The Rebuilding is over!

[Shooter]

That's it, everybody. Our rebuilding phase is over. This team is set. We have arrived. We rose out of the ashes and zoomed to 54 wins, and we are now one of the elite teams in the league. This is a new phase, and all it's going to involve is some fine-tuning. It feels so good I have to pinch myself.

Say good-bye to rebuilding, and hello to the playoffs.

Thank you, Kevin Pritchard!

 

[oldguy]

RIP CITY IS BACK!

Let's not forget some thanks to Paul Allen, best owner in the league!

 

[Shooter]

RIP CITY IS BACK!

Let's not forget some thanks to Paul Allen, best owner in the league!

Absolutely. The man with the big bucks made big things happen.

 

[alex42083]

Yay, no more draft lottery parties!

 

[craigehlo]

The Hornets are a cautionary tale of thinking getting HCA means the rebuild is over. They were the #2 seed last year and are already on the slide a season later.

We still need a better backup PF and PG in the off season IMHO.

 

[KingSpeed]

No trades!

 

[craigehlo]

No trades!

I think Frye needs to walk and we can sign a vet with the roster spot.

 

[KingSpeed]

The Hornets are a cautionary tale of thinking getting HCA means the rebuild is over. They were the #2 seed last year and are already on the slide a season later.

We still need a better backup PF and PG in the off season IMHO.

The Hornets have had major injuries and don't have the kind of depth that we have.

 

[Shooter]

The Hornets are a cautionary tale of thinking getting HCA means the rebuild is over. They were the #2 seed last year and are already on the slide a season later.

Can't see that happening with Portland. They're simply too stocked, with too many young players still on the rise.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

It's been nearly a decade since we've been respectable.

Now, all we need to do is tweak the roster a tad.

 

[Nikolokolus]

New Orleans is pretty seriously devoid of any depth outside of Paul and West, so i don't see a big step backward like they've had next year or in following years, but I think we're getting a little ahead of ourselves saying "the roster is set."

The playoffs are where you find out who you really are: where you are strongest, where you are weakest, etc. Make no mistake, playing the same team night after night (especially a defensive minded squad like Houston) will reveal flaws in your roster that regular season games just don't.

This is why getting to the playoffs (win or lose) was so crucial this season, KP has some big decisions to make about where to consolidate this roster and what weaknesses will need addressed in the off-season.

 

[KingSpeed]

No trades! We can win with this bunch. We have stars, role players, big men, shooters, defenders, depth at every position. Shaq knows a little about winning championships and he says we need to add nothing, that we already have it. I agree.

 

[THE HCP]

It's been nearly a decade since we've been respectable.

Now, all we need to do is tweak the roster a tad.

Brother, you haven't been respectable in 15 years!

 

[Shooter]

I'll say it again. We may have to do some tweaking, but the rebuilding phase is over. It worked!! We're a quality NBA team again.

 

[Nikolokolus]

I'll say it again. We may have to do some tweaking, but the rebuilding phase is over. It worked!! We're a quality NBA team again.

Absolutely agreed.

 

[Nikolokolus]

No trades! We can win with this bunch. We have stars, role players, big men, shooters, defenders, depth at every position. Shaq knows a little about winning championships and he says we need to add nothing, that we already have it. I agree.

That's not how it works.

We have too many players on their rookie scale deal and not all can be retained ... even with Paul's deep pockets -- some/alot of these guys are NOT going to be satisfied playing 12-10th man and making 1-2 million a year when they know they have enough talent to play more minutes and make more money somewhere else (I don't care how successful the team is).

Add Martell back into the mix and an already crowded roster gets even tighter in the battle for minutes. You really think Bayless is going to be happy rotting at the end of the bench for another year? How about Channing or Martell. Maybe Sergio and Nicolas will be cool with demotions to the 3rd spot on the depth chart?

Ideally we should probably have about an 8-9 man rotation heading into next season with the balance of the roster rounded out with veteran role players and some late first round or second round draft picks for emergency depth, especially as LaMarcus, Brandon and Oden come up on big extensions.

Say it with me Kingspeed:
C-O-N-S-O-L-I-D-A-T-I-O-N

 

[MARIS61]

The Hornets are a cautionary tale of thinking getting HCA means the rebuild is over. They were the #2 seed last year and are already on the slide a season later.

We still need a better backup PF and PG in the off season IMHO.

Mixum, is that you?

 

[MARIS61]

That's not how it works.

We have too many players on their rookie scale deal and not all can be retained ... even with Paul's deep pockets -- some/alot of these guys are NOT going to be satisfied playing 12-10th man and making 1-2 million a year when they know they have enough talent to play more minutes and make more money somewhere else (I don't care how successful the team is).

Add Martell back into the mix and an already crowded roster gets even tighter in the battle for minutes. You really think Bayless is going to be happy rotting at the end of the bench for another year? How about Channing or Martell. Maybe Sergio and Nicolas will be cool with demotions to the 3rd spot on the depth chart?

Ideally we should probably have about an 8-9 man rotation heading into next season with the balance of the roster rounded out with veteran role players and some late first round or second round draft picks for emergency depth, especially as LaMarcus, Brandon and Oden come up on big extensions.

Say it with me Kingspeed:
C-O-N-S-O-L-I-D-A-T-I-O-N

That's the mistake every other team makes.

We have guys who have bought into the team concept. KP has been very careful to avoid getting anyone who won't. If a couple of fringe guys we barely use anyway can't outplay those ahead of them and have a problem with limited PT, then they'll be gone ala JJ.

If it motivates them to become better players than the guys in front of them then they will get the PT they crave.

I think Channing will be fine with limited minutes and some rings to wear. Jerryd, maybe not, but that's his loss if not. He can play more minutes on some team we beat every time we meet, and get no rings. Until someone goes down hurt, there's not going to be big minutes for those guys unless/until they get a lot more consistent.

