Xist's Lotto Review

[Xist2Inspire]

So my total lack of motivation for last season has resulted in me being a bit short of cash to pay my bill...so I need points. Article time!

Lotto Results
So it seems like sim decided to reward two active GMs in favor of two not-so-active ones, as Quailman and Soundwave took the top two spots over the ghost of Darth and Loco Sandiego. In an unusual twist of fate, it wasn't Quail's pick (projected #6, actually #7) that jumped to #1, it was the Heat's pick from the Wolfgang trade (projected #8) that did, making that trade a rousing success in retrospect. 78 slipped down a spot from projected #4 to actually #5, which is disappointing to see, I would've liked to see a jump for him. Other than the big two jumps and the minor shifts that came from that, it's a pretty standard-looking lotto in terms of draft position. Everyone's picking just about where they probably should based on where their teams are. Onto the draft!

#1: Bucks select Darius Garland (Mark Goad)

Though not projected to go #1, it was a foregone conclusion that either he or Ridenhour would be the first off the board as soon as the file was uploaded. Why? Because PGs are forever at a premium, and in the middle of yet another PG drought having not one, but two top PG prospects makes the first two picks a foregone conclusion for any GM with a pulse. So the question then becomes...did Quail pick the right one? I'm leaning no. That doesn't mean that I think he'll regret it or anything, but I do think we'll compare #1 to #2 later on and give #2 the edge. Garland is the better win-now pick, which is hilarious to say given that he's 19. A potentials in Inside, Free Throws, and 3-point Shooting means that there's not much paid training work to be done on the offensive end, and a B/A split in Handling and Passing is great. However, the B in Post Defense is completely wasted on him, he'll forever be a solid defender at best given his B/D split in Perimeter Defense and Steals, and his athleticism is just okay. I will freely admit that I have no idea how stamina works, but I definitely think that you'd ideally want your future court general to have more than 43 coming in. So while Garland will undoubtedly be a star, you can probably see why I'm not predicting superstardom just yet. You'll see why I think more highly of Ridenhour in the next entry.

As to what this means for the Bucks, it should mean that Kyle Kuric will slide over to SG, where he can continue to develop while not needing a hefty amount of points poured into him, something that Quail would've needed to do if Kuric remained at PG. This also moves either Folse or Manley to the bench, instantly giving Quail a legit 6th man. I say "should" because we all know that Quail is borderline addicted to trades, and drafting Garland gives him a crap ton of options. Mark my words, either Folse or Manley will be traded before the season starts, and #7 might also be dealt, if not before the pick materializes, then before the draft wraps up. Regardless of Quail's debated recklessness, the Bucks are in a really good spot as their rebuild continues.

Bucks trade Kory Manley and #7 to the Magic for Tex Harrison
Well I'll be damned, not only did I call it, but it went down far quicker than I expected. This is kind of an odd one on the Bucks' end, and might be taken as evidence that Quail wants to take his time training Garland by racking up points with Tex. If that's the case then I really think he should've gone with Ridenhour, but that's beside the point. If I had to guess, then I'd say Kuric still starts at SG, with Garland getting spot minutes off the bench and Folse remaining as the starting 3. You don't make this deal unless you see an avenue to compete, so I'm expecting another big addition, hopefully in the post this offseason.

For the Magic, this is little more than a solid start to a rebuild. Manley and #7 don't amount to much other than nice pieces in a vacuum, it's what else False9 does this offseason that really matters.

#2: Raptors select Markus Ridenhour
Alright, so why do I think Ridenhour will likely end up the superior player? Well he's 17, which means more time to train him. He's also more athletic, with 100 in Jumping immediately standing out and allowing him to take full advantage of his double Bs in both Inside and Jump Shooting. While a C in Perimeter Defense is not good, having an A in Steals gives him a huge edge over Garland in terms of becoming an elite defender. Those double As in Handling and Passing are just lovely and icing on the cake.To sum it up, Ridenhour's natural advantages in athleticism and (if just barely) height/age makes up for what he lacks offensively compared to Garland. Moreover, little needs to be done (boosting Perimeter Defense to B) in order to make Ridenhour a complete two-way point guard, whereas Garland will need serious work just to match Ridenhour defensively, let alone surpass him. If Sound chooses to heavily invest in Ridenhour's offense to get it to Garland's level? It's over. Foul ratings could affect things, but I'm really high on Ridenhour.

Now that Sound has a point guard, I'd say the Raptors' rebuild is complete. The ingredients are all in the pot, now it's time to let them cook. This could get expensive if he tries to keep everyone (Talen Horton-Tucker, Myke Henry, and Albert Hunter are all free agents), so I would keep an eye out for a blockbuster deal shipping some combo of Kispert/Suggs/Honeycutt out for another big man. Obviously the Raptors are still a while away, but expect for them to start making big strides very quickly.

Horns trade Delmar Lopez to the Fangs for Carmelo Williams, #8, and Albert Kellerman
Well, when GMan says he's going to trade a guy, he means it. Like the Magic deal, this means little in a vacuum. It's a nice return for an aging superstar. With Kim already there and Bradley Connell likely to return, things are already off to a good start.

I'm honestly not sold on the Fangs' end of the deal. I understood where JNR was coming from with the OG deal, but as someone who's pulled the plug on things early and regretted it, I thought it was a mistake that would eventually lead to Robinson's exit and a full rebuild. Now comes this deal, one that reminds me of last year's Lakers/Nuggets deal. Carmelo's no Bey, but when you already have a future centerpiece and have successfully cleared the way for a total rebuild, why sacrifice a potential sidekick and assets for an older superstar who won't move the needle? I've always underutilized the point-generation aspect of the game, so there's that, but I think this move really speaks to the differing approaches to team building and what kind of team you need to have in order to keep yourself engaged. If this keeps JNR excited and ready to take on the challenges of a new season, then I'll call this a win.

