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2018-2019 Tank Thread

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Seems stupid when you tank that you have traded your very high 2nd round picks in 2019 and 2020.

We get Houston's 1st round pick this year but gave up our 2nd round pick which is going to be about 6 picks apart.
 
Seems stupid when you tank that you have traded your very high 2nd round picks in 2019 and 2020.

We get Houston's 1st round pick this year but gave up our 2nd round pick which is going to be about 6 picks apart.
If anyone knows stupid, it’s definitely you.
 
Seems stupid when you tank that you have traded your very high 2nd round picks in 2019 and 2020.

We get Houston's 1st round pick this year but gave up our 2nd round pick which is going to be about 6 picks apart.

1 and 25
 
so we find out Tuesday if this org is turning the corner after 1 year of tanking and doesn't care about keeping the pick next yr.
Without Zion and to some degree Ja or RJ it seems probable they won't be good enough to lose the pick, but it probably won't be as good as this year.
Anything after 3rd and they will have to strike gold.
 
so we find out Tuesday if this org is turning the corner after 1 year of tanking and doesn't care about keeping the pick next yr.
Without Zion and to some degree Ja or RJ it seems probable they won't be good enough to lose the pick, but it probably won't be as good as this year.
Anything after 3rd and they will have to strike gold.

Just like Josh Jackson, DeAndre Ayton, Dragan Bender and Devin Booker were all going to each bump PHX out of the bottom 10, right? Or all of SAC's lotto picks for years?

Even though Zion will be better than all, or at worst, all but 1 of those guys, as Ja and RJ probably will be for at least all but 1 or 2, a lot can still happen in terms of which teams "want" to tank, whether K-Love takes another long toe-injury absence, etc etc.

I do think we will have to consider trades that will rescind the top 10 protection.
 
Just like Josh Jackson, DeAndre Ayton, Dragan Bender and Devin Booker were all going to each bump PHX out of the bottom 10, right? Or all of SAC's lotto picks for years?

Even though Zion will be better than all, or at worst, all but 1 of those guys, as Ja and RJ probably will be for at least all but 1 or 2, a lot can still happen in terms of which teams "want" to tank, whether K-Love takes another long toe-injury absence, etc etc.

I do think we will have to consider trades that will rescind the top 10 protection.
Phoenix didn't have anyone established on the roster besides Chandler like CLE does and the majority of the players they have picked especially in 2016 are busts or near busts for high lottery picks (Bender/Chriss) and neither were expected to be high impact game changers year 1. Jackson was supposed to be better than he was early on, and is just now slowly starting to live up to it, but there was always questions about his work ethic etc.
As long as the Cavs stick to drafting players with a chip on their shoulder or if so lucky clear cut future superstars like Zion there is no guarantees that this owner will be willing to make moves to retain that pick and will want to risk being a treadmill team at the expense of making a run at the 8th seed just like last season before Love went down.
If they tank next year I'd be surprised especially if they hit on both picks and pick up another 1st next year for Smith in a draft day trade.
They should still be in the bottom 10 though without full on fake injury tanking if they pick long term development prospects and give them heavy minutes.
 
Seems stupid when you tank that you have traded your very high 2nd round picks in 2019 and 2020.

We get Houston's 1st round pick this year but gave up our 2nd round pick which is going to be about 6 picks apart.

We traded those second rounders YEARS ago, well before we had any knowledge that this year was going to become a tank year.
 
Just like Josh Jackson, DeAndre Ayton, Dragan Bender and Devin Booker were all going to each bump PHX out of the bottom 10, right? Or all of SAC's lotto picks for years?

Even though Zion will be better than all, or at worst, all but 1 of those guys, as Ja and RJ probably will be for at least all but 1 or 2, a lot can still happen in terms of which teams "want" to tank, whether K-Love takes another long toe-injury absence, etc etc.

I do think we will have to consider trades that will rescind the top 10 protection.
Exactly... the NBA draft is a statistical crapshoot. After the first pick, the odds of picking the best future player at each pick decreases drastically. I.E., NBA teams are pretty good at finding the best player in the draft, but they suck at finding the second best, third best, etc.
 
Exactly... the NBA draft is a statistical crapshoot. After the first pick, the odds of picking the best future player at each pick decreases drastically. I.E., NBA teams are pretty good at finding the best player in the draft, but they suck at finding the second best, third best, etc.
That is often the case when orgs value raw upside and athleticism over mental toughness ,work ethic to improve basketball skill and high character. Look at Sexton for example a decent athlete with elite speed and solid upside but was far and away the toughest competitor with the highest level of mental toughness available despite needing time to improve his skills. He made more improvement in 1 season than most other rookies taken in the lottery. He did not have the proven skill of a Luka Doncic obviously but also didn't have the poor work ethic of a Bamba or Knox or any other players in need of development nor did he have the me first mentality of MPJ. all 3 of which are more likely to fail than Sexton.
It is a crapshoot when players turn out to be less interested in basketball than you thought and care more about the perks of their paychecks, but for the most part situational impact can be the biggest detriment to a players development if they lack the mental fortitude to put the work in.
I would be hesitant for example to take Cameron Reddish in the top 4 despite his high upside because he lacks mental toughness and fight. The same could be said about others later in the draft like Keldon Johnson or Langford.
Cavs need to stick to their guns about character of the players they bring in if they are out of the Zion Ja and RJ sweepstakes who are clear cut elite upside options who all have fight and mental toughness paired with the skill to back it up, and are far from crapshoot type picks
 
Exactly... the NBA draft is a statistical crapshoot. After the first pick, the odds of picking the best future player at each pick decreases drastically. I.E., NBA teams are pretty good at finding the best player in the draft, but they suck at finding the second best, third best, etc.

They're not even all that good at picking the best player. Three of the last six drafts feature Bennett, Wiggins and Fultz. Look at the #1 picks all time and it's well below 50% for best player, and a lot of bums have been taken #1 overall.

Lottery is luck and much of the actual draft is luck.
 
They're not even all that good at picking the best player. Three of the last six drafts feature Bennett, Wiggins and Fultz. Look at the #1 picks all time and it's well below 50% for best player, and a lot of bums have been taken #1 overall.

Lottery is luck and much of the actual draft is luck.
Yeah those players were not at all considered likely busts so I agree with that,
but there was a known question mark about Bennett and Wiggins work ethic and it was ignored due to upside. I think they learned their lesson as well if not better than most front offices. Luckily the players at the top of this draft are all high work ethic high upside mentally tough people. outside of the top 3 is where it gets dicey and picking a player like Culver might be the smarter move if none of the other options display a similar level of work ethic and mental toughness.
I like Sekou as a sleeper at 4-6 given he has accomplished a lot since he broke onto the scene and shown the indicators of a strong desire to be great. However I have no idea if he has the mental toughness to handle that kind of pressure especially if there is any language barrier.
Kevin Porter is one that has the work ethic and elite upside, but if taken to high could fail due to some red flags about his me first selfishness and attitude so it is more risky same goes for a couple others like Bol and Okpala.
 

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