pingpongrac wrote:I've been curious about something...
The main reasons for tanking last year were that there was all-star talent to be found in a deep/top-heavy draft and it was a pandemic year where we were playing in Tampa away from home fans. This TWO line of thinking kicked off as early as our 2-8 start (after we lost 3 games in part due to bad officiating and 2 others by 1 point after Siakam missed back-to-back shots at the buzzer), but it really took off in the midst of our 9-game losing streak when the season was derailed by COVID. Most of TWO kept repeating that it was a one-off thing and we would go back to competing the following season.
The same things are being said again this season, but this time TWO was in full force before the season even started. Even after drafting Scottie (who has top 5 or even MVP potential) and Banton (who has the tools to be at the very least a good bench piece after a year or two of development) plus also trading away two of our oldest players for two additional young players. The original arguments (we need to draft a potential superstar, we need more young talent, etc.) went out the window and now the goal of TWO is to maximize our chances at finding more top-end talent to pair with Scottie by tanking another year because we aren't good enough to win the Championship right this moment.
The issue I have with TWO is the finish line seemingly keeps being pushed back. Where/when does it end? If the main goal is to hit a homerun in the draft and walk away with a superstar talent, didn't we already succeed with Scottie? How many generational talents do we need on our team before we can start competing and pushing for the playoffs to get some experience? What happens if the player we draft in 6 months ends up projecting to max out as a solid starter and/or we start off with a similar underwhelming record next season?
Some people are insisting that they're not calling for some big tank job, but we're already on year 2 of TWO and there are numerous discussions around trading at least one of Siakam/FVV for more picks. If we trade either of them (FVV in particular), suddenly we're looking at 3-4 years of tanking -- at which point, the other vet probably requests a trade or leaves during FA because they're tired of winning ~30 games and the inexperience of their teammates.
Whenever we have been healthy (even mostly healthy), we have been a good team in spite of the awful bench because our top 5 players have been so good. Scottie is way better than expected, OG and GTJ have both improved a lot over the past 12 months, FVV is still improving and Siakam has regained some all-star form. I just don't understand why we can't just play out the season and see what happens. Our best players are way too good to finish in the bottom third of the league again. Is the 10th-12th pick really that valuable that we should waste a season of potential playoff experience? Why not just live with the results whether it be good or bad?
Thats always been my issue. Moving of goal posts, being dishonest, and the fact that as a team we are just not bad enough to tank. Wont bother coming in here and debating consistently, since i trust masai and if he decides to pivot im with it. Not anti tank necessarily or 100% pro the other side.
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