Betrayer

I meant to say 5-7 if we don't get #2 overall. As you all know, I'm not high on Chet.

It was a fun game to watch if you weren't thinking about draft odds. Cade continues to make his case for RoY. Problem I had with the game was Grant, Joseph and Olynyk playing at this point in the season and getting 48 points. We should be seeing guys like Lee, Garza, and Pickett. If you win while playing all those youngsters, then fine, you win. But if your vets are scoring half your points when winning games can only hurt your future, then it's simply shortsighted coaching.

As long as they hold it together long enough to beat Brooklyn, I'm happy.

I heard this as well, but not sure how much stock I put in it at this point in the year or that they'd allow someone to just announce their real big board. However, if it is true, I hope we get a pick in the 5-7 range if we don't get #1 overall.

It matters because they play the Rockets and Thunder each two more times this season.

I've been watching most of the Madness games with the top prospects and right now my board looks like: #1 - Jabari Smith Jr - Could be the best shooter in the entire first round with real NBA range right now. Solid defender, but I saw him getting blown by on the perimeter more than once so I'm not sure about his lateral footspeed on switches. I don't think he'll be a lock down defender, but I'd project him as above average overall. Plays more like a SF in a PFs body, so don't expect a rim-runner, slasher, or paint player. People love the KD comparison due to body type and shooting, but I think a 6'10" version of Klay might be the comp I'd go with. I'm not sure he projects as a superstar (not sure anyone in this draft does, although history says there will probably be one), but I think he has a very high floor and an All-Star (though not All-Star starter) ceiling. #2 - Jaden Ivey - Explosive speed and lift. Can get to the bucket for a foul or drive and kick at will. Shooting improved a lot this year, but still streaky. Went from 25% from three last year to 36% this year - very similar numbers to Donovan Mitchell and Ja Morant in college. Better shooter off the catch than off the dribble. Not a lead guard (unlike Ja), but we don't need that since we have Cade. He's 6'4" with nice length, strength, and elite athleticism to guard the other team's best perimeter player and take the defensive pressure off of Cade. Defense is a mixed bag right now, but has the potential and shows it when he locks in on a player (reminds me of Hami a bit in that way). Lower floor than Jabari Smith, but higher upside. He's a better version of Hami right with his shooting and skills as a secondary creator - and that's his floor in my eyes. His ceiling is a 3" taller version of Donovan Mitchell, and that's the intrigue for me next to Cade - Fire and Ice. #3 - Benedict Mathurin - Again, this team needs athleticism in a big way. Mathurin projects as a good shooter and tremendous athlete. I need to watch more before I can form a deeper opinion than that, but I'll take his upside over the remaining players for many of the same reasons I gave for Ivey. #4 - Still thinking about this... Others: Chet - I don't buy him as an NBA player and I'd rather let someone else take the chance. If Jabari is off the board and I'm staring at Chet, I'm trading down to collect more assets and grab Ivey or Mathurin instead. Let's just start with: Who does he guard in the NBA? You can't play him at Center because he's going to get eaten alive. Watch his minutes against Jalen Duren in the last game and you'll get a sample of what's going to happen against NBA bodies. Nearly all of Chet's stats came when Duren was on the bench. The only way he's successful is if you can play him at the 4 or the 3 like Giannis/KD where his length is an asset. Problem is, he doesn't have the kind of athleticism or footspeed to guard the perimeter like those guys. When I watch him play I just see a lot of "tall guy in college" stats. I also look at draft history for the past 10 years and see very few All-Star big men taken in the top 3. I don't want to be the team that takes Bagley over Luka or Trey because big guys can make it look so easy in college. Even a guy like Garza can dominate in college just through sheer size and tenacity. Banchero - Another guy I'm not sure translates fully to the NBA. That strength is nothing compared to NBA players, so he loses that advantage. What's left? He's not a lights-out shooter. He's slow on the defensive end. He has high usage for his position. He's not a great athlete. I'd rather take a shot on someone like Ivey, Mathurin, or others.

Keep an eye on this website: https://www.tankathon.com/

Looks like we did this at the same time. If a Mod could delete mine, that would be great.

I'd love to see us get one of those Portland picks, but I think I'm out on believing any hype about Grant trades until they actually happen at this point. With how Grant has been playing lately I could see Weaver either increasing the price or wanting to hang on to him. There was a report that he was against trading Grant and Tellem was the one pushing for it, so who knows what happens.

Good, competitive loss. I would not have been happy winning this game on Grant's back. If Bey got 50 again, ok, I'd accept that kind of win because it's growth for the youngsters.

