Out of the teams in the nba having a worse record

[magnifier661]

Which one would you replace Portland with?

Come on you "rebuild via draft" guys... You must want to be Cleveland, Detroit or Charlotte.

 

[magnifier661]

Really no takers? Come on man, Cleveland may get another top three pick. They have an average age of 13. They have cap space and shit. Everything we need to start fresh with a all star pg. and you guys want Irving better than lillard by far. Varejao is a better big man center than Aldridge.

 

[Nikolokolus]

You sound a little butthurt Mags ...

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Really no takers? Come on man, Cleveland may get another top three pick. They have an average age of 13. They have cap space and shit. Everything we need to start fresh with a all star pg. and you guys want Irving better than lillard by far. Varejao is a better big man center than Aldridge.

You post like a person who has never actually been to Cleveland.

 

[Jayps15]

I realize you were just trolling but here's a serious answer.

Philly is close but Bynum's injuries would have me pass.

But the one I would seriously consider is New Orleans, Davis/Gordon/Vasquez/Anderson all look pretty good with role players like Aminu and Lopez. They'll have a top 5 pick this year, and their cap situation looks really good with somewhere around 20million in space this offseason.

 

[magnifier661]

You sound a little butthurt Mags ...

Yes I'm butt hurt. We will be stuck in mediocracy purgatory barely making or missing the playoffs. We would be much better off having the options and players like Cleveland has. I wish management was smart and just made damn sure we tank.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Yes I'm butt hurt. We will be stuck in mediocracy purgatory barely making or missing the playoffs. We would be much better off having the options and players like Cleveland has. I wish management was smart and just made damn sure we tank.

Okie doke.

 

[oldguy]

So we suck all season. Then what? Pick a Larue Martin? The next Greg Oden? A lotto pick is no guarantee of anything, except that if you screw up the pick, you will have to tank the next year. Spend that next pick on an Adam Morrison or Darko Milicic and you might be bad for a really long time.

Not so great for the fans, as they get to watch their team try to loose for a year, absolutely best case. I wonder how many fans would stay the course if they had to watch the team loose on purpose for three years?

Go Blazers

 

[BigGameDamian]

Really no takers? Come on man, Cleveland may get another top three pick. They have an average age of 13. They have cap space and shit. Everything we need to start fresh with a all star pg. and you guys want Irving better than lillard by far. Varejao is a better big man center than Aldridge.

Ya, I hate it when my threads don't become hot mail too.

 

[ripcity67]

Really no takers? Come on man, Cleveland may get another top three pick. They have an average age of 13. They have cap space and shit. Everything we need to start fresh with a all star pg. and you guys want Irving better than lillard by far. Varejao is a better big man center than Aldridge.

I will take Portland over the Cavs. Irving is probably better then Lilliard. But I would take LMA over AV any day. You might want to go look at AV average games played per year before saying he is better then LMA. He also have Batum who is playing better then his contract and he only get cheaper each year.

 

[Mediocre Man]

I don't understand the question, but Mags, our three best players were all obtained through the draft. Two of them lottery picks, and most here seem to think Leonard will be a player in the league as well.......another lottery pick

 

[Run BJM]

So we suck all season. Then what? Pick a Larue Martin? The next Greg Oden? A lotto pick is no guarantee of anything, except that if you screw up the pick, you will have to tank the next year. Spend that next pick on an Adam Morrison or Darko Milicic and you might be bad for a really long time.

Not so great for the fans, as they get to watch their team try to loose for a year, absolutely best case. I wonder how many fans would stay the course if they had to watch the team loose on purpose for three years?

Go Blazers

The thing is, your team will be too good to tank next year. Dame and Batum will be a year older, Matthews and LMA will still be in Portland. You guys have some draft picks to work with and a lot of cap room. Obviously this depends on replacing JJ as well, but with a better bench and the team another year more mature, you should improve.

This is your last year to get a lotto talent. You might make the playoffs this year. But if you tank you can get a top 10 pick to add that much more talent to your core before the team starts ascending to becoming a perennial playoff team. Obviously you could pick a bust, but any high pick will have value that can help a trade, and besides, your GM nailed the draft pick last year so why not have a little faith in him?

As a Warriors fan, I was glad we tanked last year. Our situation isn't the same as yours. Your core is better than ours was and we owed the Jazz a draft pick so we had to tank HARD to keep it. But it was the right choice. They were only a couple of games out of the 8th seed when they traded Monta and a lot of fans were FURIOUS because they wanted the team to try to make the POs, even if only as an 8th seed. They knew we would be better in 2012-13 so they tanked like hell to get a top 7 pick, and it was a good call because the pick this year will probably be low 20s. We added a pretty solid prospect to our roster in Barnes who has both potential and value and the team was better for it, even without Bogut playing so far (though you don't have a Monta-type player sucking the life out of your club).

