[jjonzParticipant]

If you are a team with 2 or more Highend upside players i think a case should be made to trade this years pick, i think losing would start to effect the young players and you should bring in some vets to at least make a playoff push.

Sac/Anaheim Kings have 4 upside players Evans/Cous/Cassipi/Thompson/? HWhiteSide i don’t know about his upside but still you have to find out anyway. I would not add another rookie to this group of players, i think if DGranger is on the Block you trade your top pick for him.  He is stuggling this year but can still give you 20+ppg. + his contract will end the same year TEvans is up for an extension. 

 Wizard’s have a young core to give out minutes to JCrawford/Booker/Serephin/McGee/Wall. But i think they need 1 other high End draft pick to grow with him. But next year the Wiz have to stregthen their roster to Make a run @ the 6-8th seed so that Wall can know what it takes to win & have a sense of Playing meaningful games in March.

TWolves are full of players with upside, but have not contributed to anything meaningful. They have too many young players on their team. And besides Love&Rubio none of those players have any trade Value. I know how their GM is working with building this team but he opened his mouth & said he would turn franchise around in 18 months. And that was 2 years ago. So i’m clueless about the Wolves.

Raps&Cavs They have to keep their picks they do not have a bonafide-go to-Star on their teams, so if that player is not on your roster, you have to draft him & hope that they turn into a Star, that will love your town & not take Their TALENTS elsewhere.

What are your guy’s thoughts on adding rookie after rookie. Should One of these teams trade their Top 5 pick for Quality veteran?

[SwatLakeCityParticipant]

 For the Kings it depends, if Irving is available then I’d take him, but if not then yes trade for Danny Granger. They have tried to get a SF that could really develop and play well but its not working. Omri Casspi. This year isn’t that strong and they desperately need a PG but its very possible that they don’t get Irving because they lose the lottery (by not getting a top 3 pick)

Wizards: Derrick Williams or Jared Sullinger

Wolves: Kanter I think he and Love would have great Chemistry and Kanter might actually bring some defense to this poor defensive team. But I could also see this team trading their pick, especially if Kahn is so convinced that Rubio and Darko are the next big thing and also this year’s class is weak and really small for SG’s which is their biggest need.

Raps: Kanter, Valanciunas, Perry Jones, Harrison Barnes, or Irving. 

Cavs: Irving, Sullinger, Barnes. 2nd pick: Valaciunas or Kanter.

What about the Jazz (pick from Jersey) This pick very well could be in the top 5 with the Kings moving out.

 

[SwatLakeCityParticipant]

 For the Kings it depends, if Irving is available then I’d take him, but if not then yes trade for Danny Granger. They have tried to get a SF that could really develop and play well but its not working. Omri Casspi. This year isn’t that strong and they desperately need a PG but its very possible that they don’t get Irving because they lose the lottery (by not getting a top 3 pick)

Wizards: Derrick Williams or Jared Sullinger

Wolves: Kanter I think he and Love would have great Chemistry and Kanter might actually bring some defense to this poor defensive team. But I could also see this team trading their pick, especially if Kahn is so convinced that Rubio and Darko are the next big thing and also this year’s class is weak and really small for SG’s which is their biggest need.

Raps: Kanter, Valanciunas, Perry Jones, Harrison Barnes, or Irving. 

Cavs: Irving, Sullinger, Barnes. 2nd pick: Valaciunas or Kanter.

What about the Jazz (pick from Jersey) This pick very well could be in the top 5 with the Kings moving out.

 

[OhCanada-Participant]

First of all you never know how the lottery works everything out. For all we know the Cavs could get two Top 5 picks, and Sacramento could be picking 6th or 7th. Very unlikely I know, but thats the thing with a draft lottery, the balls are only selected once. Whatever happens happens.

The Kings have many holes and many team needs. Also have a very versatile flexible roster, Thompson plays 2 positions as does, Evans, Cousins etc. The Kings can go into the draft and select the best player available without selecting for position because they have needs all across the board.

