I think it's incorrect to say that because we have no obvious "stars" right now, that this team can't be anything more than an also-ran 8th seed for the next couple years or that our lack of "star power" right now means our future outlook is bad, that Ainge has somehow screwed up our rebuild or that a team like the Lakers has a better outlook than we do. I think that's ridiculous and ignores how well we have built a competitive, improving young team with a great developing culture while also accumulating the assets and flexibility to pursue all avenues (Draft, Trade, FA) to return to contender status.
I also think it's incorrect to say that this team as currently constituted is going to grow to contender status with a Sully, Smart, AB, IT core, or that without any major changes this team is even gonna get past LeBron in the next couple years. The "accumulating assets" phase of the rebuild isn't over, because we don't have a contending roster yet. Ainge won't be done collecting assets until we do. It's exactly why we traded Wallace for Lee and wasted cap space to give PJ3 a look and grab a 2nd rounder. If they underachieve this year, it wouldn't surprise me to see Ainge take part of this team down, keep our 1sts and go total youth movement. That flexibility to do that is part of the reason I'm excited about our future. I still think this team could surprise people and could even win 50 games, but we're not developing into a contender with just these guys. The FO knows that better than anyone.
You can like our current group and be really excited about our future while also being concerned about our lack of obvious "star talent" and wonder where that talent is coming from. The two aren't necessarily separate. I just realize that the FO is keenly aware of where they are, and know what it takes to get where they wanna go.
I think your opening paragraph sets up some straw man arguments, but overall you make a solid point.
Where I'm at on this comes down to the sentence I've bolded.
The Celts are not done rebuilding. Nowhere close. And to my mind, while Ainge has done a great job of maintaining flexibility and assembling assets, all he's done is give himself resources with which to make future deals. The Celtics are still in a state of rebuild that reminds one of the Gertrude Stein quote, "There is no there there."
That's why I don't see the Celtics as any further along in their rebuild, or doing any better job of it, than teams like the Sixers, Magic, T-Wolves, etc. The wins in the short term mean nothing to me because the team has no shot of doing anything meaningful beyond winning enough regular season games to allow us to craft feel-good narratives about the team and the coach.
I appreciate that the wins in the short term have actual value to a lot of fans, and I respect that. I also understand that some people place a lot of value on the intangible stuff like team culture, providing positive examples for young players, and so on.
I tend to think those things could be accomplished without sacrificing so much on the player development and draft asset front. I also tend to think they matter relatively little until there is a core group in place that can carry over the intangible benefits into a theoretical eventual era of contention.
Topic: You want Proof. You Can't handle the Proof! C's rebuilding fast. (Read 23757 times)