Let's Not Panic

[LPKingsFan]

You keep saying that, Brickie, but there's no way to really know for sure, especially with the arena situation hanging over them like the sword of Damacles. That's why I said you have to strike some kind of happy medium; the product on the floor doesn't have to win but it has to have something - like fun or at least young kids learning to get better.

Which is why I've warmed up to the idea of Thus playing run and gun with the kiddies while the lottery picks pile up and we make a run in three years or so.

 

[GoGoGadget]

You keep saying that, Brickie, but there's no way to really know for sure, especially with the arena situation hanging over them like the sword of Damacles. That's why I said you have to strike some kind of happy medium; the product on the floor doesn't have to win but it has to have something - like fun or at least young kids learning to get better.

The arena situation throws an extra (and wholly unnecessary) wrinkle on the situation, to be sure, but I still think that a long, drawn out, half-hearted "refurbishing" of the team would be far more damaging to the fan base than anything else.

Do a quick and efficient rebuild that leads to a lot of losses in the present and you're sure to lose the less knowledgeable ("bandwagon", though I hate that term) fans who just want to cheer a winning team. But they'll come back once the winning starts up again.

Half-*** it, though? Hem and haw and work your way into the pool one indecisive toe at a time? That's when you start to lose the die hards. That's when you start to lose the people willing to pay through the nose for tickets they can't use. And when that type of fan gets disgusted with the team at an organizational level, as opposed to just the hefty loss column, they don't come back.

 

[nbrans]

^I definitely agree. At the same time, I think there's yet another middle-ground between something that's drawn out (but with an end in sight) and having something to root for in the meantime.

For instance, should the Knicks/Artest deal go down, a David Lee/Justin Williams frontcourt probably wouldn't win many games, but it would sure be fun watching those guys go after every single rebound in a twenty foot radius.

There's a way to make even a twenty win season not horrible to watch, and since we've been watching lousy, unentertaining basketball played by uncharismatic malcontents for the last few years, just a few young, energetic players could look like the Showtime Lakers in comparison.

 

[VF21]

The arena situation throws an extra (and wholly unnecessary) wrinkle on the situation, to be sure, but I still think that a long, drawn out, half-hearted "refurbishing" of the team would be far more damaging to the fan base than anything else.

Do a quick and efficient rebuild that leads to a lot of losses in the present and you're sure to lose the less knowledgeable ("bandwagon", though I hate that term) fans who just want to cheer a winning team. But they'll come back once the winning starts up again.

Half-*** it, though? Hem and haw and work your way into the pool one indecisive toe at a time? That's when you start to lose the die hards. That's when you start to lose the people willing to pay through the nose for tickets they can't use. And when that type of fan gets disgusted with the team at an organizational level, as opposed to just the hefty loss column, they don't come back.

You're assuming that it has to be either "quick and efficient" or long and drawn out to the point where fans are turned to stone or skeletons in their seats.

I'm of the opinion there's a middle ground. A couple of years to get rid of all the albatross contracts and get in position for a strong 2009, for example.

Petrie's use of refurbishing is pretty telling, I believe. I interpret it to mean he's NOT going to totally gut the team but that he's going to gather the building blocks and be ready to grab the cornerstone and start the new assembly as soon as possible.

 

[GoGoGadget]

There's a way to make even a twenty win season not horrible to watch, and since we've been watching lousy, unentertaining basketball played by uncharismatic malcontents for the last few years, just a few young, energetic players could look like the Showtime Lakers in comparison.

Agree 100% with this, but my faith in anyone's ability/willingness to make it happen is more than a little shaky.

 

[GoGoGadget]

I'm of the opinion there's a middle ground. A couple of years to get rid of all the albatross contracts and get in position for a strong 2009, for example.

I don't disagree with this, in theory, but rather wonder if we aren't running out of time to reach that middle ground.

This isn't the first offseason where the franchise has been faced with the same questions/decisions. We just finished watching the third consecutive season of basketball that was neither realistically competitive nor consistently entertaining.

The team is at a point now, I think, where their earlier passivity and denial has somewhat forced them into a position of needing to act. Now. Even though the recent articles and comments from Petrie have left me feeling somewhat optimistic, its still the sort of optimism that's tainted with "its about frickin' time"s and "I'll believe it when I see it"s.