The Wizards are either going to select Williams, P. Jones, Kanter, Barnes or T. Jones. They have a gaping hole at SF, and Blatche and McGee are both better suited as weakside help defenders from the PF position. Blatche has got to go, and Wizards could take advantage of his value by trading hm for a good SF and selecting Kanter.

The Timberwolves have undeveloped talent that doesnt play defense, or show any signs of playing defense all over their roster at every position. They will undoubfully select the best player available, although Kanter seems like the best choice.

The Raptors are most likely gong to select the best player available once again in this draft as long as its not Sullinger due to Torontos PF depth. Unless they move up in the draft this is the most likely scenerio. It would be nice to get a player like Kanter or Valanciunas (if he is what hes been hyped up to be) bt I dont see Colengelo compromising his Bargnani crush.

The Cavs if given the 1st overall draft pick will likely select Kyrie Irving and a capable SF like Barnes or Jones with the 2nd available pick if possible. Although they may want to take a stab at Sullinger if Irving is gone.

[OhCanada-Participant]

First of all you never know how the lottery works everything out. For all we know the Cavs could get two Top 5 picks, and Sacramento could be picking 6th or 7th. Very unlikely I know, but thats the thing with a draft lottery, the balls are only selected once. Whatever happens happens.

The Kings have many holes and many team needs. Also have a very versatile flexible roster, Thompson plays 2 positions as does, Evans, Cousins etc. The Kings can go into the draft and select the best player available without selecting for position because they have needs all across the board.

The Wizards are either going to select Williams, P. Jones, Kanter, Barnes or T. Jones. They have a gaping hole at SF, and Blatche and McGee are both better suited as weakside help defenders from the PF position. Blatche has got to go, and Wizards could take advantage of his value by trading hm for a good SF and selecting Kanter.

The Timberwolves have undeveloped talent that doesnt play defense, or show any signs of playing defense all over their roster at every position. They will undoubfully select the best player available, although Kanter seems like the best choice.

The Raptors are most likely gong to select the best player available once again in this draft as long as its not Sullinger due to Torontos PF depth. Unless they move up in the draft this is the most likely scenerio. It would be nice to get a player like Kanter or Valanciunas (if he is what hes been hyped up to be) bt I dont see Colengelo compromising his Bargnani crush.

The Cavs if given the 1st overall draft pick will likely select Kyrie Irving and a capable SF like Barnes or Jones with the 2nd available pick if possible. Although they may want to take a stab at Sullinger if Irving is gone.

[SubZeroParticipant]

I really hope the Wizards picks Harrison Barnes. If not, Sullinger and Williams would be great too

[SubZeroParticipant]

I really hope the Wizards picks Harrison Barnes. If not, Sullinger and Williams would be great too

[HitsterParticipant]

With Utah possibly having two lottery picks and Cleveland very likely having two picks, Chicago having two later first round picks and Houston having their own pick and one from Phoenix there are likely to be lots of chances to trade up.

I could actually see Utah perhaps looking at a trade as they are more win now and their higher pick is via the Nets if they don’t like the talent available.

Cleveland I’d guess will draft twice as they took on a salary hit to get an extra pick and Chris Grant needs to freshen up the roster.

Grainger to the Kings looks a good deal as it gives them a nice 3 punch with Evans and DMc but Irving would be their main target I agree.

Other teams could look to buy in or move up the lottery, Knicks and Mavs spring to mind.

Washington I’d guess will draft maybe taking BPA who isn’t a PG but an SF would seem their logical choice as they have a fair few young frontcourters.

[HitsterParticipant]

With Utah possibly having two lottery picks and Cleveland very likely having two picks, Chicago having two later first round picks and Houston having their own pick and one from Phoenix there are likely to be lots of chances to trade up.

I could actually see Utah perhaps looking at a trade as they are more win now and their higher pick is via the Nets if they don’t like the talent available.

