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Jackpotting Around Podcast: Episode 13 - Listener Mailbag Edition

Handlogten's Heros said:
lol you guys are right… he’s just super lucky a lot and was able to build two contenders in OKC based on dumb luck.
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The SGA trade was the definition of luck. No chance the Clippers do that deal if they aren’t guaranteed to sign Kawhi.

He also took over for OKC when they got the #2 pick and took one of the most obvious picks of all-time.

Nobody is saying he’s not a good GM but you’re off base on a lot of the stuff you said.
 
Saint Cy of JFC said:
Presti could never pull off the mastery of the Gobert/Mitchell deals that DA did. I can guarantee that. Every big time trade Presti has pulled off has been at the behest of a star demand. Unless you want to call the Ibaka trade a big time trade, which I would but I accept its closeish
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Presti literally traded three meh picks to move into the lotto to ensure he got Jalen Williams. The pick they traded for they used on Dieng… when asked about it they said they had Williams higher on their board and wanted to make sure that if the trade didn’t go through they would still get their guy. So he’s done a deal very similar.

In addition to “just drafting well” he has made great trades where he gets assets coming and going for guys like CP3 and Horford. He flipped Serge for Oladipo/Sabonis then flips them for PG and then flips him for SGA and a **** ton of picks. He leveraged cap space to take advantage of teams like Utah and others that need to dump into their space. Like anyone saying that **** is luck is just not worth having a convo with. You are just going to brush off their good stuff as luck… it’s not the basis for any kind of discussion.

On top of that “luck” he’s created a great culture and hired a great coach. He’s found some undrafted gems. You want to talk about luck… how about the bad luck with the cap rules changing right when his star was hitting FA allowing him to go to a super team?

He ain’t perfect but he’d have his pick of almost any job he wanted if he wanted to leave.
 
Elizah Huge said:
The SGA trade was the definition of luck. No chance the Clippers do that deal if they aren’t guaranteed to sign Kawhi.

He also took over for OKC when they got the #2 pick and took one of the most obvious picks of all-time.

Nobody is saying he’s not a good GM but you’re off base on a lot of the stuff you said.
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I’m not off at all. He’s had some luck. He’s also made some luck. If he doesn’t take the chance on PG AND get him to resign he doesn’t get the clipper deal.

Was DA just lucky to get the Celtics trades he did? Or is that a guy being opportunistic and having the ability to take advantage of the opportunity?

I’d love to hear what I’m actually off on. He’s a good GM? He’s not afraid to make big deals?
 
Handlogten's Heros said:
I’m not off at all. He’s had some luck. He’s also made some luck. If he doesn’t take the chance on PG AND get him to resign he doesn’t get the clipper deal.

Was DA just lucky to get the Celtics trades he did? Or is that a guy being opportunistic and having the ability to take advantage of the opportunity?

I’d love to hear what I’m actually off on. He’s a good GM? He’s not afraid to make big deals?
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What big trades has he made besides being on the end where he’s getting picks and young players which we both agreed is the easier side to be on?

He literally used the players he got from Serge Ibaka to trade for Paul George. The same exact package. That’s not some genius 3D chess move you’re making it out to be. That also could have turned out very bad if Paul George doesn’t agree to extend.
 
We’d be thinking Presti is pretty underwhelming if Kawhi didn’t hold the Clippers hostage.
 
Elizah Huge said:
What big trades has he made besides being on the end where he’s getting picks and young players which we both agreed is the easier side to be on?
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It’s easier to win praise from the internet in those deals but not always easier to win those deals like he always seems to be “lucky” enough to do. He’s not afraid to make big deals… outside of this season whe. Was the last time he needed to make big deals and didn’t? Making the trade for PG was a big gamble that could have left him with nothing. It’s the type of deal DA has paused on before. It’s reasonable for him to wait out this season but he probably should have been more aggressive. Let’s see what he does this summer.

