the notorious S.A.C. 89 Report post Posted April 19, 2013 As talented as Wiggins is, I would not want to see this team sacrifice and trade away Vuc, Harkless and Harris to put all our eggs in the Andrew Wiggins basket. Sure, he has the potential to be a franchise changer and a star in the NBA, and he might be the next 'must not miss' player. But at the same time you don't give away a potential all-star center in Vuc, and two very talented young forwards (one of whom in Harris if he continues to improve could become a borderline all star PF) in order to secure one prospect. You might see Harkless being traded in order to secure another top pick next season (i.e. if we go for McLemore this year at SG, we might want to try and get a pick that will get us Smart for the PG position; or if we go for Burke at PG, then whoever is the top SG prospect). But outside of that I don't see us giving away all three guys for draft picks, I see us building around them even if that means missing out on Wiggins. That being said, I don't see this team becoming a borderline play off contender unless we do something like this: Chris Paul (PG), Ben McLemore (SG), Josh Smith (SF), Harris (PF), Vuc © That line up might make us a play off team, but personally I don't see that scenario playing out. I think we'll probably go young again and move the likes of Nelson, Afflalo and Big Baby out before the end of the season - though we might keep Nelson for experience. For me our starting line up could be something like: Burke (PG), Afflalo (SG), Harkless (SF), Harris (PF), Vuc ©; or Nelson (PG), McLemore (SG), Harkless (SF), Harris (PF), Vuc © That to me is a developmental team, and while they might take a step forward, I don't see us playing our way out of a top five pick. How bout Noel...Parker and Wiggins along with two max free agents finishing out your starting 5. Fits salary cap wise and we still have Moe or Harris and all our future firsts. I know getting #1 and 2 isnt likely but you can still likely acquire two of the top 5 but we need to stockpile picks and be bad for just one more year and we can pull it off. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
30Assists 342 Report post Posted April 19, 2013 I still say we make the playoffs and win it all. And we need to get someone hard-nosed. HARD. NOSED. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JJZFL 623 Report post Posted April 19, 2013 There seems to be an assumption in some of the posts that you can tank for a couple of years, get some good young prospects, and then quickly become a playoff contender again. I'm not so sure it's so easy to turn it off and on. I'm looking at some other teams that are terrible this year....Cleveland, Washington, Charlotte, for example. They've all been very bad for at least the past 3 years, and don't show any real signs of turning things around. I think there is a real risk here. Losing often begets more losing. Players and coaches develop an unhealthy mindset. And it can result in a downwards spiral that can take a very long time to clear up. I hope that doesn't happen here, but we need to at least acknowledge the risk. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mauro Pedrosa 1,033 Report post Posted April 20, 2013 Chris Paul (PG), Ben McLemore (SG), Josh Smith (SF) I'm pretty sure this guy is trolling too Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike1989 68 Report post Posted April 20, 2013 I'm pretty sure this guy is trolling too What was trolling about my post? Or are you not able to comprehend that I created a fictional (i.e. made up) team that might make us a borderline play off contender in response to 'the notorious S.A.C.'? I never said that we are seriously going to pursue Chris Paul and/or Josh Smith in free agency, and I honestly don't think that we will pursue a big name free agent because we'll want to keep as much cap space free for 2014 as possible. Also, it will help towards the team tanking another season in order to land another top pick and a (potentially) franchise changing talent like Wiggins or Parker. Now my opinion is that we will build through the draft this year and next year, and then we may bring in a star free agent in 2014. Now you might disagree with my opinion; and you may have misread or misunderstood that the team with CP3 and Smith was in fact fictional, and not what I think will actually happen; but none of my post is trolling. I am not trying to wind people up with outlandish claims of what will and won't happen. It was banter, it was debate; and if we can no longer do that, what is the point of a message board? :rolleyes: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LaVar 108 Report post Posted April 21, 2013 There seems to be an assumption in some of the posts that you can tank for a couple of years, get some good young prospects, and then quickly become a playoff contender again. I'm not so sure it's so easy to turn it off and on. I'm looking at some other teams that are terrible this year....Cleveland, Washington, Charlotte, for example. They've all been very bad for at least the past 3 years, and don't show any real signs of turning things around. I think there is a real risk here. Losing often begets more losing. Players and coaches develop an unhealthy mindset. And it can result in a downwards spiral that can take a very long time to clear up. I hope that doesn't happen here, but we need to at least acknowledge the risk. The difference is the big trade, we made over the summer; in addition to the smart moves Rob made afters. Getting Vooch, Harkless, and Harris, will speed up our growth