Stand pat? trade for has been star? All in?

[Tripod]

I mean the real answer is “it depends”

Any of these options are viable depending on what the deal looks like.

And on the other hand, Sometimes the best moves are the ones that never get made.

Funny how this is the simplest explanation, yet the correct one.

We....just like every other team, should be looking for upgrades, or deals to make us better. We have no superstar who untouchable so everything is on the table.

And sometimes when you do nothing, a guy takes the next step like Lowry did and you are happy you held on to him.

[Duffman100]

Where's the tanking option?

How about we don't derail another thread with tanking talk when we know they won't do it.

[JB7]

Please speak for yourself

You don’t think they have brought out the best in each of their games?

BI focuses on O, and Scottie is allowed to focus more on D.

Barnes maybe (though I never bought the argument that he couldn’t give full effort prior because his offensive load was “too high”). I feel like his defense would have developed either way but I could maybe see how Ingram has helped.

Ingram is exactly the same guy he’s always been. 22/6/4 on 56 TS%. This season could be any of his NOP seasons.

BI offers the one skill set that Scottie doesn’t have - clutch scorer. And Scottie offers everything else.

I think the strain of trying to be that scorer was just too much for Scottie, and since Scottie seems to have these large swings in emotion, not being able to deliver in the clutch would just weigh on him and effect other aspects of his game.

With BI taking on that responsibility allows Barnes to be himself.

[YogurtProducer]

Where's the tanking option?

How about we don't derail another thread with tanking talk when we know they won't do it.

Top 4 in the east, still wanna tank

It’s hard to take seriously at this point.

[mdenny]

Where's the tanking option?

How about we don't derail another thread with tanking talk when we know they won't do it.

Top 4 in the east, still wanna tank

It’s hard to take seriously at this point.

Well you can never be wrong. Tank tank tank and then bash the draft picks (4 years later) when they don't become kobe. Add in some "no true scotsman" fallacy and it's just an exhausting stance to take seriously. "That wasn't a real tank".

Remember trae's first and second season? Atlanta was exhibit A for the tank ppl back then. They are in love with players under the age of 22. And then are the MOST cynical of anyone 25 and older. It's all just "hope springs eternal" and shiny new mystery box thinking.

Also....any analysis of the past 20 years of drafting shows that top 10 picks are typically severely overrated in social media discourse while picks between 10 and 20 and severely underrated. So it's also a product of draft hype which is re-enforced because anyone in the media that works in prospect coverage profits from reader interest.

[TorontoBarneys]

Just shore up the bench. These poll choices are awful.

[earthtone]

How about we don't derail another thread with tanking talk when we know they won't do it.

Top 4 in the east, still wanna tank

It’s hard to take seriously at this point.

Well you can never be wrong. Tank tank tank and then bash the draft picks (4 years later) when they don't become kobe. Add in some "no true scotsman" fallacy and it's just an exhausting stance to take seriously. "That wasn't a real tank".

Remember trae's first and second season? Atlanta was exhibit A for the tank ppl back then. They are in love with players under the age of 22. And then are the MOST cynical of anyone 25 and older. It's all just "hope springs eternal" and shiny new mystery box thinking.

Also....any analysis of the past 20 years of drafting shows that top 10 picks are typically severely overrated in social media discourse while picks between 10 and 20 and severely underrated. So it's also a product of draft hype which is re-enforced because anyone in the media that works in prospect coverage profits from reader interest.

I think you're giving the pro-tankers too much credit, I don't even think they like young players at all. They just like picks and the hypotheticals that picks provide. The second that a pick becomes a player that isn't an MVP candidate by year 2, that player "will never be a 1st option" and the tank needs to continue.

[SFour]

There's no pressure to go all-in this season....Barnes is still only 24 years old

I think we have to go the Lowry/Demar path again (Barnes/Ingram), just develop the team into a consistent ~50 win regular season team, once you reach that point you can make that all-in trade to push them into real contention for a championship.

The focus for now should just be building regular season success...and they're showed some of that this season but unfortunately there's been alot of unexpected losses against bad teams. The record could've been top 5 in the league if they handled business.

[TheRaptor!]

Please speak for yourself

You don’t think they have brought out the best in each of their games?

BI focuses on O, and Scottie is allowed to focus more on D.

Barnes maybe (though I never bought the argument that he couldn’t give full effort prior because his offensive load was “too high”). I feel like his defense would have developed either way but I could maybe see how Ingram has helped.

Ingram is exactly the same guy he’s always been. 22/6/4 on 56 TS%. This season could be any of his NOP seasons.

