** Official 2024 Make or Break Offseason Thread **

[mjkvol]

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nba-finals-how-celtics-and-mavericks-built-their-rosters-and-lessons-other-teams-can-learn/

Every once in a while the national media skips their usual star-obsessed narrative and comes up with an intelligent approach. This is precisely how I have hoped Morey would approach this once in a blue moon opportunity to reconstruct our roster since last off season, in great detail.

Finding players on bad teams with upside that can be had for cheap, patiently waiting for opportunities that will be presenting themselves in the off season and toward the trade deadline, and building quality depth to be able to survive injuries.

The part about making hard choices is something that this franchise has been unwilling to do, with Simmons and Harris being the most obvious examples, but Morey now has a blank slate except he starts with two stars already in place. Maxing one of these older "third star" types is the surest way to kill this thing before it even gets going, and hopefully he is a lot smarter than that.

[FireMorey]

Well the difference with the Sixers is they may have a shorter window than other teams given Embiid's health. I also don't think generally following the blueprint of the Celtics or Mavs, two teams that are nothing to write home about, is a winning formula. I actually think the 3rd star is the right way to build a team, it just depends on who that star is. If they get someone who's washed up, it obviously won't work.

[youngcrev]

Both of them went out and got older stars (Kyrie/Jrue), so get your ass on board with it!

Morey is gonna need to hit on his role players, but he's got to hit on that 3rd star

[Stanford]

Well the difference with the Sixers is they may have a shorter window than other teams given Embiid's health. I also don't think generally following the blueprint of the Celtics or Mavs, two teams that are nothing to write home about, is a winning formula. I actually think the 3rd star is the right way to build a team, it just depends on who that star is. If they get someone who's washed up, it obviously won't work.

You're right. The time for the patient approach was 5 years ago. It's a luxury we don't really have now.

[fkd215]

I think the new CBA changes all these calculations. In the new CBA, the problem isn't with having 3 stars; it's with having 3 max contracts. That salary structure leaves you with approximately this depth chart:

Max salary / vet min / vet min or rookie
Max salary / vet min / vet min or rookie
Max salary / vet min / vet min
$10m player / vet min / vet min
MLE player / vet min / vet min

Assuming you find average or even slightly above average vet min guys (obviously you can't count on them all being Kelly Oubres, that was an aberration) I just don't think its possible to compete for a championship with a roster structured like that. That's just unlikely to be a very good team. Especially if 2 of your max guys are historically out for 20-25 games per year.

That said, my guess is that's what we're going to do.

[Mik317]

I think the new CBA changes all these calculations. In the new CBA, the problem isn't with having 3 stars; it's with having 3 max contracts. That salary structure leaves you with approximately this depth chart:

Max salary / vet min / vet min or rookie
Max salary / vet min / vet min or rookie
Max salary / vet min / vet min
$10m player / vet min / vet min
MLE player / vet min / vet min

Assuming you find average or even slightly above average vet min guys (obviously you can't count on them all being Kelly Oubres, that was an aberration) I just don't think its possible to compete for a championship with a roster structured like that. That's just unlikely to be a very good team. Especially if 2 of your max guys are historically out for 20-25 games per year.

That said, my guess is that's what we're going to do.

which is why smart teams should be using their seconds on low upside but high floor seniors and juniors for cheap role players