Are we There Yet?
By Alex Gordon
“It’s not the destination it’s the journey.”
The time-worn expression we all know. It summarizes so well the importance of valuing the effort and experience gained over in an attempt to active over the singular and inconsiderate success or failure of its end result. In the NBA, time is money in terms of player contracts and increasingly peevish fan bases. Mediocrity and below are only tolerated for so long. When only five or six teams actually have a legitimate chance at winning the title each year it’s easy to feel like anything outside of that level of competition is almost devoid of meaning. The Blazers just broke up a very good unit for this very reason. Basketball is the most predictable of all major sports. Only ten different teams have won the title in the last 35 years, 13 teams have never won a championship, and seven have never been to the finals. The road that teams take that levels is always interesting to look at in retrospect. Many times they luck into a generational superstar through the draft (see Spurs-Duncan), or have the big market clout to attract franchise altering players (see Lakers-O’Neal). We spend a lot of time talking about these teams, though. Sometimes it’s fun to take a look at the other end of the spectrum. Here’s a look at the many directions a mapless journey can take you.
(For sanities sake I will be looking at only teams that have been bad and are trying to move up. Middling teams, like the Lakers and Hornets, or teams that took a step back Suns and Pacers, for example, aren’t being discussed)
Philadelphia 76ers
Stage of rebuild: Year three “the process”
2015 pick(s): Jahlil Okafor and 4 (yes four) other second round picks that I refuse to list.
Moves:
· Picked up Kendall Marshal because when you had Micheal Carter-Williams trade him and have a chance to get a poor man’s version you’ve got to do it.
· Isiah Cannon is in their camp he’s made a shot in the NBA before.
· Traded for Nik Stauskas and Carl Landry from the Kings. Good move considering the Sixers gave up nothing for an 11th overall pick. Carl Landry though. He’s a good man. What did he do to deserve this?
Analysis:
What the Sixers are doing is unprecedented. Nobody has ever openly tanked for this long or for this hard, and looking back on it after whatever the tanka palooza yields will be fascinating. It’s well documented that they are doing the mathematically correct thing in order to become a great team. Acquiring a superstar. The highest probability of doing that (though no guarantee obviously) is through high draft picks. In the past four drafts, the Sixers have picked 3,3,10, and 11 (along with trading for Nerlens Noel at six) resulting in Jahlil Okafor, Joel Embiid, Elfrid Payton who was obviously traded to the Magic for the rights to Dario Saric, and Micheal “I thought I was part of the process” Carter-Williams. The glut of young big men they have there is obviously most likely to yield a star, but one of them is certainly the odd man out. The most likely pairing at this point, because of Embiid’s worrisome feet, is Okafor and Noel. A throwback big man pairing that a lot of people like for its obvious presence on the glass, and Noel’s ability to cover Okafor’s welts on defense. They look like they’re finding some pieces that might actually stick, but when you have a player named Scottie Wilbekin on your roster playoff glory is still far away.
Sacramento Kings
Stage of Rebuild: Demarcus Cousins and Rajon Rando are on the same team.
2015 pick(s): Willie “Trill” Cauley-Stein
Moves:
· Rajon Rondo signed on because they were the only team that would talk to him after his flair up in the playoffs last year. Who cares if he shot down every Kings trade rumor for the past 4 years? We’ve got him now!
· Inked Marco Bellinelli (poor Marco) and Caron Butler, because you know what’s better than three small forwards? Five small forwards!
· Seth Curry: just swap the “t” and “e” add a “p” then squint (I love Seth though, I’ve seen him play a lot on the Warriors D-league team, and I hope he does well with this chance)
· Kosta Koufus… What? This is actually a solid move.
Roster analysis:
Trading Stauskes admits the failure of crowdsourcing the 2014 draft (look it up), but it’s a team that has what so many are looking for, a superstar, if an enigmatic one. Bumbling ownership has just never been able to surround Cousins with the type of players that lead to wins. He’s a tremendous passer, rebounder, post player, and shooter for his position (even defender when he’s engaged), but they’ve fired the only coach he’s ever gotten along with and can seem to find him a heady point guard and shooters. Word is Rondo has already been feuding with George Karl, not to mention he can’t space the floor. We may see the Demarcus era in Sacramento come to an end soon (as foreshadowed by the Cauley-Stein pick) because of the absurdity of all these moves, but what makes it sad is that unlike many teams that have every other piece but the capstone, the Kings had a capstone sitting in their laps.
