Then this will be the best draft of all time if dozens of players end up better than solid NBA contributor.
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Some wild takes from that account.
I was not trying to say Iād take Murray over Ivey. Not a chance. I think Ivey has enough raw talent at a key position that Iād gamble on him before taking the lower-ceiling Murray. Sorry if I didnāt make that point clear.
My point was just that youāre really negative about Murray as if he isnāt even an NBA impact player and I thought that was a little harsh. Iām not saying heās my pick at #5 necessarily, but I donāt think heās as bad as you describe.
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Would you rather trade Grant for Ayton on a near-max deal or for the 7th pick. Pretty easy call for me: Iād take the latter. Fits much better into a quality rebuilding effort. They have about 50-50 shot of getting a decent rotation player at 7. Who are RFAs next year? (PS - still not totally clear Pistonsā cap couldnāt accommodate Grant and Ayton for at least long enough to trade Grant, but I havenāt looked, just assuming given all the talk about all the cap space.)
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I completely agree. Iād rather have the player at #7 on that contract with the potential to be a star than the roughly 40th best player at $30 mil.
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We still donāt know if Portland is willing to part with #7 for Grant though. And the draft will take place before FA so it wonāt be a decision that comes up in an either/or scenario. Either they will be offered #7 and hopefully take the deal or they wonāt and will be back to deciding what to do with Grant and Ayton when FA begins.
Portland is certainly behaving as a team that thinks it can compete for the conference title this year (I think theyāre wrong but that doesnāt matter). If thatās the case, youād think Grant is more important than the #7 pick.
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I hope so! Iād feel a lot better about Murray at #5 if they had the #7 pick to take Mathurin, Sharpe or someone else with maybe a higher risk/reward
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Theyāre a weird team. Youād think they want to keep Dame, and Dame doesnāt want to play for a rebuilding team. Hart is a win-now guy (heās 27, a two way wing). But other than that, their main attractive pieces are really young. Simons is an RFA at 22, and just had his first promising year. Nas Little finally showed something before he got hurt. Keon Johnson is 19 and put together a good stretch after the trade.
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āDozensā of guys in this years draft?
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Count me in on Ayton over a possible #7 pick. I get the appeal of having another lottery pick but under the guise of hitting on these picks. You going to pay Cade/Bey/Stewart/#5/#7 in 4 years from now taking up a lot of cap room? You get #7 you can probably count on another high lottery pick in 23. You get Ayton with Cade other real good players will take notice. I doubt people take notice of the alternative.
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Ayton 10 times out of 10 times. You get a known quantity who can play at an all-star level where 7 is a mystery box.
An all-star level who has never been an all-star, or been discussed as one. He was theā¦4th?..best center in the west? Thatāsā¦not an All-Star?
Heās good! Heās somewhere between the 35th and 40th best player in the league! I donāt know why people insist on gassing him up as more.
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And, they could still sign Ayton to an offer sheet, if they really wanted to.
Yeah, thatās true but I think the two are mutually exclusive, I think the chances of Phoenix letting him walk on an offer sheet are nil.
Fine with me. I donāt want Ayton for anything over $20 mil a season.
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I think itās because being a major contributor in a Finals team tends to color peopleās view of a player, regardless of his raw ability as a player.
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We agree there.
I really need someone to explain to me why heās worth double (in both years and annual salary) Jonas Valunciunas.
I will acknowledge age, but I donāt think thatās sufficient.
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He should write Ivica Zubac a thank you note for that Clippers series stat line. I guess Andre Drummond too.
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Because heās 23 and has shown flashes of being an all-star caliber who has gotten better each season. Heās a sure thing while 7 is unknown.