I, too, was a part of the anti-tank-crew. But i think it has been pretty obvious that we just aren't that good. To maximize our chances of becoming good in the future, It'd be helpful to tank. I don't even think it makes that much of a difference. Trade Vets for whatever assets you can get and develop young guys. The results will still be L's but we're taking L's regardless of who's playing right now. Atleast there will be a direction with young guys. After we get that franchise piece however, we need to get that guy who turns the team into a winning team quickly. Suns got Booker long ago but never actually stopped tanking until they got CP3. I think you need to get that CP3 veteran presence early into the career of the young franchise player to maximize their talent and develop a winning mentality. I think that is the key to "building through draft" actually working out. Of course you also need to get a good player from the draft.
I would be totally down with this perspective if I had any confidence in ferntits as an owner. But I don't.
What you said isn't exactly true. There's no realistic difference between bad at competing and getting a top pick and "tanking" and getting a top pick. Kings didn't give up any assets away, and giving Hill a bad contract didnt make any difference in the grand theme of things. Their problem was not drafting Luka, that's all. If they had Luka and Fox, their rebuild is complete, they can do anything they want at that point. The Timberwolves problem was not trying to compete, it was giving Wiggins a contract which killed their flexibility. At the end of the day I think it's all partially luck and partially drafting competence. Both tanking and winning culture are both hog wash. If you are naturally bad you will get top picks, and if you happen to land a Luka, Embiid, you are golden, but you might end up with busts or decent players, and you suck more to get lucky again. There's an off chance you can land a Giannis or Booker with a late pick too but you need a good scouting department
Fertitta's dumbass as an owner is very much a reason why nobody should have confidence in this team going further. That definitely shouldn't be overlooked but as of now this is basically the only avenue to try and have something to look forward to. He very well can jack it up as usual, if the rockets get lucky and find something special along the way but put yourself in position to get there first since he insisted on putting the franchise in this position anyway. This is what he gets and the fans are forced to suffer through it.
Been there,,,, supported this 14-68 squad that netted Ralph Sampson. No. Player Pos Ht Wt Birth Date Exp College 2 James Bailey PF 6-9 220 May 21, 1957 us 3 Rutgers University 22 Joe Bryant SF 6-9 185 October 19, 1954 us 7 La Salle 00 Calvin Garrett SF 6-7 190 July 11, 1956 us 2 Austin Peay State University, Oral Roberts 44 Elvin Hayes PF 6-9 235 November 17, 1945 us 14 Houston 6 Tom Henderson SG 6-3 190 January 26, 1952 us 8 Hawaii 27 Caldwell Jones C 6-11 217 August 4, 1950 us 9 Albany State University 11 Major Jones PF 6-9 225 July 9, 1953 us 3 Albany State University 30 Allen Leavell PG 6-1 170 May 27, 1957 us 3 Oklahoma City University 23 Calvin Murphy PG 5-9 165 May 9, 1948 us 12 Niagara University 52 Chuck Nevitt C 7-5 217 June 13, 1959 us R NC State 5 Billy Paultz C 6-11 235 July 30, 1948 us 12 Cameron University, St. John's 13 Jeff Taylor SG 6-4 175 January 1, 1960 us R Texas Tech 20 Terry Teagle SG 6-5 195 April 10, 1960 us R Baylor 42 Wally Walker SF 6-7 190 July 18, 1954 us 6 Virginia
If you don't think the Kings gave anything away, find a Kings fan, whisper "Stauskas trade" and watch them squirm in agony.
Suns are a great example. When they saw flashes from Booker they could've put their chips in and swung for a CP3 type deal right away. But they decided to be patient and suck a bit more and were able to bring Ayton, Bridges, Johnson and others into the fold before swinging for a big vet like CP3 (or Rubio last year) to make a push. Patience separates a good rebuild from a bad one.
Yeah but that ended up working in the Kings favor in a weird draft. Because Kings ended up with Fox and 76ers for Fultz. So at the end of the day the Kings could have been a playoff team already if they had drafted Luka.
So I just want to clarify, you're saying the Wolves and Kings didn't tank enough? That they had to completely commit to tanking EVEN past getting players like Love, KAT, Cousins, D.Fox? Because if so then that's 100% a strategy I can't be behind. That not only do we have to tank for ONE all-star caliber player, but we have to tank again for more...how do you hang on to your players and sell to young players to just hang in there and keep on losing when they can demand out and get what they want and where they want to go like Anthony Davis?
Haven’t had to cheer for a losing Houston rockets teams in about 12 years or so? When’s the last time we were under .500?
Think about it this way. The Spurs, perennial contenders through the 2000s, missed the playoffs for the first time and had pick no. 11. Warriors too. Rockets are allowed one accidental tank and another orchestrated tank. It happens.
