The "Tank Again This Season" Idea

[lucky777s]

DET has the cap space this year but I'm not sure you can get the long term star you want and need with that space this year. Rudy Gay could be as close as you can come to that.

I know it has been a rough few years but one more year of patience can nab you a great pick next summer and really have your long term core in place. Taking on expirings today in a trade that gets you more picks or a young player like Barnes is a solid move for your mid to long term future.

The East is so uncertain right now. After the top 5 spots its wide open and nobody knows who is filling those final 3 spots and missing out on the lottery in what is expected to be a great draft year.

WAS is the only team that seems to definitely be chasing a playoff spot after having drafted well the last few years. Played well when Wall was healthy.
CLE says they want out of the lotto but one more bad year would be perfect for them. And they do not seem to have maximized the talent with the great picks they have had.

MIL/BOS - are they tanking for a pick or trying to hang on to 7/8. Boston should be bad and have big trouble scoring. MIL should be tanking but seem to want to fight for a playoff spot.
ATL - Dwight is not coming, what do they do? Will they tank or keep enough talent to hang onto 6 playoff seed.

TOR - currently has enough to get into the playoffs by default. But will Ujiri trade Gay or make a tank move.

PHI looks to be tanking hard
CHA wants to improve but won't be good enough unless they have other moves ahead. Poor drafting, they really need another high pick to cover up those mistakes.

Where does DET fit in all this? Does Drummond make a big step up this year or do his limitations start to show? Is KCP ready to be a consistent scorer at the nba level? Those guys can propel you into the playoffs. But one more year in the lottery still looks like the right move unless you can grab a Barnes from GS.
Dumars must have learned from the Gordon/Villy signings to keep his powder dry if the right guys are not there. Expirings help you do that.

[DetroitPistons]

Tanking is out of the question next year. First of all, we already are not bad enough to get a top 5 pick as we currently stand. Add to that the fact that half of the league is going to be openly tanking and that Joe's job is most certainly on the line this year and you can easily see why we couldn't and shouldn't tank this year.

[princeofpalace]

^
The only teams in the league currently worse than us are Phili, Orlando and Phoenix.

Charlotte got better with the Al Jefferson acquisision. New Orleans looks like a playoff team. Was could contend for a playoff spot as well.

For the 5th consecutive year, we look like a team that will finish 4-10 next season barring a major FA acquisition or trade. Assuming that no impact player is made available to us- we could either sign a pair of mediocre FA's- get the 10th seed in the East and give Charlotte a lottery pick- or we can stand pat and try to keep the pick for ourselves.

[Montanabadboy33]

^
The only teams in the league currently worse than us are Phili, Orlando and Phoenix.

Charlotte got better with the Al Jefferson acquisision. New Orleans looks like a playoff team. Was could contend for a playoff spot as well.

For the 5th consecutive year, we look like a team that will finish 4-10 next season barring a major FA acquisition or trade.

What?!? Charlotte signs a washed up Al Jefferson and suddenly Jefferson/ Zeller >than Monroe/Drummond? That franchise is a joke and has done nothing to convince me they're better than us. What about Cleveland? Benett makes them miraculously better than us? Boston traded away KG and Pierce a d got back what exactly? We're better than more than the 3 teams you mentioned, don't be so dramatic.

[russkopp]

I would love picking up Barnes but there's no way Dumars pulls this off. I have to keep reminding myself that Dumars isn't capable of making trades/smart decisions anymore. We are the LOLstones.

[princeofpalace]

^
The only teams in the league currently worse than us are Phili, Orlando and Phoenix.

Charlotte got better with the Al Jefferson acquisision. New Orleans looks like a playoff team. Was could contend for a playoff spot as well.

For the 5th consecutive year, we look like a team that will finish 4-10 next season barring a major FA acquisition or trade.

What?!? Charlotte signs a washed up Al Jefferson and suddenly Jefferson/ Zeller >than Monroe/Drummond? That franchise is a joke and has done nothing to convince me they're better than us. What about Cleveland? Benett makes them miraculously better than us? Boston traded away KG and Pierce a d got back what exactly? We're better than more than the 3 teams you mentioned, don't be so dramatic.

How is a 28 year old Al Jefferson- who put up 18/9/2 on a borderline playoff team washed up? Cleveland was better than us last season before Irving went down.

Stop being a homer. We are only clearly better than 3 teams who are actively tanking.

[Piston Pete]

^
The only teams in the league currently worse than us are Phili, Orlando and Phoenix.

Charlotte got better with the Al Jefferson acquisision. New Orleans looks like a playoff team. Was could contend for a playoff spot as well.