Let's hope Cade is out again. Would be happy to see us sit CoJo, Kelly, and Grant for Saben, Garza, and Livers as well. While we're at it, maybe Pickett could use some time in place of Bey. Even with all that, we might still win against the Magic. Some dangerous games ahead with about half of our remaining schedule against teams who have nothing to play for by the time we meet and the Pistons playing their best basketball of the season right now: Magic, Blazers, Wizards, Knicks, Thunder, Pacers, and the last two games against the Bucks and 76ers when they will likely be locked into their playoff seed. That's 8 of 13. Dangerous when we're only a couple of games back from slipping to the 4th lottery spot.

Nearly took this game even with Cade out. This is definitely a different team since the All Star break. Some wins and some close, competitive losses. Livers has been a nice surprise. Just plays the right way on both sides of the ball and has been knocking down his open shots. Looks like a solid bench rotation player. If he keeps this up, then he was a great find at the 42nd pick. On the down side, Bey has been struggling again for the past 5 games. Hopefully they keep Cade out for Orlando, but even so I think we're a better team than the Magic right now, so it's going to be hard to lose. Time to start benching some vets? CoJo, Grant, Kelly. Maybe give Saben and Garza some run for the last dozen games.

Yeah, they announced it on the broadcast for the last game. Smooth Johnny Kane doing the announcing in his stead. He does a solid job, but he's no Blaha. I had to toss in a, "count that baby and a foul!" on my own during the last game.

The elite athleticism is critical when you know you're starting Cade and Saddiq for the foreseeable future. Think about Hami with a better handle, passing skills, higher IQ, work ethic, and a 37% three point shot and tell me you wouldn't want that guy next to Cade - that's Ivey's floor because that's who he is today. On the defensive end you need a backcourt mate for Cade with the length, strength, and athleticism to guard the other team's best perimeter player. On the offensive end, you need a guy who can be a secondary creator - an athletic slasher who can drive and kick or hit the open three at a decent rate. Ivey checks all those boxes already with potential for a taller Donovan Mitchell type of player. It's not like Boston is going to hand us Jalen Brown anytime soon to pair with Cade, so we've got to try to find that archetype elsewhere. If I get a top 2 pick, I'm trading down to get more assets and grab Ivey at #3 or #4. It's a perimeter league, securing your backcourt of the future is more important than adding a big man in my eyes.

Also wanted to add that drafting Ivey probably stops us from going after Jalen Brunson, so that's another positive.

Most of what I'm hearing the past couple of weeks has Chet and Jabari in tier 1, Ivey and Paulo in Tier 2, and then Tier 3 comes after that. Paulo's stock has been steadily dropping - people are seeing a high floor but a low ceiling (Julius Randle comparisons). NBADraftNet even has Ivey at #2, right after Smith, and Banchero at #4 after AJ Griffin. Here, take a look at the write up on Ivey and tell me you wouldn't drool over that: https://www.nbadraft.net/players/jaden-ivey/ As far as fit, yes, I think Ivey would be a great fit next to Cade. His main issue is that he's not a primary ballhandler so you don't want to try to shove him into a true PG position - no problem, that's Cade's strength. Ivey has also shown that he's a good shooter off the ball from three and obviously he's a dynamic slasher and athlete on the break or on drives to the rim. He's also a good defender with tremendous defensive upside due to his strength and athleticism. A team with just one star is going to sit in NBA purgatory. You need a second creator/scorer if you're going to make any noise, so we can't be over-protective of Cade's ball dominance. To me, getting Ivey would be like Paul + Booker or Tatum + Brown or even Conley + Mitchell. Then, if we had a real coach who doesn't sub out the entire starter unit, we could always have one of them in the game. I think Ivey may have a slightly lower floor than some of the bigs, but he has a much higher ceiling and could be a Donovan Mitchell type of player if he develops. I just don't see any of these bigs becoming an Embiid, Jokic, or Davis. Unless you're getting an MVP type of big man like that, In today's NBA, the difference between all the other big men is negligible and many of them (even guys like Gobert and Ayton) got benched for long stretches in last year's playoffs because they couldn't match up with spread offenses in the playoffs. I'd rather continue to develop Bagley and get another big man in free agency for now. Plus, the jury is still out on the Grant situation, so that could be another way to get a big man or a draft pick.

I've been having a blast watching these recent games and I was in attendance at the game in Charlotte, which was a blast! Yeah, I'm a little concerned about the lottery odds, but they're playing better due to the growth of their young guys (Cade, Bey, Stewart, Bagley, etc), so I can't complain about that. As far as the lottery, I just want to be in the position where taking Ivey is a no brainer, like Cleveland's decision to draft Mobley last year. Detroit and Houston made the decision for them and Mobley fell into their lap. I think the 3rd pick is about right for that scenario to happen.

