AD did say let's run it back. First instinct is usually always the correct one. I think LeBron coaxed AD into it and AD rolled with it. At the same time, Westbrook was the only attainable "star" last year. We all knew Westbrook was a pain, but as a 3rd option, no one thought he would be this bad.
It's also easier for Pat Riley to say eat a schlong to LeBron and have ownership approve. Pat Riley at that point in 2014 had helped win Miami three NBA championships and went to 5 NBA Finals in 9 years. He always built winners, with or without LeBron. Pat Riley the last 40 years, as a coach and GM has won 7 NBA Championships and has gone to 14 NBA Finals. Pretty crazy stat only eclipsed by the Lakers with 10 NBA Championships and 16 NBA Finals in that same span.
riley's a gangster, for sure. still strange we couldn't get him back in the fold. i guess it was about having west and phil both around when riley would have been able to come back.
Russ as a 3rd option and nobody thought he would be this bad? There were people on this form and basketball people who questioned the fit and knew it wouldn't work coming from miles away. I wasn't in that camp, unfortunately.
people were predicting we'd miss the play-in? i was a skeptic on the trade (though i liked it better than the hield trade and was wrong about that), but i never imagined this.
Some experts had us penciled in against the Nets in the finals. Only a handful had us finishing out of top four and those generally have been biased against the Lakers in the past. I'm going to need to see proof of anyone predicting we wouldn't make the play-in.
I tried to talk myself into thinking it might have a chance of working, knowing deep down that it wouldn’t.
That article is a sobering read. We’ve made some very poor moves over the last few years and it’s finally catching up to us.
Yeah I thought it was a great piece by Pincus. On the money. The failure lies in the hands of the FO and ownership. Against common sense they dismantled what they built which won a championship. Pelinka has his work cut out for him building it back up if it isn’t already too late in Lebron’s window.
It better NOT be Pelinka who's cleaning up this mess in the off season. With any luck this thread will be extinct in a couple weeks.
i knew he was a bad fit, doesnt takena bball savant to figure that out....ball dominant guard that is a poor perimeter player dont mess with bron n maybe even AD.....
Why? It's Lebron's fault. Pelinka was the first to stand up to him and we want another yes-man? Lebron (and AD) wanted Westbrook. Pelinka wanted Hield. He made it happen. He learned with that mistake and didn't made a dumb trade this deadline. Lebron wanted it, hence the cry me a river in the ASW. Don't be mislead by the narrative sponsored by Klutch, be smarter
the long list of smaller moves is the real killer, imo. that said, there's a lot of second-guessing about three-year deals for undrafted rookies and second round picks and such. you telling me pincus was on that at the time?
The fact that LeBron pushed for the Westbrook trade in no way absolves Pelinka for his NUMEROUS mistakes. There are so many it's hard to know where to begin, but they are well documented and entirely his responsibility, and no one need to rely on the Klutch narrative to recognize them (e.g. there is absolutely no excuse for letting Caruso go.) As for the Westbrook trade, I don't care that LeBron pushed for it. He's not the GM, and it was Pelinka's job to politely thank him for the suggestion, before turning around and making the smarter moves. I see no proof that anyone in that Hindenburg of a front office has learned their lesson, as Jeanie seems totally content sticking with the Pelinka/Rambii powerhouse brain trust going forward. The fact that Rob "didn't make a dumb trade this deadline" is a result of us screwing the pooch so bad we didn't even have BAD options. The fact is, our FO took a championship team and what should have been a perennial title contender and turned us into a bottom-feeder that doesn't even belong in the play-in tourney.
i think you're overselling what rob actually can and can't do within the organizational framework, though i can see the skepticism with respect to whether or not lessons have been learned.
I keep seeing the comment that we broke up a championship team. I think that fails to take into account how little AD and Lebron have played together over the last two seasons at all. Changing your supporting cast is the difference between winning a championship or the conference finals. It’s not the difference between a championship and not making the play in. That kind of swing is only due to Lebron being old and AD being injury prone and both not playing much together. Everything else is just the details.
