And my concern is that compared to the other "bad" teams in the league, we've done less to build for the future than almost anyone. I think that's the piece that I guess I'm most frustrated with Petrie.
Well, lets take a small look. Here are six teams all from the west.
T Wolves Portland Seattle/OKl Warriors Clippers Kings
99/00- 50/32 59/23 45/37 19/63 15/67 44/38
00/01- 47/35 50/32 44/38 17/65 31/51 55/27
01/02- 50/32 49/33 45/37 21/61 39/43 61/21
02/03- 51/31 50/32 40/42 38/44 27/55 59/23
03/04- 58/24 41/41 37/45 37/45 28/54 55/27
04/05- 44/38 27/55 52/30 34/48 37/45 50/32
05/06- 33/49 21/61 35/47 34/48 47/35 44/38
06/07- 32/50 32/50 31/51 42/40 40/42 33/49
07/08- 22/60 41/41 20/62 48/34 23/59 38/44
08/09- 24/58 54/28 23/59 29/53 19/63 17/65
Strangely enough the Kings have more winning seasons during that 10 year period than any of the other teams. But if you look at the Timberwolves, Portland, Seattle and the Kings, you see a similar pattern. Portland has recovered sooner because they simply got rid of everyone and started completely over. They really didn't have a choice in the matter. They weren't called the Portland Jailblazers for nothing. The Warriors have been almost as pathetic as the Clippers durring that span. At least they were able to muster up two winning seasons against the Clips one.
Teams like the Spurs or the Mav's, Lakers etc have so far managed to stay in the fray because of having superstars on their team. To me, the most amazing team is Utah. The managed to lose two superstars with barely a hiccup. Gotta give credit where its due.