OKC"s Asset Warchest

Seeing that OKC is the most likely trade down partner, I think you all should get familiar with their war chest. Now, normally, a trade down from 8 to 12 would require something equivalent to the 13th pick. The closest equivalent in recent history was when Phoenix moved from 13 to 8 and it cost them a late first and the rights to Bogdan Bojanovic, who was at the time seen to be worth a mid to late first. Also, gave them a 2nd round pick. So, something like 12 and 13 would be close. Or 12 and a future lotto protected pick and a player, etc

But I think there are a couple X factors here. One, OKC has a treasure trove of picks. And because GMs know this is a diminishing asset, the more you have, they tend to have less value for the seller. Also, Sharpe is seen as a potential best player in the class. This is not trading up for Marquise Chriss. This would be closer to trading up for Nerlens Noel when he started to slide. You are likely to have more interested parties. With that in mind:

2022 picks and players (that they might be willing to offer)

#12, #34

Tre Mann (going into 2nd year of rookie deal)
Darius Bazley (4.3 mil this year, RFA next summer)
Kenrich Williams (1 yr/2 mil)
Lou Dort (1 yr/2 mil)
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (3 yr/6 mil)
Theo Maledon (2 yr/4 mil)
Rights to Vasilije Micic

* Note - also have the ability to absorb about 17 mil in player salary without giving anything back before July 1st. So, you can just give them Temple or Graham and not have to take anything back.

Future Picks (I will put in the years they are most likely to be conveyed. I wont put in Detroit's 2023 pick, protected 1-18, for example. Or unlikely swaps, like OKC having the right to swap 2023 with the Clippers)

All their own 1sts, do not have their 2023-2025 2nd rounders

2023

Denver's 1st, lotto protected

2024

Houston 1st, top 4 protected (the crown jewel IMO)
Clippers 1st, unprotected
Utah 1st, top 10 protected

2025

Detroit 1st, top 13 protected (then, top 11, then top 9)
Washington 1st, top 10 protected (then top 8)
can swap with Houston or Clipper, unprotected (could be very valuable)
Miami (lotto protected)
Sixers (top 6 protected)

2026

Clippers, unprotected

2027

Nuggets, lotto protected

If I am Griff, the deal is 8 and Temple for 12 and the 2024 Houston pick. No wiggle room. That’s the deal. Take it or leave it, and I am fine if you leave it

Honestly aside from that Houston pick, seems like a whole lot of meh. Those LAC picks may be worthwhile, but that’s a shot in the dark.

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Originally Posted by AD23forMVP

Honestly aside from that Houston pick, seems like a whole lot of meh. Those LAC picks may be worthwhile, but that’s a shot in the dark.

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Presti is the king of acquiring meh and dressing it up all nice and pretty for NBA twitter to drool over

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Originally Posted by AD23forMVP

Honestly aside from that Houston pick, seems like a whole lot of meh. Those LAC picks may be worthwhile, but that?s a shot in the dark.

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I made this exact point about 2 or 3 months ago in a new thread and barely got a single reply lol

Meh is still better than Nil

Meh got us CJ. Future picks are future picks. If you plan on using them to draft a guy, they are meh. If you are using them to upgrade veteran talent, they can be valuable. A lot of those picks are likely better than 2025 Milwaukee pick and that pick for us CJ

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Originally Posted by MichaelMcNamara

Meh is still better than Nil

Meh got us CJ. Future picks are future picks. If you plan on using them to draft a guy, they are meh. If you are using them to upgrade veteran talent, they can be valuable. A lot of those picks are likely better than 2025 Milwaukee pick and that pick for us CJ

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Not really. Blazers thought they were getting a late lottery pick this year. They never would have accepted just the 2025 Milwaukee pick, without the hopeful expectation that they get this years lottery pick.

But what they actually got was the Milwaukee pick and having that allowed you to make the trade. The point is that it has value. Portland knew there was a chance they wouldn’t get our pick this year. Actually a good chance - because we both could make the playoffs or jump into the top 4 (which would have been around 30 percent if we had stayed meh). And they accepted the Milwaukee pick as the backup in the somewhat likely event they didn’t get our 2022 pick

I could point to many future picks that ended up being in the 20s that got solid players. If you know the plan is to trade that pick, it can have value as the thing that gets you the PJ Tucker or the Derrick White, etc to put you over the top

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Originally Posted by MichaelMcNamara

But what they actually got was the Milwaukee pick and having that allowed you to make the trade. The point is that it has value. Portland knew there was a chance they wouldn’t get our pick this year. Actually a good chance - because we both could make the playoffs or jump into the top 4 (which would have been around 30 percent if we had stayed meh). And they accepted the Milwaukee pick as the backup in the somewhat likely event they didn’t get our 2022 pick

I could point to many future picks that ended up being in the 20s that got solid players. If you know the plan is to trade that pick, it can have value as the thing that gets you the PJ Tucker or the Derrick White, etc to put you over the top

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Don't disagree. Just think it's not accurate to say the 2025 pick is what got us CJ. It was the possibility of a lottery pick that ended up being the 2025 Milwaukee pick. Dangling that 2025 pick as the main draft asset wouldn't have gotten us in the trade conversation for Derrick White this year.

I mean, we gave up Hart too if you wanna get super technical and we were being offered firsts for him

Point is that HAVING those seemingly ‘meh’ assets make moves like that more possible than not having them. Griff isn’t interested in acquiring more picks for the picks themselves (to use). His interest is to get chips to trade in later for vets when the time is right

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Originally Posted by MichaelMcNamara

If I am Griff, the deal is 8 and Temple for 12 and the 2024 Houston pick. No wiggle room. That’s the deal. Take it or leave it, and I am fine if you leave it

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2026 Clippers unprotected is really enticing. I know Ballmer will spend and they're building a new arena, but they're still the Clippers and they could be locked into Leonard and George on large salaries in the twilight of their careers.

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Originally Posted by MichaelMcNamara

If I am Griff, the deal is 8 and Temple for 12 and the 2024 Houston pick. No wiggle room. That’s the deal. Take it or leave it, and I am fine if you leave it

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Find a way to get Dort for Jaxson. Team not keeping Jaxson around to do community service and 3 years probation.

You gonna pay Dort 15-20 mil per after next year?

We also only got CJ because Portland wanted to begin moving in a different direction. How different (larger) would the price have been had we struck a deal with Portland during the offseason rather than in season? The biggest thing though, we're on the opposite side. We're the ones with the desirable asset now.

But there are sellers at the deadline every year. Always value to be had. Having those picks helps

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Originally Posted by MichaelMcNamara

You gonna pay Dort 15-20 mil per after next year?

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You think some team is gonna offer Dort that much? Because I was thinking a similar deal to what Graham got from us. Maybe a little more. But not that much more.

The ones that interest me are:

1. The 2024 Clippers pick (unprotected)
2. The 2025 Washington pick (top 10, then top 8)
3. The 2025 Pistons pick
4. The 2025 Houston pick swap(unprotected)

Those 4, plus Dort and maybe Micic, to a much lesser degree, would interest me.

But if it's Sharpe they're trading up for, they better be ready to come with a real deal. I'm treating it like a top 5 pick if Sharpe is on the board.

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Originally Posted by RUFshreve

You think some team is gonna offer Dort that much? Because I was thinking a similar deal to what Graham got from us. Maybe a little more. But not that much more.

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I think 15-20 is conservative. I would be more surprised if it is under that than if it is over

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Originally Posted by MichaelMcNamara

I think 15-20 is conservative. I would be more surprised if it is under that than if it is over

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I know he's an elite defensive guard, but how switchable is he? Like how many positions can he effectively guard?

I think it would be really interesting if we leaned all the way in on defense and traded Graham and 8 for Dort and 12 and then took Sochan with 12.

The defensive potential of a team with Herb, Sochan, Dort, Jose and Trey. Have BI, Z, CJ and JV score all your points. The matchups/lineups would be endless.

Why trade down? If Sharpe has the potential to be the best player in this draft, then take him. Don’t repeat the Kobe trade. This is an 8 player draft. Pick 1 of the 8 players.

Last time I remember people being so sure that there was a big drop off right around that point was 2014. Mostly everyone was sure that the top 7 would be good players

And most of them have been fine. Less busts than most top 7s, with Jabari Parker really being the only bust. But those 7 haven’t been the best 7 of that class. Embiid, at 3, has been elite. But the other best players from that class have been Jokic at 41, Lavine at 13, Capela at 25 and a bunch of others who have been right on par with Smart, Randle, Gordon, and Wiggins

It feels like there is a drop off but it will likely play out that there are 2-3 studs who are really separated from the class and then 5-8 guys with a similar outcome taken at wildly different spots. The question is: Is there an avenue to identify and obtain one of those studs? If not, you can feel more free to move around at still get quality

I'm surprised there hasn't been more interest in Jovic. That kid is a really interesting talent. I think he could be one that people look back on and wonder why 15-20 teams passed on him.

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Originally Posted by RUFshreve

I'm surprised there hasn't been more interest in Jovic. That kid is a really interesting talent. I think he could be one that people look back on and wonder why 15-20 teams passed on him.

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Jovic has to be drafted by either Tim Connelly in Minnesota (Nikola Jo()ic 2.0), or by Denver. But probably drafted by Spurs with one of their later picks.