Mame YO
slings rocks
Idk. I think value is probably overrated as far as this trade goes. As far as many trades go, actually.
I mean, I feel like the way to build a team in the NBA is with a reel good core of 2-4 players. Teams lacking that core build assets and at the end of the day those assets are there to swing deals for the reel prize - the all star caliber core player. Throughout NBA history we've seen big deals for these core level players... and championships have been won by the teams giving up the kitchen sink for those core players. The team that loses the proven commodity certainly "loses" these trades more often IMO.
What are all these JAGs and picks and prospects anyway? Do we know? What are the odds these picks and prospects develop into core players? Pretty slim, right? So what happens when you're left with a bunch of JAGs? What about cap space for that matter? So you have some trade assets and cap space. You have flexibility. You're back at square one again, basically. That's fine if that's the goal, but at the end of the day you're trying to get that core built so you can compete. Hitting the reset button is essentially an admission that you failed to build that core already, and the cold reality is that the chance of success next time isn't likely any higher than it was the first time around.
So with this trade, from the 76ers perspective, they did what they set out to do - but they could very well spend another half decade or more in the lottery still.
From the pels perspective, they got what they believe to be a core level player - but is he good enough to live up to those expectations?
Not only that, but is a core of Davis/jrue/Evans/Anderson good enough for a top 4 seed with complementary pieces around them? Maybe.
I obviously watch a lot of blazers games... So let's look at the lillard/Aldridge/batum (and arguably) Matthews core. They didn't have anything around them. They had Hickson at center and a historically bad bench that year.
This is where I get to my point: assets are overrated. The blazers had NOTHING other than those four players and what happened during the offseason? They got a few players (mo, trob, Lopez) for essentially just cap space. This offseason they have a BAE and MLE to get some more guys, and could still retain mo with bird rights if they choose to do so. JAGs are always available. They will always be available. Most assets just end up as JAGs. So when you can get a core player for a JAG and a prospect, or a pick, or whatever - you do it if you think that core player can be a pivotal player on your envisioned championship team.
Is jrue a core player on a championship level team? Sure. He isn't The Guy but he doesn't need to be. Is Noel a core player on a championship level team? We don't know, maybe. Is that lotto pick likely to turn into a core player? Maybe, but probably not.
Did the pels give up too much? I don't think so. They didn't give up anything other than Noel that's likely to be anything in the league and Noel himself is no sure thing. You can always revisit this later and say "oh well Noel is one of the best players in the league now!" And that might lead one to believe that NO "lost" the trade... But if in that same span of time NO builds into a contender and jrue is an important cog in that, did they still lose the trade? They certainly would have accomplished their goals, even if they didn't maximize value. In a vacuum they may have lost the trade, but who cares about that if they're winning? At the end of the day those late lottery picks weren't going to bring them to the promised land, and they probably won't help the 76ers either. There's a lot of percieved value being given up, but it's just percieved value. Those picks have a much higher likelihood of becoming nothing at all than they do of becoming core players. Lots of picks never even amount to JAGs. So yeah, to me assets and maximizing value is often overrated. You do those things to get in position to get the core players you really need. Overpaying for those core players isn't a big deal. It's the core players that win or lose games.
If there's a mistake here by NO it may be that Jrue isn't a core level player on a championship team. But I think he'd be fine as the 2nd/3rd option and I think it's safe to assume Davis will blossom into that franchise guy they need to make that work.
Oh and for clarification I'm saying it's okay to overpay for core players. It is not okay to overpay for JAGs.
I mean, I feel like the way to build a team in the NBA is with a reel good core of 2-4 players. Teams lacking that core build assets and at the end of the day those assets are there to swing deals for the reel prize - the all star caliber core player. Throughout NBA history we've seen big deals for these core level players... and championships have been won by the teams giving up the kitchen sink for those core players. The team that loses the proven commodity certainly "loses" these trades more often IMO.
What are all these JAGs and picks and prospects anyway? Do we know? What are the odds these picks and prospects develop into core players? Pretty slim, right? So what happens when you're left with a bunch of JAGs? What about cap space for that matter? So you have some trade assets and cap space. You have flexibility. You're back at square one again, basically. That's fine if that's the goal, but at the end of the day you're trying to get that core built so you can compete. Hitting the reset button is essentially an admission that you failed to build that core already, and the cold reality is that the chance of success next time isn't likely any higher than it was the first time around.
So with this trade, from the 76ers perspective, they did what they set out to do - but they could very well spend another half decade or more in the lottery still.
From the pels perspective, they got what they believe to be a core level player - but is he good enough to live up to those expectations?
Not only that, but is a core of Davis/jrue/Evans/Anderson good enough for a top 4 seed with complementary pieces around them? Maybe.
I obviously watch a lot of blazers games... So let's look at the lillard/Aldridge/batum (and arguably) Matthews core. They didn't have anything around them. They had Hickson at center and a historically bad bench that year.
This is where I get to my point: assets are overrated. The blazers had NOTHING other than those four players and what happened during the offseason? They got a few players (mo, trob, Lopez) for essentially just cap space. This offseason they have a BAE and MLE to get some more guys, and could still retain mo with bird rights if they choose to do so. JAGs are always available. They will always be available. Most assets just end up as JAGs. So when you can get a core player for a JAG and a prospect, or a pick, or whatever - you do it if you think that core player can be a pivotal player on your envisioned championship team.
Is jrue a core player on a championship level team? Sure. He isn't The Guy but he doesn't need to be. Is Noel a core player on a championship level team? We don't know, maybe. Is that lotto pick likely to turn into a core player? Maybe, but probably not.
Did the pels give up too much? I don't think so. They didn't give up anything other than Noel that's likely to be anything in the league and Noel himself is no sure thing. You can always revisit this later and say "oh well Noel is one of the best players in the league now!" And that might lead one to believe that NO "lost" the trade... But if in that same span of time NO builds into a contender and jrue is an important cog in that, did they still lose the trade? They certainly would have accomplished their goals, even if they didn't maximize value. In a vacuum they may have lost the trade, but who cares about that if they're winning? At the end of the day those late lottery picks weren't going to bring them to the promised land, and they probably won't help the 76ers either. There's a lot of percieved value being given up, but it's just percieved value. Those picks have a much higher likelihood of becoming nothing at all than they do of becoming core players. Lots of picks never even amount to JAGs. So yeah, to me assets and maximizing value is often overrated. You do those things to get in position to get the core players you really need. Overpaying for those core players isn't a big deal. It's the core players that win or lose games.
If there's a mistake here by NO it may be that Jrue isn't a core level player on a championship team. But I think he'd be fine as the 2nd/3rd option and I think it's safe to assume Davis will blossom into that franchise guy they need to make that work.
Oh and for clarification I'm saying it's okay to overpay for core players. It is not okay to overpay for JAGs.
Last edited:
