Post by zheld32 on Aug 9, 2019 2:36:38 GMT
Midwest Division
Nuggets (UCF: 1, Zheld: 1)
PG Oscar Robertson
SG Willy Steveniers
SF Chia Chungchang
PF Bob Pettit
C Teofilo Cruz
Key Pedro Barros
Key Don Ohl
Key Leroy Ellis
UCF: The Nuggets have a tremendous big 3 with Oscar/Cruz/Pettit. Oscar declined a bit in TC, dropping -1 Outside/-1 Rebounding and no longer has his draft note to prop him back up. That being said, he’s one of the most fun players in the league and appears to have fixed his early career turnover problems. Cruz/Pettit is 2nd to only Wilt/Dino for big men pairing in the league. Cruz has blown up since being acquired by the Nuggets and is 2nd to probably only Wilt as best young big in the league. Unfortunately for the Nuggets, they mixed out on FA and it costs them some draft picks to have to trade for Chia, but it was a necessary move. Chia gets a lot of hate around here, but as his 4th best player, I think he’s a good fit and fits in defensively with the rest of their lineup. Willy is their weak spot, but Van seems pretty committed to him, but he shot just 42% and 39% from 3 last year and isn’t great in any other area to really justify his sub par shooting. With Ellis, Hightower, and some expiring contracts, they may want to look for an upgrade at the SG to really solidify their spot atop the Western Conference. This is almost the same roster but swapped McMillon for Chia and overall think they have as good a shot as anyone to get to the #1 seed as currently constructed.
Zheld: I think the Nuggets are probably the best team in the Western Conference. Not sure Chia is the best fit for them and I probably would have offered the Celtics every 1st I had for Schmidt if I were the Nuggets but I still think they will get out of the west. Oscar Robertson is unreal and should average close to a triple double and 30ppg this year. Unlike Jerry West in Charlotte he is signed long-term under the old rules and because of this the Nuggets should be able to keep some of their bigger names like Bob Petit. I think they probably need one more big-time scorer to be a true juggernaut but they are very deep and had one of the better teams in the NBN last year. I am expecting big things from the Nuggets this year.
Grizzlies (UCF: 2, Zheld: 4)
PG Trae Young
SG Frank Selvy
SF Darius Bazely
PF Maurice Stokes
C Clyde Lovellette
Key Jewell Young
Key Gene Dyker
Key Chris Lykes
UCF: Afro finally broke up the dynamic Twyman/Stokes duo and will be handling the SF job over to 2nd year SF Darius Bazley. Most of the time you need a dynamic PG to compete, so I understand the thought process of swapping Tywman for Trae. Bazely has good ratings, and with Trae/Selvy/Clyde/Stokes, they don’t really need much scoring from him and can just rely on his A- defense and B rebounding. Stokes is an absolute beast and someone I really wanted to acquire the past few seasons. He’s as good a bet as anyone to lead the league in rebounding, while also giving you 3.5+ blocks and 24 points. Depth will be key for this team as outside of Jewell Young, there really isn’t any depth to speak of. Any long term injury could really hinder their hopes of a top 4 seed. Their 4 stars have them capped out, but they do own all of their picks and can do a contract restructure to open up a little bit of room. With all 4 stars going to be 30+ years olds next year and getting more expensive, this kind of feels like a last run before they need to make some sweeping changes.
Zheld: The Grizzlies made one of the biggest moves of the offseason when they dealt for Trae Young who is one of the better PGs in the league. Combined with Frank Selvy they should make up one the higher scoring backcourts in the league, but this team will max out at whatever Bazley can give them at SF. They have a legit big man combo that plays defense and can score in Clyde and Stokes but they are going to need some offense from Bazley to compete in the west. If he can put up close to 20ppg I think they will be one of the better teams. They are pretty well capped out for the foreseeable future and will be relying heavily on their starting lineup as there is not a lot in the way of depth on this team. But that being said their starting lineup is very good and should propel them to one of the top seeds in the west.
