Post by ucfinfan86 on Aug 7, 2019 16:02:30 GMT
Central Division
Hornets (UCF: 1, Zheld: 1)
PG Jerry West
SG Sid Tanenbaum
SF Musa Jallow
PF Luka Samanic
C Leroy Edwards
Key Ernest Houghton
Key Joe Quigg
Key Bastian Vautier
PG Jerry West
SG Sid Tanenbaum
SF Musa Jallow
PF Luka Samanic
C Leroy Edwards
Key Ernest Houghton
Key Joe Quigg
Key Bastian Vautier
UCF: The Hornets are fresh off their first title in 22 seasons and will remain a title contender this upcoming season. Being completely honest though, I did not love their offseason. I did not think the upgrade from Eddie to Sid was significant. Sid was the #1 option on a terrible team and Eddie was a non-option. He’s a better shooter and generates more steals. Sid is a huge upgrade rebounding, but I just didn’t think using his lone remaining assets for that swap was worth it. He struck gold getting Barlow/Edwards on 1 year deals, but the Barlow trade didn’t make much sense and he could have restructured Samanic if he needed cap room to fill out his roster. Jallow defensively is a very nice fit for the roster as he should have plenty of scoring between West/Sid/Edwards/Luka. While most of the above sounds negative, Overall I still think the Hornets are the team to beat.
Zheld: First things first, as long as Jerry West is on the Hornets they will be a championship favorite coming out of the eastern conference. That being said I LOVED their trade for Tanenbaum but have no idea why they would ever agree to take on Joe Quiggs contract. I think losing Azirin will hurt more than it seems because while Jallow is solid he has never lived up to his amazing ratings and I think they will miss Azirins scoring. That being said they will be one of the top teams in the east and once the playoffs start I am sure that West will start to go off. I do think they need to try and upgrade SF but its tough to do with no picks until 2049. If I were the Hornets GM I would treat this year as the last hurrah and go for broke because with West, Sid. Jallow, and Edwards all expiring after this year even if they keep West with an offer he cant refuse this team is going to look very different and I am not sure they can afford to keep most of their core. Given that fact I would expect the Hornets to make aggressive moves this season and have a great chance to come out of the eastern conference.
Cavs (UCF: 2, Zheld: 2)
PG Nico Mannion
SG Jalen Green
SF John Havlicek
PF Chuck Share
C Slaha Mejri
Key Frank Ramsey
Key Lew Hitch
Key Moses Moody
PG Nico Mannion
SG Jalen Green
SF John Havlicek
PF Chuck Share
C Slaha Mejri
Key Frank Ramsey
Key Lew Hitch
Key Moses Moody
UCF: While the Cavs had to give out a massive deal to Nico, it really doesn’t affect them very much in the short term. Nico’s deal is in line with players of his caliber for the next few seasons and it really doesn’t catch up to him until the last few seasons. Hell, I’m paying Belov more the next 3 seasons than he’s paying Nico. Jcog was voted #1 GM for a reason and can easily keep Nico through his prime and then deal him later one when his deal gets cumbersome. I loved their deal with the Wizards to land Share/Ramsey for Chia and really shore up the PF spot. Ramsey is a very nice fit as a super sub, even if he’s not the same player he was a few seasons ago and there’s still a chance he can hit on the draft note. While I think the Cavs/Nets/Hornets are in a tier amongst themselves in the East, I think the Cavs are probably #3 in that tier. However, I think Havlicek is the wild card that could propel them to #1. It’ll be very interesting to see what he can do as a starter this year. With Mejri not providing much offensively and Share good for 12-14pt, they’ll need Havlicek to provide more of a scoring punch this season.