I actually enjoyed it until the end of the 4th when Casey let Cojo and Grant go solo for 4 minutes and nearly blow the game rather than leaving Hami and Killian in there. Cade and Bey struggled to shoot, although Cade still filled up the box score, but this was a pretty impressive defensive performance overall from the team. They basically shut Mobley down for most of the game, and without Garland there to get him easy buckets it really showed why Cade should be Rookie of the Year. Killian didn't score but he was seriously impactful on defense and played a nice floor game on the other end. His defense was also infectious, sparking the rest of them to really crank it up. I've never seen Grant play this hard on D as a Piston. Hami was outstanding on both ends and continues to show why he's a part of this team's future. Also reminded me why I want Ivey so bad in this draft. When you're that gifted athletically, you can simply make things happen. Add the offensive skillset that Ivey has and look out. He'd be a great backcourt fit next to Cade. Bagley also had a great game, showing why we needed an athletic big like him on the roster. He put down a ridiculous alley-oop after a sweet behind the back dribble move from Cade that got me out of my seat. I'm ok with wins as long as it's the young, developing players getting us there. In this case it was Hami (23), Bagley (22), Killian (20), and Stew (20) who showed out in various ways while Cade (20) filled up the stat sheet - not Cojo, Grant, or Olynyk.

Terrible.

No shooting, no athleticism, no coaching. Bad recipe. Seriously though, watching what Hami accomplishes out there with very little basketball skill and just raw athleticism and effort shows you how important that is in the NBA. Defensive plays, rebounds, drawing fouls, scoring in the paint, and more, all just because he's faster and can jump higher than most other players. Unless you can find generational shooters like Curry to combine with a creative coach like Kerr who uses ball and people movement to get players good looks, it just seems wiser to go after athletes and grow their skills rather than the reverse. So many examples of this in NBA, with guys like Donovan Mitchell, Ja Morant, Giannis, etc. I'm a huge fan of Bey, but if an Athlete like Giannis (or even Hami) decided to lock in on him defensively (the way defense is played in the playoffs), he's going to get shut down unless he's got an athletic creator next to him getting him open looks. The same cannot be said in reverse. That's one of the main reasons I'm on the Jaden Ivey train for this draft.

Hopefully it'll get even better with a lob threat coming to town.

I'm fine with the Bagley move now. It gets rid of JJ and Lyles, who both needed to go and you get to try out Bagley before you buy. Even more importantly, it gets you a rim threat which you need for Cade and Killian's development. The guards are getting killed out there with these double teams and nobody to take the pressure off of them on the pick n roll. He's also a solid rebounder, which we desperately need. Not saying we're trying to win games here, but let's try to make it more competitive. Of course, this all depends upon Casey not just slotting Bagley into the Lyles spot and having him go out there and create his own shots on spots ups and isolations. That's what the Kings did and it will end in disaster here too. He's got to be used as a rim threat where his numbers are very good over the course of his short career.

The team has the second worst offensive rating when he's in the lineup - second only to Stewart. A lot of this is on Grant. But let's be honest, a ton of it is on Casey. This is the most simple-minded offense in the league. There's zero creativity, very little ball movement, and almost no off-ball movement or screening. Casey also obviously doesn't coach shot selection or cater plays to specific players strengths. The end result is a ton of isolation play, which puts Jeremy in the worst possible position to use his strengths. I want to say that the top priority this off-season is moving Grant, but I think it's actually far more important to either move Casey into a development role so we can get a real coach, or do what Toronto did and get him an offensive coordinator. A Casey team will never play above the sum of its parts and most often it will play below it's potential. On top of that, it's having a negative impact on the development of key guys like Cade, Bey, and even Killian.

Really disappointing. Grant's trade value was at its highest an hour ago. Teams were jockeying for playoff power with no clear favorite this year. Grant had 1.5 years on his contract, which is the perfect time for a team to be able to try him out for a playoff run before having to commit to the extension he's going to ask for this summer. From here, his trade value begins to slowly decline. Weaver could still recover by making a wise move this offseason, but if he extends Grant or lets him go into next season, then you can add this to the mistake side of Weaver's tally, which is getting larger. I'm still neutral on him overall at this point, but this offseason is going to be a big one.

Nets are shopping those two firsts. Give us those two firsts, Cam Thomas, and Harris for Grant. At least that will help me decide who to root for when the Nets (KD) face the 76ers (Harden) in the playoffs - I can pull for Grant and Bruce Brown. 10 minutes until the deadline. It's funny that 1 month ago Grant was the most likely big name to get traded. Here we are at the end of the line and a ton of other big names got moved but we're still hanging on tight to Grant. The handling of Grant will be a big determining factor in the story of Weaver as GM, so let's see what happens.