[Ghost01Participant]

1. Bucks

2. Jazz

3. 76ers

4. Magic

5. Knicks (to Denver)

6. Kings

7. Nets (to Atlanta)

8. Bulls

9. Cavs

10. Grizzlies

11. Pelicans

12. Lakers

13. T Wolves

14. Warriors

 

Couple of takeaways:

– The top 3 are pretty obviously the worst 3 teams in the league, and the teams most blatantly tanking right now. It’d be a disaster for any of them to end up outside the top 3.

– The Bulls are already number 8, and have two teams ahead of them that are underachieving/don’t have their own pick. I don’t like the Knicks or Nets, but they have to at least play a little bit better, and the fact they don’t have their picks mean they aren’t going to just pack it in and accept how bad they are. The Bulls need to play this right, trade Deng, let Noah rest, let Butler rest, play as many backups as possible and they could definitely get a top 5 pick. 

– The East has 8 of the top 10. Unbelievable that Golden State and Minnesota are on this list while Toronto, Charlotte, and Boston are not.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JordanC20Participant]

 Really odd to see the Bucks at the top they are almost always in the 10-15 range.

[JordanC20Participant]

 Really odd to see the Bucks at the top they are almost always in the 10-15 range.

[RUDEBOY_Participant]

Look for Memphis & Golden State to be back in the playoff hunt..Once they get back healthy…..Im not sure whats the problem with the Bulls…Becuz basically this is the same team that last year made the playoff withot Rose..Could it be that they were overachieving?

 

[Ghost01Participant]

 No they didn’t have the team last year.

The only players last year that could create offense were Robinson and Bellinelli, both of whom are playing well on other teams now.

Also, the difference between a whole offseason of knowing Rose wasn’t going to be there, and was possibly going to return late in the season, as opposed to starting the year with Rose, and almost instantly losing him for the whole year is such a mental factor. It is almost impossible to "play on" when that happens. They’ve also had basically at least two of Deng, Butler, Hinrich, and Noah sitting out of every game. They should tank. Its pretty obvious at this point. 

 

 

[Ghost01Participant]

 No they didn’t have the team last year.

The only players last year that could create offense were Robinson and Bellinelli, both of whom are playing well on other teams now.

Also, the difference between a whole offseason of knowing Rose wasn’t going to be there, and was possibly going to return late in the season, as opposed to starting the year with Rose, and almost instantly losing him for the whole year is such a mental factor. It is almost impossible to "play on" when that happens. They’ve also had basically at least two of Deng, Butler, Hinrich, and Noah sitting out of every game. They should tank. Its pretty obvious at this point. 

 

 

[RUDEBOY_Participant]

i meant their core guys like noah,deng,boozer & gibson returned…

yeah being a huge nate robinson fan, i was a little upset,but not surprised they let nate go….becuz he’s never stayed any place for too long…but he hit some big shots for them,his energy,ability to play great in the clutch and his fearlessness give them a swagger..something they’re missing this season…..but he couldnt run the offense and his shot selections use to drive coach thibs mad….

and it took bellinelli awhile before he adjusted to their offense..

 

[RUDEBOY_Participant]

i meant their core guys like noah,deng,boozer & gibson returned…

yeah being a huge nate robinson fan, i was a little upset,but not surprised they let nate go….becuz he’s never stayed any place for too long…but he hit some big shots for them,his energy,ability to play great in the clutch and his fearlessness give them a swagger..something they’re missing this season…..but he couldnt run the offense and his shot selections use to drive coach thibs mad….

and it took bellinelli awhile before he adjusted to their offense..

 

[FoxdashmanParticipant]

 Deng is putting up good numbers, when he is healthy. Aside from him, nobody can really generate their own offense. Boozer is the only other exception, however, he works really hard to give up as many points on defense as he does on offense. They don’t have anybody to collapse opposing defenses and Jimmy Butler has been injured for the majority of the season. They have to be one of the 3 least fun teams to watch right now. Tanking for the Bulls seems like a no-brainer, because they’re damn close to doing it right now anyway. I just think that they should amnesty or trade Boozer and at least consider trading Deng. Keeping Jimmy Butler, Noah, and Taj Gibson, plus their stashed guy from Europe should be enough to get a good draft pick this year and retain the majority of the core that has found them success (when they were healthy). That gives them flexibility moving forward and only requires them to be honest about the current state of affairs. Once Rose comes back, he would be returning to a team that was as talented as before, but with less miles on it.

