SameOldNudityDrew wrote:Some good thoughts on this thread, thanks for getting that started Shumway.
There are some things I would have done differently this offseason, mainly driven by my thinking that we need to be ahead of the curve as the league evolves into an even more perimeter-oriented league with lot of switching on D:
[list]
[*] trying to get a long, versatile forward with range in the draft like Wilson or Bolden
[*] targeting a long 3 and D wing in free agency instead of Gibson
[/list]
But on the whole, I'm pretty happy, mostly because we added Butler. We finally made the step to get a star to go with Towns, and it just happens that he's one of my favorite players, he plays exactly like Wiggins needs to learn how to play, and he meshes perfectly with our coach. So I'm excited to see what this team can do!
The Rubio-Teague switch is a logical one, as much as I hate to see Rubio go. Teague's dribble penetration and outside shooting fit much more what we need and could be small improvements that help open up the offense in big ways. And while Rubio is a much better off the ball defender, I like Teague's ability to stay in front of smaller, quicker guards on the ball, which was a problem for Ricky. I also think this may weirdly help out our defense, even though overall, Rubio was a better defender.
On the hindsight issue, I'm more forgiving. We all like to think that if we were in charge, we'd make the right decisions, but there's so much luck and chance in this game I think we need to stay humble about second-guessing decisions here or there.
I DO think you can hold front offices accountable for systematic failure though. What Phil was doing in New York was inexcusable, alienating his players and fans alike and refusing to come to grips with reality. Or when a front office is delusional about when it's clear their team needs to rebuild, they need to be able to set pride aside, bite the bullet and do it. Atlanta has now lost two huge free agents and got nothing to show for it, and just look at the mess the Nets got themselves into a few years ago. Or on the flip side, waiting too long with young prospects and passing up opportunities to cash in those assets for a star. It looked until the Hayward signing last night that this might be happening in Boston, but it turns out they've been counting on this decision all along. I don't see any of these things happening with Thibs, so I can't fault him significantly for any systematic failure.
I DO think this offseason has made clear that Thibs doesn't necessarily share my priorities with more perimeter shooting and switchability on D. But he has his vision, one that clearly involves a hard-nosed, defensive-minded team, and he's assembled a roster that fits that with good veterans plus two rising stars. I disagree with his priorities and vision somewhat, but I can't really knock him for doing a pretty decent job building a team that will match the vision he's got. I'm looking forward to the season and ready to roll!
BINGO. Judging something based on the outcome will be flawed, but judging on whether the outcome was based on systematic failure is appropriate.
An open 3 point shot that misses can still be a good shot. A contested long 2 that goes in can still be a poor shot.
I think Flip demonstrated a great ability at talent evaluation and this demonstrates that his processes and systems were very strong - even if the track record was not perfect. I also think Thibs has gotten off to a good start in his POBO role. Patience last year when the FA market was (in hindsight) clearly overvalued. Then the ability to bring in another star in Butler is a building body of evidence that he's on the right track in my eyes despite not agreeing with all his moves (Lip, I'm with you on hoping Swaggy P doesn't sign).
