Under Construction: Revisiting Massive Rebuilding Projects in NBA History
NBA fans hate to hear that awful "r" word: rebuilding.
That usually means their team has to trade stars or former stars for a combination of expiring contracts, future draft picks and young prospects.
Or maybe several aging players retire, forcing the team to start over from scratch.
One team that doesn't know very much about starting over is the San Antonio Spurs.
David Robinson helped lead the team to two NBA titles before retiring in 2003.
But after the Admiral left San Antonio, the Spurs didn't sink to the league's basement. They continued their winning ways and won two more titles over the next four years.
Unlike the Spurs, the Los Angeles Clippers are usually always in rebuilding mode as they've made terrible move after terrible move for years.
Anyway, this slideshow will feature five teams that have lost key players and rebuilt their roster.
Celtics: Out With the Big Three, In With The Lottery
1 of 5
The Boston Celtics were truly one of the top teams in the 1980s. Led by the "Big Three" of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish, the C's won three titles in the decade.
However, in the early 90s, the team became hampered with injuries.
Bird retired in 1992, McHale decided to hang 'em up in '93, and Parish signed with the Charlotte Hornets in '94.
The Celtics immediately turned into a perennial lottery team. They drafted major busts like Eric Montross and Ron Mercer, but struck gold with All-Stars Antoine Walker and Paul Pierce.
After sneaking into the playoffs in '95, the Celtics didn't make the postseason again until 2002.
If Len Bias and Reggie Lewis hadn't died, the Celtics could have possibly been one of the top teams of the 90s as well.
Bad Boys Break Up
2 of 5
The Detroit Pistons impressively won back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990 but were forced to rebuild after old age and injuries took over.
John Salley was one of the first "Bad Boys" to go as he was traded to the Miami Heat for Isaiah Morris and a future first-round draft pick.
In 1993, Mark Aguirre signed with the Clippers and Dennis Rodman was traded to the San Antonio Spurs in a deal that included Sean Elliott.
All-Stars Isiah Thomas and Bill Laimbeer both retired following the 1993-94 campaign.
Detroit selected guards Allan Houston and Lindsey Hunter in the first round of the '93 draft and then took future superstar Grant Hill with the third overall pick in '94.
The young trio teamed with holdover and future Hall-of-Famer Joe Dumars to lead the Pistons back to the playoffs in 1996.
UnbelievaBulls Go Their Seperate Ways
3 of 5
After the legendary Chicago Bulls won their sixth championship in eight years, GM Jerry Krause decided to dismantle the dynasty that he helped put together.
Krause felt the team was simply too old to compete for more rings and wanted to build another dynasty through high draft picks and big-name free agents.
Michael Jordan retired, head coach Phil Jackson left, and Scottie Pippen was signed-and-traded to the Houston Rockets for Roy Rogers and a future second-round draft pick (Jake Voskuhl).
Dennis Rodman was not re-signed and fellow free agents Luc Longley and Steve Kerr ended up playing in different area codes.
Chicago won the 1999 NBA Draft Lottery and selected Duke forward Elton Brand to be the cornerstone of their rebuilding project.
The Bulls failed to land any of the top free agents in the summer of 2000 and Brand was eventually traded for Tyson Chandler (one of the most lopsided deals in NBA history).
Following a series of bad drafting and bonehead trades, the Bulls finally got it right in 2004 when they picked up Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Chris Duhon, and Andres Nocioni.
They ended their long seven-year playoff drought in 2005.
Hawks Get Rid of All-Star Backcourt and Lose for Years
4 of 5
The Atlanta Hawks reached the postseason seven straight seasons and then decided to start over from scratch in the summer of 1999.
Both All-Stars Mookie Blaylock and Steve Smith were traded. Blaylock was shipped to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for "point guard of the future" Jason Terry. Smith was shipped to the Portland Trail Blazers for the troubled Isaiah Rider and Jim Jackson.
Dikembe Mutombo was later dealt to Philadelphia for Theo Ratliff and Toni Kukoc.
The Hawks drafted Pau Gasol and traded him to Vancouver for Shareef Abdur-Rahim and eventually swapped Kukoc for Glenn Robinson.
There was lots of talent in Atlanta, but the team simply couldn't gel together.
Over the next several years, the Hawks drafted highly talented players like Josh Smith and Al Horford and traded for Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby.
The Hawks reached the playoffs in 2008 for the first time in eight years.
Goodbye Shaq, Kobe Takes Over As Leader
5 of 5
Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant teamed up to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to three titles from 2000-2002.
And with the additions of All-Stars Karl Malone and Gary Payton, the Lakers were surprisingly defeated by the underdog Detroit Pistons in the 2004 finals.
In the offseason, the management decided to break the Lakers up and rebuild around Bryant.
O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat in exchange for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler and Brian Grant.
Payton and Rick Fox were dealt to the Boston Celtics for Chucky Atkins, Jumaine Jones and Chris Mihm.
Derek Fisher signed with the Golden State Warriors and Malone decided not to return.
The Lakers missed the playoffs in 2004-05 and got knocked out of the playoffs in both '06 and '07, but reached the Finals in '08 where they lost to the Boston Celtics.
And of course, they won it all in 2009 and 2010.
