[Poll] Trading out of the 2026 draft, terrible mistake?

We have had a few lottery picks over the last few years - which has not gotten us a superstar...

but that NEXT pick was surely going to propel us with a generational talent!


folks are like crackheads with draft picks... just jonesing for that next hit!

The draft is a crapshoot folks!

Sure the #1 pick has a very high chance of success - depending on the year... but u can still get Kwamed! lol

but folks wanna act like "Of crap, we coulda had a lottery pick - THAT'S the pick that was finally going to net us a superstar!"



I maintain my opinion - "Fk the process!"

arguably our best pick was at #16... "the treadmill of mediocrity" pick....


lol

 

At least they ended up having 2 SRPs in 2026, better than nothing.

 

yes it was a dumb trade to try to swing for Booker.

They ended up with twilight Kevin.

Stone's biggest error appears to be drafting Reed over Castle though (i would have done the same). He's going to double down on Reed this summer and it may end up costing us Sengun (because of fit). Stone is very clearly bullish on proving that Reed was the right pick and i think its going to set the team back.

 

Of course it was a blunder, and lots of us agreed at the time of the trade also. We never should have traded Brooklyns picks. Stone was taken to the woodshed lol

 

I get that the odds may be more favorable this year than next - but that supposed grape could still be a rat turd - lol!

which plays into my whole overriding assertion that the draft is a crapshoot... lol!

My personal belief is that 80% of the time, a draft pick's value is greater than the player ultimately selected with said pick... draft Rudy Gay or a proven Battier?

Imagine if we were sitting here today with a future locked in #2 pick, 2 Future locked #3 picks and a future locked #4 pick... and u had that as trade capital... coupled with free agent acquisitions and 2nd rd picks, I believe that I could build a better team than we presently have....

Heck, Morey used to collect lottery busts on the cheap like they were baseball cards... lol

Do you want to risk the boat that u won for whats in the mystery box... the box could be anything - it could even be a boat!

and dont get me wrong... it was obviously a bad move to make the trade...

 

OP just butt hurt

 

This is game strategy and there’s a bunch of hindsight 20/20 involved but those still angry at everything.

1) The 2026 draft wasn’t this touted two years ago.

2) BKN had assets from the KD trade so they had the ability to improve and so a soft rebuild without tanking.

 

I don’t think it is was a mistake. There was a solid chance that it worked out really good for us. It just didn’t.

 

They would have kept Bridges. But even if they do that trade they would have used the picks they received to trade for better players. They were not going to enter the year with a depleted roster and a bunch of rookies. Teams just don't do that when they don't have their own picks. It's nonsensical.

Either with Bridges or players traded for with the picks from the Bridges trade they would be a late lottery team.

I mean, look no further than the rockets. They went from 22 wins in 2023 to 41 wins in 2024. The difference was organizationally flipping the switch from tanking to win now because we didn't have control of our picks anymore. They spent money on a defensive minded coach and brought in a bunch of vets.

 

"Is this just not our year rebuild?"

 

History shows us that almost every championship team not led by LeBron James found their #1 through the draft. Of course you are right that it is a crapshoot, but it is a crapshoot you pretty much have to play if you want to win it all. If you're the Lakers, or you're happy to just be "competitive" year in and year out and have virtually no chance, you can go the "be smart in free agency and trades and rely on veterans" route. Otherwise it's pretty much the draft or bust.

The real key is to find an elite GM and front office who will actually get you a high hit rate on mid first round picks, including good roleplayers and the occasional star. That's what separates the OKCs and the Bostons of the league from the rest.

 

I actually think OKC did more than just get a high hit rate, they also absolutely stockpiled opportunities to hit in the first place. Much easier to win the lottery with 1000 tickets than 1.

 

Yeah, they wouldn't have gone full rebuild.

While I wanted Booker, not KD...I was okay with getting KD cheaper. The problem was, and still seems to be..we gave up too much.
That said, Dillon is about to be overpaid big time (certainly a valuable culture setter, but a career year he wont approach again), Maluach is busty Charmin, and the jury's definitely still out on JG.

The Suns likely have no way to improve. They are at best a mediocre team...with no margin for error/injury.
You think Williams and the rest will stay on the court...

Again it's time to make KD the principle in a deal for #5 or 6, and grab Kingston.
Trade Sengun for a young stud and picks.
Extend the timeline.

 

Touted as a “likely very strong draft”….. But not a Lebron or Wemby or even a Flagg draft.

We literally did not know how good the draft would two years ago as that is impossible.

 

Just stop…. You literally said “likely”.

You are entitled your own opinion but BKN absolutely had options to get better and this was never touted as a generational draft two years ago.

 

Also would be people acting so irrationally if Mavs didn’t get Flagg?

Part of the strategy was to stretch out those BKNs picks and hedge on PHX and Mavs future.

Im more process oriented, so the thesis behind the trade was sound to me.

 

I like your plan in principle, but find it highly unlikely. Teams aren’t giving up #5 or #6 in this draft for KD. I doubt we could even get a top 10. A Sengun trade is more likely to work as you predict, but he definitely hurt his trade value this year. I guess it would depend on what you define as a young stud and whether this front office could define one.