There is Markannen to Spurs Buzz

[Manu&Duncan fan]

That’s a lot of keesh.

1821199386271273338

That kind of salary will be hard trade. Good luck Ainge!

[Manu&Duncan fan]

Yup... heck maybe Utah should trade with ATL again for Trae Young since they are moving towards win now vs later. We can only hope right? lol

Looks like Jazz really want to compete. So, trading for Trae Young is not out of the question. Do it Ainge! You're so smart!

[exstatic]

My question is, how is this iteration of the Jazz better than the Mitchell/Gobert version? If they don’t care about actually contending, they had a better team before.

[Bruno]

An espn article written a couple of days ago:
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/40716108/what-know-utah-jazz-lauri-markkanen-next-contract-extension


The San Antonio Spurs had preliminary discussions before the NBA draft in June with the Jazz about a deal that would pair Markkanen with 2023 No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama, but those talks did not gain any traction.

So:
- Since it was before the draft and Spurs have traded away the 8th pick, it seems likely that Spurs were looking to offer #4 and/or #8 to get Markkannen.
- Spurs were likely very far from what Utah was asking for Markkanen.

[scott]

Yup... heck maybe Utah should trade with ATL again for Trae Young since they are moving towards win now vs later. We can only hope right? lol

This would be amazing, but certainly not even ATL can be this stupid :lol

[scott]

A lot of people will criticize or scoff at the 91+ pages of this thread... but boys and girls, we had fun discussing it in the deadest part of the NBA calendar. Let's do it again next July.

Luka will have one year left on his deal (plus a player option) next summer and thus be looking for an extension... let's start that thread going now.

[KobesAchilles]

Post his numbers from the Pelicans Suns playoffs series?

Also...post Lauri playoff numbers at all?
17 ppg and 34% overall shooting with shit defense.

[OldMan88]

The way things have shaken out, has anyone considered that both GS & SA, by refusing to give Ainge everything he wanted, basically forced him to reup Markannen for huge $$$$ & thus ensuring that Utah will remain non competitive for the foreseeable future and yet being just good enough to remain out of the lottery?

[Mr. Body]

The way things have shaken out, has anyone considered that both GS & SA, by refusing to give Ainge everything he wanted, basically forced him to reup Markannen for huge $$$$ & thus ensuring that Utah will remain non competitive for the foreseeable future and yet being just good enough to remain out of the lottery?

Depends on how you want to say it. Ainge was looking for a ransom, expected a bigger market, thought that maybe OKC would start tossing out draft picks, and none of it happened. Now Utah has to pretend parading their star around like the kid in Oliver Twist all summer then resigning him was always the plan.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

The way things have shaken out, has anyone considered that both GS & SA, by refusing to give Ainge everything he wanted, basically forced him to reup Markannen for huge $$$$ & thus ensuring that Utah will remain non competitive for the foreseeable future and yet being just good enough to remain out of the lottery?

Barring major moves Utah won't be out of the lottery with our without Markkanen. They have 6 rookies and sophomores on a 13-man roster right now and they owe a top 10 protected pick to OKC, they'll be bad. Markkanen, as good as he is and as good a fit as he would have been on the Spurs, isn't the kind of player who'll drag a bad roster to a play in spot or to the playoffs.

[CGD]

Officially can’t be traded until after next season. Will be interesting to see if his value increases or drops over that time.

Good news is this should keep Utah out of contention for a top-5 pick. Hopefully Lauri balls out and they have a good season. The more teams finishing with more Wins than ATL this season, the better.

Like a new car driving out the lot, Lauri signing this particular deal automatically dropped his value. The question will be how much value will it keep at resale time.

[K...]

Confirmed: Spurs fucked up the only draft ever where the franchise had TWO TOP TEN PICKS

fucking horrible front office

fuck them

name your player who was availble at 8. only cowards bet the field. Part of the trade was that the spurs likely didn't want anyone at that point and took salary flexibility instead.

