The only thing I'll be disappointed with is if the team isn't better next year and keeps losing games by imploding in the 2nd half/4th quarter. Add a legit center, #6, #17 and end the collapses and this team should definitely compete for the playoffs, which will make every player on the roster look better to other teams, and we'll still have two first picks in 3 of the next 4 drafts.
Mike
I think a few simple moves in addition to drafting well at 6 and 17 will definitely improve the team. At the very least, it'll help the roster make more sense and Stevens will have some better pieces to work with -- pieces that actually fit together somewhat.
That said, I think around here we underestimate a little bit how difficult it is to make the playoffs. Simply having the talent isn't enough. You need to have the experience, too. The Celtics didn't really do much learning how to win games together this season, and the roster is going to be very different next year, so it's like they're starting all over again.
I'd be pretty surprised if they are seriously competing for the playoffs in the second half of next season, though I think they'll have some competitive stretches that get people excited.
I'd agree if we were talking about any other conference in any other sports league, but this is the NBA's Eastern Conference. The C's were 4 games out of the 8 seed after 44 games and 5.5 games out after 63 games. Not exactly getting left in the dust, especially considering the organization had absolutely no intention of trying to make the playoffs. A full year of a healthy Rondo and improvements from our young players will already make them better than last year, which would put them squarely in the playoff hunt unless the conference as a whole makes significant improvements.
But to your original point, I don't think most people are that desperate to simply hock the #6 pick to try to get as good as possible right now immediately regardless of the cost or what it gets them. Love is extremely appealing because he's an elite player now, and that's what you're aiming for when you draft. The odds are unlikely the 6 would turn out as good as Love, and it would take years to find out. But I don't think most people would want to hock the farm for him if it gave no other chances to continue to improve in the years ahead.
If Love doesn't pan out, which it likely won't, I think most would be happy with a "competitive rebuild" from here on in, that is making smart incremental moves to gradually improve the team while retaining flexibility for future moves, which is how most teams rebuild anyway. They could add smaller essential pieces (Asik is a common one thrown around) to help us get better now while taking the 6 and hoping he turns into a good player. Our year of bottoming out left us with more than enough assets to start heading in that direction. What I think many people wouldn't want is to just sit pat and hope our draft picks turn into stars, with the real possibility that we could be returning to the lottery for the 3rd year in a row, our draft picks not having worked out quite like we hoped. Some teams spend the better part of a decade in the lottery and still aren't competitive.
Topic: Disappointed with #6 and want to trade it? Ask yourself this. (Read 24502 times)