Masai Approval Rating

[Harcore Fenton Mun]

You only listen to things you want to hear and choose what to believe.

We traded Siakam for 3 1st round pick and Barnes broke his hand. That injury wasnt staged or intentional.

Those things were all going to happen. SA had out pick, we sucked. It's called defending your pick.

We saw him break his hand on tv lol. They didn't fake it.

Yea, sure. I also saw him dancing on the sideline. They pulled the plug to keep 6th.

[DelAbbot]

Here is an interesting thought: why did we intentionally tank final 1/3 of the season after Barnes went down? Why not play all healthy bodies as much as possible to develop their skills and on court cohesion?

For certain, Masai doesn't want to do a bottom 6 tank job in 2024/2025. Given that, his choice to do an all-in tank to close out 2023/2024 means he intended to keep the 2024 FRP (a weak draft) and deliver the 2025 FRP (a stronger draft) - in Masai's mind, the new core can compete for play-in in 2024/2025 so he went all-in on keeping 2024 FRP (as a last chance to get a high lottery pick).

This shows me Masai has learned nothing from the Poeltl debacle. He wants to compete going into 2024/2025, instead of another growing pain season while accumulating a top tier asset (lotto pick) in 2024/2025.

Now that his plan has been thwarted, as the pingpongballs have saved Masai from himself again, what is he going to do? Continue to aim for compete going into 2024/2025 despite the loss of the lottery 2024 FRP? If so he deserves a F, as that demonstrates he has no plan that spans longer than 1 season - every year he plans to compete for play-in and never accumulate enough assets to become a deep playoff contender: the definition of treadmilling.

[Clutch0z24]

Here is an interesting thought: why did we intentionally tank final 1/3 of the season after Barnes went down? Why not play all healthy bodies as much as possible to develop their skills and on court cohesion?

For certain, Masai doesn't want to do a bottom 6 tank job in 2024/2025. Given that, his choice to do an all-in tank to close out 2023/2024 means he intends to keep the 2024 FRP (a weak draft) and deliver the 2025 FRP (a stronger draft) - in Masai's mind, the new core can compete for play-in in 2024/2025 so he went all-in on keeping 2024 FRP (as a last chance to get a high lottery pick).

This shows me Masai has learned nothing from the Poeltl debacle. He wants to compete going into 2024/2025, instead of accumulating a top tier asset (lotto pick).

Now, the pingpongballs have saved Masai from himself again, what is he going to do? Continue to aim for compete going into 2024/2025 despite the loss of the lottery 2024 FRP? If so he deserves a F, as that demonstrates he has no plan that goes longer than 1 season - every year is compete for play-in and never accumulate enough assets to become a deep playoff contender: the definition of treadmilling.

I honestly think the team is just bad...Even if we try to compete i think we will still be a losing ball club....We are not on the Pistons/Wizards/Blazers level bad but we are basically the next below them...Looking at the NBA as whole



I don't see us leapfrogging Houston, Jazz...I think Spurs get better than us next year...Memphis obviously will be better...Bulls might become worse depending what happens with DD/Lavine...But just looking at the landscape of the NBA next year we are still a bottom 5 worst team in the league next year... I also think a major part of our wins last year came from having Siakam/OG/Schroder...

[DelAbbot]

Here is an interesting thought: why did we intentionally tank final 1/3 of the season after Barnes went down? Why not play all healthy bodies as much as possible to develop their skills and on court cohesion?

For certain, Masai doesn't want to do a bottom 6 tank job in 2024/2025. Given that, his choice to do an all-in tank to close out 2023/2024 means he intends to keep the 2024 FRP (a weak draft) and deliver the 2025 FRP (a stronger draft) - in Masai's mind, the new core can compete for play-in in 2024/2025 so he went all-in on keeping 2024 FRP (as a last chance to get a high lottery pick).

This shows me Masai has learned nothing from the Poeltl debacle. He wants to compete going into 2024/2025, instead of accumulating a top tier asset (lotto pick).

