Rebuilding For Disaster?

As the free agency period has progressed, one thing has become very clear; the economy has had a great impact on who is willing to spend. For the most part, the good teams got better, while the not so good teams got younger and cheaper.

Teams like the Spurs, Lakers, Cavaliers, Celtics, Magic, and Mavericks have spent their money in hopes of winning now, while teams like the Warriors, Timberwolves, and Kings have merely sat back and accepted that next year’s win totals should mirror this years.

A few middle of the pack teams, such as the Raptors, Hawks, and Pistons tried to make some changes in hoping for better years to come, but nothing that makes them championship contenders. The Raptors are simply trying to keep the franchise player in town for a few more years, while the Pistons are remaking their team completely without rebuilding.

This leads me to wonder if any team that is hoping to become a championship contender has any hopes of reaching the upper echelon of title contenders?

There is a reason that the Spurs, Lakers, cavaliers, Magic, and Mavericks were able to build on their already strong teams, because players want to win a championship. It is hard for a team like the Kings and Timberwolves to lure any free agents because they do not want to be a part of a rebuilding process.

This is one of the big problems in the NBA I find, and why teams struggle to rebuild.

Once in a while a team may succeed, but ultimately there is a reason that the Lakers and Celtics have over 25 championships between them. It has been years since either of those teams truly rebuilt themselves from scratch, counting on the draft and building up from there.

There is still hopes for teams such as the Blazers and Thunder, who have taken their time building a team using draft picks and then slowly adding pieces as they gain experience, but more often than not the superstars they develop move on and join with a team such as the previous already mentioned in hopes of winning a championship.

 I hope all goes well for the people of Portland and Oklahoma City, but don’t hold your breath. There is a reason the Celtics and Lakers have a combined thirty-two NBA championships and the Blazers/Thunder have one each, the latest in 1977.