2018 Pick Watch (Philly, LAL 1 or 6-30, etc)

[PhilasFinest]

If you’re referring to lottery picks... You can use the picks, you just can’t lock them all up long term if they hit. So, you can have them on a rookie deal and trade them at the optimal time if you wish. I don’t think anyone is saying you can use -and keep-5 2nd rounders.

I see nothing wrong with trading a lottery pick for an established “star” like Irving. Would anyone have complained if BC traded last years pick for Jimmy Butler or Paul George? Maybe, but at least it would make sense.

I DO have a problem with throwing in hard earned assets like BC did in the Fultz trade for a player they likely would’ve had at 3 anyway, and a player I don’t feel was worth trading up for in the first place.

Lottery picks should be treasured. Some GM’s get that, some don’t.

It's no given Fultz is available at three - and like I said exchanging a protected draft pick for what many scouts think is a centerpiece player in Fultz isn't treasuring picks I don't know what is.

A number of the "anti-trade" (I'm not saying you in particular) posters haven't got over the "we could have had the best player in the draft!" in Josh Jackson and over time as Tatum has been playing as good as Jackson has been bad have changed their reasons for being anti-trade. Some of these people even thought we should have traded up to get Lonzo Ball at one. Basically they're just anti-trade with reasons that will flip in the wind without any attempt to understand what in reality was a good decision based on solid logic that helps the organization going forward. These people have as much insight into organizational basketball culture as they do into scouting future NBA talent - ie none.

I don’t want to beat a dead horse, and realize it is at this point, but imo the only way Fultz wouldn’t have been there at 3 was if another team traded to #1. Boston wanted Tatum, and Ball was ticketed to LA.

I wanted Jackson with our pick, but did not want to trade assets to move up for anyone. I thought Jackson’s athleticism and defensive potential separated him from Tatum. Ainge appears to have made the right call.

I was on board with Fultz and his fit, but I was also a fan of Tatum both as a prospect and potential fit for our team. You can go back and find the takes I had on his upside as a mismatch 2-4 in our lineup, giving us an isolation scorer (which we still need + hopefully its Fultz) on top of a long, spot up shooter to space for Simmons/Embiid.

BUT, what if Tatum wasn't playing on Boston?
If Tatum was on say, Phoenix or Orlando.... would he still be scoring with high efficiency or would he be struggling at times like other rookies, having to do more and being more of a focus of teams defenses?

Also,What if Hayward had not broken his leg?
Would he still be an ultra efficient (50%FG/47%3PT) rookie scoring 14 ppg and playing 30 MPG? Or would he be used like Jaylen Brown was last season as more of a rotation player off the bench?

If this was the case, would many still be up in arms calling the trade a disaster?

[the_process]

We’re still a ways away from real tanking season. There are a bunch of real bad teams out there.

[PLO]

If you’re referring to lottery picks... You can use the picks, you just can’t lock them all up long term if they hit. So, you can have them on a rookie deal and trade them at the optimal time if you wish. I don’t think anyone is saying you can use -and keep-5 2nd rounders.

I see nothing wrong with trading a lottery pick for an established “star” like Irving. Would anyone have complained if BC traded last years pick for Jimmy Butler or Paul George? Maybe, but at least it would make sense.

I DO have a problem with throwing in hard earned assets like BC did in the Fultz trade for a player they likely would’ve had at 3 anyway, and a player I don’t feel was worth trading up for in the first place.

Lottery picks should be treasured. Some GM’s get that, some don’t.

It's no given Fultz is available at three - and like I said exchanging a protected draft pick for what many scouts think is a centerpiece player in Fultz isn't treasuring picks I don't know what is.

A number of the "anti-trade" (I'm not saying you in particular) posters haven't got over the "we could have had the best player in the draft!" in Josh Jackson and over time as Tatum has been playing as good as Jackson has been bad have changed their reasons for being anti-trade. Some of these people even thought we should have traded up to get Lonzo Ball at one. Basically they're just anti-trade with reasons that will flip in the wind without any attempt to understand what in reality was a good decision based on solid logic that helps the organization going forward. These people have as much insight into organizational basketball culture as they do into scouting future NBA talent - ie none.

I don’t want to beat a dead horse, and realize it is at this point, but imo the only way Fultz wouldn’t have been there at 3 was if another team traded to #1. Boston wanted Tatum, and Ball was ticketed to LA.

I wanted Jackson with our pick, but did not want to trade assets to move up for anyone. I thought Jackson’s athleticism and defensive potential separated him from Tatum. Ainge appears to have made the right call.

Who knows what the Lakers would have done, apparently they were blown away by Fultz's workout. Ball to the Lakers was no lock if those reports are to be believed.

