Homegrown vs Acquired Talent and Sustainability

Wino

Looking at the way the league is set up now. Do you think it is possible that teams like GSW or the Cavs can sustain their league status once their current core begins to faulter?

Or is it MORE likely that teams are going to come and go, more than they did in the past?

The key seems to me is to be able to attract the top talent when your current top talent has a few years left in the tank, so that your next teir of top talent is around 5-6 years behind them.

Will teams always have to go through a rebuilding phase in order to build with homegrown talent or is it possible to be in a constant trading phase that continues to replenish your talent at a sustainable rate that allow you to win championships?
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Jbar805 · Starting Rotation Joined: 08 Jun 2015 Posts: 247

I think it comes down to growing your own superstar then that magnetizes the team for other star players.

The team brand doesn't do ish for you anymore if you don't have a superstar people want to play with. Hence, why we couldn't sign or get a meeting with KD. Or why Aldridge didn't sign with us last season.

Before Curry and Thompson, who the hell wanted to play in Golden State? Now everyone wants to play there. Same thing goes for Cleveland.

Once Russell or Ingram become something special, the superstars will come. Till then, don't expect many people running to the Lakers.

Aside from Westbrook, I think he has that Killer mentality where he thinks he can win one by himself every year. I think he may want to come to LA next offseason if the means are there.

EDIT: I also forgot to mention that a team like the Spurs have been steadily successful all these years because they have drafted and kept their superstars.

angrypuppy · Retired Number Joined: 13 Apr 2001 Posts: 32754

The GSW team is young, but those extended seasons will take a toll. In particular I'm not sure how Curry will hold up over time. I'll give them another 3-4 years to dominate, and at that point they'll really wear down due to age and fatigue. In terms of Lakers team planning, that the time horizon should be 3 years for a deep playoff, championship contending team.

The free agents we've signed might have some trade value as expiring contracts around that time frame, but the front office shouldn't bank on it. My gut feel is that the financial fortunes of the league have improved even for the crappy teams, which means that there's less value placed on expiring contracts.

In that three horizon, the priority should be to develop our young talent, and to set a modern system of basketball in place. We've shot ourselves in the foot by being wildly inconsistent in terms of the offense due to the seemingly capricious choice of head coaches. In other words, even if Luke leaves or is fired, you need to have a plan in place if you really intend to run a more modern, open system.

Signing free agents of course is also important. We might not be good enough to sign Westbrook, but we should look for that next free agent who will be still at peak or near-peak in 3 to 4 seasons.

In terms of the draft, we'll miss out on some first round talent due to the Nash and Dwight trades. However I think what we should be prioritizing is acquiring players who can play 3 and D. Scout those elite defenders who can be developed into weak-side 3 point shooters. Those players are available in the second round, and are sometimes available as undrafted free agents.

Vancouver Fan · Franchise Player Joined: 17 Apr 2006 Posts: 17740

Pretty obvious you win with homegrown talent. Even in previous generations, the Lakers and Celtics of the 80's, the Bulls of the 90's, early Spurs and the teams dominating today drafted key components, if not generational talent through the lottery. All those teams mentioned acquired one or multiple all-star players through the draft. Then the free agents or players via trade came to compliment the players to put the team over the top.
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Gimme_the_rock · Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2016 10:38 am Post subject:

Parity and "sharing" success across the league has long been the aim of the NBA front office. I expect that continue.
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Chadley · Sixth Man Joined: 13 Jul 2016 Posts: 46

I don't like when star players run to other teams, it really shows a mentality of wanting to take the easy way out. Kobe and Dirk and Duncan are the only loyal players. Well, Dirk said he didn't want to play on a rebuilding team, which isn't loyal. And Duncan has always had a great team. Kobe was truly loyal. The others, only semi-loyal.

True Lakers Fan · Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2016 10:40 am Post subject:

I prefer homegrown talent.
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KindCrippler2000 · Franchise Player Joined: 02 May 2003 Posts: 15821

Contending teams in this era are homegrown and then augmented by key free agents.

It's not like superstars emerge out of nowhere as some would seem to suggest here.

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venturalakersfan · Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2016 10:48 am Post subject:

I see one team out there going the "we will not tank and rebuild through free agency" route, and that is Dallas. And they have become a first round playoff exit team. While the playoffs are nice, they have no hope of challenging for the Finals. That is not the way we are going, thank goodness. Signing top FAs is difficult, we haven't done so in 20 years. Granted we didn't have the cap space in a lot of those, but when we have, our team wasn't good enough to attract star attention.
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bandiger · Franchise Player Joined: 02 Apr 2014 Posts: 12555

angrypuppy · Retired Number Joined: 13 Apr 2001 Posts: 32754

Yeah, you need the homegrown talent. Lebron didn't just want to return to his roots in Ohio, that's a myth fanned by PR. Cleveland had a stockpile of young talent, which probably looked inviting when he looked at age and mileage of the Miami roster. We have some young talent, but it needs to be developed. Having Byron didn't help.

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Hero Ball · Star Player Joined: 26 May 2015 Posts: 4403

I know I'm gonna be flamed for this but I think Kobe would have difficulty winning a ring without Shaq and Gasol, both of whom were acquired pieces.

FWIW, Magic never won without Kareem.

Vancouver Fan · Franchise Player Joined: 17 Apr 2006 Posts: 17740

True Lakers Fan · Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2016 11:29 am Post subject:

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2019 · Franchise Player Joined: 03 Dec 2014 Posts: 10812

the teams with the longest championship windows are generally homegrown talent.

Besides, it's a whole lot of fun to watch your young kids take over the league which is exactly what is happening now. As Dal, Houston, OKC, Miami, etc all start to fall off, teams like Lakers, Minny, Philly, Orlando, etc are all on the come up