It's not a lot worse; It's basically the difference between 13 and 14 in the draft. No, if you're going to suck, suck all the way. But only one team a year gets to be #1 in the draft, just like only one team a year gets to wear rings the next year. Just "missing the playoffs" isn't enough. You gotta tank with gusto. The average draft is only 6-8 players deep, with number 1/2 being the only "game-changer" in a draft. What if we get 4th? Tank again. Tank until we get #1... then maybe once more for another 4.
To put Masbee's point into dates and gates: are you willing to watch young guys tanking in the 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 seasons if it means an opportunity to compete legitimately in 2018? Is "Just Wait til 2018" going to look good on a black and red t-shirt?
I agree that mediocrity is... mediocre, man. But 14 teams every year are in this range: not good enough to make the finals, but good enough to make the playoffs. We aren't at the top of the bell curve, but we aren't way off the left side either. It's the nature of sports. You win some, you lose some. And for 29 teams every year, your season ends in a heartbreaking loss. That's life.
We will need to get worse before we get better, but I'd contend that we're probably happier now in a small pile of shit than risking an even worse situation for a long time by blowing it up again.
), but is there actually addition by subtraction there? Wouldn't we have to trade at least half of those guys to get better? And wouldn't that leave us weaker than before?
