Anatomy of a rebuild:

[bajaden]

From time to time there are threads that are started with such probing openers as, "Why do the Kings stink", or "How did we get this bad". The implication being, that the Kings are going through something unique to the rest of the NBA. The truth is, what the Kings are going through is the norm. And I'm going to attempt to show you why, by example.

Now it doesn't always have a good outcome, or the outcome falls just short of the intended goal. To get the outcome you want, you need some luck, and you need wise choices. First and foremost is the realization that your getting old and you need a total rebuild. The teams that get bad the fastest, also recover the quickest. The teams that try to hang onto past glories, usually do no more than prolong the misery. So lets start with the current poster child for rebuilding, the Oklahoma Thunder.

I'm going to cover an 8 year period for all teams, the same 8 years for most of them and I'm going to give their record for that year, and who they drafted, and who they could have had. And if pertinent, trades that were made. CHH, means could have had.

Oklahoma Thunder/Seattle Supersonics:

2002: 40/42 - No first round pick that year.
2003: 37/45 - Nick Collison - CHH - Luke Ridnour, Kendrick Perkins, David West
2004: 52/30 - Robert Swift - CHH - Al Jefferson, Josh Smith, J.R. Smith, Jameer Nelson
2005: 35/47 - Johan Petro - CHH - Linas Kleisa, David Lee, Brandon Bass, Monta Ellis
2006: 31/51 - Saer Sene - CHH - J.J. Redick, Rajon Rondo, Kyle Lowery, Paul Milsap
2007: 20/62 - Kevin Durant - Traded Ray Allen to aquire Jeff Green
2008: 23/59 - Russell Westbrook - CHH - Kevin Love, Eric Gordon, Brook Lopez, Gallinari
2009: 50/32 - James Harden - CHH -Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozen

From 2002 up to 2007, they had no significant draft picks that impacted the team. Nick Collison ended up being the best of all those picks. As a result, they slowly got worse each year. When they were finally bad enough to get top five or top 10 picks, they chose wisely and they were on their way back to being a top team. They were also able to make the trade on draft day to aquire Green for an aging Allen. One of those trades that worked out well for both teams involved.

Portland Trailblazers:

2002: 50/32 - Qyntel Woods - CHH - Nenad Krstic, Tayshawn Prince, John Salmons
2003: 41/41 - Travis Outlaw - CHH - Kendrick Perkins, Josh Howard, Leandrinho Barbosa
2004: 27/55 - Sebastian Telfair - CHH - Al Jefferson, Josh Smith, Jameer Nelson
2005: 21/61 - Martell Webster - CHH - Danny Granger, Andrew Bynum, David Lee
2006: 32/50 - Tyrus Thomas - Traded to Bulls for LaMarcus Aldridge. Also aquired Brandon Roy in three way trade involving Telfair and Foye.
2007: 41/41 - Greg Oden - CHH - Kevin Durant, Al Horford, Joakim Noah, Jeff Green
2008: 54/28 - Brandon Rush - CHH - Robin Lopez, Roy Hibbert, JaVale McGee
2009: 50/32 - Victor Claver - CHH - Omri Casspi, Taj Gibson, Rodnique Beaubois

Again, once Portland got real bad, they aquired excellent talent through the draft, and almost immediately they started to impove. They made some clever trades on draft day to get Brandon Roy and Aldridge. No one can fault them for taking Oden. In hindsight, you'd be ahead of the game with Durant, Horford or Noah. Thats where the luck comes in. Luck also comes in with the strength of the draft.

You can also see where bad draft picks almost always precede the decline in a team. When you draft guys like Swift, Petro and Sene, three years in a row, your not only not treading water, your starting to drown.

