Thunder's Way

In these days every unsuccessfull teams trying to do Thunder's formula to become successfull. It is becoming more and more boring  to see tanking that much. Drafts are not always a gold mine. Thus we tried to remember how successfull teams (made Conferance Finals) built their team between 2000-2012. Between these years because before that there was an unfair league [1]. I'll write only selected teams made Conferance Final more than one. This post shows the team who reached Conferance Fibals between 2000 and 2006. Here are teams.

 LALx4:

We all know 2000's Lakers right. Kobe? Shaq? Ok. They were not good in Jordan era. They missed play-off '93-'94 first since '76. An then they looked around for the best center in the league like all years they did(Mikan-Wilt-Kareem-Shaq-Dwight). Shaq was available at '96 summer, well, got him. Same year draft night Mr.Logo did one of the best trades of all time and took Kobe. Result ; 2 MVP's 4 final and 3 rings. By the way they hired P-Jax as coach in these years.

DETx4:

They started to build championship roster after 2000(32-50 record). They missed play-off that year.But they not at the deep of league like these years. Joe Dumars made amazing moves after that not like these years(Darko Milicic broke his heart I guess.) They got 4 allstar 4! 3 of them was trade. Billups joined from FA. None of them came from draft.

SASx3:

'85 play-off
'86 28-54 = 1th pick=David Robinson
'96 Conference Semi-finals
'97 20-62 = 1th pick=Tim Duncan
'97 Greg Popovic hired as headcoach.
Also they selected two all-star from draft. '99 57th pick !!! '01 28th pick!!. BAM! Here is the dynasty. 15 consequent year play-off 4 rings.

NJNx2:

Look at these records.98-99= 16-34, 99-00=31-51, 00-01= 26-56 nice right! How about  that 02 Final - 03 Final!!. They selected Kenyon from 1st pick in '00 (I guess that draft was worst draft ever.). They sent Stephon Marbury for Jason Kidd. Great!! Also they took Jefferson in 01'draft night by sending 6th pick Eddie Griffin.

INDx2:

In '86-'87 they were at the last spot of play-off. 87' draft night Reggie Miller is selected from 11th pick. That was very suprising and unable to understand for Pacers fans not to select Steve Alford but Donnie Walsh was confident. Result? Ask jersey #31 at Banker Life Fieldhouse ceiling. Anyway, they got Rik Smith after that year form draft. Then, They made 16 play-offs in 18 years. 5 conferance final 1 final. In 2000 Jalen Rose became a Pacer and he was scorer of the Finalist team that year. Besides, they were successfull indeed with Jermaine, Ron Artest, Al Harington. But c'mon Ron Ron.

DALx2:

A conversation from 90's in Dallas.
+ What did Mavs last night?
-Mavs Who?The band one?

Dallas was totally loser in 90's. 0 "zero" play-offs. '98 Draft night  was breaking point  for franchise. Don Nelson wanted a German guy and Suns back-up guard Steve Nash. They had 6th pick for weird-haired blond German. Besides Buck desired Robert Traylor from draft and Suns wanted Pat Garrity. What Mavs did ? Selected Traylor from 6th pick-sent Bucks, took 9th pick Dirk- Pat Garrity from 19th pick-sent Suns got Nash-. Result? 1 MVP 2 Allstar. 2 Final 1 Ring. 12 consequent years play-offs.

PHOx2:

They were not bad in 90's, they lost one time against His Airness, made all play-offs between '89-'01. In '01-'02 team had Marbury-Hardaway-Marion trio but they had gone out of play-offs after 82 games. '02 draft Suns selected Amare Stoudemire from 9th overall. But team was going nowhere. In the mid of '03 they sent Marbury and Hardaway for pieces which means nothing. But they got FA Steve Nash future 2 times MVP. D'antoni's system suited playerss like Nash, Amare and Marion excellently. Nearly all players in these year made their carrer numbers. But that wasn't enough for ring. They needed luck also.

MIAx2:

Early 2000's the hot-blooded '90s Miami's roster was seperated. After 25-57 '02-'03 season Pat Riley gave up, too and left the coaching spot to Stan Van Gundy to take 2 and a half years later. '03 draft night they were waiting Chris Bosh or some thing but special thanks to Joe Dumars they selected Dwayne Wade from 5th overall. One year later, Lakers made a choice between Shaq and Kobe. Shaq was the packing up one. Miami sent a package for  'really' Big-man(Odom-Butler- 10th pick of '02 draft Grant). Wade-Shaq duo lost against Pistons '05 conference finals after that year won rings from 0-2 against Dallas Mavericks.