For the 5th consecutive year, we look like a team that will finish 4-10 next season barring a major FA acquisition or trade. Assuming that no impact player is made available to us- we could either sign a pair of mediocre FA's- get the 10th seed in the East and give Charlotte a lottery pick- or we can stand pat and try to keep the pick for ourselves.

ATL is worse than us too.

We are currently still a lottery team:

Knight / ??? / Siva
KCP / Stuckey / English
Singler / Middleton
Monroe / Mitchell / Jerebko / CV
Drummond / Kravtsov

I would guess we're currently 6th-8th worst in the league, but a lot can change in the next few weeks (free agency).

[BIG BEN'S FRO]

Lol I don't think we have to worry about tanking. Atlanta is not worse than us currently. Probably close either way IMO.

[Piston Pete]

Lol I don't think we have to worry about tanking. Atlanta is not worse than us currently. Probably close either way IMO.

All of ATL's main guys (except Horford) are FAs. At best, they re-sign all their own guys and stay a mid-to-late playoff seed. At worst, they lose their guys and tank.

[princeofpalace]

Lol I don't think we have to worry about tanking. Atlanta is not worse than us currently. Probably close either way IMO.

All of ATL's main guys (except Horford) are FAs. At best, they re-sign all their own guys and stay a mid-to-late playoff seed. At worst, they lose their guys and tank.

ATL wouldnt have given Kyle Korver 6 a year for the next 4 years if they planned to tank IMO.

[Piston Pete]

Lol I don't think we have to worry about tanking. Atlanta is not worse than us currently. Probably close either way IMO.

All of ATL's main guys (except Horford) are FAs. At best, they re-sign all their own guys and stay a mid-to-late playoff seed. At worst, they lose their guys and tank.

ATL wouldnt have given Kyle Korver 6 a year for the next 4 years if they planned to tank IMO.

Korver's not good enough to stop a tank-job all by himself.

Plus, the new CBA makes teams spend their cap. It won't allow teams like ATL to just sit back and not spend.

[bennett13]

On the bright side our team will now be the dreaded middle of the pack team only to get better from free agents and trades something Joe has clearly lost touch with.

[Montanabadboy33]

^
The only teams in the league currently worse than us are Phili, Orlando and Phoenix.

Charlotte got better with the Al Jefferson acquisision. New Orleans looks like a playoff team. Was could contend for a playoff spot as well.

For the 5th consecutive year, we look like a team that will finish 4-10 next season barring a major FA acquisition or trade.

What?!? Charlotte signs a washed up Al Jefferson and suddenly Jefferson/ Zeller >than Monroe/Drummond? That franchise is a joke and has done nothing to convince me they're better than us. What about Cleveland? Benett makes them miraculously better than us? Boston traded away KG and Pierce a d got back what exactly? We're better than more than the 3 teams you mentioned, don't be so dramatic.

How is a 28 year old Al Jefferson- who put up 18/9/2 on a borderline playoff team washed up? Cleveland was better than us last season before Irving went down.

Stop being a homer. We are only clearly better than 3 teams who are actively tanking.

You mean the Cleveland team we beat 4 times last year with and without Kyrie Irving? I admit the washed up comment was out of line, but Jefferson hardly makes that sad sack team better than our sad sack team. Also we played much better when Drummond. All I'm saying is we're too good to tank for a top 5 pick, and we only figure to get better with Drummond and Monroe.

[DetroitPistons]

CLE is garbage. CHA is garbage. BOS is garbage. We are better than those teams, especially if Joe brings in some decent free agents. ATL will probably lose Smith and I think we are better than them too if that happens. Call me a homer too then I guess. Lol I don't mind.

[russkopp]

PHI will be right in the Wiggins sweepstakes as well. We'll be good enough to get the #9 pick and lose is to CHA, it's clear Dumars is over matched in todays NBA. He clearly is trying anything and everything and none of it is working.

[russkopp]

Would Dumars still be our GM if the Hawks and Celtics didn't gift us Rasheed Wallace and Dre Knight and Moose fell in his lap? Three quarters of his "best moves" have been pure luck.

[Piston Pete]

If Joe can somehow get a a young SF with potential, I'd be fine sending a mid-1st rounder to CHAR. But if we continue to have a hole at SF and still send a pick, that I cannot stand for.

[Dirtgrain]

Would Dumars still be our GM if the Hawks and Celtics didn't gift us Rasheed Wallace and Dre Knight and Moose fell in his lap? Three quarters of his "best moves" have been pure luck.

As opposed to whom?