2018 NBA Draft: If there was ever a year to take...this would be it.

This upcoming draft has the potential to be the most star studded draft since the 2004 Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, David West draft. With Michael Porter, Marvin Bagley, Mohamed Bamba, DeAndre Ayton, and Luka Doncic, some teams are going to be going home with All Star players. The draft is top heavy for sure, but then you will have marksmen like Grayson Allen who will go in the mid to late first round, if there was ever a time to tank, that time is now.

I am not calling on us to tank, and we have absolutely no reason to tank. If we have a down season then you can count on Boogie leaving, and none of these young guys will be able to replace him on day one. Also, if we have a losing record you can count on more than just Gentry being fired.

My question is, looking at next years draft, and thinking of where we will be drafting (I suspect we will make the playoffs, and draft in that 20-25 range) who would you like to see us draft?

https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2017/8/...-deandre-ayton
http://www.nbadraft.net/2018mock_draft
https://www.theringer.com/2017/8/11/...-deandre-ayton

We are going to trade our 1st round pick. The most certain things in life are death, taxes, and Dell traded away our 1st round pick!

How many years now has the "next" draft been loaded? Before these guys even play a second of college ball too. This is simply too early.

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Originally Posted by Mythrol

How many years now has the "next" draft been loaded? Before these guys even play a second of college ball too. This is simply too early.

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True, but then there is this from the Ringer article.

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Every year, the upcoming NBA draft class gets hyped like it’s a new season of The Bachelor. The taglines are more or less the same; just replace the words “shocking,” “intense,” and “drama” with “loaded,” “deeper,” and “upside.” Sometimes the hype is real. It’s usually not. It’s too early at this point to make strong declarations when prospects haven’t logged a single second in college basketball.

However, as we look ahead to the 2018 draft, we do know one thing: Its allure is completely different than that of the draft we witnessed in June. The class won’t have the same depth featured in the 2017 draft, which had a loaded lottery and mid-to-late first-round talent deep into the middle of the second round. Right now, 2018 is looking relatively shallow. But it’s also looking enormous. Whereas the 2017 draft was flooded with guards in the lottery, 2018 will feature a glut of bigs—DeAndre Ayton and Mohamed Bamba headline the more traditional bigs, while Michael Porter Jr. brings a 6-foot-10 size at forward. If the NCAA lets 6-foot-11 high school star Marvin Bagley reclassify and play college ball this year (which would make him draft eligible in 2018), the hype will reach a boiling point.

We’ve had only one draft so far this decade that was defined by its size—2015, which included Karl-Anthony Towns, Kristaps Porzingis, and Myles Turner. In a league that’s getting smaller and faster, bigs have been forced to diversify their games or perish. Ayton, Bamba, Bagley, and Porter are all extensions of the futuristic archetypes set by that Class of 2015; they are the embodiment of the league’s natural progression. Toss in Slovenian prospect Luka Doncic, a 6-foot-8 multipurpose playmaker, and it’s clear the future has been absorbed and adapted. Over the past three years, the NBA has made it clear that players need versatile traits to thrive in the future. The next generation has clearly been paying attention.

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Originally Posted by Mythrol

How many years now has the "next" draft been loaded? Before these guys even play a second of college ball too. This is simply too early.

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He said "has the potential to be..."

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Originally Posted by UNO Gracias

This upcoming draft has the potential to be the most star studded draft since the 2004 Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, David West draft. With Michael Porter, Marvin Bagley, Mohamed Bamba, DeAndre Ayton, and Luka Doncic, some teams are going to be going home with All Star players. The draft is top heavy for sure, but then you will have marksmen like Grayson Allen who will go in the mid to late first round, if there was ever a time to tank, that time is now.

I am not calling on us to tank, and we have absolutely no reason to tank. If we have a down season then you can count on Boogie leaving, and none of these young guys will be able to replace him on day one. Also, if we have a losing record you can count on more than just Gentry being fired.

My question is, looking at next years draft, and thinking of where we will be drafting (I suspect we will make the playoffs, and draft in that 20-25 range) who would you like to see us draft?

https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2017/8/...-deandre-ayton
http://www.nbadraft.net/2018mock_draft
https://www.theringer.com/2017/8/11/...-deandre-ayton

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I swear people say this every freaking year! Next year draft class is gonna be on a 2004 level too because it has Rj Barret and Zion Williamson right?

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Originally Posted by Silverfoxx

I swear people say this every freaking year! Next year draft class is gonna be on a 2004 level too because it has Rj Barret and Zion Williamson right?

