Official Speculation Thread '19-'20 V: Purgatory

[jonbob17]

Based on RAPTOR the worst players in the league that got over 1,000 Minutes last season:
249 Darius Garland
248 Anfernee Simons
247 Rui Hachimura
246 Carmelo Anthony
244 Eric Paschall
244 Kevin Knox II
243 Jordan Poole
242 RJ Barrett
241 De'Andre Hunter
240 Malik Monk
239 Terrance Ferguson
238 Jarrett Culver
237 Kevin Porter Jr.
234 Collin Sexton
234 Eric Gordon

Interesting list. Rookies suck, and it takes them a while, especially on the defensive end. There is definitely some avoids on here that I have heard suggested headed towards the Magic.

FWIW, Dennis Smith Jr. didn't play enough to make this list which he absolutely would have headlined.

[dsg2021]

I personally don't like watching Harden or Westbrook.

Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM mobile app

Stop this blasphemy about Harden

[MagicFan4Lyfe]

The one time this FO decides to make a move...and it’s going to be for Russell Westbrook???

I’ll believe it when I see it. That’s the most far fetched thing I could imagine.

We don't need to do anything because we got the next Lebron on our team next season: Okeke!

[VFX]

This is one of main reasons why i have zero interest in moving assets for picks only. Garland, Hunter, Culver , Reddish, Cam Johnson,Langford, Šamanić, NAW, Bitadze. All top 20 picks. All irrelevant in rookie year.

Rookies are usually irrelevant...

Only bonafide stars are making large impacts their rookie seasons. Even in that case, they have to be in a good situation to notice.

There is some difference between being somewhat decent in rookie year on limited playing time, or being like Frank Ntilikina or Josh Jackson. Where after 1 year you had to ask yourself " is this guy ever going to work in nba " ?

I mean, Malik Monk, Dennis Smith and Frank Ntilikina are 22 years old players. Former sky-high lottery picks. is there any reason for their teams to still save their cap space, roster spot and developmental hopes in them ? Not really.

But most of them are like Lonzo or Fultz. Overhyped on start, dogged by fans later due unjustified hype, with current projection to be average players for rest of their careers.
And those are yours former 1# and 2# pick that were projected to be more athletic Harden and Curry with 40 inch vertical

Sure, you will have examples of players not panning out. Some obviously don’t.

Then you have examples of every other player selected with a lottery pick that turn into superstars...

This is a circular argument. Rookies rarely contribute until their second or third season.

[pepe1991]

Rookies are usually irrelevant...

Only bonafide stars are making large impacts their rookie seasons. Even in that case, they have to be in a good situation to notice.

There is some difference between being somewhat decent in rookie year on limited playing time, or being like Frank Ntilikina or Josh Jackson. Where after 1 year you had to ask yourself " is this guy ever going to work in nba " ?

I mean, Malik Monk, Dennis Smith and Frank Ntilikina are 22 years old players. Former sky-high lottery picks. is there any reason for their teams to still save their cap space, roster spot and developmental hopes in them ? Not really.

But most of them are like Lonzo or Fultz. Overhyped on start, dogged by fans later due unjustified hype, with current projection to be average players for rest of their careers.
And those are yours former 1# and 2# pick that were projected to be more athletic Harden and Curry with 40 inch vertical

Sure, you will have examples of players not panning out. Some obviously don’t.

Then you have examples of every other player selected with a lottery pick that turn into superstars...

This is a circular argument. Rookies rarely contribute until their second or third season.

Problem is that nobody will wait 5 years to see is player worth. It's circle of trial and error.
Culver had 30 games to prove he can play. Already is replaced by Beasly and now with probably drafting Edwards he will be, in his second year, complete pushed out of rotation or traded for bag of chips. That's 6th pick from a year ago.
Harsh reality. Swim or sink.

[VFX]

There is some difference between being somewhat decent in rookie year on limited playing time, or being like Frank Ntilikina or Josh Jackson. Where after 1 year you had to ask yourself " is this guy ever going to work in nba " ?

