Well, you seem impatient still and I'm not sure why. Whether it's a four-year rebuild or a five-year rebuild this is still just Year 2. To me if they don't pull the trigger today that is because they want to move the rebuild forward with something better - and more immediately useful - than a '26 or '27 pick that makes Year 3 a true pivot point into being close to contention rather than a lengthy process.
And I certainly wouldn't have wanted them to spend the draft assets they have before this summer. They also demonstrably accelerated the pace by dumping Frost and Farabee because otherwise they were going to have to wait another year for more cap space. If they were desperate for cap space they'd also be in a weaker position to sell Laughton and Risto.
And I also cut them a little slack in terms of the way the first year of the rebuild played out. Losing Gauthier. Losing Hart. And then getting Michkov. Those were all big course corrections (and the third thing makes the first thing more painful, I reckon). I think Michkov's arrival also meant they cared more about the locker room dynamic, though I would think Coots can provide all of the same leadership Laughton does in that regard.
I would say they have failed to tank, in that they have openly refused to do it, and it would be nice to have more shots at the lottery. But it's also hard to actually plan for it. Trading those two guys last month made the team much worse and tank-worthy for a little bit but then it turned out that once they had a full roster (of both the two guys they got back and the existing injured guys) they could win some games. And conversely, you can say dumping Laughton or Risto might help the tank but they just had two absolutely awful losses with them.
