Our playcalling would be the playcalls of all time. Our SLOB plays would be exclusively carried by Giddey, Chet would be moved to set the screen, and he’d probably have SGA chuck an uncomfortable shot. We would lose the games that matter most. We would consistently give up 20 point leads. We would give up every 4th quarter lead with how little direction he gives to the bench. We would peak at the first round of the playoffs again and again. And we would do that for the next five years until the stars request trades and we’re back into the rebuild. The pain in our souls from seeing yet another first round exit would continue to feed the trolls of Portland and Seattle, the Houstans. We would become like Washington, forever mired in mediocrity and reopening wounds that should be left to heal.
Wemby would be one of those players to request a trade. Our timeline would be for naught but another year where we’re too good to tank for a high draft pick, too bad to make it past the play-in, too inconsistent to develop young players, too focused on playing vets to care about development, and too mid to be relevant in any conversation.
That is the true bad ending, wandering basketball purgatory, watching every draft pick Presti makes become confident after leaving the team or wallow in the lack thereof for staying.
The team finally learned how to box out for the rebound