thelead wrote:OrlandO wrote:J the Drafter wrote:Not this reasoning again. Can't we just take Charles' advice as the words of a man who played professional basketball, and excelled in doing it?
Hall of famer. MVP once, almost twice. 11 time allstar. First year with the suns 60+ wins and made the finals only to lose to the GOAT in 6 competitive games. Next two years went 7 games against the eventual champions both times. He may not have a ring, but he knew how to compete with the best of them. I'd listen to him about basketball over the critics on this board any day.
Barkley is right that you need a mix of youth and vets but it hardly takes a rocket scientist to figure that out. To add to that (and this not directed towards you OrlandO), why are we talking about contending right now?
I don't think the barkley comment was about contending now... more about how veteran presence will help shape our youth in hopes to better contend in the future. That's where the Barkley and Moses Malone comment comes in. Barkley only played with Malone in his first two years, yet he gives him a lot of credit for the impact his presence had on his career. Not that we have Barkley or a Moses Malone type player, but I think it's important for the younger guys to see how hustle on both sides of the floor can pay off even for an underdog player like big baby - short, fat, can't jump, yet often impacts the game when he puts in the proper effort. Same with Redick and Afflalo's approach to the game... They aren't allstars, but Harkless already admires how seriously they take the game. Rookies are impressionable. They're looking for guidance and what they see early in their careers may help mold them. All these veterans may not be around when we're finally ready to compete again, but you still have to operate as if you're on track for the best case scenario or else your team will never succeed. You cannot just toss the vets aside in favor of developing the inexperienced players.