There is only one person to blame. Fertitta. It's his ship. He made this bed and only he can fix it. If there are structural and cultural issues, the problem is always the CEO. In decades of consulting in dozens of companies, this observation is always true. Either the CEO is the direct cause for the dysfunction or is an enabler and doesn't have the guts to identify and fix the obvious problem(s). Alp is useless. Reed is useless. Amen is useless. KD is useful but obviously mismanaged. Jabari is trying but can't pull it together. Tate. Why? I could go on. There is too much talent on this team for the problem to be with the players. Ime and Stone are doing the best they can, which clearly isn't good enough. Fertitta needs to do some soul searching and make some hard decisions. This summer: Status quo = failure
I was on the "Ime is probably closer to mediocre than awful" train..... but I view Ime as the main culprit this season now that we are in the playoffs. Our team just is consistently unprepared and outcoached. I think Tilman will force (and pay) for better assistants before firing Ime.... but I wouldn't be upset if he just got fired. Stone: I still think it was the right move to stand pat at the deadline. We were not close to being all in this season and still treating this year as an evaluation year. There's a Coby White/ Ayo type player every year so I'm not concerned about missing out on them.
Who do I blame... Ultimately its a roster, talent, and fit issue. However Ime does share the blame due to running the same sh$t, and expecting different results. This season was NOT a good showing for him the least bit, and exposed his flaws. That being said... if your goals are to win in the postseason, then Rafael Stone is ultimately responsible for putting a product on the floor with pieces.... while talented... don't fit at all, and after the mid-season injuries sat on his butt, and didn't even attempt to find acquisitions on the margins that could help win games. .. The players... yeah I do blame them too for this offseason, and mid-season not developing against their weaknesses enough... but in the end its the NBA, and you are who you are after your first year or two in the league. The front office really should be expected to not rely on player development THAT MUCH in any given season but should also be clear eyed about understanding what they have vs what could be in a rosy best case scenario.
Give Ime the dream team and he'd find a way to **** it up by playing Tate and Okogie over MJ AMD Bird.
If you still don't think that the front office is a big part of the problem, I don't think you ever will. The players that the front office drafted don't fit well together. Some of them are almost unplayable together. There hasn't been sufficient player development at all. They went all season without adding another guard and were pressed up against the apron based on decisions made by the front office. As for missing out on an Ayo type player -- KD is 37 years old, there aren't a lot of years. Once KD slows down, this team isn't going anywhere. There has been ZERO evidence that anyone on the roster is ready to take the mantle of being the guy.
We have no one to blame but ourselves! Our pity parties on this forum do nothing to actually get Tilly's/Patrick's attention regarding the need to make a change at the top of the ladder (Stone-Ime)! UNTIL WE ACTUALLY, not figuratively stop funneling money into the organization the pity parties will continue!! The problem is so frickin obvious that national media types, who actually never follow the team have been pointing out the fact that we don't have any REAL offensive scheme and we only play helter-skelter basketball!! I don't have a clue how good/bad our players are because of the ineptitude of Ime and the lack of cajones from Stone to roll the dice and not always play it safe!! Rant over.... I digress!! ....... ....... .......
Reed Sheppard is better then Luke Kennard. The difference is Kennard is playing for a coach that's not going to bench him the minute he makes 1 mistake!
He’s not better yet, but will be a better all-around player at some point. He was a deer in the headlights, Kennard played outstanding basketball the first two games. I picked Kennard as Reed’s comp after his rookie season. Reed might evolve into a better defensive player, but Kennard has better handles and the ability to get to the rim. Reed is the better passer. Kennard is a career 44% 3 pt shooter, Reed probably won’t get there.
If we were actually pot committed to winning a championship this season then I'd tend to agree.... You seem to have different expectations than FO, which is why you feel the way you do. Let's go down the list of your grievances: Let's not be ignorant about the draft.... there is an expectation that players improve. Jabari was drafted to be an elite 3&D but hasn't found a consistent 3 point shot. Amen and Sengun haven't been able to improve their shooting (outside of Amen's FT). Tari Eason is just a low IQ, inconsistent wing. Reed is undersized and needs more time to get stronger. Drafting BPA isn't something our FO invented. Tell your "contacts" to tell Tillman to spend on staff for player development. Stone ain't in charge of deciding how to spend resources. And like I said, I don't think it would have been smart to spend assets for rentals / resign White or Ayo. I think Alvarado would have been a low cost pick up but he has ties to Knicks and ended up going there. Also any guard would have put Reed on the bench with even fewer minutes. I thought the thesis going into the season was sound..... FVV, DFS, Adams, and Durant providing a veteran presence and plugging our weakness + an improved young core that involved a combo of Reed, Amen, and Sengun filling in the playmaking gap. ... you really think Ayo was the missing piece? You think there aren't guards every season that the GARM wants to trade for? KD resigned a two year extension at 26% of the cap. You think KD is just going to fall off in two years? Why do you ASSume the guy to take the mantle is on the team currently? Again.... we still have a war chest full of assets. The FO intentionally didn't commit long term this roster and we can go a lot of different directions in the offseason.
Ime for not instilling some kind of offensive system. He had all year to figure out who can run PnR and DHO. This roster can’t run read and react. It was clear since the first quarter of the season and he did nothing to change it. Ime for the dogshit lineups. You cannot have a productive offense with 3 non shooters on the court. I don’t care how good the defense is. If you can’t put the ball in the basket then you will lose every game. Stone for not adding a vet guard all season. Now they have 2 second round picks that they don’t want to make in this upcoming draft. Sengun gets the least amount of blame imo, but it is frustrating to watch him miss layups and other shots that he should make. DFS for getting the yips. Hopefully he’s better next season. Kind of like how Adams looked washed but hit his stride after a full off-season of recovery.
I think it's squarely on the coaching staff and front office. I'm not saying the players are perfect, but they aren't being put in positions to succeed. Ime doesn't know how to run an offensive set. Ime coaching this team as he was as a player in the league. That's not a bad thing, but dude averaged 5 points and 3 boards in his NBA career.... a nobody. He gave 100% effort, but that only gets you so far... 5 points and 3 boards... Ime is mismanaging the talent on this roster. He isn't put his players in positions to succeed. He isn't using their strengths - this team actually is fairly well rounded between shooters, role players, stars, playmakers. But, it's hand it to Sengun (at the 3 points line....) or hand it to KD (who gets doubled and turns it over). RUN A PLAY. Get an offensive assistant in here to help. Front office - you could've gotten Kennard for some 2nd round picks. Shoot, give them DFS and a 2nd. I'd love to see this team run it back next year with a well rounded coach, personally.
