Rebuilding the Right Way in the NBA
In the NBA, impressive feats don't only happen on the basketball court. As exciting action happen on the court, many remarkable things that decide the success of the team takes place outside of it. There are front offices that are building stuff of legends. The Spurs front office and coaching staff that has been working together for almost two decades now is one of the organizations that are getting lots of accolades for their impressive work.
However, the Spurs organization aren't the only team worthy of praises. Another front office that has done a wonderful job is the Oklahoma City Thunder front office. The team provides a very good blueprint on how to build a team from scratch, from one of the worst to one of the best. In a league where plenty of teams are stuck in the bottom of the barrel without having shown any signs of improvement for years and years, they are a living example of rebuilding the right way in the NBA.
So how are they doing it?
An Organization with a Plan
The very first thing that every project needs is a plan. The plan for the Thunder was to build through drafts and that was what they did. This meant that they had to go through losing seasons. It was definitely not easy but it worked as the team acquired some topnotch talent along the way.
Even when they already had talented players such as Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, they didn't rush things. They didn't suddenly go all in by trading for or signing an expensive player. They kept on slowly adding valuable players and trade assets to the team. This provided players with star-potential to develop into stars. The players that fit well along the stars stayed and those that didn't got traded. It was a continuous process that built the team that they are right now.
Creating a Culture
Aside from creating and following on a plan, another key thing that is common to all successful teams right now is having a good culture within the team. A good culture is something that encourages every player on the team to be his best. It is no surprise that teams known for their camaraderie such as Miami Heat, Thunder, Spurs and the Indiana Pacers are also the top teams right now. To further prove the point, the talented yet dysfunctional Lakers team struggled the entire last season.