[Spurs Homer]

name your player who was availble at 8. only cowards bet the field. Part of the trade was that the spurs likely didn't want anyone at that point and took salary flexibility instead.

dilly
buzelis


others


there were some players there which the spurs could have developed - instead of gifting away a prime opportunity for an unknown 2031 pick which they will probably trade away anyway

[Twisted_Dawg]

Officially can’t be traded until after next season. Will be interesting to see if his value increases or drops over that time.

Good news is this should keep Utah out of contention for a top-5 pick. Hopefully Lauri balls out and they have a good season. The more teams finishing with more Wins than ATL this season, the better.


That's an incredible amount of money.

Ainge seriously fucked this up.

I don't see much interest in him next summer. People will have moved on. He'll be 28. Teams would have to gut their roster to put together enough salary plus assets to get him, and there wasn't even much of a market for him when the salary match was much easier.

Utah had to either turn left or right on this one and instead ran straight into the wall.

It's a gamble by Utah. If Markkanen gets injured or only plays 55 games or has a meh season, the shine will quickly come off him playing for a late lottery team.

[SpurSpike]

My question is, how is this iteration of the Jazz better than the Mitchell/Gobert version? If they don’t care about actually contending, they had a better team before.

I think it was a locker room issue between Mitchell and Gobert. Didn't they not like each other?

[Manu&Duncan fan]

Like a new car driving out the lot, Lauri signing this particular deal automatically dropped his value. The question will be how much value will it keep at resale time.

Two FRPs at most.

[TD 21]

This is being overblown on multiple fronts . . .

1) It was never happening with the overly conservative Spurs and obvious a while ago that it wasn't happening period, hence the media whining and attention starved (Draymond) Green patting himself on the back and pretending he had some role in this.

2) As good as Markkanen is, he's not nearly good enough to prevent them from finishing with goodish odds at a top 5 pick and they can always tank in season to nudge the odds further.

3) He could easily end up back on the market in 1-2 years.


I didn't say you were deplorable. I said you go off on tangents that I don't think nearly anyone understands, such as your fixation with Toronto, for example.

I've explained this ad nauseam, people like you and your ilk just didn't like the answer.

The hypocrisy/irony of incessantly complaining about someone else's supposed fixation is lost on you holier than though types.

[baseline bum]

I think it was a locker room issue between Mitchell and Gobert. Didn't they not like each other?

Mitchell was pissed about Gobert acting like a moron about COVID and giving it to him.

[Kevin]

A lot of people will criticize or scoff at the 91+ pages of this thread... but boys and girls, we had fun discussing it in the deadest part of the NBA calendar. Let's do it again next July.

Luka will have one year left on his deal (plus a player option) next summer and thus be looking for an extension... let's start that thread going now.

People aren't ready for the price that Luka would command. If he were available today his baseline price would be Castle plus all of the ATL picks.

[scott]

People aren't ready for the price that Luka would command. If he were available today his baseline price would be Castle plus all of the ATL picks.

Let's get the conversation started. Some of the most conservative Spurs fans are always harping about how Player X isn't worth it, we need to keep our powder dry for Luka or Giannis... I'd love to see them squirm at the prices for these guys in a trade, just for kicks.

The fact is lots of Spurs fans don't want to partake in any trade unless we clearly rob the other team. They think Branham plus the CHA pick is what we should give up for someone like Lauri. They think Sochan is untouchable. They just don't have the appetite to do what it takes to acquire good players.

[Pauleta14]

That kind of salary will be hard trade. Good luck Ainge!

I don't think he goal is to trade him anytime soon.

Utah wants to build around him. They have a ridiculous amount of assets

[Kevin]

Let's get the conversation started. Some of the most conservative Spurs fans are always harping about how Player X isn't worth it, we need to keep our powder dry for Luka or Giannis... I'd love to see them squirm at the prices for these guys in a trade, just for kicks.

The fact is lots of Spurs fans don't want to partake in any trade unless we clearly rob the other team. They think Branham plus the CHA pick is what we should give up for someone like Lauri. They think Sochan is untouchable. They just don't have the appetite to do what it takes to acquire good players.

