Keeping the pick is a big topic . It’s a great asset for sure and could turn into a great player . That guy might even be an upgrade to the roster this season .. though if you make the pick you’re probably hoping he continues to improve . but , it’s unlikely that #2 , or 23 or 24 will be the best player on our roster next season . you can give me crap for this take , but at least a few of the veterans on our team will be better . KPJ , Tate , wood , Gordon . I also think if we keep Wall he will be better like 50% of the time . Nba experience matters . The years developing skills (and don’t get me wrong , bad habits too) add up . what is the level of our team next year ? Can we get to the playoffs ? Bottom 5 again ? the answer to the question could drastically change depending if we move any of the previously mentioned 5 .. and ofc what we get for them .
Hopefully we are able to move Gordon and wall. I’d like another bottom 3 season with plenty of excitement and development for the young guys. Even if wood takes the next step we should be able to stay at the bottom. I foresee us losing a lot of games in the 4th quarter.
I agree that our young players should be better. I think the key will be the health of our young players. If healthy, I think we could compete for a low playoff seed but likely to fall short. I think our floor is basically what we achieved last season. I also agree that Wall will be better 50% of the time, but I think he will be worse the other 50% of the time resulting in the same exact player that we had last year. I just do not see a player of his age and background making any significant improvement.
I would say our roster is so bad that whoever we draft will have plenty of games in year 1 where he is our best player. Our floor is another top 4 pick and our ceiling isn't the playoffs which means stone will steal us back to a top 4 pick if we start looking like a late lotto team. wall, gordon, Augustin will all be held out with fake injuries, wood might get traded. I'm counting on 2 more years of the tank until we owe our pick outright to the thunder. In fact we should be hoping for that. The only thing I'd hope for more is for whoever we draft to be such a superstar that we win too many games to tank. I just don't want Christian Wood or John Wall winning meaningless games that prevents us from drafting Holmgren next year.
Wood #2 pick KPJ K Martin Tate #23 pick #24 pick Gordon House Wall we won’t be very good but we’ll have a lot of upside and will be fun to watch.
For the worst record in the league last year we didn’t have the most talentless roster. Wall, Gordon, Wood, Olynyk, Tate, KPJ, House, KMJ and our 3 first rounders could make the playoffs if healthy and committed to defense. There was a brief moment before Wood got hurt that everything was clicking. Gordon for all the vitriol he gets here played excellent last year. He would have netted a solid asset at the deadline if he didn’t get hurt. We lost a lot of games because of injuries and no lineup consistency and Wall doing his best Ty Lawson impression. The best move is bottom out and trade Gordon and House. Consider packaging Wall to Wood and some picks if it gets you a discounted asset like Simmons. Or hang onto Wall and play him as 6th man 20 minutes a game. Let the young guys have all the minutes to increase their value and experience. Get another top pick. Getting # 2 has us sitting pretty to do the rebuild right.
