he means a 12th or 13th pick rather than a 17th pick the notion that Portland was going to get a top4 pick next season was always a pipedream
As of now it's them hitting the lotto this year and next year with us ending up with the second pick in next year's draft... For this draft though, the best case scenario is that the Kings win against the Pelicans which would move the pick to 13 and one of the Bulls or Hawks beat the Sixers after they lose to the Heat which would push the pick to 12. If Sacramento loses to NOLA and if Miami also loses two in a row then there will be some coin flips determining the order 12-14 because the Warriors, Kings and Heat had the same regular season record.
Gsw gets #4 this year, sucks again next year, gets picked #2, which we then get. Alongside that, we get the #1 pick this year and next year, and come out of these next two drafts with Sarr, Flagg, and Bailey, and then dominate the league for a decade.
He did say there were some good players in the draft. He seems to have more fun talking to the media than Joe. Sounds as if they were hoping for #1 pick to get Durant not Oden that year.
I feel like I remember some folks in here wanting nothing to do with Ainge as gm. I would gladly take him over who we have right now.
Not sure, but at some point when his words and actions don't align and his directionless moves don't make sense, I hope you'll also ask "why?".
I guess part of that has to be laid at the feet of Joe Cronin. If he wanted Billups to focus on team building, he should have cleared our some more veterans. It might have been confusing for Billups. Also he could have talked to Billups, strongly suggesting following the Pops model.
You miss that the post he was responding to referenced Cronin claiming we got three lottery-level prospects in the last draft?
My point was closer to "Look at what Joe does, not what he says." I don't usually disagree with you, but your point is ludicrous. By that logic, every potential draftee is "lottery talent". The good news is that in Joe's exit interview, he said outright that there are "holes" in the roster, and that it was unbalanced. Good to hear some honesty mixed in with his Rose Garden colored goggles. The truth, imho, is that it was a wasted year. The reason I think that is mostly because of injuries. Imagine a Sharpe and Scoot backcourt starting alongside Ayton for 70+ games. That would be giving our young players that matter important minutes and growth, regardless of whether we won or not. Instead, we gave our minutes to young players who don't really matter, some of whom won't even be on the team in 3 years.
