6 NBA Franchises Missing a Clear-Cut Building Block
Successful rebuilding is one of the toughest tasks to execute in professional sports. It takes a combination of smarts, savvy and vision, plus a heaping helping of good fortune.
There are different ways for teams to plot their paths to the top, but all of them involve one key ingredient: the presence of a clear-cut building block. These are players with superstar attributes who are either in their prime or making their way toward it.
Once teams have a focal point, they can plan for the future or prepare for a potentially rewarding present. These players are the primary sources of confidence for contenders and the ray of hope for those stuck in the cellar.
Without having one of these players on the roster, teams have no obvious ways to proceed. Though the six teams on the list may not like to admit it, the absence of a centerpiece has all of their rebuilding projects stuck in the first phase.
Some are clinging to fading stars, desperately hoping that past successes can somehow stop the tightening grip of Father Time. Others are waiting for young prospects to blossom into consistent, efficient sources of production.
Regardless of how they found themselves in this unenviable position, these six clubs are headed toward an uncertain future.
Boston Celtics
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The Boston Celtics had a tough call to make. Lurking near the back end of the pillow-soft Eastern Conference, they appeared years away from title contention. So that made 28-year-old point guard Rajon Rondo an awkward franchise face, as his contract was set to expire at season's end.
The Celtics, it seemed, had little motivation to keep the triple-double threat around. However, moving him meant not only sacrificing their best player, but also parting ways with their locker-room leader.
Ultimately, Boston opted to ship Rondo to the Dallas Mavericks for two draft picks and a few complementary players. While the Celtics managed to add a few future assets to their growing collection, they now lack an obvious guide to help them enter their next chapter.
"Who is the Celtics' leader? The answer is blank. They don't have one," wrote Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.
Jeff Green is the team's top scorer at 18.7 points per game, but the seven-year veteran has always filled a supportive role. Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk are intriguing pieces, though their ceilings may stop well short of superstar status. Ditto for Avery Bradley, whose offensive output has yet to match his dogged defense.
It's possible rookie Marcus Smart eventually blossoms into a building block, but his 34.3 field-goal percentage highlights just how much work he still has to do.
Without some marked internal improvements, the Celtics will likely need to look outside the organization for a true centerpiece. With salary relief on the horizon and a horde of future picks headed to Boston, that might have been the plan all along.
Brooklyn Nets
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If the Brooklyn Nets haven't officially struck out on their swing-for-the-fences maneuvers, they are down in the count against a pitcher with heat they cannot handle.
The Nets have limped out to a disappointing 12-15 start. They have made former All-Stars Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson all available for trades, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein and Ohm Youngmisuk.
Brooklyn's ceiling tops out at a first-round playoff exit, which is criminally low given the sacrifices made to assemble this roster. Not only are the Nets shouldering a $91.2 million payroll (with another $76.7 million already on next season's books), they also could be without their own first-round selection until 2019.
As bad as it is now, things could get much worse over the coming years.
"Here they are, with no cap respite until 2016, a depleted pick inventory and no-blue chip talent outside of the oft-injured Brook Lopez," ESPN Insider Amin Elhassan wrote in September (subscription required). "The infrastructure in Brooklyn is so rotten that success cannot be realized without serious overhaul."
The Nets are supposed to have three cornerstones in Johnson, Williams and Lopez. But Johnson is 33 years old with a player efficiency rating hovering right around the league average (16.4). The 30-year-old Williams is connecting on a career-worst 40.3 percent of his field-goal attempts. Lopez is only 26, but the 7-footer has a frightening history of foot problems, and his scoring average (15.5) has dipped as low as it's been since his rookie year.
Woefully short on assets, it could take this franchise years to unearth even a potential savior.
Charlotte Hornets
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Despite a tumultuous start to the season, the Charlotte Hornets may still have an All-Star candidate in 2013-14 All-NBA third-teamer Al Jefferson.
A 6'10", 265-pound beast on the low block, Jefferson leads the Hornets in both scoring (19.1 points per game) and rebounding (8.2). Only six other players in the league are averaging at least 19 points and eight boards.
Jefferson has cornerstone talent, but it's hard to tell what type of role he will play in Charlotte's future. The interior scorer turns 30 in January, and he could get out of his current contract by declining his $13.5 million player option for next season.
Owner Michael Jordan sounds like he plans on keeping Jefferson around.
"Al is a straight shooter. We love him," Jordan said before the season started, per Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. "He took a gamble on us. That obviously plays into our thinking."
But will the Hornets want to make a long-term investment into an aging big man if they are unable to build off last season's surprise playoff appearance? Would Jefferson even want to stick around if Charlotte falls short of securing a postseason spot?
Without Jefferson, the Hornets would be forced to lean more heavily on volume-scoring guard Kemba Walker (16.9 points on 40.1 percent shooting) and defensive specialist Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Offseason addition Lance Stephenson has yet to find his rhythm, and he has reportedly "clashed with teammates," sources told Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.
