Tim W. wrote:
If Colangelo ends up getting a big name player with a big salary with the exception, I'll be extremely disappointed. I understand not wanting to have a losing culture, but the problem the Raptors have is they have so good young talent, but no great young talent. They need to get a high lottery pick next year and a shot at a potential top 10 player if they want to be anything but a mediocre team for the long term.
Mediocrity is far, far worse than a season or two in the lottery without the right players. I like the Raptors young guys, but they simply don't have the pieces to be anything but a mediocre team without a true elite talent.
The Clippers were a team mismanaged and they drafted badly, which is why they have been bad for so long. Same with Golden State or most teams that have been perennial lottery teams.
Either you have the confidence you're a good enough GM to be able to rebuild the right way and do it fairly quickly (2-3 years) or you simply don't have confidence in your abilities, and that's not a good sign.
And I like what Sam Presti has done in Oklahoma, and that is the model Colangelo should be using, but let's not canonize the guy just yet. So far, his team hasn't made it past the second round and if he hadn't lucked out and grabbed Durant, they wouldn't be anywhere close to where they are now. Let's see what Presti over the next 2 or 3 years. Right now, RC Buford has to be the guy with the best GM title.