Yup. You're not getting Luka for Bridges or Siakam prices. The Spurs will have to go way over their price tags.

I can already hear stupid arguments that Luka wont command as much as we think because only so many teams have picks that they can offer. Don't think for a second that Denver wouldn't offer Murray plus a bunch of picks for Luka. Ditto the Kings and Fox or including Sabonis for Giannis for example. The price will be staggering.

[sfernald]

This is being overblown on multiple fronts . . .

1) It was never happening with the overly conservative Spurs and obvious a while ago that it wasn't happening period, hence the media whining and attention starved (Draymond) Green patting himself on the back and pretending he had some role in this.

2) As good as Markkanen is, he's not nearly good enough to prevent them from finishing with goodish odds at a top 5 pick and they can always tank in season to nudge the odds further.

3) He could easily end up back on the market in 1-2 years.



I've explained this ad nauseam, people like you and your ilk just didn't like the answer.

The hypocrisy/irony of incessantly complaining about someone else's supposed fixation is lost on you holier than though types.

With regard to #2, I understand that he won’t miss games for the tank anymore at least he supposedly said that. I think they will be right back at around #10 like last year and there will be a threat to losing their pick to Okc again. And thus they will once again miss out on all the potential stars getting drafted in the top 5 range.

with regard to #3, now that he’s a 40-50 mil player for the next five years I just don’t see much of a trade market any more. The new CBA seems to really discourage teams from getting expensive players. I’m not sure he’s even worth that. He just doesn’t seem to have the impact of a 50mil player. I’d say in all likely hood they are probably stuck with him until his last year as a possible expiring trade.

[mo7888]

Barring major moves Utah won't be out of the lottery with our without Markkanen. They have 6 rookies and sophomores on a 13-man roster right now and they owe a top 10 protected pick to OKC, they'll be bad. Markkanen, as good as he is and as good a fit as he would have been on the Spurs, isn't the kind of player who'll drag a bad roster to a play in spot or to the playoffs.

Yup... but he's probably good enough to keep them out of the bottom 5. There's also a decent chance that they are better than Atlanta....that's not a surething, but it's now possible...

[poopbox]

An espn article written a couple of days ago:
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/40716108/what-know-utah-jazz-lauri-markkanen-next-contract-extension


So:
- Since it was before the draft and Spurs have traded away the 8th pick, it seems likely that Spurs were looking to offer #4 and/or #8 to get Markkannen.
- Spurs were likely very far from what Utah was asking for Markkanen.

I have serious doubts the Spurs actually offered 4 in any type of Lauri deal. They seemed hell bent on drafting Castle so I don't see them giving up that chance.

[The Truth #6]

This is being overblown on multiple fronts . . .

1) It was never happening with the overly conservative Spurs and obvious a while ago that it wasn't happening period, hence the media whining and attention starved (Draymond) Green patting himself on the back and pretending he had some role in this.

2) As good as Markkanen is, he's not nearly good enough to prevent them from finishing with goodish odds at a top 5 pick and they can always tank in season to nudge the odds further.

3) He could easily end up back on the market in 1-2 years.



I've explained this ad nauseam, people like you and your ilk just didn't like the answer.

The hypocrisy/irony of incessantly complaining about someone else's supposed fixation is lost on you holier than though types.

This post seems very on brand for you: reasonable basketball takes, mixed in with extreme prejudice and close-mindedness as you create heroes and villains in your mind. Good stuff.

[R. DeMurre]

I agreed with Ainge when he dealt both Gobert and Mitchell, as I think both archetypes are generally roadblocks to a championship-- Gobert being good defensively but still attackable in space while being more or less useless on offense, and Donovan being an undersized SG who's not much of a defender and who stubbornly doesn't want to move over to PG. But he seems to be stuck in no man's land now, and all of those picks he got from Minnesota and Cleveland suddenly don't look so hot in the near future, as both teams are pretty good. I still think he's generally better than most at drafting and swinging meaningful deals, but I'm sure he and the rest of the Jazz FO are looking at the road ahead and thinking it'll be a while before they're threatening for a deep playoff run, and Markkanen's a guy you'd want to add now for a run, not a guy keep to around for a potential run in 2030.

