Pick a lane, Joe

[Rastapopoulos]

I can't help but feel that if we had a hall-of-fame coach, and everyone was healthy, we could be a play-in team with the roster we have (although we could stand to trade a couple of forwards and a center for another guard).

PG: Anfernee, Scoot
SG: Shaedon, Dalano
F: Jerami, Deni, Matisse, Toumani, Jabari, Kris, Rayman
C: Deandre, Donovan, Timelord, Duop

But we don't want that... do we? We want to tank for at least a top 5 pick to get a start. So are we going to invent injuries again? Play well in the first third of the season just to showcase our vets and pump up their value before trading them all?

 

[Foxx]

I can't help but feel that if we had a hall-of-fame coach, and everyone was healthy, we could be a play-in team with the roster we have (although we could stand to trade a couple of forwards and a center for another guard).

PG: Anfernee, Scoot
SG: Shaedon, Dalano
F: Jerami, Deni, Matisse, Toumani, Jabari, Kris, Rayman
C: Deandre, Donovan, Timelord, Duop

But we don't want that... do we? We want to tank for at least a top 5 pick to get a start. So are we going to invent injuries again? Play well in the first third of the season just to showcase our vets and pump up their value before trading them all?

I voted for “actually try to win”, however what you said I think we will do.

I don’t think we are clearly tanking, by any means. We also aren’t in the pits of hell. We have a lot of good young talent. It’s just a matter of developing to it and continuing to add.

I really like where we’re at. I wish the fan base wasn’t so spoiled with so many years of making the playoffs, at the moment… we should truly appreciate this part of the development process.

 

[illmatic99]

I have been saying this verbatim for almost a year.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

we could be a play-in team with the roster we have

What are the 5 west teams you'd rank below us? I see Utah and maybe the Spurs - thats it.

East has a lot of bad teams so we could make the playin there but the west is much more difficult.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

I'd like to see us trade all our vets for whatever we can and commit hard to the long term, including improving our pick to a great pick in this epically strong draft. I'd settle for less value to get deals done in the next few weeks. Once we've traded two of Grant/Simons/Ayton I'm fine holding out for more from the last one as its fine having one of those guys on the roster but I'd prefer not to have two and certainly don't want all three. Vet leadership can be replaced with players that have less short term worth and come back to us in trades, while gaining us a long term asset.

Second favorite option (distant second) is trading for some more vets and making a legit run to win now. I'd probably target bringing in Garland with Scoot going out as well as a vet going out, plus target a better vet coming in likely costing picks (Markannan, etc). The west is very deep to even 11 teams but I think if we had a roster like that it could beat out most the old declining teams like PHX/LAC/LAL/GS etc and legit make the playoffs only clearly behind the contenders of OKC/DAL/MIN/DEN.

Least favorite option is continuing with this roster as is. Our team holding onto all these win now vets (like we did with Timelord last year that backfired) and not featuring enough youth to get a great pick in an epically strong draft after we had the 3rd worst record in an epically weak draft is infuriating. We have no shot to compete for anything meaningful as is this season. Will be so disappointing if we continue as is with this dual timelines indecisiveness. Also I'm so sick of the Gleague starting lineups after the trade deadline - we need a roster that can get a good pick but try to maximize all the youth and best players on the roster while doing that.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

Its easy to stare at our roster so hard you start to convince yourself its better than it is or can get close to .500 ball. The NBA is just deeper with more parity than it was decades ago so even the bad teams have multiple respectable starters. But we need to look at our roster compared to other west teams.

As is our roster is behind all contenders of OKC/DAL/MIN/DEN
Also behind MEM/HOU/SAC/NOP who all seem likely to improve
We are also behind old vet teams of PHX/LAL/GS/LAC

Utah is only team clearly behind us and maybe SAS so that puts us at 13th/14th in the west. Wemby might legit be the MVP of the league next season so you can't completely count them out of the playin either. So as is we are clearly not in the playin even if a couple of the above teams underperform or have injuries.

 

[BIG Q]

Full rebuild. Move Ant, Grant, Thybulle and Timelord. Get picks, journeyman players on short contracts, cap space and play the young players to win every game possible.

 

[1 Eye Jack]

Our success really comes down to two players (Scoot and Sharpe). If they make huge strides and become border line all stars then we become borderline playoff team. That’s also assuming they stay healthy.

Our secondary pieces are pretty decent

Ayton
Grant
Dani
Simons

 

[SharpesTriumph]

Our success really comes down to two players (Scoot and Sharpe). If they make huge strides and become border line all stars then we become borderline playoff team.

Add Flagg and instead they can become a contender.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

There's also the problem that Scoot and Sharpe may turn out to be mediocre at best. That would set back any rebuild years.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

There's also the problem that Scoot and Sharpe may turn out to be mediocre at best. That would set back any rebuild years.

Legit possibility. If so we may need to stay in the lottery a bit longer until we get multiple good young starters.

With either path (ScootSharpe turn out good or turn out mediocre) its much better to get a great draft pick this year. That is the most likely path to eventually contend. A star can either be the last piece to join ScootSharpe and contend soon or be the first key piece of a group that gets completed a few years later to contend.

Standing pat with this roster as is makes zero sense with either path though.

 

[oldfisherman]

Here is my "guess" to the lane Joe is in.

He wants to add quality players and increase assets. Not shotgun a quantity of new potential, and see if anything sticks.

Joe is no longer in the position that he has to make a trade. He is dealing from position of strength, and will only make a trade that improves the roster.

Plus this stratagy gives Joe time to see how the new players workout and fit, while giving the young core time to develop.

