Other teams' 2019 draft: who did well? Who didn't?

[TGW]

The Grizzlies had a fantastic offseason. Now that's what I call a rebuild.

[closg00]

Rather than start a new thread, just gonna drop this here as we follow SL.

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[I_Like_Dirt]

If they had have done the trade for Iguodala instead of signing Ariza - it would have been absolutely amazing. But the didn't hurt their cap situation to sign those players and still sign their FAs moving forward.

Fox/Joseph/Ferrell/Mason
Hield/Bogdanovic
Barnes/Ariza
Bagley/Bjelica/Giles
Dedmon/Holmes/Swanigan

That's a very nice and deep roster. If Fox and Bagley improve like I think they will. This is a playoff team in the West for quite some time. In the east - top 4 team, IMO.

I still think Warren might have been the smarter move for them. He fits better age-wise and is simply better than Ariza at this point. I don't know that they'd be top 4 in the east. The Bucks, Sixers and Raptors (even without Kawhi) all strike me as better teams. I suppose they'd be in contention for 4th with teams like the Celtics, Nets and Pacers but I'm not convinced they're better than those teams.

They'd definitely be a playoff team in the east, though. In the west, things are just so competitive. The 8th seed in the west had 48 wins this season and while it might not take that many this season, it's going to be awfully close to that number and things are really competitive. The Nuggets, Blazers, Rockets and Jazz all seem to be likely playoff teams. The Spurs, Thunder and Clippers are all going to be solid teams that push the limits of what is required for a playoff spot in the west. The Warriors and Lakers (even with Kawhi, though he'd help a lot) are both high variance teams that have the top end talent to make the playoffs going away but are thin enough that a single injury probably causes them massive problems. I also don't love what David Griffin has done (Davis trade aside) but I think the Pelicans look like they'll be pushing for the playoffs, too. The Kings might make it, but I expect they'll need at least 46 wins, and maybe slightly more, to get in. This is going to be a slugfest.

[dckingsfan]

@Dirt...

And to make your point - they need to win probably 7 or 8 more games over last year.

But... Fox will have another year. Bagley will have another year. They added a legit C rotation that works well with this group. They added a legit SF rotation that works well with this group. They added depth to the PG position.

I think they are on track to challenge the Warriors, Thunder, Spurs, Clippers and Lakers for the 6-8 slot. But man, their path is narrow.

Warriors - Still have Seth and Green... might not be enough to make the playoffs.

Nuggets - Might win the west - will be 50+

Trail Blazers - Jusuf Nurkic won't return until Janauary - but that shouldn't slow them down. 50? Edit: forgot about the Hassan Whiteside trade.

Rockets - Will still win 50.

Jazz - Got better with their FA haul - 50+

Thunder - Same team - high 40s

Spurs - Same team + Pop - high 40s

Clippers - Same team - Kawhi question - still high 40s?

Lakers - Added Davis - should break into the 40s?

Timberwolves - same team, no playoffs

Grizzlies - huge jump but young, no playoffs

Pelicans - huge jump but young, no playoffs

Mavs - Nothing impactful, no playoffs

Suns - Young players but not enough, no playoffs

[I_Like_Dirt]

I don't totally disagree with your takes overall though there are some minor distinctions I might make. I don't think the Mavs are making the playoffs, for example, but I do think Porzingis qualifies as something substantial. And if they manage to add Danny Green, as they've been trying to do (I doubt it works), then they could flirt with 40+ wins, too, depending on how things break.

Nurkic won't return for a while but the Blazers did add Whiteside. The bigger issue they have is their forwards.



The team I have my eye on out west a bit is the Thunder. They're an extremely thin team that's set to pay yet another heavy tax bill while never breaking out of the first round. Yeah, Paul George is healthy to start this coming season, but he was healthy to start last season, too. I'm not convinced both George and Westbrook can manage to stay healthy all season long and even if they do they're probably squeaking into the 6-8 seed. With the Lakers and Kings looking to make pushes, and even the Mavs and Pelicans not being legitimately bad teams, I think things could go south awfully fast in OKC. That team isn't going to enjoy repeater tax bills for a team that struggles just to lose in the 1st round. And while I'm sure they'd love to dump any combination of Schroeder, Grant or Roberson, I'm not seeing a market for them. Adams... maybe, but to dump his contract and get under the tax is much harder than just trading him. And if they start playing it cheap, I suspect George and Westbrook may not be the happiest with it. Teams might trade for Westbrook but his age and contract are real problems. I wonder if Paul George wouldn't ever be moved at some point if things go badly there.

[dckingsfan]

I guess we need to add the Clippers now - George & Leonard. Does that make them the team to beat?

It was expensive though... Thunder will get four unprotected first-round picks, one protected first-round pick and two pick swaps -- Shai Gilgeious-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari.