Would either Boston or LA consider trading down? What would it take? And no, not Okafor.

Is it more likely that the SIxers trade down to pick up an asset?

De'Aaron Fox is the best point guard available but his lack of a shot but not fit into Brown's plan and would add another non-shooter alongside Simmons.

Could they steal a young guy from Orlando or (hilariously) Sacramento?

Or does Colangelo say Enough to the process and trade the pick for an established player?

Unless you have someone itching to get into that 3 spot and you can trade down into the 5 or 6 hole, allowing you to pickup an asset and Monk.

They might want to jump ahead of the Kings who also need a PG. Maybe Sixers kick the tires on Hezonja and see if he's got anything and then pickup Monk at 6. With so many PGs in the draft, not sure they can ask for a ton to move up.

Get Jackson or Tatum there. Best talent available.

I agree that I doubt they go Fox, although I think Fox is better than Ball, so maybe the Lakers shock the world, row back off Ball, and go elsewhere, leaving Ball for Philly (lol).

Although I still think it's smarter to do what the Bucks are doing. Giannis runs things but they still have a normal backcourt. At least, get more of a 2/3 than the 3/4 that Jackson and Tatum are.

Right now, I'd be stunned if the Sixers stay at #3.

If everyone is healthy then a move like that lets them give everyone their appropriate minutes and stay on the floor together. If they draft a scorer, which they should, it might be the best course of action. They need not marry themselves to that though; they could easily be dipping back into the lotto twice next year and point guards will be there.

Best move. I would personally take Tatum then Ball over anyone.

That's an easy one.

As for FA who the hell even knows. I could see us doing nothing or I could see us maxing out Lowry. Any and everything is in play.

The swap happened. Lol

And we have L.A. and Sactown #1's in 2018 and 2019. Cool.

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Same as it ever was!

Or even monk. But at 3 it's gotta be Jackson.

I think the draft is going to be as boring as tonight was.

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Same as it ever was!

And by Year 2 he's our best wing defender.

No slight to Covington, but Jackson does everything he does, but better.

We need a guard (actually 2 or 3) who can shoot and defend. But that guy is going #1. So we get to draft the next best player. Just glad he's not a center.


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Same as it ever was!

They desperately need to get some guys who can shoot somewhere. Doesn't seem like the guys they have stashed are shooters. But Jackson does have nice potential. When I saw him at Kansas he seemed to play the four some, can he do that in the pros? Maybe too early to tell as he is still growing. If not, can he play on the perimeter effectively? I would be happy to have him though

He's a pretty good rebounder, good build for his age. Small ball 4 isn't impossible... but it'd be small small ball. Still, he's a strong defender, so that could make up for it.

His perimeter shooting was good last year, but he has that scary thing where he made his 3s well enough but couldn't shoot free throws for shit. And while I don't usually care much about off-the-court antics, he *was* truly a knucklehead in one year at KU. The Jah shit was bad enough, but he didn't start acting up til he got money-- not sure if Josh, not unlike Jah, will benefit from a maturity standpoint from being on such a young team (though he won't have a choice, really).

He's a strong, well-balanced player, though. Wasn't a Nyquil. Was for stretches of the season more impressive than Frank Mason, which is saying something. Thought his freshman year was maybe even better than Wiggins's.

You take the best player available (especially if its a wing).

They've basically have two starting spots filled of their hypothetical contending team in three or four years (and both of them have injury concerns).

Simmons hasn't played yet and even if he's healthy and a star, there's no guarantee he works at the point.

Embiid is awesome but always hurt.

Covington will be 30 before this team contends. Saric is probably a sixth man. The rest of the roster is flyers, vets and rotation type guys

I like the idea of trading down for Monk or maybe Dennis Smith but it depends on how secure things are and what's in it for us. Most of the point guards that might be there don't have much range and at least Smith is a good athlete. Monk is the best fit but if seems like a reach at 3 and the right deal is there to move down, get him and add an asset, obviously that is a no-brainer.

I don't think trading the pick for a veteran is the move unless it's someone relatively young and under contract. Rather I think this should signal the end of the process. Dump whatever shitty contracts we have, take what should be two high picks again next year (ours and the Lakers') and then really start to push forward. Use cap space, explore options, try to get good. It was a five-year plan so now this is the bridge year toward going for it.

I know Philly will be too scared of Fox's non-shooting, as they need an outside threat desperately. Smith could fill it up and run some point if the Simmons as point forward thing doesn't work out.

The Kings only have big men to offer, which obviously the Sixers don't need.

The Magic have the same issues, needing shooting. Not sure Hezonja is worth the risk of falling.

Ditto for the Wolves. Unless they LOVE Fox and want to offer Dunn and #6 for him but that seems aggressive.

The Knicks. LOL.

And then you're falling too far back to risk it.

Sixers are still in BPA-land so probably best to just go with Jackson or Tatum and look to find shooters in free agency. The Process name-checked those two after the lotto.

Maybe see if the Hornets would go for Okafor for #11 and grab the Nkitilina kid. Or just grab Frank's boy Frank in the second round.

You'd think the Lakers would hold steady this offseason. They should learn from Kupchak's mistake and not throw money around and save it for next season when they can make a splash. And no matter who they take at #2, it's going to be a young kid who probably won't turn things around from Day 1.

Of course, there's the risk that they trade for George and use their cap space this year to lure someone over and start winning more games.

Do you hold on to the pick and expect more of the same from the Lake Show or do you move it to maybe grab one of the later point guards like Smith or Nkitilina?

Just more entertaining with BBB in the house.

That pick is a keeper.
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Same as it ever was!

huge difference there, but i'm not worried it gets much worse than 10 unless the lakers get paul george, which seems unlikely if they won't send the ball pick.

The foundation is here and the easy choices are over. Simmons and god willing Embiid are in place, and now we need to fill in around them intelligently.

Stay at the 3rd pick and nail it. I'm good with any of the swingmen or guards rumored there, and they fit the team's biggest needs.

Free agency, I'm fine with the Lowry rumors, but I'd rather spend less on a George Hill type (unless we take Fox).

Either way, put up or shut up time for Bryan,

No new information has come out. I just want to talk about him.

I'm nervous, just because it all rests on him. No reasonable person can think embiid is going to have a career where he's even able to play 60 games per season, so it's going to be up to Simmons to carry the franchise.

Very interested to see if he was able to improve the jumper at all during his redshirt. For next year I'd settle for him taking open shots without hesitation, something he didn't do in summer league or LSU.

Mostly I wish the season started tomorrow, because I want to see how far along he is and see how his utterly unique skill set plays in the NBA. It should be pretty awesome.

If so, he could potentially be even more dominant than anticipated. He's got all the athleticism to be great. It's just the jumper that's lacking and will ultimately determine his ceiling. With that said, I think he'll be a solid, ascending player and definitely make the 76ers competitive.

I try to speed up the contention process to one or two speeds:

Light speed (this is me being oblivious of their cap sitch):

-Trade up for the Lakers #2 (give them a future 1st, say 2020 or 21 and #3)
-Draft ball at #2
-Go after CP3
-Add a few vets (backup C, 3 and D wings, additional back up PG)
-Keep the best pieces from last year (Covington, McConnell, Ilyasova)
-Look to move Okafor for relative value (late 1st this yr or future 1st and a vet)

Start next season like this:
PG-CP3, McConnell (livingston or collison)
SG-Ball, Henderson, Stauskas
SF-Justin Anderson or Covington, Luwawu-Cabarrot
PF-Simmons, Saric, Poythress
C-Embiid, Olynyk or Mason Plumlee or Pachulia (I'd try to land 2 on moderate contracts)

^^^That's a playoff team in the East and they probably win 52 games year 1. You have enough depth to sustain a few injuries and still make the playoffs and no one person has to carry a ton of the load. CP3 doesn't have to do AS much with 2 other capable ball handler/good passers in the line up. You have 3 good/decent defenders at PG, SF and C, good back ups and a good mix of playoff tested vets + young up and coming talent. Ball can learn from CP3 so by the time he starts to fall off, you can slide Ball to PG. They'd have a legit shot at the finals for 3 seasons and maybe beyond given health and a few good key personnel decisions.

