You keep saying we could rebuild in a couple years. Explain this a bit if you don't mind.
Glad there's someone with an open mind.
A lot of people seem excited about the 2014 draft, so I'll go back to the last impact draft, the 2003 draft class. This draft had a whopping four instant franchise changers: Lebron, Melo, Bosh, and Wade. The first one to win of these four was Wade, in 3 years. HOWEVER, he was only able to do so because he had Shaq, and other veterans like Walker and Williams. As for Lebron and Bosh, they didn't win until they teamed up with Wade, and Melo remains ringless even after going to NY. Stars win in this league, but that has become overrated now. Sometimes, it actually backfires. Look at Brooklyn.
At the end of the day, stars help, but basketball remains a team effort. It took 9 seasons for Lebron to win a championship, and that required him changing ships to a better TEAM. Everyone loves the "Thunder model", but Durant and Westbrook have grown with each other for 5 years now, but have yet to win a championship. It took them 4 years to get to the Finals, and it took them 3 years to become legitimate contenders. Under LarBrd33's dream situation, that means even if we get lucky and somehow get one of the franchise changers in next year's draft (which is unlikely unless we also trade Rondo and Green), we're off to a great Year 1. Let's say in a best, best, best case scenario, we somehow surround that franchise changer with elite veteran talent like Wade, and we become contenders by 2017. That's 4 years from now. Obviously, that takes a lot of pieces to fall together, so let's scale it back and say we keep drafting our key pieces with the "Thunder model". Now we're looking at 5-6 years. But the "Thunder model" has become overrated. It's not as easy as it looks. Ainge is a great drafter, but it's really difficult to continually draft guys like Durant, Westbrook, Harden, and Ibaka in such a short span. In summary, even in the most ideal situations, if we completely nuke (which we have to with the Brooklyn trade), that's 4-6 years MINIMUM, and that's with everything falling perfectly into place.
NOW, what am I proposing? We already have Rondo and Green. Neither are top-tier superstars, but both are great players entering their prime while on reasonable contracts (particularly Rondo). Honestly, good, young players on reasonable contracts is one of the most undervalued assets in today's CBA. Around Rondo and Green, we still have very solid contributors in Sullinger, Bradley, and Lee. Olynyk is one of the most NBA ready talents from this year's draft class, as well. Three of the four guys I just mentioned are on rookie scale contracts, and Lee can certainly work his way to a point where his contract is reasonable.
This post is already long enough so I won't highlight the details, but if we made any trade other than the Brooklyn trade, we could've gotten assets without having to take back Wallace. But for the sake of simplicity, let's just say we only manage ONE first round pick for each PP/KG (and let's be realistic, we could've hauled in more). That means we'll have three additional first round picks when factoring in LAC's Doc compensation. Of course, we also have our own draft picks, too.
By the end of this offseason, that means we have a core of Rondo/Bradley/Green/Sully/Olynyk, lots of cap space, and a solid amount of draft picks. Sully and Olynyk ideally come off the bench, so how do we fill out the frontcourt with impactful players? Luckily, Gortat is on the market. Millsap and Al Jefferson are free agents. And of all the potential disgruntled players, the cream of the crop just happens to be big men (LMA, Love, DMC). Looking at their situations realistically, LMA and DMC might be in a position where they stay. But honestly, Minny isn't going anywhere soon and Love already wanted out once.
If there's one thing Ainge is consistently good at, it's trading. We're not getting all of those guys, but the chances of us getting two we need is very likely. At this point, you might stop and say that none of these guys scream superstar, and none of them can carry a team to a championship.
Let's not forget that Rondo is a certified Heat killer, and when it comes to the postseason, he arguably is capable of carrying teams. Green has his finest moments against the Heat, too. Of the guys I listed, Millsap owns the Heat. Let's not forget that the two teams that came closest to toppling the Heat played TEAM BALL that centered around having a SOLID FRONTCOURT, the Pacers and Spurs. You can argue that Duncan still has enough in the tank to be called their superstar, but the Pacers certainly don't have a clear cut superstar. George emerged, yes, but his contributions weren't anymore than those of West, Hibbert, and even guys like Hill and Stephenson. Again, stars are nice to have, but ultimately it comes down to TEAM BALL.
When you look at the West, it's a similar story. Some of the most dangerous up and coming teams include Denver, Golden State, and Memphis. Again, none of these teams have clear cut superstars that carry the team outside of Curry. All of them have solid, deep teams that have a nice mixture of YOUTH AND EXPERIENCE, all of whom are HARD WORKERS.
With Rondo and Green already firmly in place, Boston easily could've gone out and created one of these solid team compositions that focus on a strong frontcourt, and an overall mixture of youth and experience. Fortunately, all these pieces were conveniently out there for us. We could've gotten together this sort of team in no more than 2 years. You could argue that we would almost assuredly be in the dreaded NBA purgatory of being a first or second round exit those first few years, but I'd be happy with that. Our team would get more experience and be hungrier for the next year. As early as the third year, we would be realistic championship contenders again.
Of course, not all trades/FA signings are perfect, so let's pretend that happens to us as well. But look at Indiana. Five years ago they thought Granger was going to be the guy that resurrects the franchise. Obviously, that wasn't the case. But in just a matter of five years, which is equivalent to a BEST CASE scenario of LarBrd33's fantasy. And the thing with my plan is that there are no risky investments. You're getting guys who have been in the league who know how to play. Two guys who most changed the Pacers's fortune were Hill and West, who came via trade and FA respectively. They're established. Through the draft, no matter how deep it is, you don't know what you're getting. Let's not forget the #2 overall pick of the 2003 draft was Darko.
We have Rondo and Green already. They help make a quick 2-3 year retool so much easier. I don't understand why in the world Ainge felt compelled to get one of the worst contracts in the league.
