#1 or BUST! The O'Mighty DRAFT Thread

Yuma

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As #2 our odds for a top 3 pick are 55.8%.
Plus it eliminates us from dropping to 6th, which the third pick can do! It lessens our odds of dropping to 5th significantly over the 3 spot, too.
 

Cheesebeef

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I would just like to tank the Suns for finally doing what I've been asking for for almost 6 six years. Now it's up to the ping-pong balls.
 

hsandhu

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You can not undersell how well Sarver played this, to not mess around and sit bledsoe with games left. We easily could have slipped to 6 or 7 .

And teams like ny, orlando, Dallas, etc... started sitting players with a handful of games... but many didn't get as much return for the move as the suns did.

It was hilarious reading knicks, magic message boards tonight, fans are absolutely sick their teams won meaningless games tonight with bench players.
 
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pokerface

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You can not undersell how well Sarver played this, to not mess around and sit bledsoe with games left. We easily could have slipped to 6 or 7 .

And teams like ny, orlando, Dallas, etc... started sitting players with a handful of games... but many didn't get as much return for the move as the suns did.

It was hilarious reading knicks, magic message boards tonight, fans are absolutely sick their teams won meaningless games tonight with bench players.

This was really a well executed tank. There was definitely bumps in the road but there was course corrections and adjustments that helped. Plus luck played as well. To lose like that with the talent we have was really quite a feat. But then again...I'm a homer suns fan and I probably over estimate our team.
 
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pokerface

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Plus it eliminates us from dropping to 6th, which the third pick can do! It lessens our odds of dropping to 5th significantly over the 3 spot, too.

All important stuff. No matter what we get in the top 5 and there will be a quality there. This draft is going to be exciting!
 

Hoop Head

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So glad the "must lose" mentality of this year is done. More fans were on that train than before when it would be a small number of people calling the team out for "dumb" wins during March and April.
 
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pokerface

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So glad the "must lose" mentality of this year is done. More fans were on that train than before when it would be a small number of people calling the team out for "dumb" wins during March and April.

I'm glad the fans judging other fans over tanking and how we're supposed to feel is also done.
 

SirStefan32

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So glad the "must lose" mentality of this year is done. More fans were on that train than before when it would be a small number of people calling the team out for "dumb" wins during March and April.

I couldn't agree more! For me, fans cheering for losses was worse than the actual loses. I get it- I wasn't upset when the Suns lost. I want them to get a good pick, but not once did I cheer for the team to lose.
 

Yuma

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The tankathon was a side benefit. What I did not like during the first part of the season, was Len, Big Sauce, Ullis, and also Bender were sitting so the vets could get us wins. I wanted us to give them way more minutes, wins or losses be damned. We needed to see Len in his last year of his contract, and the rookies needed much playing time since we are building the team around the youth. I was glad how the season ended with the playing time, the losses were just a bonus! :)
 

Krangodnzr

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I couldn't agree more! For me, fans cheering for losses was worse than the actual loses. I get it- I wasn't upset when the Suns lost. I want them to get a good pick, but not once did I cheer for the team to lose.

Agreed. I think when a team is obviously not going to win a lot of games, they need to basically flip the depth chart and play the young guys a lot. The Suns were fairly successful at doing this. Chriss is a much better player now. Ullis looks like he will play over ten years in the NBA. Williams looks like a decent, productive rotational big. Jones got some PT and developed some. Even Bender showed lots of promise. The other tanking teams did not get as much benefit out of it.
 

Chaplin

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I couldn't agree more! For me, fans cheering for losses was worse than the actual loses. I get it- I wasn't upset when the Suns lost. I want them to get a good pick, but not once did I cheer for the team to lose.
That's why pokerface's philosophy is so mind-boggling. How can you actively cheer for the Suns to lose? Makes no sense to me.
 

Cheesebeef

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That's why pokerface's philosophy is so mind-boggling. How can you actively cheer for the Suns to lose? Makes no sense to me.

just as it makes no sense to a lot of other people to hope and cheer for completely meaningless wins that can only hurt the draft position and the future of the team when it's clear the team presently is going nowhere.
 

CardsSunsDbacks

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just as it makes no sense to a lot of other people to hope and cheer for completely meaningless wins that can only hurt the draft position and the future of the team when it's clear the team presently is going nowhere.
Both sides have the team's best interests in mind. Cheering for wins is more hoping for current success and cheering for losses is more hoping for future success. I found myself somewhere in the middle, cheering for the young guys to play well and being content with losing.
 

Chaplin

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just as it makes no sense to a lot of other people to hope and cheer for completely meaningless wins that can only hurt the draft position and the future of the team when it's clear the team presently is going nowhere.
Just because you're not cheering for a loss doesn't mean you are cheering for a win.

I personally would be cheering for our players individually because, after all, we want them to get better. We won't be upset if they lose, of course, but that's a lot different then wanting our players to play badly simply so they can lose.
 

Yuma

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Just because you're not cheering for a loss doesn't mean you are cheering for a win.

I personally would be cheering for our players individually because, after all, we want them to get better. We won't be upset if they lose, of course, but that's a lot different then wanting our players to play badly simply so they can lose.
I believe that is what most of us have been saying. Sit the vets and let the young guys get experience and develop. This was the best way to do it imho. Our young guys got valuable minutes they were not getting before the All Star break. Now next year we can build off that. Yes, we ended up with a better draft pick, and that IS what some of us wanted, but we didn't want guys to play poorly to do it. We all were cheering on the individual play, just at the same time we wanted the team to lose for the draft picks getting better.
 

