The Tank Debate Thread

[Pass it]

I'll only support a tank if there's a good chance of us getting Julius Randle. Dam he so skilled for his size. He's only in high school and already has an NBA body and athleticism. He could also play some 3 as well b/c of his handles and drive game.

[bballsparkin]

Not to hate on Duke, it's just that their best current alumnus is a toss up between Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer.)

Irving > Deng/Boozer.

Grant Hill???

[Ponchos]

Not to hate on Duke, it's just that their best current alumnus is a toss up between Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer.)

Irving > Deng/Boozer.

Grant Hill???

He said "current" alumnus, but I don't know why that distinction matters much. Of the current, Irving is tops, of all-time it would be Hill.

[CoachJReturns]

A Julius Randle beside Jonas would be a nice combination.

...and this is why I don't worry or stress whether we'll get Wiggins or not.

Randle is not only very skilled, but dude gets at it. Him and Jonas would be a lot of fun to watch. Just relentless.

Jabari Parker would also look good there too (although I question what he'll get from Duke. Not to hate on Duke, it's just that their best current alumnus is a toss up between Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer.)

Aaron Gordon works too... Marcus Smart and Andrew Harrison look like solid PG prospects if you"re looking for one of those...

Gee, sure seems like a lot of decent prospects that aren't named Andrew Wiggins. I wonder if that would be, I don't know, a good indication that we might want to put ourselves in a position to draft one of those guys?
Maybe?

When it comes to tanking, you have to be tactical. This year is a tactical tank, where the prize isn't just one or two possible top-tier prospects, but six to eight.

If someone suggested we tank last season, I wouldn't have agreed with it, because the draft was weak, and we knew that going into it. This year is different. It's in our best long-term interest to tank this season.

Is it worth the tank to come out with a really good power forward? Isn't the league stacked with such players or are these guys supposed to be on Duncan and KG's level?

Randle got a comparison to Chris Webber on nbadraft.net for his high skill level. We'll have to watch how he plays in college, but I'd be willing to tank for a Chris Webber type talent. Imagine prime C Web beside Val...Perennial playoff team, easily. Add another relatively high pick in 2015, plus multiple picks in 2016 and I think we'd be sitting pretty. Parker looks good too. If Exum declares as well, I'd want to punch Masai in the face for not choosing to tank.

[True_Shooting]

I can't believe so many people want to tank when we've already missed the playoffs 5 straight years. You people are not real Raptors fans. I want playoffs this upcoming year. Even an 8th seed swept in the first round is better than nothing.

[Ponchos]

I can't believe so many people want to tank when we've already missed the playoffs 5 straight years. You people are not real Raptors fans. I want playoffs this upcoming year. Even an 8th seed swept in the first round is better than nothing.

Edited

[TANKNATION]

Landry fields have been promoted from Liutenant to tank commander. Operation Wiggins !!

[bballsparkin]

He said "current" alumnus, but I don't know why that distinction matters much. Of the current, Irving is tops, of all-time it would be Hill.

Gotcha, reading fail on my part.

[Just Win Baby]

Agree with sentiments that even if we miss out on the number 1, chances are we will be coming home with a great prospect.

But I need you pro-tankers to do better than that. Draw up some trades (Rudy, KL, and possibly DeRozan) that can put us in the position to be bad enough to tank but we have to get fair/decent value in return (not counting the increased value of our potential draft pick, which I'm sure to some of you is worth it alone).

[Raps in 4]

Is it worth the tank to come out with a really good power forward? Isn't the league stacked with such players or are these guys supposed to be on Duncan and KG's level?

It's never a bad idea to draft a really good player, at any position. It doesn't matter how saturated a position is. A good player is a good player.

If you're suggesting that we can sign a top-tier PF, we can't. We're not a market that attracts free agents for geographical reasons.

[Just Win Baby]

Is it worth the tank to come out with a really good power forward? Isn't the league stacked with such players or are these guys supposed to be on Duncan and KG's level?

It's never a bad idea to draft a really good player, at any position. It doesn't matter how saturated a position is. A good player is a good player.

If you're suggesting that we can sign a top-tier PF, we can't. We're not a market that attracts free agents for geographical reasons.

Disagree, talent will come if we spend. We either don't spend or spend it all on the wrong guys. Leiweke and Masai plan to change that.

