With this 10 game losing skid I have to admit I can see an alternate version of Holland than the one I've been complaining about this season.
That he does know just how bad this roster is. That as some suggested he spent to the cap to keep the team entertaining and keep some illusion of being competitive for at least half the season in order to sell tickets, knowing that at the trade deadline he can move some pieces and the house of cards will tumble. He was probably counting on moving Green but in the end that didn't matter.
Being dead last is no longer a guarantee first overall pick so why not try to have your cake and eat it too?
I still think he's been much too slow to react to the rebuild these last few seasons so I won't let him off the hook for that. I think he was probably hedging his bets more than anything on the off chance the team pulled a Vegas and could've made the playoffs, but in the end it's all working out.
Or maybe I'm just trying to make myself feel better as I watch my team struggle so desperately.
Because you can't win without talent.
Anyone with any sense knew Detroit wasn't a legit team this year.
People can point to Vegas, but Vegas was able to pick and choose their entire team at once, which is in many ways easier than adjusting as you go.
They also weren't hamstrung by Holland's "winning culture" and Holland's winning culture contracts.
They had a blank slate and no expectations.
There was no alternative this year. We were going to lose.
We're going to lose again next year, even if we get Dahlin and sign Tavares.
It's going to take considerable talent acquisition and maturation for this team to be the kind of team that plays well and competes for anything real.
If Detroit lands Dahlin and hits a couple more draft picks, I think we'll have a lot of the pieces we need to return to respectability. But it's still going to take a little bit of time.
