Why can't we use the 23-24 Nets season to see how a bad team with no incentive to be bad plays? Or the Pelicans this year? I get that the Nets will likely not be one of the Top 5 worst teams. Barring some great signings/trades, the Nets will likely be in the 6-10 range of worst teams. It is not easy to win ~40 games needed to be in the middle of the draft as there are usually more than 20 teams trying to win at the start of the year.
Celtics will try to win Pacers will try to win Pistons will try to win Knicks will try to win Magic will try to win Cavaliers will try to win 76ers will try to win without their pick Hornets will try to win Miami will try to win Raptors will try to win Atlanta will try to win without their picks Bucks will try to win without their pick Bulls, Wizards are the only obvious tanking teams in the East. It is going to be hard for the Nets to get into the play-in. I don't see them winning 2 games to not be in the lottery assuming lottery is still 14 teams.
They don't have a reason to tank but also don't have a lot of ways to get better. Even if they get the #1 pick, they still have an incredibly weak roster. They had like 4 picks in the 2025 draft and can you remember who they took? I think bottom 10 is still pretty likely.
They'll have a top 7 pick with a 50% chance at top 4 and $85m in space between them and the 1A to spend including max or near max money to spend on a FA then the NT-MLE & BAE. They've won 20 games so far, I don't think it a stretch to improve by 10 games or so with a solid free agent signing or two, not even a star. Say they get a veteran guard like CJ McCollum (who they can afford to overpay) and a decent rotation big man, they could easily get to 30 wins and that is enough to put them ~10th which is the range I'd expect them to finish, somewhere 10-12ish, middle of the pack. I think it's fairly safe to say that they won't be a top 4 bad team next season - unless they have some catastrophic injuries which are entirely possible, or they completely strike out in FA but that's hard to do with that much money to spend.
A 30 win team was still bottom 10 this season. I think what the Rockets are crossing their fingers about is BKN getting in one of those 20% at a top 4 pick spots or obviously beyond. We traded back their picks and unless they get a top 3 pick this draft then they really didn't use that tanking window that well. Not a lot of projected internal growth from their recent draft class and not a lot of player assets (MPJ is interesting though), but they will have cap space and other teams' picks. I think another top 10 pick is a pretty good haul and a realistic scenario.
To steer it back to Tari, he has been playing more disciplined as of late. It really stood out last night as there was only a couple of "bad Tari" shots and he played good defense and crashed the boards ( 4 offensive).
Yep. Considering the rules will likely change making the 6-10 teams the same as the 1-5, a Top 10 pick is probably the most premium a pick will be.
Tari Eason can ball out for the next 2-3 weeks and his contract situation is all fixed for him. He also can fall off harder and play in China next year.
Detrimental is the wrong word. Tari leaves points on the board with his rim finishing, but it is his mid-range game that has been truly detrimental this season.
For both being athletic players with similar height and wingspan, it's crazy how wide the gulf is between Tari and Amen on rim finishing. Tari might lowkey have less vertical lift than Sengun; it's weird from a guy who otherwise I'd say is an above-average NBA athlete. His basketball IQ is also a huge problem, he gets himself into difficult angles and doesn't know when/where to pass the ball.
I wouldn’t pay him more than 15 mil/yr a 3/45 deal or you can go and see if another team wants to pay you too injury prone…too inconsistent with his shooting…too many bonehead plays
Tari will get at least $20 mil. I know it’s rare to lose a guy in RFA, but teams love him. I’m very worried someone will offer him $25 mil and we’ll be forced to overpay or lose him for nothing. And since his ceiling is probably elite role player, I would have traded him last season, especially given that he already turned down a contract offer. If it was just about the guarantees and he’ll take $20 mil, I would have no problem signing him to a 3-4 yr guaranteed deal. That’s a tradable contract. But it’s a shame he had such a bad regular season. The poor attitude as well as the back-sliding in all of the other skill areas is concerning. I guess I’d chalk that up to frustration playing without a contract. It’s not professional or wise, but I don’t think Tari is a bad guy. If there’s a sign and trade that returns real value I’m good with that too.
Treating him in February would’ve been OK but he was especially important in the playoffs just to have that primary perimeter defense player and it stood out a lot. Thompson can do that but we really don’t want him doing that in the future. DFS is lol and I think that even if he recovers, probably, we don’t want to count on him to be that guy. I am under the impression that most of the trade offers that were on the table in February included us bringing back a Guard with either an expiring contract or only a year left. I still would’ve made some of those moves, but who knows if it really changes our outcome? if he ends up getting four years 25 million per, I am probably matching that contract. I assume that he will play with more effort when he is actually signed to a contract and if he has an incentive to play well enough to eventually get out of Houston then let that drive him as well. Id imagine the 4 years 25 per is where the offer ends up.
I like Tari when he's healthy and not being upset. He's really dropped off this year and has played in 22, 57, and 60 games in the three years after his rookie season. He's not worth near $25mill to me, I think $15-$18 mil and I'd rather trade him.