Minnesota Timberwolves:

2002: 51/31 - No first round pick.
2003: 58/24 - Ndudi Ebi - CHH - Kendrick Perkins, Josh Howard, Leandrinho Barbosa
2004: 44/38 - No first round pick
2005: 33/49 - Rashad McCants - CHH - Danny Granger, David Lee, Jarret Jack,
2006: 32/50 - Brandon Roy - Traded Roy for Randy Foye on draft day
2007: 22/60 - Corey Brewer - CHH - Joakim Noah, Acie Law, Al Thorton, Wilson Chandler
2008: 24/59 - O.J. Mayo, traded for Kevin Love.- CHH - Russell Westbrook, Eric Gordon
2009: 15/67 - Rubio, Flynn and Lawson - CHH - Stephen Curry, Brandon Jennings and DeMar DeRozan.

This was an example of a team trying to hang on past its time. They stayed competitive with Garnett, but reached a point where they were just good enough to draft in the middle or the bottom of the pack. They made bad trades, like Roy for Foye. They constantly drafted for need, instead of the BPA. Such as taking Brewer instead of Noah. The irony of the 2009 draft is that they drafted three PG's and the two they passed on ended up being better than those they picked. Obviously Minnesota isn't out of the woods yet, but they appear to finally be headed in the right direction. They did just about everything wrong. Tried to hang on for too long. Made bad trades, and made bad draft choices. Receipe for loosing.

Sacramento Kings:

2002: 59/23 - Dan Dickau - CHH - Rodger Mason, Carlos Boozer, Darius Songaila
2003: 55/27 - No first round pick.
2004: 50/32 - Kevin Martin - CHH - Sasha Vujacic, Beno Udrih, Anderson Varejao
2005: 44/38 - Francisco Garcia - CHH - Jason Maxiell, Linas Kleiza, David Lee, Monta Ellis
2006: 33/49 - Quincy Douby - CHH - Rajon Rondo, Kyle Lowery, Jordan Farmer
2007: 38/44 - Spencer Hawes - CHH - Acie Law, Al Thorton, Aaron Brooks, Arron Afflalo
2008: 17/65 - Jason Thompson - CHH - Robin Lopez, Roy Hibbert, JaVale McGee
2009: 25/57 - Tyreke Evans, Omri Casspi - CHH - Stephen Curry, Brandon Jennings

From 2002 till 2007, the Kings added little of consequence through the draft other than Kevin Martin. One might argue that they didn't add much in 2007 as well, but I'll leave that for others to decide. The Kings kept trying to put bandaids on the team, and as a result, they kept it just competitive enough to draft in the bottom half of the first round. You simply can't go for 5 or 6 years, and add nothing to the team from the draft and expect to stay competitive. If nothing else, draft picks are assets you can trade for what you need. Aka the Boston Celtics.

You can build through the draft, or through trades. Or both! But to build through trades, you need assets to trade. When you have an old team, and some of those old players are also walking injuried, you have little in the way of assets. So your choice is to try and stay competitive with what you have and add through the MLE, or totally dismantle the team and start over. Eventually, your going to have to start over, so why prolong it. But thats what the Kings did, and as a result, its seems like we've been rebuildinig for 5 years. But in truth, we've only been rebuilding for about 2 years.

I have 6 more teams that I researched, but this is long enough already. If you want more, I'll add more at a later date. But with all the rest of the teams the story is the same. You have to get bad, before you can really recover. The worse thing you can do is draft in the middle to bottom of the draft year after year. Eventually it will catch up with you. Even the good teams like the Bulls, Celtics and the Knicks had to eventually bite the bullet. It'll catch up with the Lakers as well. Although they do seem to lead a charmed life.

The Kings became a bad team by trying to remain a good team. They squandered opportunities along the way, and one day, they were left with no options. Whose responsibile is anyone's guess. The Maloof's? Petrie? Men from Mars? It is what it is, and at last the team is heading in the right direction. It could have been a little sooner for my taste. But its never too late..

 

[rainmaker]

Thank you. Well done!

What the Kings are going through right now is a cycle, and a cycle which is the norm for NBA franchises. We've done it before, and we'll do it again.The only two teams in the NBA which really haven't had a down year, or a total rebuild since the 98 lockout are the Spurs and the Mavs. Everyone else, Lakers included, has had down years.

Thank you for putting everything in perspective for some of the fans who for lack of a better word, start "stupid" threads after tough losses with their kneejerk reactions, while being oblivious to the fact the cycle we're going through is normal, ahs happened before many times, and will happen again many times.

