Darko: "This is Year 1 of our Re-build"

[ash_k]

Hope you guys are ready to be dissappointed lol we are not winning 41 games....With 80 percent of the roster being 1-2 year rookies...

Yup, this roster is worse than what we started with last year and that team was no where close to 0.500. I expect to see a repeat of last year (10th-13th seed in the East). Honestly the worst place to be but we will have no other options.

Pistons
Wizards
Bulls
Nets
Hornets
Hawks

Tell me how we manage that 2 of them pass us. Cause that is the minimum needed just to be "only" 10th place.

Unless one of those Teams overperforms, we might get the 9th seed by default.

Yeah and The posters will get there at some points.
It is like the Posters are looking at the roster from the 16th roster's spot to the first. (Yes, from 16th to 11th it will be rookies mostly)
IQ, RJ, Scottie and Yak with a bench of Davion, Gradey, Brown, KO and Boucher will not be behind any of those teams you listed outside of maybe the Hawks(maybe)...meaning around 41-wins whether they like it or not, at the very worst.

But then again, Darko is our coach

[Syd-TK3]

Yup, this roster is worse than what we started with last year and that team was no where close to 0.500. I expect to see a repeat of last year (10th-13th seed in the East). Honestly the worst place to be but we will have no other options.

Pistons
Wizards
Bulls
Nets
Hornets
Hawks

Tell me how we manage that 2 of them pass us. Cause that is the minimum needed just to be "only" 10th place.

Unless one of those Teams overperforms, we might get the 9th seed by default.

Hawks, Bulls and Hornets can easily be better than us. 2 of those teams were already better than us last year and Hornets could have better health this year (plus full season of Bridges).

We will be better than the Nets, Wizards and Pistons. The other 3 are toss ups dependent on health. That's kind of the issue, we aren't firmly better than any of these teams and we aren't bad enough to be at the bottom.

Bulls are going to tank they may be pretending like they not but they owe a top 10 protected pick to the the Spurs that they most likely wanna keep

[WetLikeWater]

I don't trust darko no more he looks like an assistant coach and can't sense any HC vibes from him like when we got Nick nurse

[DelAbbot]

I don't trust darko no more he looks like an assistant coach and can't sense any HC vibes from him like when we got Nick nurse

Having Darko as HC is equivalent to having no real center for the years between Gasol and Poeltl

[Shakril]

Yup, this roster is worse than what we started with last year and that team was no where close to 0.500. I expect to see a repeat of last year (10th-13th seed in the East). Honestly the worst place to be but we will have no other options.

Pistons
Wizards
Bulls
Nets
Hornets
Hawks

Tell me how we manage that 2 of them pass us. Cause that is the minimum needed just to be "only" 10th place.

Unless one of those Teams overperforms, we might get the 9th seed by default.

Hawks, Bulls and Hornets can easily be better than us. 2 of those teams were already better than us last year and Hornets could have better health this year (plus full season of Bridges).

We will be better than the Nets, Wizards and Pistons. The other 3 are toss ups dependent on health. That's kind of the issue, we aren't firmly better than any of these teams and we aren't bad enough to be at the bottom.

Hawks and Bulls both got worse and barely had a better record than us (considering us waving the white flag early). Hornets also dont have a good team even with the always injured lamelo Ball comes back.

I would be very surprised if we are worse than 10th place.

[___Rand___]

Yes things shifted last year. First half of the year was an attempt to see if the old roster with Pascal and OG would still work with the addition of a new point guard, and the aim was to make the playoffs. It didn't under Darko, and they blew it up half way. 2nd half of the season was pivot to a new build with new core - the BBQD. But MAKE NO MISTAKE, it is the same coach, the same philosophy. This is the 2nd season of Darko. If he didn't establish a new culture, his philosophy last year, then that's on HIM. Not on the roster turnover.

This statement from him just sounds like he's trying to get a mental reset of his performance from the fan base and media, to treat the coming season as his year 1. Either that, or it's an indication that Darko had difficulty operating under those circumstances last year and is saying, "lets all call this a new chapter". ie. he does not have mental flexibility to deal with changes.

Or, the simplest explanation, the management recognized their mistakes and turned a page. Last year was dismantling the old team followed by injuries, Schroeder ****, and OG checked out, and more injuries.

This does feel like a year 1 honestly.

How is a guy supposed to build a culture when his top players are either checked out, traded, or Injured?

Let's see whether they can actually develop some Rookies, and continue Dick's development on an ascending path.
I want to see a young energetic bench, and starters being enabled to play on their strengths.

That's how I will measure the coaching work .

Culture building is about messaging, instituting new routines practices attitudes etc. He preaches his philosophy and reinforce it over time through training practice film sessions etc. He should already be doing that REGARDLESS of availability of players - because injuries and roster turnover happens ALL THE TIME in NBA. Nothing is different. This is just speech for excuses. Creating narratives that compartmentalize his regime. Effectively he says "last year doesn't count". Sure let's give him a mulligan.

[LarSiN]

He's right, not sure what's confusing about it.