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I haven't looked at that draft yet.

I only know that the guys I listed have been talked about as NBA ready, with two of them getting comparisons to impact ready on a Lebron James/AD level (Bagley/Porter).

I can't believe anything The Ringer says these days on the Celtics, Pelicans or the draft.
It's all in Simmons' agenda to help them get Anthony Davis.

I'm curious as to what the number of bigs in the 2018 draft does to the Boogie market, similar to how the number of guards in the 2018 draft limited the market for free agents in 2017.

Don't get me wrong, Boogie will get the same over market (whatever market ends up being) deal that Jrue got because agents now know exactly how to play Dell, but the chances of Boogie leaving could be lessened. Teams with cap space are expected to be the bad teams again next year. Those teams will have the opportunity to draft a young frontcourt player. Why would they sign a notoriously temperamental guy like DeMarcus when they can get a guy on rookie scale much cheaper? Are any of the teams with the cap space to sign Boogie going to be one piece away next year, to where they'd prefer the immediate impact of Boogie over the long term value of one of these rookies?

Similar to Jrue, we might expect Boogie to get a max, but it may actually end up being another gigantic 5 year deal that is still short of the max because there isn't a market.

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Originally Posted by Mythrol

How many years now has the "next" draft been loaded? Before these guys even play a second of college ball too. This is simply too early.

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True dat, I heard that too often..

Is there any world where Cousins doesn't get a 5 year max? I'm not sure I could conceive of one. Maybe if he had a total meltdown, but realistically I'm pretty sure he is going to get the full max no matter what other free agents are out there and who is coming out of the draft.

Looking at the draft, man, the Celtics can be deadly. They will more than likely have 2 top 5 picks. With that said their roster includes

PG IT
SG Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart
SF Gordon Hayward, Jae Crowder, Jayson Tatum
PF Marcus Morris
C Al Horford

With that team already in place (IT is a FA, but he will be back) and then throwing in two top tier talents, man...that is going to be a beast in the East.

So if Davis CAN'T lead us to the playoffs this season,
should we blow it up?

I'm just wondering, what is the boiling point at which we take Boston's "Godfather" offer of:

All the picks
Tatum
Crowder
J. Brown?

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Originally Posted by Caffeinedisastr

So if Davis CAN'T lead us to the playoffs this season,
should we blow it up?

I'm just wondering, what is the boiling point at which we take Boston's "Godfather" offer of:

All the picks
Tatum
Crowder
J. Brown?

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Jesus, is that an option? If it is, and those picks are the #1 and #4 pick, I would do it.

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Originally Posted by UNO Gracias

Jesus, is that an option? If it is, and those picks are the #1 and #4 pick, I would do it.

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Just so long as you understand that you could literally go 50 years without ever drafting another player as good as Anthony Davis.

Don't believe me? Ask Milwaulkee, who went from Lew Alcindor to Giannis in a mere 43 years or so. Ask Sacramento who went from Oscar Robertson to Cousins with barely a draft ripple in between.

The entire point of having draft picks is to draft Anthony Davis. Once you've got him, picks that give you some tiny percentage chance of drafting another guy as good are comparatively worthless.

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Originally Posted by Bricklayer

Just so long as you understand that you could literally go 50 years without ever drafting another player as good as Anthony Davis.

Don't believe me? Ask Milwaulkee, who went from Lew Alcindor to Giannis in a mere 43 years or so. Ask Sacramento who went from Oscar Robertson to Cousins with barely a draft ripple in between.

The entire point of having draft picks is to draft Anthony Davis. Once you've got him, picks that give you some tiny percentage chance of drafting another guy as good are comparatively worthless.

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There is no joy in having a transcendent talent, but not making it past the first round of the playoffs (the 1 year out of 5 that he has been here). Can you trade him to Boston for 2 top 4 picks (1 of which many are saying is the most NBA ready player since the player you traded away)? If we are going to suck, we should do AD a favor and trade him for Boston's kings ransom (which the prior post mentioned). It would be better for all parties. The Celtics would get the player to put them over the top, and we would have the potential to have a great young starting 5.

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Originally Posted by UNO Gracias

There is no joy in having a transcendent talent, but not making it past the first round of the playoffs (the 1 year out of 5 that he has been here). Can you trade him to Boston for 2 top 4 picks (1 of which many are saying is the most NBA ready player since the player you traded away)? If we are going to suck, we should do AD a favor and trade him for Boston's kings ransom (which the prior post mentioned). It would be better for all parties. The Celtics would get the player to put them over the top, and we would have the potential to have a great young starting 5.