Now, the pingpongballs have saved Masai from himself again, what is he going to do? Continue to aim for compete going into 2024/2025 despite the loss of the lottery 2024 FRP? If so he deserves a F, as that demonstrates he has no plan that goes longer than 1 season - every year is compete for play-in and never accumulate enough assets to become a deep playoff contender: the definition of treadmilling.

I honestly think the team is just bad...Even if we try to compete i think we will still be a losing ball club....We are not on the Pistons/Wizards/Blazers level bad but we are basically the next below them...Looking at the NBA as whole



I don't see us leapfrogging Houston, Jazz...I think Spurs get better than us next year...Memphis obviously will be better...Bulls might become worse depending what happens with DD/Lavine...But just looking at the landscape of the NBA next year we are still a bottom 5 worst team in the league next year... I also think a major part of our wins last year came from having Siakam/OG/Schroder...

If Masai thought we will be around 9-12 worst in 2024/2025, why wouldn't he want to deliver the 2024 FRP? His actions (holding out players on minor injuries down the stretch 2023/2024) show he doesn't believe we will be that bad in 2024/2025.

[Clutch0z24]

Here is an interesting thought: why did we intentionally tank final 1/3 of the season after Barnes went down? Why not play all healthy bodies as much as possible to develop their skills and on court cohesion?

For certain, Masai doesn't want to do a bottom 6 tank job in 2024/2025. Given that, his choice to do an all-in tank to close out 2023/2024 means he intends to keep the 2024 FRP (a weak draft) and deliver the 2025 FRP (a stronger draft) - in Masai's mind, the new core can compete for play-in in 2024/2025 so he went all-in on keeping 2024 FRP (as a last chance to get a high lottery pick).

This shows me Masai has learned nothing from the Poeltl debacle. He wants to compete going into 2024/2025, instead of accumulating a top tier asset (lotto pick).

Now, the pingpongballs have saved Masai from himself again, what is he going to do? Continue to aim for compete going into 2024/2025 despite the loss of the lottery 2024 FRP? If so he deserves a F, as that demonstrates he has no plan that goes longer than 1 season - every year is compete for play-in and never accumulate enough assets to become a deep playoff contender: the definition of treadmilling.

I honestly think the team is just bad...Even if we try to compete i think we will still be a losing ball club....We are not on the Pistons/Wizards/Blazers level bad but we are basically the next below them...Looking at the NBA as whole



I don't see us leapfrogging Houston, Jazz...I think Spurs get better than us next year...Memphis obviously will be better...Bulls might become worse depending what happens with DD/Lavine...But just looking at the landscape of the NBA next year we are still a bottom 5 worst team in the league next year... I also think a major part of our wins last year came from having Siakam/OG/Schroder...

If Masai thought we will be around 9-12 worst in 2024/2025, why wouldn't he want to deliver the 2024 FRP? His actions (holding out players on minor injuries down the stretch 2023/2024) show he doesn't believe we will be that bad in 2024/2025.

Even if he thinks we won't be bad lets look at the landscape of the NBA right now...

All the playoff/Playin teams this year do you think we leap over them next year in terms of record? I look at it and the only one is maybe the Bulls but their team is up in the air this offseason....Hawks just got the number 1 pick and could either trade it or trade Trae for a pretty good package...We will not be better than the Hawks next year...

Nets are sim to us but depending what happens with Claxton they could maybe take a step back next year...Hornets have Ball coming back, Miller looking great But i see us and the Hornets on the same sort of tier in terms of record...

Jazz/Rockets/Grizzlies will all be better than us next year....And the Spurs...The Spurs are one of the teams that will leapfrog our record completlty next year....They will make some win now moves maybe adding a Trae or another star to pair with Wemby...They also have 2 high lottery picks in the draft to play with...

So as im looking at next year even if we try to win...

It will be

Wizards
Pistons
Blazers
-----------
Hornets
Raptors
Nets
Bulls (Depending on offseason)

We will be in that top 5-7 regardless of the moves we make this offseason...No star is walking in the door to save the Raptors and other teams just are going to get better than us or we just have no means to leapfrog other teams atm....Unless Barnes is a legit MVP next season which i doubt happens.

