This is my team. I'm rooting for my team to win championships. Winning a championship is impossible this season unless about 3-5 other teams all get hit by lightning. So to possibly win a championship next season we need to have a significant re-tool. And that draft pick we forfeit for 1-2 playoff wins this season may be the key asset we need that leads to a player acquisition that puts us over the top next season. As a fan rooting for my team to win championships I'll gladly trade 1-2 playoff wins for the oportunity to acquire an asset that could be the difference between a championship and also-ran status a year from now.
I'll never understand this cowardly thinking. We are currently sitting in the playoffs and this fool wants to give up to save the team a draft pick and a tough playoff run? You know what they say, "when the going gets tough, run away and hide like a b****."
This is "my" team as well. And being that (and possibly putting reality on the backburner), I would rather take a GIVEN opportunity NOW in the playoffs rather than hope on the future. We never know what could happen in the offseason or next season as far as injuries or even further regression. So here we are knocking on the playoffs door with the possibility of getting as high as the sixth seed as well as even matching up with the Clippers or even a stuttering Thunder team. So while you see YOUR team only winning 1 or 2, my team looks a little bit better than that to me and anything can happen once the playoffs start.
You're apparently very deep in this school of thought: Even if we don't win, even if we get swept 4-0 in the first round, there's dignity in going as far as we can. But there's another school of thought that says: I want to win a championship at any cost. If that cost is missing the playoffs temporarily, that's a cost I'm willing to pay. Like most issues - there are multiple schools of thought. Weird, huh? I'll cheer for the team regardless, but personally I think they need a swift kick in the you-know-what. Whichever will humble them more and get the coach in the hotseat - I'm in favor of that.
Who said there weren't multiple schools of thought? I said I don't understand it. I want to win a championship too. And you can't win a championship without making the playoffs. We are currently sitting in the playoffs with only 16 games to go after reaching the WCF the previous season with essentially the same team. This isn't some injury-riddled talent-less squad.
This is fantasy. No, anything can't happen once you get in the playoffs. This team cannot win a championship, cannot even come close. I'm a huge fan. But I'm a realist. We're better off to watch everybody else play in the playoffs and study their games while preparing for next season.
The problem with this thinking is that I don't see anyone projected to go in the 12-14th spot in the draft that would really put us over the top. Even if we did miss the playoffs I'd rather us package up the pick in a trade for a player that can actually help us next season.
My bad, I thought you were talking draft. I agree with this IF we don't make the playoffs, which at this point I think is pretty unlikely that we don't. We'll probably be 7th or 8th seed, but hopefully 6th, depending on how Portland plays their remaining games.
We need to look like a team that's one FA away from contending. Making the playoffs is a must for attracting a max player, and IMO, more important than a late lottery pick in this draft.
Playoff experience will be crucial for guys like Beasley, Trez, Dmo etc. Also, still waiting for Harden to have a dominant series and not just a good game or two but carry the team to a series win.
Were not gonna look like that because we aren't one player away. Getting bench guys playoff experience when some or all of them might not even be here next season does not trump our need to accumulate the most trade assets we possibly can.
Do you think if we keep all these guys and simply replace Jones with Durant that we are a championship caliber team? If not, what single player could we acquire that would make us championship caliber?
Correct me if I'm wrong but if our bench guys/younger players perform well in the playoffs doesn't that increase their value and make them a more valuable asset? Pretty sure that's exactly what happened to Capela's stock last year. It's also why guys like Aminu were paid what they were in the offseason, why Tayshaun Prince was a cornerstone for the Pistons during their run, it's where stars like Kawahi Leonard become Superstars. One of the greatest examples is non other than our very own Robert Horry. Value increased exponentially in the playoffs. He was one of the if not main asset hat helped us land Barkley. Whether you liked that trade or not is not the point. The point Horry's value increased as a direct result of his playoff performance which made the trade possible.
So, you're saying getting a lotto pick from this unmitigated disaster makes it a mitigated disaster. Or does making it to the playoffs and DMo finally getting some playoff burn with Harden (Beasley, too), and free agents watching our resolve to fight to the end, turns it from unmitigated to mitigated disaster. I can't make up my mind. honestly.
Yes, there is some legitimacy to that. But a lot of the same thing can be accomplished by letting then play major minutes now. And what you are suggesting is a double-edged sword. If they play bad in the playoffs it will decrease their trade values.