However, if we lose tomorrow, I'm sure the premise of this thread will already have been forgotten by a select few, unfortunately.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

Nice post, Baja. One thing that's a bit confusing is that the way you have the years/draft picks seems backwards in my mind. For instance, this line

2009: 25/57 - Tyreke Evans, Omri Casspi

indicates that in 2009 the kings drafted Evans and Casspi, then they went on to a 25-57 record in the '09-'10 season. But in my mind I read it as "in '08-'09 the Kings went 25-57, then drafted Evans and Casspi following that season", which of course is not accurate. You might want to consider a bit of a edit to change the format if other people have the same confusion.

I think it's kind of notable that outside of the T'Wolves, none of these teams had three consecutive sub-30 win seasons, and the T'Wolves are on pace for a fourth, though they have signs of moving up with their Beasley/Love core. We're on pace for our third straight sub-30, but also have promise with our Evans/Cousins core.

Here's another interesting way to look at this: All four teams here could be thought of as having two major pieces. OKC: Durant/Westbrook; POR: Roy/Aldridge; MIN: Love/Beasley; SAC: Evans/Cousins. Of the two teams that pulled out of the lottery, neither broke .500 until after their major pieces had played one full season together without success. This puts both Minnesota and the Kings potentially on the path to get to .500 next year, as that would seem to be the requisite time needed for the Evans/Cousins and Love/Beasley duos to click, at least from this small sample size.

 

[TheWileyVet]

Great post and 100% correct. Hopefully we get another nice draft pick and a solid vet via trade or FA and we should be on our way

 

[Krunker]

I agree the team generally has to get bad before it gets better (exceptions like the Lakers who have been mediocre at times but never truly horrible) but I was hoping our bottom was in 2008

 

[bajaden]

Nice post, Baja. One thing that's a bit confusing is that the way you have the years/draft picks seems backwards in my mind. For instance, this line



indicates that in 2009 the kings drafted Evans and Casspi, then they went on to a 25-57 record in the '09-'10 season. But in my mind I read it as "in '08-'09 the Kings went 25-57, then drafted Evans and Casspi following that season", which of course is not accurate. You might want to consider a bit of a edit to change the format if other people have the same confusion.

I think it's kind of notable that outside of the T'Wolves, none of these teams had three consecutive sub-30 win seasons, and the T'Wolves are on pace for a fourth, though they have signs of moving up with their Beasley/Love core. We're on pace for our third straight sub-30, but also have promise with our Evans/Cousins core.

Here's another interesting way to look at this: All four teams here could be thought of as having two major pieces. OKC: Durant/Westbrook; POR: Roy/Aldridge; MIN: Love/Beasley; SAC: Evans/Cousins. Of the two teams that pulled out of the lottery, neither broke .500 until after their major pieces had played one full season together without success. This puts both Minnesota and the Kings potentially on the path to get to .500 next year, as that would seem to be the requisite time needed for the Evans/Cousins and Love/Beasley duos to click, at least from this small sample size.

I probably should have put, 2008/09 season. I admit that after I posted it and reread it, it could be a tad confusing. Ill also admit that I was trying my best to keep everything on one line, so I didn't want to add anymore letters than necessary. Let me give you another one..

Memphis Grizzleys:

2002/03: 28/54 - Drew Gooden - CHH - Nene Hilario, Amare Stoudemire
2003/04: 50/32 - Marcus Banks - CHH - Kendrick Perkins, David West, Josh Howard, Leandrinho Barbosa
2004/05: 45/37 - No first round pick
2005/06: 49/33 - Hakim Warrick - CHH - Nate Robinson, Linas Kielsa, David Lee, Monta Ellis
2006/07: 22/60 - Kyle Lowery - Also traded Shane Battier for Rudy Gay
2007/08: 22/60 - Mike Conley - CHH - Joakim Noah, Acie Law, Jeff Green
2008/09: 24/58 - Kevin Love - Traded draft day along with Mike Miller for O.J. Mayo and Antione Walker. Traded Pau Gasol for Marc Gasol
2009/10: 40/42 - Hasheem Thabeet - CHH - James Harden, Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry, Brandon Jennings, DeMar DeRozan.

