Building around guys is how championship teams are created. To prove my point with examples of teams tanking and/or contending you can see the effect of the Lebron teams. Even the Warriors are tanking right now (I’m aware people are injured but I don’t believe in coincidences). So that’s the Lakers, Warriors, Cavs, Spurs tanked and then we’re contenders for years. All these teams were built around top ten players on the league, franchise players.
To be clear I’m not saying the answer is to tank. But if you have to do it for a year to get that franchise player then do it. If you have to trade pieces to get a top ten player, do it. This team is going to be in serious trouble going forward without that pivotal player. This is the NBA we are talking about. They will never let anyone win without that player. They need something to sell.