Okay then, link articles from actual professionals who cover the draft, or quotes from real scouts/front office personnel saying they're not lottery-level picks.
We'll steal a couple of the collection plates from Lakewood Church on Sunday and fly you to NYC to do the job. The Osteens don't need the money, anyway. "And we're getting under way here at Barclays. Commissioner Adam Silver is approaching the....what is that? Is it a fire alarm? It is? You've gotta be kidding...."
And Jabari might already be better than Mikal Bridges next year. Doesn't mean it will likely happen. Now maybe something has changed, but Lavine had about 20 pounds on him last I checked. Lavine has never had a -2.6 db+/-. As a 19 year old rookie he was -2.5 and not been worse than a -1.6 since. Dws tell a similar story. It took Lavine until age 25 to be a decent offensive player. That is second contract for Jalen... I don't know if I have the faith...
Now explain their game in the court? Is Lavine a better defender than Bridges? Well if we used your intellectual lazy arguments and just spitted dpbm then yes.
Agreed that rookie-contract saturation is an issue and consolidation has to happen at some point. If we keep all our picks this year, we will have 8 guys on first-round rookie contracts! But there are so many ways to consolidate, and I fear that we are undervaluing KNOWING that a second-tier star or role player is just that. Draft projection is just so hard, and the natural human tendency is to overweight your own projection.
Love the general concept but #4 and ALL the remaining BKN picks is too much for just Bridges. Remove a couple BKN picks (maybe the swaps) or add Clayton and I’m into it
https://theathletic.com/4535111/2023/05/19/nba-draft-rumors-notes-hollinger/ Among the scuttlebutt this week: • The draft starts with Charlotte and the second pick, where the Hornets are likely choosing between point guard Scoot Henderson of G League Ignite and small forward Brandon Miller of Alabama. While Henderson is in my judgment the superior talent, playing him and LaMelo Ball in the same backcourt could give the Hornets pause. Charlotte isn’t tipping its hand, nor should it; a trade down to No. 3 is another possibility, but only sellable if the team at No. 3 isn’t sure which player the Hornets want. • Note that I said “the team at No. 3” because of widespread speculation the Trail Blazers, who currently own the pick, will seek to trade out of the third position rather than select another young player. With Portland in “win it for Dame” mode and the Blazers desperate for playable wings (even presuming they re-sign Jerami Grant), speculation is already widespread that a package of the third pick and Anfernee Simons might be used to snag an elite small forward. • My favorite fake trade, however, kills two birds with one stone by resolving the Magic’s backcourt issue. Orlando holds pick Nos. 6 and 11 and would likely be tempted to trade up and take Henderson if the Hornets select Miller at No. 2. Could some combination of the sixth and 11th picks and another asset allow the Magic to move up to No. 3? The other half of this trade is that it would allow the Blazers to hedge their bets by splitting their lottery pick in two. Imagine, for instance, a scenario where the Blazers do this trade with Orlando, then deal the sixth pick for immediate wing help but hang on to No. 11 and use it on Duke big man Dereck Lively II. Of course, this still requires such a player to actually be available, and parlaying the sixth pick into that player in particular could prove problematic given that Houston and Detroit may want to do the same thing at No. 4 and No. 5. • Complicating the logic for Portland at No. 3 is that Houston at No. 4 is likely pursuing the same alternative. In fact, the Rockets are arguably even more in “win-now” mode than the Blazers, despite a young roster coming off a 22-win season. This is because the Rockets owe a top-four protected first-round pick to the Thunder as a result of the Chris Paul–Russell Westbrook trade and thus have little incentive to take their lumps for another season: It’s time to win. (Houston also owes a top-four protected first from this deal in 2026, as well as a top-20 protected pick swap in 2025. Yikes.) The fourth pick (not to mention their other pick at No. 20) is unlikely to advance that objective on a roster that already has seven first-round picks still on their rookie contracts, plus a 23-year-old Kevin Porter Jr. and a 22-year-old Kenyon Martin Jr. It would seem there isn’t room on the roster to add two more young players if the Rockets are serious about taking a step forward. Houston’s dreams of repatriating James Harden are well-chronicled, and the Rockets will want the rest of their $60 million in cap room and room exception to sign some veteran help. Of all the teams in the high lottery, Houston is the one that seemingly needs to make a deal most urgently. The Rockets’ quandary, as noted above, is whether there’s a player available who would justify such a high price, and if so, whether the Blazers’ pick at No. 3 would trump them. • Picking fifth, Detroit is hoping to make a move up this season, but is that realistic? The Pistons might be better off trying to add another piece to the Jaden Ivey–Cade Cunningham–Jalen Duren core and seeing what they have after a 17-win season a year ago. This isn’t a great season to tank it, per se, with a blah 2024 class waiting, but it’s not clear how Detroit would move up even if it went all-in on the idea. The Pistons’ core players need to get better before that’s a realistic strategy. Yes, Detroit could theoretically trade its pick at No. 5, but look at the landscape. News flash: The picks at No. 3 and No. 4 are more desirable than the one at No. 5. With Portland and Houston likely looking to deal, it means the Pistons will be third at the trough when it comes to lottery-pick-for-star type trades; it’s tough to come up with one star player who could fit the bill for a trade like this right now, let alone three. The Pistons’ best move is likely another year of quiet building, and perhaps hearing teams out on deals for Alec Burks and Bogdan Bogdanović. • On a related front, I have some terrible news for fans generating fake Mikal Bridges trades: The Nets don’t seem to have much incentive to play ball here. Brooklyn owes unprotected picks to Houston in 2024 and 2026 and unprotected swaps in 2025 and 2027. Thus, Brooklyn trading its good players and tanking would do a lot more for the Rockets than the Nets. Brooklyn’s likely best path forward is to muddle along with a Bridges-centric team, especially since he’s signed through 2026 to one of the league’s best contracts. • Two other picks insiders expect to be in play: Dallas’ selection at No. 10 — likely paired with either or both of Dāvis Bertāns and JaVale McGee to bring in more immediate help — and the Thunder’s pick at No. 12. In Oklahoma City’s case, it’s still a long-term play, but the idea is that the Thunder would use their surfeit of future picks to move up in this lottery; they somehow have only one pick this year but are likely to have four firsts in 2024 and still have four future firsts from other teams in 2025 and beyond.
2027 & 2028 Rockets pick/swap is available now as well to add. Lineup of Nix TyTy Bridges Tate Garuba No way the Rockets want to give the Thunder a top 10 pick. Might as well make this trade and be a top 5 team next year. @DaDakota You sir are the man. Your trade idea f*c*ing sucks though.
If Orlando really wants the #4 pick (say Scoot Henderson falls which has a non-zero chance of happening), they might settle for less. #4, #20 for #6, #11.
Portland are offering pick 3 , Simons and their first from next season for an elite SF. That is one hell of a package. I wonder what team might bite?
