We were projected to have about 28.3 wins, if you look at various projections and take the average.
Spoiler:
That's about winning 1 in 3 games. That was with Eric Bledsoe, and not Mike James or Tyler Ulis manning the point. That was without the team losing faith in Watson or his non-coaching style and setting record breaking losses to start the year.
The fact is, we are winning about 1 in 3 games, and that's without Bledsoe, and largely without Dudley, and of course with no Williams or Reed which impacts our depth. Knight was probably injured before any projections were made but doubt he would have changed anything.
Many seemed to be happy about the rebuild that we had finally committed to last summer after waffling around and wasting 5 years trying to decide whether to rebuild or try and compete to win now.
We are finally, for the first time, really playing our youngsters a lot of minutes. It definitely isn't always pretty, but at least they are getting a taste of what it's going to take in the NBA by getting time against real nba vets. For years we never played rookies as much as we played Booker, than Chriss and now Jackson, and we are also playing other really young guys as well and letting them develop.
I always felt that Chriss and Bender were very raw and would do little to nothing in their first year and would probably take a good 2-3 years to really become somewhat productive. Chriss showed some big time growth last year, and though he still does some frustrating things and seems out of place a bit, there is some positive there. Bender didn't get really any time last year and by the time they were ready to play the young guys he was injured. He slowly made his way back over the summer and has shown some nice flashes, while still being one of the youngest guys in the league.
I think many expected immediate impact from Jackson but it's rare that a rookie has THAT much of an impact immediately as there is always an adjustment period. His defense and competitiveness seem to be there and we knew his shot would be a work in process. I think some might view him as a disappointment largely in part to the fact that Tatum has started so well. A couple others have started pretty well too such as Kuzma and John Collins but not really many other rookies have, at least not consistently. Not if you REALLY watch ALL their games and take a close look at their numbers. Simmons is on fire but he is really in the NBA in his second year after working with NBA people and also was a clear cut #1 top prospect...I don't really consider him a rookie.
All in all I'm pretty happy where we are at considering I have always wanted us to build through the draft since that is the best way to sustain success long term as your players grow up as a team and are part of the community and the team continuity always makes chemistry a huge factor in success of those teams that have it (see San Antonio). We have control of all of the first round picks McD has made except Len for a long time and will get likely two more first rounders this year with long term control. Possibly even three, but if only two, it might make more sense that the Bucks pick comes later anyway. Even if the Miami pick ends up protected, we get it next year no matter what.
When you are developing young guys it might be painful at times and can be a trying process. Sometimes I'm surprised that so many who became fans during the Nash era are still hanging on as fans after the last 7 or 8 years. But even though the product is young and undeveloped, there is a clear path forward as these players grow and we are not in no mans land like we were from 2011-2016. We have young guys excited to be here who love playing together. Sure they will show their frustration, but know the meat of this team is pretty tight knit.
Success comes on dedication, education and hard work. Trying to find a quick fix similar to a get rich quick scheme so you can "win now" is likely a recipe for failure.