Exactly, Ingram is exactly who we expected him to be, i dont think he improved his game much, but he's always been borderline all star level

Barnes...well hes never been a good offensive player and never will, his D was always solid

So no, i don't see anything from them that I wasnt expecting

[Thaddy]

We should go for a championship while the East is very weak and hope for a good final match up.

RJ + IQ + Dick + picks should get us a Sabonis level player.

Sabonis / Poeltl
Barnes
Ingram
IQ
Shead

Shead is our best performing prospect and I would bet on him improving more than the others. CMB, Walter and Mamu are decent bench pieces. We could add more through second rounders.

[Indeed]

1. Push the chips in and mortgage the next 5-6 years on someone like Giannis.

We are not in this stage yet. Our roster construction is confusing, we are not a player away.

2. You trade for reclamation projects that are undervalued due to their team taking a different direction.

Our coaching personnel may not excel this, unlike our previous head coach who can excel a player with the change on the system. Eg. Ibaka, Trent, etc.

3. Value snipe as a 3rd team in big trades.

We never like trying this, as we always want to get a better player instead of picks, but this is my preferred way. Dragic expiring, Young expiring, Trent expiring, Bruce Brown expiring, etc.

4. Roll the dice on high risk high reward stars.

We just tried this with Ingram, but we are unlikely to look and sell him. Yet, we don't have more assets for other high risk (we gave up a 1st round pick)

5. DO NOTHING! NO TRADING KIDS AND PICKS - NEVER WORKS, EVER!

Disagree on this, I prefer we buy low and sell high. However, more importantly, our roster aren't a good fit altogether (we have no high).

I would even argue that our strategy isn't good to begin with.
Trying to spend and surround a less talent / more flawed player, yet, that player does not have a good better value than salary ratio.
Then we should build base on a coach with a working theory, and our coach wants to base on passing and shooting, but we need an isolation closer (defeating the theory).
Trying to keep draft picks, and players didn't end up being in the league (eg. Flynn) with our development program downgraded (no longer have our players improved their shooting, yet, we draft those high potential non-shooter).

[Rainman66]

My duration of 25-26 season boils down to 3 paths essentially:
1.Reclamation project like Dayron Sharpe/Robert Williams/Capela/Landale (Likely).
2.. Trade for a high risk/reward star like Ja or Sabonis or Garland (Unlikely).
3. Try to hang on to a top 6 seed but surging teams like Cavs, Orlando, Bucks knock us into the play-in, if we end up in the play-in tank for the 9 or 10 seeds and make the lottery (Long shot).

[hype_2004]

Swing the fence for AD, a change of scenery away from American media would ignite his passion for the game. We have the medical staff to take care of his body, he could theoretically be Kawhi 2.0. a front line of Barnes, BI and AD is championship material and a defensive nightmare to the rest of the NBA, swing for that fence Bobby!

[Appostis]

We should go for a championship while the East is very weak and hope for a good final match up.

RJ + IQ + Dick + picks should get us a Sabonis level player.

Sabonis / Poeltl
Barnes
Ingram
IQ
Shead

Shead is our best performing prospect and I would bet on him improving more than the others. CMB, Walter and Mamu are decent bench pieces. We could add more through second rounders.

Sabonis is not a winning player..

[DatHomieYouHaTe]

Acquire LaMelo Ball.

Are we trying to get worse? He's not a good player.

[djsunyc]

regardless of any moves made, i would factor in darko being able to make it work.

almost everyone thought a combination of rj/bi/scottie would clog things up and not be able to work but darko has those 3 playing great together.

he's completely streamlined rj as a scorer and you can see how much he impacts the game now.

if we make a deal, i like the odds of it working on the offensive end.

as of right now, i don't trade rj unless we get a bonafide guard/wing scorer.

so if we get trae/lamelo - darko will use them to their most efficient abilities.

[deck]

Hard to answer these hypotheticals without looking at what would be going outbound in cases where we are buyers. But generally, I don't think we should be making deals that include lots of future draft capital going outbound. I don't think we are at a stage where that would be prudent.

[TGM]

regardless of any moves made, i would factor in darko being able to make it work.

almost everyone thought a combination of rj/bi/scottie would clog things up and not be able to work but darko has those 3 playing great together.

he's completely streamlined rj as a scorer and you can see how much he impacts the game now.

if we make a deal, i like the odds of it working on the offensive end.

as of right now, i don't trade rj unless we get a bonafide guard/wing scorer.

so if we get trae/lamelo - darko will use them to their most efficient abilities.

