I think we are two all-nba team players away from a champion

[Stig]

The recent team brought us a champion had the following players:
KG, a former MVP (2004), all nba 2nd team 2005, 3rd team 2007
Pierce, all nba 3rd team in 2002 and 2003
RA, all nba 2nd team in 2005, and 3rd team in 2001

All of them are all stars in the 4 years before 2008 (except PP, who's injured in 2007).

Looking at the all nba teams in the last 5 years, only these active players have made it:

LBJ, Wade, (Bosh made it in 2007)
Duncan, Parker, Ginobili
Durant, Westbrook
CP3, Griffin
DH, Harden
David Lee, Bogut
Randolph, Marc Gasol
Kobe, Nash, Pau Gasol
Melo, Chandler, Stoudemire
DW, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce (KG injured in 2008)
Dirk
Bynum
Kevin Love
LaMarcus Aldridge
Al Horford
Paul George

I grouped them in their current team. As you can see, the teams with more than 2 all nba team players were pretty much the real contenders in the last 5-6 years(please ignore Nicks).

I admit it's a bit sloppy, Dallas Mavericks win the title in 2010 with only one superstar Dirk, but Dirk is a former MVP and they did have the defensive player of the year in their roster.

Apart from Mavericks, the other champions and and final teams: Celtics, Lakers, Heat, Thunder, Spurs, Magic(ok, Magic is an exceptions too, but i think you'd agree they are the weakest final team in the last 5-6 years) all have >=2 all nba players.

My point is, to get back to the top, we need to assemble a team with similar caliber. In the current roster, only Rondo qualifies this standard (all nba 3rd team 2012), assuming we keep Rondo, we still need another two to join him.

From the above list, plus two near misses(they scored more than or close to the guys on the 3rd team), we have the following players, who are still at the similar level as they elected, and (I think) are potentially available for trade:

Marc Gasol
David Lee
Brook Lopez
Stephen Curry
Kevin Love
LaMarcus Aldridge
Al Horford
Melo
DW

these plus some young stars have real potential for all nba team soon:
Anthony Davis
Kyrie Irving
Damian Lillard
Roy Hibbert
DeMarcus Cousins
John Wall

So to trade for established stars these are your targets. I don't think Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard, Roy Hibbert, John Wall are tradable, so the real list is here:

Marc Gasol
David Lee
Brook Lopez
Kevin Love
LaMarcus Aldridge
Al Horford
Melo
DW


They are all bigs except DW, but then if we keep Rondo there's no need for DW. So my preference is here:
Kevin Love
LaMarcus Aldridge
Marc Gasol
Melo
DeMarcus Cousins
Al Horford
David Lee
Brook Lopez

If we can get any two of them, we will be back in the game right away. Otherwise, Danny needs to work his magic in the draft, or wait for some other young stud somehow becomes available.

[jambr380]

I like your breakdown - it really doesn't seem that unreasonable. Using our top 3 trade chips in Sullinger, Green, Bradley and a plethora of draft picks, we really do have quite a bit to offer a team that wants to go into rebuild mode.

It's also entirely possible that Sullinger turns into a blue chip prospect. If that happens, using Green, Bradley and a couple firsts to trade for an all-star should be totally doable.

The direction of this team really does look bright. If we could consolidate Bass, Lee, Hump, etc into one solid guy (I know that others like Asik - I'm not in love with him), then we would have another very solid player going forward.

[EDWARDO]

Order of the list is correct, but really only the top 2 MIGHT be able to be a top 2 player on a title team. You could have 40 David Lees and not win anything. Even Horford, who is really good, is not a top 2 guy on a title team. Cousins way too unstable. Love is the guy and putting him next to Asik makes a ton of sense. They would compliment each other incredibly well. Love needs shots and rim protection. Asik doesn't need the ball at all but sets great screens and covers a huge amount of ground defensively (why do people on this board assume he is slow?  For a legit 7 footer he's very mobile and was incredibly effective defending the pick and roll-- especially in Chicago)

Not 100% convinced Love can be the best player on a title team, but he could be #2 for sure and I think Rondo is capable of raising his game in the playoffs.

[guava_wrench]

All this list says is that having better players correlates to having a better record.

[jambr380]

All this list says is that having better players correlates to having a better record.

That's really selling his post short. You don't necessarily need to agree with his particular rankings, but I think he is quite specific with who may be available and why. It is also very easy to read well thought out. There are a number of careless threads started around CB; this is not one of them.

[SparzWizard]

First it was a 2-guard away from a championship

Now it's two all-NBA team players.

What's next, two MVPs pairing up with Rondo?

[freshinthehouse]

Asik doesn't need the ball at all but sets great screens and covers a huge amount of ground defensively (why do people on this board assume he is slow?  For a legit 7 footer he's very mobile and was incredibly effective defending the pick and roll-- especially in Chicago)

Haha I have noticed this as well.  Heck, his quickness on D is probably his best trait as an NBA player.  Looks can be deceiving, folks.

[guava_wrench]

All this list says is that having better players correlates to having a better record.

That's really selling his post short. You don't necessarily need to agree with his particular rankings, but I think he is quite specific with who may be available and why. It is also very easy to read well thought out. There are a number of careless threads started around CB; this is not one of them.

I don't think so. It is just putting a lot of verbiage around a simple reality. We need better players. Not just a lot of mediocre players, but a few elite players so that we can have more talent on the floor.

If you will be finishing games with your top 5 players on the court, you need as much talent among those 5 as possible (esp with shortened playoff rotations). If you need a final shot, you need as much talent as possible in that player taking that final shot.

The guys listing in the OP are some really good players. It is good to add really good players. There is no magic formula, but more, in general, is better.

[chambers]

Well I think at least 50% of teams in the NBA are 'only' 2 All NBA players away from a championship.
We have one All Star coming off major surgery and one solid sophomore, and we have Jeff Green- the ultimate role guy/4th string on a contender.

The Wolves with Love and Pekovic and Rubio are 'only' 2 All NBA players away.
Same with the Clippers, same with the Mavs, Blazers probably need 2 more guys even though their system is working well currently.
The Mavs won without 3 All NBA guys but they had a top 5 franchise guy.

[JSD]

If we added multiple hall of fame players in their prime, we'd be contenders.

[TwinTower14]

So is every other team in the NBA.....

[pokeKingCurtis]

So is every other team in the NBA.....

All we have to do is win 16 games in the playoffs.

[TwinTower14]

So is every other team in the NBA.....

All we have to do is win 16 games in the playoffs.

When the C's get to the playoffs and they can win 4 games before their opponents....watch out! they will be tough to beat...

[jambr380]

So is every other team in the NBA.....

Yeah, but we have quite a few assets - young players with potential and a lot of firsts. Not every team has as much to offer as we do. If we wanted to be [legitimately] the third best team in the east today, Danny could make that happen. It may appease many fans as it would put wins back on the board, but we probably wouldn't be contenders.

[Stig]

All this list says is that having better players correlates to having a better record.

what i'm trying to say is, we need to add players at certain levels, those trades that can bring us Josh Smith, Asik, Al Jefferson, etc won't make us a real contender.