process. Plus we will get a good player in the coming draft and two in 2014. Do not forget about the injuries we had this season: Arron, Baby, Harrington, and Nelson. If these players are kept or get traded, it also adds more to the coming season. Our record will be better next year with a line up of: Vooch/Quin Baby/Drew Harris/Harkless Aaron/Moore Burke/Nelson Baby is the heart and soul to our defense and toughness. He also brings leadership. Keeping Baby will be the key to wins and loses next year. If we keep baby we win more games If we trade baby we tank Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trey Time 186 Report post Posted April 21, 2013 The difference is the big trade, we made over the summer; in addition to the smart moves Rob made afters. Getting Vooch, Harkless, and Harris, will speed up our growth process. Plus we will get a good player in the coming draft and two in 2014. Do not forget about the injuries we had this season: Arron, Baby, Harrington, and Nelson. If these players are kept or get traded, it also adds more to the coming season. Our record will be better next year with a line up of: Vooch/Quin Baby/Drew Harris/Harkless Aaron/Moore Burke/Nelson Baby is the heart and soul to our defense and toughness. He also brings leadership. Keeping Baby will be the key to wins and loses next year. If we keep baby we win more games If we trade baby we tank There is absolutely no chance that Glen Davis is on the Orlando Magic next season. If he is, I take back every good thing I ever said of Hennigan. It will however, never come to that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ofman 1 Report post Posted April 21, 2013 Baby's owed 2 years/13 mil and Orlando's entire payroll after 13-14 is 21 million including team options. Keeping him or trading him is not really a big deal. We're not getting a whole lot in a trade for a guy who just sat the whole year out injured. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ibn Battuta 127 Report post Posted April 21, 2013 Hopefully he's still on his vegan diet and that it wasn't just a one week thing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Emory889 353 Report post Posted April 22, 2013 There seems to be an assumption in some of the posts that you can tank for a couple of years, get some good young prospects, and then quickly become a playoff contender again. I'm not so sure it's so easy to turn it off and on. I'm looking at some other teams that are terrible this year....Cleveland, Washington, Charlotte, for example. They've all been very bad for at least the past 3 years, and don't show any real signs of turning things around. I think there is a real risk here. Losing often begets more losing. Players and coaches develop an unhealthy mindset. And it can result in a downwards spiral that can take a very long time to clear up. I hope that doesn't happen here, but we need to at least acknowledge the risk. We are operating under the assumption that Hennigan continues to make good decisions....if he doesn't, that will lead to more bad seasons, obviously. That said, in order to truly rebuild, a team needs to hit rock bottom in order to build it back up again. Look at the contenders currently in the NBA. Some got there by free agency and some through the draft, but all of them stunk before they drafted/signed the players needed to win. Teams that consistently win 45 games don't magically make the leap to championship contender. I would rather stink for a few years than be stuck looking at a first round playoff exit for the next 7 years. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JJZFL 623 Report post Posted April 23, 2013 We are operating under the assumption that Hennigan continues to make good decisions....if he doesn't, that will lead to more bad seasons, obviously. That said, in order to truly rebuild, a team needs to hit rock bottom in order to build it back up again. Look at the contenders currently in the NBA. Some got there by free agency and some through the draft, but all of them stunk before they drafted/signed the players needed to win. Teams that consistently win 45 games don't magically make the leap to championship contender. I would rather stink for a few years than be stuck looking at a first round playoff exit for the next 7 years. I'm not sure I agree with that. The Lakers, Spurs, Celtics and others usually field good teams. And while some of the other teams now doing well did do poorly for awhile, there are plenty of teams who hit bottom and stay there a long time. Hennigan is a very young GM. I hope he makes the right decisions but every fan for every team hopes that their GM makes the right decisions. And our coaching staff is also unproven. I just think the risks being taken here are underestimated. There is an assumption that in 2-3 years we will be an up and coming playoff team. I sure hope so, but I think the odds are against it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tom Ford 9 Report post Posted April 23, 2013 I don't know if I am right but I think I saw that Minnesota Timberwolves were looking to strengthen their wing play.. Don't be surprised if you see Hennigan talking to them to maybe to trade a few players for a pick maybe even trading AA with others for maybe their first round pick and a thrown in player. With this draft class not being the best I could see Minnesota taking AA since he is a Veteran and puts up good numbers. With that said we would either take McLemore or go the PG route depending on what we get back from Minnesota. Just a thought Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
