The Morning After

[Warspite]

Its not that we lost the pick so much as that the pick went to the #8 seed and that the #10 seed got the #1 pick. Sure we wont be a worse team next yr but those teams we are competing with got better. Sure loseing Harris might not be a big deal. Cavs getting Wiggens and Hornets getting a good player does. The top 2 picks are in our division and the Bulls have 2 1st rd picks. Oh and the other team in our division is in the ECF.

The road back to the top not only has a big bump but the grade is going to get a lot steeper. I just dont see how we can get into the playoffs next yr even if we play well. So we are back in the lottery in a bigman draft.

On the good side Cleveland will find a way to screw it up, Jerry RIensdorf only cares about $$$ and Hammond is still in Milwaukee.

Still 5 of the top 6 picks in this draft are in the east and the 1st 4 players drafted will all be in the east next season.

[Finn McCool]

What did we actually gain by trading Gordon? He would be off our books right now, we'd be getting a good pick and possibly have over $30 million dollars of cap space. Hindsight is 20-20, I know. I mean we couldn't win more than 35 % of our games the last 2 seasons. 3 coaches have been let go during that time. Kind of puts an ill feeling in my stomach.

I am not mad at the Cavs... now the NBA, the firm of Ernst & Young, the illuminatti and LeBron James is another story.

[dan2314]

the worst thing is that the pick ended up being the best possible one they couldve gotten outside the protection. it really was completely unnecessary with the amnesty clause available, but now that whats done is done, there's 2 things that make sense as positives to look at (amongst the million negatives):
1. This might be our last chance with significant cap space, this gives us another 2.5mil to spend.
2. We now have more flexibility to move smith/jennings (smith + 2015 1st for corey maggette's expiring anyone? )

[Spider156]

**** Cleveland!

[Kilo]

We're not a lock to be in the playoffs next season, and if we had the pick this year and drafted Stauskas or Harris they wouldn't have beendifference makers in that regard either.

East play-off teams - Locks - Miami, Indiana, Chicago
Likely in - Toronto, Washington, Charlotte

Battling for the last two spots - Cleveland, Atlanta, Detroit, Boston(Healthy Rondo, #6), Orlando(Oladipo/Exum), Philly (Noel, MCW, Parker, #10)

Worst than us - NYK (likely lose Melo, coaching debacle), Brooklyn(Pierce gone, Garnett retires, Deron surgeries), Milwaukee

We're a key injury from being a bottom feeder - Imagine Dre was injured and we finish bottom five - that pick would be going to Charlotte. Even if we won the lottery to have #2 or #3 either of those would go to Charlotte as well.

I'm happy we sent the pick this year. They get #9 now - maybe next year they would have got #15-#16 - we're not good enough to be looking at a 20's pick by any stretch, we'll be a 7/8 in the playoffs if we get in - but with there only being top overall protection and SVG might not be a tanker, but now he has more freedom to take a small step back to fumigate the bad contracts/attitudes off the team without worrying about losing too much and not having the pick. And if we are unlucky enough to face a major injury to a key player along the way and end up really bad - I would have been gutted to send a #2-#6 to Charlotte.