Wonder if Grantland will do an oral history in twenty years about the "Dynasty that Never Was" like they just did with 90s Orlando.
TP... I too was thinking about teh current OKC team the whole time. And hoping for their sake they keep it together. I really think that Durant and WB stay together... they both seem to be driven but not overcome with ego.
That story was a great read. Johnathan Abrams is a world-class writer, and probably my favorite at Grantland (and I really enjoy Zach Lowe's writing a lot).
Fascinating that Shaq was actually much closer to staying in ORL initially than leaving (assuming it wasn't revisionist history). That ORL really botched it. I guess it seemed like a done deal -- but that may be my recollection about it being so after that LAL-VAN trade.
It also made me glad we made the playoffs. That ORL benefitted from getting bounced by IND initially. It showed them what playoff ball was about and led them to adding Horace Grant.
BTW..... The stories that (a) Embiid got fined a couple times and (b) that Coach Brown wasn't thrilled with his work ethic came out while i was reading the Magic Oral History and I thought "well no **** players on your team ? that is intentionally fielding a bad team ? aren't working at 110% the way guys like Smart or Crowder are." It baffles me that the trickle down effect of Sam Heinke's "strategy" and "leadership" isn't more discussed.
I think *at best* they'll mirror those talented but rudderless NJ Nets teams with Anderson/Coleman in the early 90s. I don't think PHI wins more than 30 games in the next 6-10 years.
