Woj, Stein, & Lowe - C's and Sixers in serious talks for #1 pick

[Moranis]

Clearly Ainge doesn't believe Fultz is a transcendent player or he thinks there are 2 others in the draft.

[BitterJim]

I would so much rather have an elite pick and roll scorer type prospect than a guy who projects as a kind of Gerald Wallace / Joe Johnson / Andre Iguodala type player.

Look, if we were sitting at #3 after the lottery I'd be all about Josh Jackson.

Fultz is a better prospect. 

I know we already have a great lead scoring guard in Thomas, but he won't last forever.  To me the value of a prospect like Fultz is exponentially higher than a guy like Jackson.

The chances of him becoming another tweener who can't shoot (e.g. MKG, Winslow, Johnson, etc) seem a lot higher than the chance he becomes Kawhi Leonard.

If it helps, think of Jackson as a Paul Pierce type.  And Fultz as CJ McCollum.  That's in play.

I think in today's league the McCollum type prospect is more valuable.

 Nope.  Prime Paul Pierce is more valuable than prime CJ McCollum, regardless of era.

Are people really thinking Jackson is suddenly going to develop a shot and turn into a Paul Pierce level player? Unless he somehow develops a really reliable shot and takes that ridiculous hitch out of his shot, I don't see how he comes anywhere close to Pierce's level.

Isn't Smart a really big recent example of this fallacious notion of drafting players hoping they'll improve their shots? I still think Smart was a good pick given the options that we had at that time, but we literally have the first pick of the draft in this scenario. There's no use in gambling on something like that.

EDIT: I feel like Tatum is a much more apt Pierce comparison than Jackson.

I like Andre Iguodala as a Jackson comp much more than Pierce

[PhoSita]

I would so much rather have an elite pick and roll scorer type prospect than a guy who projects as a kind of Gerald Wallace / Joe Johnson / Andre Iguodala type player.

Look, if we were sitting at #3 after the lottery I'd be all about Josh Jackson.

Fultz is a better prospect. 

I know we already have a great lead scoring guard in Thomas, but he won't last forever.  To me the value of a prospect like Fultz is exponentially higher than a guy like Jackson.

The chances of him becoming another tweener who can't shoot (e.g. MKG, Winslow, Johnson, etc) seem a lot higher than the chance he becomes Kawhi Leonard.

If it helps, think of Jackson as a Paul Pierce type.  And Fultz as CJ McCollum.  That's in play.

I think in today's league the McCollum type prospect is more valuable.

 Nope.  Prime Paul Pierce is more valuable than prime CJ McCollum, regardless of era.

Are people really thinking Jackson is suddenly going to develop a shot and turn into a Paul Pierce level player? Unless he somehow develops a really reliable shot and takes that ridiculous hitch out of his shot, I don't see how he comes anywhere close to Pierce's level.

Isn't Smart a really big recent example of this fallacious notion of drafting players hoping they'll improve their shots? I still think Smart was a good pick given the options that we had at that time, but we literally have the first pick of the draft in this scenario. There's no use in gambling on something like that.

EDIT: I feel like Tatum is a much more apt Pierce comparison than Jackson.

I like Andre Iguodala as a Jackson comp much more than Pierce

Yep, and I LOVE Andre Iguodala.

But not when the Celts could draft somebody who compares favorably to Dame Lillard, James Harden, or Gilbert Arenas (prime) instead.


Iggy's whole deal, his whole career, is that he was a really super nice player who couldn't be the best player on a serious team.  That's not the kind of player you want to take at the top of the draft.

[fairweatherfan]

Danny's earned my trust on the trade front, but I'm worried about this. Here's some thoughts:

- I was starting to get really into Fultz as a Celtic. It would be a bummer to lose out on him, even though Jackson or whoever is also a stud.

- We don't need to be growing our list of assets, we need to be consolidating them.

- But, if this is the first move and we have a deal lined up to flip most of these assets into a real superstar, I'd be more onboard. No real indication of that right now, though.

[Ilikesports17]

Danny's earned my trust on the trade front, but I'm worried about this. Here's some thoughts:

- I was starting to get really into Fultz as a Celtic. It would be a bummer to lose out on him, even though Jackson or whoever is also a stud.

