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Anonymous GM Admits to Tanking Plan: Masai.. is that you?

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  • Anonymous GM Admits to Tanking Plan: Masai.. is that you?

    Found this article on ESPN pretty incredible in that this is coming from an angle we've never heard before... directly from the GM ... Is this Masai talking?

    Anonymous GM wrote:
    Our team isn't good enough to win and we know it. So this season we want to develop and evaluate our young players, let them learn from their mistakes -- and get us in position to grab a great player. The best way for us to do that is to lose a lot of games. This draft is loaded. There are potential All-Stars at the top, maybe even franchise changers. Sometimes my job is to understand the value of losing.
    So far, could be applied to the Raps.

    Anonymous GM wrote:
    I know that sounds crazy, but if you're an NBA general manager like me, the last place you want to be is in the middle. There are only two outcomes there: Either make the playoffs and be first-round fodder for one of the premier teams or miss the playoffs and pick somewhere around 11th to 14th in the draft. Either way, the odds are that you stay in that middle range. It's a recipe for disaster.
    Still relevant....

    Anonymous GM wrote:
    You need superstars to compete in this league, and the playing field for those guys is tilted toward a few big-market teams. They are demanding trades and getting together and deciding where they want to go in free agency. It's tough for us to compete with that. So a high lottery pick is all we have.
    Still relevant... Lol

    Anonymous GM wrote:
    How do you pull it off? First, you talk it over with ownership. I analyzed the team and told them what I wanted to do, the guys I wanted to get rid of and the guys with future value whom we wanted to keep. We obviously traded away some of our veteran guys who gave us a better chance of winning right now for future draft picks and young players. The owners didn't want to tread water any more than I did. They'd rather go down to the bottom with the hope of coming up, so they signed off on it. It wasn't a fight at all. In a different season, it might not make sense, but this draft certainly makes it more appealing.

    Our coach understands that too. It's no secret what we're trying to do, and you can't lie to him anyway or you'll lose all trust. We never really had to tell him, because the handwriting is on the wall. He knows exactly what's going on, and he's good with it. What's hard is keeping it from the players. If you took a poll in all 30 locker rooms, regardless of how the roster looks, I bet they'd all say they are a playoff team. That's good, because you want them to play with effort and lose organically. You never tell the players not to try to win a game, but it's obvious that you're putting out a team that's just not good enough to win.
    Masai... is that you?

    Anonymous GM wrote:
    We're not alone. Look at the 76ers. Since the draft in June, I don't think they've signed a player or made a trade to add a legitimate player. A bunch of us realize that our teams aren't good enough talentwise to do anything. You're going to be bad. There's no way around it. And even if you finish 0-82, there's still a 75 percent chance you don't get the No. 1 pick. We're just going to take our lumps and hope our number gets called.

    Thanks for the warning MU....


    Source

  • #2
    Nope, not him.
    Two beer away from being two beers away.

    Comment


    • #3
      Gotta be Phoenix.

      No way it's Toronto. We haven't moved any vets and have very few "young guys to evaluate" that will play a lot.
      Heir, Prince of Cambridge

      If you see KeonClark in the wasteland, please share your food and water with him.

      Comment


      • #4
        Not Masai based on this:

        We obviously traded away some of our veteran guys who gave us a better chance of winning right now for future draft picks and young players.
        The only guy he traded away would never, by keeping, result in wins.

        My guess is Phoenix or Boston.


        This is key:

        This draft is loaded. There are potential All-Stars at the top, maybe even franchise changers.
        I think if you get a top 8 pick in this draft you are going to do very well assuming you are a good evaluator of talent and all the intangibles.


        Nice find, Joey.

        Comment


        • #5
          I'd scrap Boston from the "develop and evaluate our young players" line too. They don't have a lot of youth, Olynyk, and Sullinger mostly. More like they have a lot of vets they want to deal away, K-Hump, Wallace, Bass, Rondo (?)
          Heir, Prince of Cambridge

          If you see KeonClark in the wasteland, please share your food and water with him.

          Comment


          • #6
            So Phoenix, maybe Utah?

            Comment


            • #7
              Sixers?
              "This just in........ THE RAPTORS ARE AMAZING!"

              Comment


              • #8
                I'd have to say Phoenix or Philadelphia

                Comment


                • #9
                  Yeah, probably not Masai given how vague he's been since signing in Toronto. In addition to the reasons provided above, it seems unlikely he'd all-of-a-sudden remove his self-imposed gag order and speak candidly about his vision of the Raptors.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Although it could easily apply to the Raptors (if Bargnani is "veteran players"), I think Phoenix makes the most sense.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      You guys probably didn't read the thread:
                      "We're not alone. Look at the 76ers."

                      It's not the Sixers, I'm going with Utah and Phoenix as well, though had Boston in mind till Axel brought up his argument. "Trading bigs" was the biggest clue for choosing Suns and Jazz.
                      Official Pope of the Raptors sponsored by MLSE.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        RandomGuy wrote: View Post
                        You guys probably didn't read the thread:
                        "We're not alone. Look at the 76ers."

                        It's not the Sixers, I'm going with Utah and Phoenix as well, though had Boston in mind till Axel brought up his argument. "Trading bigs" was the biggest clue for choosing Suns and Jazz.
                        Reverse psychology.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Danny Ainge, Boston.

                          The way the GM talks about the 76ers doing the same thing it's like he is referring to a division rival.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            It's not Philly....since the GM makes direct reference to them in the last paragraph.

                            PHX, Utah and Boston are all possibilities.

                            To Axel, Boston has quite a bit of "young talent". You say just Olynyk and Sullinger....but what about Avery Bradley, Jordan Crawford, Phil Pressey, Vitor Faverani, MarShon Brooks. Not exactly stacked with future all-stars, but a lot of young players who they won't mind evaluating to see if any are worth keeping on even as role players.
                            Last edited by white men can't jump; Tue Oct 29, 2013, 01:58 PM.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Anyway, who cares who it is? Let's just hope that MU joins them or can use the tanking teams to his advantage and get some good talent on the cheap.

                              Please, oh please if you aren't going to tank then get us Rondo!

                              Comment

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