Think how much better Memphis would be if they had drafte any of the players they passed on instead of Thabeet. When you draft that high, you can't afford to make a mistake. I think whats confusing is that your draft slot is determined by your prior year, but the pick is considered your pick for the next season, when that pick will actually be part of the team.

When you look at who Memphis could have had instead of who they picked the first three years, they could have been a contender a lot sooner.

 

[kingsboi]

Key word...patience.

 

[Aenadin]

We need a coach who KNOWS how to develop young players, we dont need a vet coach who would be so stubborn let the vets play it out

we need a coach that will not only get the respect of the players but will grow and mature along with them, some one who will stick to his guns and say i will play my youth cause i know it will help them develop.


....

we need a solid fanbase i know it sucks to watch a team lose on a nightly basis but the team needs more fans, so the city can actually see this team means a lot to us.

as far as drafting goes, it doesnt matter who we pick its a hit or miss, we either go for highest upside or the team necessity. right now its best we pick up as much picks we can, regardless of position (we KEEP ours btw),

and if we truly want to rebuild... maloofs better get serious and hire a BIG MAN coach for our two young towers.... a defensive coach for our wing and backcourt and a real shooting coach for tyreke. and dont get me started with a fitness coach... these players should know and understand that come training camp they should be in peak body performance and shape, not shed the summer lbs in camp.

basically thre rebuild doesnt just focus on draft picks, but also on the Staff. we need a complete makeover of it aswell

 

[Kingstime]

Great post.

Every team goes through this and we are no different best believe the Mavs and Spurs days are numbered as welll. The suns are a perfect example of what happened to our team the last couple years. A bunch of patch work additions, mix matched vets and a front office not ready to tear it apart and start fresh. For all the negative here on the boards and some of the crap on the court we are truly forgetting to see we have the patchwork for something great. Once we figure what we are gonna do with our pg&sf positions this team can gel and take that next step.

 

[Sptsjunkie]

Bravo. Great post.

 

[annihilator_33]

very very very thorough post.....good stuff

 

[Bricklayer]

Thanks for this thread Bajaden. Bits and peices of this have been alluded to from time to time on this board, I even did a Grades theme on it, but the comprehensive look makes for a quality contribution at a time a lot of people have lost hope. Its not a lost hope situation. This is how its done. Its just unfortunate we had to waste 3 years before getting to it -- all throughout those years I was complaining we were draining the fanbase before we even got to the real rebuild, and its kind of worked out that way. What should be a 3-4 year prcess becomes a 6-7 year process and people who were willing to hang on for 3 years have already started to checkout before you get to the real rebuild.

For the last 2+ seasons however we have been right in the normal rebuid pipeline, and arena issues aside really its all gone jsut the way you draw it up. We got bad, drafted two young stars, cleared all those salaries for a big summer...its just too bad its been executed correctly years after many more casual fans already lost their patience. From here on out it should be a constant upswing wih the only question beign where this team will peak out. Low 50s? High 50s? 60+ championship type team? That can't be known. But we're all set up to begin accelerating for another run now through this upcoming decade. Its hardly hopeless.

 

[Gabriel]

There is difference between rebuilding and consistently 'sucking'.


What I can't seem to understand is how every Kings fan completely ignores the fact that the Kings have the LOWEST pay-roll in the entire league. How can you expect to win ball games if you aren't putting out the money to bring in some talent. It's really not this teams' fault that we stink. It's our owners. (Maloofs)

 

[Big Cuz 15]

excellent post. its playing out just like it should as we are rebuilding. this should be the last high lotto pick for a while.

durant was the #2 pick, westbrook #4 pick and james harden #3 pick. we have only gotten 2 top 5 picks so far. maybe this is the year we get another high lotto pick and move out of the cellar.

 

[Big Cuz 15]

There is difference between rebuilding and consistently 'sucking'.


