An argument for Keeping the Winning Culture

[Matty]

We didn't get a chip by drafting high last season. In fact none of the guys were lottery picks.

None of us want to be the next Timberwolves, the next Sixers, the next Kings. Teams that get top picks but go no where.

Keep playing competitively, keep drafting gems late in the 1st round, and when the time strikes and you have assets, trade for a star that can take us to the next level.

That's the template that gave us the title over a year ago. Why walk away from it?

[Pooh_Jeter]

I won $100,000,000 playing the lottery so I just buy lottery tickets every day.

Who needs to save, invest and diversify your assets when you can just pray a miracle strikes twice?

[Grew]

Build a good team with winning habits until we can trade one of our value inflated all stars for a disgruntled injured superstar.

[MixxSRC]

When your team have good scouts, good developmental coaches and great infrastructure it's impossible for team to tank really.

[Young_Buc]

I think both tanking/trading smart drafting/FA has shown to be a mixed bag in terms of champions. Let's look at the last few:

Raptors: Trading smart drafting
GS: Tanking (but not really. Curry, Klay and Draymond average out to be the 24th pick in the draft or so)
Cavs: Tanking
Spurs (old Duncan) : Trading and smart drafting
Heat: FA
Celtics: Trading and smart drafting
Lakers: Tanking and trading

There is no exact science on how to make a title contender AT ALL. Tanking is ONLY fun when you get a prize at the end.

[C_Money]

Well yeah of course. We don’t need to rebuild right now. Keep winning and get better.

[bluerap23]

I won $100,000,000 playing the lottery so I just buy lottery tickets every day.

Who needs to save, invest and diversify your assets when you can just pray a miracle strikes twice?

You mean the raptors were the first team in NBA history to trade for a star when his value was down?

[Red_Claw]

Shouldn't be an argument to always want a winning culture.

Tanking doesn't work.

[bon]

Nothing is guaranteed in the draft. You keep a winning culture so when a superstar becomes available, you're only one piece away and have the assets necessary to make that move.

[vini_vidi_vici]

Every avenue is viable, its at what place are you in your franchise, unless your owner is down to Hinkie it. Tanking can work, trading did work for us, FA can work, its just to varying degrees of success and how you define what success is. Perennial 2nd round fodder is treadmill to some, when my definition is more perennial 7-12 seed.

The time to tank would be '21. But that also depends on the term of FVV/Gasol/Ibaka should we sign any/all of them. And this is again why our management is so great. Our cap sheet is clean and the ones complaining are looking into the future to pull these hypothetical deals. We can complain when/if they sign them but right now this team is so flexible that it can go multiple ways.

[HeadtopChunes]

Every avenue is viable, its at what place are you in your franchise, unless your owner is down to Hinkie it. Tanking can work, trading did work for us, FA can work, its just to varying degrees of success and how you define what success is. Perennial 2nd round fodder is treadmill to some, when my definition is more perennial 7-12 seed.

The time to tank would be '21. But that also depends on the term of FVV/Gasol/Ibaka should we sign any/all of them. And this is again why our management is so great. Our cap sheet is clean and the ones complaining are looking into the future to pull these hypothetical deals. We can complain when/if they sign them but right now this team is so flexible that it can go multiple ways.

That would be my outline,retool for next year. Chase Giannis in 21 and if that doesn’t work the ability to blow it up from there is quite easy and there’s great players in the 22/23 draft.

I am concerned with eventual brain drain similar to the Spurs which means our elite development may not be that way forever

[execoftheyear]

I don't know why people are entertaining the idea of tanking or abandoning the winning culture when Masai made it clear that he doesn't believe in tanking. There's no argument. 2021 free agency is coming up and has clearly been the plan based on how our contracts line up. What big free agent is going to want to go to a team that's tanking?

[ATLTimekeeper]

Winning is better than losing. Seems like the best argument. When the team needs to tank, it will be quite obvious to everyone and it may not even be by design. And it won't matter if they wanted to tank or not.

[vini_vidi_vici]

Winning is better than losing. Seems like the best argument. When the team needs to tank, it will be quite obvious to everyone and it may not even be by design. And it won't matter if they wanted to tank or not.

The funny thing was I felt 2012 was that time, and we know how that turned out. Even after the RG trade, I was all in on a tank (remember the NetRTG of the starting 5 to end that season, felt like the only compelling argument against it hah).

Happy we kept KL tho.

[Ackshun]

I agree. Keep winning.

Nobody wants to sign with a loser. Then even the kids drafted don't wanna stick with the loser.

Boston's road to the semi finals wasn't overnight.

[LBJKB24MJ23]

Build a good team with winning habits until we can trade one of our value inflated all stars for a disgruntled injured superstar.

keep waiting another 25 years.

[LBJKB24MJ23]

I don't know why people are entertaining the idea of tanking or abandoning the winning culture when Masai made it clear that he doesn't believe in tanking. There's no argument. 2021 free agency is coming up and has clearly been the plan based on how our contracts line up. What big free agent is going to want to go to a team that's tanking?

do we tank if don't get a big free agent?

[planetmars]

Losing typically means getting a higher draft spot.. but draft tickets can be achieved by moving assets for them. A guy like Norm for example could get you a future 2021 pick. Find a team that looks like they might struggle a bit a year from now and grab their pick now by giving them a short term upgrade. When things go south you have your lottery pick but don't have to keep losing to inject some youth.

I think guys on rookie contracts do better when they play in winning environments. It's rare to find a really special talent that can change the game as a rookie (like KD, Doncic or Lebron). It took several years for Giannis to get to where he became and he was drafted 15th. Same spot that Kawhi was acquired in and the Spurs got him for George HIll.

Everyone is praising the Heat. Bam got picked 14th. Herro 13th. Robinson was undrafted. Josh Richardson was 40th who was the key piece in the Butler sign and trade.

The 13th and 14th picks in drafts are obtainable. The key is having good scouts (which we do in Tolzman and Masai). And having the outlook to move a player for a future pick when their stock is sort of high (we did that with Vasquez when we got the OG pick and Norm).

Tanking is not required to get good young players and assets. Raptors have proven this already time and time again with guys like Pascal, VanVleet, Norm, OG, Davis, Thomas. Poeltl was given to us in the Bargnani trade.

I love hunting teams that are going to future suck. That's the market you go after. Find diamonds in the rough. Develop them for other teams. Trade them for better value (ie, higher picks) until one turns into star. Develop a winning habit/culture like the Spurs in the meantime. That's a win-win formula.

[KL78192020]

We didn't get a chip by drafting high last season. In fact none of the guys were lottery picks.

None of us want to be the next Timberwolves, the next Sixers, the next Kings. Teams that get top picks but go no where.

Keep playing competitively, keep drafting gems late in the 1st round, and when the time strikes and you have assets, trade for a star that can take us to the next level.

That's the template that gave us the title over a year ago. Why walk away from it?

No but the assets used to get the players that won were from lottery picks. Demar/Poetl were late lotto picks used to get Kawhi. JV was a top 5 pick used to get Gasol. Terrance Ross was an 8th pick traded for Ibaka.

Having high picks yields value in one way or another. You have a better chance of trade assets with higher picks.

[YogurtProducer]

As long as we are a 50 win team I’d rather keep it together. And less than that I’d rather tank but a 50 win team is at least a conference final threat and in a great spot to acquire a star if one wants to come