Spurs (UCF: 3, Zheld: 5)
PG Panagiotis Giannakis
SG Miki Berkovich
SF Jalen Johnson
PF Yuri Ozerov
C Walt Bellamy
Key Robert Williams
Key Hal Greer
Key Yury Korneyev
UCF: I have the Spurs currently as #3, but would not be surprised at all if they ended up #1. They have remade this team multiple times over the past few seasons and the end result looks pretty good and fun. Giannakis/Miki should combine for one of the best backcourts in the league (Nets, Hornets, Cavs, Grizz, Jazz, Clippers, Sonics, hard to pick a top 5). When looking at the wing combo, Miki/Johnson should be good defensively. Johnson doesn’t really live up to A+ rating, but Miki exceeds his A-. The 3 of them alone should combine for close to 80points a night. Yuri has long been under rated and is a really good option at PF. Bellamy is the big question mark and will really need to bounce back to live up to his contract moving forward. The team is now capped out with the 4 of them under contract for the next 2 seasons. Overall I think their starting 5 fits really well together, but like the Grizzlies, their big question mark will be depth. Hal Greer and Robert Williams are fine depth options that won’t really hurt you, but I don’t know if they will make much of a difference. I know they are shopping for bench help currently but really only have cash and the Hornets pick to shop without much salary flexibility to fit more than an MLE type player. This should be a very fun battle in the Midwest.
Zheld: The Spurs roster is COMPLETELY different from the one that entered last season. They dealt Wilt after half a season and while we can debate the merits of that they did get one of the best SG’s in the league in return. Between Giannakis Berkovich and Jalen Johnson this team ahs some very good pieces. I think what will hold them back is the play of their big men I think Bellamy could be a real problem for them because he may preclude them from signing Berkovich long-term unless they can deal him. He needs to give them above replacement level production for the Spurs to make the playoffs and he has not proven he can do it. Ironically after having a big man combo of Wilt and DD last year the Spurs biggest weakness by far is big men. I think the PG/SG/SF combo is the most important part of your team in FBB and the spurs have a good trio that can all get 25ppg. This team is hard to predict for me but Bellamy has to be like at least a 15/12 guy for them to be good in my opinion.
Jazz (UCF: 4, Zheld, 2)
PG RJ Hampton
SG Kareem Queeley
SF Eddie Calder
PF Rudy LaRusso
C Nate Thurmond
Key Dragan Kicanovic
Key Tom Stith
Key Andrew Bogut Jr
UCF: Normally this title is reserved for the Nuggets, but the Jazz have officially taken over as my new favorite roster. They have sooo much young talent and the Queeley signing was an A++ move. They rebounded very nicely from losing Jalen Green. There was a lot of lottery luck involved though as it wouldn’t look the same if they landed the #3 or 4 pick instead of Green, Wilt, and Thurmond. Hampton’s on the verge of joining the game’s elite PGs. Queeley was such a smart pickup for a 1 year deal since he had a bunch of cap space. Dragan has all the makings of a top SG if he can just get those damn turnovers in check. LaRusso is on one of the best contracts in the league. Stith, Bogut, Thurmond are all high upside youngsters. Zheld should have no problem keeping this core together for the next 3 years or so. That being said, they almost have too many young pieces and could really look to package 2 of them together for a star. They are in position where they can be picky and wait for one that fits what they want to do and is on the right contract. I think they should be firmly in the playoff discussion this year, but are probably a year or 2 away from title contention without a big trade.
Zheld: It is hard to rate your own team but the Jazz lucked into the #1 pick this offseason and got a great young big man in Nate Thurmond. This also meant that one of the keys to the Wilt Chamberlain deal ABJ is expendable. That being said the Jazz can afford and have been patient in working to identify needs on the team and waiting until a true star player becomes available to consolidate some of their young assets to trade for an upgrade somewhere. In the meantime this team goes a legit 10 deep and should challenge for the playoffs this year. Queeley was a good pickup and can start at SG for them until Dragan gets his turnover problem under control. Calder also will be starting at SF for them while Stith continues to be camped. Right now between Stith and Queeley they probably have 45ppg coming off their bench. They have flexibility in their cap room moving forward as Hampton and Dragan are signed under the old cap rules and for some reason LaRusso insists on taking below market deals. The Jazz should be a team to watch out for in the west this year.
