Mike Lowry wrote: Thu Jul 30, 2026 7:43 pm
Does indecision hurt team building?
Or are rash decisions made on a whim more dangerous?
What is your experience of either holding off on a trade that you probably should have made, or diving into a trade without thinking it through, and regretting it after?
The second question rather moots the first; given the second question the first should properly be, "is indecision or rash decision-making more dangerous?" Once you see this, it's obvious that the assumption baked into the line of questioning is that both "indecision" AND "rash decisions" are dangerous, meaning the first question is merely rhetorical.
So let's deal with "which is more dangerous." A single instance of indecision probably isn't dangerous to the long-term health of a team, particularly if you're "waiting for additional data" - however, a consistent pattern over time of paralysis due to indecision at every juncture is NOT "indecision" - it is actually itself a decision (to be passive/inactive) and I would posit that passivity is an incredibly dangerous thing for a team - because it keeps you from taking corrective action when it's clear corrective action is needed. On the other hand, the natural ebb and flow of, "doing well, getting poor draft picks, sucking, getting good draft picks" will naturally lead to the team having some ups and downs - at least you're getting ups.
On the other hand, rash decision-making can lead to exaggerations in this cycle, and the odds of a negative move (overcommitting to a contract, trading away a franchise superstar) are much greater than that odds of a positive move - simply because there are far more ways to ruin a team to build it. A couple of rash decisions that don't work out can cripple a team for a decade, while a rash decision that does work out isn't going to help you for more than 3-4 years.
So... I guess I think "Rash Decisions" are the more dangerous. I'll save the second question for a CWAC.