Bailing out...to Ball out? The 2020 Race to the Bottom
Feb 1, 2020 23:53:47 GMT
Ian Noble, Walt Frazier, and 5 more like this
Post by George Gervin on Feb 1, 2020 23:53:47 GMT
As we approach the halfway point of the season, some teams in D5 are fighting for the playoffs, others look towards OSFA (kudos to James Kay for the great breakdown on destinations), and then we have the group fighting for lottery gold. These teams are firmly out in front for the best lottery odds, and they come in the good (hello Detroit!), the bad (poor Clippers..), and the weird (Orlando...how are you down here?). Here is the standings through about 30 games thus far:
- LA Clippers (4-23). Great news— as a rebuilding team you’ve got the worst record and best odds but...oh wait...Detroit has the pick. In a real punch in the balls, after watching their 2018 1st round pick become Luka Doncic, the Clippers potentially have to watch Detroit make off with another prime young player. It’s not all bad in Clipperland, with RJ Barrett in tow and the glamour of being LA to sell to free agents on their side, so expect a bounce back in due time. For now, though, watching another team benefit from their poor record has to sting.
- Utah Jazz (7-22). The Jazz have their own pick, which is a good start. Outside of Jayson Tatum, Marvin Bagley, and Jarrett Culver, they could use upgrades everywhere else. As this right now is a PG heavy draft, maybe the Jazz can fix their 2018 misfire at #8 with Collin Sexton and take another PG (hopefully one that isn’t a black hole on both ends of the floor) to be the floor general they need. As a team that isn’t necessarily at the top of the free agent destination list, they need to hit on their selections to get that homegrown talent. I’m sure a guy like Cole Anthony is tempting, but maybe the Jazz need a Tyrese Halliburton more than the huge swing PG this high up.
- Detroit Pistons (7-20). The Pistons have been on this hamster wheel for a while. They’ve been doing the slow, methodical tear down and waiting out toxic deals on their books and letting young guys get their lumps in while biding time. Having the Clippers pick alone would be great— being on track for high cumulative odds for not one, but two, top 3 picks is even better. Outside of DeAndre Ayton and Colby White, the Pistons flat out need talent. They could feasibly add a high ceiling duo — say James Wiseman and LaMelo Ball— and run a weird Twin Towers, Twin big PG setup, or go a more conventional SG/Big combo of Anthony Edwards and Wiseman. No matter what, having two cracks very early if things hold true would be huge for this team’s future.
- Orlando Magic (7-19). Ah yes, we’ve arrived at the weirdest team in this bottom five. On paper, they have a top ten starting five all 28 and younger except for Paul Millsap. What they lack is any manner to hedge injuries, and when guys like Oladipo and Porter Jr have missed massive amounts of time and are replaced by inferior guys— coupled with the worst bench in D5–you have this lost season. The Magic could use an injection of a young, cost controlled talent, and with no pressing starting needs (save for maybe a long term Millsap replacement), they feasibly could go BPA and not look back. Though there is the question of whether or not they even keep this pick with that pesky hard cap breathing down their neck...
- Oklahoma City Thunder (8-20). Rounding out the bottom 5 is the Thunder, who went from in the playoffs being a pesky out with a strange jumbo lineup a year ago to sliding towards rebuilding. They currently have a few interesting young players on their roster, such as Wendell Carter, Aaron Holiday, and Scary Terry Rozier (sorry Kevin Knox and Josh Jackson, you are just sad, not interesting, players now), and they could, like Orlando, go BPA and not think twice. Of all the teams in this bottom 5, they are probably keeping fingers crossed the most for an elite SG prospect like Edwards to fall in their laps, as their roster right now is lacking that type of threat at the 2.