"Running it back" is a waste of everyone's time. History shows us this.

[Lucky17]

Poor timing for this thread given that the Spurs, a team to have last won a championship in 2006-2007, is one win away for getting a title six seasons later with the same core. Duncan is 37. Ginobili is 35. Tony Parker is 31.

Run it back and forth till the wheels fall off.

[/threadover]

[LooseCannon]

I hate these comments.

There's no real formula other than getting lucky and maintaining that luck.

Basically no teams have the right formula.

There are multiple paths.  The mistake is being wedded to one particular formula.

Show me a team besides Detroit that did it without bottoming out first?  Show me.  I challenge you.

The Lakers never hit rock bottom.

There's a difference between putting together a bad roster that has no chance of being good and having a roster with some talent that gets destroyed by injury for one season.  Intentionally being bad doesn't work.  The former case is just stupid.  You can't plan for the latter case.

I'd argue that Ainge may have tried to get into the lottery once Rondo went down and may have declined to sign someone like Kenyon Martin in the hopes of getting down to the 10th-worst record, but Doc and the players frustrated that goal by being too good.

The best course is to avoid putting together the roster of a perennial bottom-feeder.  Keep your payroll relatively clean.  You either get lucky late in the draft, have a bad injury year which puts you in the lottery, or you make a steal of a trade.  You don't screw up your roster so it takes multiple good draft picks in a row to dig yourself out of the pit of no-talent.

[LooseCannon]

The best (and practically only way) of acquiring an elite player happens via the draft.  We must go down to the basement in order to get back up to the penthouse.

Look at how many teams got their elite player without picking in the top 3.  You don't have to go down quite that far.

[ItStaysYang]

Poor timing for this thread given that the Spurs, a team to have last won a championship in 2006-2007, is one win away for getting a title six seasons later with the same core. Duncan is 37. Ginobili is 35. Tony Parker is 31.

Run it back and forth till the wheels fall off.

[/threadover]

How ignorant. Compare apples to oranges much?

[nickagneta]

Poor timing for this thread given that the Spurs, a team to have last won a championship in 2006-2007, is one win away for getting a title six seasons later with the same core. Duncan is 37. Ginobili is 35. Tony Parker is 31.

Run it back and forth till the wheels fall off.

[/threadover]

TP to both of you. Yup nuff said.

[Bankshot]

Call me crazy, but I wanted to give it one more go with Rondo and Sully coming back and Green having a full healthy year.  We still need to replace Bass though.

[RyNye]

How ignorant. Compare apples to oranges much?

You know what's completely awesome? Completely dismissing another person's point, calling it 'ignorant', without providing a single shred of reasoning or evidence as to why is ignorant.

Now, for all of you people who are bizarrely enamored with the idea of tanking, I would like to direct your attention to the Wizards, the Bobcats, the T-wolves, the Hornets, etc. How many teams are perennial at the bottom of the pile because tanking didn't work out?

[ItStaysYang]

How ignorant. Compare apples to oranges much?

You know what's completely awesome? Completely dismissing another person's point, calling it 'ignorant', without providing a single shred of reasoning or evidence as to why is ignorant.

Now, for all of you people who are bizarrely enamored with the idea of tanking, I would like to direct your attention to the Wizards, the Bobcats, the T-wolves, the Hornets, etc. How many teams are perennial at the bottom of the pile because tanking didn't work out?

How many of those listed are huge-market teams that are run by men with deep pockets?

Pathetic

[Lucky17]

How ignorant. Compare apples to oranges much?

You know what's completely awesome? Completely dismissing another person's point, calling it 'ignorant', without providing a single shred of reasoning or evidence as to why is ignorant.

Now, for all of you people who are bizarrely enamored with the idea of tanking, I would like to direct your attention to the Wizards, the Bobcats, the T-wolves, the Hornets, etc. How many teams are perennial at the bottom of the pile because tanking didn't work out?

How many of those listed are huge-market teams that are run by men with deep pockets?

Pathetic

Like the Spurs, you mean?

[bdm860]

How ignorant. Compare apples to oranges much?

You know what's completely awesome? Completely dismissing another person's point, calling it 'ignorant', without providing a single shred of reasoning or evidence as to why is ignorant.

Now, for all of you people who are bizarrely enamored with the idea of tanking, I would like to direct your attention to the Wizards, the Bobcats, the T-wolves, the Hornets, etc. How many teams are perennial at the bottom of the pile because tanking didn't work out?

How many of those listed are huge-market teams that are run by men with deep pockets?

Pathetic

Like the Spurs, you mean?

Or Miami?

[The Walker Wiggle]

Poor timing for this thread given that the Spurs, a team to have last won a championship in 2006-2007, is one win away for getting a title six seasons later with the same core. Duncan is 37. Ginobili is 35. Tony Parker is 31.

Run it back and forth till the wheels fall off.

[/threadover]

How ignorant. Compare apples to oranges much?

I prefer bananas.

Okay. If you really want to get into it. Only TWICE in the past 27 years has a team earning a top three pick gone on to win a championship over the course of their pick's rookie contract. Those two teams, the above mentioned Spurs and everyone's favorite edge case the Detroit Pistions with the "help" of Darko Milicic.

You know what the most likely outcome is for a team earning a top three pick over their next FOUR seasons - more trips to the lottery. Fully a third of teams don't make the playoffs even once.

Here's a good read if you've got the time. Why Tanking Doesn't Work in the NBA.

Now let's see if you can return serve, Yang.

[scaryjerry]

Poor timing for this thread given that the Spurs, a team to have last won a championship in 2006-2007, is one win away for getting a title six seasons later with the same core. Duncan is 37. Ginobili is 35. Tony Parker is 31.

Run it back and forth till the wheels fall off.

[/threadover]

Yup. Sorry but the spurs show it'd actually be kinda stupid not to run it back.

[syfy9]

I hate these comments.

There's no real formula other than getting lucky and maintaining that luck.

Basically no teams have the right formula.

There is no right formula, but there is a right-er formula.

[D.o.s.]

I don't think they were every going to really "run it back."

To my eyes, the extended contracts for KG, Pierce, Doc and Terry seem to have been written with the idea for a bit of a farewell tour as the team readjusted toward working around Rondo with players who, on paper, would thrive with him at the point--guys like Bass, Lee, Green, and Bradley.
Doc is there to provide confidence in Rondo and continuity for the new pieces, and leaves the team in solid shape for a post Big 3 era.

Unfortunately, Rondo had his ACL injury, and the team was put in a position of relying more heavily on their aging stars (and clearly best players) than they would've liked. Since we're probably looking at the first half of the season with Rondo rehabbing (I don't expect him to be back to form until January), the prospect of carrying half of a season on the aging legs of Pierce and KG probably didn't appeal to either of them, Doc, or Danny.

[Yogi]

We know we can take the Heat to 7 games.  We've already done it.  Let's see if the Spurs can prove that they can be beat, with a little luck in the health department.