[Chandan]

how low the expectations it is with Ochai?
It's like we've never had corner shooters before. What's going to happen is if somehow Ochai improves his corner 3, opponents will take away his corner 3 after a few games and he will be useless again.
When we had actual good asset like norm, we wanted them to become complete players, not raise the shot efficiency at a particular spot by 5% so he can be somewhat viable.

[Shakril]

Yes things shifted last year. First half of the year was an attempt to see if the old roster with Pascal and OG would still work with the addition of a new point guard, and the aim was to make the playoffs. It didn't under Darko, and they blew it up half way. 2nd half of the season was pivot to a new build with new core - the BBQD. But MAKE NO MISTAKE, it is the same coach, the same philosophy. This is the 2nd season of Darko. If he didn't establish a new culture, his philosophy last year, then that's on HIM. Not on the roster turnover.

This statement from him just sounds like he's trying to get a mental reset of his performance from the fan base and media, to treat the coming season as his year 1. Either that, or it's an indication that Darko had difficulty operating under those circumstances last year and is saying, "lets all call this a new chapter". ie. he does not have mental flexibility to deal with changes.

Or, the simplest explanation, the management recognized their mistakes and turned a page. Last year was dismantling the old team followed by injuries, Schroeder ****, and OG checked out, and more injuries.

This does feel like a year 1 honestly.

How is a guy supposed to build a culture when his top players are either checked out, traded, or Injured?

Let's see whether they can actually develop some Rookies, and continue Dick's development on an ascending path.
I want to see a young energetic bench, and starters being enabled to play on their strengths.

That's how I will measure the coaching work .

Culture building is about messaging, instituting new routines practices attitudes etc. He preaches his philosophy and reinforce it over time through training practice film sessions etc. He should already be doing that REGARDLESS of availability of players - because injuries and roster turnover happens ALL THE TIME in NBA. Nothing is different. This is just speech for excuses. Creating narratives that compartmentalize his regime. Effectively he says "last year doesn't count". Sure let's give him a mulligan.

But you can only do that, when the lockerroom is listening to you. And that was not the case last year as it was clear as day, that Siakam, OG and co mentally checked out.

[Jadoogar]

Pistons
Wizards
Bulls
Nets
Hornets
Hawks

Tell me how we manage that 2 of them pass us. Cause that is the minimum needed just to be "only" 10th place.

Unless one of those Teams overperforms, we might get the 9th seed by default.

Hawks, Bulls and Hornets can easily be better than us. 2 of those teams were already better than us last year and Hornets could have better health this year (plus full season of Bridges).

We will be better than the Nets, Wizards and Pistons. The other 3 are toss ups dependent on health. That's kind of the issue, we aren't firmly better than any of these teams and we aren't bad enough to be at the bottom.

Hawks and Bulls both got worse

So have we? At the start of last year, we had an All-NBA player and an all-defense player who are no longer on the team.

[Jerry Lucas]

The only posters here who seem to be upset by Darko's comments are the anti-tWo posters, who ironically are also doing the same thing they often accuse tWo posters of: assuming rebuilding and tanking are the same thing while ignoring the differences between them.

[Tacoma]

They will try to win but it should be a rebuild year. The draft in 2025 is strong, a top 5 pick would change a lot for us. If we got a generational talent like Bailey, Flagg, or another it changes the trajectory of our team. We need at least two ROYs to have a contender in the future.

You've hit on a dilemma that Masai has put himself in after trading for IQ and RJ. Had he, instead, targeted to get draft picks in the OG trade, 2025 likely would be a full tank season.

But he has IQ & RJ and wants to give them opportunity to play together with Barnes to see if this group can win. Barnes has taken this to heart, saying "...all this rebuild talk, it’s whatever, but I want to go out there and win games." So, to be crystal clear, we are starting next season trying to win - and then see what happens.

When Darko says "It is a clean slate. This is Year 1 of our rebuild," I take it to mean this is the 1st full year of the rebuild in the BBQ era. This doesn't preclude that we are still trying to win at the same time, which has been our mantra since 2020.

[DelAbbot]

They will try to win but it should be a rebuild year. The draft in 2025 is strong, a top 5 pick would change a lot for us. If we got a generational talent like Bailey, Flagg, or another it changes the trajectory of our team. We need at least two ROYs to have a contender in the future.

You've hit on a dilemma that Masai has put himself in after trading for IQ and RJ. Had he, instead, targeted to get draft picks in the OG trade, 2025 likely would be a full tank season.

But he has IQ & RJ and wants to give them opportunity to play together with Barnes to see if this group can win. Barnes has taken this to heart, saying "...all this rebuild talk, it’s whatever, but I want to go out there and win games." So, to be crystal clear, we are starting next season trying to win - and then see what happens.

When Darko says "It is a clean slate. This is Year 1 of our rebuild," I take it to mean this is year one of the rebuild in the BBQ era. This doesn't preclude that we are still trying to win at the same time, which has been our mantra since 2020.

Masai calls that "keeping flexibility" / "see what happens"

I call it "half measure" - just like roster building 2021-2023

[OakleyDokely]

They will try to win but it should be a rebuild year. The draft in 2025 is strong, a top 5 pick would change a lot for us. If we got a generational talent like Bailey, Flagg, or another it changes the trajectory of our team. We need at least two ROYs to have a contender in the future.

