Who wouldn't choose Boston over SLC?

Top 4 coach, Top 4 roster, Top 4 GM. They won the East last year and only flamed out due to Isiah's injury. They added Tatum, who's going to be a stud, and still have a Lottery pick in 2018.

Plus, Hayward's playing for his college coach.

I think it would suck if SLC had the "power" to force him to stay, especially after 7 years.

Boston is not a top 4 roster

That has to be followed by a "yes, but..." though

Golden State was mediocre/bad 10 years ago. They had a neat little resurgence when Don Nelson took over, but like most Don Nelson teams, they faltered when the shooting dried up and the defenses got tougher. They never really "tanked" though. They have some kind of insane-o John Dorsey-type front office guy finding NBA talent, because they got all those players without ever picking all that high in the draft.

Golden State is the exception. There simply aren't a whole lot of great teams like Golden State these days. The Spurs are the other exception. And we all know another huge component to the Spurs' success beyond their ability to find talent in the bottom parts of the draft...

If you're not going to tank, it's just really hard to assemble a complete team primarily through the draft. That's why basketball is so damn frustrating sometimes. Baseball teams can draft guys based on potential, and if the players come up short of that potential but still are decent players, that's considered a win. Same with football. And in both football and baseball, ANY team can find studs far more easily due to the enormous variance of positions and roster size.

Basketball just doesn't have that luxury. You either need the super stars or you need a HOF transcendent coach like Popovich to win.

No, free agency isn't the only solution. You still have to figure out how to draft good players. But it has to be a big part of the team-building strategy in the NBA.

Gimme a break

Jerry West.

The architect of the Lakers Showtime and traded for Kobe, signed Shaq and hired Phil Jackson.

He was hired by Peter Guber and Joe Lacob in 2011.

Earlier this year, he left for the Clippers, which is going to be very interesting.

Lebron and 4 scabs can beat them on Cleveland
Houston can definitely beat them
Warriors can crush them by 30 every game
Thunder would absolutely handle them


plus they are losing two of Smart, Bradley, Crowder before the season even starts. As it stands right now they will probably have no bench and be relying on Tatum and Jaylen Brown to give solid minutes that gets you nowhere in the playoffs.

They also have no bigs currently to back up Horford baring a trade or signing of some scrub.

Warriors signed Nick young.
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NBA is getting their best team vs best player in the Finals. Not more you can ask for than that.

The tanking model would work better if the NBA had an age limit that was higher IMO. The trouble with draft picks is 19 year old is not really ready for the NBA. There are always a few expectations to the rule, that's the biggest problem. Let them come in at 21 and you would see rebuild jobs go quicker. Most players don't hit their prime until 27/28. That's the age you win championships. Go down the list of all time NBA greats and when they win the first one and look at their age.

If they trade Smart, I will become a full fledged Boston fan.

I'm not sure Minnesota or Milwaukee "tanked" either. They were bad, but I don't think they were intentionally bad. They also hit on some picks (including a second rounder in Mil) and made good trades (Love to the Cavs).

Philly openly tanked and it has, now, paid off. However, for a while, their direction didn't make much sense at all. I mean, how many centers/pfs do you need on one team?

Insert Nancy Kerrigan "why!?!" gif.

No one is forcing NBA teams to draft younger players. If teams want to draft them, why wouldn't you let them and let the players earn their money?

Why not? He can be a good role player in their system. They made McGee a great role player.
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only three players last season shot 43% or better on 4.5+ catch and shoot three pointers per game

1. Steph
2. Klay
3. Swaggy

Warriors replaced Ian Clark and Matt Barnes with Swaggy P and Omri Casspi. Actual shooters. They are going to be even better next season, they have a bomb squad on their second unit now.