Austin Reaves is good, but even at his best, he doesn’t come close to high school mixtape Austin Rivers.

Magic Johnson

I think it was in like game 82 when none of the starters played

He’s shown flashes but has definitely improved each year. Had no idea he had a triple double his rookie season let alone a 30 point one.

I would’ve told you he never scored more than 20 until his 3rd year

Reaves made a jump compared to last year but hes been good for a while. Id say definitely second year, especially after the playoffs, was when people thought he was good, just not this good.

His rookie year he showed flashes that he could be a solid to good rotation player. Dont think anyone predicted that hed be this good tho

He has been.

He’s shown flashes. But his leap across the last 2 years has been wild for a player that wasn’t supposed to be a superstar.

Plus the Lakers usually give away their good draft picks before they become great. So people were hesitant to say he could be what he is now if they didn’t watch most of his games.

He was the type of player you need to watch a lot to see the potential. But if you did it was clear. Just doing a lot of superstar level moves and plays that showed he “had it” but also deferred to the superstars a lot and wasn’t nearly consistent enough with his star level production.

I thought he’d eventually average 20, and if he was the primary option he could be a 25/5/5 guy.

Never thought he’d get to 20 that quick or be a 29/7/6 guy with 2 other playmaking superstars.

Yea that’s because people don’t actually watch games. He’s always been good but he’s gotten significantly better

Zions 25 lol

Trade Herb Jones and Trey Murphy?

I don’t even know who would want Zion at this point. He never plays.

Who is even gonnna trade for Zion?

Basically negative salary + picks now. Number of picks depend on how nasty the incoming salary is.

Baby Diaw-kic

Their likely top 5 pick + asa newell vs Queen

That top 5 could be anything, even a Derrick Queen

No, Fears played tonight

Queen is a very odd one and done rookie, he’s turning 21 in 3 weeks. He was as old as most juniors were during his time at Maryland.

I might have no issue taking Derek Queen over cam Boozer?

Yep, once I heard that and coupled with this stretch of performances, I’m very willing to eat my words.

Pels need to genuinely rebuild around this guy, he is their future.

¹⁄₉ chance of being the GOAT

100%. Don’t underestimate Mr reaves now

cant really say easily when one player is in the NBA getting triple doubles and the others arent pro yet

the talent is there and sure they look great, but lets not act like everyone always looks the same in the NBA

Forgot Boozer and Darryn Peterson were already confirmed better than NBA player Derik Queen.

What a ridiculous take lmao. How much do you wanna bet whoever is taken with the Pelicans’ pick won’t even sniff a 30 point triple double in their first 2 years, let alone as a rookie? People like you are the reason why Zach Edey fell to 9 lol, always about “potential” instead of accepting what’s right in front of your eyes

The thing is they could have gotten him and paired him up with one of those 3. Pels would have an exciting team moving forward. It’s nice its working out but still sad as fuck they lose that pick. What could have been

Pelicans won’t have a top 5 worse record though, if they had the pick they would’ve. However since they aren’t tanking the teams that are tanking will lose to them since they’ll rest their players against them. Whilst pelicans keep playing everyone. Maybe pelicans can offer hawks herb jones or capital to get that pick back.

If he turns into an all-nba player I don’t think any pelicans fan would give a shit about the pick lol

imo unprotected picks are way overvalued by arm chair GMs but your general idea is right. Queen was 13th and the Pels probably could’ve negotiated way harder, like pick 23 and a lottery protected 1st would be more than good enough

some might say its as foolish as choosing potential over whats right in front of you

grass is greener mentality

That’s the real crime of the trade. I’m not trying to diss the kid but you can find a Jeremiah Fears anywhere in the NBA. There will always be an undersized PG who can drive but has trouble shooting. No reason why they couldn’t just take Queen at 7 and keep their powder dry. Fears was not some can’t miss premium prospect, he’s super replaceable.

Nah we still care. I love how Queen played tonight but Joe Dumars is a fool

This is exactly right. What do you want with a pick anyways? You want to draft a good player. Why are high picks good? Because you have a better chance of drafting a good player. So if you trade a pick and the player you get turns out to be good, why the fuck would you care about the pick anymore? Good player vs. chance to get a good player, yet ⁹⁄₁₀ idiots in this sub would rather take the chance

For sure. They could very miss out on Peterson, Boozer, or Dybantsa and take a lesser player than Queen. But if you have the opportunity to trade down, draft a player you’re still very high on, and get a crack at a generational player in a future draft, you gotta take those chances. Those odds are worth it even if it means you end up with two lesser players than what you could’ve had. Queen is already proving to be a very good player. Pels should’ve just taken Queen before Fears and none of this wouldn’t even be up for debate. Or at the very least, some protection on that pick

Lol, Cooper Flagg is gonna finish third behind Queen and Knueppel. 

If Queen works out then it’s genius

We’ll have to see what pick the Pels fall under
If Pels get Darryn/Cam/AJ it’s a L trade but it isn’t *horrid*

Last game of the season always leads to some interesting boxscores.

And Asa Newell

That’s the joke lol