Brett Brown knew him well from coaching the Australian National team and vouched for him. His mental state sure didn't stand in his way as he racked up honors while he was healthy. Being a class act, kjironman1 liked my comment responding to his about his mental state not being his only issue. Like this post I'm now responding to, your subsequent response recapping my post messed up the timeline of the conversation as well context & facts. Everyone can go back and read the posts to confirm this... again, so sorry STOMP
No surprise that we continue to disagree on what is the problem & how to fix it. The problem is and has been the lack of enough talent on the roster to win. Soapy left the roster in an absolutely terrible state and no quick route to turning things around existed other then winning the VW lottery. While I have disagreed at the time with some of the decisions that Cronin has made, even with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight I don't think one could navigate a truly competitive roster for 2024/5. Probably the top talent he's passed on in the lotto is Jalen Williams but I'm still holding out hope for Shaedon to ascend to another level. Like many here, I fully support the course of a long rebuild via youth and that includes pulling the plug on seasons that are obviously going nowhere to better their lotto chances which betters the chances of adding top players. I've read your countering points/arguments in thread after thread and am not moved STOMP
While I agree he was a good to great player for 2 years he was hardly a "Monster" for 4 years. 17-18 and 18-19 were pretty good. He played a bunch only missing 4 games in two years. They did allow him rightfully to be a rookie his second year. 2020 and 2021 he only played 57 and 58 games respectively. Point is he signed that extension after the two years. As soon as he signed it everything changed which is probably why a bunch of people question his heart as well as his head. Now as far as back injuries go? I totally agree. I personally have been blessed with healthy knees and back but I have seen it reduce some of the very toughest guys I know to mush. The "Mental Midget" comment was harsh and probably out of line but there are a few that seem to feel that is the case that are very close to him. Bottom line on this entire current portion of this thread. I hope he is well and It would be an incredible comeback if he is indeed ready to lace em up and get back out there. We simply have heard this for multiple years running and It's hard to believe if it is true. If he puts together a good to great season who is willing to take the chance and sign him to anything more than a vets minimum 1-2 year contract?
The only thing idiotic is that you can't get your facts straight. First off you mentioned his back injury, which happened 5 years in his career, you never mentioned his broken foot. Secondly, he hurt his foot in preseason scrimmage AFTER they drafted him... Did the broken foot hurt his next 4 years in the league? No. Those little accomplishments don't mean shit right now with where he is in his career. His defense was great coming into the NBA and it stayed that way. He NEVER improved in anything... Did his injury cause him to decide he wasn't going to play for the Sixers again until they traded him? " Simmons met with the Sixers and informed the team that he wasn't mentally ready to play up to his expectations and in turn needed time to step away" LOL, he himself said he wasn't mentally ready. A pro playing the game of basketball getting paid millions wasn't ready lol. GTFO that is a mental midget and nothing to do with injuries bro. If he was on the Blazers and pulled that, every single person on this forum would have roasted him. That’s why Philly fans hate him and boo the heck out of him ROY? I can name off many ROY that won that award and fizzled out...Tyreke Evans? Michael Carter-Williams? Simmons never improved and it was not because of your silly "Pretty rough mentally to have your life sidelined indefinitely" comment. That makes excusing for someone that was a #1 pick and never improved in his first 4 years, when healthy. He was scared to even shoot 3's..Not scared that he would miss a 3, scared to even take it! That's a mental midget and has nothing to do with injuries. In case you missed it, he would always crack in big time moments in 4th quarter of games his career. Ben Simmons has averaged 3.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 290 games in the fourth quarter in his career. So back to your comment about drafting a player with a debilitating injury makes no sense lol... He was and is a disappointment for a #1 and it wasn't because of his injuries. Nice try, next time don't come across with dumb comments about 1st graders playing the telephone game and coming across as childish when you can't even make sense. Let's not forgot you were incorrect about this statement too.."Pretty sure they had the longest playoff draught in US pro sports prior to going on their championship run" when they made the playoffs in 07 with Baron Davis and crew before they went on their championship run...
Never thought to give the young guys, Scoot 20, Sharpe 21, Cling 20, give them time to actually see what they can do? Some beleive they can become great players and future All stars and even more than that...if they take a leap next season or soon after, they will naturally supplant guys like Ant and Grant on our team. And I don't see it as "Like many here, I fully support a course of long rebuild"... It's not many if you actually read what people have been saying. It's one guy harping the same thing over and over and rubbing many posters the wrong way, and only a few agree, more so many others are in other boats.. like other ways of getting better like trading Grant and Ant for equal talent back ( which I have stated I am fine with if we get equal value back) that will fully give the keys over to Sharpe and Scoot and not just trade them for less than their value or for a low draft pick, or giving Scoot and Sharpe move time to shine and see what leaps that can take this season and beyond... And we have been rebuilding for 3 years now... I don't care if you aren't moved by my counter points, I'm not moved but yours either so we can agree to have different opinions. Just remember you came with the childish remarks first, sorry it bothered you that much. Hope that helps. SHEED
Exactly, that's all you can say now...Says the guy that made childish comment first when my response to you was normal and not disrespectful. If you can't handle the heat don't play with fire...
You aren’t harsh saying he was a mental midget. He himself said he wasnt mentally ready to play before his last season with the Sixers. Philly fans would have booed the heck out of him. If he was on the Blazers and did that, everyone would be calling for his head and bash him, everyone. Just go look at what Philly fans have said and feel. They tanked for years and their prize was getting Simmons with the #1 pick and him giving them 2 good years and 2 solid ones, and nothing beyond that. Last I checked, you definitely want more than 4 years out of your number one pick after years of tanking. They also messed up with Fultz as the number one pick and he was a bust that’s two examples of teams tanking, getting the #1 pick and not getting much reward for it in the end. Thank god Embiid worked out for them or else that would have been a complete disaster with their #1 picks
It is inaccurate to say everything changed after he signed the extension the summer of 2019. He suffered his initial back injury in February 2020 and up until that point he was enjoying his best season and had only missed 2 games due to a shoulder sprain. After the back injury he appeared in only 4 games, playing starter's minutes only once. It's pretty clear when everything changed I'm happy to relay that I was able to put my personal back issue saga behind me for the most part and returned to hooping 4-5 times a week in my 30s... I was even able to start grabbing the rim again which is pretty damn good for someone 5'10. Here's hoping Ben is the next Grant Hill defying the odds and naysayers. A healthy Simmons would fit well on a lot of teams. Though it seems a longshot he holds up I'm sure if he puts together a solid year this season he'll have no shortage of interested teams STOMP
