I’d get out of the tax for this roster as well. He does have two conmen (three if you include his son) running this team. Back to OP’s point… They’re half in, half out. “Two timelines”. Never works. Not really building around their “young core” and not really going “all in” for their veterans. Old heads: Kevin Durant(38), Fred VanVleet(32), Marcus Smart(32), Steven Adams(33), Bogdan Bogdanovic(34), Clint Capela(32), Dorian Finney-Smith(33) “Young core”: Alperen Sengun(24), Amen Thompson(24), Jabari Smith Jr.(23), Tari Eason(25), Reed Sheppard(22) OK, we get it, they’re not the Spurs or Thunder. But I’m sorry, if your young core is worth a damn, they should be able to beat Luka Nard, said Marcus Smart, Rui Hachimura, DeAndre Ayton. (LOL LeBron gone, Kennard left for Phoenix, Smart to Houston, Rui still a free agent, Ayton just traded to Washington) Stone: “We’re not a developmental team. The expectation is we’re going to be a winning basketball team. We’re not trying to develop.” Also Stone: “never said it was championship or bust!” (When you make a move like Durant, seems like you’re looking for more than compete?) Stone: No. There’s no trade or draft pick I can make that’ll guarantee a championship. You have to compete. The goal is put a roster in place to compete for a championship. Doesn’t mean if you don’t make the Finals you failed. You want one that can compete. Not once did I say it was championship or bust. That’s not our attitude. We thought he could be a wonderful example to the young guys how to work and hone your craft. He did a good job of that. That’s the thought process. Spoiler Well they aren’t competing either. They’re going down 3-0 in the first round before making their patented fake comeback™. To teams that won a combined one game the next round. Conclusion: not really building anything. Happy to win 45-50 games, possibly get two home playoff games, sell tickets & jerseys. WHILE preserving their own jobs. “Don’t judge me until 2030.”
the funny thing is 2 of the last 4 champs (knicks and nuggets) have some of the worst and most awful ownership situations in the nba so maybe we have hope!
Remember how he purchased the team, and in quick succession the CEO, GM, Head Coach, and second best player in franchise history all bailed as soon as they could? Yeah, imagine being so delusional you think this muppet family will lead this franchise to anything positive, when those die hard employees who were ride or die for this franchise, wanted to get the f*ck out of dodge asap when they realised how truly incompetent and woeful this ownership group is. I remember people saying "herp derp he's from Houston he'll be a fantastic owner" and thinking it was rainbows on the horizon. Good lord how wrong could we be.
