While this board circle jerks to rumors of Paul George...

Gentlemen, I have heard this song many times before, hence the copypasta quality of your championship meme.

There is no denying that I too would love to have Paul George, Chris Paul, Gordon Hayward or whoever, but that's not going to happen. This is the Bosh Melo saga all over again. We've been burned for leverage too many times before.

Also, you have the comical trade proposal itself: Eric Gordon + 2 first round picks.

Mind you that we don't even have our first round pick this year which belongs to the Lakers. So now we sound just as delusional as any fan base when we try to convince ourselves that somehow Pacers will accept this something-is-better-than-nothing offer.

I won't drink this Kool Aid.

It's been 4 years since our last big summer splash and we have been shuffling the deck with players ever since. We have no real assets. No homebrewed talent we can package for a real star.

Again, this was said by others and I after we acquired Harden that our window was 3-5 years otherwise without replenishing through the draft with lottery picks, we would hit a ceiling with a static talent pool.

The Warriors and Cavs were both primarily built through the draft but in different ways. Warriors had three top 10 picks; Curry, Thompson, and Barnes, plus Green to work with. While the Cavs had three #1 overall picks; Irving, Bennett, and Wiggins, plus Waiters and Thompson to build a team for LeBron's comeback.

Therefore, when we talk about the key to a championship or even it's meme derivative, it's not just about a single player. It's about a process - something we have refused to do in a decade, always opting for shortcuts instead.

That's why we'll be stuck talking about Millsap and Gallo as the summer progresses and everyone else gets even better. I take no pleasure in this, but that is the reality in which we live.