[FoxdashmanParticipant]

 Deng is putting up good numbers, when he is healthy. Aside from him, nobody can really generate their own offense. Boozer is the only other exception, however, he works really hard to give up as many points on defense as he does on offense. They don’t have anybody to collapse opposing defenses and Jimmy Butler has been injured for the majority of the season. They have to be one of the 3 least fun teams to watch right now. Tanking for the Bulls seems like a no-brainer, because they’re damn close to doing it right now anyway. I just think that they should amnesty or trade Boozer and at least consider trading Deng. Keeping Jimmy Butler, Noah, and Taj Gibson, plus their stashed guy from Europe should be enough to get a good draft pick this year and retain the majority of the core that has found them success (when they were healthy). That gives them flexibility moving forward and only requires them to be honest about the current state of affairs. Once Rose comes back, he would be returning to a team that was as talented as before, but with less miles on it.

[RUDEBOY_Participant]

Look for Memphis & Golden State to be back in the playoff hunt..Once they get back healthy…..Im not sure whats the problem with the Bulls…Becuz basically this is the same team that last year made the playoff withot Rose..Could it be that they were overachieving?

 

[ReekoParticipant]

G-state and Minny are both in the hyper-competitive Western conference.  Meanwhile the East is so bad that teams that are trying to tank are actually getting high playoff seeds i.e. Boston.  Why would any one expect the Knicks to get better?  That has to be one of the most dysfunctional rosters in the NBA, I mean Bargs and Melo on the same roster you can’t expect to win a lot of games with those two in a race to jack up as many shots as possible, while playing mediocre defense at best.  As for the Nets they just lost their best player in Brook Lopez for the rest of the season, and J Kidd isn’t proving to be a great coach in his first season (maybe he will be down the road, he’s not even close right now), so I’m not expecting big things from them either.

[ReekoParticipant]

G-state and Minny are both in the hyper-competitive Western conference.  Meanwhile the East is so bad that teams that are trying to tank are actually getting high playoff seeds i.e. Boston.  Why would any one expect the Knicks to get better?  That has to be one of the most dysfunctional rosters in the NBA, I mean Bargs and Melo on the same roster you can’t expect to win a lot of games with those two in a race to jack up as many shots as possible, while playing mediocre defense at best.  As for the Nets they just lost their best player in Brook Lopez for the rest of the season, and J Kidd isn’t proving to be a great coach in his first season (maybe he will be down the road, he’s not even close right now), so I’m not expecting big things from them either.

[Prime TimeParticipant]

 It’s crazy to me that the Celtics came into the season in rebuild mode, are best player still hasn’t played a game, the only try point guard on the team that’s able to play is Phil Pressey, and they still aren’t a lottery team.

On a positive note, Jordan Crawford has played great and looks like a solid piece to the core. Faverani and KO have had their moments. Sully has been good, as well. I’m hoping we can end up with Embiid somehow.

[Prime TimeParticipant]

 It’s crazy to me that the Celtics came into the season in rebuild mode, are best player still hasn’t played a game, the only try point guard on the team that’s able to play is Phil Pressey, and they still aren’t a lottery team.

On a positive note, Jordan Crawford has played great and looks like a solid piece to the core. Faverani and KO have had their moments. Sully has been good, as well. I’m hoping we can end up with Embiid somehow.

[t-loveParticipant]

Very early in the season, Danny Ainge was insisting that his team wasnt tanking. Maybe he was right.

[t-loveParticipant]

Very early in the season, Danny Ainge was insisting that his team wasnt tanking. Maybe he was right.

[vulture711Participant]

 Wouldn’t kill me to stay right here at 3 & 11.   Add those to Noel and should be a lot more fun next year

[vulture711Participant]

 Wouldn’t kill me to stay right here at 3 & 11.   Add those to Noel and should be a lot more fun next year

[lukestine13Participant]

 there pick belongs to utah. Utah is just one Steph Curry sprained ankle away from having a second lotto pick this year.

[lukestine13Participant]

 there pick belongs to utah. Utah is just one Steph Curry sprained ankle away from having a second lotto pick this year.

[AmiableBaller34Participant]

I don’t really agree with the "It’d be a disaster for any of them to end up outside the top 3" when it comes to Philly. They know they have a good building block in Carter-Williams, and Wroten has shown a lot of promise as well. I also think people forgot that they also have New Orleans pick (Top 5 protected), and with Hinkie as their GM, you know they’re getting two good prospects. I also don’t think it will hurt them all that much, as they will basically have three lottery-picked-rookies when Noel comes back next year. A top 3 pick would be awesome, but I think they’re still in a great position going forward either way. 