What I can't seem to understand is how every Kings fan completely ignores the fact that the Kings have the LOWEST pay-roll in the entire league. How can you expect to win ball games if you aren't putting out the money to bring in some talent. It's really not this teams' fault that we stink. It's our owners. (Maloofs)

we're rebuilding. relax, it takes time. spending $$$ doesn't always equate to talent. there has to be consideration for the market we are in. who would choose sac as their first choice destination? the maloofs will have to overpay for talent to come to sac. this leaves us in the perfect position to acquire talent for cheap through the draft.

 

[Dr. Spaceman]

Good work Baja. It's true that this is what teams have to go through -- and I think the adverse reaction that we've gotten from so many this season is because the Kings and their fans have never really been part of a youth movement rebuild. Our last (*cough*only*cough*) run was a mix of a little youth and just the right combination of great vets and a star in his prime. So I understand where the frustration comes from. It's new territory for the Kings.

With that said, I've been frustrated for much of the season too, but this is out of knowing that our talent is capable of far better play than we've seen this year. Not expecting every outing to be a win, because the experience and poise isn't there yet, but the lack of cohesion and discipline tends to set this team up for failure more often than not. Their record this season is not indicative of their talent, even in this current state of its realization.

So yes, we've got some good pieces and will be adding even more this summer that will all need time to gel together, so it's important to be patient. But I also think we need to handle and develop those pieces much better than we are currently.

 

[Tetsujin]

There is difference between rebuilding and consistently 'sucking'.


What I can't seem to understand is how every Kings fan completely ignores the fact that the Kings have the LOWEST pay-roll in the entire league. How can you expect to win ball games if you aren't putting out the money to bring in some talent. It's really not this teams' fault that we stink. It's our owners. (Maloofs)

Way to completely ignore the point of Baja's entire post. Let's wait a bit longer before we decide that not blowing 100 million dollars on Rudy Gay was a bad idea. The Thunder we pretty bad when Durant and Westbrook were first meshing together but I'm pretty sure that their fan base is pretty thankful that their owners didn't blow a wad of cash on a "quick fix" now.

 

[Aenadin]

There is difference between rebuilding and consistently 'sucking'.


What I can't seem to understand is how every Kings fan completely ignores the fact that the Kings have the LOWEST pay-roll in the entire league. How can you expect to win ball games if you aren't putting out the money to bring in some talent. It's really not this teams' fault that we stink. It's our owners. (Maloofs)

didnt the knicks spend on "Talent" a few years back and went cap crazy...

the problem with using free agency for a rebuild is you are buying talent at an overpriced amount. sometimes its difficult to asses and its a wait and see if the player is worth the money... the MLE geoff used up on some players, yes some of them were questionable but I would prefer that from having to overpay one superstar and eat up salary cap.


its really diffucult to play the free agency. its much safer with draft picks imo

 

[Bricklayer]

There is difference between rebuilding and consistently 'sucking'.

No, there really is not.

When you rebuild, TRULY rebuild, you are goign to have a few of these seasons. In fact you NEED and WANT to have a few of these seasons. Why? The draft. Ther draft is the single bigest talent restocker not only in the NBA, but quite possibly in all professional sports. In no other sport is scoring a high draft pick as absolutely criticla as it is in the NBA. Its where you get Duncan, or KG, or Shaq or A.I, or CP3, LeBron, Wade, Pierce, Dirk et. All Top 10s. Most are Top 5s. So you actually NEED these years 90% of the time to find your foundation players. And even if that's not how you rebuild, even if you pull off the Boston miracle, tat team was just as absoutely terrible as we are this season the year before the massive turnarounds, and they were that terrible with veteran resident stars (Pierce) already on the team. The reason: They needed to clear cap space, just as we have done. They needed high draft picks, young talent to trade, just as we have stocked up. This is how its done, and really at some point its just up to the fans to "get it", to understand and accept the process as the established path back to glory. From a rebuilding standpoint, everything is going swimmingly.

