PennytoShaq wrote:OrlandoNed wrote:PennytoShaq wrote:Reality is that you CAN get a star player at pick 10, 11, 12. It happens. So while the prior regime may not have tanked well, they still got us enough assets to have a rather talented team. The Magic simply need to find that lead scorer and it does not have to be done through tanking.
Unfortunately, the reality is also that tanking is a much more proactive way to find a star via the draft. There is an element of control there where a team can better position itself unlike with what Hammond did in Milwaukee, floundering aimlessly in the 7-10 seed range until he stumbled upon Giannis and had bad injury luck in 2014 that dropped the Bucks to the bottom of the league which got them Parker.
I'd rather have a management team actively trying to a find a star instead of putting together a mediocre team year after year on the NBA treadmill with the only hope of escaping being a star falling into their lap via blind, dumb luck. I can be patient during an intentional tanking effort but my patience will not last forever with multiple seasons where the best case scenario is a quick first round playoff exit with no potential to make significant improvements.
The reality is that the league is implementing anti-tank rules to get rid of treadmill teams. Additionally this Magic team simply will not be bad enough to tank into the top 3-5 anyway. So by throwing it all away for a losing culture again, the Magic would not accomplish much this year. It is better to develop a team that learns how to win games.
Exactly
Even if we pick in the 10-15 region in the draft next year we can a good player.
There are some interesting prospects in that range
https://youtu.be/PCatkvng8Bg