 

[sheed30]

I can't help but feel that if we had a hall-of-fame coach, and everyone was healthy, we could be a play-in team with the roster we have (although we could stand to trade a couple of forwards and a center for another guard).

PG: Anfernee, Scoot
SG: Shaedon, Dalano
F: Jerami, Deni, Matisse, Toumani, Jabari, Kris, Rayman
C: Deandre, Donovan, Timelord, Duop

But we don't want that... do we? We want to tank for at least a top 5 pick to get a start. So are we going to invent injuries again? Play well in the first third of the season just to showcase our vets and pump up their value before trading them all?

How many threads are you guys a going to make about this? It’s getting old, you guys are just discussing the same thing in different threads over and over.

must be a slow summer for you guys

 

[Rastapopoulos]

How many threads are you guys a going to make about this? It’s getting old, you guys are just discussing the same thing in different threads over and over.

must be a slow summer for you guys

Glad I could provide a forum for your valuable comments!

 

[andalusian]

Joe is in the talent acquisition lane. The people that clamor for the vets removal at all cost (i.e. reducing talent) want another lane and mistake it for indecisiveness.

 

[e_blazer]

My prediction is that Joe makes one small deal this summer. Something involving Matisse seems likely. Simons, Grant and maybe Ayton are assets Joe wants solid return value for. If any of those guys are going to get moved it’s most likely to happen near the deadline. Joe’s proven that he can drive a tank. He’ll let things play out as they will early on, but unless there is a solid chance for a playoff run, he’ll fire up the tank at the end of the season, just like he did last year.

 

[Strenuus]

If you ain't doing noise in the playoffs with the roster you have (and let me spare you the suspense, that's us) tank for flagg. There's no other options or discussions fo be had.

 

[HailBlazers]

Joe is in the talent acquisition lane. The people that clamor for the vets removal at all cost (i.e. reducing talent) want another lane and mistake it for indecisiveness.

Yeah I don't see Joe dumping vets for picks in the 2030s like people are clamoring for.

 

[BIG Q]

There's also the problem that Scoot and Sharpe may turn out to be mediocre at best. That would set back any rebuild years.

So very true and all the more reason to move on from Ant, Grant, Thybulle and Williams. But I am confident that Scoot and Sharpe will prove out their talent this season.

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

Isn't this topic already being discussed here?
http://www.sportstwo.com/threads/are-we-still-tanking.384070/

 

[wizenheimer]

Joe is in the talent acquisition lane. The people that clamor for the vets removal at all cost (i.e. reducing talent) want another lane and mistake it for indecisiveness.

Delano Banton has "talent"; Walker has talent; Reath has talent. Their talent is just limited, both currently and upside

there's not a single player on the roster people can look at and say "he's definitely going to be a star". I don't think there is anybody on the roster people can even say "yeah, he's certainly going to be an all-star"

if Cronin has been in the 'talent acquisition' phase, he needs to spend more seasons doing so because the best grade you can give him, if you're being very generous, is an incomplete

trotting out a lineup of Scoot-Ant-Avdija-Grant-Ayton and shooting for a 9th-10th seed is the opposite of talent acquisition

 

[Phatguysrule]

I picked the first option with the caveat that we're trading them for first round picks (or proven young players). Even if the first round pick is determined to be slightly less valuable than maybe we could possibly get by holding the vet longer.

 

[1 Eye Jack]

Joe is in the talent acquisition lane. The people that clamor for the vets removal at all cost (i.e. reducing talent) want another lane and mistake it for indecisiveness.

I assume you also need tradable contracts/assets. Trading all the vets and only having really low value contracts makes it tough to match salary in trades.

 

[blazerkor]

I picked the first option with the caveat that we're trading them for first round picks (or proven young players). Even if the first round pick is determined to be slightly less valuable than maybe we could possibly get by holding the vet longer.

I really agree with all of this with the exception that the young players don't have to be proven they just have to have upside and shown some of that upside.

I don't think Deni is really "proven" but he has shown a lot and looks to have a lot more to show.

 

[wizenheimer]

I assume you also need tradable contracts/assets. Trading all the vets and only having really low value contracts makes it tough to match salary in trades.

I think the Blazers already have the lower value contracts on the lower value vets. If they can convert them to even lower value contract(s) while adding draft assets it's probably a good thing

 

[Phatguysrule]

I really agree with all of this with the exception that the young players don't have to be proven they just have to have upside and shown some of that upside.

I don't think Deni is really "proven" but he has shown a lot and looks to have a lot more to show.

True. That's exactly what I meant by proven. Well said.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Throw the games, throw the games
If you love us, tank it for us
Throw the games, throw the games
I am dying to believe you
I feel alone wanting draft picks
I feel you breaking our hearts
Throw the games, throw the games
If you love us, tank it for us

 

[BlazerWookee]

Fuck tanking. A high draft pick should be a consolation prize, not the goal.

 

[andalusian]

trotting out a lineup of Scoot-Ant-Avdija-Grant-Ayton and shooting for a 9th-10th seed is the opposite of talent acquisition

Which is where mid-season "injuries" happen.

Being in that talent acquisition lane and trading vets on the roster for less than their value are not one and the same.

The trades need to happen, but only when it makes sense - and if the current roster for some reason fights for the play-in within a couple of months in the season, there are avenues to reduce the win total without giving these vets away.

 

[blazerkor]

Fuck tanking. A high draft pick should be a consolation prize, not the goal.

Is the goal never maximizing your chance at a title or is the goal winning a title? Do you think there is a path to us winning the title this upcoming season? If there isn't shouldn't we then be aiming for the consolation prize?