The big picture

[LMM]

No plan for winning. Just trying not to lose. This A.I. thing itself was really just a desperate stab, and with its failure, we're now probably in an even worse position than we were before.

I mean, virtually EVERYTHING we've done in recent years has been reactive and half assed. Our two very middling free agents (Reef, Salmons) both fell in our laps when deals they had with other teams fell apart. We firesaled Webb to absolutely zero effect -- panic move. We've shipped off pieces for multiple pretty good guards in the last year of their contracts, then made passes at resigning them, but failed. Acquired "flexible pieces" that have in the end turned up to be unmovable. Keep inviting long shot kids to camp every year with semi-gauranteed money, and then in the end cutting them. Got a wacky potentially cancerous team leader who again just fell into our lap when his erratic behavior uinexpectedly blew up hs former team. Fired a 700 win coach with no real plan on who to replace him wiht, tried to replace him with the family friend, got talked out of that, went wiht the kid who interviewed best... There is no plan. And consider this: how bad would this franchise be right now if Kevin, a #20 something pick in the draft, hadn't blossomed? That's really the only move keeping this thing from being a debacle.

At some point you just have to grow up, give up the ghost, and hatch an actual plan to come around strong in a few years.

Agree agree agree. Especially on the bolded part. But good points all around. A little sad, but it is what it is. I'm willing to wait.

 

[Bricklayer]

To me, the losing is actually not so bad if there is a feeling that there is a general positive direction being adhered to. Losing when you're trying to win is one thing, losing when you are building for an attack later on is different, you can take the games as learning processes and let players develop and learn. You become not so concerned with a W or L but with how your players are progressing.

Exactimundo.


(Hmm..wonder how you actually spell that? )

 

[GoGoGadget]

Exactimundo.


(Hmm..wonder how you actually spell that? )

I agree.

Both with your enthusiastic support of The Hammer's position, and your choice of spelling.

 

[nbrans]

I guess I still feel like the general direction is positive. Kevin Martin has been a big surprise, Ronnie Price is improving, thank goodness we have Artest, there's cap room in the offseason. It's not like this is a team of geezers ready to kick the bucket like the post-Webber injury Kings or a team completely strapped by the cap like the Sixers. This is a team that could probably use a down year to get into the lottery of a really strong draft, use the abundant cap room on some good young players and continue to address trades on a case by case basis before the deadline. Meanwhile, guys will still improve and we may have somehting a year or two from now.

I wanted AI a whole lot, but hey, it's not so bad. The years after a team is a contender is inevitably rough, but the big picture is pretty good.