[AmiableBaller34Participant]

I don’t really agree with the "It’d be a disaster for any of them to end up outside the top 3" when it comes to Philly. They know they have a good building block in Carter-Williams, and Wroten has shown a lot of promise as well. I also think people forgot that they also have New Orleans pick (Top 5 protected), and with Hinkie as their GM, you know they’re getting two good prospects. I also don’t think it will hurt them all that much, as they will basically have three lottery-picked-rookies when Noel comes back next year. A top 3 pick would be awesome, but I think they’re still in a great position going forward either way. 

[Sewok15Participant]

It wouldn’t be a disaster but it would still be a big deal to me. Being outside of the top 3 means you most likely miss out on Parker, Wiggins and Embiid….which are not only the 3 best prospects but the players that would best fit in with this Sixers squad. They don’t really need a player like Smart or even Exum…I wouldn’t mind seeing them add Randle but he is a 4 in the NBA and they already have Thad at the 4 and Noel projects more to the 4 in the NBA as well.

The one Wildcard pick could be Zach LaVine at #4….if they would get the 4th pick I would want them to go in this direction because he has the highest upside of the players left on the board to me. A lot of NBA people project him as a point guard at the next level but he will certainly be able to play off the ball as well. As much as I like Smart I don’t think he is that great off the ball and I don’t know enough about Exum to say how exactly he would play next to MCW and Wroten…it would certainly be intriguring.

 Either way anybody with a top 7 pick should be pretty happy because these top guys all have all star potential…I just think the top 3 have more potential to change the direction of your franchise.

[FoxdashmanParticipant]

and to add to what you’re saying, I think Zach Lavine would be better off playing as a 2 guard anyway. I think that he would be a great fit for the 76ers if they weren’t able to get one of the top-3 players that you listed. To be fair, I think any team that is in the lottery will be dissapointed if they don’t get one of those three. I’m from Orlando and while, positionally, Exum or Smart make the most sense, I would prefer Parker, Wiggins, or Embiid for overall upside.

[FoxdashmanParticipant]

and to add to what you’re saying, I think Zach Lavine would be better off playing as a 2 guard anyway. I think that he would be a great fit for the 76ers if they weren’t able to get one of the top-3 players that you listed. To be fair, I think any team that is in the lottery will be dissapointed if they don’t get one of those three. I’m from Orlando and while, positionally, Exum or Smart make the most sense, I would prefer Parker, Wiggins, or Embiid for overall upside.

[Sewok15Participant]

It wouldn’t be a disaster but it would still be a big deal to me. Being outside of the top 3 means you most likely miss out on Parker, Wiggins and Embiid….which are not only the 3 best prospects but the players that would best fit in with this Sixers squad. They don’t really need a player like Smart or even Exum…I wouldn’t mind seeing them add Randle but he is a 4 in the NBA and they already have Thad at the 4 and Noel projects more to the 4 in the NBA as well.

The one Wildcard pick could be Zach LaVine at #4….if they would get the 4th pick I would want them to go in this direction because he has the highest upside of the players left on the board to me. A lot of NBA people project him as a point guard at the next level but he will certainly be able to play off the ball as well. As much as I like Smart I don’t think he is that great off the ball and I don’t know enough about Exum to say how exactly he would play next to MCW and Wroten…it would certainly be intriguring.

 Either way anybody with a top 7 pick should be pretty happy because these top guys all have all star potential…I just think the top 3 have more potential to change the direction of your franchise.

[RUDEBOY_Participant]

i might be in the minority on this..but looking at the celtics roster,i never expected them to be among the 5 worst teams..becuz even though they didnt have star player( kg and pp traded & rondo injured)……they still had some nice pieces in green,sullinger,bass,bradley,wallace and lee…a team that would get a pick in the 8 to 12 range of the lottery….but the east is worst then anybody expected and the celtics r leading the division……lol…

the team that has me puzzled is charlotte, getting 1 of those super freshmen would do more for their franchise’s future and from a financial standpoint then getting swept in the 1st round…..but bulls fans are praying they keep winning…..

[RUDEBOY_Participant]

i might be in the minority on this..but looking at the celtics roster,i never expected them to be among the 5 worst teams..becuz even though they didnt have star player( kg and pp traded & rondo injured)……they still had some nice pieces in green,sullinger,bass,bradley,wallace and lee…a team that would get a pick in the 8 to 12 range of the lottery….but the east is worst then anybody expected and the celtics r leading the division……lol…

the team that has me puzzled is charlotte, getting 1 of those super freshmen would do more for their franchise’s future and from a financial standpoint then getting swept in the 1st round…..but bulls fans are praying they keep winning…..

[goldie92689Participant]

Jazz would love Jabari Parker!! 

[goldie92689Participant]

Jazz would love Jabari Parker!! 

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