 

[magnifier661]

The thing is, your team will be too good to tank next year. Dame and Batum will be a year older, Matthews and LMA will still be in Portland. You guys have some draft picks to work with and a lot of cap room. Obviously this depends on replacing JJ as well, but with a better bench and the team another year more mature, you should improve.

This is your last year to get a lotto talent. You might make the playoffs this year. But if you tank you can get a top 10 pick to add that much more talent to your core before the team starts ascending to becoming a perennial playoff team. Obviously you could pick a bust, but any high pick will have value that can help a trade, and besides, your GM nailed the draft pick last year so why not have a little faith in him?

As a Warriors fan, I was glad we tanked last year. Our situation isn't the same as yours. Your core is better than ours was and we owed the Jazz a draft pick so we had to tank HARD to keep it. But it was the right choice. They were only a couple of games out of the 8th seed when they traded Monta and a lot of fans were FURIOUS because they wanted the team to try to make the POs, even if only as an 8th seed. They knew we would be better in 2012-13 so they tanked like hell to get a top 7 pick, and it was a good call because the pick this year will probably be low 20s. We added a pretty solid prospect to our roster in Barnes who has both potential and value and the team was better for it, even without Bogut playing so far (though you don't have a Monta-type player sucking the life out of your club).

You can't trade this years first rounder unless you obtain another first rounder. We owe Charlotte a pick and it's either going to be this season if we make the playoffs or next season if we don't make the playoffs. That was given by blazer caravan I believe.

As much as I trolled; it's actually better if we make the playoffs this season. That way Charlotte gets our first rounder in a very weak draft. Next summer is said to have a much stronger draft all the way to the 20th pick.

 

[Nikolokolus]

You can't trade this years first rounder unless you obtain another first rounder. We owe Charlotte a pick and it's either going to be this season if we make the playoffs or next season if we don't make the playoffs. That was given by blazer caravan I believe.

As much as I trolled; it's actually better if we make the playoffs this season. That way Charlotte gets our first rounder in a very weak draft. Next summer is said to have a much stronger draft all the way to the 20th pick.

I don't know where you're getting this from, but if you read Jonathan Givony or Chad Ford's stuff at all (and others besides) most draft guys see this year's crop as being pretty good overall with good depth, it's the top 3 or top 5 that is so murky because it doesn't look like there is a franchise guy at those spots.

 

[BrianFromWA]

OK, I'll bite.

First, we are not the Celtics, L*kers, Knicks or Heat.
Second, no one on our roster is going to get together with his friends anytime soon to team up Olympians in Portland in Free Agency.

Now, let's look at the contenders for the title this year (I'll just stick in the West for now)
OKC built through a #2 pick (Durant), a #4 pick (Westbrook), a #3 pick (Harden) and collecting assets by using cap space (trading Kurt Thomas in effect for 3 firsts, one of whom became Ibaka). Then they traded an All-Star for more young assets and cap flexibility. And yes, I'd take their fucking roster.
SAS who built their team almost exclusively through the draft (Duncan #1, Parker #28, Ginobili #57, Green, Splitter, Kawhi). and then trading assets away for younger role players like Cap'n Jack 2004 version, Matt Bonner, etc). And yes, I'd take their fucking roster.
The Clippers had the #1 pick (Griffin), the #35 pick (Jordan) and traded their #7 pick (Gordon), #8 pick (Kaman), #8 pick (Aminu) and firsts (one of whom became Anthony Davis--#1) to NOH for Chris Paul (a #4 pick). And yes, I'd take their fucking roster.
Where did MEM get their talent? 1. The draft (Conley #4, Gay #8, and missed with Mayo #3 for Love and Thabeet #2--panned even at the draft: imagine Harden with them?). 2. Trading their all-star PF (P. Gasol) for cap space, prospects (M. Gasol) and late 1sts.
How about the GSW? Trading their 2nd-rounder-made-good in Ellis for a #1-drafted C. They were able to get D. Lee by spending more money than anyone back when S&T's were useful. Drafting Curry #7 and Thompson #11 and Barnes #7. Their roster's pretty damned good, too.
DEN? They traded their All-Star for cap relief, prospects (some of whom they traded to get Andre Iguodala) and Danilo Gallinari (#7). They traded us Felton and Faried for Nolan and stole Lawson (#17) from the T-Wolves in the same way as we "stole" Babbitt (#16). They were able to overpay to get JaVale McGee's potential. Lawson/Iggy/Gallo/Faried/McGee/Koufos/others are a pretty good setup for the future, wouldn't you say?
What about Utah? They also traded away their all-star (#3 pick) for a former all-star PG (Harris), Favors (#3), a #3 pick (Kanter), a pick that this year would've been Barnes (#7) but will be top 6-protected this year. Drafted Millsap. Drafted Hayward.