[TD 21]

With regard to #2, I understand that he won’t miss games for the tank anymore at least he supposedly said that. I think they will be right back at around #10 like last year and there will be a threat to losing their pick to Okc again. And thus they will once again miss out on all the potential stars getting drafted in the top 5 range.

with regard to #3, now that he’s a 40-50 mil player for the next five years I just don’t see much of a trade market any more. The new CBA seems to really discourage teams from getting expensive players. I’m not sure he’s even worth that. He just doesn’t seem to have the impact of a 50mil player. I’d say in all likely hood they are probably stuck with him until his last year as a possible expiring trade.

He doesn't have a say and either way, they can make certain rotational decisions or altogether sit their other few good players (namely Sexton and Kessler) down the stretch.

I guess you disagree, but I've got them as a likely bottom 6 team as is: NBA In Tiers '24-'25 (spurstalk.com) (https://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=303985)

Salaries will continue to skyrocket. Percentage of cap is more important. Between his relative youth, size, un-reliance on athleticism and elite shooting/malleability, barring a career altering injury his value should remain strong going forward.


This post seems very on brand for you: reasonable basketball takes, mixed in with extreme prejudice and close-mindedness as you create heroes and villains in your mind. Good stuff.

In other words, it's a heck of a lot more than you bring to the table.

You're missing the forest from the trees. The agenda/propaganda isn't a minor annoyance to be ignored, it's intentional and designed to brainwash current and future players into thinking their status/"brand" will grow if they play for their pre approved teams (who just so happen to reside in glamor markets and on teams who are accessible/good for business).

If you don't see how that could potentially be harmful and damaging to teams/markets like this, then you're an even bigger fool than initially thought.

While you continue to play amateur psychologist and holier than though, I'll go back to ignoring you and discussing basketball . . .

[CGD]

Two FRPs at most.

I think they’ll end up having to dump that deal in year 3.

[Frenchfred]

Great, another that will be better than the Spurs. We need a high pick next season

[KingKev]

He doesn't have a say and either way, they can make certain rotational decisions or altogether sit their other few good players (namely Sexton and Kessler) down the stretch.

I guess you disagree, but I've got them as a likely bottom 6 team as is: NBA In Tiers '24-'25 (spurstalk.com) (https://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=303985)

Salaries will continue to skyrocket. Percentage of cap is more important. Between his relative youth, size, un-reliance on athleticism and elite shooting/malleability, barring a career altering injury his value should remain strong going forward.



In other words, it's a heck of a lot more than you bring to the table.

You're missing the forest from the trees. The agenda/propaganda isn't a minor annoyance to be ignored, it's intentional and designed to brainwash current and future players into thinking their status/"brand" will grow if they play for their pre approved teams (who just so happen to reside in glamor markets and on teams who are accessible/good for business).

If you don't see how that could potentially be harmful and damaging to teams/markets like this, then you're an even bigger fool than initially thought.

While you continue to play amateur psychologist and holier than though, I'll go back to ignoring you and discussing basketball . . .

Fassy.

[Spurs Homer]

Great, another that will be better than the Spurs. We need a high pick next season

to trade away for a 2049 pick?

[widowmaker]

Hold on guys just a few more days hes still coming just hang tight.

[KingKev]

Hold on guys just a few more days hes still coming just hang tight.

Just need to offer the CHA 2025 FRP, 20131 Minny pick and a Keldon autograph to get it done.

[sfernald]

There is Cam Johnson to Spurs Buzz...