#3: Jazz pull Charles Alleman into the void
Eh, Alleman's alright. This may sound strange coming from me, but I really find it hard to get excited for basic big man prospects. Alleman's 7 feet tall, 18, decent athleticism, and has potentials in good spots. It's nothing amazing though, Cs in Offensive Rebounding and Blocks kinda suck balls, and I could just as easily see him fading into obscurity as opposed to him becoming a solid contributor.

This does diddly-dick for the Jazz. No GM means no help, no plan, no protection. As of now, Alleman will be thrown to the wolves. If he survives and the Jazz are still rudderless, he'll be scooped up by another team after his 4 years of service are up. But for now, Alleman might as well not exist, because as far as the league is concerned, he doesn't.

#4: Hawks select Antonio Blakeney (Coleman Hayward)
I like this pick. Blakeney's athleticism is elite, full-stop. 92 Quickness, 71 Strength, 93 Jumping. His Stamina is pretty dang bad, but again, I have no idea how that actually translates. Combine that with a smattering of As and Bs in the offensive categories, and you have a guaranteed future 20+ ppg scorer in the making. His size (6'6") is nothing to write home about, but double Cs in both Perimeter Defense gives some hope that he'll evolve past simply being a one-dimensional player. He reminds me of Ferguson Olney to be honest, which isn't a bad thing at all. Loco don't care about any of that though, more on that later.

#5 Rockets select Alperen Sengun (Luke Bryant)
Now this is the kind of big I can get behind, and I really hope he pans out so that 78 can finally get his rebuild going. Sengun reminds me a lot of a taller Paul Cassel, just with more defensive ability in place of Cassel's passing skills. That's a great tradeoff in my opinion. At 19, all 78 has to do is keep TC from murdering him and he'll be a fine player all on his own, but if he chooses to invest in that defensive potential and increase it, let alone his athleticism? Sengun might just end up in the conversation for being the best player in this draft, no kidding.

Sengun morphing into a franchise cornerstone by year 4 would be a massive boon to 78, who has a very bare cupboard of young talent to work with. Recent acquisition Charles Ash is a nice pickup, but that's it. Coffin was laid to rest (heh) by TC. I'm really excited to see what kind of pieces 78 can put around Sengun in the seasons to come.

#6: Cavs select Malik Osbourne (David Fitzgerald)
Malik's an interesting player. He'd be totally one-dimensional if it wasn't for that B in Steals, and his D in Jump Shooting severely limits his offensive potential. He's going to be a specialist who is very good at what he does, but ineffective to awful everywhere else.

I don't know what this means for the Cavs. While I don't totally hate the Otoru trade, as they had to do something to stop underachieving, I do think Hintz was the wrong one to bail on. Moving Connell was a definite misstep that invalidates the Otoru move and makes a BBJ move actually logical. If BBJ doesn't go though, then why add yet another wing? (I know it's because there's nothing else worth #6 on the board, but whatever). I guess I'm cool with this as a rebuilding pick, but if not...probably should've tried something different.

#7: Magic select Simi Shittu (Jerry Malloy)
If Sengun reminded me of Cassel (with more defense), Shittu is a dead ringer for Tasmin Mitchell...with more defense. That's a pretty solid projection, the only problem is that it's going to take a while for Shittu to even be playable. Dude's super raw, 100% a stash guy. He's not the kind of player you want for a rebuild though, which makes him an odd fit on the Magic. I wonder if that means he'll be traded...

Boom, three-team deal
Hey it's that thing that I've been hinting at! So the Hawks get #8 and a bucketload of points, the Magic get Blakeney, and the Bulls get Shittu. This is a home-run move for the Magic, who have completely revitalized their wing rotation with Manley and Blakeney. Defense will be an issue, but the amount of scoring these two should be able to generate offsets that. Shittu also fits pretty well on the Bulls, in that he'll probably develop into an enticing piece right when GMan decides that rebuilding's boring and he wants to get some win-now pieces. And Loco gets more points. It's going to take him a full season just to tally up all his points. Shouldn't he be paid up by now?

Y/G Speed Round!

#8: Hawks draft Hassan Hodges - It's a shame Loco didn't care enough to draft Hassan himself, because he's a great prospect who has all the tools to be solid on his own, and could be a key player if invested in.

#9: Blazers draft Charles Bojorquez - An athletic freak at 6'10", his age means that the margin of error for training to turn him into Kostas Antentokoumpo instead of Jesse Kavanaugh is really slim.

#10: Knicks draft Robert Lindsley - Lindsley's an offensively smooth big who gives New York a diverse group of young bigs to play with if he keeps Haun, and makes sure that the cupboard isn't bare if he doesn't. Good pick.

#11: Lakers draft Luigi Leathers (Doug Cloutier) - 40 Perimeter Defense with C potential is lame unless he's going to play Power Forward, but otherwise he has great potentials and ratings in the three key spots for a serviceable big (Inside Shooting, Post Defense, and Blocks). Maybe his brother will declare for the draft one day.

#12: Pelicans draft Klay Curry (Tony Hermann) - His only avenue to sticking around in the league is learning to shoot as well as his namesakes, because he has no other skills to speak of.

Oh wow that's it! I keep forgetting how short the lotto is now. Suits me, I think I've made enough to pay my bill. Off to the points bank, thanks for reading!

[greepleairport]

#11: Lakers draft Luigi Leathers (Doug Cloutier) ... Maybe his brother will declare for the draft one day.

I don't get it. but I do love Lotto Reviews! I love them enough to have sought the authority to say...

~2300 words, +7 pts to you, sir!

[garbageman]

Mario