What would your reaction be if Brooklyn lands the #1 pick/Cooper Flagg?

Amen Thompson, Alperen Sengun, Jalen Green......

 

No regrets. The Nets wouldn't be in tank mode if we still controlled their picks. Plus we got 3 potentially great Phoenix picks as well as the 2029 Mavs pick that's looking like it'll be in the lottery.

Also, we still have the 2027 Brooklyn pick which will come in the midst of their rebuild.

 

No. It's literally a lottery.
Fun to say.

 

What if the Rockets got Cooper Flagg? That would set the stage for a lot of very interesting decisions.

 

I find Duke boring to watch, but he's amazing every time I do.

Rockets trade for Booker and Durant and roll with a lineup of Booker, Amen, Flagg, Durant, and Sengun next season. Maybe it isn't Booker and Durant, but I think the Rockets make trade(s) that create a crazy good lineup next season.

 

Outcome isn’t that relevant. Stone materially lowered the Rockets’ chances to draft Flagg for more assets down the line; hopefully it works out.

 

This is correct.

The Nets were never going to tank without their picks. Even if for some reason they traded Bridges to the Knicks anyway, they would have just used those picks to strengthen their team. You could actually argue they would have been better in that alternate reality than not trading Bridges.

There's obviously some good fortune here. Although, at some point we have to give Stone credit for constantly maneuvering to put the rockets in position to be "lucky". Sure, the Rockets were so lucky to get Jalen (when it could have been an OKC pick), or Sengun, or Tari, or Reed, or even Cam.

But, the Rockets also pivoted to tanking in 2021 for Jalen, they ate a broken down John Wall contract for Sengun, they took a picks heavy deal instead of a "good player" centered deal for Tari/Reed, and they used a unique swap (high 2nd rd pick for mid 1st rd pick) to get Cam. You could even look at some the veteran deals that were considered head scratchers at the time that completely rejuvenated the Rockets culture. There's lots of moves that other GM's aren't typically doing. I think we're consistently seeing that many of Stone's moves are panned early on only to be looked at favorably in hindsight.

So, sure, there's some luck but it's not dumb luck.

 

I would say Stone has created a lot of chances for luck. Stone had a near 46-54 chance at having either Wemby or Cade. Trading the Nets picks was just another way to increase his chances for luck even though the odds for luck this coming draft is lower.

 

Where's the option to be happy? Flagg being in Brooklyn means he's not on a WC team like SA or Portland and provide more competition for the Rockets in future years. The odds of the Rockets getting him was and still is a long, long shot. Regardless of whether that trade was made.

 

What is Cooper's Flagg's ceiling? Second Team all NBA Team?

Flagg certainly could be in a Big 3 for a team. I am unsure if he could be The One.

What is crazy is that Flagg skipped his senior year in HS to play at Duke. It is very hard to project exactly how good he will be in the NBA.

We will see.

 

Dallas gets the 1st Pick

 

If the Rockets still held that pick then Brooklyn would probably be closer to the play-in in that terrible conference. No incentive to be bad.

 

I didn't love the trade in the first place--it's looking a bit better now that Phoenix is dogsh*t. But if Brooklyn ends up with a crappier record and that lands them Flagg, I'll be really disappointed. That dude could be the game-changer, future top 10 kind of player we're looking for--or at least we'd have a couple of guys with that kind of potential with him and Amen, which increases our odds significantly.

 

Superstar?

 

Agree on Nets taking the Bridges trade either way.

But they are doing a strange dance at the moment in terms of trying to be as competitive as they can to increase their current players values while miraculously losing games late.

I've no doubt the squad they have could have made the play-in if they wanted to. And more-so had they not moved on DFS and Schroeder mid-season.

 

Never bought into the trade, hopefully this plays exactly like it was in Rafael Stone's head. Because I still dont get why you would get out of a strong draft for a low odds event.

And I hope we get more criticals fans and journalists. The trade rationale is still open to debate and we drank all the kool aid at the moment.

 

The narrative is as you described, not one in a locked in single - dimension.

Additionally, I have wondered if the two teams have some loosely framed trade ideas reflective of this earlier swap. If, for example, it offered a smoother path to Cam J I would find that positive.

 

Still think that was one of the stupidest trades ever

 

Yes - it is weird all the way around. They may have kept Schroeder but I think they would have traded DFS either way - they were going to try to collect assets in the short term regardless of the Rockets trade IMO.

This draft is also odd - if I wasn't for Flagg and the under-rated Harper, I would say this is the worst draft I have seen in recent history for middle to late lottery talent.

I say that and 3-4 stars will pop up, but on paper and having watched these kids - overall I am not impressed.