[Scase]

C

But I think this off-season will be make or break for me. The pivot to youth, surplus draft assets and focus on development is a good sign. Maybe it came a little later than we wanted but it should be taken as a sign that the FO acknowledges their mistakes and are, in theory, going back to what made them so successful in the first place.

Now, if we make some mid-tier win now move over the summer that will be a giant red flag to me. This core is completely unproven and trying to squeeze out 4-5 more wins next year by overpaying some middling starter seems like the worst course of action.

The OG trade was a (good) sign that the FO is willing to pivot. I will not be happy if we pivot back to win-now just 6 months after that trade. That will make me lose my remaining faith in this front office.

If we can get through to the next trade deadline without anything major happening that will restore a lot of my faith in Masai/FO. If they show they have learned from their mistakes I think that should restore a lot of confidence around here.

What should they do with Poeltl? He doesn't fit the Scottie timeline (OG would have fit much better) and all he will be doing is stabilizing our record at 35-40 next year = treadmilling

I don’t think they will because it would be a clear sign they are giving up on next season but I would trade him for any reasonable offer. I actually think a Poeltl trade is more “acceptable” now that we’ve given up our draft pick. The optics look less bad now that the pick has conveyed.

In my ideal world, I would trade Poeltl this off-season and ideally for a 2025 1st. No Poeltl probably locks us in as a bottom 5 team in a strong draft. 2 1sts in 2025, 2 1sts in 2026. Core of Barnes/IQ/Barrett locked in. 1 year of strategic tanking in 2025 and then go from there.

This team is too good to bottom out with Poeltl. He’s really the only thing holding the defense together and that’s enough to push us into mid-30s wins as you said (which is the worst place to be). It’s sort of dumb because we’d probably need a Poeltl-like player in 2026 but we could really benefit from a bottoming out year in 2025 and Poeltl’s floor raising doesn’t help with that. It’s too bad we couldn’t lend him out to OKC for a year for a late 1st.

This is the most likely long term success approach, which is precisely why I don't expect it to be done. Masai doesn't have the stones for a proper tear down. Strap yourself in for a run it back year.

[Harcore Fenton Mun]

Honestly, the teams above us are all in for major turnover this year. The East will look totally different next season.

[Scase]

I honestly think the team is just bad...Even if we try to compete i think we will still be a losing ball club....We are not on the Pistons/Wizards/Blazers level bad but we are basically the next below them...Looking at the NBA as whole



I don't see us leapfrogging Houston, Jazz...I think Spurs get better than us next year...Memphis obviously will be better...Bulls might become worse depending what happens with DD/Lavine...But just looking at the landscape of the NBA next year we are still a bottom 5 worst team in the league next year... I also think a major part of our wins last year came from having Siakam/OG/Schroder...

If Masai thought we will be around 9-12 worst in 2024/2025, why wouldn't he want to deliver the 2024 FRP? His actions (holding out players on minor injuries down the stretch 2023/2024) show he doesn't believe we will be that bad in 2024/2025.

Even if he thinks we won't be bad lets look at the landscape of the NBA right now...

All the playoff/Playin teams this year do you think we leap over them next year in terms of record? I look at it and the only one is maybe the Bulls but their team is up in the air this offseason....Hawks just got the number 1 pick and could either trade it or trade Trae for a pretty good package...We will not be better than the Hawks next year...

Nets are sim to us but depending what happens with Claxton they could maybe take a step back next year...Hornets have Ball coming back, Miller looking great But i see us and the Hornets on the same sort of tier in terms of record...

Jazz/Rockets/Grizzlies will all be better than us next year....And the Spurs...The Spurs are one of the teams that will leapfrog our record completlty next year....They will make some win now moves maybe adding a Trae or another star to pair with Wemby...They also have 2 high lottery picks in the draft to play with...

So as im looking at next year even if we try to win...

