-The Pistons didn’t have a superstar in the traditional sense, but they had one of the best players at their position at each spot. I also think that Chauncey Billups was very underrated back then.

“If I were convinced that Rubio was the real deal and could play NBA defense at some point,”

He was the Defensive Player of the Year in the Spanish league as a teenage PG… (DPOY is awarded subjectively, but there are plenty of strong defensive bigmen in Spain who were candidates for the award. For example, Tiago Splitter and Fran Vazquez were both 1st round picks in the NBA based primarily on their defense.)
Defense is not a concern with Rubio, shooting and scoring are the biggest question mark. He definitely has the talent to be special, though.

“Lebron and Wade are worth the trouble. Also Amare to some extent.”

I don’t know if Amare is, to be honest. He’s a big time scorer, but fairly one dimensional and injury prone. As he loses athleticism, does he lose effectiveness? I think I would say he’s more valuable to a team than Lee (depends how highly you value rebounds), but he’ll also be paid twice as much. So, you have to ask whether he’s more valuable than, say, Lee, Robinson, and Sessions. Or two Lees.

I would call it a toss up between Amare and Bosh.

Lebron and Wade are worth the trouble. Also Amare to some extent.
I can’t see Wade choosing us over Miami or Chicago though. Better shot at LeBron.

no need to recap our DL coverage, but is he worth $8 million a year? Obviously yes, IMO. $10 million? In a league where the superstars make $20 million — probably. Not a bargain any more, but look at the players making $10 million a year, and DL is better than most of them – at least half.

lee is a nice player but he is not the kind of athlete that will be a primary component of a championship team. signing one or two stars next summer to build around should be the first and last priority. a key reason why walsh is a good manager is because he has the guts to make the moves that will benefit his team in the long term rather than making quick fix moves (see scott layden, isiah thomas) to please fans who are only thinking about what next week’s team will look like.

If The Pacers or Mavs had actually won, would Miller and Nowitzki have the final resume piece to be considered superstars? They were right on the cusp (and could be argued they were).

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A lee in the hand is not worth whats in the bush. Because you only have a certain amount of hand$ to hold players… so letting him go opens up a free hand to get someone else.

What I am trying to say is that with a salary cap, sometimes letting a player go for cap space is just as important as signing a player.

After a superstar is signed next summer… we will still have the capabilities to sign role players. Which, even though he is a very good one, is really all Lee is.

2009 Lakers: The Gasol “trade” (for draft picks/talent), drafted Andrew Bynum, traded Shaq for Lamar Odom, traded for Ariza, drafted Vujacic, Walton, Farmar. Only signing was Fisher, who had already spent a decade with the Lakers after being drafted by them. Their 2008 MLE signee Vlad Radmanovic was a bust and was salary dumped for Adam Morrison and Shannon Brown.

2008 Celtics: Traded 5th pick for Ray Allen. Traded all their draft prospects from last two years for KG. Drafted Rajon Rondo (kudos Isiah) and Kendrick Perkins. Drafted Paul Pierce 9th overall way back too.

2007 Spurs: Drafted Duncan, Parker, and Manu. Signed Michael Finley, Bruce Bowen, Robert Horry, Fabricio Oberto, Brent Barry. Not exactly a superstar list.

2006 Heat: Drafted Wade and Haslem. Traded for Shaq, Walker, Posey, and J-Will. Acquired Zo back in the day via trade.

2005 Spurs: Same team as 07 with Rasho Nesterovic as the big signing.

2004 Pistons: Traded for Rip Hamilton, Ben Wallace, and Rasheed Wallace. Drafted Tayshaun Prince, Mehmet Okur. Signed Chauncey Billups before he was Chauncey Billups.

2003 Spurs: Signed Stephen Jackson after his rookie season with NJ. Traded for Steve Kerr and Steve Smith. Drafted Malik Rose. They also drafted this guy named David Robinson #1 overall a real long time ago.

2002 Lakers: Signed Shaq and Rick Fox. Drafted Kobe, Devean George, and Derek Fisher. Traded for Robert Horry and Lindsey Hunter.

2001 Lakers: Signed Ron Harper, Horace Grant

2000 Lakers: Traded for Glen Rice and A.C. Green

So aside from the Shaq signing, every free agent pick up by a champion was a complimentary player. It’s worth noting that Shaq signed in an era where the Lakers were able to outbid the Magic by freeing up more cap space. They would not be able to do that in today’s NBA.

Championships are won because of players, not coaches. Anyway, Jax’ Bulls & Lakers teams have always been stronger on offense than defense.

This also sounds like a dig at D’Antoni, which I thought was pretty well debunked in an earlier posting…

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I think jamrock makes a good point about the Celtics – that team was built piece by piece, not around a single superstar. That’s why I think it’s foolish to let Lee walk. Maybe even Robinson. At some point you need to catch a break — a superstar comes available by trade, or your mid-round draft pick turns out great. But you have to be ready — a decent cap situation, so you can swing a trade… HAVING the draft picks… having good players in the fold as a supporting cast. I think Walsh is generally on the right track, but you can’t expect him to undo Isiah’s damage in just a year or two. Based on his Indiana tenure, Walsh seems more like a piece-by-piece guy, anyway. Of course he didn’t have the cash resources he has now, so it’s hard to know.

re: the Bulls… I was talking more about the 1999-2002 period, than the Kobe chasing period when they were already a decent team. When Jordan and Pippen left for Jerry Krause proclaimed he was basically clearing out every contract, and would just reload with top free agents. And they went after EVERYone. Grant Hill. Tracy McGrady… Eddie Jones (a 3-time All-Star, at one point)… talking up the possibility of Garnett (until he extended with Minnesota)… etc.

Here are a couple of typical articles, from the era…
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4553216.html
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-69260605.html

Phil Jackson, Doc Rivers, Gregg Popovich, Pat Riley, and Larry Brown.

All of them preach defense.

Shaq was a free agent, Kobe was dealt for on draft day.

Also, had the Celtics not signed Ray Allen or KG to deals… they would have gotten nowhere near the finals (or even the playoffs)