[Raps in 4]

Is it worth the tank to come out with a really good power forward? Isn't the league stacked with such players or are these guys supposed to be on Duncan and KG's level?

It's never a bad idea to draft a really good player, at any position. It doesn't matter how saturated a position is. A good player is a good player.

If you're suggesting that we can sign a top-tier PF, we can't. We're not a market that attracts free agents for geographical reasons.

Disagree, talent will come if we spend. We either don't spend or spend it all on the wrong guys. Leiweke and Masai plan to change that.

We spend more than most teams.

Undesirable markets have simply never attracted top-flight free-agents. It's not just Toronto, but every cold/small market team.

[True_Shooting]

I can't believe so many people want to tank when we've already missed the playoffs 5 straight years. You people are not real Raptors fans. I want playoffs this upcoming year. Even an 8th seed swept in the first round is better than nothing.

Edited

Edited

[Ponchos]

I can't believe so many people want to tank when we've already missed the playoffs 5 straight years. You people are not real Raptors fans. I want playoffs this upcoming year. Even an 8th seed swept in the first round is better than nothing.

Edited

Edited

Only an idiot and a non-fan would want this team to get swept by the Heat in the playoffs.

[Salted Meat]

I can't believe so many people want to tank when we've already missed the playoffs 5 straight years. You people are not real Raptors fans. I want playoffs this upcoming year. Even an 8th seed swept in the first round is better than nothing.

Edited

Edited

Easy tiger, you have no right to say who a real fan is.
You're passionate, I get that. So are a lot of people who feel that we should be tanking this year.

You're just baiting people with this "you're not a real fan" bs.

Only an idiot and a non-fan would want this team to get swept by the Heat in the playoffs.

See?

So stop it.

[True_Shooting]

Edited

Edited

Only an idiot and a non-fan would want this team to get swept by the Heat in the playoffs.

Only an idiot and a non-fan would want his team to miss the playoffs six straight years.

[sca]

Edited

Only an idiot and a non-fan would want this team to get swept by the Heat in the playoffs.

Only an idiot and a non-fan would want his team to miss the playoffs six straight years.

Lol, you're talking as if the tank supporters want this team to tank for the next six years. The last five years are over already. You make no sense at all.

[BackseatBoss]

Edited

Only an idiot and a non-fan would want this team to get swept by the Heat in the playoffs.

Only an idiot and a non-fan would want his team to miss the playoffs six straight years.

Only an idiot and a non-fan would want his team to become a treadmill team.

[5DOM]

How about we stop baiting each other with the idiot/non-fan comments

[DG88]

Just read an interesting article on the teams that are tanking. And unsurprisingly to me at least, the list is small.

Instead of taking a dive, though, just about every club has engaged in moves this offseason that are at least partly defensible as honest attempts to improve. It might not be the wisest course, but that is what they have chosen. Here is the complete list of teams that have gotten appreciably worse on paper, by their choice, compared to last season: –Celtics –Bucks –Sixers –Jazz And … that’s all. To be sure, quite a few teams that stunk to begin with just haven’t gotten any better — the Suns, Kings and Raptors chief among them. Also, to be honest, the four highlighted above weren’t all that great, either. The Celtics bowed out in first round, albeit with a fight. The Bucks were the eighth seed with a sub-.500 record in a putrid Eastern Conference. The Jazz choked away the No. 8 spot in the West in the final two weeks. The Sixers were bad, traded away All-Star point guard Jrue Holiday, and now, they’re likely to be awful. Meanwhile, several teams seemingly positioned to be part of the Wiggins sweepstakes made moves to improve their standings. The Cavaliers took a leveraged chance on Andrew Bynum. The Pistons snatched up Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings to lay a realistic claim to the Bucks’ playoff spot. The Pelicans dealt for Holiday and signed Tyreke Evans. The Bobcats signed Al Jefferson to a three-year deal, for some reason. Even the Blazers tried to improve their terrible bench production from last season by signing Mo Williams. These aren’t the moves of a league jostling for lottery position. These are moves by teams who actually think they will be able to compete for something other than also-ran status. How quaint.

Read more at: http://nesn.com/2013/08/andrew-wiggins- ... ns-so-far/