[exstatic]

I agreed with Ainge when he dealt both Gobert and Mitchell, as I think both archetypes are generally roadblocks to a championship-- Gobert being good defensively but still attackable in space while being more or less useless on offense, and Donovan being an undersized SG who's not much of a defender and who stubbornly doesn't want to move over to PG. But he seems to be stuck in no man's land now, and all of those picks he got from Minnesota and Cleveland suddenly don't look so hot in the near future, as both teams are pretty good. I still think he's generally better than most at drafting and swinging meaningful deals, but I'm sure he and the rest of the Jazz FO are looking at the road ahead and thinking it'll be a while before they're threatening for a deep playoff run, and Markkanen's a guy you'd want to add now for a run, not a guy keep to around for a potential run in 2030.

I think he’s good at one thing: holding a fire sale. I don’t think he’s particularly great at drafting, other than obvious top picks. I don’t think he’s great at acquiring talent. Brad Steven’s had to make the couple of key trades to put them over the top, acquiring Porzingas and Jrue.

[exstatic]

There is Cam Johnson to Spurs Buzz...

I’m down as long as nothing unprotected is included. He’s 28, with three years of contract control at about $65M. He doesn’t have the rim running of Markannen, but he’s a higher % long ball shooter.

[Seventyniner]

I think he’s good at one thing: holding a fire sale. I don’t think he’s particularly great at drafting, other than obvious top picks. I don’t think he’s great at acquiring talent.

When did this become a Brian Wright thread?

[exstatic]

When did this become a Brian Wright thread?

I was wondering if anyone would notice the similarities and note that Ainge gets flowers, and Wright gets brickbats for doing basically the same job.

[mo7888]

There is Cam Johnson to Spurs Buzz...

Sarcasm or real buzz?

[Mr. Body]

Thinking a little about Utah's trade a couple years ago where they coughed up Mike Conley, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt variously to Minnesota and Los Angeles for Russell Westbrook, who they waived, and a 2027 LAL first round pick protected 1-4. I feel like the Lakers will be full-on tank mode that year and may try to peel down to being one of the worst in the league. Jazz gave up a really nice veteran point guard and some good role players for possibly nothing.

[vy65]

I think he’s good at one thing: holding a fire sale. I don’t think he’s particularly great at drafting, other than obvious top picks. I don’t think he’s great at acquiring talent. Brad Steven’s had to make the couple of key trades to put them over the top, acquiring Porzingas and Jrue.

Yah, those Tatum and Brown picks sure were duds.

[Mr. Body]

Yah, those Tatum and Brown picks sure were duds.

He literally said other than the obvious top picks.

[exstatic]

I think he’s good at one thing: holding a fire sale. I don’t think he’s particularly great at drafting, other than obvious top picks. I don’t think he’s great at acquiring talent. Brad Steven’s had to make the couple of key trades to put them over the top, acquiring Porzingas and Jrue.


Yah, those Tatum and Brown picks sure were duds.

[Kevin]

Yeah Ainge built the 08 Celtics and laid the foundation for the Celtics most recent finals run. He's made some bad moves here and there but the dude is one of the best GM's in the business.

[Mr. Body]

Ainge and Presti are pretty similar. Together they got scads of very high picks and nailed them. (See Phoenix, who drafted alongside Boston and blew it.) Later picks? Not so much. Lots of Romeo Langfords and Pokusevskis in the mix.

[scott]

I was wondering if anyone would notice the similarities and note that Ainge gets flowers, and Wright gets brickbats for doing basically the same job.

Absolutely - this is what I've been saying about GMs. Sam Quinn basically said that Wright, Presti and Stevens were "better at this than everyone else, teams should stop trading with them" - but I wouldn't put Wright in that camp quite yet. He belongs in the same camp as current day Ainge, someone who wins trades but hasn't won games. All Ainge and Wright have done to this point is tear things down, which isn't to totally discount what they are doing since that is part of the building life cycle. But until they construct teams that can contend, like Stevens and Presti currently have, then they don't belong in the same breath.

Interestingly, Stevens and Presti aren't really comparable at all either. Presti is a shot gun who has built the team by just bulldozing through a massive amount of picks, not afraid of catching a dud here and there and moving on. I'll come back to this in relation to the Spurs a little later. On the flip side, Stevens already had his Big 2 in Tatum and Brown but he's been a laser guided missile in building the rest of the team, seemingly every shot he takes is a bullseye.

