darstep

All of the above posts make good points, but have failed to mention who is really at the core of what Payton and Loomis are able to work out, and thats Benson. There is no way a coach/GM would settle for less than exactly what they need unless they have been hand cuffed, booked, and finger printed. It certainly hasn't been, and definitely is not salary cap! Mueller couldn't take it, and got out - no big press release, just grabbed his stuff one day and left the building. I can just imagine what the Benson/Mueller conversation was like that lead to his decision to leave: two different views of what it takes to build a winning tradition. Payton may know what he wants but then Loomis has to crunch the numbers based on Benson's thrift budgetary restraints - quality vs quantity. Let's see, do we want 1 Mercedes or a Ford, 3 Kia's, and a Hyundai?

**SaintSince67**