Damn breh, I feel the pain. It's tough being a fan of a team that ain't gsw or the cavs.
I think the idea is to sell this team as a contender missing a piece to other players. We also want to seem like we take care of our own, rewarding guys like bazemore and millsap. Although Baze backfired.
We can bottom out but idk if I want to fall into that abyss. Some teams never make it back out. At the same time There are few free agents that are worth the max so you don't want to get in a bidding war for nikkas like Evan turner or allen Crabbe.
Honestly our best attribute as an organization is player development. So I think we should do what Qohelet has been begging for and that's drafting high potential guys instead of seniors. With a d league team now, it makes the most sense.
In the meantime retain whatever assets you have like millsap because the alternative is worse. Also he will always be a commodity. The hardaway thing is hindsight because I think it's fair to say not everybody was sold on him.
Also, I respect the franchises decision to not make horford the 2nd highest player in the league.