That's definitely part of the problem, but yeah, it shouldn't take much for them to be in playoff contention next year. the problem is, what exactly does playing for the 8 seed with Miami, Detroit, Charlotte, Orlando, etc. really accomplish? you're still nowhere near actually being competitive enough to compete with actual teams, and you're just going to be hurting your chances by picking in the teens instead of potentially a top 5 pick. if they end up getting a non-Zion/Morant/Barrett guy this year, the two tank years would have resulted in Wendell Carter and someone like Cam Reddish. to me, that doesn't exactly paint these last couple of years as a success. are we saying having lauri and lavine aren't also a result of them taking that path (even if you don't want to include porter)? they're going to do better than competing for an 8th seed next year if they're healthy. lauri is horsefeathering good and young. same with lavine.