It's all relative, and you put it really well. I just think that maxing PG and putting us over the 2nd apron for the next couple of years or whatever was going to be really depressing, because we are definitely getting diminishing returns on these guys each year. I'm not a season ticket holder, so when the team bores me (in whatever iteration), I can stop watching live games for a bit and just keep track of what's going on.
But yeah it's easy for me to say I like the current squad better (I do), but let's see if I still feel the same way if we're 10-23 and Kawhi is out for awhile. OTOH, even with PG we are not a great team with Kawhi out. I really, really, REALLY didn't want to give PG a 4 year deal like the Sixers did, and a 3 year deal with NTC was dicey as well.
og15 wrote:If the Clippers roll out a low 40's win team, then it's just jumping on a different treadmill if that's the new expectation while Harden and Kawhi remain here, lol
It's a "better" treadmill initially (first season) because as sports fans we love the unknown and potential, and people are much less whiny when there's no expectations. There are a lot of new mid 20-ish guys who maybe could be winning players, maybe not, but they are there.
This current team isn't expected to do much, but it has old stars, which generally isn't the type of team you have for no expectations, but it isn't expected to do much. On the other hand, it has potential to be better than expected. As fans in general we are much more receptive to that than a team with high expectations who doesn't meet them. It's just a psychological thing.
Kawhi is what made (makes) the Clippers a potential contender, Kawhi only being healthy for ONE playoffs with a 4.5 month break before it started (we can count 20-21 as a half) meant that contending was only a fantasy, but not actually because of any of the other things we like to complain about, which, yes, they are important, but it's because:
Denver isn't a contender without Jokic
Warriors weren't a contebde without Steph
Mavs weren't a contender without Luka
Bucks weren't a contender without Giannis
..etc, etc, etc.
Denver isn't even a contender without Murray and Mavs without Kyrie who were the second best guys.
All those surrounding things don't matter when your best player or even second best depending on the team and opponents can't play. They can be nice to complain about, the coach, the GM, the owner, the supporting cast, but in the end, the main guy goes out and what difference does it make if those other things are great, you'll still not meet expectations.
Low expectation seasons are always more fun, they get less fun when they go past one season, because most fans still want something like tanking for superstar type guy or having a contender. Clippers do have a location bonus that many teams don't have, so that helps mitigate some issues but only if cap allows, which these days, a little more difficult.