You've hit on a dilemma that Masai has put himself in after trading for IQ and RJ. Had he, instead, targeted to get draft picks in the OG trade, 2025 likely would be a full tank season.

But he has IQ & RJ and wants to give them opportunity to play together with Barnes to see if this group can win. Barnes has taken this to heart, saying "...all this rebuild talk, it’s whatever, but I want to go out there and win games." So, to be crystal clear, we are starting next season trying to win - and then see what happens.

When Darko says "It is a clean slate. This is Year 1 of our rebuild," I take it to mean this is year one of the rebuild in the BBQ era. This doesn't preclude that we are still trying to win at the same time, which has been our mantra since 2020.

Masai calls that "keeping flexibility" / "see what happens"

I call it "half measure" - just like roster building 2021-2023

Masai just took the best deal. Unless you think trading OG for a Siakam-like package of mid-late 1sts makes the future look a lot brighter. I'm sure the Knicks would've been more than willing to give up their late 1sts instead.

[WaltFrazier]

Since coaches have a finite number of years before being replaced, any coach would love to say year 1 didn't count and the rebuild starts now in year 2. Gives him an extra year's grace.

[djsunyc]

player X, coach X, exec X say words.

i will use those words and mold them to my already formed and inflexible stance and keep posting that.

[ATLTimekeeper]

Or, the simplest explanation, the management recognized their mistakes and turned a page. Last year was dismantling the old team followed by injuries, Schroeder ****, and OG checked out, and more injuries.

This does feel like a year 1 honestly.

How is a guy supposed to build a culture when his top players are either checked out, traded, or Injured?

Let's see whether they can actually develop some Rookies, and continue Dick's development on an ascending path.
I want to see a young energetic bench, and starters being enabled to play on their strengths.

That's how I will measure the coaching work .

Culture building is about messaging, instituting new routines practices attitudes etc. He preaches his philosophy and reinforce it over time through training practice film sessions etc. He should already be doing that REGARDLESS of availability of players - because injuries and roster turnover happens ALL THE TIME in NBA. Nothing is different. This is just speech for excuses. Creating narratives that compartmentalize his regime. Effectively he says "last year doesn't count". Sure let's give him a mulligan.

But you can only do that, when the lockerroom is listening to you. And that was not the case last year as it was clear as day, that Siakam, OG and co mentally checked out.

Those guys were gone by January, though.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

Too much praise for RJ. He's not a guy who can scale down and if you use him as a high USG player he's not even good with the ball in his hands a ton. Just another flawed treadmill player.

[mihaic]

They will try to win but it should be a rebuild year. The draft in 2025 is strong, a top 5 pick would change a lot for us. If we got a generational talent like Bailey, Flagg, or another it changes the trajectory of our team. We need at least two ROYs to have a contender in the future.

You've hit on a dilemma that Masai has put himself in after trading for IQ and RJ. Had he, instead, targeted to get draft picks in the OG trade, 2025 likely would be a full tank season.

But he has IQ & RJ and wants to give them opportunity to play together with Barnes to see if this group can win. Barnes has taken this to heart, saying "...all this rebuild talk, it’s whatever, but I want to go out there and win games." So, to be crystal clear, we are starting next season trying to win - and then see what happens.

When Darko says "It is a clean slate. This is Year 1 of our rebuild," I take it to mean this is year one of the rebuild in the BBQ era. This doesn't preclude that we are still trying to win at the same time, which has been our mantra since 2020.

Masai calls that "keeping flexibility" / "see what happens"

I call it "half measure" - just like roster building 2021-2023

It's more like kicking the can down the road. They converted OG in players. Some of Pascal too (KO and ochai).

I guess once they trade all for picks they'd go all in. It can backfire like it did for Detroit. No management would do it without full ownership support. Perhaps they won't have ownership support? It's possible but we won't know for now.

[Drakeem]

They will try to win but it should be a rebuild year. The draft in 2025 is strong, a top 5 pick would change a lot for us. If we got a generational talent like Bailey, Flagg, or another it changes the trajectory of our team. We need at least two ROYs to have a contender in the future.

You've hit on a dilemma that Masai has put himself in after trading for IQ and RJ. Had he, instead, targeted to get draft picks in the OG trade, 2025 likely would be a full tank season.

But he has IQ & RJ and wants to give them opportunity to play together with Barnes to see if this group can win. Barnes has taken this to heart, saying "...all this rebuild talk, it’s whatever, but I want to go out there and win games." So, to be crystal clear, we are starting next season trying to win - and then see what happens.

When Darko says "It is a clean slate. This is Year 1 of our rebuild," I take it to mean this is the 1st full year of the rebuild in the BBQ era. This doesn't preclude that we are still trying to win at the same time, which has been our mantra since 2020.

Yeah, I think people are purposely taking things out of context here to fuel whatever agenda they want to go with. "Rebuild" doesn't have to mean bottoming out. This is a new core and direction with the team. We "rebuilt" the foundation of the team.