In ten years, this franchise will likely be in the same place they are today

[AHF]

you forgot Miami traded for Shaq and drafted Wade.

Bottomed out to get Wade and traded some of those bottoming out assets (like Caron Butler) to land Shaq.

I don't think they really bottomed out the second time around with Lebron and Bosh. They gave up on winning to clear the books but didn't really drop into the high lottery ala Boston, Houston, San Antonio, Chicago, Detroit, etc.

Most of these teams built with draft assets but the second Miami build only fits that mold in that they had their home-grown superstar in Wade ready to resign as a FA which is clearly different from scenarios like SA getting Duncan or Chicago getting Jordan and Pippen (trade of pick), etc.

We'll see how the latest CBA influences team building approaches but I suspect that we will continue to see teams with home-grown superstars winning the vast majority of championships as opposed to teams rising from mediocrity.

[MaceCase]

Mace . . . I don't know about that

Boston bottomed out, and drafted Bird

Lakers didn't bottom out, but acquired Magic via a trade . . and had acquired Kareem in a trade

Detroit bottomed out to get Isaiah

Chicago bottomed out to get Jordan

Houston was bad in consecutive years, and got Ralph Sampson and Hakeem Olajuwon

San Antonio was horrible both times in which they got David Robinson and Tim Duncan

Lakers used their appeal to land Shaq in free agency, and then put themselves in position to get Kobe

Detroit brought in a collection of good but not great journeymen type players + Larry Brown

Dallas traded for Dirk, stayed in the middle, then traded and spent tons of money, before winning their title

Lakers took advantage of a team willing to give up its star player for expirings and picks, to get Pau Gasol

Miami completely bottomed out, sold off everybody, then brought in Lebron and Bosh, and re-signed Wade

I think what Vol was alluding to, is that history definitely shows that if you want to win a championship, you MUST acquire a superstar player . . some way . . some how. And most of the time, you have to be really bad to do this. I listed all of the teams who have won championships since the Bird-Magic era. And even some of the contenders who have won titles, bottomed out first . . . then built championship caliber teams ( OKC, Orlando, LA Clippers, etc ).

Ferry chased after Dwight, which would follow this formula. The problem was, everybody knew that he virtually had no shot to get him. At that point, Ferry had 3 options

- build the best team possible

- keep us in the middle

- tank

I still say that a Al Jefferson - Al Horford frontline would've been a PROBLEM for the Eastern Conference. You're talking about two high quality big men who can both score and rebound. Add to the fact that both guys can play center, we could've kept one of them on the court at all times.

So at that point, all we needed was a 3rd piece to the puzzle. Could've gone after Iguodala. Or could've made a serious play for Monta Ellis. Or could've even brought on Paul Millsap, to REALLY solidify this frontline, by maybe starting Millsap at SF, but giving him the bulk of his minutes at PF with the 2nd unit.

Ferry is playing the middle, hoping that "flexibility" will save him in the future.

Meanwhile, we have no legit 2nd guy to play alongside Horford. We have no true center. And we don't have a legit shot to get one of those top 5, possibly franchise changing, players in this year's draft.

That's why people are doubting the "genius" of Ferry. All he's done is trade JJ for cap space. That's his signature move as GM. Meanwhile, all most fans see for the immediate future, is .500 basketball at best. Until he does something to change that, he will have his critics.

What history has proven is that no team has won a championship without a player they drafted being at the minimum the 3rd best player on that squad. What people willfully omit is that we already have Al Horford. We already bottomed out in order to obtain him, the 3rd overall pick, 2x All Star and All NBA player .

What we also know is that Al simply will never be the #1 on a championship team so what good does it do the team to throw money at a Jefferson or Monta etc. when they clearly are not better than Al? This is the contradiction that you have to face, you speak of superstars being the answer yet your solution is Jefferson/Iguodala/Ellis? Uh uh, sorry, no, might even throw a c'mon son at that one.

What your list has done is demonstrated the many different manners that all of those teams acquired their championship teams and it wasn't solely on the back of a player they bottomed out for. You omitted how the McHales, Waltons, Worthys, Dumars/Laimbeers/Johnsons, Pippens, Rodmans, Drexlers, Wallaces, Garnetts, Allens, Chandlers, Marions etc. were acquired and how they contributed to those championships.

Free agency, trade and draft. That is how you build a team. In the past the Hawks were limited in all three given that their picks were either traded off or too high to hit on a difference maker, had no cap space to pursue anybody in free agency and then had a bunch of negative contracts that couldn't be traded for positive assets........Ferry's team is clearly an improvement upon that. He has his players that were bottomed out for, he has positive contracts to can at least return other positive assets, as of right now he has picks better than the team's actual standing and cap space to at least entice difference makers. In summary he is in a position to continue on the trend that history has determined to build a contender. Why oh why would someone fault him for not choosing to rebuild the mid-2000s Washington Wizards?