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And oh yes, I would feel bad if I didn't add, this has zero to do with "hopes" on my end. Trust me. I have been a pretty big time sports guy for oh..... 35 years now or so. I follow more than just Basketball, and I earned my keep as a media/operations guy professionally, I have had and still have pretty smart cookies, who make their living being top shelf experts on all things pro sports. I have been lucky enough to sit through both NHL and NBA lockouts with media talking heads that blew my mind about all the things they knew about the sport from the front office out the the playing surface. And I learned, a great deal actually. I am a business man by trade, and I understand the economics of the NBA. I also understand the social climate (heh, even the actual climate) of a lot of the cities in the NBA having been to many, and having had the opportunity to actually red shirt on a college team myself way back when.
So.
If I say I want Toronto to tank to get Wiggans, there is a little bit more to it than just "hopes". I would suspect I am not the only one who could say this. The Front office pressures to succeed placed upon so many disposable coaches and GMs in pro sports are mind boggling. Think of the franchise sin cities that are gate driven, and absolutely need wins to fill seats, but who are not winning, and cannot draw FA's. The other teams are carrying them through the CBA agreement. Toronto, is one of the top 5 teams in the NBA in both market size and in revenues. They can afford to play mediocre ball, and could for the next 50 years and because of the size of the market, they will still fill seats and sell hats. This, and only this is why you have seen the GM decisions here you have seen, there has never been a real demand for winning, not winning at all costs, so guys just won enough to keep the team visible. But these guys also wnated re-ups on their contracts, so they couldn't go straight "tank", it would look bad, and if they wanted to move on, 10 and 72 looks pretty fucking horrible on a resume. So, they do what they do to keep afloat, they use the visible negatives as excuses and they flower up resumes.
TL has come in and at least publicly, he's said that shit is over. I WAS THRILLED. Thrilled because I know that this guy will do whatever the hell he wants to ensure a healthy build. He wont', Masai won't nor will Casey even THINK of publicly supporting the tank, but you can sure as fuck be guaranteed its a massive option. And when this looks like its done (and it is) they will do what they gotta do to get that pick.
it has ZERO to do with hope, and everything to do with limiting your choices to the highest possible percentages to succeed. Thats on the floor, in the box an din the media. You have to bust it, and build it. Its a cycle that has been alive for decades, and it has been because its how you gotta do it. Build it, break it, build it again. Cyclical. Good franchises do it, some get some bad luck, certainly, NOTHING is ever guaranteed, but they stay the course, ride out busts, ride out Ego maniacal stars, ride out injuries and retirements....but they stay that course.
So ya man, I guess on the surface, it looks like I am sitting here going "golly gee, I really HOPE they get the #1 pick, and its wiggans, and he turns into Jordan and in the same year toronto wins it all"...ya, I guess, in some warped way I can see how that would cross your mind. But in the real world, my world, I see a business model, built years ago, that might not guarantee success, but it sure as hell guarantee's you will get a chance. I see a shark like TL, and I see his prickish ego, and I think, here's a guy that wants to build a champion, a guy that already see's full arena's, yet a losing, pathetic, soft team. And once I see this, I know why he saw this as the best job in pro sports, the chance of a lifetime. And in that moment, I finally knew the Team I liked, WASN'T going down the road of HOPE anymore, quite the opposite, they are finally going to put in the real work to do it right, start from the bottom, and build a fucking Championship.
So.
If I say I want Toronto to tank to get Wiggans, there is a little bit more to it than just "hopes". I would suspect I am not the only one who could say this. The Front office pressures to succeed placed upon so many disposable coaches and GMs in pro sports are mind boggling. Think of the franchise sin cities that are gate driven, and absolutely need wins to fill seats, but who are not winning, and cannot draw FA's. The other teams are carrying them through the CBA agreement. Toronto, is one of the top 5 teams in the NBA in both market size and in revenues. They can afford to play mediocre ball, and could for the next 50 years and because of the size of the market, they will still fill seats and sell hats. This, and only this is why you have seen the GM decisions here you have seen, there has never been a real demand for winning, not winning at all costs, so guys just won enough to keep the team visible. But these guys also wnated re-ups on their contracts, so they couldn't go straight "tank", it would look bad, and if they wanted to move on, 10 and 72 looks pretty fucking horrible on a resume. So, they do what they do to keep afloat, they use the visible negatives as excuses and they flower up resumes.
TL has come in and at least publicly, he's said that shit is over. I WAS THRILLED. Thrilled because I know that this guy will do whatever the hell he wants to ensure a healthy build. He wont', Masai won't nor will Casey even THINK of publicly supporting the tank, but you can sure as fuck be guaranteed its a massive option. And when this looks like its done (and it is) they will do what they gotta do to get that pick.
it has ZERO to do with hope, and everything to do with limiting your choices to the highest possible percentages to succeed. Thats on the floor, in the box an din the media. You have to bust it, and build it. Its a cycle that has been alive for decades, and it has been because its how you gotta do it. Build it, break it, build it again. Cyclical. Good franchises do it, some get some bad luck, certainly, NOTHING is ever guaranteed, but they stay the course, ride out busts, ride out Ego maniacal stars, ride out injuries and retirements....but they stay that course.
So ya man, I guess on the surface, it looks like I am sitting here going "golly gee, I really HOPE they get the #1 pick, and its wiggans, and he turns into Jordan and in the same year toronto wins it all"...ya, I guess, in some warped way I can see how that would cross your mind. But in the real world, my world, I see a business model, built years ago, that might not guarantee success, but it sure as hell guarantee's you will get a chance. I see a shark like TL, and I see his prickish ego, and I think, here's a guy that wants to build a champion, a guy that already see's full arena's, yet a losing, pathetic, soft team. And once I see this, I know why he saw this as the best job in pro sports, the chance of a lifetime. And in that moment, I finally knew the Team I liked, WASN'T going down the road of HOPE anymore, quite the opposite, they are finally going to put in the real work to do it right, start from the bottom, and build a fucking Championship.
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