David Aldridge's keys to long term success

[Celtic4Hire@xxxxxxx]

I truly believe Ainge is following Aldrige's formula for NBA success. The 
coaching is the only bump in the road....

DJessen33

<Good teams have good owners. Good owners aren't just rich; they're willing 
to spend their money to create an environment for winning. They spend not just 
on players, but on scouting and training facilities and in their own arenas. 
Mark Cuban isn't the greatest judge of talent in the world, but he doesn't 
involve himself in that. He concentrates on his marketing skills; nobody works 
harder to make his building a fan-friendly place that creates a true home-court 
advantage. It's no coincidence that a lot of the forward-thinking owners are 
out west: Cuban, the Maloof Brothers, Denver's Stan Kroenke. And good owners are 
patient. Minnesota's Stan Taylor hasn't pulled the plug on Kevin McHale and 
Flip Saunders despite seven straight first-round exits. San Antonio's Peter 
Holt allowed Gregg Popovich and R.C. Buford to continue to sign players and make 
deals even when a new arena deal was far from a certainty. Not that it hurts 
when you're No. 3 on the Forbes' 400 list of the Richest People in America -- 
Paul Allen, come on down!



Good teams have good management. The guys who were early on the potential of 
the international player were almost all general managers and coaches from 
Western teams. The Nelsons pere et fils were on the international bandwagon at 
Golden State with Sarunas Marciulionis in the late '80s, and never wavered. When 
Big Nellie arrived in Dallas, he said that Dirk Nowitzki would be great and 
nobody believed him. The Blazers took fliers on Drazen Petrovic and Arvydas 
Sabonis. Sacramento's Geoff Petrie took an unknown Peja Stojakovic in the first 
round in 1997. The Spurs' Buford used a first-rounder in 2001 on a Frenchman 
and a 1999 second-rounder on an Argentinian named Ginobili, for Maradona's sake!


While teams in the East snickered or ignored them, the West teams were 
building rosters with new stars who could shoot and pass. Now, Denver (Nene), 
Memphis (Pau Gasol), Utah (Andrei Kirilenko, Aleksandar Pavlovic) and Seattle (Vlad 
Radmanovic) are joining the fray. Name one significant international player on 
an Eastern Conference roster. Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Mehmet Okur are the 
start and the end of the list.



Good teams spend money wisely. The Spurs had cap room before last season. 
They had cap room before this season. They'll have cap room before next season. 
That's not by accident. The Nuggets and Jazz are in position to be players in 
free agency for the next couple of years because they bit the bullet and made 
hard decisions. This past summer, Denver spent $54 million on Andre Miller, but 
it's cheaper guys like Chris Andersen, Francisco Elson, Jon Barry and Earl 
Boykins that are finishing, and winning, games for them. Donnie Walsh in Indy is 
the East's best at getting good players at reasonable prices; no coincidence 
that the Pacers are perennial playoff participants.



Good teams do the right thing. How different would things have been if New 
Jersey had done what it wanted to do in 1996 and taken Kobe Bryant with the 
eighth pick in the first round, instead of acquiescing to the threats of his 
agents? Or if Charlotte had kept Bryant after taking him at 13 instead of trading 
him to the Lakers? There were those who said Houston shouldn't take Yao Ming 
with the first pick last season, but the Rockets stuck to their guns and took 
the guy they knew could ultimately make a difference. This is where I think the 
East has some hope. Joe Dumars could have taken Carmelo Anthony with the 
second pick, but he did the right thing and took 7-foot-1 Darko Milicic because 
Detroit already had a young talent in Tayshaun Prince at small forward. Because 
of that, in three years, the Pistons won't be like everyone else in the East, 
desperately looking for size in the middle.



Good teams have the Logo. 'Nuff said.


Personally, I'm not as mortified about the West's dominance as others. Ten 
years ago, who were among the laughingstocks of the league? Dallas, Sacramento 
and Minnesota. How did they become good? They drafted well, they made good 
trades, they developed young players and they gave the big money to the right 
people. It didn't happen overnight, and it won't happen overnight for the Miamis 
and Atlantas and Clevelands and Washingtons. Nor is there any guarantee that 
Indiana and Detroit and New Orleans will ever break through. But they're doing 
it the right way.


No magic. Just hard work.>