Zheld: The Cavs kept their title window wide open when they agreed to a 7 year 207mill contract extension with PG Nico Mannion. They gave him a lot of money but considering the max they could have offered was around 246mill I think they did well to get him for this price. I think one of the biggest disappointments in the entire league has to be Havilceks pedestrian TC. I am sure he will be camped and will be amazing but I think Havilcek becoming equal to Green and Mannion would give the Cavs the best big 3 in the league and would establish them as bona fide title contenders. I think they are probably one of the top teams in the east as currently constructed but they are going to be relying on their big 3 for a ton of scoring this year given that Share and Mejri will be lucky to get them 20ppg combined. Like this team a lot though and they are one of the teams that I could see coming out of the east this year.
Raptors (UCF: 3, Zheld: 3)
PG Ivo Daneu
SG Bill Sharman
SF Tom Gola
PF Wilt Chamberlin
C Dino Meneghin
Key Ubiratan Peireira-Macie
Key Oscar Furlong
Key Jack Turner
PG Ivo Daneu
SG Bill Sharman
SF Tom Gola
PF Wilt Chamberlin
C Dino Meneghin
Key Ubiratan Peireira-Macie
Key Oscar Furlong
Key Jack Turner
UCF: Wilt/Dino will be a fun pairing to watch. While the trade to acquire Wilt might not lead to more wins, he’ll give them a fun player with a career draft note to enjoy having on their team. The Dino/Wilt should dominate teams. They will probably give the Raptors the ability to beat any team in the league on any given night that they control the boards. Throw in that Gola/Sharman are both good rebounders for their positions and this team should lead the league in rebounding. Their wings will leave a lot to be desired though. Gola is a very good all-around piece and is an ideal 6th man. I really tried to sign him for that role. I’m just not sure Gola/Sharman can score enough to compete, even if they do get 45 points a night from Wilt/Dino. Daneu has always been a favorite of mine since I really developed him. He’s ideally suited next to a big time scorer though. I love his play style and is kind of like a poor man’s Bob Davies. An efficient lower volume scorer, low TOs, great defender. As mentioned with the 76ers, there seems to be some good SFs available for trade and a potential juicy Rockets pick in their arsenal and they could really make some noise. I think they should fight the Knicks for the 4/5 seed as currently constructed.
Zheld: The Raptors made one of the biggest moves of the offseason when they dealt Miki for Wilt Chamberlain and will try and buck the perception that you cant win in this league if your best player is a Center. Despite the fact that Wilt has not been dealt twice in the last half a season he still remains arguably the best big man in the league and signed for another 6 years at an old max level deal he has a ton of value. I think the raptors sneakily had one of the best free agent periods of the entire offseason. I think their signing of Dino to pair with Wilt will make them very hard to score on down low and as long as Gola can live up to those ratings he will be a bargain at 7mill for a starting SF. Sharman will probably average 22-25ppg for them and replace a lot of the scoring of Miki but I worry about the dropoff in perimeter defense. However at the PG spot they have one of the best defenders in the game so I would say that the Raptors will be comfortably in the playoffs this year although I am not sure they are true title contenders yet.
Hawks (UCF: 4, Zheld: 4)
PG Khristian Lander
SG Joe Caldwell
SF Elgin Baylor
PF Connie Dierking
C Slim Wintermute
Key Gary Phillips
Key Huseyin Ozturk
Key Keldon Johnson
PG Khristian Lander
SG Joe Caldwell
SF Elgin Baylor
PF Connie Dierking
C Slim Wintermute
Key Gary Phillips
Key Huseyin Ozturk
Key Keldon Johnson
UCF: After the top 3, the rest of the Central is kind of a dumpster fire. The Hawks fall into #4 almost by default because of Baylor. Baylor is a one of the best players in the league, however in the 1st preseason sim they played him out of position at PF. I think to get the most out of him would be to play him at SF along with Dierking/Slim/Caldwell and whoever they scrap together at PG. Baylor should score a ton of points on a roster void of talent, but he atleast gives them a piece to build around. They haven’t had a player that could really say that about since they traded Belov. Slim/Dierking provide a perfectly fine frontcourt, but it’s the backcourt that is really holding them back from being more than a fringe playoff team at best. Lander/Caldwell is probably the worst backcourt in the league, and that’s taking into account the teams that are flat out tanking. Caldwell could be a good running mate for Baylor in the future, but his offense appears years away. Good news is that their cap space is clean next season aside from Baylor and rookies. They do own their own pick and Cavs this season. At the very least the Cavs pick should be moved to get some type of PG upgrade. McGuire? Guy Rodgers? Egan? Jim King?