The Hornets have to identify Jefferson as a critical building block, because there are no other obvious in-house options to fill such a role.
Denver Nuggets
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The hot-and-cold Denver Nuggets are back at frigid temperatures. After opening the season with seven losses in nine games and then promptly winning seven of their next eight, they have now dropped nine of their past 12 outings.
"The Nuggets are consistent only in that they appear to skip the details that make teams play well, making the same errors over and over, many times within the same game," wrote Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post.
Injuries haven't helped combat that inconsistency. Only three players have appeared in all 29 games, while different ailments have kept players like Randy Foye (quad), Danilo Gallinari (knee) and JaVale McGee (leg) sidelined for significant stretches.
Compounding those problems has been the lack of a legitimate star who is capable of keeping things running smoothly in the face of adversity.
Ty Lawson leads the team in scoring (15.8 points) and assists (10.4), but his field-goal percentage has plummeted to a career-worst 41.0. Arron Afflalo (14.7 points) and Wilson Chandler (14.0 points) have been solid but nothing more. Kenneth Faried, who inked a four-year, $50 million contract extension before the season, has a career-low 16.2 PER.
The Nuggets have a lot of good players but no great ones. That keeps them from making any noise in the Western Conference or completely bottoming out for the full reset they might need.
This is not a young roster, so it's hard to imagine a star suddenly emerging from within Denver's ranks. The franchise has never been much of a free-agent destination, so it might have to hope to strike it right during the draft—either this coming summer or in 2016, when it can swap first-round picks with the New York Knicks.
Los Angeles Lakers
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Don't let the grisly 37.2 field-goal percentage fool you: Kobe Bryant is the best player on the Los Angeles Lakers, and it's not even close.
The Mamba has willed his way to 24.6 points, 4.9 assists and 5.1 rebounds in 35.4 minutes per night. To contextualize those numbers, only 11 other players have averaged at least 24 points, five boards and four assists in a season since 2000-01.
What Bryant has done this season has been remarkable, albeit inefficient and not always pleasant to the eyes. Remember, he made just six appearances in 2013-14, which were sandwiched between a torn Achilles and a fracture in his left knee.
He is still an incredible draw and the unquestioned face of this franchise. But the 36-year-old is far from being a building block.
This is the 19th and quite possibly penultimate season of his career. His contract runs through 2015-16, and Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak does not expect Bryant to play beyond that.
"All indications are, to me, from him, that this (two-year contract) is going to be it," Kupchak told NBA.com's David Aldridge. "If somebody's thinking of buying a ticket three years from now to see Kobe play, I would not do that. Don't wait. Do it this year."
With a talent like Bryant, the Lakers have rarely needed to think about the future. Unfortunately, that's easy to see from their roster. It's short on talent overall and particularly light on young prospects. Lottery pick Julius Randle's rookie year ended only 14 minutes after it started (broken leg), but the 20-year-old is still the most promising piece in this underwhelming assortment.
The Lakers' 2015 first-rounder belongs to the Phoenix Suns unless it falls in the top five, so the draft may not provide real relief. LA can only hope its storied history is enough to entice the type of impact players this team currently lacks.
Philadelphia 76ers
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Is there a surefire star in the picture above? The Philadelphia 76ers certainly hope so.
All of the losses this team has suffered the past two seasons (63 in 2013-14, 23 and counting this time around) have essentially produced Michael Carter-Williams, Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid.
European forward Dario Saric could eventually be a part of this puzzle, but he may not come stateside before 2016 at the earliest. And promising rookie K.J. McDaniels' unique one-year deal means he will already hit restricted free agency next summer.
So, without knowing what future drafts will hold for the Sixers, Carter-Williams, Noel and Embiid make up the bulk of hope for this forward-thinking franchise. Each offers a certain amount of intrigue, but none remotely qualifies as a guaranteed star.
The lanky 6'6" Carter-Williams stuffs a stat sheet well, but his career .404/.264/.690 shooting slash may limit him to producing quality over quantity. Noel has already shown to be a disruptive defender (1.6 steals and 1.5 blocks), but his offense needs plenty of work. Embiid could have the highest ceiling of all three, though injuries might prevent him from realizing his potential.
Unlike some teams listed here, the Sixers are not short on hope. They are, however, painfully thin on sure things. And a growing pile of future draft picks is not going to change that.
"You can't assure yourself of anything in the lottery," former NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik said, per David Gelles of The New York Times. "And you can't assure yourself when the next LeBron James or Tim Duncan is going to come along."
If the Sixers have a transcendent talent in their possession, that player has yet to perform like one. And if they don't, Philly has to keep its fingers crossed that this mountain of losses eventually produces one.
Unless otherwise noted, statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com. Salary information obtained via Hoops Hype.
