totse.com | NBA Draft Lottery(aka Oden/Durant sweepstakes)

napoleon_complex · #1 2007-05-23, 02:17

Well Portland and Seattle were obviously the big winners, while Memphis and Boston came out huge losers(especially Boston).

But yeah, the Pacific Northwest certainly got a pick me up tonight.

This is one of the deepest drafts in recent history(it might be ever deeper than the Lebron, Carmelo, Dwade, Bosh draft), so anyone in the top 15 is going to be getting a great player, when it's usually onle everyone in the top 7-10.

Ziv423 · #2 2007-05-23, 03:48

ack fuck no god

This sucks but I don't see how the Celtics suffered a whole lot more than the Grizzlies. The Celtics are definetly a better team than the Grizzlies without the draft picks.

napoleon_complex · #3 2007-05-23, 04:59

Technically, Boston is slightly better(which is why Memphis has the higher pick), but Boston went from number two to number five. You had to figure at worst they get number three. I also prefer Memphis' team to Bostons. I thought a frontcourt of Oden, Gasol, and Gay would have been pretty damn good.

Another reason why this lottery war very important was that it further increased the disparity between the east and west. The West was already better than the East(The Suns, Spurs, and Mavs are all better than Detroit, the best Eastern team). Now you have two franchise players going to the west. Next years western conference playoffs should be amazing. Portland has a potential frontcourt of Oden, Aldridge, and Randolph, which is just sick if you think about it, and the Sonics can have Ray Allen and Kevin Durant(and maybe even Rashard Lewis if they re-sign him, which is doubtful, but just for the sake of discussion lets imagine it happens) at SG and SF. That's just a ridiculous amount of talent right there.

But yeah, the west is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY ahead of the East right now.

Ziv423 · #4 2007-05-23, 15:37

The West > East thing is reaching absurd heights, but I don't think Oden and Durant instantly make the conference that much more amazing. I doubt Seattle or Portland will make the playoffs (especially Portland) because there's just so much work to be done. At best, it will make the race for the 8th seed in 08 a big entertaining clusterfuck.

Maybe the Celtics should trade their pick?

napoleon_complex · #5 2007-05-24, 01:07

I don't think you realize how talented these two are. Durant will come in and put up rookie numbers like Carmelo and Lebron put up. He's that good.

Oden will instantly be one of the favorites for Defensive Player of the Year, and he'll be one of the five best Centers in the NBA before he plays his first game. He'll easily average a double double, the only question is how many points. I expect at least14, but he's good enough to average up to 20 in his rookie season.

I definitely see Portland making the playoffs next season. They have a terrific young core now. Seattle might make the playoffs, but it al hinges on their defense. IIRC, they were one of the worst defensive teams in the league last year, and Durant won't help them there. I think their chances hinge on what they do with Rashard Lewis. If they can work out a sign and trade to get a good forward or center, then they could definitely make some noise.

As for Boston, they need the number five pick. They need young players to build a good core. The five pick won't get a great player on the trade market, so they're better off just making the pick. Only way they trade it is if they swap their number five for multiple picks, but I don't see that being an option this year.

Ziv423 · #6 2007-05-24, 16:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by napoleon_complex View Post

I don't think you realize how talented these two are. Durant will come in and put up rookie numbers like Carmelo and Lebron put up. He's that good.

Oden will instantly be one of the favorites for Defensive Player of the Year, and he'll be one of the five best Centers in the NBA before he plays his first game. He'll easily average a double double, the only question is how many points. I expect at least 14, but he's good enough to average up to 20 in his rookie season.

Well you definetly know more about Oden and Durant, and college basketball in general because I don't watch much at all. I'm admitting this now, before I start spewing out more shit I don't really know about and can't back it up. It just seemed unlikely to me that a couple of rookies could be as huuugge as everyone's making them out to be. Sports have become all about hype and speculation. And stats.

Quote:

Originally Posted by napoleon_complex View Post

As for Boston, they need the number five pick. They need young players to build a good core. The five pick won't get a great player on the trade market, so they're better off just making the pick. Only way they trade it is if they swap their number five for multiple picks, but I don't see that being an option this year.

I think they have a good core without the 5th pick with Jefferson, Rondo and whoever else makes a step forward next year (a few different candidates, Perkins, Allen, West, Green, pretty much everyone on the roster not named Brian Scalabrine). Pierce still has a few good years.

Don't believe me about Rondo?
http://youtube.com/watch?v=YRyzAVD-StU
http://youtube.com/watch?v=VCOCiRd_H9g
I don't have time to watch either of those right now, so I don't know how much of the same stuff made it into both. Bus I assure you he did this on a nightly basis every single time he got minutes.

napoleon_complex · #7 2007-05-24, 17:40

I like Boston's core as well, but as of right now their only decent big man is Jefferson. He needs someone next to him(which is Oden or Durant would have been great picks because Oden is a pure post player and Durant is versatile enough to play the four).

I also don't see them getting much trade value out of the number five pick. They could, but I just think they'd be better off getting a young stud and building for two or three years down the road. If they were one player away from being good, then they should trade the pick, but they need a lot of help(and a new coach) before they'll be good again.

It's also hard to trade picks straight up for players because first rounders only make around three million a year, which mean you can only take back someone making around five million(I think that's about the maximum), which is around the league average.

They would have to package the pick with a current player or two to make the trade work, but I'm not sure Boston has anyone that other teams will want(Pacers for instance since I know there's talk of moving Jermaine O'Neal). It's just very difficult to trade players for picks.

But yeah, Durant and Oden are the truth. They'll have Lebron and Carmelo type rookie season impacts. Expect Portland and Seattle to improve by at least ten games each next season, if not more.

Ziv423 · #8 2007-05-24, 23:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by napoleon_complex View Post

It's also hard to trade picks straight up for players because first rounders only make around three million a year, which mean you can only take back someone making around five million(I think that's about the maximum), which is around the league average.

They would have to package the pick with a current player or two to make the trade work, but I'm not sure Boston has anyone that other teams will want(Pacers for instance since I know there's talk of moving Jermaine O'Neal). It's just very difficult to trade players for picks.

There's also Theo Ratliff's contract, and Sebastian Telfair, maybe a couple other players could go.

napoleon_complex · #9 2007-05-25, 01:41

I'm almost positive that Telfair was released after he was arrested for that gun incident.

Do you know what Theo Ratliff's contract situation is(how many years left is most important)?

They could make it happen, but it's hard to do.

Ziv423 · #10 2007-05-25, 02:34

11.7 million, 1 year, I think