Worst Case Scenario – Another firesale of veterans, and a Top 10 draft pick
In either the best or worst-case scenario, you’re going to largely see the same thing; the team will trade Kelly Olynyk, Talen Horton-Tucker, probably Collin Sexton or Jordan Clarkson, and maybe someone else. But there are two key differences between scenarios.
The first is for whom and what they trade those players for. In scenario one, it’s an All-NBA caliber player, hopefully, a point guard or a point forward. In the second scenario, it’s likely a massive contract and several draft picks.
The other major difference is that the first scenario is about growth, while the second scenario is about draft picks. This means that the other major difference is that a guy like Lauri Markkanen is likely in play during the worst-case scenario.
In this scenario, anyone who is over 25, and has an expiring contract is likely to be dealt in a trade, thus instigating a full-on rebuild. And to further add to the “worst case” aspect, it’d likely be planned.
Instead of doing so out of necessity because the team is playing poorly, it’ll likely be done if the team is hovering around or above a winning record. Further driving the team into a prolonged rebuild that could take years to finish.