Franchise408

Careful. I've pointed this out plenty in years past and get downvoted into oblivion because people around here have devoted themselves to the mindset that we have to tank for picks.

This is just one of many reasons why tanking is an invalid strategy.

JALEN SUGGS DOES IT AGAIN!!!

Magic over the champs!!

Bruh we need to give Suggs his flowers tonight. Dude put the team on his shoulders against the champs.

So has Mosley just decided that Banchero isn't a scoring option anymore? A 0 point 1st quarter? Best player on the team is being completely taken out of the gameplan.

Frustrated as I am by last night, I'm not giving up on anything yet either. Our floor leader is hurt. And I don't really see the need to go sign someone, because Fultz will be available sooner than later. And the kind of person we'd be signing to play for a couple weeks isn't gonna be anyone who is going to give us any sort of significant upgrade. I don't dislike Suggs, though he's probably on the lower end of our talent potential. I think he should be a 2-guard, not running at point. I do agree with some vet leadership. This is exactly why I didn't want to trade Vuc. I think this team needs a guy like him right now. But alas, I am torn because trading Vuc got us Franz. But my entire stance against trading Vuc when we did was based all on this situation we find ourselves in now - we have a lot of young potential talent but no on-court leadership to guide them. I think in the long term, this team is actually set up nicely. I think Fultz can be our guy at the point. Cole and Suggs can be our guy at the 2. Franz will be a standout at 3, Paolo our all-star at 4, and Carter can be a solid anchor at the 5. Off the bench we can have Cole & Suggs in rotation, Isaac, Bamba, Ross, and Okeke, and I feel like that's pretty solid, with room to bring in some vets that can offer some guidance. Overall I'm even liking what I'm seeing on the court. These guys are competitive with everyone they've played. They are just young, and as stated earlier, green. Lots of careless turnovers, and not the greatest shot selection. We blew a game last night that we should have won. But once this group grows and matures and develops, I think they can be dangerous. It's already fun for me to watch.

And now you know why I am 100% anti-tanking

This is a bad L. They aren't even attempting to get the ball to Paolo. Best player on the team isn't even touching the ball. I don't mind losing but this is an absolutely embarrassing meltdown.

And now you see why I hate tanking and don't believe it works. Getting your Franz and Banchero are great, but there needs to be pieces around them. Where my optimism comes from however is the fact that we do have pieces. We've been drafting those pieces. But like Banchero and Wagner, they need to mature and develop. Our entire roster is under 25 years old, with tons of top picks. 1's (Banchero, Fultz), 4 (Suggs), 6 (Bamba, Isaac), 8 (Wagner) 15 (Okeke, Anthony, both of which could have been higher if not for health concerns), all under 25. Yes, some of these players need to start hitting soon, but this was *never* the year guys. I understand that it's been a long time and it sucks. The previous GM was atrocious. This new crew has done a good job of clearing out the previous mess and stockpiling new young talent. *This* particular plan hasn't been taking 12 years, and it's gonna take time to come together.

Despite being winless to this point (hopefully #1 comes tonight?), I am actually feeling very optimistic about this team. Paolo is clearly the right pick, and a legit #1 overall. I am very excited for what is to come from him. Wagner is a legit player, carrying over his contributions from last year and I'm seeing improvement there as well. Cole Anthony is turning into a beast. Whether a starter or off the bench, he is going to be a great weapon to have in this rotation. Carter is an anchor. Ross has been a good stop gap for us til we get the rest of our guys back. Bol Bol has been nice off the bench. We get our floor general back in Fultz, and I think this team has some real potential. Not necessarily this season (I'm still looking at a play-in tourney high end projection for this year's team) but going forward, I think this team is set up. I like Bamba, but can understand the reasons behind moving him if we do. I can also understand if we decide to move Isaac once he's healthy as well. But I think those assets are still strong enough to at least get us something in return that can help us, and enough potential to be pieces for us should we keep them. I'm very excited for this year.

We might not be, but it's time to let these guys play and figure it out the hard way. Far as I'm concerned, the starting 5 needs to be Carter, Banchero, Wagner, Suggs, and Fultz, with a 5 man bench of Anthony, Isaac, Bamba, Okeke, and either Ross or Hampton, and let the youth play and develop. We aren't gonna get anywhere by trying to sabotage success for draft picks. If the team genuinely isn't good enough, then we can make an evaluation based on that and decide where to go from there. I *still* don't know how I feel about the Vuc trade, but we did get Wagner out of it so it looks like it wasn't all bad, but the time for trying to stock pile top draft picks is over. Fultz has 2 years left, Cole has 2 years left, Suggs and Wagner are on rookie deals for a couple more years, and contracts like Ross and Harris are about to come off the books. We have to look at what we have while we can afford to do it and will have money to afford any replacements.

Nah, the time for tanking is over. Tanking should never be the plan to begin with, but this is where we are at. But right now we are stacked with top draft picks, we need to start pushing for on court success. Otherwise we are gonna end up wasting the rookie contracts we have and discount contracts of Fultz and Isaac if we keep the tanking thing up, and be stuck at square one. I know we don't have any control as fans here on the forums, but my expectations are to fight for a play-in spot. If we are in contention for a top lottery pick again, im gonna see this season as a huge disappointment and a black mark on this FO.

Right? This whole place has been "tank for draft picks" for YEARS, and now that we've done that, everyone is mad that we are filled with youth and potential.

Yea, but that's what happened the year we traded Vuc, Gordon, and Fournier also. When Fultz was healthy, we had the top record in the East. Once he got injured (and the rest of the dominoes fell), that's when everything fell apart. The team as constructed at that time was good enough, they just didn't stay healthy and we blew it up. I do agree that this roster, if healthy, has a very high ceiling. So much potential with Fultz, Suggs, Cole, Isaac, Bamba, Okeke, Wagner, and now Banchero. With other solid pieces like WCJ, Ross, Hampton, and Wagner 2, I think this team can really develop into something special.