Milwaukee Bucks
Stage of Rebuild: Hey… This team might make the second round!
2015 pick(s): Rashad Vaughn
Moves:
· Signed Greg Monroe to a three-year deal.
· Chris Copeland.
· Chris Copeland’s hair.
Analysis:
The Bucks are an interesting case on this list. They never intentionally tanked, but through solid international scouting and one accidentally horrible year. They were able to acquire a pair of forwards in Giannis and Jabari that could be the foundational pieces for the better part of a decade. The success of this particular season, however, will hinge on whether Jabari Parker can regain his potential rookie of the year form the totally unfair ACL tear. After the injury the Bucks found an identity defensively, lots of similarly sized bodies on the perimeter switching everything and yielding no open looks. Greg Monroe now owns the middle, and despite the “shot clock winding down,” option he gives them, his poor shot blocking will test the integrity of that defense. Losing Jared Dudley hurts, he was a key to that switching defense and a quality perimeter shooter on a team that is currently looking very sparse on them. Parker is really the only one in the projected starting lineup with anything resembling an outside shot (*cough* Micheal *cough*) Jason Kidd has proven to be a more than capable head coach, though, and don’t be surprised, if the match-ups break right, to see these young Bucks (I’m sorry, I really am) battling LeBron in the conference semis.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Stage of Rebuild: Considering we lost a top 20 player last year, not bad!
2015 pick(s): Karl Anthony-Towns (1) Tyus Jones (24)
Moves:
· Acquired Tyshawn “even I can’t believe I’m still here” Prince
· Signed Andre Miller Ph.D. to a one-year contract
Analysis:
The Wolves may have gotten the best return for a star player ever last year. The Kevin Love experience never went anywhere in Minnesota always being derailed by injuries to him or crucial cast members, and even at full strength, probably topped out at a second round team. They were able to fleece the win now Cavs out of Andrew Wiggins who is looking like he has all the pieces to become an elite perimeter player. Zach LaVine after an experiment with point guard is moving (and starting) at what is probably his more natural position shooting guard. He’s an extremely gifted athlete and if he can mature probably a perfect fit on this team. Anthony-Towns is just a really great all-around talent, he was the consensus number one pick (totally random lottery note: I can’t believe this was the first time ever the team with the best odds won. Like there have been how many lotteries? I understand it’s a 75% chance of someone else winning, but it's still 1/4!) There have been how many drafts No matter what happens they have these two. Ricky Rubio will finally be on a freewheeling team that takes advantage of his best skills even though he still needs to address certain holes *a jump shot hits the side of the backboard* if he’s a part of their future. He’s only 24. Also, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tyus Jones turn into a player. I’m basing this off the one game I saw him play in last year which was the NCAA national championship. I understand that big moments in the tournament don’t necessarily translate especially for small, shooting, point guards who happen to play for the next team on this list. Tyus is bigger than Burke though, and on a loaded Duke squad he was the one making every big shot for them down the stretch.
Utah Jazz
State of rebuild: Playoffs… question mark
2015 pick(s): Trey Lyles
Moves:
· Signed PG Raul Neto and C Tibor Pleiss from both Brazil and Spain respectively. Both are experienced international players that they hope can contribute. With Exum unfortunately gone at point guard, Neto could see the floor a lot.
· Jeff Withey: finally out of Anthony Davis’s shadow, we will all be witnesses.
Analysis:
The top six spots in the west are basically a mortal lock. Barring significant injuries to key contributors the Spurs, Rockets, Warriors, Grizzlies, Clippers, and Thunder will finish in some order up there. The general consensus is that the Pelicans, even after the loss of Jeff Withey, will take the seventh seed behind what some are predicting as an MVP campaign from Anthony Davis. The eighth is very much up for grabs, though. It's been like this the last few years with a couple of teams duking it out in the last few weeks of the season for the last spot. It’s usually been a 3 team race and this year is no different with the most likely contenders being the Jazz, Timberwolves, and the Dallas “eighth seeds are my jam” Mavericks. You can’t ignore the fact the Jazz had the best defense in the league after the All-star break last year. They found something that worked. Favors and Gobert are monsters down there, and that young base is absolutely worth the wait. With Dante Exum out for the year already the point guard situation will be one to watch, but Exum is still more about potential than performance at this point. He didn’t even play crunch time for them last year. Rodney Hood turned some heads late also, and getting Alec Burks back is an obvious plus. In a final note, Trey Burkes must be the most confused man in the world during practice. There are other Trey and Burks on the team. Prey one of them has a nickname.
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