i agree.
that's why i hated the deadline. they did nothing when they have their best shot at the finals in 15 years. assuming that "because the core is young" means they will be this good every year is fool's gold. theyre about to be capped out but refused to make their move for a robin to cade's batman, all because duren "catches lobs real good."
as you point out, the lions were built to win for 5 years, dont worry about losing that nfc championship game, theyre so young! and then the next year the entire defense is injured, and two years later you finish last in the division.
progress isnt always linear. teams dont always get better. the league only bails out the spurs and idiots only hand star players to the lakers, not detroit.
i get that ivey was an albatross and not an asset, but was heurter really the BEST you could do? you couldnt have thrown a couple seconds in with ivey to get dosunmu? or even coby white? as flawed as they are they would be more productive than heurter.
anyway, rant over. trajan really missed, imo. i hope it doesnt cost them this year.
and as far as matching up against the knicks, i wouldnt assume they could beat miami or charlotte right now. they should, but that assumes ausar is healthy.