[PLO]

I will be a bit peeved if we could have done Tatum this past year and Trae Young next year with the Lakers pick and only have Fultz to show for it.

Just think about that offensive potential.

To me that's going the cart before the horse - I see Tatum as a complimentary piece, a very good complimentary piece, but complimentary all the same. You pick someone like that up after you've got the pillars of your roster in place. Now I know you don't rate Fultz as the best player from the last draft but the reasoning behind trading up to get him is solid - he's a primary initiator type that fits the mould of a number one guy in a draft. He's exactly the type of player we needed, and the Celtics didn't need after the Kyrie trade, and he was to many the number one guy in the draft overall.

Even if we had the Lakers pick outright Trae Young is not guaranteed - the Lakers have no reason to tank this year and the season has a long way to go yet. There are a number of teams who will be very motivated to tank from here on out, especially given this is the last draft with the more generous odds for finishing bottom of the barrel. I think Young is locked in a top 5 pick, potentially top 3 - I think a lot of FO's will be looking at him and thinking "he's our Steph Curry" (to me I think he's better than Curry at the same stage and I think a lot of scouts will come to the same view, if they haven't already). Any team that has the number one pick will have to have a serious conversation about taking Young there, even with the Doncics, Aytons etc available so there is no guarantee we'd even have a shot at him if we had the full rights to the Lakers pick.

He’s the complimentary piece we need. Good two way player that can create for himself or off the ball. We have the stars in Embiid and Simmons, we need more Tatum. Giving up a top five pick (looking more and more by the day like it will be) is tough to reconcile for Washington Fultz in my opinion. He was damn good, but physically, he’s not off the charts. His teams resume isn’t great either.

Young may be top 3, but that would require a team to pass on one of Doncic, Ayton, Bamba, Bagley. Lakers, so far, looks like a bottom 5 team. I could settle on any of those guys if they were passed on if Young was taken ahead. Or there’s more trade opportunities for teams that need a versatile big if we can’t get Young or Doncic. I think it’s short sighted to settle on the “unanimous player in this draft” to forfeit unbelievable opportunities in future drafts.

Right now, if the draft were this very day and the Sixers have the number one pick and Embiid makes it through the season unscathed, who do you take? I'm not trying to put you on the spot - if it were me making that decision I couldn't wait to get Doncic, but you'd have to do due diligence on Young and Ayton. I could understand a Young pick and even think it could really fit with our roster even given he's ball-dominant just because he'd be fine off-ball as well because of his amazing shooting. He's an incredible player and would make our starting line-up almost unguardable (so would Doncic IMO). Good thing for us is if the Lakers do finish outside the top 5 and we get their pick all these outstanding players will push someone only marginally worse down to us in that 6 - 10 range.

[Negrodamus]

To me that's going the cart before the horse - I see Tatum as a complimentary piece, a very good complimentary piece, but complimentary all the same. You pick someone like that up after you've got the pillars of your roster in place. Now I know you don't rate Fultz as the best player from the last draft but the reasoning behind trading up to get him is solid - he's a primary initiator type that fits the mould of a number one guy in a draft. He's exactly the type of player we needed, and the Celtics didn't need after the Kyrie trade, and he was to many the number one guy in the draft overall.

Even if we had the Lakers pick outright Trae Young is not guaranteed - the Lakers have no reason to tank this year and the season has a long way to go yet. There are a number of teams who will be very motivated to tank from here on out, especially given this is the last draft with the more generous odds for finishing bottom of the barrel. I think Young is locked in a top 5 pick, potentially top 3 - I think a lot of FO's will be looking at him and thinking "he's our Steph Curry" (to me I think he's better than Curry at the same stage and I think a lot of scouts will come to the same view, if they haven't already). Any team that has the number one pick will have to have a serious conversation about taking Young there, even with the Doncics, Aytons etc available so there is no guarantee we'd even have a shot at him if we had the full rights to the Lakers pick.

He’s the complimentary piece we need. Good two way player that can create for himself or off the ball. We have the stars in Embiid and Simmons, we need more Tatum. Giving up a top five pick (looking more and more by the day like it will be) is tough to reconcile for Washington Fultz in my opinion. He was damn good, but physically, he’s not off the charts. His teams resume isn’t great either.

Young may be top 3, but that would require a team to pass on one of Doncic, Ayton, Bamba, Bagley. Lakers, so far, looks like a bottom 5 team. I could settle on any of those guys if they were passed on if Young was taken ahead. Or there’s more trade opportunities for teams that need a versatile big if we can’t get Young or Doncic. I think it’s short sighted to settle on the “unanimous player in this draft” to forfeit unbelievable opportunities in future drafts.

