Quote:
Originally Posted by SithCeNtZ
It's because you have two different answers to this question depending on which conference you are in: "if I want to be the best team in my conference overall for the next decade, what is the best course of action?". In the east, the answer is simple: tank, load up a young core, and wait Lebron out. Once Lebron gets older, it's wide open, and because the celts won't go all in, your team has just as good of chance as anyone else to be the team of the decade in the east. The sixers have done this well, and I think that's why Ainge won't trade any of his high picks, because he thinks this is the way to go.
On the other hand, the west has no such plan. The Warriors probably won't fall off in a year or two. They are going to be great for the foreseeable future. So if you are a western conference GM, the only answer to my original question is go all in and if you fail well at least you can tell your fan base you tried. The rockets and the wolves are perfect examples. Guys aren't getting any younger, so push all the chips in and go for it. Who cares if the wolves won't be able to keep a butler Wiggins towns core together in 3 years? Who cares if Chris Paul and harden fail ? There's no downside because your goal will still be to beat the Warriors in 5 years. The east doesn't have to worry about that, so they can play the long game.
|
It's amazing to me how much this appears to be a change in philosophy from not that long ago. Top 10 picks were being sold for cash. Teams didn't want draft picks outside of the top 5 because they were salary commitments. Now, teams actually want their picks for the ability to build through the draft. I love it.