Wild Card - SAC:

Sacremento Kings was really nice buddy with Dallas Maverick in 90s. Between '87 and '98 seasons they made only one play-off and never won 40 games or more. Again same faith with Mavs in '98 summer(retirement of Jordan and Lock-out '98 summer was milestone for many teams) everything changed for Sacremento -at least for awhile. They made Chris Webber a King and sent all-star guard Mitch Richmond and Otis Thorpe for him to Wizards. Their 14th pick in '96 draft Predrag Stojakovic joined to the team and Rick Adelman-2 time WC champion with Blazers- hired as a head coach. Following years they captured respectively Vlade Divac, Doug Chirstie and Mike Bibby. And 61-21 overalled, Western Conference Finalist, very lovely team was built. But we all know Big Shot Rob right?

[1] Michael Jordan era.
[2]Traded with 4th round pick Stephon Marbury
[3] Peja joined league in 1998
[4] Mavs traded No. 6 pick and a future pick  to the Celtics for Eric Montross and a No. 9 pick
[5] Nets traded 7th round pick Eddie Griffin for 13th round pick Jefferson and pieces
[6]Mavs sent 6th pick  Robert Traylor for 9th pick Nowitzki and 19th pick  Pat Garrity on draft night
[7] Rights from Dallas

Thunder's Way Volume II

In this post I'm going to continue from 2006-07 Season.

2006-2007 Season

Champion: San Antonio Spurs

Spurs’  Top 3 Players who had the biggest share in team possessions were Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili (15,7/14,8/12,8)[1]. Tim Duncan entered the league as #1 pick in 1997. Not so long, he and "The Admiral" formed up the "Twin Towers". On the other hand Tony Parker and Manu were such draft steals since Tony was First Round, 28^th pick and Manu was not even first round pick he was Second Round, 57^th pick. But most importantly, they had this guy for whom songs are written.

Finalist: Cleveland Cavaliers

Cavs’ Top 3 Players were LeBron James, Larry Hughes and Big Z (24,2/15,5/9,0). Cavs won the lottery in 2003 and they selected LeBron as #1 pick. As for Larry Hughes he joined the team in 2005 as free agent. Z-Bo was the first round pick for Cavs ages ago, yet even in 1996 he wasn’t the lottery win, he was 20^th pick.

Western Conference Finalist: Utah Jazz

Jazz’s Big Three were Carlos Boozer, Memo and D-Will (16,0/13,9/16,5). Funny fact, D-Will had no problems with Jerry Sloan in those years. Carlos Boozer and Memo joined the team in 2004 as free agents. As for Deron, he was the First Round, 3^rd pick in 2005.

Eastern Conference Finalist: Detroit Pistons

Second version of the Bad Boys reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 2007. Like previous years, 3 players rule the ball were Rip Hamilton,Chauncey Billups and Tayshaun Prince(16,9/14,1/11,3). All three of them joined team in 2002; Rip joined as a result of a trade between Pistons and Wizards while Chauncey joined as free agent. As for Prince he was a draft steal in those years, he was 23^rd pick in first round.

2007-2008 Season

Champion: Boston Celtics

After years of domination, Celtics had several miserable years. In 2008, they reached the O’Brien Trophy at last. They recruited ringless superstars to joined their own superstar “The Truth”. As expected their Ruler 3 were Paul Pierce, KG and Ray Ray (16,2/14/13,7). Paul Pierce was 10^th pick in 1998 which is not easy to be considered as winning the lottery. On the other hand Garnett and Ray Allen joined the team in 2007.

Finalist: Los Angeles Lakers

King of the Trades.  Lakers recruited a solid team after the nightmarish post-Shaq era.  Their 3 stars were The Black Mamba, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom (18,7/9,8/8,2). Kobe joined the team in a draft night trade which included one of the dominant centers in the league, Vlade Divac as Mehmet mentioned.  Pau joined the team in the half of the season with a trade between Lakers and  Grizzlies which also included draft rights of his little brother Marc -little is probably the wrong word if you consider the fact that Marc is 2,16- As for Lamar Odom, when Shaq traded to Miami, Lamar left the Florida beaches and came to the California.

Eastern Conference Finalist&: Detroit Pistons

I’ve mentioned Pistons before , in 2008 there were nothing changed. Rip, Billups and Prince were still featured stars of the Pistons.

