Post by Charles on Dec 20, 2018 2:54:28 GMT
Doing a division by division series so I can hit on each team. The point here is to talk about the team's offseason acquisitions and give my opinion on if a team had a win, loss, or a draw. Winners should be better this season, losers worse, draws should stay similar.
We are going to start in the Pacific division and work from the top down based on 2037 record.
Seattle Supersonics (68-14):
2037 S5: Mejri/Desaymonnet/Newhouse/Shuttlesworth/Cousey
2038 Proj: Mejri/Desaymonnet/Shuttlesworth/Griggs/Cousey
DRAW - You would think a team losing someone as good as Jalen Newhouse, a guy who put up 28/6/3 as a 3rd option on the Finals runner-up, would instantly be put as a loss. The Sonics were able to pick up Bryce Griggs in free agency for the MLE and even though he's a couple years older and starting to show some decline he is still a 20+ PPG scorer with a solid amount of rebounds and assists. As long as he's not starting at PG where he struggles with turnovers then he is a strong player yet. We aren't looking at the Cavs yet, but 4/6 of the last finals have featured the Cavs vs. Sonics and with the Cavs losing their starting SG in FA. I think BigThunder just pushed himself back to the top of the contender list for this season with this one signing.
Los Angeles Clippers (59-23):
2037 S5: Kerris/Fulks/Mlkvy/McDermott/Brian
2038 Proj S5: Kerris/Fulks/Mlkby/McDermott/Brian
DRAW - The Clippers are returning just about everybody outside of some deep depth pieces. It's a pretty safe bet to assume they will be back in the playoffs looking to make a run. With Brian being 34, Fulks 32, Rodgers 32, and Kerris 28, they are an older, experienced, well put together team that should scare teams. The only thing that can really change if they are all in on competing or not is if PJ gets some offers to get younger and he decides to move in that direction.
Portland Trailblazers (50-32):
2037 S5: Barlow/Thiolon/Toles/Belov/Jeannette
2038 Proj S5: Barlow/Hutchins or Thiolon/Paulauskas/Belov/Teodosic
WIN - The Blazers have a strong 8, I really like their depth and balance. This is a group that has guys that can play all over the floor with their versatility. They have Sergei Belov who everybody loves and thinks is a superstar leading them now. With Thiolon being able to play down to backup SF and having the pair of Blanchfield and Paulauskas, that position should easily be covered. They got one of the top passing PGs in the league with Teodosic and then added N'Doye as a backup who is a stout defender. Last year it felt like this team fell apart and trades started flying once Barlow went down and all the moves made this offseason have reloaded this team to being a contender in the West.
Sacramento Kings (35-47):
2037 S5: Wright/Mattei/Chungchang/Lemon/Marques
2038 Proj S5: Wright/Mattei/Chungchang/Lemon/Marques
DRAW - The Kings basically stayed the same with their roster this past offseason. They invested huge in Chungchang with a 123M deal. We are going to be waiting to see if he's worth the money. A SF averaging over 4 TOPG last season seems like a scary horse to hitch your wagon too... is this how that expression goes? Outside of that, Wright and Mattei are both decent expirings that may net some value. There's not much to say here.
Los Angeles Lakers (33-49):
2037 S5:
Guthrie/Heinsohn/Keels/Holloway/Jones
2038 Proj S5:
Lolidfk
WIN - The Lakers jumped up in the draft and selected Bailey Howell which I absolutely loved, he should pair nicely with Heinsohn early in his career if that's the direction Silent decides to head. If not, I don't know who is really supposed to play up big minutes front... maybe Guthrie again. I feel bad for Holloway getting stuck in what has basically been purgatory since Dennis Smith died. Now at 33, Holloway is starting to get some young guns around him that look decent. By the time everyone is developed and ready to go he will be joining Smith in the HOF. The Lakers did add some wing depth this season in Wanzer and Springer, both serviceable players. The Lakers might be a surprise team, I expect them to win more then 33 games this year that's for sure.
Golden State Warriors (24-58):
2037 S5:
Houbregs/Contarbio/Vandivier/Williams/Hagans
2038 Proj S5:
Krummins/Coleman/Vandiver/Dort/Vick
WIN - So, whenever you draft a ready to play defensive big, sign an all-star PF, sign a 28/8/4 SG and then trade for a PG capable of putting up 30/5/9... Yeah, that's how you go from rebuilding to thrown right back in the playoff push immediately. These Warriors had a huge start to FA by stealing the Raptors star forward and Cavs star guard. Some people felt like Dort helped push the Cavs over the top for the title too and now he is in Golden State looking to make some magic happen with this Big 3. This is a big win, Silver could have easily spent time rebuilding and seeing how players that have recently been called up or drafted developed on his main roster since he's recently won the GL title. Instead he just saw and opportunity while having epic cap room and jumped on it.
Phoenix Suns (11-71):
2037 S5:
2038 Proj S5:
WIN - I don't really remember who the Suns had start for them last year and their roster page doesn't help that much with how the minutes are spread literally everywhere. Lets be honest though, they were horrible, the names don't matter. It's impossible to say that they didn't win this offseason though just because of the draft! They got two awesome prospects in Nicolin and Johnson, then another stasher in Gamba. There's a lot to be excited about there! Then they added Otto to use for some mentor camps which even though some people felt like he overpaid for that ability, it was definitely a smart move to help his players out. The Suns have needed help for awhile so having a GM willing to invest as much as possible in his players is definitely a good sight to see. Keep it up!
