...And I'm not saying no one else does, but the discussion during this rebuilding year has led me to believe that some are willing to settle for less than that.
To be clear: by domination I mean 10 years of being in the conversation for reaching the finals, highlighted by at least 5 years of being at least the favorite to make it out of the East (if not the favorite to win it all). Anything less than 3 championships would not be dominance. In short, I want the Celtics to be the team that any other contenders HAVE to go through in order to make it to the finals.
In light of this goal, there are few rebuild scenarios that truly appeal to me. While I can certainly see the value of obtaining an established veteran player as a centerpiece, the ones that are most likely to fulfill the goal of dominance are either unlikely to be traded/released by their current teams or are too old to reasonably assure the ten year window. And, by definition, players worthy of being the centerpiece of a truly dominant team are just not that common.
For the record, I do not believe Rondo can be that centerpiece player. In my mind, Rondo would be the third option on a truly dominant team (not because I think he isn't good, but because if he's the third best player, the two ahead of him would be pretty kick a$$). Besides, his current age would preclude his ability to be at the center of a 10 year run.
While I think Sullinger has a high ceiling, I also don't he will develop into that centerpiece player. At most, I think he could be a number 2, but I don't think that he is likely to reach that point. And KO? I just do not see it....
I have spent the first half of the season arguing against banking on draft picks to bring the C's back to dominance, but I have to admit that I am coming over to that way of thinking. I can't yet embrace the idea of throwing out everything in order to get a top pick. It still strikes me that keeping quality players that can contribute to the dominance in later years does not prevent them from losing a sufficient number of games this season, and their record so far seems to bear this out.
I am definitely cooling on the idea of trading for quality veteran players to achieve dominance because dominance requires having a player who is in the conversation for the best player in the league. I just don't see a team trading away a player at that level. Perhaps Houston will go on a run these next 5 years and prove me wrong, but right now they're not even the top team in their own division.
To me the encouraging thought is that it's possible to try both approaches at once. Since the Celtics should have a decent draft pick this year they have a shot at building through the draft. They can also try to trade for quality veterans and improve in the coming years without really jeopardizing their draft chances in the future since they have access to other people's draft picks.
So...what's the consensus today on just how franchise-altering the players in this years' draft might be?
Topic: I Want Total Domination (Read 635 times)