Cleveland I’d guess will draft twice as they took on a salary hit to get an extra pick and Chris Grant needs to freshen up the roster.

Grainger to the Kings looks a good deal as it gives them a nice 3 punch with Evans and DMc but Irving would be their main target I agree.

Other teams could look to buy in or move up the lottery, Knicks and Mavs spring to mind.

Washington I’d guess will draft maybe taking BPA who isn’t a PG but an SF would seem their logical choice as they have a fair few young frontcourters.

[NashyMingParticipant]

Most contenders would need 2.5~3 stars surround by role players.  It seems to be the best balance between talent and chemistry. It is very difficult to pull a big 3 like the Celtics especially for smaller market teams. 

So to build a team in a small market, it would be easier to accumulate young players through the draft for a few years, build a young core so that they can grow together and gain chemistry over the years, and hopefully they would all stay and start their primes at the same time. 

The Thunder had done a great job in accumulating young talent over the years (Durrant, Green, Westbrook, Ibaka, Harden) and build the team without adding a vet star to disrupt the young players’ development.  They added vet players to help develop the young core, but not a vet star.  Now they have enough young assets to trade for fitting pieces (Green <> Perkins), and they still have a lot of young assets and a large cap to continue building the team. 

The Blazers also did a great job in accumulating young players (Roy, Aldridge, Batum, Fernandez, Oden) and develop them before adding veteran stars like Miller, Camby, Wallace.  Unfortunately, injuries disrupted the plan, but because it was built with a young core, they continue to be a solid squat.  They also have young players such as Babbitt, Williams, Mills, Johnson that may develop into some solid role players.  They have draft right to a few euro prospects like Freeland and Claver.  They can do a quick rebuild if they want to.

The difficulty in building a team this way is to maintain the team chemistry as young players tend to fight for opportunities that may eventually ruin chemisty.  E.g. TMac left Toronto because he didn’t want to be the 2nd fiddle to Carter.

The growing pain of losing is tough to swallow, but if you can show a bright future ahead (see Thunder and Blazers) and with proper coaching, I don’t see any real benefits of acquiring a vet star (by giving up a lot) too quickly and try to force your way into playoff.  Obviously, if the star can be had for a bargain, a GM should go for it, but that usually won’t be the case.

The key is that the 1st round pick is locked up for 4 years and a likely extension/re-sign for another 3 years+.  That means it’s a 7 years window to get going.  If a GM build a young core properly, it shouldn’t be too hard to improve years after years for the 7 years window.  

It is a good idea to stockpile young players within 2~3 drafts, so I don’t see any reason to trade a top 5 draft pick for a stop gap veteran.

[NashyMingParticipant]

Most contenders would need 2.5~3 stars surround by role players.  It seems to be the best balance between talent and chemistry. It is very difficult to pull a big 3 like the Celtics especially for smaller market teams. 

So to build a team in a small market, it would be easier to accumulate young players through the draft for a few years, build a young core so that they can grow together and gain chemistry over the years, and hopefully they would all stay and start their primes at the same time. 

The Thunder had done a great job in accumulating young talent over the years (Durrant, Green, Westbrook, Ibaka, Harden) and build the team without adding a vet star to disrupt the young players’ development.  They added vet players to help develop the young core, but not a vet star.  Now they have enough young assets to trade for fitting pieces (Green <> Perkins), and they still have a lot of young assets and a large cap to continue building the team. 

The Blazers also did a great job in accumulating young players (Roy, Aldridge, Batum, Fernandez, Oden) and develop them before adding veteran stars like Miller, Camby, Wallace.  Unfortunately, injuries disrupted the plan, but because it was built with a young core, they continue to be a solid squat.  They also have young players such as Babbitt, Williams, Mills, Johnson that may develop into some solid role players.  They have draft right to a few euro prospects like Freeland and Claver.  They can do a quick rebuild if they want to.

The difficulty in building a team this way is to maintain the team chemistry as young players tend to fight for opportunities that may eventually ruin chemisty.  E.g. TMac left Toronto because he didn’t want to be the 2nd fiddle to Carter.