 

[FaStRmAn]

This was a really well written piece. It does help to explain the magnitude of suckatude the Kings find themselves in now. The fact that they have cut the payroll and are waiting for the new CBA to somehow give them some sort of advantage are all there. I don't know if the Maloofs/Petrie plan is gonna work, but I do know that their plans directly effect the product on the floor. And since the product on the floor currently stinks, it is good to have some sort of explanation as to why they stink. I think this best sums it up. Good work ! Doesn't mention that they could have done it in a more painless way, but it is what it is. I guess they need the somewhat high draft picks, although even though the Kings have had a terrible record the NBA Lottery continues to hand the very high draft picks to big market cities. Blake Griffin to the Clippers is a good example. Kings had a worst record that year but picked 4th (worst possible pick) anyway. I often wonder if it is poor luck or not paying off the right NBA official. Guess we will never know. Seems like the big market teams get all the breaks though. Name one instance where they DIDN'T get a break! I don't trust David Stern as far as I can spit. He is a crook. You can just tell by the way he carries himself!

 

[Bricklayer]

This was a really well written piece. It does help to explain the magnitude of suckatude the Kings find themselves in now. The fact that they have cut the payroll and are waiting for the new CBA to somehow give them some sort of advantage are all there. I don't know if the Maloofs/Petrie plan is gonna work, but I do know that their plans directly effect the product on the floor. And since the product on the floor currently stinks, it is good to have some sort of explanation as to why they stink. I think this best sums it up. Good work ! Doesn't mention that they could have done it in a more painless way, but it is what it is. I guess they need the somewhat high draft picks, although even though the Kings have had a terrible record the NBA Lottery continues to hand the very high draft picks to big market cities. Blake Griffin to the Clippers is a good example. Kings had a worst record that year but picked 4th (worst possible pick) anyway. I often wonder if it is poor luck or not paying off the right NBA official. Guess we will never know. Seems like the big market teams get all the breaks though. Name one instance where they DIDN'T get a break! I don't trust David Stern as far as I can spit. He is a crook. You can just tell by the way he carries himself!

You may note the two highest profile #1 picks of the last decade went to Cleveland (LeBron) and Portland (Oden). Orlando got Dwight #1 (and Shaq before him #1). Milwaulkee got Bogut #1 (and Glenn Robinson before him #1). San Antonio got Duncan #1 (and David Robinson before him). We ourselves got #1 and wasted it on Pervis Ellison. The lottery conspiracy theories have never held much water.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

The lottery conspiracy theories have never held much water.

Outside of the "bent envelope" theory from the Ewing draft, they've never held any water. People absolutely love to ignore the fact that each team has a representative in the room when the lottery is conducted. Now, please explain to me why a Kings official, faced with the best odds of landing Blake Griffin, would meekly sit back and allow their own team to slip down as far as possible by rule. Perhaps ashamed by the knowledge that their team did not pay an appropriate bribe? Get serious. Just because the public doesn't get to see in the room doesn't mean it's rigged.

 

['89 Kings Fan]

I think if you look at all four teams you will see how important coaching is to the equation. I always thought PJ Carlesimo was hired as a hatchet man by Clay Bennett to move the team. Of course then he started 1-12 for a wonderful 21-73 record and got fired, so there went that theory. Ironically they replaced him with Scotty Brooks, the guy we could have had if we had just somehow fired Musselman for that DUI.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

There is difference between rebuilding and consistently 'sucking'.


What I can't seem to understand is how every Kings fan completely ignores the fact that the Kings have the LOWEST pay-roll in the entire league. How can you expect to win ball games if you aren't putting out the money to bring in some talent. It's really not this teams' fault that we stink. It's our owners. (Maloofs)

Aside from the fact that you ignored bajaden's excellent post you need to realize that we aren't LA, Miami or some major media market that can attract top talent just on the basis of being "Sacramento", or even the "rich history of the franchise" which honestly didn't work for 15 years in Boston. The Kings were able to attract some marginal level free agents and that only helped sink them further. A star is never going to come to town on their own free will and volition. It will have to come through draft or trade.

 

[King Baller]

Nice post Baja! I agree with and am happy with the Kings rebuilding efforts these last two years. The previous three years prior to these last two prove that a small market team has a difficult time "reloading" like a big market team such as L.A.

