2021 NBA Draft Thread

[MagicMoses 23]

14 minutes ago, Franchise408 said:

Oh, they won a championship by tanking?

Please provide an alternative for the team we have considering we are a small/medium market sized team?

In 2 previous years we went to the playoffs and lost in 5 both times. Even if we were healthy the last time we weren't getting out of the first round. The players we had were never going to win us a chip which should be the ultimate goal of any franchise. Whilst I am disappointed that we did not stay 3rd or move up in the lottery it was better to rebuild than try the same thing over and over again expecting different results. Plus there is every chance with the assets acquired we trade up in this draft. 

[O_SteveO 102]

7 minutes ago, MagicMoses said:

Please provide an alternative for the team we have considering we are a small/medium market sized team?

In 2 previous years we went to the playoffs and lost in 5 both times. Even if we were healthy the last time we weren't getting out of the first round. The players we had were never going to win us a chip which should be the ultimate goal of any franchise. Whilst I am disappointed that we did not stay 3rd or move up in the lottery it was better to rebuild than try the same thing over and over again expecting different results. Plus there is every chance with the assets acquired we trade up in this draft. 

Not to mention the only 2 times this franchise even made the finals, we were in that position in large part because of 2 different players we took #1 lmao. 

[CTMagicUK 1,480]

23 minutes ago, Franchise408 said:

Tanking doesn't work. If you go through over the past 40+ years, you will see that teams never win the championship with the player that they drafted at #1, 2, or 3

 

The only exceptions to the rule:

1. Hakeem, after 10 years

2. Duncan, who was drafted onto a team with David Robinson

3. Kyrie, who got paired up with LeBron

4. Jordan, after he got paired up with Scottie

 

So if you can pair your pick with hall of fame talent, then sure, you can win a championship. But acquiring - or already having - Hall of Fame talent, is literally the opposite of tanking, so again, no, tanking does not work.

Only 1 team can win a championship every season and quite often luck plays a huge factor in it. 

The ultimate goal is obviously to win a championship but the aim should be to build a roster capable of sustaining multiple seasons at competing for a championship. 

I understand that in the NBA there is a lot of focus on winning a championship above all else but do you think for a second that Philly regrets drafting Allen Iverson because he didn't win a championship with them? Or us with Dwight Howard? Atlanta with Dominique? 

Every title team has multiple hall of famers on it. In general it's easier to attract and keep a second when you already have the first. And the easiest way to acquire the first, especially for a small market team like us, is to draft one.

I'm not a proponent of tanking long term especially when you have promising young players on your roster but your argument seems to suggest that it's not worth having top draft picks which I don't agree with at all. 

[Franchise408 116]

Sabotaging your team for picks does not work.

Even if you get the top pick, you have no support around him, and they leave off to greener pastures by the time the team is able to recover enough to be able to put any sort of help around them.

Look at LeBron's original Cleveland run. Look at Anthony Davis. Look at literally any top pick over the past decades, and you see the same story.

Team gets a high pick, has nothing to surround said pick with, if it's the rare generational changing player like AI or LeBron, *maybe* that player can carry the team to a grain of post-season relevance, but there isn't enough support around the player to get over the top, and they bail off where they can actually make a difference for a team that actually tried.

Tanking doesn't work not because it's bad to have a high pick, but because in order to get the top pick, your team has to be completely void of any semblance of supporting talent. All tanking does it put the franchise into a Tracy McGrady style situation where it's one guy carrying the weight of an entire franchise until finally the weak foundation gives, the player leaves to a better situation, and the franchise is right back to where they started, with nothing to show for it except perhaps a fleeting window of a couple years where they were a playoff team.

Championship teams are not built through tanking. Never have been, and never will be. You can make all the excuses you want for "small market" this, and "small market" that, but the fact remains, it does not work. It is a failing philosophy, and while down periods are a natural course of the ebbs and flows of professional sports, intentional sabotage of your own franchise in an attempt for a top pick is a philosophy that should never be attempted by any franchise that has any desire to ever be a competent franchise.

[Albert Lergier 99]

2 hours ago, CTMagicUK said:

He's in this draft. Whether he stays in or goes back to school we'll have to wait and see. He's a 6'1 PG though nothing like his old man. 

LeBron's kid is also a soon to be NBA player....are we picking him if he is on the board?

[Soul Bro 1,419]

6 hours ago, hootie249 said:

   I don't see anyone talking about if Suggs drops, which is a definite possibility. Do you like him at 5?

Absolutely 

[CTMagicUK 1,480]

27 minutes ago, Albert Lergier said:

LeBron's kid is also a soon to be NBA player....are we picking him if he is on the board?

He's at least 2 years away and at present is only the 28th ranked player in his class.

[Soul Bro 1,419]

I really hope WeltHam do not fall into the trap of drafting around players we already have on the roster. Because we don’t already have a star, this would be faulty thinking. If they like a guard, even if it’s Suggs, Giddey, Mitchell or someone else, draft that guard. Virtually no one we have on our roster is a lock to be a starter, let alone an all-star, on a playoff team. BPA is an absolute must in Orlando right now.

[A Better DJ & Photographer 456]

4 hours ago, Soul Bro said:

I really hope WeltHam do not fall into the trap of drafting around players we already have on the roster. Because we don’t already have a star, this would be faulty thinking. If they like a guard, even if it’s Suggs, Giddey, Mitchell or someone else, draft that guard. Virtually no one we have on our roster is a lock to be a starter, let alone an all-star, on a playoff team. BPA is an absolute must in Orlando right now.

As is 2 guys that can already shoot the ball into the basket!

[Albert Lergier 99]

6 minutes ago, ROCK LEGENDS PHOTOGRAPHERS said:

As is 2 guys that can already shoot the ball into the basket!

The Phoenix Suns are heading to....THE NBA FINALS.

I did a quick check on their 3 point shooting and can't say they got there cause of their shooting.

Sure, sure, sure they have Chris and Devin but they don't shoot a lots of 3's. They are a well balance team from coach Monty (played for the Magic) to the core players playing in the playoffs.

 

[All Eyes On Me 1,206]

The Suns are a fun story, and I’m thrilled CP has finally made the Finals, but they’ve arguably had one of the luckiest injury runs of all time. Lakers without AD, Nuggets without Murray, Clippers without Kawhi…. And even potentially the Bucks or Hawks in the Finals without Giannis/Trae

[Albert Lergier 99]

5 minutes ago, All Eyes On Me said:

The Suns are a fun story, and I’m thrilled CP has finally made the Finals, but they’ve arguably had one of the luckiest injury runs of all time. Lakers without AD, Nuggets without Murray, Clippers without Kawhi…. And even potentially the Bucks or Hawks in the Finals without Giannis/Trae

Yeap.....CP vs Trey, right?