Where did Brandon Roy, LMA, Lillard, and Batum come from? The draft. How did we get the pick to draft Lillard? Trading one of our best players (former All-Star Wallace). How did we get Roy? Trading our PGotN (Telfair) and taking on salary.

Let's look at the Raef LaFrentz super-expiring contract. Would we have been better off with 2 years of Vince Carter and 2 first-round picks (including GSW's 2011 pick) and the MLE, or the right to give Peja an offer and end up with 2 years of Andre Miller before he was jettisoned for Felton? I mean, we did get bounced in the first round three years in a row before last year's atrociousness.

You can't trade one of our firsts until 2018.

Our last free agent signing was Andre Miller. Failed signings include Hibbert, Millsap, and Hedo. All of whom had to be overpaid (or paid 'toxically') to get them to sign here (and even then, Hedo didn't).

In conclusion, I sure as shit want to rebuild through the draft, and would trade LMA to do so if the haul we got back was similar to Melo or Deron or CP3. You bring up CHA/WAS/DET--crappy franchises with crappy draft records. I bring up every fucking team in front of us in the standings as a counter-point. You seem to think that we're either good as we are or that we can buy free agents to come here, and I've shown you that that can't happen for myriad reasons. You seem to think that making the playoffs and, not only losing out at a lotto shot, but giving our pick in the 15-18 range to CHA is better for roster management than keeping a lotto pick this year and giving up a #20 or so next year. Who says next year's draft is deeper? At this point in 2012 no one had a clue Lillard would even be a first-rounder.

Oh yeah, and I love me some Dame, but if CLE offered Irving straight up for him every GM in the league would cry foul and half of POR would help Lillard pack.

Edit: Didn't see the posts above while I was writing war and peace.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Great post, Brian. BUILD THROUGH THE DRAFT

 

[Nikolokolus]

So we suck all season. Then what? Pick a Larue Martin? The next Greg Oden? A lotto pick is no guarantee of anything, except that if you screw up the pick, you will have to tank the next year. Spend that next pick on an Adam Morrison or Darko Milicic and you might be bad for a really long time.

Not so great for the fans, as they get to watch their team try to loose for a year, absolutely best case. I wonder how many fans would stay the course if they had to watch the team loose on purpose for three years?

Go Blazers

You want guarantees in a sport where the Lakers and Celtics have won roughly half of all championships. All the lotto offers you is a chance -- and the chance is that you add a couple of franchise level players and even then you need to get creative with trades and hope you can maybe round out your roster with free agency.

 

[e_blazer]

I don't think there's much question that you have to rebuild through the draft if you're a small market team. I do think there's a legitimate question as to when you decide to stop looking to the draft for the completion of the rebuild. The Blazers need a starting center and backups at PG and SG. They also need those players to be experienced as their other starters have shown they're ready to compete next year. Given that, while I'm not averse to getting alottery pick this year, I think that it's not essential that we do so. Getting experienced vets through free agency or trades is more important at this point.

 

[BlazerWookee]

Yes I'm butt hurt. We will be stuck in mediocracy purgatory barely making or missing the playoffs. We would be much better off having the options and players like Cleveland has. I wish management was smart and just made damn sure we tank.

Bullshit. Play to win. Refuse to root to lose.

EDIT: Keep in mind that I think that the experience and confidence gained by striving hard all season to make the playoffs (whether or not we actually make it) will significantly outweigh any benefit coming from a slightly higher draft pick. Being in the lottery should be very small consolation for not making the playoffs, not a fucking goal.

 

[magnifier661]

Bullshit. Play to win. Refuse to root to lose.

You didn't get the sarcasm eh?!

 

[BlazerWookee]

You didn't get the sarcasm eh?!

I thought sarcasm was supposed to be green, you sawed-off little hippie...

 

[e_blazer]

I thought sarcasm was supposed to be green, you sawed-off little hippie...

Wait, you can't just take the truth, paint it green and call it sarcasm.

 

[BLAZINGGIANTS]

Wait, you can't just take the truth, paint it green and call it sarcasm.

When life gives you lemons, paint that shit GOLD!