Rockets (UCF: 5, Zheld: 3)
PG Al Attles
SG Anthony Edwards
SF George Yardley
PF Willis Reed
C Bill Russell
Key Tommaso Felici
Key Dior Johnson
Key Bob Love
UCF: The Rockets look to be a borderline playoff team. They should easily be the #5 seed in the Midwest and will be battling the likes of Warriors/Sonics/Lakers/Suns for a playoff spot. They made some big and some controversial moves this offseason, trading away future 1st round picks for Hall of Famer George Yardley and PF Felici. They have a very strong big man rotation with Reed/Russell/Felici. Reed’s development into a legit starter in his 2nd year is/will be huge for them. Russell will never live up to the hype after failing to be camped for most of his rookie contract, but he’s still a very good defensive big. Yardley is my favorite player in the NBN and I’m hoping he rebounds after an injury riddled season last year. If he can return to his all-NBN form, that will give the Rockets a go-to scorer that they otherwise lack. Their guards are the big question marks. I just don’t think Edwards is a good enough SG. He’s never shot above 42%, is a poor 3pt shooter, and turns it over way too much. He does bring some rebounding and defense, but that’s not enough in a league flush with elite scorers at the position. Dior’s development was huge for them and give them a potentially decent duo with Attles. I think they are an upgrade at SG away from feeling comfortable about making the playoffs in a deep Western Conference.
Zheld: The Rockets will be relying a lot on internal improvement this season to try and change their recent fortunes. Lucky for them it seems like they got that development as Dior Johnson and Anthony Edwards seem to have taken big steps together in TC and look like one of the best young backcourts in the NBN. Russell seems destined to just be a defensive stopper and rebounder and nothing else at this point but Willis reed looks legit. Despite what the Rockets Gm says about Yardley he will score 27+ppg for this team and is an excellent rebounder for his position. This team is only going as far as their backcourt and Yardley will take them but for the first time in a while I can see the Rockets making the playoffs. They keep this up and keep making money to camp their players this could be a team on the rise.
Mavs (UCF: 6, Zheld, 7)
PG Hot Rod Hundley
SG Paul Walther
SF Lee Shaffer
PF Skinny Johnson
C Evan Mobley
Key Nelson Demarco
Key Jim Lotcutoff
Key Jayden Nicholson
UCF: The Mavericks again just don’t look like they will have enough to compete for a playoff spot. Mobley was a huge disappointment last year and looks wildly overpaid. Skinny’s rebounding declined and looks like he may struggle to get to double digits as a starter at this point. SF Lee Shaffer was given a rookie max extension and was another disappointment. $13mil for a SF who put up 11-6 last season isn’t going to cut it. He did increase in TC from B- to B+ inside, but he’ll need a big jump offensively to live up to that contract. The lone bright spot is PG Hot Rod Hundley, who proved to be an elite scorer, but with 3.4 TOs last year it really saps a lot of his value. I always thought he was best fit as SG, but then his lack of rebounding becomes more of an issue. They don’t own their pick this year and won’t have a lot of cap room next year. I don’t see how the Mavs dig themselves out of this hole in the next few seasons.
Zheld: While I respect the Mavericks GM for going for it and trying to make the playoffs last year. This team is in trouble and are basically the Nets of the NBA after the Pierce/Garnett Celtics trade. They do not have 1 young player on their team that I like and for as good as Hot Rod is I have questions about whether he can be the starting PG on a champ level team. Skinny Johnson declined in TC but should still be a 20/10 guy. The downside of this though is that his best attribute is his below market contract and at 34 if he is starting to decline that contract will not be below market forever. If I were the Mavs I would go balls to the wall to try and compete this year (preferably with as many expiring’s as you can get and then just rebuild for as long as it takes without any shortcuts. The key for them long term is going to be getting out of Schaffer and Mobleys deals and they will probably have to deal Hundley to get a team to take eon those deals. Unfortunately I would anticipate the Mavs being one of the worst teams in the west this year.