Western Conference Finalist: San Antonio Spurs

Like Pistons, their Ruler 3 hasn’t changed since 2007.

2008-2009 Season

Champion: Los Angeles Lakers

In 2009, Kobe already had 3 rings, but he was still hungry for another ring as much as a “Winner” should be. Nothing changed much since previous season except the fact that Bynum became more dominant player. Even though he hadn’t got the one of the Top 3 spots, he became one of the most dominant centers in the league. After he was picked in the  10^th row in 2005, finally he was about to reach his potential.

Finalist: Orlando Magic

Happy times.  In 2008-2009 season, Dwight was still enjoying to play for Orlando. Surprising ha? Yeah, true story. They were a solid team, they even beat Cavaliers in Eastern Conference Finals which devastated LeBron like hell and which was also one of the reasons led him to notorious “The Decision”. Anyway, that happy Orlando Magic’s Ruler 3 were Hedo, Howard and Rashard Lewis (13,4/12,4/11,9). Howard was the #1 pick in 2004. On the other hand Lewis joined Orlando in 2007 from Seattle as a result of sign&trade transaction.  As for Hedo, he came to the Orlando as free agent in 2004.

Western Conference Finalist: Denver Nuggets

Denver finally reached the Western Conference Finals in 2009, after they hit the jackpot in 2003 Draft, thanks to Detroit. In 2009, Denver’s 3 Horsemen of the Apocalypse were Carmelo Antony, The Answer and Chauncey Billups (16,8/14,1/12,4).  Carmelo was the 3^rd pick in 2003-one of the greatest draft classes, I believe-. He found his company Iverson in 2006 when he gave up his championship dreams in Philly. The two found their commander in 2008, when Billups returned the Denver with 2 NBA Finals and 1 ring.

Eastern Conference Finalist: Cleveland Cavaliers

In 2009, people of Ohio were in love with LeBron. He was throwing the powder, they were confident that they will reach at least to the NBA Finals. Sadly, they couldn’t. Since 2007, two of the three ball rulers were still where they were before, Big Z and LeBron. Mo Williams was the third player who has the one of the Top 3 highest possession. He had the second highest possession percentage (15,3) in the team. They added Mo Williams in 2008 as a result of a trade between Cavs and Bucks.

2009-2010 Season

Champion: Los Angeles Lakers

Things were almost same in the Lakers Dynasty. Bynum climbed up to the Top 3 spot instead of Odom. One of the things should be mentioned is, rising of the Ron Artest, aka Metta World Peace. Who can forget the 7^th game of 2010 Finals. He joined Lakers in 2009 as free agent.

Finalist: Boston Celtics

After a season, they were in the Finals again. While they were trying to beat their arch enemy in 2010 Finals, their Big 3 were still in the shape. Yet, there was another commander in their roster, Rajon Rondo. Rondo joined the team in 2006 Draft as first round, 21^st pick.

Eastern Conference Finalist&: Phoenix Suns

After Mike D’Antoni era, Phoenix reached the Western Conference Finals again. Their Top 3 players were Amare Stoudemire, Steve Nash and Jason Richardson (16,6/15/12,5). Steve Nash joined the team in 2004 as free agent which was the one the milestone in the franchise history. Amare was the first round, 9^th pick in 2002. As for J-Rich, he joined Suns' roster with a trade between Phoenix Suns and Charlotte.

Western Conference Finalist: Orlando Magic

In 2010, they reached Eastern Conference Finals with Dwight Howard for the last time. Even though their go-to-guy, Howard, was still there, their two of Top 3 had changed. His companies were Air Canada and Jameer Nelson. Vince Carter traded from Nets in 2009, as for Nelson he was traded in the draft night from Denver in 2004.

2010-2011 Season

Champion: Dallas Mavericks

In 2011, Mark Cuban reached his life-long dream. I would like to give my respects to Wayne L. Winston for this championship. After they couldn’t reach the O’Brien Trophy with Steve Nash, Michael Finley,Dirk Nowitzki trio,even when they added Antawn Jamison, they renewed. In 2011, their Top 3 were Dirk Nowitzki, as expected, Jason Terry and Caron Butler (15/12,1/11,4). Mehmet mentioned how they got Dirk- I can only say something about his hair,in 2011 his hair was way better than 1998-, I’ll write about Terry and Butler. Terry traded from Atlanta in 2004. On the other hand, Butler traded form Wizards in 2010. By the way, I have to mention two more player even though they hadn’t got possession percentage as much as Dirk,Terry and Butler, they were the biggest part of the team, Kidd&Chandler. Kidd returned home after a trade between Nets and Mavs in 2008, and Chandler traded from Bobcats in 2010.

