Building a Champion is not easy, but it is possible. The Rockets are attempting a rebuild after a complete tear down of their roster. They claim to be learning from the success from the Astros and trying to build a Dynasty. There is plenty of room for improvement in the rebuild process, but there are also many different areas that need to be addressed for a team. Culture, Drafting, Trades, Free Agency, Salary Cap management, Coaching, Player Development, Prayer, and Luck all are success factors. My questions to Clutchfans: What is the best way to build a dynasty from the ground up? Which areas do the Rockets need to improve on the most to successfully build a dynasty? What changes could improve these areas the fastest?
The best way is to get a generational talent by any means necessary and have the pieces to build around them. If you can't do that then you really have to consider where you're located and what your situation looks like (ex: Lakers can bring in free agents easier than Spurs). Rockets chose building through the draft because the Westbrook trade was so bad it set us back asset-wise. We are still to this day trying to recover from it.
All the above. A lead player with a winning gene is the best possible. A great coach is nearly always required.
There is only one way to build a dynasty in the NBA: you draft or somehow attain a top 5 talent. LeBron, Giannis, Curry, Kawhi. Every ring in the last 11 years was won by one of those players. This pattern aside from the 2003 Pistons goes back a long time. Call it luck or skill or whatever you want but attaining a top 5 talent is all that really matters.
1. Luck and Prayer 1. Drafting 3. Coaching and Player Development 4. Trades and Free Agency 4. Creating a Championship Culture 6. Salary Cap Management
Wemby is a generational talent. His size, skill set and versatility to play virtually every spot at 7 foot ( inches is just astonishing. He has all the tools to be the cornerstone of a legitimate contender
You acquire unicorns in any way you can. Lebron (freak athlete) Curry (freak shooter) Greek Freak Kawhi (freakishly large hands)
I give the Rockets the current grades: Culture: D -The only thing I can see the Rockets have done to build a good culture is drafting some hard working and defensive minded players. They don't have much veteran leadership, the discipline seems to be lacking, playing time is not earned by good play on the court, the messages from the coach don't seem enforced. Team has been worst in the league for 2 years and seems to be building a losing culture. Drafting: A- - Drafting is probably the area the Rockets have handled the best since Harden has left. I include the tanking to get the top picks in the grade as well. I'm sure people will nitpick the highest profile picks, but I think in the initial stages it is better to go for the highest potential, lowest floor players even if they are not the most NBA ready. Trades/Free Agency: C- Mostly break-even trades with no real difference makers signed in free agency. Useful players bought out to make way to sign scrubs. Salary Cap Management: B- - enough cap space to make huge changes in the offseason. No horrible deals, everything manageable. Coaching/Player Development: D - Players have gotten better, but no consistency in improvement on the court or coaching. Players seem to get minutes based on draft spot vs actual play on the court. This leads to less development for players who are playing better. Also, playing high draft picks more than they have earned or deserve only raises the price for resigning the player vs if they werent a full-time starter. Luck: Incomplete- To be determined next draft lottery.
The best way is to not miss on your top 3 picks.....and definitely to not miss on two of them in a row.
i went culture... i've seen plenty of loaded teams lose bc they didnt have their heads on straight... first thing ya gotta do is bring in some leadership... none of this wussy coaching or 'head honcho' crap... real leadership that is gonna hold guys accountable and drive them to excel!
It does seem to be necessary. The two championships we have follow the same pattern (Hakeem). But sometimes, you can do as the Suns have and land Durant (definitely top 5 talent) via trade. Whether or not this will hold true forever, who knows? But while I can philosophically agree with your point, most teams most of the time don't have the opportunity to begin with (to land a top 4 talent). Most teams take what they can, but top 5 can only reside on 5 teams at the most (by definition). Fewer when more than one join together on the same team. For now, the Rockets best opportunity is via draft. After this year, it may not be.
Great players, superb coach, amazing FO, sexy owner... once those are in place the championships will come fast and furious.
This is the answer. Also, if you look at those players none of them just went to a random team in free agency. You need to a) draft them, b)be in Cali/NY/Miami, or c) bet the farm on a rental. So, for Houston, we need to draft our superstar. If you haven't drafted a superstar, the answer isn't to stop drafting high and focus on trades/free agency. The answer is to figure out how to draft well. That may mean to fire who's currently doing the drafting.
You tell a shooting guard about to be kicked out the league to go play point guard and surround him with undrafted g league level talent players for 3 seasons and try to get as many top 3 picks as possible
