Tank Watch 2025

[youngcrev]

Drastic times drastic measures. I'm not sure I am hearing any alternatives other than miraculously getting Kevin Durant for Paul George and Embiid poetically retiring and forfeiting his salary for the next decade

I'm not hearing any explanation of why a clean cap sheet would valued higher in rebuild than young talent...

[eyeatoma]

Drastic times drastic measures. I'm not sure I am hearing any alternatives other than miraculously getting Kevin Durant for Paul George and Embiid poetically retiring and forfeiting his salary for the next decade

You don't give up a top 10 player to get off an albatross contract lol. That's as asinine as what Niko Harrison did with Luka.

[Kobblehead]

How are the Raptors this bad? They have their stud, Scottie Barnes. They have the secondary pieces, Barrett, Poetlt and Quickley. They have bench pieces, Boucher and Agbaji. You're telling me they can't even be middle of the road?

I think they're two years away. Barnes still lacks consistency and he and Barrett are still learning how to find their groove.

[Negrodamus]

In terms of adding a leader and winning games, I really wish we signed DeRozan instead of PG. He has a reputation of being a role model for younger guys while also being consistently available for games. PG is clearly wanting to walk into an established locker room that has "habits of a champion, or a playoff contending team" without adding anything to that culture. He wants to be a role player while being paid like a superstar.

That said, if I knew Embiid was, in fact, fried before the season, then PG was the right move in order for us to have a shot at Cooper Flagg.

[FlyingArrow]

Best case scenario is still for Embiid to return to form, modified by his age. He comes back as a top 10-15 player instead of top 5, but good enough to anchor a winner.

While PG starts to play like his age instead of my age. We aren't going to see all star PG here, but he can be an above average starter in the league still.

And Maxey becomes a top 10-15 player himself.

We would need all 3 to happen in order to be a contender, and the first two seem unlikely. But not impossible for next year. This year is shot.

I would love to get out from under the PG contract, but the rest of the league saw what we saw. The cost of dumping him would be way too high. Have to hope he rebounds.

[davesilver]

Best case scenario is still for Embiid to return to form, modified by his age. He comes back as a top 10-15 player instead of top 5, but good enough to anchor a winner.

While PG starts to play like his age instead of my age. We aren't going to see all star PG here, but he can be an above average starter in the league still.

And Maxey becomes a top 10-15 player himself.

We would need all 3 to happen in order to be a contender, and the first two seem unlikely. But not impossible for next year. This year is shot.

I would love to get out from under the PG contract, but the rest of the league saw what we saw. The cost of dumping him would be way too high. Have to hope he rebounds.

Don’t forget that we draft the ultimate 3/4 to pair with those guys in Flagg

[Mik317]

any decision hangs on if we keep our pick and who we take with said pick.

If that guy is an immediate impact guy then that defines what moves you make next. Worrying about fit and timelines is exactly what leads to short sighted moves we have been making lol. I have questions about a Maxey/ McCain backcourt longterm but who gives a **** about longterm right now. Maxey is locked up, has improved and while he may not be a guy who elevates bad rosters, he has shown the ability to win playoff games..trading him to get ahead of some nebulous future or to **** save money is stupid as ****. You trade him to get better sure...not to get worse nor to get off of contracts..thats stupid.

[Iverson Armband]

We have a shot at a top 5 pick and we have two stud guards under the age of 25. What is the point of gutting the team?

(I was also alright with trading Jrue, but in hindsight, was it that great of a trade? We basically got Noel, Saric, and Landry Shamet out of it.)

That was a bad trade. They could have still achieved their goal of bottoming out without doing that.

[FlyingArrow]

We have a shot at a top 5 pick and we have two stud guards under the age of 25. What is the point of gutting the team?

(I was also alright with trading Jrue, but in hindsight, was it that great of a trade? We basically got Noel, Saric, and Landry Shamet out of it.)

That was a bad trade. They could have still achieved their goal of bottoming out without doing that.

At the time, Noel had a higher upside. Jrue never turned into a top-tier superstar. Noel didn't, either, but at the time of the trade, there was a chance for Noel to do that. The whole point of The Process was to get as many high-upside players as possible until we "hit" on one or two. Noel was part of that process. Embiid was a hit - we did in fact get a top-5 player. The Process was a success. You get that #1 guy and that opens a window. Our window with Embiid is closing, and may already be closed if he never comes back healthy.