We are going to start in the Pacific division and work from the top down based on 2037 record.
Seattle Supersonics (68-14):
2037 S5: Mejri/Desaymonnet/Newhouse/Shuttlesworth/Cousey
2038 Proj: Mejri/Desaymonnet/Shuttlesworth/Griggs/Cousey
DRAW - You would think a team losing someone as good as Jalen Newhouse, a guy who put up 28/6/3 as a 3rd option on the Finals runner-up, would instantly be put as a loss. The Sonics were able to pick up Bryce Griggs in free agency for the MLE and even though he's a couple years older and starting to show some decline he is still a 20+ PPG scorer with a solid amount of rebounds and assists. As long as he's not starting at PG where he struggles with turnovers then he is a strong player yet. We aren't looking at the Cavs yet, but 4/6 of the last finals have featured the Cavs vs. Sonics and with the Cavs losing their starting SG in FA. I think BigThunder just pushed himself back to the top of the contender list for this season with this one signing.
Los Angeles Clippers (59-23):
2037 S5: Kerris/Fulks/Mlkvy/McDermott/Brian
2038 Proj S5: Kerris/Fulks/Mlkby/McDermott/Brian
DRAW - The Clippers are returning just about everybody outside of some deep depth pieces. It's a pretty safe bet to assume they will be back in the playoffs looking to make a run. With Brian being 34, Fulks 32, Rodgers 32, and Kerris 28, they are an older, experienced, well put together team that should scare teams. The only thing that can really change if they are all in on competing or not is if PJ gets some offers to get younger and he decides to move in that direction.
Portland Trailblazers (50-32):
2037 S5: Barlow/Thiolon/Toles/Belov/Jeannette
2038 Proj S5: Barlow/Hutchins or Thiolon/Paulauskas/Belov/Teodosic
WIN - The Blazers have a strong 8, I really like their depth and balance. This is a group that has guys that can play all over the floor with their versatility. They have Sergei Belov who everybody loves and thinks is a superstar leading them now. With Thiolon being able to play down to backup SF and having the pair of Blanchfield and Paulauskas, that position should easily be covered. They got one of the top passing PGs in the league with Teodosic and then added N'Doye as a backup who is a stout defender. Last year it felt like this team fell apart and trades started flying once Barlow went down and all the moves made this offseason have reloaded this team to being a contender in the West.
Sacramento Kings (35-47):
2037 S5: Wright/Mattei/Chungchang/Lemon/Marques
2038 Proj S5: Wright/Mattei/Chungchang/Lemon/Marques
DRAW - The Kings basically stayed the same with their roster this past offseason. They invested huge in Chungchang with a 123M deal. We are going to be waiting to see if he's worth the money. A SF averaging over 4 TOPG last season seems like a scary horse to hitch your wagon too... is this how that expression goes? Outside of that, Wright and Mattei are both decent expirings that may net some value. There's not much to say here.
Los Angeles Lakers (33-49):
2037 S5:
Guthrie/Heinsohn/Keels/Holloway/Jones
2038 Proj S5:
Lolidfk
WIN - The Lakers jumped up in the draft and selected Bailey Howell which I absolutely loved, he should pair nicely with Heinsohn early in his career if that's the direction Silent decides to head. If not, I don't know who is really supposed to play up big minutes front... maybe Guthrie again. I feel bad for Holloway getting stuck in what has basically been purgatory since Dennis Smith died. Now at 33, Holloway is starting to get some young guns around him that look decent. By the time everyone is developed and ready to go he will be joining Smith in the HOF. The Lakers did add some wing depth this season in Wanzer and Springer, both serviceable players. The Lakers might be a surprise team, I expect them to win more then 33 games this year that's for sure.
Golden State Warriors (24-58):
2037 S5:
Houbregs/Contarbio/Vandivier/Williams/Hagans
2038 Proj S5:
Krummins/Coleman/Vandiver/Dort/Vick
WIN - So, whenever you draft a ready to play defensive big, sign an all-star PF, sign a 28/8/4 SG and then trade for a PG capable of putting up 30/5/9... Yeah, that's how you go from rebuilding to thrown right back in the playoff push immediately. These Warriors had a huge start to FA by stealing the Raptors star forward and Cavs star guard. Some people felt like Dort helped push the Cavs over the top for the title too and now he is in Golden State looking to make some magic happen with this Big 3. This is a big win, Silver could have easily spent time rebuilding and seeing how players that have recently been called up or drafted developed on his main roster since he's recently won the GL title. Instead he just saw and opportunity while having epic cap room and jumped on it.
Phoenix Suns (11-71):
2037 S5:
2038 Proj S5:
WIN - I don't really remember who the Suns had start for them last year and their roster page doesn't help that much with how the minutes are spread literally everywhere. Lets be honest though, they were horrible, the names don't matter. It's impossible to say that they didn't win this offseason though just because of the draft! They got two awesome prospects in Nicolin and Johnson, then another stasher in Gamba. There's a lot to be excited about there! Then they added Otto to use for some mentor camps which even though some people felt like he overpaid for that ability, it was definitely a smart move to help his players out. The Suns have needed help for awhile so having a GM willing to invest as much as possible in his players is definitely a good sight to see. Keep it up!
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