Wolves (UCF: 7, Zheld, 6)
PG Josh Firsch
SG Luguentz Dort
SF Bill Mlkvy
PF Vern Mikkelsen
C Hunter Dickerson
Key Mel Hutchins
Key Tyrese Maxey
Key Reggie Harding
UCF: I really didn’t like what the Wolves did this offseason. They gave $31mil to a 33yo big man who probably would have signed a 1 year deal for 3-4mil. They also gave Dort a huge 2 year contract. He declined last season and had a pretty bad TC this season. Luckily it was only a 2 year deal, but between both deals, they are now hampered for the next 2 seasons. They don’t own their pick this year, so I understand wanting to do what you can to try and compete. They own their pick next season, so these deals should help them tank next year, but this rebuild is going to take a while. Vern is still a good player, but isn’t worth the contract and no one will want to potentially pay him until he’s 39yo. Dickerson has some value offensively, but a center who struggles to average 10rebound a game is no bueno. The only youth they have is C Reggie Harding, but he failed to improve in TC. The lone bright spot is SF Bill Mlkvy who is excellent offensively and is on a great contract. He should have some value if the Wolves decide to move on and start the rebuild a year early.
Zheld: Status quo for the wolves who paid a huge price to keep their core together and gave Dort basically 30mill a season for the next 2 years to remain their SG. He promptly rewarded the Wolves by declining in TC and I don’t see him as a 25ppg guy anymore. Bill MIkvy has BY FAR the best contract in the league and it’s a shame that there isn’t a better team around him because averaging 30/9 and making 7mill a year you can spend a lot of money on other positions. I did not understand the moves they made this offseason. They are paying almost 30mill to 3 big men who are basically replacement level. I think their subpar big men and PG play will torpedo their chances of making noise while they have MIkvy locked up on such a good deal which is unfortunate. I have them struggling in the loaded west this season.
Nuggets (UCF: 1, Zheld: 1)
PG Oscar Robertson
SG Willy Steveniers
SF Chia Chungchang
PF Bob Pettit
C Teofilo Cruz
Key Pedro Barros
Key Don Ohl
Key Leroy Ellis
UCF: The Nuggets have a tremendous big 3 with Oscar/Cruz/Pettit. Oscar declined a bit in TC, dropping -1 Outside/-1 Rebounding and no longer has his draft note to prop him back up. That being said, he’s one of the most fun players in the league and appears to have fixed his early career turnover problems. Cruz/Pettit is 2nd to only Wilt/Dino for big men pairing in the league. Cruz has blown up since being acquired by the Nuggets and is 2nd to probably only Wilt as best young big in the league. Unfortunately for the Nuggets, they mixed out on FA and it costs them some draft picks to have to trade for Chia, but it was a necessary move. Chia gets a lot of hate around here, but as his 4th best player, I think he’s a good fit and fits in defensively with the rest of their lineup. Willy is their weak spot, but Van seems pretty committed to him, but he shot just 42% and 39% from 3 last year and isn’t great in any other area to really justify his sub par shooting. With Ellis, Hightower, and some expiring contracts, they may want to look for an upgrade at the SG to really solidify their spot atop the Western Conference. This is almost the same roster but swapped McMillon for Chia and overall think they have as good a shot as anyone to get to the #1 seed as currently constructed.
Zheld: I think the Nuggets are probably the best team in the Western Conference. Not sure Chia is the best fit for them and I probably would have offered the Celtics every 1st I had for Schmidt if I were the Nuggets but I still think they will get out of the west. Oscar Robertson is unreal and should average close to a triple double and 30ppg this year. Unlike Jerry West in Charlotte he is signed long-term under the old rules and because of this the Nuggets should be able to keep some of their bigger names like Bob Petit. I think they probably need one more big-time scorer to be a true juggernaut but they are very deep and had one of the better teams in the NBN last year. I am expecting big things from the Nuggets this year.
