02-14-2024, 07:16 PM
(02-14-2024, 07:02 PM)StrandedOnBeauboisHill Wrote: The one thing I want to point out is that we acquired Luka by trading future picks. I think that trade and the KP trade get to your point about being flippant about trading draft picks because we were trading those picks without having accomplished anything. I actually think THE WAY we traded for Luka is a bigger issue than gets pointed out around here because there were rumors we could have moved up by eating Kent Bazemores contract instead of trading 2019. That got compounded by trading two future firsts for a dude with a torn ACL when Luka was 19 and we were a lottery team. Those decisions make me mad too but the moves were making now aren’t nearly as pick heavy (we basically used 5 first round picks to put Luka and KP together without having any proof of concept) and the team is a lot of proven out and has a little more of an identity.
If the Kent Bazemore angle is true then that was foolish.
I understand the Porzingis deal and I thought it was a good deal at the time. Porzingis was an emerging star and those are expensive. In retrospect, some patience would have been much better. We have not showed patience as an organization though in 20 years. There is always some new acquisition or trade that is supposed to save us. I would like to see more emphasis on player development and stability. We've been good at that when we've bothered to try.