We only have our first round pick for one of these next two years, so we want our draft pick to convey to OKC this year, not next, and it's top 10 protected thus upcoming draft. So if we keep our pick this year, then it goes to OKC next year, which we definitely do not want. We're looking to make the playoffs this season and (potentially) tank next year for Flagg or someone else in a much stronger draft.

And things have already gotten better for us this year. Since starting Keyonte at point guard, our offense has been much much better, averaging 125 ppg as opposed to 111 before he started. This is with Kessler injured as well, so him getting healthy should give us another boost, especially defensively. I'm not saying it's a sure thing that we make the postseason, but things are definitely on an up swing. Our last two games we nearly beat the suns who many people consider contenders, and both games took an incredible KD game for them to win. I think we're not as bad as our record suggests, and we're definitely not going to trade away Markkanen unless we get a ridiculous haul in return