I have been thinking about how the Kings will improve going forward? Here are some ideas in no particular order:
1) Tyreke will continue to improve his game.
2) Ditto for DMC, plus his mental game is maturing.
3) Ditto for Casspi, JT & Whiteside.
4) Trade Landry & Dalembert for picks or players that can help. There is an outside chance the Kings choose to retain Dalembert, but its slim and is partially predicated on what Dally wants. Landry I think wants to be somewhere else.
5) Draft another stud.
6) Sign a couple of free agents. Sure the Kings won't sign Mello. Vlade and Bobby J. did sign here back in the day. I could live with the 2011 versions of Vlade and Bobby signing
7) The team will improve through repetition of the plays until things become automatic. There is still a lot of thinking going on when just doing it is what is needed, but it requires the reps to get to that point.
8) Maloofs, Petrie and Westphal just need to stay together and let this team gel.
9) Hopefully the new arena gets built and is completed just as this young team hits it stride in the playoffs!

KB

 

[Section 101]

This was a really well written piece. It does help to explain the magnitude of suckatude the Kings find themselves in now.

That's easy to explain. When you keep making trades and are trading the best players in the deals for "parts "you slowly bleed talent. C-Webb, Bibby, Martin, and even trading away Artest fit this mold. What do we have from those trades? Landry, Greene, Casspi and "cap space" that does not get you wins now.

 

[NhocCuteGirlz]

Thank you. Well done!



What the Kings are going through right now is a cycle, and a cycle which is the norm for NBA franchises. We've done it before, and we'll do it again.The only two teams in the NBA which really haven't had a down year, or a total rebuild since the 98 lockout are the Spurs and the Mavs. Everyone else, Lakers included, has had down years.



Thank you for putting everything in perspective for some of the fans who for lack of a better word, start "stupid" threads after tough losses with their kneejerk reactions, while being oblivious to the fact the cycle we're going through is normal, ahs happened before many times, and will happen again many times.



However, if we lose tomorrow, I'm sure the premise of this thread will already have been forgotten by a select few, unfortunately.


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[Kingsguy881]

That's easy to explain. When you keep making trades and are trading the best players in the deals for "parts "you slowly bleed talent. C-Webb, Bibby, Martin, and even trading away Artest fit this mold. What do we have from those trades? Landry, Greene, Casspi and "cap space" that does not get you wins now.

How many of those guys mentioned are playing anywhere near the level they did in Sacto? Martin. And is his play really conducive to winning basketball? Sometimes you have to take off the nostalgia glasses and look at reality.

 

[Section 101]

How many of those guys mentioned are playing anywhere near the level they did in Sacto? Martin. And is his play really conducive to winning basketball? Sometimes you have to take off the nostalgia glasses and look at reality.

But the first trades kept the Kings in win now mode and slowly continued to bleed talent and middle first round picks. If they had kept C-Webb and let him expire, traded Bibby 2 years earlier and started the rebuild in 06 then we would be further along now.

And look at the "Thunder". It took 2 years of under 30 win seasons before they got something to build on in the draft in Durant. Took Blazers also 2 years to get Roy. It's been 4 years for the Wolves.

 

[rainmaker]

Thank you. Well done!



What the Kings are going through right now is a cycle, and a cycle which is the norm for NBA franchises. We've done it before, and we'll do it again.The only two teams in the NBA which really haven't had a down year, or a total rebuild since the 98 lockout are the Spurs and the Mavs. Everyone else, Lakers included, has had down years.



Thank you for putting everything in perspective for some of the fans who for lack of a better word, start "stupid" threads after tough losses with their kneejerk reactions, while being oblivious to the fact the cycle we're going through is normal, ahs happened before many times, and will happen again many times.



However, if we lose tomorrow, I'm sure the premise of this thread will already have been forgotten by a select few, unfortunately.


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What the hell are you doing?
Why did you plagiarize what I said word for word? This is my exact post from earlier in this thread.
I have never seen someone pass of someone elses post as their own on a forum, ever. What are you thinking?