Elizah Huge said:
He literally used the players he got from Serge Ibaka to trade for Paul George. The same exact package. That’s not some genius 3D chess move you’re making it out to be. That also could have turned out very bad if Paul George doesn’t agree to extend.
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My dude… what you just described is very much 3D chess. Just cause we can connect the dots looking backwards and say “yeah of course you do those deals” doesn’t mean they weren’t great. And yes if PG doesn’t extend it’s bad but as described above that’s how I know Presti isn’t afraid to make risky deals.

It’s just wild to see the guy that has a young contender with a war chest of assets and clean books and say he did it all through luck and good drafting. Let’s see what he cooks up this offseason and if he can get lucky.
 
Handlogten's Heros said:
It’s easier to win praise from the internet in those deals but not always easier to win those deals like he always seems to be “lucky” enough to do. He’s not afraid to make big deals… outside of this season whe. Was the last time he needed to make big deals and didn’t? Making the trade for PG was a big gamble that could have left him with nothing. It’s the type of deal DA has paused on before. It’s reasonable for him to wait out this season but he probably should have been more aggressive. Let’s see what he does this summer.


My dude… what you just described is very much 3D chess. Just cause we can connect the dots looking backwards and say “yeah of course you do those deals” doesn’t mean they weren’t great. And yes if PG doesn’t extend it’s bad but as described above that’s how I know Presti isn’t afraid to make risky deals.

It’s just wild to see the guy that has a young contender with a war chest of assets and clean books and say he did it all through luck and good drafting. Let’s see what he cooks up this offseason and if he can get lucky.
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Their entire core is from luck and good drafting. Seriously. The SGA trade was luck and he drafted Chet, Jalen, Dort, Cason, etc.
 
Elizah Huge said:
Their entire core is from luck and good drafting. Seriously. The SGA trade was luck and he drafted Chet, Jalen, Dort, Cason, etc.
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View: https://www.reddit.com/r/Thunder/comments/11ela5v/brian_windhorst_article_provides_interesting/


Jalen is on the team because of a big trade they made. Details above. He was able to do that because he had accumulated the assets to do it. They also traded to make sure they got Cason. You can call the clips trade luck but he had finessed his way into having the thing someone paid for. He got it on a discount because it was risky. If we want to call that luck then Ainge getting KG was just lucky. Ainge getting the picks that he did for KG was just luck.DL getting Donovan for Lyles and Lydon was luck. DL trading and drafting Rudy was luck. He had two picks he could have used on Rudy and swapped them both for Burke.

When things work it’s easy to look back and declare it luck. But if someone does the work to put themselves in a position to take advantage of an opportunity then I will go ahead and give them credit for the work they did to get there.

I also find it hilarious we are saying he’s lucky and he’s very good at drafting so he should be out here cashing in those picks for a big deal… I mean if I know I’m really good at something shouldn’t I play to my strengths. I ain’t gonna ask Rudy to shoot threes… do what you are elite at. If you are elite at drafting then target your guys and move accordingly. Trading three picks to make sure you get jalen williams is a bigger win than paying full sticker for a star.
 
Saint Cy of JFC said:
Presti has done very little besides ride the wave of KD/Russ that is still giving (and draft well).

I've gone over in length before, but Presti has been on the right side of star demands a startling amount.
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You can only work with what you have and in the environment you are currently in. And Presti has done great with what he had... he did have star demands in the league... and he used it to benefit his team at an exceptionally high level ... I don't know how you can say he could never have done what Ainge did with Gobert/Mitchell. We don't really know, and the evidence is to the contrary - namely - Presti is very aware of the situation both on his own team and especially the demands of different teams and players around the league... and he's shown that he is able and willing to use it to make great deals.

And of course, this is not even the best part of Presti as a GM... it's his drafting, which wipes the floor with most GMs in the league. Now, he will need to show he can do the final part of a championship contender build. And he has all the assets to do it. No guarantee he will be able to do it, but he's in great position to strike either a big deal or series of small deals to put the final touches on his team. Lets see how that goes.
 
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You guys disagreed on quite a few things in this episode. That’s great. Made it more fun to listen to. As for me, I’m in EH’s camp when it comes to this offseason. Try to extend Lauri and go after Ingram.
 
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