And I know I can't be the only one who feels this way.

 

[kupman]

Full panic mode and you heard it here first: super tank! Lose as many seasons as possible to draft good young talents until you land that franchise player to build them around, because no one is going to trade their franchise player or guys with good potentials for Artest and Bibby.

this is the Portland plan^^^...and it's just now starting to obviously pay off...but we've got Petrie, who I might be thinking is going(or hoping to go)the Utah route and get the ship righted in only 2 seasons or so, while at the same time keeping hope alive with exciting(even with lack of wins)hard, play.

I know that everyone is very enamored with Portland right now. But maybe we should just wait for them to win at least 1 title before before we crown them as being a great team.

Have they drafted some promising players in recent years? Of course. However, these guys still have to go out and actually win basketball games.

Should we tank or super-tank? I don't think so. My opinion has nothing to do with the fan base deterioration, although I think that is a valid point.

It has to do with affordability. I will be intested to see who is on the Trailblazers in 3-4 years. Affording the most promising young talent in Roy, Aldridge and Oden is going to be very, very expensive. In just three years, Oden will be offered some really, really big money if everything goes as planned. He will only be 21 and just beginning to hit his NBA stride. I do not see how they can keep all 3 guys very long.

I think Portland will have to decide early on which 1 (maybe 2) of these guys they want to keep. From there, they will need to find the cheap, diamonds in the rough like everyone else.

 

[BMiller52]

I know that everyone is very enamored with Portland right now. But maybe we should just wait for them to win at least 1 title before before we crown them as being a great team.

Have they drafted some promising players in recent years? Of course. However, these guys still have to go out and actually win basketball games.

Should we tank or super-tank? I don't think so. My opinion has nothing to do with the fan base deterioration, although I think that is a valid point.

It has to do with affordability. I will be intested to see who is on the Trailblazers in 3-4 years. Affording the most promising young talent in Roy, Aldridge and Oden is going to be very, very expensive. In just three years, Oden will be offered some really, really big money if everything goes as planned. He will only be 21 and just beginning to hit his NBA stride. I do not see how they can keep all 3 guys very long.

I think Portland will have to decide early on which 1 (maybe 2) of these guys they want to keep. From there, they will need to find the cheap, diamonds in the rough like everyone else.

LOL do you know who their owner is?

 

[hammystyle]

^^ Haha, great point. Either way I think that idea is silly. Aldridge and Roy have a long way to go to prove they are max contract type guys. I don't think either of them will be actually. Oden almost assuredly will be. There are penty of teams who's salary structure involves a max type guy and then a couple guys in the 10-12m range (Spurs). If Roy and Aldridge do turn out to be the type of stars that deserve that dough then the Blazers will have a great problem to have in 2-3 years.Their solution will probly just be sell a little stock.

 

[Kingster]

Exactly. So how is it possible that Petrie can rebuild efficiently and effectively, but at the same time keep fans happy with the Kings' season and not just the idea of a "winning team coming summer 2010" or something. In other words the Kings can't do it portland style.

If Petrie gets a bunch of young guys who are athletic and motivated, the team could still be interesting to watch AND have a bad record. Usually, it takes a while even for a young talented player to do much before his second or third year. And with point guards, sometimes it takes 4 or 5 years before they really start producing. What people like me won't watch is slow, unathletic, going-through-the motions vets who know they aren't going to be getting a lot better, know they don't have a very good team, and know they aren't going to be around when the team does get better. That's not only uninteresting, but it's pointless.

 

[kupman]

^^ Haha, great point. Either way I think that idea is silly. Aldridge and Roy have a long way to go to prove they are max contract type guys. I don't think either of them will be actually. Oden almost assuredly will be. There are penty of teams who's salary structure involves a max type guy and then a couple guys in the 10-12m range (Spurs). If Roy and Aldridge do turn out to be the type of stars that deserve that dough then the Blazers will have a great problem to have in 2-3 years.Their solution will probly just be sell a little stock.

The money that Paul Allen made with Microsoft is almost beside the point. I don't think he is about to run the Blazer's into a deficit by paying the luxury tax with a small market team. He has already taken it in the shorts with the Rose Garden. I doubt that he will do again with payroll.

