[In Retrospect] Which event in the past 20 years has set its respective team back the most?

They were going to build the team around Penny Hurtalways

 

1. Death of Len Bias and Reggie Lewis

2. New Orleans Jazz sign Gail Goodrich ... in exchange for two first-round picks and a second, including the first overall pick in 1979, which ended up being Magic Johnson.

3.Jerry Reinsdorf sides with Jerry Krause.





NFL:

Almost every free agent signing by Daniel Snyder/Redskins from 99-2011.

Dallas Cowboys fire Jimmy Johnson

Art Modell leaves Cleveland...The Drive....The Fumble

Vince Lombardi steps down as Packers head coach and becomes general manager, then leaves for Washington in the following season.

(Averted) Michael Vick is accused of illegal interstate commerce through dog-fighting ... Bobby Petrino writes a Dear John letter to his players, while informing Arthur Blank of his resignation.

NCAA Football

SMU Scandal

Penn State Scandal

 

[In Retrospect] Which event in the past 20 years has set its respective team back the most?

 

Orlando's unwillingness to match Shaq's Laker contract.

 

Kobe for Vlade.
Shaq to LA.
Lebron to Miami.
Len Bias.
MJ's second retirement from Bulls.

 

If any team deserves a 'sympathy trophy' it's the Blazers. Actually, after this year's playoffs...screw the Blazers

 

^ for the aforementioned bad luck with Roy and Oden PLUS the Sam Bowie pick. Just horrible, horrible luck.

 

Hard to say Darko really set them back. They won a championship that year and were really good for several years in the future. If they pick Carmelo instead, maybe he shoots too much or they focus on integrating the rookie or the chemistry doesn't work and they never win a title.

 

Basically injuries or Horry's dagger 3.

 

I think Minnesota hiring David Kahn was a real franchise wrecker. In every possible way - be it the draft, FA or hiring a coach - this guy annihilated his organization. So much so that he irreversibly alienated perhaps the second best player in Wolves history, and now has put the organization in a position where they either have to offer Rubio the super max contract or he will demand a trade.

All of this without cap space or any extra draft considerations to show. Pekovic, Martin and Budinger (combined $75m remaining on their contracts) were all signed to their contracts by the Wolves. Have not made the playoffs during his tenure IIRC.

It's difficult to fail so spectacularly on all fronts.

 

Would take a while to come up with all of them but Malice at the Palace has got to be the biggest. It's already been said but the Pacers were on the verge of at least a few titles if not a dynasty before that night. They've never been the same again.

 

Melo not going to the Pistons. That team could have just dominated the East and won 3-4 rings at least.

 

Tmac leaving Toronto in 2000. Vince and TMac. That should've been the best East team for years. Instead the Raptors went through rebuilding after rebuilding.

 

What Portland did with their No. 1 drafts.

Us winning a single meaningless game to miss Roy - imagine TMac, Yao, and Roy playing together, would we ever worry about getting the ball to the big fella?

 

Exactly! I mean what could go wrong??

 

Chris Bosh signing with Miami for 5/118m. /thread

 

Surprised no one mentioned:

 

The Rockets would have the record for most money tied up in players that are on the disabled list?

 

Speaking of whatifs, maybe they would have shared the load and neither of them would have gone through those injuries?

Just a thought.

 

In retrospect, it feels like the Stockton 3 slammed shut our window, sowed the seed of dissent between Clyde and Barkley, leading to Clyde's retirement, Quitten, Kato, etc. etc. and almost 20 years of mediocrity that followed that we're still trying to dig out from. If we went to game 7, who knows what would've happened? And would we be talking about MJ being GOAT, or would he be closer to the pack with The Dream in the same conversation?

But I think Orlando has had the worst run in the last 20 years just because who they had coming through the doors to work at one point or another. Penny (injury), Shaq (left), Grant Hill (injury), T-Mac (quit), Dwight (left). I don't know if that's incompetence, bad luck, or both.