The growing pain of losing is tough to swallow, but if you can show a bright future ahead (see Thunder and Blazers) and with proper coaching, I don’t see any real benefits of acquiring a vet star (by giving up a lot) too quickly and try to force your way into playoff.  Obviously, if the star can be had for a bargain, a GM should go for it, but that usually won’t be the case.

The key is that the 1st round pick is locked up for 4 years and a likely extension/re-sign for another 3 years+.  That means it’s a 7 years window to get going.  If a GM build a young core properly, it shouldn’t be too hard to improve years after years for the 7 years window.  

It is a good idea to stockpile young players within 2~3 drafts, so I don’t see any reason to trade a top 5 draft pick for a stop gap veteran.

[NashyMingParticipant]

Among the teams that you have mentioned,

Kings – The Kings should certainly keep the top 5 pick.  Granger is rather old to put beside Evans and Cousins, right now, Evans and Cousins are too young to be stars on a contender and by the time when Evans and Cousins enter their primes, Granger would be too old to be considered one of the big 3.  This draft is considered weak, but a top 5 pick from this draft would probably build a good foundation for the Kings as long as the chemistry work out.  No need to worry about an extension with Evans, as the new CBA would probably be making it even easier to keep the star on the team.

Wizards – Wall is the only Wizards that can be considered as the building block.  They should continue developing Crawford, Brooker, Serephin, McGee and see how it goes in a few years.  I would try to trade Blatche for a good package but definitely not going to give up a top 5 pick.  The young core hasn’t shown anything special (aside from McGee).

TWolves is in a weird situation, they have a lot of young players with upside, but only Kevin Love is proven at this point.  Rubio could be a star, but it is a big question on whether he would even be willing to come over.  Beasley just started to get his head together, so if he can continue to improve, he can be a star.  Wesley Johnson seems to be a great 3rd/4th option behind Love and Beasley.  The rest of the team can be packaged to trade for a solid veteran leader.  There were rumors that they tried to go for Steve Nash and it would have been a great move as long as they don’t need to give up Rubio or Love.  Nash would have helped the young players a lot, but it would probably be very bad for Nash personally as there is no chance for him to win a championship with the current wolves.  By the time, the young players are good, Nash would probably be retired. 

I think Kahn did a solid job in terms of keeping his team with young players and not giving out unmovable contracts.  A lot of people may argue on Milicic’s deasl, but for a 25 years old 7-footer, the deal is overpaid at the time but not horrific.  Milicic did show signs that he may be worth the contract (consider Haywood got 50 mil for 5 years, Milicic is a bargain).  Kahn’s draft record is pretty bad though.

Cavs has just begun their rebuilding process and because of the "success" they had with LBJ, they don’t really have any young assets to build on aside from JJ Hickson.  They would have two lottery picks this year which would help build a good foundation if they pick the right players.  If I run the Cavs, I would pobably make every players available for young players (born after 1988) or picks.  Jamison, Varejao, BDavis, Gibson should be traded for expiring contract + young players or picks.  They are solid players, but they would be too old by the time the Cavs rebuilding process is completed.  I probably won’t sign any veterans because the good ones wouldn’t want to be in a rebuilding situation, and you don’t want to have the bad ones on the team.

[NashyMingParticipant]

Among the teams that you have mentioned,

Kings – The Kings should certainly keep the top 5 pick.  Granger is rather old to put beside Evans and Cousins, right now, Evans and Cousins are too young to be stars on a contender and by the time when Evans and Cousins enter their primes, Granger would be too old to be considered one of the big 3.  This draft is considered weak, but a top 5 pick from this draft would probably build a good foundation for the Kings as long as the chemistry work out.  No need to worry about an extension with Evans, as the new CBA would probably be making it even easier to keep the star on the team.