- We don't need to be growing our list of assets, we need to be consolidating them.

- But, if this is the first move and we have a deal lined up to flip most of these assets into a real superstar, I'd be more onboard. No real indication of that right now, though.

thats about where I am.

[PhoSita]

Danny's earned my trust on the trade front, but I'm worried about this. Here's some thoughts:

- I was starting to get really into Fultz as a Celtic. It would be a bummer to lose out on him, even though Jackson or whoever is also a stud.

- We don't need to be growing our list of assets, we need to be consolidating them.

- But, if this is the first move and we have a deal lined up to flip most of these assets into a real superstar, I'd be more onboard. No real indication of that right now, though.

I was really buying into the notion of having a Flat-top-instead-of-beard version of Harden.

[hpantazo]

Is the Lakers 2018 first protected?

[Dchuck]

Think of how good Fultz is!

Philly is willing to part with all these picks for him.  They would be happy to give up all those assets for him, because they feel he is that special!  If Fultz and Jackson are "so close" talent wise, why doesn't Philly just draft Jackson and keep all those picks? 

Oh, it's because Philly realizes an offensive talent with a wide range of tools is harder to come by than another MKG/Winslow/Stanley Johnson/Iguadola etc.  you can find those guys multiple times over in every draft.

How do u find time for him if Jaylen is supposed to get a bump in playing time?  What if Hayward comes on board?  What if LA takes Jackson?  What if we get LA's 1st pick and it's #8?  Or Embiid  stays healthy all year, Fultz is the real deal with Simmons and they make the 8th seed in playoffs and we're stuck with another middle 1st rd pick?

All these picks mean absolutely nothing if you have a potential star in your lap!!

[tazzmaniac]

That Lakers pick probably wont even be top 5 next season. They have no incentive to tank anymore. They could win 30+ next season.

The Nets had no incentive to tank and they still finished last.  The Lakers were the worst defensive team last season.  Lou Williams was their best player and he was traded.  Magic has said he's focused on 2018 free agency.  The Lakers are going to be bottom 5 unless Ingram makes an all time best sophomore season improvement.

Lakers were better than the Nets. Lakers will be better next season. I see anywhere from 5-10.

The Lakers started out 10-10 and some on here were talking about them making the playoffs.  They finished 26-56 and that included winning 5 of their last 6 games.  Lou Williams is gone and Nick Young will probably be gone too.  The former being the predominant reason that they finished ahead of the Nets.  When Williams was on court, their offensive rating was 107.9.  When he wasn't, it was 100.9 which was worse than Nets offense.   

[PhoSita]

Is the Lakers 2018 first protected?

I don't believe so.

[DKClassic]

I feel like danny just wants to pull some move that he sees as Auerbachian for some reason

[PhoSita]

Think of how good Fultz is!

Philly is willing to part with all these picks for him.  They would be happy to give up all those assets for him, because they feel he is that special!  If Fultz and Jackson are "so close" talent wise, why doesn't Philly just draft Jackson and keep all those picks? 

Oh, it's because Philly realizes an offensive talent with a wide range of tools is harder to come by than another MKG/Winslow/Stanley Johnson/Iguadola etc.  you can find those guys multiple times over in every draft.

Precisely.

[tazzmaniac]

Is the Lakers 2018 first protected?

Nope. 

[fairweatherfan]

Is the Lakers 2018 first protected?

I don't believe so.

It's definitely not.

[ThaPreacher]

All, stop worrying. Seriously, no need to panic.

Since we're all speculating here, I'm leaning very strongly toward, "Lots of smoke, no fire."

It's important to remember one thing: Everything we hear in the media is exactly what Danny wants us to hear. Full stop. Danny is a master at playing the media.

I still think we're keeping #1 but, if DA is seriously thinking about trading, he must float a rumor to drive up the value of the pick. And if the pick is going to Philly, which I highly doubt, it's going to be for this year's #3 and at least two of the following: Sixers 18, Lakers 18 and Sac 19.

Remember, you're living in The Matrix and Danny's the oracle. He's telling people exactly what he wants them to hear (or what they need to hear). Have a cookie.

Mike

Seriously, fella, yer gonna make me pee myself. Too funny. Too bloody funny.

"This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes."