Oladipo..............Not seeing it.

That is actually well thought out and well put. I still maintain that obtaining high end talent on cost controlled contracts is super adventageous. But as you have said, there is more than one way to skin a cat. It's amazing what can happen when people actually have a discussion rather than post ad hominem attacks on other posters for having a different opinion. Props.

 

You can probably learn a thing or two from that, junior.

 

Amazing post man. Great job.

 

Yep, well said.....only issue I have is him saying that the Rockets never tanked, that is just not true....we tanked to get Ralph and Hakeem.

DD

 

Aw, you think my opinion is disqualifying. Adorable that you think I care at all about the opinion of a guy who created this infamous "I can't see" thread after one bad game.

Yes, tanking can be successful. Other ways of developing can be successful, too. The fact is, through the Harden and Wood trades, we landed a ton of future assets, a budding star, and a top 25 guy. Those trades essentially accomplished the purpose of tanking.

 

I think he means in the James Harden era. They also got Yao Ming by tanking iirc. Or maybe they just really sucked.

 

Who is this top 25 player you speak of? Oladipo? You remind me of Billy O talking up David Johnson. If that gets you to sleep at night...
#CookiesandCakeIgotSnaked

 

Got lucky there, they were supposed to be the number 6 pick I think.

DD

 

Great is almost an understatement and half the board should be banned for a week just to ponder on its meaning.....

whats the point of reading the board if its messages doesnt affect your thinking?

 

This is a really interesting comparison. I don't share your levels of optimism so I don't think we're close to the celtics, but it's definitely interesting. Maybe we're like the diet celtics at this point. The rockets have a lot of room to improve though. I like the comparison.

 

Thank you. And no, I don't think we're as good as the Celtics either, but I'm all in on potential of the "Diet Celtics."

 

Thank you.

I'm not opposed to tanking per se (it definitely is the most proven way to find elite talent), personally I prefer the competitive route because it makes for a better product in the interim but either way I definitely value the flexibility. Best case scenario for me personally is that the team becomes a second round level team in the next three years, attracts a superstar to come in free agency by about 2023 (this would probably require Wood taking the next step to be an attractive running mate) and the Nets become the worst team in the NBA after Kyrie, Harden and KD leave. It's not likely that all of it lines up, but that's just my best case scenario that has some realism attached. Top 3 pick becoming an elite level all-star under team control, is definitely an attractive option as well.

Something a lot of people aren't mentioning is that we will have multiple picks in several drafts to use to move up if there is a target the team really likes.

Say this year the Rockets have the 16th or 17th pick after the swap (Miami and Houston are both somewhere in the mid to late teens when it's all said and done and OKC in the top 10) and the Blazers end up with the15th or 16th pick, which the Rockets would then get from the RoCo trade (lottery protected). Would that be enough to move up to 8-10? I'm not sure but it's something to keep in mind. The Rockets would be a playoff level team who could potentially add an undervalued player in the 8-12 range with a trade.

Only referring to modern NBA.

It is a lot more common for late picks to be steals now especially with so many avenues to find players. It seems as if in every draft there is at least one complete steal with a late pick now. ( Bol Bol last year just fell to the second round) Even Giannis was picked in the teens, when he seemed like a sure-fire prospect to some. MPJ fell because of his back. Embiid fell to three because of injuries and the 76ers were willing to draft their third center and let him sit out a few years to get his body right.

International play, undervaluing of upperclassmen and the prevalence of AAU has completely changed how the talent pipe line is evaluated. Even summer pick up games with players in the organization is a useful tool for teams. Straight to G-League is a brand new wrinkle into this as well.

Tanking for a coin flip is a thing of the past and the NBA will realistically keep finding ways to make it harder to tank for a top 5 pick.

 

This is the same guy who said that Christian Wood, 13 games into his first season as a legit starter in the NBA, was "comparable" to LeBron James, AD and Kawhi Leonard. He backed off that comparison too eventually. Guy is captain hyperbole on here. My guess: 14 year old kid skipping his zoom geography class.

 

We're on a 5 game winning streak. Can we at least see them play together a bit longer before sending every one packing? We spent more months trying to hang on to someone who was killing the team and wanted to be anywhere but...now that we have guys that want to play together, give them a chance and let them prove if they can compete or not.

 

Again, well thought out. I will say that I have been forced to question my leaning toward going into the tank based on the team's performance on the court. If they continue to win (especially against teams that are playoff bound) then, obviously, tanking is out. However, if you are going to be bad and miss the playoffs that draft pick is the only silver lining and I'd rather put up with bad basketball until march with a Cade Cunningham or Jonathan Kuminga coming on board at long years and low money than end up in that dreaded 10-12 range and a late teen pick. Its the difference between Anthony Davis and Terrence Jones or KAT and Sam Dekker. Even if the odds are 50-50, given the short season, given the Harden deal a few games in, given the ongoing Covid question marks, this seems like the year to tank if youre going to be an also ran anyhow,

 

So you are saying they got good because of tanking?