Back to catching a dud and moving on... this is where I think the Spurs conservatism bites them. Like you've mentioned elsewhere, the Spurs almost ALWAYS give FRPs 4 years (Sammich and Flasher being the notable exceptions). Maybe that will pay off and Branham or Blake will turn a corner... or maybe we're wasting valuable opportunities that could have gone to someone like Furphy, just keep the revolving door of lotto tickets moving. No need to worry if the 25th or SRP pick in the draft doesn't work out, you just move on. With the number of picks we have coming up, unless we trade them (which we may very well if there are 20131s on the table), we're gonna have to start doing that.

[The Truth #6]

Exactly. The conservative cautious nature is a difference compared to Ainge and Presti.

[exstatic]

Exactly. The conservative cautious nature is a difference compared to Ainge and Presti.

What has presti ever done that was bold?

[Frenchfred]

to trade away for a 2049 pick?

hoping for Cooper Flag

[baseline bum]

I think he’s good at one thing: holding a fire sale. I don’t think he’s particularly great at drafting, other than obvious top picks. I don’t think he’s great at acquiring talent. Brad Steven’s had to make the couple of key trades to put them over the top, acquiring Porzingas and Jrue.

He definitely deserves credit for seeing through Fultz and getting the best player in the draft at #3 in Tatum while getting an extra pick (#8 in the 2018 draft) out of the deal too. Everyone else loved Fultz.

[baseline bum]

He literally said other than the obvious top picks.

You an ex are trying to rewrite history. Fultz was considered the obvious #1 pick and Tatum was considered high floor low ceiling. Nothing obvious about getting him with a #1 pick at the time.

[scott]

You an ex are trying to rewrite history. Fultz was considered the obvious #1 pick and Tatum was considered high floor low ceiling. Nothing obvious about getting him with a #1 pick at the time.

I agree that Ainge deserves a lot of credit for building that foundation in Brown and Tatum... but I'll also say that was a lifetime ago, in NBA terms. When Brown and Tatum were draft, the Spurs were still a 67 and 61 win championship contending team.

The same way I'll say that PATFO used to be among the best drafting FOs in the league, Ainge was also making great picks. But neither PATFO or Ainge really deserve that kind of credit today.

[Mr. Body]

You an ex are trying to rewrite history. Fultz was considered the obvious #1 pick and Tatum was considered high floor low ceiling. Nothing obvious about getting him with a #1 pick at the time.

Eh. People like you swear that James Wiseman was considered the top pick of his draft, too. Anyway, no one's talking about the top picks Ainge made. Like literally the post was fucking about later picks.

[baseline bum]

Eh. People like you swear that James Wiseman was considered the top pick of his draft, too. Anyway, no one's talking about the top picks Ainge made. Like literally the post was fucking about later picks.

No, your post literally said obvious top picks. Tatum was not an obvious top pick.

[baseline bum]

I agree that Ainge deserves a lot of credit for building that foundation in Brown and Tatum... but I'll also say that was a lifetime ago, in NBA terms. When Brown and Tatum were draft, the Spurs were still a 67 and 61 win championship contending team.

The same way I'll say that PATFO used to be among the best drafting FOs in the league, Ainge was also making great picks. But neither PATFO or Ainge really deserve that kind of credit today.

It was the last time he had high end picks. The only top 10 picks Utah has had since he got there were #10 this year and #9 last year.

[scott]

It was the last time he had high end picks. The only top 10 picks Utah has had since he got there were #10 this year and #9 last year.

Yeah, but that also speaks to his GM'ing (or technically, CEO'ing) in Utah. All he's done (much like all Wright has done) has tear down the team. Right now, Ainge doesn't have shit to show for it, at least Brian has landed Wemby. But my point is (and I feel like we've had this discussion before), neither of these guys has delivered success on the basketball court for their current projects. And after giving Lauri the max, I'm not sure if Ainge is going to find it. We'll see if Utah can find a way to be worse than I think.