Right now, if the draft were this very day and the Sixers have the number one pick and Embiid makes it through the season unscathed, who do you take? I'm not trying to put you on the spot - if it were me making that decision I couldn't wait to get Doncic, but you'd have to do due diligence on Young and Ayton. I could understand a Young pick and even think it could really fit with our roster even given he's ball-dominant just because he'd be fine off-ball as well because of his amazing shooting. He's an incredible player and would make our starting line-up almost unguardable (so would Doncic IMO). Good thing for us is if the Lakers do finish outside the top 5 and we get their pick all these outstanding players will push someone only marginally worse down to us in that 6 - 10 range.

I need to watch a lot more Doncic between now and the draft to form a solid opinion. If trading down isn’t an option in this hypothetical, then Young or Doncic is the choice.

But having the first pick in a big heavy draft when we don’t need a franchise center any more lends to teams trading much more than just a future first rounder. Ayton, Bagley, and Bamba will demand a substantial price.

[AI_Efficiency]

Lakers currently have the second worst record. If they finish bottom 3, we will have a 14% chance at the number 1 pick. Going to be another high stakes lottery night.

[Ericb5]

Lakers currently have the second worst record. If they finish bottom 3, we will have a 14% chance at the number 1 pick. Going to be another high stakes lottery night.

Don’t the new percentages for the lottery start next year?


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[reload141]

Lakers currently have the second worst record. If they finish bottom 3, we will have a 14% chance at the number 1 pick. Going to be another high stakes lottery night.

Don’t the new percentages for the lottery start next year?


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That's correct it's 2019 not 2018 Draft

[jinak]

I'm just curious, would it be better to get the #6 pick this year rather than a top 3 choice next year. I'm just wondering what I should be cheering for. Everyday I cheer for the Lakers to lose so we can get that #1 spot but if we don't, we'll probably lose it to Boston.

The draft looks pretty deep this year and next year it doesn't look so good. Of course, the closer you get to draft time, it look better so who knows. Players emerge out of nowhere.

[Kolkmania]

I'm just curious, would it be better to get the #6 pick this year rather than a top 3 choice next year. I'm just wondering what I should be cheering for. Everyday I cheer for the Lakers to lose so we can get that #1 spot but if we don't, we'll probably lose it to Boston.

The draft looks pretty deep this year and next year it doesn't look so good. Of course, the closer you get to draft time, it look better so who knows. Players emerge out of nowhere.

From first sight I like 2018 more than 2019, but there's discussion that 2019 might be the first year where the OAD rule is removed. This might lead to prospects like Cole Anthony declaring, which makes it even more harder to assess. Also there will always emerge players who aren't highly touted at this point and at last players might opt to stay in school.

So it's nearly impossible to say which draft is better, let alone compare specific picks like #6 this year and top 3 next year. Also depends on the other teams, if Doncic, Ayton, Bagley, Bamba go 1-4 in some order I would love to have the sixth pick, meaning we can get one of Michael Porter jr. or Trae Young.

[HartfordWhalers]

I'm just curious, would it be better to get the #6 pick this year rather than a top 3 choice next year. I'm just wondering what I should be cheering for. Everyday I cheer for the Lakers to lose so we can get that #1 spot but if we don't, we'll probably lose it to Boston.

The draft looks pretty deep this year and next year it doesn't look so good. Of course, the closer you get to draft time, it look better so who knows. Players emerge out of nowhere.

Welcome to the forums! Hope to see you posting more.

[Mrcrockpots]

Not sure if it was mentioned- don't forget about basketball in February through April when the Lakers have absolutely zero incentive to lose compared to the other bottom teams. I completely expect the Lakers to win several meaningless games then.

[Gant]

Not sure if it was mentioned- don't forget about basketball in February and April when the Lakers have absolutely zero incentive to lose compared to the other bottom teams. I completely expect the Lakers to win several meaningless games then.

That's true and it should be a big factor, but sometimes teams lose even if they have no incentive to tank. The Nets had the league's worst record last season.

This Lakers team seems clearly better than last year's Nets, but if they jettison some players at the deadline or get some injuries, who knows? What a crazy tense lottery it will be.

[Mrcrockpots]

Not sure if it was mentioned- don't forget about basketball in February and April when the Lakers have absolutely zero incentive to lose compared to the other bottom teams. I completely expect the Lakers to win several meaningless games then.

That's true and it should be a big factor, but sometimes teams lose even if they have no incentive to tank. The Nets had he league's worst record last season.

This Lakers team seems clearly better than last year's Nets, but if they jettison some players at the deadline or get some injuries, who knows? What a crazy tense lottery it will be.

Exactly. I expect Memphis, Sacramento and Dallas to be sellers at the trade deadline, while the Lakers will be doing their best to finish the season strong. I also expect Atlanta and Orlando to be sellers, with Chicago coming back to Earth from that stretch of winning they had. Lakers should finish between 6 and 8 in the lottery. Lottery night at Xfinity live will be hoppin. Long way to go.