I mean, Malik Monk, Dennis Smith and Frank Ntilikina are 22 years old players. Former sky-high lottery picks. is there any reason for their teams to still save their cap space, roster spot and developmental hopes in them ? Not really.

But most of them are like Lonzo or Fultz. Overhyped on start, dogged by fans later due unjustified hype, with current projection to be average players for rest of their careers.
And those are yours former 1# and 2# pick that were projected to be more athletic Harden and Curry with 40 inch vertical

Sure, you will have examples of players not panning out. Some obviously don’t.

Then you have examples of every other player selected with a lottery pick that turn into superstars...

This is a circular argument. Rookies rarely contribute until their second or third season.

Problem is that nobody will wait 5 years to see is player worth. It's circle of trial and error.
Culver had 30 games to prove he can play. Already is replaced by Beasly and now with probably drafting Edwards he will be, in his second year, complete pushed out of rotation or traded for bag of chips. That's 6th pick from a year ago.
Harsh reality. Swim or sink.

I don’t get the alternative. You draft a player and you have 7-8 years of them locked up assuming they aren’t Mario Hezonja.

You make it sound like the draft process isn’t important and an exact science.

[Xatticus]

The one time this FO decides to make a move...and it’s going to be for Russell Westbrook???

I’ll believe it when I see it. That’s the most far fetched thing I could imagine.

It's not what I would do, but would we be any worse off than we are right now? I'd probably actually enjoy watching next season. Right now, I'm wondering whether I will have the stomach for it. It sort of depends on who we draft.

[The Real Dalic]

Sounds like we're active right now. That's a good sign. That doesn't mean anything will get done. We could literally just make our pick at 15 and re-sign some players or get a backup PG and PF in FA and "run it back", but at least they look like they're trying to make something happen.

AG and the 15th being shopped to move up is interesting. I hope we can move up enough spots to justify trading AG. Either that, or we move up a couple of spots and get a young player back.

As for any possibility of Russ, I think that's interesting and I wouldn't hate it completely, but it would probably cost a lot of assets to get him. Not sure that's worth it. Also, he makes a butt ton of money. Also, it just seems extremely unrealistic.

[MasterGMer]

What if we move up and trade for Russell? Is the FO drinking heavily lately?

[The Real Dalic]

The one time this FO decides to make a move...and it’s going to be for Russell Westbrook???

I’ll believe it when I see it. That’s the most far fetched thing I could imagine.

It's not what I would do, but would we be any worse off than we are right now? I'd probably actually enjoy watching next season. Right now, I'm wondering whether I will have the stomach for it. It sort of depends on who we draft.

At the very least, it would finally allow Vuc to be a sidekick for once instead of being the best player by default. I'm not saying that to trash on Vuc, as I'm sure everyone here knows Iove him on this team. But it would be nice to finally have a clear cut best player that's not Vuc.

[Xatticus]

There is some difference between being somewhat decent in rookie year on limited playing time, or being like Frank Ntilikina or Josh Jackson. Where after 1 year you had to ask yourself " is this guy ever going to work in nba " ?

I mean, Malik Monk, Dennis Smith and Frank Ntilikina are 22 years old players. Former sky-high lottery picks. is there any reason for their teams to still save their cap space, roster spot and developmental hopes in them ? Not really.

But most of them are like Lonzo or Fultz. Overhyped on start, dogged by fans later due unjustified hype, with current projection to be average players for rest of their careers.
And those are yours former 1# and 2# pick that were projected to be more athletic Harden and Curry with 40 inch vertical

Sure, you will have examples of players not panning out. Some obviously don’t.

Then you have examples of every other player selected with a lottery pick that turn into superstars...

This is a circular argument. Rookies rarely contribute until their second or third season.

Problem is that nobody will wait 5 years to see is player worth. It's circle of trial and error.
Culver had 30 games to prove he can play. Already is replaced by Beasly and now with probably drafting Edwards he will be, in his second year, complete pushed out of rotation or traded for bag of chips. That's 6th pick from a year ago.
Harsh reality. Swim or sink.