It will be

Wizards
Pistons
Blazers
-----------
Hornets
Raptors
Nets
Bulls (Depending on offseason)

We will be in that top 5-7 regardless of the moves we make this offseason...No star is walking in the door to save the Raptors and other teams just are going to get better than us or we just have no means to leapfrog other teams atm....Unless Barnes is a legit MVP next season which i doubt happens.

Or, we did our best to convey the pick this year, so we can trade the 2025 one for a win now player. You aren't thinking "Masai" enough.

Unless we trade Jak this summer, Masai thinks we can compete for a play in spot. And to me, that isn't an issue from the "well he's an idiot and wrong" perspective, and we end up bottom 5. But more so from the "He's an idiot and wrong, and he's going to make trades to try and build on that" leaving us back in treadmill land.

I have zero faith in this FO outside of drafting, every single time they tried a trade since the chip, it has been bad. OG is the only one that is above that, and I refuse to believe that was due to Masai, and it was more to the fact that OG was going to the Knicks, much like a S&T.

[Quattro]

I'm actually going to enjoy coming here in a few years when Larry T is out of the picture and Ed Rogers has run Masai out of town and replaced him with some Richard Peddie clone. Wonder how much happier everyone will be then.

[Harcore Fenton Mun]

I'm actually going to enjoy coming here in a few years when Larry T is out of the picture and Ed Rogers has run Masai out of town and replaced him with some Richard Peddie clone. Wonder how much happier everyone will be then.

Penny pinchers like Rogers know you don't need to pay Masai to be 14 and 68 next year.

[metafisical]

I'm actually going to enjoy coming here in a few years when Larry T is out of the picture and Ed Rogers has run Masai out of town and replaced him with some Richard Peddie clone. Wonder how much happier everyone will be then.

Eh, our opinions on RealGM won't change what Ed Rogers wants to do. If he wants Masai gone, no matter how popular, Masai will be gone. Rogers has made a mockery of cable, phone and internet pricing, no matter the outcry from paying customers. What makes any of us think that Rogers will be influenced by RealGM?

[Ado05]

Not a lot of good since drafting Barnes.

Will most likely be gone once Larry T is gone. Unless things really turn around, there's no way he can justify his pay. Let alone a raise in a couple years.

[DreamTeam09]

lol y'all sound hurt wishing/praying on the demise of the Raptors FO.

[Clutch0z24]

If Masai thought we will be around 9-12 worst in 2024/2025, why wouldn't he want to deliver the 2024 FRP? His actions (holding out players on minor injuries down the stretch 2023/2024) show he doesn't believe we will be that bad in 2024/2025.

Even if he thinks we won't be bad lets look at the landscape of the NBA right now...

All the playoff/Playin teams this year do you think we leap over them next year in terms of record? I look at it and the only one is maybe the Bulls but their team is up in the air this offseason....Hawks just got the number 1 pick and could either trade it or trade Trae for a pretty good package...We will not be better than the Hawks next year...

Nets are sim to us but depending what happens with Claxton they could maybe take a step back next year...Hornets have Ball coming back, Miller looking great But i see us and the Hornets on the same sort of tier in terms of record...

Jazz/Rockets/Grizzlies will all be better than us next year....And the Spurs...The Spurs are one of the teams that will leapfrog our record completlty next year....They will make some win now moves maybe adding a Trae or another star to pair with Wemby...They also have 2 high lottery picks in the draft to play with...

So as im looking at next year even if we try to win...

It will be

Wizards
Pistons
Blazers
-----------
Hornets
Raptors
Nets
Bulls (Depending on offseason)

We will be in that top 5-7 regardless of the moves we make this offseason...No star is walking in the door to save the Raptors and other teams just are going to get better than us or we just have no means to leapfrog other teams atm....Unless Barnes is a legit MVP next season which i doubt happens.

Or, we did our best to convey the pick this year, so we can trade the 2025 one for a win now player. You aren't thinking "Masai" enough.

