TBH, I think it goes like this:
1. Boston
2. NY
3. LA
4. Philly
Why:
Boston - best GM of the bunch, Stevens showing he's a very good coach, decent young assets although none I'd consider a cornerstone, a boatload of picks to use or trade (those Brooklyn picks are looking better every day), a large TPE to use on a player making good money and a sizable chunk of cap space coming up. Add in Danny's demonstrated history of willing to make a big move to improve the team, I have to give the nod to the C's here.
NY has Melo ready to come back next year, a pick likely to be top 3 barring a major surprise in the draft, a decent amount of cap space and Phil Jackson to act as a lure for FA's impressed by his resume.
LA has Kobe ready to come back next year (he's unlikely to be as productive as Melo at this stage but he has a much stronger competitive mentality), a pick likely to be top 5 barring a major surprise in the draft, a decent amount of cap space and the lure of LaLa land for FAs impressed by that.
Philly has a 2nd-year rookie that's improving and 2 rookies that aren't playing for them but could be very good. they own picks will likely be high in the lottery for a few more years because they're expected to stink, NOT IMPROVE. They'll get LA's pick probably next when LA has had an opportunity to improve their team and the pick will likely be late lottery if not out of the lottery. The biggest drawback for Philly is that by the time they're young players start to develop some real skills, they'll be ready for restricted free agency and have a strong incentive to play for their QO and become an unrestricted free agent just to get out of that losing atmosphere while still getting their first big contract. Granted this is yet to happen but I strongly believe they will bleed young talent that wants to go to a winning environment.
I understand that expectation from the general populous but it's not in line with Philly's intentions at all. They'll be much more stable next year and have more depth. They'll be nipping at the heels of the playoffs if not securely in them in 16-17 unless the NBA loses a season. They've said from the beginning they want to be in serious contention within 5 years, this nonsense about Hinkie giving away good players for nothing to tank forever is a baseless narrative.
That puts the as a playoff team right as Noel enters RFA, and I don't think they're let him go anywhere he's right up there with Gobert as a defensive prospect. Plus they'll have the cap room to fill out the wings with 3&D guys if they don't like what they see in the draft.
I'd put Boston above them but the C's still need rim protection and a 2nd option on offense for Thomas.
They won't even be close to sniffing the playoffs next season. More than likely they'll be the worst in the East with NY getting Melo back and FAs and pretty much everyone but Brooklyn getting better.
They'll be a 30 win team next year unless injuries really derail them, which to me is Embiid/Noel missing a combined 50 games. If they do anything in FA and their young guys improve more than expected maybe a 32-35 win team. For all the talk about how great Boston is at developing their young guys I've yet to see any of them make the jump Noel has. James Young has barely played, and has as long to go as anybody Philly's drafted. Smart is a pretty mediocre offensive player, comparable offensively to a guy the same age we drafted with a pick in the 30s so I'm not really seeing where this "we're awesome at developing guys" swag is coming from.
Boston is clearly better now, and I trust Ainge to be decisive when an opportunity presents itself to grab a star but there is a very real risk of a 45 win holding pattern while you guys pray for a Nets implosion(likely if they keep Billy King). If that's the course you have to take we're talking a very long rebuild.
had a good size rebuttal to this but lost it when I hit the wrong key by accident. I don't feel like retyping it all so I'll condense it.
all you're continuing to do is spew your love for Philly and trying to support it with baseless speculation.
bottom line:
Hinkie's intentions don't mean squat. if the players get sick of losing and the culture of losing (and I have little doubt some will) they will play out their rookie contract, sign for just the QO as an RFA and hit the market the following year as a UFA to get out of there. Not saying they'll lose all of those young players like this but I believe it will happen enough to expose the folly of Philly's full-tank-until-drafting-a-stud philosophy.
Also, there roster is incredibly unbalanced/lackin in terms of their top prospects. they've got 3, 2 of which aren't playing this year and the other is a second-year rookie. no way those 3, assuming Saric were to come over which he'd be foolish to do now, would get that team in the playoffs no matter who they added with their pick this year. don't forget, they have to fill the rest of that roster with guys who can actually play if the intention is to do more than stink the joint up. what talented vet would actually choose to join that disaster unless they're being obscenely overpaid? none, and even then I still doubt there'd be enough money to lure someone AND with the playoffs a distant thought, no way Hinkie empties his piggy bank to try to sign a FA of any quality at this point.
Philly may be better next year but barely. you're missing the obvious point that other teams doing crappy this year will all figure to be better next year as well. who is Philly going to pass in the standings realistically? no one I can see.
Topic: Closer to Contending: Knicks, Lakers, Celtics, Philly? (Read 10730 times)