Finalist: Miami Heat

After they recruited Bosh and LeBron in the beginning of the season and LeBron promised 8 championships –I’m still laughing btw-, everyone assumed that they would get their first ring in 2010. Yet, they couldn’t. Their go-to-three are very obvious. Wade was their draft pick in 2003. He was first round,5^th pick. Yet, they loved Draft Class 2003. They signed with LeBron James -1^st pick in 2003- and Chris Bosh -4^th pick in 2003- in 2010.

Eastern Conference Finalist&: Oklahoma City Thunder

Here comes the Thunder saga. After a heartbroken departure from City of Seattle, the franchise started everything over. They made greatest draft picks in a row, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. Also, they got the Jeff Green from Boston in the draft night in 2007. I gotta say that, they are one of their kind.  In 2011, they reached the Western Conference Finals. Harden was a little bit shy , so their Top 3 guys were Durant, Westbrook and Green (20,1/17,9/11,5). Durant was 2^nd pick in 2007 Draft, Westbrook was 4^th pick in 2008 and Green was a draft night trade as I’ve mentioned before. As for their fourth guy, Harden, he was 3^rd pick in 2009.

Western Conference Finalist: Chicago Bulls

After, his majesty retired, Bulls struggled to become a contender again. Yet, it’s really understandable, I mean give them a break, they’ve only lost the greatest player of all time. Anyway, they found the player they’ve been expecting, Derrick Rose. He was the first round,1^st pick in 2008. By the way, I’m looking forward to #thereturn. Their companies in 2011 were Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng. Boozer joined the team in 2010 from a trade from Utah Jazz. As for Deng, he was traded in the draft night 2004 from Phoenix.   

2011-2012 Season

Champion: Miami Heat

Everything was still same in 2012, except the fact that they won the O’Brien Trophy this time. 7 championship to go, yeah I'm kidding.  Big three were still the Top 3 player in the team. However, LeBron put a heavenly performance in 2012. He didn't give up, he took the responsibility when his team needed him and he got the ring. He answered all the criticism towards him in the court.

   

Finalist: Oklahoma City Thunder

For OKC, things were almost same like Heat. They traded Jeff Green for Kendrick Perkins, and The Beard stepped up and became the one of the Top 3 player. He was not as impressive as we expected in the Finals, yet he was marvelous in the regular season and playoff games.

Eastern Conference Finalist: Boston Celtics

It was a surprise that Old Boys reached the Eastern Conference Finals. It’s not only that, they were too close to beat Heat. I have to say that Rose’s injury shook the Eastern Conference’s dynamics. Yet, it doesn’t change the fact that Boston showed some great performances in the playoffs. As for their Top 3, Rondo stepped up and entered the list instead of Ray Ray.

Western Conference Finalist: San Antonio Spurs

In 2012, their Top 3 was still same Duncan, Manu and Parker (9,8/7,6/13,1). However, Spurs wasn’t same Spurs as they were. Spurs has made their name as a “Defensive Team”. In 2012, they were an “Offensive Team”, not only that they were the best offensive team in the league. Yet, after a 10 win in a row in the playoffs, they couldn’t resist to the “Fountain of Youth” of Thunder.

As you can see, there is only one team succeed with "Thunder Model",Oklahama City Thunder. It's not because "The Thunder Model" isn't good, it's because that model is very hard to apply. Apart form the fact that it's hard enough to find a high position in the draft in a row, some draft classes can be really disappointing in terms of talent. Also, some non-talent related factors may affect any player's career,like injuries or personal issues. For example, I was very confident that Greg Oden would shake the league before the 2007-2008 Season. Yet, injuries ruined his career which is the ache I will always remember. Anyway, if there is something common in all teams, everyone of them had a reliable franchise player -except Pistons, but they had a great core-. It's almost impossible to succeed unless you've got a franchise player. You should find your superstar -with a trade or a lottery win,doesn't matter- and then build around him. If you can make more great drafts while trying to do your best and competing hard for the championship, good for you.Yet, if you continue to lose and  wait for another drafts to build a team, you would probably fail and lose your superstar too. 

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[1] Numbers in the parenthesis represent the percentage of the possession which the corresponding player has in the team.