Isn’t it better for y’all to cash out those first for a win-now move next year?

You can still find good supporting players in a weak draft class. (Even the worst of all-time 2000 draft had 3 all-stars, and that doesn’t include Mike Miller.) There just aren’t any players to build a team around.

For the Hornets you guys already have Ball, Miller & Knueppel. Finding role players to put around them should be the plan anyway.

History of the Bobcats/Hornets draft luck:

04: get left with Okafor as a fall back but he has injury issues

05: Draft the 3rd best point guard prospect right after Paul and Williams after falling from 2 to 5 in the lottery

06: Draft the biggest bust of a busty draft with Morrison

07-09: Get better so you pick in the late lottery of three straight generational drafts missing out on multiple MVPs and they fell back a spot the first two and then slid back three spots in the deepest draft of the three.

10: traded away in another season but it was a middle pick in a crappy draft so who cares

11: drafted Kemba but also traded up to 7 to Biyambo

12: so hilarious Jon Bois has a two hour documentary on how hilarious this was. Falls from one to two in the AD draft

13: falls from two to four in the lottery

14-19 they’re in the lottery 5 times without moving up once

20: finally they move up from 8 to 3 and get Melo.

Basically every time they’re decent the draft will be monstrously deep. Anytime they’re bad they either get screwed by the lottery, depth or just plain old terrible picks.

Wolves fans thought the Ant draft was an unlucky year to get the first overall. The KAT and Wiggins drafts were considered much better at the time

Miami pick is lottery protected

I would try to trade 2 for one this draft or for 2028 and see if anyone bites

Don’t read into the headlines…. [“these guys are so screwed lol”]…. Yall got Jon Nipples! You good!

2024 was a “weak” draft, and yet Castle is knocking on the door of All-Nba and All-defense teams out of no where. 

When reporters call drafts weak, they usually mean there isn’t a “for sure” superstar or 2 to headline it. If you are looking for good depth peices(and possibly older players) these drafts are usually pretty loaded with them. 

Sometimes that gem is Tidjane Salaun….

Sure, but that doesn’t change an entire draft class from being weak. Like 3 out of 30 guys in the first round of that draft are still in the league

Also 2024 has castle who is looking amazing

actually the last time they said this the 1st overall pick was zacharre risacher

And develop them.

People forget how important development is in a player becoming as good as they are. There’s too much of a pattern with certain teams like OKC, Boston, etc.

Landing a Giannis/Jokic is super unlikely, so trading that pick for a vet is a perfectly rational approach.

… and have a competent staff to develop them.

There are always tall skinny beanpole kids in the draft. Not all of them develop into superstars.

I can see it now, the NBA’s gonna see massively reduced tanking next year and give themselves a big pat on the back even though it’ll just be because next year’s class is too ass to tank for 😭

I’d argue the Spurs saw this last year, noticing the only pick of their own they included in the Fox trade was their 2027 first. But the Jazz very clearly in on this also.

Danny’s gotten a ton of criticism on r/NBA but he’s navigated the jazz through the rebuild incredibly well, especially considering our (lack of) lottery luck.

Perfectly said, we also have a “generational player” being touted by someone every few years too. Every take is extreme nowadays

Won’t matter we were going to win 28 games and pick 9th anyway.

Praying the Kings pick first this year.

Give that franchise back their beam dreams 🙏

The stopping point for “over a decade” has to be 2013 for the Anthony Bennett draft

Nah, 24 had Bronny

But really there’s some really solid guys:

Castle, Ron Holland, Ajay Mitchell, McCain, Kel’el Ware, Jaylen Wells, Da Silva, Buzelis, Kyshawn George, Edey (Sheppard?)

The top picks in Sarr and Risacher aren’t as good as other top picks for sure, but they’re still solid.

It’s viewed similarly in the sense that there’s a lack of high upside talent as of right now

COVID really fucked scouting for 2020, though. That’s how you get a guy like Wiseman at 2 and people saying Ant “didn’t care about basketball”

yeah but they also said that about 2024 and 2013 and they were right

No they didn’t. They said it was weak, not the weakest in over a decade

The only one recently I can remember getting wrong was COVID and that was a unique situation.

This year and the year before were viewed as strong classes, the one before that was very weak, and before strong (because of Wemby and the g league guys) I’d say they have been accurate

And honestly looking at the class, yeah it’s not elite but there’s some solid players

Which recent draft class have they been wrong about?

If he has a solid year next year, I would ask for 2027 and at least an additional protected 1st or multiple 2nd rounders

Need a Portland win over the Clippers tomorrow night. Don’t want that 1st rnd pick sliding into next year. 8th seed on the line. If they lose the first play-in they should kick ass at home.

I concur.

A bunch of guys will declare and then be “advised” they are likely going lower than the player expected, will look at the NIL money they’d be giving up, and will hit the reset button. Portal!

I believe Mashburn was referring to the 26 class

None of those guys look like potential franchise players