My line of thinking as well. Especially for a developing team.
This drive and motivation to end “the streak” is understandable, but short-sighted.
Fans here always talk about “high/low ceiling” regarding a player’s potential —well, aiming for a 7-10 seed is the equivalent of a low ceiling.
It’s not “winning now”. It’s cannon fodder for a top 2 seed with little to no upside.
This org should be trying to build for the future best they can. Developing these young guys together seems like a good route to take, even if it means losing some games they might win with vets that aren’t going to be part of the future.
To be clear, I’m not talking about tanking. At all. Play to win at all times. But do it with the guys you are hoping develop into your winning future. If the likes of Ellis and KZ aren’t those guys … cool. But play the guys that are.
IMO that’s among the ways a sustainable winning culture is built.
For a young, developing team like ours, winning on the back of the young kids is good. Even if we are cannon fodder for the top seeds (if we get there, I'll be ecstatic), means that some kids have shown good improvement.
Most teams win by stars. They are helped by depth, but don't win due to it. Depth is particularly helpful during injuries, and for trades. However, if we are to win, and win consistently, we need to have couple of folks who are all-stars, or least always in discussion. We have two, who have shown potential, and hope that KM will be the third. If we make big leaps now, or in near future, we need to have two folks in conversation for all-stars, KM for ROY, and Davion for DPOY.
Fox, Davion, Monk, Huerter, Murray, Barnes, Sabonis are our top 7 guys. Richaun, Lyles, Metu, and TD are likely the next 4. That's an 11 deep rotation, and most successful teams typically play a tighter one. Over a long season, injuries, and sometimes matchups will dictate some changes. However, barring that, there isn't likely to be too much floor time for Keon, KZ, or Queta. I would be happier if they got their reps in G-league, with occasional calls to the main club if required.
Things can change over the season. If Queta starts showing more promise than Holmes, or if there is some trade, perhaps one or more of these guys can get an opening. We all would be happy if they did well. Overall though, I think that for the immediate, and short term (2-3 years horizon) good of the team, some of our players on the cusp of stardom have to take that leap, instead of our minimum guys breaking into the rotation.