one reason why we will be better next year(nothing about FA's)

[blazedanugz]

we have had a lot of threads about what Fa's to go after, who to draft, who to trade for blablablabla. I think one reason we haven't talked about is the character of our young players.
-barton is already in the gym working hard on his 3 ball. (hopefully working on other parts of his game but the fact that hes in the gym already is great.)
-Damian knows he has to get better on D and is working with the only PG to ever win the defensive player of the year award in GP.
-Myers says he is on a 6 month mission to become a rim protector.
our draft last year is going to make us better because we drafted guys with great drive and great character. that alone is going to make us better. now if we can only get nic to have that same drive to be great.....

 

[Rastapopoulos]

I think a lot will depend on health. This year Lillard and Aldridge were almost totally healthy. And we still sucked.

 

[blue9]

I think the only thing we can count on is improvement from Lillard. I think it's entirely possible that both Barton and Leonard improve, but that their improvement is so small that it doesn't really affect us in the W/L column. Unless they really put in a tremendous amount of work that pays off in vastly improved play, neither of them have shown to have an appreciable impact on the game. I think that for them to improve to the point where they have a positive impact on the game that it'll come from greater understanding and intelligence, more so than physical skills. Here's hoping! But it's certainly nothing we should count on.

 

[Reep]

IF, all those things happen then the team could end up solid. I like Meyers, but he has sooooooooo far to go on the defense and rebounding side. He really doesn't have much game experience though and seems to be motivated. We will see. I actually have more hope for Barton being better off the bench. He has some internal skills and if he could develop a decent three-ball, then I can see him helping.

 

[craigehlo]

I think it's entirely possible that both Barton and Leonard improve, but that their improvement is so small that it doesn't really affect us in the W/L column.

I agree with this sentiment. Neither is a difference maker in the near-term.

I think the Lillard getting more respect from the refs in after winning ROY will have a positive impact on his scoring. Maybe Batum will get a brain transplant in the off season. That could help things.

 

[BlazerWookee]

I think a lot will depend on health. This year Lillard and Aldridge were almost totally healthy. And we still sucked.

We sucked because our bench sucked. Our starters gave everything they had and more, and before they ran out of gas, they made us much better than anyone could have expected.

 

[BlazerWookee]

I think it's entirely possible that both Barton and Leonard improve, but that their improvement is so small that it doesn't really affect us in the W/L column.

I think that if either or both improves enough to play at a level high enough to give our starters even just a few more minutes rest each game, it'll translate into more wins.

 

[HailBlazers]

If we can get anything out of our Bench consistently we'll be a playoff team

 

[Boise Blazer]

If we can get anything out of our Bench consistently we'll be a playoff team

Between even a minor bench acquisition and organic growth I dont know how we couldnt get better

 

[OregonHuskerMan]

I think a lot will depend on health. This year Lillard and Aldridge were almost totally healthy. And we still sucked.

Batum wasnt injured or anything.

Nor was Wes.

Aldridge never played with a hurt wrist or ankle.

The bench didn't suck at all either.

Prior to none of that happening we were doing better than people thought

 

[blue9]

If we can get anything out of our Bench consistently we'll be a playoff team

On the surface, you'd think that would be true. But, we've got to leap-frog 3 teams just to get to the 8th spot - and none of those teams are going to try to get worse. Luckily, the Lakers should probably be worse. If DAL is stagnant, then a bench should push us ahead of them...but will they stagnate? If so, that's two teams. UTH? I think that's a big question mark - they did surprisingly well this season, but are also going to be making major changes this summer. If played right, those changes should improve their team - so I don't think natural growth on our part is enough to become better than a team that's already better than we are. And outside of injuries I don't see any of the Playoff teams (outside of the Lakers) slipping out of the Playoffs.

Olshey has his work cut out for him. We can't simply say a semi-productive bench is going to push us into the Playoffs. We exceeded expectations for much of the season, which I think cast a false "playoff light" on the team - even while we were in the top 8 of the conference it was pretty obvious by looking at the games later in the schedule that we were going to drop out. And this is about as weak as the Western Conference has ever been.

 

[oldmangrouch]

Good point blue9.

It is never safe to assume that the competion isn't also working to get better. It seems inevitable that *some* teams ahead of us will stagnate or get worse, but there will be teams both in front and behind us getting better.

