Rockets need to be following the Warriors blueprint for team building

Its hard to copy the warriors blueprint, when curry was drafted he was an undersized guard and was always injured to start out his career, Warriors also didn't have a winning season with them until the 2012-13 season and curry was drafted in 09 and Klay in 11, and Green was a second round pick. so they were not drafting in the top half of the lottery Curry being the highest pick at 7th pick

 

The idea that there is some new lesson to learn after every playoffs or other team success is low key one of the most annoying things about basketball discussion.

Get the best players, win, done.

Everything else is just luck.

 

The "blueprint" changes every year

 

uhh klay thompson and curry both having bad injuries is absolutely luck. Bad Luck. especially klay having to go down twice and being out for 2 years. Those were the reasons they were in the lotto. Fully healthy anyone with a semblance of good iq would know they are a legit contender. nobody should be shocked they are in the finals

Morey's philosophy the entire time was to find a way to find another elite player next to the one he had. Which is obviously something you need to win.

what about andrew wiggins? You mean the concept of a player where teams tried to be the alpha/beta and failed because he isn't good enough to be that player or put in that role. But when put in a position where he's like your 4/5th option and doesn't have to do as much, they look better. I mean that's not exactly a revelation. Players look better when they're put in roles that are more conducive to winning. It's that simple. Its not about looking better when the system is good/culture is good. Wiggins being able to fill the HB role should no where be a surprise. I mean he was the #1 pick in the draft in case you forgot

Draymond in the same system/culture the last 2 years. What did he and the team look like the last two years without klay/Steph. Oh trash. Why? I mean Draymond being forced to be basically your best player obviously isn't winning much. Now with both back, he's back in his usual role that is more ideal to winning games. Again not exactly much of a revelation

 

If u have HoFs and a owner willing to spend. It all comes down to luck and who the refs Want to win.

Winning trumps all. No one fking cares about good culture or system. It's all about the talent u have. Good culture and a system helps, but if u don't have a superstar that notion is pointless.

Great talent makes other players look good period.

 

Did we not make an endless list of vet minimum retreads look like competent rotation players with our system/culture?

Lucky for Warriors fans their “retreads” are on max contracts and instead of veteran’s minimum.

 

You have to get a good coach who's knowledgeable of the blueprint first and the upper management should be on board with it as well.

 

Can't help but comment that it's but natural. If you're winning, why won't you pay the cost? Warriors fans are really lucky that their upper management values winning more than money.

 

Step 1. Have an owner willing to spend

Error error

 

Draft smart
Find good coach
install motion offense
staff team with athletes that can get buckets on their own
play team defense
Have fun at parade

 

The warriors "blueprint" is probably the least replicable of any team. The two most important things they've done are having an owner willing to pay outrageous luxury tax bills and drafting 3 hall of famers without a top 5 pick, one of whom is the GOAT shooter and top 25 all time.

 

There is no blueprint to follow.

You draft the players and you build around their skillset.

DD

 

Nah. F%$k the Warriors and everything about them.

 

Nah, philosophy, culture, heart, blah blah, 95% of that is horseshit.

Just get the best players and that other stuff just fills in.

 

if Chris Paul’s hamstring survives, all of the sudden the Rockets become the blueprint for winning a title without tanking, but alas, here we are

 

Warriors drafted the greatest shooter of all-time, singed him to a criminally underpaid contract due to early career ankle injuries. That's how the dynasty was formed (and on top of all, paid off the refs in the playoffs).

There is no way to follow their model unless you draft the next Wardell Curry or Michael Jordan.

 

I think we should be like the Warriors if we can get a Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, etc. If not, just draft and sign some good players and hope you can win a ring. Barring that, just like most NBA teams, enjoy trying to win a championship and failing.

 

Why don't we just execute the team building plan of getting LeBron James instead? The Warriors blueprint has only produced 3 championships and 5 finals trips; LeBron's teams have made the finals 10 times in comparison, and have won 4 championships. Plus, he's been able to win with wildly different teams around him, showing that this team building model is a lot more repeatable and flexible.

In all seriousness, if you want an actual repeatable model, I think you look at Toronto under Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster; they built a champion with absolutely none of the premium assets you would normally expect, and if you analyze their moves, they have some clear areas where they seem to be ahead of the league.

1. Taking chances on length and physical traits with questionable shooting/skill development, especially from small schools or tiny foreign countries. Ujiri/Webster in Toronto have a very clear type. The below video is them working the phones on draft day 2013, when they didn't have a first rounder (had already been traded to Houston for Kyle Lowry).



It's not just Giannis, though. The very next year, they gambled and lost on Bruno Caboclo at #20. They took Delon Wright the year after that. They overpaid DeMarre Caroll in free agency.

And yet, they just kept acquiring these guys. Norman Powell, 4 year senior who shot 32% from 3. Pascal Siakam as a 22 year old sophomore. Fred VanVleet as a senior who shot 39% overall. OG Anunoby, who shot 31% from 3 and had a FT% of 56% in his final college season. And of course, Scottie Barnes is the latest example of them going length over scoring, yet another decision that has seemingly paid off for them. Again, they don't hit 100% of the time, but they have found a good type of player that they are comfortable projecting.

2. Not being afraid to trade picks and young players for veterans on expiring deals. Toronto has consistently been willing to go for it when they had an open window. They were 32-24 and in 5th place in the East when they traded Terrence Ross and a first for Serge Ibaka in 2017. They doubled down a week later by sending two seconds for PJ Tucker. And of course, they got rewarded when they rented Kawhi Leonard/Danny Green, and trading a 26-year old in Valanciunas for a 34 year old in Marc Gasol during their championship year. There was no way for them to know that Golden State was going to be the walking wounded by the time they reached the finals, but they put themselves in a position to take advantage of it. Here's where we dunk on Phoenix and every other contender this year in a wide open field for not acquiring Eric Gordon....

3. Knowing when your coach doesn't have it, and stocking the bench with hungry assistants. Toronto fired Dwayne Casey after a 59 win season that ended in a playoff sweep. The bigger thing is that they had the right assistant to take over. Toronto had been able to develop and retain Nick Nurse for five years at that point, after plucking him out of the D-League and giving him the keys to the offense. This is really hard, though. Even after the Rockets moved on from McHale (at that time, the winningest coach in Rockets history), they arguably had two excellent internal candidates in Chris Finch and J.B. Bickerstaff on the staff, but they just weren't quite ready. And based on results, I think it would be pretty hard to argue that getting D'Antoni was not the single best hire they could have made.

Out of these, #1 is just an eye for talent, and an outstanding scouting department. The first draft under Stone doesn't really reveal if he has a type other than 19-year year olds (phrasing...), but the returns are promising thus far.

#3 is a product of both being willing to eat money to pay fired coaches, and the ability to add to the staff constantly. Time will tell if they add Abdelfattah and if it's a good move, but I don't mind moving on from the older retreads.

#2 is the hardest one. It takes an owner willing to spend (since you're trading lower cost-controlled assets for pricier vets), and a GM willing to take the heat if a low percentage gamble doesn't pay off. There's probably a decent argument that the NBA is the most predictable league because so few teams are willing to try and increase their odds when they're not the overwhelming favorite. If you've got a 5% realistic shot at a title, and could increase those odds to 10% by trading away a young prospect and a first, would you do it? A computer would tell you to do that 100% of the time, while I'm guessing a ton of owners and GMs look at that and say: that means 90% of the time, I fail and get blamed for it, so it's better to stand pat.

 

We finally got rid of that bearded bum loser so that’s a good start.