HurricaneKid wrote:Whoa. Memphis is going to fall to what in two years? How could they possibly drop that far? They lost Gay for almost an entire year and they were still elite. Then they lost ZBo for a full year and didn't miss a beat. I know 2 years is a while but I find it unlikely they could drop far enough for that pick to be that valuable.
I see Memphis as a collection of really good players and zero superstars. We know those type of teams can be unsustainable. I'm not predicting they'll fall apart but remember that they have zero flexibility now to add anything because of what they are paying Conley, Zach, Gasol and Gay. Have Gasol blow an ACL and it's over for them.
Remember how people here and around the league felt about the Milwaukee Bucks after the 2001 season? We had a similar team. No superstars but some really good players like Memphis. And we had payroll problems with that team. We were into the luxury tax which was going to necessitate us trading at least one of the "big four" if not two of them.
As people recall, our 2002 draft pick was a lotto pick (#13). No one in 2001 would have said we'd be lotto the next year and miss the playoffs.
Further, as part of our lux tax problems in fall 2001 we sent a first round pick out to Denver in order for them to take Scott Williams and his $5mm off our hands to avoid the lux tax. That pick later got dealt to the Hawks and ended up being Josh Smith. Who saw that coming?
And heck, I forgot what may turn out to the best example of all. What if the Lakers miss the playoffs this year? Their lotto pick goes unprotected to the Suns. If that transpires, did anyone here see that coming?