I believe, that while Cuban and Prichard were talking about teams in general, they were refering to the Grizzlies, though one sure could argue that the Rockets are in a similar position.
Kind of a different situation: The Rockets ended up a 40-win team because they lost 2 important guys to injury. Grizzlies lost Gasol then spent years building their team back into a 40-win situation. The question about a 40-win team depends on how much growth potential you have: You are not going to get a high pick to take you over the top, but what about your other players and picks? Can they grow? Can you turn some of them into better players or more/higher picks in a trade? Can you get better players by relieving someone of their salary burdens? In any case, there's a difference between last year's Hornets team and the Rockets. I think the Rockets is in a better situation whereas the Hornets probably maxed out what they could have done (given away picks, having wasted recent drafts on players who underperformed,etc., limited budget, etc.)
Cuban thinks too highly of himself. If Don Nelson hadn't pulled off the most lopsided deal in NBA history before Cuban even got there, he'd have nothing right now.
I agree. I just tried to give a political correct answer. The Rockets are in a much better situation than most 41-41 teams. However I also think it's save to say that unless they strike out in the draft or the 2012 free agency (which actually seems more likely), they won't be able to take the next step, which is a 50-60 win team that's competing for the championship. But unlike the Grizzlies or Hornets the Rockets likely won't be stuck in mediocrity, because they don't overpay mediocre players and have flexibility down the road.
Agreed, what value has Cuban found like Morey has with Brooks/Landry/Budinger/Scola/Lowry? Boubois? Barrea? He overpays for players past their prime to support Dirk, and they are always very good but not good enough. In that sense, they are in worse shape than a 41-41 team.
Kahn wasn't there. A Timberwolves fans asked the panel what they thought about Kahn saying that analytics were less meaningless when rebuilding.
If the Mavs win a title with Dirk as their best player I will gladly eat my words. History has shown that you need that alpha-dog of a talent and/or an all-time elite defense to win a title. Dirk is very good, but it's been proven that he's not the kind of guy that's going to carry you to a championship like Duncan, Dream or the guards like Kobe, Jordan, Wade, etc. The Mavs aren't terrible on defense, but they are a long way from elite like the Celtics/Pistons models that won titles recently. Unless Cuban puts together a couple of other all-stars around Dirk (like the Celtics model, and Jason Kidd doesn't count) and they suddenly become great defensively, it's not happening ... and as far as I'm concerned, that's just about as bad as being mediocre (it might be a little more fun to watch, but getting your expectations dashed wears on you).
drewP, clutch...want to meet tomorrow? I'd meet with you guys regardless, but the friend I came with is bailing so I'm gonna be alone for the day
I didn't know any other clutchfans were here. Im in Baseball Analytics right now... tell me if you want to meet up.
Anytime the panel referred to Morey or something I thought he might react to, I looked his way. When Cuban said the 40 win thing, I glanced at Morey and he had his arms crossed with a glare painted across his face
Quotes from the 'New Sports Owners: The Challenges and Opportunities' panel: [rquoter] #ssac day two. 1st panel, New Sports Owners: the Challenges & Opportunities. Featuring @sportsguy33 & NBA owners Wyc Grousbeck & Joel Lacob. Why invest in a sports team? Padres owner: Goal is to break even. Grousbeck: Celtic pride. Winning a championship. Money is safe. #ssac Jeff Moorad, Wyc Grousbeck essentially admit you're gonna break even at best owning a team #ssac Simmons: 1) Owning is an investment. 2) Hero complex. White knight. 