Never said it was as bad as NY but morgaging the future to win now EVERY YEAR . . will eventually catch up with you We in WIN NOW mode. . . . if we don't. . then what *IF* T-mac is say . . . half a Mac in 2 yrs How many more yrs on that contract? 2 or 3 more how much can we get half a Mac .. in 2 yrs I'm not one to say we keep planning for the future but we have to find a way to blend stocking for the future and winning now .. . . 50/50 With the trade we went 90/10 Rocket River
Teams pass on very good players all the time. I think the argument that teams passing on Gay is not strong. Instead of using that argument, have you seen the guy play? Have you noticed how fundamentally sound the kid is? How many guys in the draft have as pretty a jumper combined with that athleticism? Look at the draft where we got Yao. #9 Amare Stoudamire #10 Caron Butler A lot of teams passed on these guys who turned out to be very good. I think Gay will be a very good player and could be an all-star. He does have some questions, but he also has a lot going for him. We gave up too much to get Battier.
What's that saying about if's and buts??? I don't think that trade is a 90/10, Battier still has 5-6 years left in the tank. Yao and TMac are in there mid 20's, Head is young, Hayes is young (although he's far from a big help IMO). If they get James that'll give you 2-3 guys in there 30's in the lineup. And 2 of them will be 31. You add a couple of young guys thru free agency as backups and your right in the mix. All I'm really saying is the offseason is just in its infancy, don't toss out the baby before we see how things add up a little later. You may end up much happier with how things work out then you might think now because of Gay. You know if Gay was such a sure thing I could see the consternation that is on the board right now, but it seems as if because West wanted him he's a semi-god or something. West made the Kobe pick 10 years ago, he's not in LA anymore too woo the world, he's in Memphis, he's not invincible. Besides Gasol he may have just given us his best player for 2 bums for all we can tell now.
Munco maybe you didn't check out the 1 million opinions that this draft SUCKED, IT DIDN'T HAVE THE PLAYERS IN IT THAT DRAFT DID. Just because we passed on a Uconn guy your annoyed, give it up.
Give what up? What are you even trying to say in this reply? Your argument was that Gay was worth passing up because teams ahead of us in the draft didn't pick him. My argument was that teams pass on players all the time and make mistakes. I agree that this draft wasn't the deepest of drafts, but that doesnt' mean that Gay or guys passed on won't turn out to be good players. Every year guys slip in the draft and sometimes they pan out and sometimes they don't. Regardless of whether or not it's a weak draft, I don't think it's a strong argument to say "well, 7 other teams passed on Gay."
I saw we go after Kenyon Martin. With Nene resigned to that new 60 million dollar deal, Martin is expendable and the Nuggets want to get rid of him. In my opinion I think he can be had for a reasonable deal, and would be a great addition to the frontcourt. Imagine our new starting lineup: Rafer/Mike James PG Battier SG Tmac SF Martin PF Yao C That is pretty good! hehe
I dont think Martin would fair all that much better than Stro under JVG. Martin needs an 'up tempo' offense to flourish.
RR, You are right on the button... You have to find a way to blend the old with the new. But at this point you must have a coach who is willing to put up with and train young talent. All of these win-win trades are starting to haunt us in the worst way. We have no bench and no trade value. So tell me just what are we going to win? I really don't see how we going to even make the playoffs.
Truly great franchises always manage to balance between winning now and planning for the future. If you look at the best-run franchise in sports during most of our lifetimes, the 1980s San Francisco 49ers, Bill Walsh was always looking ahead, even when some of his players were in their prime. After they won the Super Bowl in January 1985, he traded up in the draft to get Jerry Rice. When Joe Montana was dinged up, instead of waiting around, he traded two picks to Tampa Bay for Steve Young. New England did the same thing in the first part of this decade, always getting young players in anticipation of the injury or departure of established stars. Winning now should not mean giving up the future. It never does to a well-run franchise.
maybe we should just try to win now and not worry about trying to be one of the "truly great franchises." I don't know about anyone else....but I just want my season tickets to deliver more f-ing playoff games. ...and THAT is what it's all about. btw: nice post dadakota! you're right...we have been in win now mode since we saw Hakeem destroy Magic and Kareem in 1986.