Not light speed but swiftly:

-Keep #3 and take the best player available (Jackson, Tatum or Monk for need at the 2) OR still try to trade up for the Lakers #2 (give them a future 1st, say 2020 or 21 and #3)
-I'd take Jackson or Monk at 3 OR Ball at #2
-Go after Lowry or Caldwell-Pope or Otto
-Add a few vets (backup C, 3 and D wings, additional back up PG)
-Keep the best pieces from last year (Covington, McConnell, Ilyasova)
-Look to move Okafor for relative value (mid-to-late 1st and a vet)

#1
-Lowry
-Caldwell-Pope
-Jackson
-Simmons
-Embiid

#2
-Lowry
-Ball
-Porter jr
-Simmons
-Embiid

#3
-Lowry
-Monk
-Porter Jr.
-Simmons
-Embiid

>-Trade up for the Lakers #2 (give them a future 1st, say 2020
>or 21 and #3)
>-Draft ball at #2

i've definitely thought about what it would take to make this happen. the lakers either need to fall in love with another prospect, in which case your scenario works, OR we have to give them back their back next year. i wouldn't be willing to do the latter. the former could work, presuming we can send them a pick that isn't 2018. kinda of feel like the lakers will be all in for ball though.

>-Look to move Okafor for relative value (late 1st this yr or
>future 1st and a vet)

i hope the idea is to trade okafor on draft night for a team that doesn't really want to use its pick. that might get us a pick after 20 in the first round, which would probably mean draft and stash. I honestly might prefer a couple high second rounders. but that's the level we'll be able to get for him.

>^^^That's a playoff team in the East and they probably win 52
>games year 1.

dogg, if we get a healthy embiid for 60 games, we're going to the playoffs even if 1-4 is Duke Bust All Star Team. 60 games of embiid is all nba.

>Not light speed but swiftly:

fwiw, i'm almost certain this is the path we'll take.

>-Go after Lowry or Caldwell-Pope or Otto

i'm actually fine with lowry, even though years 3 and 4 of that contract are going to suck. Ben's eventually going to be the offense's engine, but lowry would allow him to ease into the roll and provide the perimeter scoring the team needs to grow.

no way washington is letting porter get away. kcp might be poachable depending on how svg wants to play things, but a max for a dude who's never going to be more than the 4th player on a good team feels gross.

>the lakers need to fall in love with another prospect
>And give them back their back next year.

I think it would take both to make that happen. I think Ball being a UCLA kid artificially drives up the asking price.

I also think there are better potential deals to be had.

I would love Ball, but he makes so much sense as a fresh start and potential star for this new era.

We’re relatively asset-rich right now and in a position to be stingy in any deal for any player. The fact that the likely #2 is a local kid drives up the price considerably even if it doesn’t change his actual value. Anyone who wants Ball is going to pay a premium and a pick three drafts from now from a team already flush with young, top-3 talent, more to come and cap space to pull a trigger if a couple of them happen is no prize.

We can afford to be greedy not because the value of any one asset is necessarily that great, but because we’re still in a very good position if we do absolutely nothing.

The Lakers could make the #2 available for the price of taking Deng’s deal, the #3, and next year’s pick with a straight face because we’re not desperate.

The offer of #3 and a pick in 2020 as a sweetener would get Philly a gregarious laugh in return.

Maybe an additional second rounder this year, too.

If the Lakers are genuinely trying to head-to-head workout Ball and Fox, they probably realize that the difference between the two is minimal at best (and Fox is the higher-ceiling prospect in my personal opinion), so if they can unload a big contract, maybe pick up another second rounder, and get perhaps the better prospect in return? Shit.

All things considered I think this proposal is at least as good as Soul Honky's, though his completely clears both Deng's and Mozgov's contracts and nets us PG and those bird rights.

But I know this year's 3 plus a 2020 pick alone isn't going to cut it.

They'd only take that if they were 10000% sure that Fox would be better than Ball... but even then, they could probably get a better deal from Phoenix or Sacramento.

In addition to the #4?

I assume another three-way proposition?

I always get mildly exhausted by the trade rumors and the billions of permutations and combinations that I could spend all day doing, lol. (Were that this were my job!) I just know that Fox and Smith are roughly on par with (or better than) Ball in my eyes, so if you can get one of them *and* some assets/salary cap space, that'd be a net win imo.

Maybe not both mozghov and deng, but I'd take the mozghov contract just to swap picks, money doesn't really matter for us right now.