Also, just skimmed the Lakers February through March schedule and it is littered with match ups against the Hawks, Kings, Nets, Mavs, Griz and Nuggets. We'll be fine.

[Eyeamok]

Not sure if it was mentioned- don't forget about basketball in February and April when the Lakers have absolutely zero incentive to lose compared to the other bottom teams. I completely expect the Lakers to win several meaningless games then.

That's true and it should be a big factor, but sometimes teams lose even if they have no incentive to tank. The Nets had he league's worst record last season.

This Lakers team seems clearly better than last year's Nets, but if they jettison some players at the deadline or get some injuries, who knows? What a crazy tense lottery it will be.

Exactly. I expect Memphis, Sacramento and Dallas to be sellers at the trade deadline, while the Lakers will be doing their best to finish the season strong. I also expect Atlanta and Orlando to be sellers, with Chicago coming back to Earth from that stretch of winning they had. Lakers should finish between 6 and 8 in the lottery. Lottery night at Xfinity live will be hoppin. Long way to go.

Also, just skimmed the Lakers February through March schedule and it is littered with match ups against the Hawks, Kings, Nets, Mavs, Griz and Nuggets. We'll be fine.

Love the positive attitude and I hope it works out just like you've laid it out. But even if this all works out. It still begs the bigger question, what was on BC's mind when he made such a dangerous trade? And is Fultz really worth all of this?

[Mrcrockpots]

That's true and it should be a big factor, but sometimes teams lose even if they have no incentive to tank. The Nets had he league's worst record last season.

This Lakers team seems clearly better than last year's Nets, but if they jettison some players at the deadline or get some injuries, who knows? What a crazy tense lottery it will be.

Exactly. I expect Memphis, Sacramento and Dallas to be sellers at the trade deadline, while the Lakers will be doing their best to finish the season strong. I also expect Atlanta and Orlando to be sellers, with Chicago coming back to Earth from that stretch of winning they had. Lakers should finish between 6 and 8 in the lottery. Lottery night at Xfinity live will be hoppin. Long way to go.

Also, just skimmed the Lakers February through March schedule and it is littered with match ups against the Hawks, Kings, Nets, Mavs, Griz and Nuggets. We'll be fine.

Love the positive attitude and I hope it works out just like you've laid it out. But even if this all works out. It still begs the bigger question, what was on BC's mind when he made such a dangerous trade? And is Fultz really worth all of this?

First of all I like to think of myself as an optimistic Sixers fan. However, I am anti-BC, so there is that.

I'm in the camp that Fultz was and still is a phenomenal guard prospect. I was also in the camp that we had minimal shot at Doncic this year (Lakers pick) anyway (I'm also not a fan of Trae Young). Fultz was clearly the best fit, and we do not have the money or rosters spots for all these players to begin with. The trade always made sense to me, and yes, Fultz was/is worth it. Regarding whats on BC's mind? Probably a wide assortment of collared shirts that are on sale at Macys.

[Cornbread]

All I want is for the pick to be top 3. The collective freak out by all Celtics and Sixers fans during the commercial break between the 4th and 3rd picks would be incredible.

I mentioned this on the Celtics board, but we should have a communal, hopefully good natured thread for Sixers and Celtics fans.

It’s fate that this pick is top 3.

[jsa]

Is it correct to say that in the 2018 NBA Draft, the 76ers get the first round pick of the LA Lakers, unless it falls, after the draft lottery, in the 2-5 range?

If it does fall in the 2-5 range, this pick goes to Boston?

If the pick goes to Boston, do the 76ers get another pick at some time?

Or do I have it all wrong?

[Sixerscan]

Is it correct to say that in the 2018 NBA Draft, the 76ers get the first round pick of the LA Lakers, unless it falls, after the draft lottery, in the 2-5 range?

If it does fall in the 2-5 range, this pick goes to Boston?

If the pick goes to Boston, do the 76ers get another pick at some time?

Or do I have it all wrong?

Yes

Yes

No, but they get to keep the Kings pick the following year. (otherwise they have to give it up top 1 protected)

Mostly right, in fact.

[Ericb5]

All I want is for the pick to be top 3. The collective freak out by all Celtics and Sixers fans during the commercial break between the 4th and 3rd picks would be incredible.

I mentioned this on the Celtics board, but we should have a communal, hopefully good natured thread for Sixers and Celtics fans.

It’s fate that this pick is top 3.

That would be amazing to get to that point. I mean we completely threaded the needle to get Simmons that year.

If we get to that commercial break the tension in Philly and Boston would be thick, and I would dance the geek dance if we ended up with the first pick. Then I would pray again on the altar of Sam Hinkie. Lol


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