SirStefan32

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Now imagine if you are a young player (Booker, Ulis, Bender, Warren, whoever), and you read comments in news articles or you stop by a message board, and you see a bunch of fans saying "I hope we lose tonight!" or "I can't believe they almost won! What is wrong with them?" How would that make you feel about the fan base? How would that make you feel about the team?
 

Ouchie-Z-Clown

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Now imagine if you are a young player (Booker, Ulis, Bender, Warren, whoever), and you read comments in news articles or you stop by a message board, and you see a bunch of fans saying "I hope we lose tonight!" or "I can't believe they almost won! What is wrong with them?" How would that make you feel about the fan base? How would that make you feel about the team?
It would make me feel like, "wow we have some smart knowledgeable fans that understand we need to build for the future instead of winning 30-something dumb meaninglessness games." That's how it would make me feel if I was a player reading those comments.
 

chickenhead

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Honestly, I think they would get it. Hoping to bank losses when there's a lottery pick on he line is not the same thing as cheering against your team.

But I agree that it's exhausting for a whole season. The last month was kind of fun - especially since we "beat" LA. Earlier in the season I cheered for them to win but just hoped they'd get a top pick.
 

Cheesebeef

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Just because you're not cheering for a loss doesn't mean you are cheering for a win.

I personally would be cheering for our players individually because, after all, we want them to get better. We won't be upset if they lose, of course, but that's a lot different then wanting our players to play badly simply so they can lose.

yeah... except no one said they want our players to play badly. But thanks for putting words into the opposition's mouth... as usual.

Everyone on the tank side was just fine with our players getting time and getting better, just as long as the game ended with a L. No one rooted for them to play badly... they just rooted for the end result to be something that will help in the long-run.

But keep demonizing the other side of the argument and projecting bull-ish positions onto them. It does wonders for the overall vibe for the board.
 

Cheesebeef

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Now imagine if you are a young player (Booker, Ulis, Bender, Warren, whoever), and you read comments in news articles or you stop by a message board, and you see a bunch of fans saying "I hope we lose tonight!" or "I can't believe they almost won! What is wrong with them?" How would that make you feel about the fan base? How would that make you feel about the team?

I think it would motivate me to get better.

and honestly... if you think kids that age are paying attention to this bunch of weirdos (me included) on a message board, you're drinking drano.
 
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pokerface

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Now imagine if you are a young player (Booker, Ulis, Bender, Warren, whoever), and you read comments in news articles or you stop by a message board, and you see a bunch of fans saying "I hope we lose tonight!" or "I can't believe they almost won! What is wrong with them?" How would that make you feel about the fan base? How would that make you feel about the team?

Well I imagine suns players heard about a thing called the draft and have more understanding about what makes fans tick. Besides all that, its on their shoulders to win and entertain us. We arnt getting paid millions to entertain them. If they want to stink for going on seven years what are they expecting....a parade? Obviously they need help and that's where the draft comes in.

You should be less concerned about what players are thinking and more concerned about what fellow suns fans are thinking. The fans you are telling not to have fun on a tanking thread...The fans supposedly you want to talk to in the offseason and beyond. You don't tell us how to think or what to enjoy. We don't have to explain ourselves to you..You already know the score. To go on a tanking thread to lecture suns fans almost seems like trolling. We'll stop cheering for suns losses when the league stops rewarding teams for losing... and not before then.

If fans want to cheer suns wins and don't care as much about the draft then more power to them. I just didn't see much of that going on. Everyone gets their fun in their own way.
 

Mainstreet

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Now imagine if you are a young player (Booker, Ulis, Bender, Warren, whoever), and you read comments in news articles or you stop by a message board, and you see a bunch of fans saying "I hope we lose tonight!" or "I can't believe they almost won! What is wrong with them?" How would that make you feel about the fan base? How would that make you feel about the team?

I think this is a legitimate concern. However, I would feel worse if the Suns were winning meaningless games down the stretch like the Lakers.

Also a lot of young players received more minutes than they otherwise would have received like Ulis. Player development is also important.
 

Chaplin

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yeah... except no one said they want our players to play badly. But thanks for putting words into the opposition's mouth... as usual.

Everyone on the tank side was just fine with our players getting time and getting better, just as long as the game ended with a L. No one rooted for them to play badly... they just rooted for the end result to be something that will help in the long-run.

But keep demonizing the other side of the argument and projecting bull-ish positions onto them. It does wonders for the overall vibe for the board.
Take it easy, I never once thought you were cheering for the Suns to lose. Pokerface actually said that he DID cheer for us to lose, so that's where this is coming from. Not everything is a dig at you.
 

Cheesebeef

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Geez, I never once thought you were cheering for the Suns to lose. Pokerface actually said that he did cheer for us to lose, so that's where this is coming from. Not everything is a dig at you.

It is a dig at me when I have the same philosophy as pokerface for this season. And again, did pokerface EVER say he wanted our guys to play like crap? Did anyone else? No... he, like a lot of us, wanted the young guys to get as much burn as possible, improve along the way... and lose at the end of the day so we can actually GET BETTER IN THE LONG RUN.

So again, stop projecting BS garbage into other's arguments and demonizing those who feel different from you.
 
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