NYRaider Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 And when you look back at recent NBA history how many teams have tanked and then built contenders by doing so? Philadelphia is the only one that comes to mind but they blew a good amount of their picks. When you look at the better teams in the league that were built via the draft, very few of them built their core around high draft picks. Jazz: Donovan Mitchell (13th pick), Rudy Gobert (27th pick) Suns: DeAndre Ayton (1st pick), Mikal Bridges (10th pick), Devin Booker (13th pick) Nuggets: Jamal Murray (7th pick), Michael Porter Jr (14th pick), Nikola Jokic (41st pick) Bucks: Giannis (15th pick), Middleton (39th pick) Just to name a few and then those teams picked up under the radar free agents and added pieces through smart trades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadpulse Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 Just now, NYRaider said: And when you look back at recent NBA history how many teams have tanked and then built contenders by doing so? Philadelphia is the only one that comes to mind but they blew a good amount of their picks. When you look at the better teams in the league that were built via the draft, very few of them built their core around high draft picks. Jazz: Donovan Mitchell (13th pick), Rudy Gobert (27th pick) Suns: DeAndre Ayton (1st pick), Mikal Bridges (10th pick), Devin Booker (13th pick) Nuggets: Jamal Murray (7th pick), Michael Porter Jr (14th pick), Nikola Jokic (41st pick) Bucks: Giannis (15th pick), Middleton (39th pick) Just to name a few and then those teams picked up under the radar free agents and added pieces through smart trades. The Celtics have been to the Eastern Conference finals 3 of the past 4 years. Tatum and Brown were both 3rd overall picks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYRaider Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 (edited) The only teams off the top of my head that have really capitalized on having a bunch of high lottery picks in recently are the 76ers, Celtics, and Thunder. And only the Thunder have made it to the Finals and none of those teams have won a championship. Edited May 21, 2021 by NYRaider Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYRaider Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 (edited) 3 minutes ago, Deadpulse said: The Celtics have been to the Eastern Conference finals 3 of the past 4 years. Tatum and Brown were both 3rd overall picks. Yeah, the Celtics, 76ers, and Thunder are the only 3 teams that have had a bunch of high picks and have built good teams. The Celtics were also able to acquire 4 max contract players in Hayward, Irving, Walker, and Horford and still haven't been able to get over the hump yet. Ainge has done well drafting with early picks but he hasn't been great with selecting guys outside of the top 6. Edited May 21, 2021 by NYRaider Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYRaider Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 @Deadpulse The Celtics trading from #1 to #3 while avoiding Fultz and landing Tatum is one of the biggest draft fleeces in NBA history. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyDez Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 9 minutes ago, NYRaider said: And when you look back at recent NBA history how many teams have tanked and then built contenders by doing so? Philadelphia is the only one that comes to mind but they blew a good amount of their picks. When you look at the better teams in the league that were built via the draft, very few of them built their core around high draft picks. Jazz: Donovan Mitchell (13th pick), Rudy Gobert (27th pick) Suns: DeAndre Ayton (1st pick), Mikal Bridges (10th pick), Devin Booker (13th pick) Nuggets: Jamal Murray (7th pick), Michael Porter Jr (14th pick), Nikola Jokic (41st pick) Bucks: Giannis (15th pick), Middleton (39th pick) Just to name a few and then those teams picked up under the radar free agents and added pieces through smart trades. Alex Len, Josh Jackson, Dragan Bender, Marquess Chriss and Jalen Smith on the flip side though lol (jury still out on Cam) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYRaider Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 Then you look at the Timberwolves who've been able to draft Andrew Wiggins, Karl Anthony-Towns, and Anthony Edwards and they're still a bottom feeder. Not to mention they also drafted Zach Lavine, Lauri Markkanen, and Kris Dunn and have absolutely nothing to show for it. At the end of the day having high draft picks is definitely a good way to accelerate a rebuild but the better organizations are able to identify good players later in the draft and make smart personnel moves to acquire other guys via trades or free agency. I also think player development and culture play a huge role in it. Which is why teams like the Timberwolves, Cavaliers, Magic, and Kings have remained mediocre despite having a ton of high draft capital to build young cores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYRaider Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 Just now, DirtyDez said: Alex Len, Josh Jackson, Dragan Bender, Marquess Chriss and Jalen Smith on the flip side though lol (jury still out on Cam) The Suns have definitely missed on some lottery picks just like the Jazz with guys like Exum, Kanter, Burke, etc. But you were able to hit on a couple of key picks and then did an excellent job of adding other pieces around them like Chris Paul, Jae Crowder, etc. to build a competitive team. The same goes for Milwaukee who missed on guys like Parker, Maker, Henson, etc. but hit on Giannis and Middleton and then acquired Jrue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYRaider Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 The Warriors missed on O'Bryant, Diogu, Randolph, and Udoh but hit on Curry, Klay, Barnes, and Draymond. Then acquired guys like Iggy and Livingston to build a contender. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYRaider Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 Can you imagine if Philadelphia would've taken Tatum over Fultz and Kristpas over Okafor... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYRaider Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 Or if the Suns would've taken Luka over Ayton... @DirtyDez Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYRaider Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 I thought these guys were going to be the squad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agarcia34 Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 Pray for LeBron and his golf ball eye smh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyDez Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 11 minutes ago, NYRaider said: Or if the Suns would've taken Luka over Ayton... @DirtyDez They’d be the current Mavs. I don’t think they still trade up for Bridges in that scenario. If they did it’d be the best perimeter for a long time other than Brooklyn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYRaider Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 (edited) 2 minutes ago, DirtyDez said: They’d be the current Mavs. I don’t think they still trade up for Bridges in that scenario. If they did it’d be the best perimeter for a long time other than Brooklyn. Luka and Booker would've been pretty damn insane. And I'd say the biggest thing holding Dallas back is that they don't have anyone else that can score or create other than Luka. Edited May 21, 2021 by NYRaider Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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