Unless we trade Jak this summer, Masai thinks we can compete for a play in spot. And to me, that isn't an issue from the "well he's an idiot and wrong" perspective, and we end up bottom 5. But more so from the "He's an idiot and wrong, and he's going to make trades to try and build on that" leaving us back in treadmill land.

I have zero faith in this FO outside of drafting, every single time they tried a trade since the chip, it has been bad. OG is the only one that is above that, and I refuse to believe that was due to Masai, and it was more to the fact that OG was going to the Knicks, much like a S&T.

Idk about that one....I also lost faith in FO but its not logical for Masai to trade another pick ....He traded a pick in a draft that is considered the weakest in a long time....Ik thats no excuse and costed us bad this year but i feel since the deadline trading Siakam/OG for young/draft picks i think he finally made his choice in the direction hes going....I think this is the year he goes for a top pick instead of trying to compete....Lets be real even if we try to compete we still a bottom 5 teams in the league....Only way we screw outselves from getting a top pick is like you said Masai trades the pick...But at this point that would be a fireable offense.

[Scase]

Even if he thinks we won't be bad lets look at the landscape of the NBA right now...

All the playoff/Playin teams this year do you think we leap over them next year in terms of record? I look at it and the only one is maybe the Bulls but their team is up in the air this offseason....Hawks just got the number 1 pick and could either trade it or trade Trae for a pretty good package...We will not be better than the Hawks next year...

Nets are sim to us but depending what happens with Claxton they could maybe take a step back next year...Hornets have Ball coming back, Miller looking great But i see us and the Hornets on the same sort of tier in terms of record...

Jazz/Rockets/Grizzlies will all be better than us next year....And the Spurs...The Spurs are one of the teams that will leapfrog our record completlty next year....They will make some win now moves maybe adding a Trae or another star to pair with Wemby...They also have 2 high lottery picks in the draft to play with...

So as im looking at next year even if we try to win...

It will be

Wizards
Pistons
Blazers
-----------
Hornets
Raptors
Nets
Bulls (Depending on offseason)

We will be in that top 5-7 regardless of the moves we make this offseason...No star is walking in the door to save the Raptors and other teams just are going to get better than us or we just have no means to leapfrog other teams atm....Unless Barnes is a legit MVP next season which i doubt happens.

Or, we did our best to convey the pick this year, so we can trade the 2025 one for a win now player. You aren't thinking "Masai" enough.

Unless we trade Jak this summer, Masai thinks we can compete for a play in spot. And to me, that isn't an issue from the "well he's an idiot and wrong" perspective, and we end up bottom 5. But more so from the "He's an idiot and wrong, and he's going to make trades to try and build on that" leaving us back in treadmill land.

I have zero faith in this FO outside of drafting, every single time they tried a trade since the chip, it has been bad. OG is the only one that is above that, and I refuse to believe that was due to Masai, and it was more to the fact that OG was going to the Knicks, much like a S&T.

Idk about that one....I also lost faith in FO but its not logical for Masai to trade another pick ....He traded a pick in a draft that is considered the weakest in a long time....Ik thats no excuse and costed us bad this year but i feel since the deadline trading Siakam/OG for young/draft picks i think he finally made his choice in the direction hes going....I think this is the year he goes for a top pick instead of trying to compete....Lets be real even if we try to compete we still a bottom 5 teams in the league....Only way we screw outselves from getting a top pick is like you said Masai trades the pick...But at this point that would be a fireable offense.

I would have agreed 5 or so years ago. But this aint the same FO. Masai has never tanked hard his entire career, he aint starting now. This is a retool through and through.

[disoblige]

I’m sick….

Have the Spurs managed to get even a single rotation player out of that? I just see a whole lot of nothing from the Spurs. They can change that by getting a gem at #8. It would be funny if the Spurs don’t end up getting anyone as good as Poeltl out of all this.

