Remember when we didn't care about our first round draft picks?

The only worry is the size of the cap room and whether you could surround him with other players.

DD

 

Only a front loaded contract makes sense. We don't want to be stuck paying him 50 mil at age 37.

 

James will likely still be good at 37 and our draft pick this year will not even be owed his first max deal yet in Harden's last big year.

You will have to deal with Sengun, Jabari and Green's big deals.

If you legit have trouble with 4 big deals, its still going to be a problem anyway when our 2023 pick gets his deal one year later.

There is literally one year where it MIGHT be a small issue, but that issue would come anyway a year later.

And this assumes all our current guys flesh out into max contract players, in which case we are in an unbelievable position. And I am not even mentioning that the cap is set to explode with the new TV deal.

Yes, Tilman may have to pay the tax one year, big deal. The tradeoff is instant relevance and a highly successful rebuild. As I have said numerous times, it is an absolute no brainer.

 

I don't want either one.

 

Well not to you it isn't....lol

DD

 

Glad you finally saw the light then! You were pushing hard how Ben Simmons would be great for us for a while.

 

As a draft nerd, I've really enjoyed looking forward to the draft. But I'm definitely getting toward the end of my rope with all of the losing too. I've been watching a lot less games. It's hard to watch when you know they're going to lose AND Josh Christopher will be lucky to play 15 minutes.

 

I don't disagree nor can I argue how bad Tilman ****ed up that 65 win team.

I really think he came in here thinking he could do it better than anyone else - shut up and listen.

I also believe he realized how badly he ****ed up and has since done the right things more often than not, including paying Wall $97M to go away and another $50m+ in dead money to clear the decks going forward as well as spending on draft picks and allowing the franchise to trust the process, giving Stone the assets he needs to return to being a competitive franchise.

I could be wrong but for the time being, I'd like to believe our owner isn't a total ****ing idiot. The next offseason will go a long way towards our knowing what he is.

 

I think people assume that we need to develop every draft pick we get. Most drafted players will washout of the league. And, even many of the ones that don't, don't warrant specific in game development.

Also, just because you drafted a bunch of guys doesn't mean you found that superstar. You could easily 'start trying to win' and do just enough to not be in the running for some superstar player but have a bunch of you guys that aren't superstars. Maybe we don't get Wemby this year. But, maybe there's a star in the top 10 of 2025.

I think you just continue to draft, pickup good young players along the way that can contribute, and let the cards fall where they may. Drafting a superstar is pretty much mandatory. Loading up on a bunch of overpaid free agents and trading young guys for vets just puts you further away from that.

 

Once again the ring or bust is a stupid stance to use against harden.

I'm more understanding if folks are wary of harden bc of his age or his drive to compete by wanting to join a tanking team, but the oh he aint it cause he can never win it all is lame.

U can literally say that to any upcoming vets wanting to join us, but the difference between them and Harden is that we have history and a lot more skilled than whoever wants to play with us.

We need a pg and last I checked harden is one of the best one to play that position. We fill a position of need to help our youngsters not think of ring potential after being sht for 3 years

 

Do teams still stash players that were drafted? And when was the last time a stashed player made a contribution to a winning team?

 

Doesn't happen often no, as far as making a contribution. Some I can think of though is Ginobli, Kukoc,Ibaka.

 

Well I was talking in the last 5 or so years.. lol

 

You know what else is lame? Failing to win a championship and then forcing your way out after forcing your team to make an ill-advised trade to OKC for Westbrook. Then bailing on the Nets when things didn't work out and then Sixers if the rumors are true. But for some reason, y'all still want to believe that this time with Harden it will be different...lmao.

 

i think ya could build a winner through great drafting... we did it with Dream...

i think ya could build a winner through trades... we did it with Harden...

i also think either way could leave u with crap... whether its Ryan Anderson or Royce White...

thats the thing... people that think there's only 1 path to success - and lock themselves into that framework...

 

i think ya could build a winner through great drafting... we did it with Dream...

i think ya could build a winner through trades... we did it with Harden...

i also think either way could leave u with crap... whether its Ryan Anderson or Royce White...

thats the thing... people that think there's only 1 path to success - and lock themselves into that framework...

 

Can't convince a harden hater if they always reliving the past. We need a pg and James Harden is the one of the best to do it. I rather pay max money for the best rather than overpaying another vet hoping for the same type of production or run it back with kpj.

 

length of contract is no consideration?

so ur cool giving a 34 yo Harden max $ for max years?

 

Lol come on bro, WB and Howard weren't "superstars" here (either was Paul arguably). Dwight was great in the playoffs though, just hated how he always wanted to post up.

 

Even more to your point, with both those examples it was actually a mix:

1) Drafted Dr34m, Big Shot Bob, and Cassell but traded for O.T., Kenny, Mad Max, Super Mario and Clyde.

2) Traded for Harden, Ariza, and CP (sorta) but drafted Capela and signed Gordon, LMAM, Green, and Tuckers as free agents.

It is absolutely ridiculous to think there is only one path.