Aldridge and Roy will see some very nice offers from other teams when the time comes. Roy has a rookie of the year to show for himself already. that puts in some very rich company. LaMarcus on the other hand is just a 6' 11", 2nd over-all pick, who despite having health problems his rookie year still managed to make the all-rookie team.

Just ask yourself, how much would you like the Maloofs to pony-up to land this young studs on the Kings?

Things will be getting very expensive in Portland in the near future.

 

[Tarindel]

If Petrie gets a bunch of young guys who are athletic and motivated, the team could still be interesting to watch AND have a bad record. Usually, it takes a while even for a young talented player to do much before his second or third year. And with point guards, sometimes it takes 4 or 5 years before they really start producing. What people like me won't watch is slow, unathletic, going-through-the motions vets who know they aren't going to be getting a lot better, know they don't have a very good team, and know they aren't going to be around when the team does get better. That's not only uninteresting, but it's pointless.

As I've said a million times, I'd rather watch a team full of energetic, eager-to-play rookies who lose every game than a bunch of slow, plodding veterans who don't play with any passion but manage to win a decent number.

But that's just me.

 

[hammystyle]

Things will be getting very expensive in Portland in the near future.

Things have been expensive in Portland for years. They've been one of the top teams in payroll for the last decade. They've got millions in useless salary coming off the books in the over the next couple years. In 4-5 years they might be able to spend less than they have over the last few years and have a team that is at the opposite end of the NBA spectrum. IMO there is no team with a brighter future for the next decade. Do you really think Paul Allen would cheap out now that he's got better talent with 100X better attitudes?

To your original point, I have no doubt the Kings would follow the exact same model if possible and and I just hope we're as lucky. If they got talent worth that dough, they'd absolutely pay to keep it. The Maloofs only got cheap when they were up against the luxury tax and it came to guys like Jimmy Jackson. They paid to keep all of our stars.

 

[BMiller52]

The money that Paul Allen made with Microsoft is almost beside the point. I don't think he is about to run the Blazer's into a deficit by paying the luxury tax with a small market team. He has already taken it in the shorts with the Rose Garden. I doubt that he will do again with payroll.

Aldridge and Roy will see some very nice offers from other teams when the time comes. Roy has a rookie of the year to show for himself already. that puts in some very rich company. LaMarcus on the other hand is just a 6' 11", 2nd over-all pick, who despite having health problems his rookie year still managed to make the all-rookie team.

Just ask yourself, how much would you like the Maloofs to pony-up to land this young studs on the Kings?

Things will be getting very expensive in Portland in the near future.

lol They already are expensive. Do you know how much the Blazers paid last year? Like 77 million dollars. In 2 years LaFrentz' 11 million or whatever comes off the cap, Francis's 13 million or whatever comes off the cap, Miles will probably be bought out, and they'll have a few more expiring contracts. Roy will be a good player but I don't think he'll be a superstar. Max contract for players drafted during this CBA is different than the max for players drafted before the 05-06 season. They won't all be getting 20 million dollars man. Assume Oden gets 13-14 million, Roy gets 10-11, and Aldridge gets 10-11 they'll be fine. Most teams only use an 11 man rotation and with those guys as their top 3 players the other 25-30 million can be spent on decent role players.

 

[kupman]

I don't really want to get into a big debate about this because we will all just have to wait a few years to see. It is just my opinion that you guys are underestimating what the market value on these guys will be. They are some of the most promising players at PG, PF and C. IMHO, these guys will be offered big money by teams in the league that are trying to finance just one star and not three. Who knows, maybe we will be one of those teams in 2-3 years.

2010: ending contracts of K9 + Miller + SAR = 27 million

How much of this should we give to Aldridge to finally have an all-star quality 24 y.o PF who is just hitting his prime?

 

[Bricklayer]

Paul Allen will pay whatever it takes to win, as long as he's convinced it will indeed make them win. That squad isn't losing ANY of its young talent that shows anything.

 

[jcassio]

...I'd rather watch a team full of energetic, eager-to-play rookies who lose every game than a bunch of slow, plodding veterans who don't play with any passion but manage to win a decent number.

Yeah, boy! But then, if you're talking about the Kings last year, they didn't even win a 'decent number' of games. Let the kids play.