 

[Boise Blazer]

On the surface, you'd think that would be true. But, we've got to leap-frog 3 teams just to get to the 8th spot - and none of those teams are going to try to get worse. Luckily, the Lakers should probably be worse. If DAL is stagnant, then a bench should push us ahead of them...but will they stagnate? If so, that's two teams. UTH? I think that's a big question mark - they did surprisingly well this season, but are also going to be making major changes this summer. If played right, those changes should improve their team - so I don't think natural growth on our part is enough to become better than a team that's already better than we are. And outside of injuries I don't see any of the Playoff teams (outside of the Lakers) slipping out of the Playoffs.

Olshey has his work cut out for him. We can't simply say a semi-productive bench is going to push us into the Playoffs. We exceeded expectations for much of the season, which I think cast a false "playoff light" on the team - even while we were in the top 8 of the conference it was pretty obvious by looking at the games later in the schedule that we were going to drop out. And this is about as weak as the Western Conference has ever been.

Good points although my thought or hope that I should have communicated better is that the bench improvement would be an added bonus in addition to other moves. However I am becoming more and more skeptical that there realistic moves that we can make that make us more than a playoff team instead of a contender. I don't like feeling that way but I do.

 

[BlazerWookee]

Batum wasnt injured or anything.

Nor was Wes.

Aldridge never played with a hurt wrist or ankle.

The bench didn't suck at all either.

Prior to none of that happening we were doing better than people thought

And it's all the coach's fault.

 

[blue9]

However I am becoming more and more skeptical ...

Yeah, I think we're in for a longer rebuild than most people think before we're actually a serious Playoff threat. Even if we do make the POs next year it'll just be as a stepping stone for another team to walk over.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

Long time ago...

Reporter: Are you going to make any trades?
Popovich: Yes, we are going to trade our Rookie Tim Duncan for a veteran Tim Duncan.

I think we can be a playoff team which gets bounced in the first round simply with Organic Growth. However, to be a "playoff threat" (as mentioned above) Olshey is going to have to sagely turn the $11 mil + picks into something special. For now, I'm cautiously optimistic.

 

[Boob-No-More]

We were a very inexperienced team - especially the bench. Note: I didn't say young, because although Freeland and Claver were rookies, they were old for rookies, and so was Lillard for that matter. However, we had 5 rookies on the roster and most saw significant minutes, especially over the last month and a half of the season. Even if Olshey does nothing, our bench can't possibly be worse. That last month and a half was painful to watch, but it got the bench players some much needed experience, and that seems to have motivated them to work hard in the off season. Plus, it got us a better draft pick.

Organic growth of our previously inexperienced players, plus the 10th pick and $11 million and cap space will make this team significantly better. How much better? I have no idea at this time. It all depends on what Olshey can accomplish with that cap space and the 10th pick. I think a lopsided trade, agreed to on draft day, but delayed until the moratorium is lifted, is our best chance to land a real difference maker, but even if Olshey swings for the fences and misses with Plan A, we still have enough cap space to land at least two very solid vets and possibly a diamond in the rough with the 10th pick.

Too many scenarios to consider at this time, but I do agree with the OP, that our rookies should be significantly better with a year under their belts and an off season of working on their games. I'm actually looking forward to the summer league this year.

BNM

 

[mook]

Any team that is bad and young and not filled with shitheads should expect to be better the next year. Just look at Portland last year vs this one. We went from 28 wins to 33.

Really looking forward to seeing what comes this fall. Seems like the stars could align for us to get back to being relevant.

 

[KingSpeed]

I think a lot will depend on health. This year Lillard and Aldridge were almost totally healthy. And we still sucked.

It's because we had the worst bench in the history of the game. Many of the teams in the playoffs this year would not have made the playoffs with our bench. Seriously, if we switch benches with GS, GS isn't anywhere near the playoffs and we probably are.

 

[KingSpeed]

Any team that is bad and young and not filled with shitheads should expect to be better the next year. Just look at Portland last year vs this one. We went from 28 wins to 33.

Really looking forward to seeing what comes this fall. Seems like the stars could align for us to get back to being relevant.

We got worse. Shorter season, remember. We went from .424 to .402.