Ok, firstly, we didn't go into rebuild until 04-05. That was the year we fired Cheeks and put Pritchard in as coach to tank. We were still trying to win in 03-04. I know this because I was there
Also, another main difference is that the rebuild started with a foundation of Sebastian Telfair, Darius Miles, and Zach Randolph.
Things didn't turn around until we got Roy/LMA. Roy and LMA were drafted in 06-07 and we were back in the playoffs in 08-09. So within two years of drafting Roy and Aldridge, we were back in the playoffs. The only reason why that was derailed was because of the health of Roy and Oden. If Those three players stayed healthy, we might have won a ring. We would not have gone back into the lottery. That was bad luck.
So the rebuild started in 04-05 and was done in 08-09. Three years of tanking and being crappy until we were back in the playoffs.
Do you think technically our rebuild started two years ago? We have the foundation. We're not starting from scratch. Scoot and Shae are both young, talented, and healthy. Hopefully they're our Brandon Roy/Dame and we can try to go get our star forward.