Zheld: The Hawks made the biggest move of the offseson when he signed Elgin Baylor away from the Lakers for 6 years 210mill. Looking at the contract I would assume that around year 4 it is going to be hard to put a competitive team around that big of a salary. Elgin is probably one of the top 5 players in the NBN right now but unfortunately the Hawks lack of a competent backcourt may keep them from making the playoffs this year. I think there is still some needed moves for the Hawks to make this year and given the ticking timebomb that Baylors contract is I think there is probably some urgency in Atlanta right now. I foresee them struggling to make the playoffs with Elgin putting up ridiculous numbers for them. Props to the Hawks for making possibly the biggest FA signing in NBN history but I am not sure they have enough around him right now.
Pacers (UCF: 5, Zheld: 5)
PG Tristan Tripp
SG Belus Smawley
SF Don Kojis
PF Willie Naulls
C Neil Johnston
Key Jim Krebs
Key Kiyan Anthony
Key Boris Tisma
PG Tristan Tripp
SG Belus Smawley
SF Don Kojis
PF Willie Naulls
C Neil Johnston
Key Jim Krebs
Key Kiyan Anthony
Key Boris Tisma
UCF: The Pacers are trying to tank and just sold of Raga, but unfortunately they probably still have more talent than the Pistons/Bucks/Bulls. Smawley/Kojis/Naulls/Johnston is not a bad four some and if they kept this roster together the whole season, would probably finish above the Hawks. The reason I’m putting them lower is because I expect more moves (hopefully not before this is posted though). Naulls has turned into a great offensive player, but he’s just not my type of big with the lack of blocks. His contract is good for his production though and I imagine he’d be a devastating backup 3/4/5. Kojis has some potential, but looks like he’ll ultimately end up as a league average starting SF. On expiring deals, I’d expect Johnston/Smawley to be able to fetch a late 1st or decent chunk of cash. They have 3 1sts this year, 2 of which will probably be late, Naulls, Kojis, Hudson, Tisma, and a few fliers to build around. Not really much else to say here until they make some more moves.
Zheld: The Pacers are in the middle of a long term rebuild and they still have some work to do. I don’t think they will make the playoffs as presently constructed but I don’t think they will be as bad as their GM probably hopes they will be. Lou Hudson looks like he may be good for them, they have Naulis and Raga on great contracts and they will have 3 1st round picks this year. They are well on their way to rebuilding but there are still some very good players in Indiana. I think next year will be the year that they make a lot of noise and take a turn to full rebuild or competing. They have almost 40mill coming off the books from just Smawley and Johnston alone and it will be a big offseason for them. However, for now I would expect them to struggle in the east but probably wont be one of the worst teams.
Bulls (UCF: 6, Zheld: 6)
PG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
SG Larry Jones
SF Aminu Mohammed
PF Heino Kruus
C Khalifa Pasos
Key Justice Williams
Key Kevin Loughery
Key William Jeffress
PG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
SG Larry Jones
SF Aminu Mohammed
PF Heino Kruus
C Khalifa Pasos
Key Justice Williams
Key Kevin Loughery
Key William Jeffress
UCF: Not much to say about the Bulls. Still need to wait out 2 more seasons after this to get rid of the SGA contract. They have a few enticing pieces in PF Kruus, SF Jeffress, and SF Mohammed who teams can try and poach. Recent #3 pick didn’t’ do anything in TC except lose potential and he’ll probably rot here since he won’t be camped.
