Rebuild Retrospective

Quinn Everts
Jul 03, 2024
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Hey! Welcome to Rebuild Retrospective.

I am fascinated by how teams are built, so in this series, I take a long look at how the teams of today’s NBA came to be. From the draft, free agency, trades, front office hires, and more, each team has a story, and here I attempt to tell them all. Okay, maybe not all. Some of them are kinda boring. But I’ll tell the cool stories.

Rebuild Retrospective: Sacramento Kings

Quinn Everts
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Jul 15
Rebuild Retrospective: Sacramento Kings

“Is this really all there is?” “What else ought there be?” -The Green Knight (2021) Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, the Sacramento Kings defied all convention. Not in a good way! An NBA rebuild usually takes about six years. If the rebuilding franchise still isn’t competing at a high level after those years, the rebuild probably needs a reset. But even if t…

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Rebuild Retrospective: Memphis Grizzlies

Quinn Everts
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May 8
Rebuild Retrospective: Memphis Grizzlies

Writing this piece in May 2024 might be assumptive; the Memphis Grizzlies have won a single playoff series since being “rebuilt,” and just wrapped up a season in which it won 27 games. The idea of this series is to write about teams that have rebuilt,

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Rebuild Retrospective: New Orleans Pelicans

Quinn Everts
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Mar 27
Rebuild Retrospective: New Orleans Pelicans

Determining whether you’re in paradise or purgatory should be easy. In the former, you live a serene, peaceful existence for eternity, and in the latter, you’re sort of floating around a shapeless void. But sometimes it’s not so simple— just ask the New Orleans Pelicans. They have a number one overall pick who’s made two All-Star teams in five seasons. …

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Rebuild Retrospective: Orlando Magic

Quinn Everts
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Mar 13
Rebuild Retrospective: Orlando Magic

When does this story start? Perhaps in June 2009, when the Dwight Howard-led Orlando Magic beat LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the ECF and made the franchise’s first NBA Finals since 1995.

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Rebuild Retrospective: Oklahoma City Thunder

Quinn Everts
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Mar 7
Rebuild Retrospective: Oklahoma City Thunder

If you’re searching for a shining example of how quickly the NBA moves, I recommend looking in tornado country. The Oklahoma City Thunder have lived about five full lives since decimating their roster in the summer of 2019. After the death of the old guard came the birth of something new, something exciting for the Thunder. But when the initial novelty …

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