Our team is currently lost on the road to a championship caught between "rebuilding" and "contending" status. Despite the catchy fanspeak of us being "rebuilding contenders", from a roster perspective that categorization makes absolutely no sense for several reasons; but unfortunately our Front Office is apparently trying to toe the line to be both when simple decisions can be made to propel the team further along whichever goal we choose. I've made two irreconcilable observations about the differences between "rebuilders" and "contenders".
Observation #1: Draft picks and young, raw talent mean very little to contending teams:
Proof of this is how easily the Cavs traded the #1 pick for Kevin Love... two years later their having championship parades in Cleveland.
Observation #2: Rebuilding teams focus on player development, Contending teams focus on playoff wins:
No one in Minnesota cares that they only won 20 games, they're excited about the development of Towns. Ask Golden State now how they feel about 73 wins... I'm sure they would trade 20 of those wins for the title. We're glorifying 48 regular season wins, which is amazing, but we only have 2 playoff wins in our two post-season visits and I'm not sure how many wins the current roster will get. Regular season wins, only get you to the playoffs, which is good for a "rebuilding" team, but means nothing to "contenders". Granted, it did attract Al Horford.
In my opinion we keep going back and forth between "contender" moves and "rebuilder" moves that I'm flat out confused when it comes to our roster...
Rebuilder move:
- We let go of Evan Turner - ET was a great player for us, but his removal frees up minutes for our younger players such as Rozier, Young, Smart and Brown. Their on-court development is essential for our mid to long-term success.
Contrary Contender move:
- We sign Gerald Green - This move essentially removes a roster spot and playing time for our young potential. If you liked Nader, he's definitely gone in the cut to 15. RJ Hunter/Young/Bentil may be gone now too. That's from a roster spot perspective. From a playing time perspective I expect Green to be more polished than Brown in his offensive abilities and is still just as athletic. There is also existing chemistry from Phoenix days between Green and IT... but reducing Brown's minutes for a 30 year old vet is a contender move... even if Green only gets 5 minutes per game.
Contender move:
- Maxing 30 year old Al Horford - this is a win now move, strengthening a position of need with a player in their prime.
Contrary Rebuilder move:
- Holding unto the Nets picks for dear life - the Nets picks figure to be high lottery picks, possibly Top 5 in both years. But they are our most valuable assets and the concept of an equitable deal on both sides is a myth. If Horford is to be considered a championship move, there must be another move to be made even if it seems lop-sided. If there was a time when the Kings wanted both Nets picks for Boogie and we didn't pull the trigger it was a waste!!!. 2016 Top 5: Simmons, Ingram, Brown, Bender, Dunn. 2015 Top 5: Towns, Russell, Okafor, Porzingis, Herzonja. Am I to believe that the combination of any two of these players is worth more than pairing Horford with Boogie on the road to a championship!!! Or with Blake, if we feel that is the move we need to make.
There are other moves I could point to, but in general I feel like I'm on a roster merry-go-round, with moves being made that ultimately keep us a two-win playoff team.