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Are we Celtics fans or Pelicans fans?

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Originally Posted by HoustonPelicans

Are we Celtics fans or Pelicans fans?

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Are you fond of missing out on the playoffs with AD, or are you fond of missing out on the playoffs without AD.

If (and this is a hypothetical here) we miss the playoffs next season, I would absolutely trade AD for the Celtics kings ransom. Why? Because Boogie would bounce. Rondo would bounce. We would be back to where we were before last season where it was just AD and Jrue, and that team wasn't competitive (even without the injuries).

At the end of next season AD still has 3 years left, so he is an attractive piece for any potential buyer. If you can move him for the Celtics kings ransom you have instant cap space, young sexy talent across the board, and you can build around more assets than just one epic player and a bunch of also ran players.

PG- Jrue
SG- Jaylen Brown
SF- Jayson Tatem/Jae Crowder
PF- Michael Porter
C-DeAndre Ayton

There is no AD on that roster, but that is a team that is littered with talent across the board, and it keeps us out of that middle of the pack purgatory that we would find ourselves in if we only had AD and Jrue. Heck, with a roster like the one mentioned, you could still grab another lottery pick, and the year after you would find yourself in a situation like the Wolves/76ers where you are young and sexy and dangerous.

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Originally Posted by UNO Gracias

Are you fond of missing out on the playoffs with AD, or are you fond of missing out on the playoffs without AD.

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What are the chances we miss out on the playoffs this year?

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Originally Posted by HoustonPelicans

What are the chances we miss out on the playoffs this year?

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If we make the playoffs then this topic is a moot point, we wont have a lottery pick, and Boogie sticks around.

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Originally Posted by UNO Gracias

There is no joy in having a transcendent talent, but not making it past the first round of the playoffs (the 1 year out of 5 that he has been here). Can you trade him to Boston for 2 top 4 picks (1 of which many are saying is the most NBA ready player since the player you traded away)? If we are going to suck, we should do AD a favor and trade him for Boston's kings ransom (which the prior post mentioned). It would be better for all parties. The Celtics would get the player to put them over the top, and we would have the potential to have a great young starting 5.

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You and I see eye to eye on this one.
I LOVE watching Davis but if we can't even get into the playoffs (much less out of the first round)
we should reboot and try to make a team that can.
Indeed, if we miss the playoffs this year Boogie and Rondo are both gone and we are left in a worse spot than we were before last season. (minus Buddy)

I LOVE watching Davis,
but I LOVE this team even more. Long term.

What you have to consider is who is actually going to make the decision on trading Davis? If we miss the playoffs, I think it's safe to assume that Demps and Gentry are out. So our 90 year old possibly senile owner and his trusty NFL salary cap blowing GM are going to hire their replacements...if they interview some Sam Hinkie wannabe who tells them they should trade Davis in order to be good in 3-4 years, what exactly is it about Benson and Loomis that would make anyone think they'd have the slightest bit of interest in that plan?

Can we stop with the trade Davis talk? It's bad enough most teams are salivating at the thought of the Boogie/Brow experiment failing but let's not preemptively crap on the team before the season's even begun? We as fans of the team should have some degree of hope and not constantly feed into this narrative. IF things don't work this season, THEN let's have these discussions. If you want to go play GM, fire up 2k and have at it. Even if Boston swapped us their entire team, coach, and draft picks, we would STILL have to figure out a way to beat the Warriors in the west. Let's give Boogie/Brow a chance.

It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever to me for fans to want to trade a top 5-10 NBA talent who recently turned 24 for a bunch of ping pong balls. Rarely do teams hit on a talent such as AD (even if they have the #1 pick), so to give that up for a merely a chance/hope to find a good player makes no sense to me. I think too many just like the potential of the unknown.

If you don't want to discuss the topic, don't come to the thread. Why do you feel that everyone who wants to discuss the topic should be denied the opportunity? What, it hurts your feelings?

These kids are going to be talented. The talent in the 2018 draft (overall) might be low, but the top 4 guys are going to be amazing, and we can revisit this thread in 3 years to crap on that prediction, but those kids are going to be great.

If we miss the playoffs this season, then we will lose 2 of our best players, and we will be back to where we were pre-Buddy, and nobody can argue that that was a playoff caliber team. If we make the playoffs, then we can kiss goodbye any chance of drafting one of these kids because we wont have a high enough pick.