The whole RJ, Scottie BI getting clog had little basis. A few sports writer said it and then all of a sudden 80% of the fan base jumped to that conclusion. Anyone who watched BI play knew what he brought to the table. If people still don’t see it let me break it down.

1. Ingram starts his game at the top of the key penetrates and pulls back for jumpers. However he is equally competent at pulling up on the 3pt line so players need to guard him tighter making his driving hard to guard and easier for him to get seperation.

2. RJ is not a top of the key creator. He is a catch and shoot 3 guy. If not he is a slasher that gets lay ups or finishes on strong cuts. He has a deadly Eurostep. His mid range jump shot is not great. He gets his points on the spot up 3 and drives.

3. Scottie is not a self offensive creator at all at the top of the key. He is a passer at the top of the key. His mid range jump shot is reliable, but doesn’t come from penetration at the top of the key and fadeaway like BI. He usually drives and then posts up. Or he gets open and takes a 12-15 footer. The rest of his baskets come near the basket layups, dunks and inconsistent 3s. He is decent at the half court drive and dunk.

So when people say they all have mid range games that’s a totally incorrect assessment as you need to see what they are all initiating at that point on the court. BI is creating his own offense. Scottie is passing. RJ is slashing or waiting for the kick-out.

Not to take away anything from BI but the blatant issue for the Raps the past few seasons going back post Kawhi was not have a pure shot creator. Fred, Pascal were not that player. If we acquired Zach Lavine or a Miles Bridges we would have seen similar directional improvement. Masai and Bobby have been drafting guys for their defense first almost to a fault. The team is still partially offensively challenged in my mind from an inside scoring presence perspective.We would still see net improvement if we favored a bit more offense and a little less defense.
This is where a Giannis or Davis make sense in that you are getting the inside scoring and two way presence. The premium on Giannis is the durability. Then you have your more offense less offense options in Sabonis who would cost even less.

[Clutch0z24]

If you are actully serious about being competitive we need a Big and a proper PG....AD is a risk but on the market hes the only player on the market that puts our team up another level and to be taken more seriously in the playoffs....Depending on the price i could see AD being Bobbys first target...

Reality is these are the type of guys on the market you trade for when you are playing team mid....You have to basically take the risk in trading for the Trae/AD/Morants/Balls/Sabonis of the world if its even possible with the lack of assets we have because idek if many teams like what we got to offer...There are no Giannis level players coming to save us...

Standing pat does nothing for the team and the timeline we decided to go on....You can't have a young developmental bench trying to develop so many young guys if you are trying to win and be serious about winning....We have Ingram/Barnes as a pretty decent duo, But thats not enough to get the job done....Love Barrett but he might be one of the only positive assets we have in any trade...

Barrett
IQ
CMB
JaKobe
Dick
2026 FRP

Should all be on the table for an upgrade imo....Drafting in the 20s does nothing for this team but more meh level projects to develop....Need some vets and one big upgrade....Would love to get in a real PG as well and get off of IQ....Would put Yak on that list but i doubt anyone wants him at his price tag and back issues.

[Los_29]

If you are actully serious about being competitive we need a Big and a proper PG....AD is a risk but on the market hes the only player on the market that puts our team up another level and to be taken more seriously in the playoffs....Depending on the price i could see AD being Bobbys first target...

Reality is these are the type of guys on the market you trade for when you are playing team mid....You have to basically take the risk in trading for the Trae/AD/Morants/Balls/Sabonis of the world if its even possible with the lack of assets we have because idek if many teams like what we got to offer...There are no Giannis level players coming to save us...

Standing pat does nothing for the team and the timeline we decided to go on....You can't have a young developmental bench trying to develop so many young guys if you are trying to win and be serious about winning....We have Ingram/Barnes as a pretty decent duo, But thats not enough to get the job done....Love Barrett but he might be one of the only positive assets we have in any trade...

Barrett
IQ
CMB
JaKobe
Dick
2026 FRP

Should all be on the table for an upgrade imo....Drafting in the 20s does nothing for this team but more meh level projects to develop....Need some vets and one big upgrade....Would love to get in a real PG as well and get off of IQ....Would put Yak on that list but i doubt anyone wants him at his price tag and back issues.

You’ve mentioned lack of assets a few times recently. As far as I know we have all of our picks which automatically puts us near the top. Not many teams have all of their picks or any for that matter. Some examples include Denver, NYK, LAL, LAC, Minnesota, Philly, Miami, GSW, Cleveland, Orlando and others. Those are a lot of teams who are looking to compete and are limited in terms of what they can do.

The team is in very good shape. It’s not the time to be making a big splash though. We got a young team so just need to be patient. Ingram is what? Just 27? 28?