And then you have Memphis who nailed it. Their rebuild is well on its way while we are in our umpteenth year of irrelevance. The problem isn't drafting players. The problem is incompetent front offices and coaching staffs that draft the wrong players or fail to develop the players they do draft.

[VFX]

The one time this FO decides to make a move...and it’s going to be for Russell Westbrook???

I’ll believe it when I see it. That’s the most far fetched thing I could imagine.

It's not what I would do, but would we be any worse off than we are right now? I'd probably actually enjoy watching next season. Right now, I'm wondering whether I will have the stomach for it. It sort of depends on who we draft.

Yeah, I would have to see the other subsequent moves to be able to accurately judge the decision.

[Bensational]

The one time this FO decides to make a move...and it’s going to be for Russell Westbrook???

I’ll believe it when I see it. That’s the most far fetched thing I could imagine.

It's not what I would do, but would we be any worse off than we are right now? I'd probably actually enjoy watching next season. Right now, I'm wondering whether I will have the stomach for it. It sort of depends on who we draft.

This. I'm not a big Westbrook fan but I'd be much more interested to watch him next year than to watch what we have been putting on the floor.

WeHam get their Kyle Lowry piece, they just need to rush to add the supporting cast whilst Westbrook remains athletic enough.

What pieces on our team do we keep to out around him? Bamba + Gordon + Okeke + Ross/Fournier + Westbrook? Draft another SG prospect for the future like Haliburton.

Westbrook would carry the team much further than Vuc has been doing. Again, not into real contention, but if we can look relevant enough and winning enough perhaps the FA appeal of the team takes a jump?

[VFX]

The one time this FO decides to make a move...and it’s going to be for Russell Westbrook???

I’ll believe it when I see it. That’s the most far fetched thing I could imagine.

It's not what I would do, but would we be any worse off than we are right now? I'd probably actually enjoy watching next season. Right now, I'm wondering whether I will have the stomach for it. It sort of depends on who we draft.

This. I'm not a big Westbrook fan but I'd be much more interested to watch him next year than to watch what we have been putting on the floor.

WeHam get their Kyle Lowry piece, they just need to rush to add the supporting cast whilst Westbrook remains athletic enough.

What pieces on our team do we keep to out around him? Bamba + Gordon + Okeke + Ross/Fournier + Westbrook? Draft another SG prospect for the future like Haliburton.

Westbrook would carry the team much further than Vuc has been doing. Again, not into real contention, but if we can look relevant enough and winning enough perhaps the FA appeal of the team takes a jump?

I don’t get the long term upside to acquiring Westbrook unless they look at offloading vets for a different look. Coupling this info with the AG+15 rumors leads me to believe that this FO is doing a mini-blow up. Which is great, albeit 2 years too late.

[RookieStar]

I personally don't like watching Harden or Westbrook.

Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM mobile app

Stop this blasphemy about Harden

LOL Same here. Admit it, with the scoring/offense drought we had these past few years, we would be cheering for every foul baiting, flopping act Harden will do if he is wearing a Magic jersey.

[tiderulz]

Sure, you will have examples of players not panning out. Some obviously don’t.

Then you have examples of every other player selected with a lottery pick that turn into superstars...

This is a circular argument. Rookies rarely contribute until their second or third season.

Problem is that nobody will wait 5 years to see is player worth. It's circle of trial and error.
Culver had 30 games to prove he can play. Already is replaced by Beasly and now with probably drafting Edwards he will be, in his second year, complete pushed out of rotation or traded for bag of chips. That's 6th pick from a year ago.
Harsh reality. Swim or sink.

And then you have Memphis who nailed it. Their rebuild is well on its way while we are in our umpteenth year of irrelevance. The problem isn't drafting players. The problem is incompetent front offices and coaching staffs that draft the wrong players or fail to develop the players they do draft.

all down to draft spot and draft. If we have 4th in 2015 instead of 2014 we draft Porzingis. if we draft 5th in 2017 instead of 2015 we could have had Fox.

