I guess I'm out of my mind (ok, the name doesn't help my point). That's easy to say now, but honestly, what if he got a career ending injury on your first game? Even if you DO get the first pick, there's no guarantee it will pan out, no matter who it is. Kharma. Why sell out for such unknowns? Why give into greed and temptation for something as unsure as this? And that's from a practical point of view, ignoring what I see as more important.... pride.... principles... I still say, winning isn't everything. Yes, it's a business, but will our business fail if we hold on to our principles and some pride? No. MAYBE it won't turn out to be the best thing long term from a winning perspective, but that's no guarantee.... WHO KNOWS? Are you willing to thwart the system, safecatches and all, and sell your integrity for a CHANCE at winning? Not me. I hope they win every game, and if it means we don't pick until the last round, so be it. Sammy was right, there's no need to TRY to lose, it could happen on its own. If so, we have our pride even with the losses. If not, we didn't give in. Ok, so it's just basketball... but this attitude seems prevalent today in many places, and I think it's a detriment. Working with, living near, driving next to or just knowing people that would sell out principle for POTENTIAL 'personal' gain depresses me. That's life I guess. War Pride, War integrity, War kharma. out. War 'We got Yao without jake-ing.' War 'The spurs 2.5 championships will never mean a thing to me.' Out.
I just cannot believe anyone is seriously suggesting that our guys should tank games for draft position. Competitive fire isn't something you just turn off and turn on. Either you have it or you don't. If we have any guys who would seriously go along with the idea of not playing hard for the sake of next year's draft, then those are guys we shouldn't have in the first place.
I think having the guys who are on the court go anything less than Full tilt is unacceptable. However...giving more minutes to younger guys in preparation for and in the name of getting ready for next year is perfectly acceptable.
I thin kthat's exactly what we should do. Once we are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. Which won't happen for at least a few more games.
We need to end the year on a good note. Win some lose some.. Barring a collapse of epic proportion to the Kings, Lakers, Jazz and Hornets, we will not be going to the playoffs. The upcoming draft is relatively weak partly due to the fact the LeBron Rule keeping young studs like Greg Oden and O.J. Mayo a year away from being drafted. And I seriously doubt that Yao would ever play half-ass. We had a bad year, lets get over it and move on and get that winning feeling back. A healthy T-mac, a much improved Yao and a shooter or 2 and we can can be deadly. Keep the faith and the integrity.
