PG: Best tank in the league continues strong!!!

[TimeForChange]

i'll never understand the poeltl trade defenders.

i remember when the same type of posters would defend val with the same kind of passion. before that it was bargnani.

i am not going to go into what all 3 have in common...

Then don't go into random race baiting conversations. warned.

[HiJiNX]

i'll never understand the poeltl trade defenders.

i remember when the same type of posters would defend val with the same kind of passion. before that it was bargnani.

i am not going to go into what all 3 have in common...

They’re 7 foot

I assume that’s not what you were going for. I’m sure all of us have some bias with how we get attached to players—I like underdogs and strong passers and mentally tough players. And I certainly rate Jamaican players higher as well (which is why I was higher on Kofi Cockburn than I should have been). That is to say, yeah there’s probably some race bias there but of course that might be hard to measure. If anything, what I’d say is it’s important for us all to develop a level of self-awareness that we can better identify and address our own biases. None of this is directed at you, just saying in general.

Ingroup bias is a thing but we need to do the work to not let that guide our thinking and decisions.

[Pointgod]

The last time the Finals MVP was his own team's top 5 pick was 2014—Spurs, Tim Duncan. (No, LeBron doesn't count, he rejoined the Cavs as a free agent.)

The time before that: 2007—Spurs, Tim Duncan.

The time before that: 2006—Heat, Dwyane Wade.

The 3 times before that: 2005, 2003, 1999—Spurs, Tim Duncan.

And then it's Jordan before that.

So that's 1 time in the last 10 years, 4 times in the last 20 years, and 6 times in the last 25 years.

"Tanking is the best way to win" was a very safe thing to say at the turn of the century, when Jordan, Hakeem, and Duncan ruled in phases. But when it's happened one time in the last 17 years, maybe it's just not as true as it used to be.

We’re not a FA destination, now check how many MVP’s were top 10 lotto picks in general. So the logic should be “what is the best way to get top talent”, answer is lottery, what is the most efficient way to then go about collecting said talent”. Lottery picks are the best way and more and more non FA destination teams are finding this out which is why we have a lot of young talented cores in the league all of a sudden.

Stop making too much sense.

[Vampirate]

Tankers are a miserable bunch. Rooting for losing, understanding nothing about teambuilding, blaming and insulting everyone that doesnt agree or in case of the FO dont do what they want. The best part, tanking doesnt even work.

There's obviously more that needs to be done other than Tanking, but let's see.

Magic was drafted by the Lakers #1 and we all know who he is.

Hakeem was darfted in that legendary draft and it lead to 2 Titles for Houston.

There was also that Michael Jorden, Scottie Pippen pairing, they were pretty good.

Lebron was drafted #1 by the Cavs and subsequently the Cavs getting Kyrie and another #1 pick lead to their only title.

The Spurs and their twin towers, and now Wemby.

My point is you:

1. Need to be in a good draft
2. Need to be in good draft position to actually draft that player
3. If that all falls then you need another player with All Star/NBA potential or else you're in that first phase with Lebron and the Cavs
4. Make actually good moves
5. Luck

In general what matters most if your best player, otherwise you're a regular season team at best or most likely stuck in mediocrity which is the worst position to be in.

There are plenty of other examples, too. Dallas traded the 6th overall pick for Dirk (who was taken 9th). The Warriors drafted Steph 7th. Wade was drafted 5th overall. Even teams that signed their way to titles, like the Lakers and Heat, signed multiple former high draft picks (Shaq #1, LeBron #1, Bosh #4, AD #1).

I also see people use the 76ers as another reason why tanking doesn't work and they don't mention what the 76ers were before Embiid and Hinkie.

Fact is without Embiid that team is as irrelevant as us.

[GreatWhiteStiff]

Big time loss by Darko there... clutch.

LOL AT THIS THREAD! Page 2 and y' all are still crying, lmao.

Are you a part of the tWo now, John Buckets?