Putting all our eggs in one basket with the Nets Pick?

[greece66]

Now, having said this, it is ludicrous to think that the Nets pick has a good chance of landing us Ben Simmons.

It will be good but not that good.

They are third from bottom, but several teams from the West are almost certainly out of the playoff picture and might start the real tanking in the last twenty or so games of the season (Minny, Phoenix, NOP, Denver to name the most obvious candidates). The same might be true for Milwaukee if they continue to suck so bad (that MCW for Brandon Knight trade was ...'pure genius').

The crucial detail is this: unlike the Nets, the aforementioned teams still have their picks, ie they have an incentive to tank. The only other relevant team that has given away its first rounder is the Knicks (to Toronto).

What gets overlooked by most people in saying that those teams out west will start tanking hard is that they all still play each other.  The only team that is for sure tanking in the East is the 76ers and they are actually playing hard lately.  I wouldn't say the Nets can count on winning all remaining games against the 76ers.  The Bucks just have too much talent to totally tank.  Everyone else in the East is still in the running for the playoffs, for awhile at least.

Now out West, all those teams you mentioned still have a lot of games against each other. Someone has to win those games.  When Phoenix plays the Lakers, one of those teams is getting a win.  And when we are talking top draft spots, every win is a kick in the figurative nuts for a top pick.  So I don't see the Western Conference teams falling like you might think.

Thanks, that's a p good point I had not thought about.

Still, Minny and Phoenix are only 2 wins ahead of Brooklyn.Altho what I wrote originally might have been too pessimistic, I still think it is very unlikely  (tho ofc not impossible) Brooklyn will finish in the bottom 5 as many C's fans  think.

(LAL and Sixers have locked their spot there, and you have 6-7 other strong candidates).

[greece66]

With hindsight, the trade with the Nets was a steal.

Nope. It was an absolute steal the moment it was made -- and it was easy to see (if difficult to swallow due to the loss of Cs Legends). 

First deal in NBA history with 3 unprotected first round picks.

I agree that it was a bad move by the Nets from the start. Ageing players, well over the salary cap, all or nothing attempt to build a contender, giving away 3 first rounders. (Altho they too got rid of some bad contracts).

But the trade was made even worse by the way they managed their team the last couple of seasons . Had they accomplished a couple of decent trades they would not be in such an awful position now, altho, yes you are right, the trade was a bad idea to start with.