Parker out, Wiggins on his way out.

[indeedproceed]

I'm more bullish on the draft class than Nick is I guess. I think the college game now has way more parity than it did when Melo was in school (the consummate measure of a one-and-done, and probably the most impressive performance by a freshman I've ever seen). I say that because of who actually knocked off the top seeds. Teams stocked with 4-year players, teams used to playing together. Then you get these alledged superstar teams, and you forget they're populated with blue chip talent that is never together in any meaningful way for more than a year.

The biggest things I learned this season regarding Parker-Wiggins-Embid-Randle-Gordon-Smart is that Parker's athleticism could be a major hurdle at playing the 3, Wiggins and Embiid aren't fully cooked yet, and Randle/Gordon's ceiling is lower than people thought.

I still think there is at least 1, maybe 2 superstars in this draft , and 5 or so guys with multiple all-star games in their future, minimum. We'll see how they develope but if we wound up with Parker/Wiggins/Embiid, I'm still going to celebrate like we made the Finals. Talent is just such a commodity , it's still a golden goose worth tanking for.

Not to flog this deceased equine, but talent like what you're talking about is NOT worth tanking for.  Talent like that is a ticket straight to the hell of being a mid-to-low playoff team that spends years without ever having a chance a winning a title.  The ONLY justification for tanking is to get a LeBron or a Duncan or a Bird or a Magic.  It's not to get a "superstar" and not for guy who goes to a few all-star games.

Mike

Where would the Thunder be without Russell Westbrook? Where would the Warriors be without Klay Thompson? Where would OKC be with James Harden (if they hadn't stupidly traded him away)? Portland without Lillard?

Talent is talent. We're not gonna turn around tomorrow and be contenders, barring a miracle trade. Just hope Danny picks right.

[SHAQATTACK]

Just don't draft another FAB MELO


Please ..

[Mr October]

Right, I take issue with the absolutes. Teams tank all the time, to different scales, for different reasons. It's not just a strip-mine effort.

TP. When we debate on how to rebuild a team, or debate tanking, even the definition of tanking, the key is to not get caught up in absolutes.

The truth is usually in the middle, and the truth is there are multiple ways to acquiring talent and achieving winning in the NBA.

Tanking was a good plan this year because of the following perfect storm:

1. Rondo was out with a major injury to start the year, and we knew he would use a good chunk of the remainder of the season to play his way back into his old self.

2. The celtics were able to get an irrefutable trade from Brooklyn for their soon to be retiring stars. ainge couldn't say no to that stack of unprotected picks, when the window had clearly shut on our title run.

3. The draft itself projects to be one of the better ones in the past decade, if not the best in that time, provided that the expected freshmen enter it.

[nickagneta]

Been saying since the summer that these kids had to be seen under the microscope of the NCAA season before declaring them franchise cornerstone future superstars. Now that the season is over for many of these kids, I think its fairly obvious that most of these kids aren't going to come anywhere near the expectations and hype that so many in the media built these kids up to be.

To be fair though, you're really hard on college kids and usually think they'll either fail or underperform. I mean before the summer league even began you were going on and on about how Olynyk would be out of the league entirely in a year.

Who exactly do you like this year?

I don't like Olynyk's game. Never will. Not my type of player and still not sold he is as good as you think he is. When I am wrong I am wrong and admit i. I think this is the second time I have acknowledged I am wrong about Olynyk. So enough with bringing him up as an answer to every response on an opinion I have. I am pretty sure that's not cool.

I guess you must have missed my posts declaring Wiggins as my most probable pick if the C's got the #1 pick. You must have also missed my pick I wanted and called for a lot which was Michael Carter Williams and I have also declared my love of Nerlens Noel as a player.

This year I think Wiggins and Parker and maybe Ennis could be the best of this draft class when all is said and done. I think those three could be anywhere from Melo-Bosh great to Jeff Green good. The best chance of landing a cornerstone guy is Wiggins but I have serious reservations about him being mentally tough enough to be the best of the best.

Is Embiid not your type of player either?

I like Embiid. But I am not sure I want to risk a #2 or #1 pick on a 19 year old with a bad back. A #18-21 pick, sure grab a guy with a bad back if his upside is top 5 pick potential. But to take that risk so high in the draft might not be the most prudent move, IMHO. And I just think the chances of Embiid being dominant are not nearly as high as Wiggins, Parker and possibly Ennis being dominant and will be difficult enough if he was 100% healthy.

If the C's get the #2 or #3 pick I could see them ending up with Embiid and I would be more than thrilled. But I just feel others have better chances of becoming something special.