The Process could have been a resounding success if only...
if only we didn't waste all of Hinkie's treasure chest of resources
if only Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz didn't catch shooting-phobia
if only we kept Jimmy Butler instead of Simmons when decision-time came
if only that Kawhi shot didn't go in
if only we didn't handicap our roster with the Tobias contract

You could probably add 5 or 10 more to that list.

[Stanford]

I'm sorry, but Rutgers has 2 of the top 3 projected picks in a "strong draft" and they can't win more than half of their games? Are we really going to end up jumping to 2 or 3 in the lottery and drafting Markelle or Ben again?

[Negrodamus]

I'm sorry, but Rutgers has 2 of the top 3 projected picks in a "strong draft" and they can't win more than half of their games? Are we really going to end up jumping to 2 or 3 in the lottery and drafting Markelle or Ben again?

Very fair point. I also don't think it's a terribly strong draft as time has gone on.

[mjkvol]

I'm sorry, but Rutgers has 2 of the top 3 projected picks in a "strong draft" and they can't win more than half of their games? Are we really going to end up jumping to 2 or 3 in the lottery and drafting Markelle or Ben again?

Exactly why I hate the idea of taking one of those kids as well. On talent alone they should be a solid NCAA team, and they can't even get the team to .500? Hard pass.

[mjkvol]

I'm sorry, but Rutgers has 2 of the top 3 projected picks in a "strong draft" and they can't win more than half of their games? Are we really going to end up jumping to 2 or 3 in the lottery and drafting Markelle or Ben again?

Very fair point. I also don't think it's a terribly strong draft as time has gone on.

Which is why while I'd like the pick, getting off OKC right now isn't the end of the world.

[Negrodamus]

I'm sorry, but Rutgers has 2 of the top 3 projected picks in a "strong draft" and they can't win more than half of their games? Are we really going to end up jumping to 2 or 3 in the lottery and drafting Markelle or Ben again?

Very fair point. I also don't think it's a terribly strong draft as time has gone on.

Which is why while I'd like the pick, getting off OKC right now isn't the end of the world.

Yea, but I assume the mindset of the entire organization is to not be this bad again, so presumably next year's pick will be in the 20s if they can return to the playoffs.

I know judging by how the team looks now, it doesn't seem likely; but I'm assuming Morey is going to be in win now mode this offseason.

[Arsenal]

If we get the 2-6 overall pick, I'm sure we'll take offers for it. Flagg appears to be the only sure thing.

Sell it off for a king's ransom could be the best option.

Better to have that option than not, so tanking to max the chance of keeping our pick is a must.

[Mik317]

if we go through this season, keep the pick and then trade it for another washed vet I will fly to Antarctica and shoot a penguin

[mjkvol]

Very fair point. I also don't think it's a terribly strong draft as time has gone on.

Which is why while I'd like the pick, getting off OKC right now isn't the end of the world.

Yea, but I assume the mindset of the entire organization is to not be this bad again, so presumably next year's pick will be in the 20s if they can return to the playoffs.

I know judging by how the team looks now, it doesn't seem likely; but I'm assuming Morey is going to be in win now mode this offseason.

Agree, and the chance of him trading the pick for that reason is probably pretty good.

[Negrodamus]

Which is why while I'd like the pick, getting off OKC right now isn't the end of the world.

Yea, but I assume the mindset of the entire organization is to not be this bad again, so presumably next year's pick will be in the 20s if they can return to the playoffs.

I know judging by how the team looks now, it doesn't seem likely; but I'm assuming Morey is going to be in win now mode this offseason.

Agree, and the chance of him trading the pick for that reason is probably pretty good.

Probably. The only guy who I could see becoming available that would fit the valuation would be Zion. PG + 1st for Zion & Olynyk.

[Negrodamus]

Read on Twitter

This is actually good news. He's going to boost his value going into the offseason.

[Black Mage]

I'm a tad confused by these boards. So we shouldn't tank b/c a top prospect isn't perfect. The alternative being? We get the 10th seed, get pummeled in the play-in, lose our pick and come back into next season to do what? Roll it back? Tank again if Joel gets surgery?

What exactly do those complaining about the quality of the prospects see as the benefit to not trying to keep the pick?