Those teams are doing much the same thing we are. They are going out and playing their best guys at any one time. Jokic doesn't get time because he's young...he gets time because he's good. Lillard and McCollum are about the same age as Cuz. They don't run Vonleh big minutes because hey, kid. The Timberwolves best guys ARE their kids. Towns and Wiggins and LaVine get minutes because they are the best guys on the team, not because they are young.
It just so happens the best guys on our team\ are a few years older, but this "in decline" nonsense is just a plank. The only guy beyond his late prime is Matt Barnes. All of our other guys are pretty much grouped between 26-30 (maybe somebody turned 31 during the season).
The problem here is the fans. And I mean that. I understand your frustration, but now you are advocating things that no longer make sense. We blew our rebuild. We blew our opportunity to get more prize youth. We took Jimmer instead of Kawhi. We took TRob instead of Lillard. We took Ben instead of Giannis. We were pathetic and blew chance after chance to pair Cousins with another star. But now people have developed tunnel vision where they are frustrated and just so determined to keep on doing it and doing it and doing it until damnit it finally works! Except time marches on. If Cuz was a robot who never aged and had nothing better to do then maybe. If Joerger would survive and be willing to endure season after season of losses, if Vlade wouldn't be canned...and if wishes were horses. But that's not the way it works. We are on the same schedule as every other team in our franchise player's life cycle, we just drew less young talent along the way. So instead we have scrambled together a motley crew of scrappy short term vets and will be scrambling for years to add the right guys in FA and via trade. Its just the way it has to be now because Cousins is here now and ready, and needing, to win. And Joerger is here now and ready, and needing to win. And the twitchy owner will **** everything up again in a hurry if we don't, and stat. And so the last 5 years are just a write off, and we dig in and make it work. We drew a crap hand, it doesn't mean you just fold and start over.
I never advocated to fold and start over. I do however still believe, what I said as soon as our FA period was over: what you call scrappy vets are in fact deep benchers and left overs and besides Garret Temple and Lawson, who suprised me big time, not one addition did make much sense, if you don't fall for all the big talk about culture change, which until now has basically led to nothing in terms of wins and losses. I know the so called culture change is all about the future, but keep in mind, that the team will hopefully and most likely look entirely different next season, which also means a different gemeinschaft and therefore no consistent culture. So basically the culture change is just another figleaf for a potentially wasted season of Cousins career, because the FO failed again to put the right guys around him.
I agree, that most of the mistakes are a thing of the past, but that doesn't mean this years additions are much better. It's unfair towards Vlade to demand, that he can turn a franchise around in a short amount of time, that made so many mistakes over the years. But nonetheless that is his task and to fulfill it, he needs to be smarter than most GM's in the league or else we are stuck in mediocrity.
I know Barnes is a Joerger guy, but this doesn't mean you have to sign him and give him a 2 year 12.5 million dollar deal. We basically doubled his salary from the 2015/16 season.
We gave Afflalo, who was on his third team in two seasons, that rightfully made no public attempt to resign him but went after Lee asap in order to replace him, a 2 year 25 million deal.
Tolliver, who is basically a low key bench vet and spot up shooter makes 8 millions with us, while a guy like Bass is payed 1.5 millions or Terrence Jones makes 1 million.
You honestly believe those signings were the best we could get? You honestly think those signings are a hint, that our GM thinks outside the box and is smarter than most GM's?
Because I don't. What I think is, that Vlade went mainly after guys, who the coach or someone on his staff knew personally. He wanted save bets.
I personally don't think this is the right thing to do. In order to turn this thing around, we need a major cinderella story and we need a stable roster with growth potential and not short term vets, that are low key one and done guys.
If we lose our pick this year, where is this cinderella story going to come from? Bogdanovic? After all we seem to have resurrected Lawsons career, so maybe we can find another black sheep nobody wants to touch with a pole next offseason. At least that's my hope right now...Lance Stephenson anyone?