Post by DarthVegito on Dec 17, 2013 10:24:02 GMT -6
How's everyone doing today? Very happy you all could make it. I know we've made it difficult this season for the media to contact us, and we do apologize. This has been a very busy and stressful season. We know it's rare for a team to hold a press conference just prior to the playoffs, but we gave the players the day off and said what the hell.
So as you all know we lost horribly to the Atlanta Hawks in last year's finals. Although losing in that way stung, we quickly focused on not letting that happen again. The two things we lacked was rebounding and defense. We quickly made an off-season move to acquire versatile big man Chris Dudley and rebounding specialist Larry Smith. Sure it cost us Steve Kerr, but we were beginning to feel he was a little too one dimensional. So with that move we instantly addressed the rebounding issue. We came into the season as one of the best rebounding teams in the league. We we're ready to get back to the finals....maybe not.
I know all of our fans were just as shocked as we were when we started the season off at 3-6. I won't lie, there was a bit of panicking going on in the front office. When you have a 50 win season and make it to the finals, the expectations are going to be high, but stumbling so badly was not a good thing. So after a third of the season by with nothing but inconsistent play, it was time to make yet another move. We had been in trade talks for a while with the Hornets trying to hammer out a deal that put us in a better position to make that same finals run once again. Things finally came together and that deal sent out Danny Ferry and Chris Dudley and brought in Horace Grant and Derek Harper. With the addition of two very well balanced players, we had hoped everything would fall in place and let coach do the rest.
So here we are with the playoffs upon us, 50 win season and the Midwest title all but in our grasp. We've taken advantage of the recent stumble in Los Angeles and have the #1 seed in our sights. We have been very pleased with our season thus far. It's not an easy thing to be contenders year in and year out. You have to find the perfect balance of making sure you always are improving without completely destroying the makeup of your team. We think we've accomplished that and look forward to the playoffs. Our goal is to meet once again, the Hawks in the Finals. The outcome will NOT be the same though.
I'll now open up the floor to any questions you may have for me.
So as you all know we lost horribly to the Atlanta Hawks in last year's finals. Although losing in that way stung, we quickly focused on not letting that happen again. The two things we lacked was rebounding and defense. We quickly made an off-season move to acquire versatile big man Chris Dudley and rebounding specialist Larry Smith. Sure it cost us Steve Kerr, but we were beginning to feel he was a little too one dimensional. So with that move we instantly addressed the rebounding issue. We came into the season as one of the best rebounding teams in the league. We we're ready to get back to the finals....maybe not.
I know all of our fans were just as shocked as we were when we started the season off at 3-6. I won't lie, there was a bit of panicking going on in the front office. When you have a 50 win season and make it to the finals, the expectations are going to be high, but stumbling so badly was not a good thing. So after a third of the season by with nothing but inconsistent play, it was time to make yet another move. We had been in trade talks for a while with the Hornets trying to hammer out a deal that put us in a better position to make that same finals run once again. Things finally came together and that deal sent out Danny Ferry and Chris Dudley and brought in Horace Grant and Derek Harper. With the addition of two very well balanced players, we had hoped everything would fall in place and let coach do the rest.
So here we are with the playoffs upon us, 50 win season and the Midwest title all but in our grasp. We've taken advantage of the recent stumble in Los Angeles and have the #1 seed in our sights. We have been very pleased with our season thus far. It's not an easy thing to be contenders year in and year out. You have to find the perfect balance of making sure you always are improving without completely destroying the makeup of your team. We think we've accomplished that and look forward to the playoffs. Our goal is to meet once again, the Hawks in the Finals. The outcome will NOT be the same though.
I'll now open up the floor to any questions you may have for me.