[tiderulz]

The one time this FO decides to make a move...and it’s going to be for Russell Westbrook???

I’ll believe it when I see it. That’s the most far fetched thing I could imagine.

It's not what I would do, but would we be any worse off than we are right now? I'd probably actually enjoy watching next season. Right now, I'm wondering whether I will have the stomach for it. It sort of depends on who we draft.

This. I'm not a big Westbrook fan but I'd be much more interested to watch him next year than to watch what we have been putting on the floor.

WeHam get their Kyle Lowry piece, they just need to rush to add the supporting cast whilst Westbrook remains athletic enough.

What pieces on our team do we keep to out around him? Bamba + Gordon + Okeke + Ross/Fournier + Westbrook? Draft another SG prospect for the future like Haliburton.

Westbrook would carry the team much further than Vuc has been doing. Again, not into real contention, but if we can look relevant enough and winning enough perhaps the FA appeal of the team takes a jump?

Westbrook ran off Durant and now he and Harden can play together. No star is going to want to come play with 32 yr old Westbrook eating up $44mil+ in cap space

[Bensational]

It's not what I would do, but would we be any worse off than we are right now? I'd probably actually enjoy watching next season. Right now, I'm wondering whether I will have the stomach for it. It sort of depends on who we draft.

This. I'm not a big Westbrook fan but I'd be much more interested to watch him next year than to watch what we have been putting on the floor.

WeHam get their Kyle Lowry piece, they just need to rush to add the supporting cast whilst Westbrook remains athletic enough.

What pieces on our team do we keep to out around him? Bamba + Gordon + Okeke + Ross/Fournier + Westbrook? Draft another SG prospect for the future like Haliburton.

Westbrook would carry the team much further than Vuc has been doing. Again, not into real contention, but if we can look relevant enough and winning enough perhaps the FA appeal of the team takes a jump?

Westbrook ran off Durant and now he and Harden can play together. No star is going to want to come play with 32 yr old Westbrook eating up $44mil+ in cap space

Ehhhhh. Durant bolted from Curry and the Warriors too. I'm not gonna hold that against Westbrook too much.

And I don't think other players would care about how much he's being paid as long as he and the team are good. That's the bigger question. Can he make us relevant enough to attract another decent name?

[Xatticus]

Problem is that nobody will wait 5 years to see is player worth. It's circle of trial and error.
Culver had 30 games to prove he can play. Already is replaced by Beasly and now with probably drafting Edwards he will be, in his second year, complete pushed out of rotation or traded for bag of chips. That's 6th pick from a year ago.
Harsh reality. Swim or sink.

And then you have Memphis who nailed it. Their rebuild is well on its way while we are in our umpteenth year of irrelevance. The problem isn't drafting players. The problem is incompetent front offices and coaching staffs that draft the wrong players or fail to develop the players they do draft.

all down to draft spot and draft. If we have 4th in 2015 instead of 2014 we draft Porzingis. if we draft 5th in 2017 instead of 2015 we could have had Fox.

Clarke had nothing to do with draft slot. They traded to snag him. That draft was akin to us landing Howard and Jameer in the same year.

[tiderulz]

And then you have Memphis who nailed it. Their rebuild is well on its way while we are in our umpteenth year of irrelevance. The problem isn't drafting players. The problem is incompetent front offices and coaching staffs that draft the wrong players or fail to develop the players they do draft.

all down to draft spot and draft. If we have 4th in 2015 instead of 2014 we draft Porzingis. if we draft 5th in 2017 instead of 2015 we could have had Fox.

Clarke had nothing to do with draft slot. They traded to snag him. That draft was akin to us landing Howard and Jameer in the same year.

yes, but Memphis got Ja Morant at 2nd. 2 years earlier, Lonzo ball went 2nd Fultz went 1st. Its where your draft pick is and when your draft is that really helps your rebuild