Zheld: The Bulls are probably going to be one of the worst players in the league again but they have some players that had a good TC and looked good in the first sim. Former 7th overall pick William Jeffries averaged 29ppg in the first sim and looks like a quality young player. I also like Pasos ratings and SGA is one of the better PGs in the league. They can actually trot out a decently intriguing SL in SGA-Jones-Jeffress-Kruus-Pasos. Teams haven’t proposed a trade to the bulls in a while but they have some good young talent on this team. I would expect them to finish at the bottom of the conference again but I don’t think they will be as bad as they have been in the past.
Pistons (UCF: 7, Zheld: 7)
PG Giacomo Nicolin
SG Rod Thorn
SF Nassir Little
PF Dave Gambee
C Jackie Jackson
Key Jeff Mullins
Key Roger Strickland
PG Giacomo Nicolin
SG Rod Thorn
SF Nassir Little
PF Dave Gambee
C Jackie Jackson
Key Jeff Mullins
Key Roger Strickland
UCF: Yourkers has gone missing for over a week now and hope he’s alright. It doesn’t seem like him to disappear. Unfortunately for the Pistons they missed the draft and FA. They were autoed SG Mullins who I thought was a reach, but he ended up having a pretty good TC. Same with C Jackie Jackson. Mullins/Thorn/Jackson give the team 3 decent players to build around. Yourkers always had an affinity for SF Gambee and turned him into nice piece on a great contract. Nicolin contract doesn’t look great, but overall he doesn’t have very much cap tied up beyond this season. Hope isn’t completely lost for this season if he returns soon. They have nearly $50mil in cap space they can use to acquire talent since unfortunately the Pistons don’t own their pick this year, which is owned by the Kings. Fortunately they do own the Mavs pick, which could end up being worth nearly as much.
Zheld: Yourkers!!! Unfortunately it seems that the Pistons GM had to take a leave of absence and his team lost most of their good players in free agency. They still have some good young talent on this team though and Rod Thorn looks like a good future player at SG. Their 6th overall pick from this year Jeff Mullins also had a great TC and looks like a solid player for them. I expect the Pistons to be horrible again this year but when/if they get a new GM they actually are in pretty good shape with a ton of cap room some good young talent and probably a top 5 pick this year courtesy of the Mavericks. They also have 2 future spurs 1sts and their own first again starting in 2047. They really need big men but hopefully their young guys continue to progress because the worst 3 teams in the central are terrible.
Bucks (UCF: 8, Zheld: 8)
PG Si Green
SG Theo Maldeon
SF Chet Walker
PF Jonathan Kuminga
C Darrall Imhoff
Key Larry Brown
Key Wayne Barbender
Key Bretner Mutumbo
SG Theo Maldeon
SF Chet Walker
PF Jonathan Kuminga
C Darrall Imhoff
Key Larry Brown
Key Wayne Barbender
Key Bretner Mutumbo
UCF: The Bucks are another CPU controlled team for now. Of the “open” teams I think they are probably the most attractive. They have the ROTY in SF Chet Walker, $53mil in cap space and will have almost $65mil next season and then about 6 prospects who could potentially turn into something aside from Walker. C Mutumbo, C Imhoff, SF Brabender, SG Maledon, PG Corbalan** all are pieces to potentially camp up or flip for a veteran. Again, not really much else to say here without a GM.
Zheld: God the Bucks suck. So unfortunate too because they stole my favorite player in the draft 2 years ago (Chet Walker) and even without camping he looks like a baller. Other than Chet this team is a pile of hot anal garbage. Corblan looks like he could be a player but he is still 2 years away from making his NBN debut and everyone else looks like a replacement level player. I think the Bucks will probably be one of the 5 worst teams in the league next year. With no active GM to steer this ship some good young players are unfortunately going to waste away on this team. I can foresee Chet putting up huge numbers in his 2nd year on a bad team but the Bucks are going nowhere as presently constructed.