BAKE IT!

 

[Nikolokolus]

That's the mistake every other team makes.

We have guys who have bought into the team concept. KP has been very careful to avoid getting anyone who won't. If a couple of fringe guys we barely use anyway can't outplay those ahead of them and have a problem with limited PT, then they'll be gone ala JJ.

If it motivates them to become better players than the guys in front of them then they will get the PT they crave.

I think Channing will be fine with limited minutes and some rings to wear. Jerryd, maybe not, but that's his loss if not. He can play more minutes on some team we beat every time we meet, and get no rings. Until someone goes down hurt, there's not going to be big minutes for those guys unless/until they get a lot more consistent.

BAKE IT!

KP comes from the San Antonio school, and this is the model: get about 80% of your production out of 20% of your roster and fill the holes with a mix of veterans and youth.

I know some people around here don't want to hear it, but it would be monstrously foolish to try and keep everyone, not just from a chemistry perspective (I don't care how good these guys are character-wise, they all want a chance to play and a chance to earn a living) but it would also cost upwards of 100 million+ a year to keep it all together and with the team still operating in the red and Paul Allen about 30% poorer today than he was six months ago.

Let's assume Roy, Aldridge and Oden are the core and guys like Joel, Rudy, Travis and Batum are the second tier of guys you'd like to keep around. The first 3 are going to be max contract guys (or very close to it), the second group are all probably worth around the MLE (maybe a little more depending on the player) on the open market when their contracts come up, totaling around 75-80 million right there ... and you still have the point guard position to fill and no clear long term starter has yet emerged from the pack of three you've got on your current roster.

I'm not trying to be a downer, but you've got your head in the clouds if you think A) this roster is going to remain as-is, and B) there aren't any holes left to fill.

 

[oldmangrouch]

Uh-huh. Let's see how this roster performs in the "2nd season", before we succumb to hubris.

I'll go on record now as predicting that we get out-played at the SF and PG positions. If we lose anyone out of Joel/Oden/LMA, and have to play Frye significant minutes, we will get embarassed. Batum may fix the SF problem as early as next season....but the other 2 problems aren't going to go away until we make changes.

 

[BlazersBlood]

Thank you KP! YOU DA MAN!

I also wanna thank Paul Allen for being the best owner in sports! We are a lucky bunch.

 

[oldmangrouch]

BTW, anybody remember Jordan's comment about the Blazers? He once said that when the Bull beat the Blazers for the title, the Blazers had 8 of the 10 best players in the series. He didn't bother to point out that he and Pippen still kicked their asses!

Depth is a nice luxury over an 82 game season. In the play-offs, it is your top 3-4 guys who make the difference.

 

[Nikolokolus]

BTW, anybody remember Jordan's comment about the Blazers? He once said that when the Bull beat the Blazers for the title, the Blazers had 8 of the 10 best players in the series. He didn't bother to point out that he and Pippen still kicked their asses!

Depth is a nice luxury over an 82 game season. In the play-offs, it is your top 3-4 guys who make the difference.

Christopher Reina at RealGM wrote a really extensive article about this last season at RealGM.com and it was pretty convincing stuff, that you need two top ten players to win it all, the only exception to that rule has been Detroit's latest title team.

 

[Minstrel]

Christopher Reina at RealGM wrote a really extensive article about this last season at RealGM.com and it was pretty convincing stuff, that you need two top ten players to win it all, the only exception to that rule has been Detroit's latest title team.

The Heat didn't have two top-ten players. Wade was, Shaq wasn't by that point. I wouldn't say the Spurs ever had two top-ten players. Parker may have been arguable, but I wouldn't have placed him in the top-ten. Boston possibly didn't have any top-ten players last season, though KG was arguable (in his prime, he was top-2, but he's declined).

I don't think you need two top-ten players. I think you either need two top-ten players and good defenders/rebounders around them, or you need three or four very good players and good defenders/rebounders around them.

A group of ten pretty good players rarely does the trick.

As far as the Blazers go, they have one top-ten player in Roy. Aldridge probably won't get there, but he should be very good. Oden might end up a top-ten player, but he should at least end up a very good player if he stays healthy. So, Portland arguably already has the three-man core necessary (once Oden and Aldridge finish developing). But to seal the deal, they shouldn't stand pat with Rudy/Batum/Bayless/Outlaw. They should aggressively try to turn them into one more very good/great player at point guard or small forward.

 

[Ed O]

The Hornets are a cautionary tale of thinking getting HCA means the rebuild is over. They were the #2 seed last year and are already on the slide a season later.

We still need a better backup PF and PG in the off season IMHO.

Agreed... every team should ALWAYS look to get better.

With that being said: finally we're back in the dance and you never know what's gonna happen once you're in!

Ed O.

 

[Shooter]

I have no doubt that Pritchard will figure this stuff out. Any GM who can rebuild a team as quickly as he did will also figure out how to get us a championship.

 

[LittleAlex]

The rebuilding is over. Now the fine tuning can begin.

 

[hasoos]

Yea it is going to be really weird, because over the last few seasons, a lot of what we had to look forward to, was talent coming in. Now we will be waiting to see how players improve each summer, because the team is pretty much set for a while.

 

[oldmangrouch]

The rebuilding is over. Now the fine tuning can begin.

That's a good way of putting it.

What was once a rusting hulk up on blocks has become a car again - it just isn't ready to run at Daytona yet.

 

[andalusian]

What was once a rusting hulk up on blocks has become a car again - it just isn't ready to run at Daytona yet.

Thank god. This team is building a high-tech, exotic materials Formula-1 contender - not a carburated billboard masquerading as a race car.

Bring on Monte-Carlo.