Wizards – Wall is the only Wizards that can be considered as the building block.  They should continue developing Crawford, Brooker, Serephin, McGee and see how it goes in a few years.  I would try to trade Blatche for a good package but definitely not going to give up a top 5 pick.  The young core hasn’t shown anything special (aside from McGee).

TWolves is in a weird situation, they have a lot of young players with upside, but only Kevin Love is proven at this point.  Rubio could be a star, but it is a big question on whether he would even be willing to come over.  Beasley just started to get his head together, so if he can continue to improve, he can be a star.  Wesley Johnson seems to be a great 3rd/4th option behind Love and Beasley.  The rest of the team can be packaged to trade for a solid veteran leader.  There were rumors that they tried to go for Steve Nash and it would have been a great move as long as they don’t need to give up Rubio or Love.  Nash would have helped the young players a lot, but it would probably be very bad for Nash personally as there is no chance for him to win a championship with the current wolves.  By the time, the young players are good, Nash would probably be retired. 

I think Kahn did a solid job in terms of keeping his team with young players and not giving out unmovable contracts.  A lot of people may argue on Milicic’s deasl, but for a 25 years old 7-footer, the deal is overpaid at the time but not horrific.  Milicic did show signs that he may be worth the contract (consider Haywood got 50 mil for 5 years, Milicic is a bargain).  Kahn’s draft record is pretty bad though.

Cavs has just begun their rebuilding process and because of the "success" they had with LBJ, they don’t really have any young assets to build on aside from JJ Hickson.  They would have two lottery picks this year which would help build a good foundation if they pick the right players.  If I run the Cavs, I would pobably make every players available for young players (born after 1988) or picks.  Jamison, Varejao, BDavis, Gibson should be traded for expiring contract + young players or picks.  They are solid players, but they would be too old by the time the Cavs rebuilding process is completed.  I probably won’t sign any veterans because the good ones wouldn’t want to be in a rebuilding situation, and you don’t want to have the bad ones on the team.

[NashyMingParticipant]

I like the direction that the Raptors is heading.  It’s painful to watch the Raptors this year, but it is expected and with the young players, the cap, and potentially a top 5 pick, I can see a future if BC doesn’t manage to screw things up.

BC had been trying to patch the Raptors years after years to kiss Bosh’s ass.  It was stupid because:

1) Bosh isn’t a franchise player

2) Bosh is pretty much set to leave for quite some time already

Because of trying to make Bosh happy, BC made a lot of gambles that turned into disaster.

I still didn’t like the deal with Amir Johnson, although Amir had been solid and may actually worth his deal.  It was unnecessary expensive and even Amir was surprised by BC’s offer.

Calderon had been looking much better after Jack is sent away.  I would probably try to trade him on any decent deals that can get young players or draft picks.  Bargnani is certainly not someone I would build around with, but I wouldn’t trade him away for pennies.  I like the young players and would try to build with them along with the top 5 pick.

I just hope BC wouldn’t be so stupid to waste the cap space by overpaying role players.

[NashyMingParticipant]

I like the direction that the Raptors is heading.  It’s painful to watch the Raptors this year, but it is expected and with the young players, the cap, and potentially a top 5 pick, I can see a future if BC doesn’t manage to screw things up.

BC had been trying to patch the Raptors years after years to kiss Bosh’s ass.  It was stupid because:

1) Bosh isn’t a franchise player

2) Bosh is pretty much set to leave for quite some time already

Because of trying to make Bosh happy, BC made a lot of gambles that turned into disaster.

I still didn’t like the deal with Amir Johnson, although Amir had been solid and may actually worth his deal.  It was unnecessary expensive and even Amir was surprised by BC’s offer.

Calderon had been looking much better after Jack is sent away.  I would probably try to trade him on any decent deals that can get young players or draft picks.  Bargnani is certainly not someone I would build around with, but I wouldn’t trade him away for pennies.  I like the young players and would try to build with them along with the top 5 pick.

I just hope BC wouldn’t be so stupid to waste the cap space by overpaying role players.

[Author]

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