If anyone on this board had proposed a trade of a lottery pick, pick swap and two second round picks for Jakob Poeltl before the start of last season they would have been laughed off this board including you. You’re trying to twist your way into defending the trades which weren’t defendable at the time and look even worse in hindsight

There was a poll after the trade was made and it was around 46-54. Stop making **** up. So far facts that Spurs didn’t get much value YET from the trade and making stuff up. Even the draft boards see many bust and just role players in this years draft.




viewtopic.php?f=32&t=2265184

[Chandan]

Here is an interesting thought: why did we intentionally tank final 1/3 of the season after Barnes went down? Why not play all healthy bodies as much as possible to develop their skills and on court cohesion?

For certain, Masai doesn't want to do a bottom 6 tank job in 2024/2025. Given that, his choice to do an all-in tank to close out 2023/2024 means he intends to keep the 2024 FRP (a weak draft) and deliver the 2025 FRP (a stronger draft) - in Masai's mind, the new core can compete for play-in in 2024/2025 so he went all-in on keeping 2024 FRP (as a last chance to get a high lottery pick).

This shows me Masai has learned nothing from the Poeltl debacle. He wants to compete going into 2024/2025, instead of accumulating a top tier asset (lotto pick).

Now, the pingpongballs have saved Masai from himself again, what is he going to do? Continue to aim for compete going into 2024/2025 despite the loss of the lottery 2024 FRP? If so he deserves a F, as that demonstrates he has no plan that goes longer than 1 season - every year is compete for play-in and never accumulate enough assets to become a deep playoff contender: the definition of treadmilling.

I honestly think the team is just bad...Even if we try to compete i think we will still be a losing ball club....We are not on the Pistons/Wizards/Blazers level bad but we are basically the next below them...Looking at the NBA as whole



I don't see us leapfrogging Houston, Jazz...I think Spurs get better than us next year...Memphis obviously will be better...Bulls might become worse depending what happens with DD/Lavine...But just looking at the landscape of the NBA next year we are still a bottom 5 worst team in the league next year... I also think a major part of our wins last year came from having Siakam/OG/Schroder...

If Masai thought we will be around 9-12 worst in 2024/2025, why wouldn't he want to deliver the 2024 FRP? His actions (holding out players on minor injuries down the stretch 2023/2024) show he doesn't believe we will be that bad in 2024/2025.

I just don't know why the winning culture half this board preached about didn't do its thang. Was it ever a real thing or just some elitist delusion?

[beanbag]

I think the people giving him reasonable grades didn't watch the second half of the season.

May be you didnt watch the season half of the season, when we trade Siakam for picks, Barnes getting a season ending injury, Barret and Quickley sitting out games. Did you expect the team to win when we trade Siakam for picks and Barnes getting a season ending injury?

Don't give me the injury line. I've been around long enough to know everybody gets "injured' when a team starts tanking.

Lol. Don't let facts get in the way of your narrative

[ConSarnit]

Or, we did our best to convey the pick this year, so we can trade the 2025 one for a win now player. You aren't thinking "Masai" enough.

Unless we trade Jak this summer, Masai thinks we can compete for a play in spot. And to me, that isn't an issue from the "well he's an idiot and wrong" perspective, and we end up bottom 5. But more so from the "He's an idiot and wrong, and he's going to make trades to try and build on that" leaving us back in treadmill land.

I have zero faith in this FO outside of drafting, every single time they tried a trade since the chip, it has been bad. OG is the only one that is above that, and I refuse to believe that was due to Masai, and it was more to the fact that OG was going to the Knicks, much like a S&T.

Idk about that one....I also lost faith in FO but its not logical for Masai to trade another pick ....He traded a pick in a draft that is considered the weakest in a long time....Ik thats no excuse and costed us bad this year but i feel since the deadline trading Siakam/OG for young/draft picks i think he finally made his choice in the direction hes going....I think this is the year he goes for a top pick instead of trying to compete....Lets be real even if we try to compete we still a bottom 5 teams in the league....Only way we screw outselves from getting a top pick is like you said Masai trades the pick...But at this point that would be a fireable offense.

