If We Strike Gold & Get Top-Two Pick...

[trickybilly]

I guess because of the dot dot dot I thought this thread was going to be about who we should take first if we have the top two picks.

I mean, why not take Ingram first to light a small fire under Simmons.  We'll forever benefit from his feeling cheated and dissed by being picked at #2....that is, if he forgives us at contract time.

On the other hand Simmons at one and Ingram at two is fine by me.  No complaints there if they don't want to play with fire.   

Haha. Like a longcon game to snag your childhood sweetheart. Let her marry the jerk and get her back when she is sexually bored and let her see Red. Auerbach. Relax.

[GC003332]

It would be in the best long term interests of player and team for the 2 guys to earn their minutes, help make them into two way players, if they are who they say they are they will have no problem earning playing time on this particular roster.
Great players aren't afraid to earn their keep.Being part of a playoff ready squad will be great for them compared to being on dead beat squads where they are gifted minutes and their lack of defense isn't punished.Very few rookies are even net positives on the defensive side of the ball.Competing with the likes of Smart, Bradley & Crowder will help speed up their growth on the defensive end.
Also on the offensive side of the ball learn to take good quality shots within the flow of the offence, many rookies on poor squads develop very poor habits of forcing their shots to get their numbers so when the losses pileup their butts are covered.

[PhoSita]

I personally am in the 'Trade Smart' camp to upgrade another position, but if you're rolling out IT-Bradley-Ingram with your choice of Kelly/Sully/Amir/Zeller at the other two positions, you're moving in the right direction.

Why not trade IT?

If we get a top 2 pick in this draft, the focus for our franchise becomes setting the team up to be really, really good right around the time Simmons or Ingram hits his prime.

By that time, IT will be on the verge of being a 2nd or 3rd stringer, if not out of the league altogether.  The history of guys IT's size, whose game is predicated on speed and scoring, is not good beyond age 31 or so.

IT would probably fetch a better price than Smart anyhow, and Smart is more likely to work well alongside a ball-dominant star or high usage scorer.