[The Truth #6]

What has presti ever done that was bold?

In 24 hours went into full rebuild mode. Yes, hands were tied etc, but he still did it. Would Wright have traded for DDR and done the same slow anti rebuild? We will never know, but I'm thinking more likely that than anything quick and drastic.

[Mr. Body]

No, your post literally said obvious top picks. Tatum was not an obvious top pick.

Lol, man. Ex says that Ainge got the top picks right.

You're saying "but he didn't pick the wrong picks."

Yeah, that's fucking what getting the top picks right means.

Do you ever listen to yourself? :lol

[Em-City]

He definitely deserves credit for seeing through Fultz and getting the best player in the draft at #3 in Tatum while getting an extra pick (#8 in the 2018 draft) out of the deal too. Everyone else loved Fultz.

Yeah I don't know how there's any debate on this aspect. It's crystal clear a bold and smart move that paid off

[baseline bum]

Lol, man. Ex says that Ainge got the top picks right.

You're saying "but he didn't pick the wrong picks."

Yeah, that's fucking what getting the top picks right means.

Do you ever listen to yourself? :lol

Ex said obvious top picks. Do you want me to go quote the post? Tatum was not an obvious pick, quit fighting this to the death. Ainge made a franchise changing call going against the grain and seeing more in Tatum when the consensus was that Fultz was the star of the draft and you want to be a little hater and not give him credit for it.

[baseline bum]

Yeah, but that also speaks to his GM'ing (or technically, CEO'ing) in Utah. All he's done (much like all Wright has done) has tear down the team. Right now, Ainge doesn't have shit to show for it, at least Brian has landed Wemby. But my point is (and I feel like we've had this discussion before), neither of these guys has delivered success on the basketball court for their current projects. And after giving Lauri the max, I'm not sure if Ainge is going to find it. We'll see if Utah can find a way to be worse than I think.

I think he got dealt a shit hand with Mitchell trying to force his way to the Knicks in an era where teams were becoming powerless against their stars. I don't really know what to make of him holding onto Markannen since I don't know what the Spurs offered. If it was say Keldon, 20131, 2030, and the Spurs 2025 I can see why Ainge would rather just keep his man. And I wouldn't have traded to GSW without getting 2029 and 2031 unprotected from them, which it sounds like GSW never offered.

[OldMan88]

Here we are with Markannen going nowhere, but yet this thread refuses to die.

Die thread, die.

[sfernald]

What has presti ever done that was bold?

Drafted a euro point guard prospect with a serious acl injury who will be out for the year but might be the best player in the draft.

[ismael-robert]

Let it go

[exstatic]

He definitely deserves credit for seeing through Fultz and getting the best player in the draft at #3 in Tatum while getting an extra pick (#8 in the 2018 draft) out of the deal too. Everyone else loved Fultz.

The “extra” pick was Langford the next year. I’ll give him credit for snookering Philly, but he would have drafted Tatum anyway. You, may also be misinterpreting my use of the word top with #1. Tatum was a top pick, even if he was #3. Brown was a top pick,even at #3. Where he didn’t usually hit was later, with the Langford and Yabuseles.

[exstatic]

Drafted a euro point guard prospect with a serious acl injury who will be out for the year but might be the best player in the draft.

Where he was picked doesn’t qualify as bold.

[Joseph Kony]

Tatum and Brown were not no brainer picks for Boston, that is revisionist history :lol Brown was mocked around 7 or 8 in most draft boards and Josh Jackson/Kris Dunn were ahead of Tatum in a lot of mock drafts. To act like they were obvious all-star picks at where they were taken is laughable

[spurraider21]

Tatum and Brown were not no brainer picks for Boston, that is revisionist history :lol Brown was mocked around 7 or 8 in most draft boards and Josh Jackson/Kris Dunn were ahead of Tatum in a lot of mock drafts. To act like they were obvious all-star picks at where they were taken is laughable
and its not just the selection of tatum its the willingness to trade out of #1