I would have agreed 5 or so years ago. But this aint the same FO. Masai has never tanked hard his entire career, he aint starting now. This is a retool through and through.

I think with the most recent (and current iteration) of this team you can see why they wouldn’t outright tank. I base a lot of this on the projections most would have made for Barnes.

2023: FVV/OG/Siakam core + 2nd year Barnes (ROY), didn’t really make sense to tank from the get go. Probably didn’t expect Barnes to regress (or stagnate at best).

2024: Barnes/OG/Siakam/Poeltl. Again, didn’t really make sense to tear that team down given the expectations for Barnes.

It could be as simple as miscalculating the rate of Barnes progress. Had 2nd year Barnes played like 3rd year Barnes things are probably different. Barnes stagnating in year 2 changed the trajectory of the team. Still a miscalculation by the FO but if they expected Barnes to progress faster than he did then keeping the team together made some sense.

There is also the newest iteration of the lotto odds which had made outright tanking not as effective as it used to be. The FO will tank if the season is going bad. The 5th worst team has a 41% chance to move into the top 4. The 3rd worst team is only 50%. Not a huge difference. Is that 9% increase in lotto odds worth not giving your team any chance to start the season? If you have these young guys who might be ready to make a leap are you going to kill their season for a 9% better chance to get a top 4 pick?

If I had to guess our FO works like this: see where we are to start the season, give the guys a chance and if we need to tank to 5th worst that’s doable (and isn’t that much different than tanking out of the gate and finishing 3rd worst). I think they think they can get near the bottom if they need to (as seen this year and in the Tampa season). Off-season moves might tip the FO’s hand to their belief in this team. I also think there could be a “no tank” mandate from MLSE, which is something we can’t really know. They are a soulless piece of sh*t company so it’s easy to see them not wanting to hurt the bottom line for an entire season.

[DelAbbot]

I think with the most recent (and current iteration) of this team you can see why they wouldn’t outright tank. I base a lot of this on the projections most would have made for Barnes.

2023: FVV/OG/Siakam core + 2nd year Barnes (ROY), didn’t really make sense to tank from the get go. Probably didn’t expect Barnes to regress (or stagnate at best).

2024: Barnes/OG/Siakam/Poeltl. Again, didn’t really make sense to tear that team down given the expectations for Barnes.

It could be as simple as miscalculating the rate of Barnes progress. Had 2nd year Barnes played like 3rd year Barnes things are probably different. Barnes stagnating in year 2 changed the trajectory of the team. Still a miscalculation by the FO but if they expected Barnes to progress faster than he did then keeping the team together made some sense.

I think Barnes progress (outside of 3pt%) in 3rd year is directly attributable to FVV leaving and FO making it clear Siakam is getting traded (during the summer) thus placing more offensive role on Barnes. If FVV and Siakam stayed last year, Barnes wouldn't have had that progress.

If I had to guess our FO works like this: see where we are to start the season, give the guys a chance and if we need to tank to 5th worst that’s doable (and isn’t that much different than tanking out of the gate and finishing 3rd worst). I think they think they can get near the bottom if they need to (as seen this year and in the Tampa season). Off-season moves might tip the FO’s hand to their belief in this team. I also think there could be a “no tank” mandate from MLSE, which is something we can’t really know. They are a soulless piece of sh*t company so it’s easy to see them not wanting to hurt the bottom line for an entire season.

I don't buy the "no tank" mandate from MLSE.
1. One of the keys of Masai's last extension was his autonomy.
2. If "no tank" mandate existed, why did Masai call out "play-in for what" after Tampa? He would have kept his mouth shut after conducting the Tampa tank, instead of publicly declaring his disdain for a "no tank" mandate.
3. Masai said himself, he wanted to give his guys (FVV+PS+OG) a chance, and that's what delayed this semi-teardown and cost us a lot of value.

I think the "no tank to start the season" is Masai's own preference. I think he doesn't plan a multi-year tank like Presti and he makes plan only 1 season ahead - always try to compete, and then incrementally add to it (which doesn't work if you don't already have a true #1 option).