For Years People on here said...

[SWedd523]

I think the FO stuff is partly to do with being cheap and partly from being one of the least desirable spots in the league

We're already talking about canning Lee, after two iterations of Cliff, Dunlap, and Borrego, not to mention having a guy quit right after taking the job.

If I was a coach I'd be like "no thanks" to interviewing with Charlotte

[Rich4114]

Charles Lee literally just used the phrase "I know everyone wants to win, but..." in a recent interview. It's all you have to listen to in order to understand why we're 7-20. Wins are not the priority this season, they've been telling us this since the summer.

But I guess we should give them credit to finally embracing something. It would be much easier to accept had this been last season, but the timing also sucked because that was possibly the worst draft in the last 20 years. This upcoming draft is one of the strongest. I doubt we're lucky enough to land a top 3 pick, but if we can add a solid contributor to this roster, further develop LaMelo/Mark/Miller and start to build around them... I think we can see success. But this kind of makes making the playoffs next season an absolute must now. You cannot go another year of uncompetitive basketball because you're trying to change culture, you're trying to build a winner and you have players who will want out if it's evident there's no sign in sight for that to start happening.

[KembaWalker]

spoiler alert for Christmas 2025:

Spoiler:

"well, you can't expect to make the postseason with a 20 win team plus a 19 year old rookie, next year though we HAVE to make the playoffs, no excuses"

[EmpireFalls]

Charles Lee literally just used the phrase "I know everyone wants to win, but..." in a recent interview. It's all you have to listen to in order to understand why we're 7-20. Wins are not the priority this season, they've been telling us this since the summer.

But I guess we should give them credit to finally embracing something. It would be much easier to accept had this been last season, but the timing also sucked because that was possibly the worst draft in the last 20 years. This upcoming draft is one of the strongest. I doubt we're lucky enough to land a top 3 pick, but if we can add a solid contributor to this roster, further develop LaMelo/Mark/Miller and start to build around them... I think we can see success. But this kind of makes making the playoffs next season an absolute must now. You cannot go another year of uncompetitive basketball because you're trying to change culture, you're trying to build a winner and you have players who will want out if it's evident there's no sign in sight for that to start happening.

The scary part is that we could really “try” and give it a full go and still end up 33-49.

[Rays Pompadour]

I heard a lot of "clean up" in that interview. Makes sense, of course, as the roster is so dysfunctional right now.

What I really want to hear is, "Losing is unacceptable. Period. Until that changes, no one sleeps. And that includes LaMelo Ball."

[Robot Rock]

Best-case scenario. Five years from now, with all five seasons 20 wins or less, you get to see "PF Cooper Flagg (ingrown hair, injury management) OUT tonight".

Worst-case scenario, the tank "prizes" aren't good enough to be held out to tank. They just play and suck (like Cody Martin and the indestructible Vasa Micic).

Who knew the 35-47 seasons were the golden age of this garbage-ridden cesspool of an embarrassment?

[fatlever]

crazy to think the gerald wallace bobcats days were the peak of this franchise post expansion.

[Walt Cronkite]

crazy to think the gerald wallace bobcats days were the peak of this franchise post expansion.

Why is that a higher peak than the 48 win Jeremy Lin team?

[fatlever]

I guess peak was wrong phrase. Touche

Point being, even those early bobcats years we had 5 straight years over 32 wins.

Sent from my SM-G973U using RealGM mobile app

[Walt Cronkite]

I guess peak was wrong phrase. Touche

Point being, even those early bobcats years we had 5 straight years over 32 wins.

Sent from my SM-G973U using RealGM mobile app

All good, wasn’t sure if I was missing something. Definitely a drag those teams were the golden years.

[wilson115]

We are not actually that far off or untalented. They have a bunch of young players who can be really good in a year or two. We do not have a bunch of really bad contracts going forward. They have 5 first round picks in the next 3 drafts for bargaining chips in trades or to keep talent coming in cheaply when the core gets paid. If stinking this season lands a difference maker in the top of the draft to add to a nice foundation, so be it. At least it LOOKS like we have a viable plan to get the kind of talent needed to compete at the top. Boston and the Cavs will be getting old in a couple of years too. That should be our timeline.

The way they're building the roster mid-season also points to the FO getting ready to make moves down the line. The win-loss record may not show it (no thanks to injuries and regression on the part of some guys) but this is the first time in a while we've had, like, two of everything. Guys like Moose D., KJ, and Isaiah Wong are starting to look like solid next-man-up depth pieces in case they need to ship out more established rotation guys in trades. I don't think Mitch ever planned ahead like that the way he treated guys like DSJ as stopgaps instead of part of something longer-term.

[Robot Rock]

I really don't think there's ever been a (good) plan in place like, ever. That's how you're this bad for this long.

[Walt Cronkite]

The way they're building the roster mid-season also points to the FO getting ready to make moves down the line. The win-loss record may not show it (no thanks to injuries and regression on the part of some guys) but this is the first time in a while we've had, like, two of everything. Guys like Moose D., KJ, and Isaiah Wong are starting to look like solid next-man-up depth pieces in case they need to ship out more established rotation guys in trades. I don't think Mitch ever planned ahead like that the way he treated guys like DSJ as stopgaps instead of part of something longer-term.

Similarly, seems like the Swarm is being more thoughtfully utilized instead of what seemed like something that was viewed as an unnecessary financial obligation.

[Robot Rock]

The way they're building the roster mid-season also points to the FO getting ready to make moves down the line. The win-loss record may not show it (no thanks to injuries and regression on the part of some guys) but this is the first time in a while we've had, like, two of everything. Guys like Moose D., KJ, and Isaiah Wong are starting to look like solid next-man-up depth pieces in case they need to ship out more established rotation guys in trades. I don't think Mitch ever planned ahead like that the way he treated guys like DSJ as stopgaps instead of part of something longer-term.

Similarly, seems like the Swarm is being more thoughtfully utilized instead of what seemed like something that was viewed as an unnecessary financial obligation.

I agree with this. The development seems to be an actual focal point instead of solely a talking point.