3) Ego thing. Attention. Lacob: Disagree. Dream. Fun business. #ssac David Stern called Lacob a "tire kicker." Lacob looked at Suns, Diamondbacks, A's. Knew he had to complete Warriors deal. Hometown. #ssac Joe Lacob: really hard to buy a team. If you find right situation, just need to make it happen regardless of valuation. Lacob: need to be passionate as owner, can't half ass it. Brian Burke to Bill Simmons: I've never seen you suck up (to Lacob) so much. Its embarrassing. Best owners don't interfere, meddle. #ssac Burke: owners get a team and forget everything they know about business. Guys that buy for ego lose $$ fast #ssac Burke: meddling owners can be problems if they lack expertise in their sport. Burke: New owner can be a scary thing. Simmons: First year is most telling. Impatient. #ssac C's owner Grousbeck: getting big three was made priority based on historical analysis of champions. Grousbeck: Sat down w/Daryl Morey, to figure out how we can win a championship, looking through history. We needed a top-50 player. KG #ssac Wyc Grousbeck, co-owner of #Celtics, just said Daryl Morey helped formulate a plan back in 2003 on how to get Kevin Garnett in Boston. #SSAC Grousbeck: had a five year plan, being bad helped execute it, couldn't have went out and signed old veterans at the start. #ssac Brian Burke: Sports is not like any other business. You can't get instant success. Won't see quarterly improvement. Hard for owners. #ssac Lacob: benefitted hugely from time with c's Saw them turn it around from bad team. W's have pressure from media but need to take time. #ssac Lacob: not rush to drastically alter things, need to set out a plan and take time building. #ssac Simmons calls minority pwnership "very expensive season tickets"; Lacob says inclusiveness key #ssac Joe Lacob, owner of the #Warriors, questioned if bloggers are "real fans" bc they usually are not season ticket holders. #SSAC Lacob says Cohan didn't hold one board meeting in last six yrs and minority owners were upset #ssac Grousbeck: all c's ownership partners were fully behind garnett deal and plan. Ainge pitched them and they all agreed. #ssac Lacob: day of single guy buying team is gone. May happen but rare because teams so expensive. #ssac Burke: cant report to 14 people. Told every owner "only two hands on steerin wheel and theyre both mine." needs autonomy as gm #ssac Burke says line of control crucial: "There's only two g-d hands on the steering wheel and they're both mine." Burke says no matter how big the ownership group, tm prez should only report to ONE guy. #ssac @sportsguy33 asks about "perkins trade"...Wyc replies "Green acquisition," #ssac Moorad, padres owner: hire best person to be gm and give them autonomy to do their job. Give them budget and then its on them. #ssac Burke also said Ontario Teachers fund makes Raps/leafs owners wealthiest in sports. #ssac Lacob: have option in six years to get out of arena lease and look into new arena #ssac Former players owning teams usually a disaster says simmons. Cant think of three instances where it worked. #ssac Simmons: gm told him former player gms are too easy on contract negotiations cuz they relate to players #ssac Grousbeck: owners are accountable cuz fans can cancel season tix if dissatisfied. #ssac To clarify, he meant that's HOW theyre accountable, not why. Simmons asks about threat of TV to ticket sales; Wyc points out TV drives the $$ bus. #ssac "Biggest challenge facing pro sports is staying relevant to the consumer and the fan" - Jeff Moorad #ssac "Sports is about having the parade. "winning the silver medal sucked." -- Brian Burke #ssac #SSAC Brian Burke “we’re in the game to have a parade” Re: not trading for experience and giving up youth. Burke: owner has to have some "jam" to take risks necessary to win championships #ssac #SSAC Brian Burke "in Anaheim, we way overpaid for Chris Pronger", but knew they just needed one piece to win it all. A gamble, but worked. Simmons: in basketball you wanna be really good or really bad, dont wanna get stuck in no mans land. 40 wins is bad #ssac Lacob: "Having said that, I'll take 40 wins." Wyc: "Over how many years?" Crowd: "oooooooh." #ssac Grousbeck: top 2 regular season record in nba more predictive of playoff success than other sports #ssac[/rquoter]
Didn't R.C. Buford say in another panel that for decision making, "gut decisions" don't work -- it needs to be driven by evidence?
Yeah, Buford also hinted that they are using statistical evidence regarding rotations on back to backs and three games in four nights, where a lot of their older players (Tim Duncan was mentioned) seem to struggle. Of course things like that seem pretty obvious, but don't be fooled. The Spurs are also one of the few teams that use those high-tech cameras, with three-dimensional capabilities.