Grizzlies (UCF: 2, Zheld: 4)
PG Trae Young
SG Frank Selvy
SF Darius Bazely
PF Maurice Stokes
C Clyde Lovellette
Key Jewell Young
Key Gene Dyker
Key Chris Lykes
UCF: Afro finally broke up the dynamic Twyman/Stokes duo and will be handling the SF job over to 2nd year SF Darius Bazley. Most of the time you need a dynamic PG to compete, so I understand the thought process of swapping Tywman for Trae. Bazely has good ratings, and with Trae/Selvy/Clyde/Stokes, they don’t really need much scoring from him and can just rely on his A- defense and B rebounding. Stokes is an absolute beast and someone I really wanted to acquire the past few seasons. He’s as good a bet as anyone to lead the league in rebounding, while also giving you 3.5+ blocks and 24 points. Depth will be key for this team as outside of Jewell Young, there really isn’t any depth to speak of. Any long term injury could really hinder their hopes of a top 4 seed. Their 4 stars have them capped out, but they do own all of their picks and can do a contract restructure to open up a little bit of room. With all 4 stars going to be 30+ years olds next year and getting more expensive, this kind of feels like a last run before they need to make some sweeping changes.
Zheld: The Grizzlies made one of the biggest moves of the offseason when they dealt for Trae Young who is one of the better PGs in the league. Combined with Frank Selvy they should make up one the higher scoring backcourts in the league, but this team will max out at whatever Bazley can give them at SF. They have a legit big man combo that plays defense and can score in Clyde and Stokes but they are going to need some offense from Bazley to compete in the west. If he can put up close to 20ppg I think they will be one of the better teams. They are pretty well capped out for the foreseeable future and will be relying heavily on their starting lineup as there is not a lot in the way of depth on this team. But that being said their starting lineup is very good and should propel them to one of the top seeds in the west.
Spurs (UCF: 3, Zheld: 5)
PG Panagiotis Giannakis
SG Miki Berkovich
SF Jalen Johnson
PF Yuri Ozerov
C Walt Bellamy
Key Robert Williams
Key Hal Greer
Key Yury Korneyev
UCF: I have the Spurs currently as #3, but would not be surprised at all if they ended up #1. They have remade this team multiple times over the past few seasons and the end result looks pretty good and fun. Giannakis/Miki should combine for one of the best backcourts in the league (Nets, Hornets, Cavs, Grizz, Jazz, Clippers, Sonics, hard to pick a top 5). When looking at the wing combo, Miki/Johnson should be good defensively. Johnson doesn’t really live up to A+ rating, but Miki exceeds his A-. The 3 of them alone should combine for close to 80points a night. Yuri has long been under rated and is a really good option at PF. Bellamy is the big question mark and will really need to bounce back to live up to his contract moving forward. The team is now capped out with the 4 of them under contract for the next 2 seasons. Overall I think their starting 5 fits really well together, but like the Grizzlies, their big question mark will be depth. Hal Greer and Robert Williams are fine depth options that won’t really hurt you, but I don’t know if they will make much of a difference. I know they are shopping for bench help currently but really only have cash and the Hornets pick to shop without much salary flexibility to fit more than an MLE type player. This should be a very fun battle in the Midwest.
Zheld: The Spurs roster is COMPLETELY different from the one that entered last season. They dealt Wilt after half a season and while we can debate the merits of that they did get one of the best SG’s in the league in return. Between Giannakis Berkovich and Jalen Johnson this team ahs some very good pieces. I think what will hold them back is the play of their big men I think Bellamy could be a real problem for them because he may preclude them from signing Berkovich long-term unless they can deal him. He needs to give them above replacement level production for the Spurs to make the playoffs and he has not proven he can do it. Ironically after having a big man combo of Wilt and DD last year the Spurs biggest weakness by far is big men. I think the PG/SG/SF combo is the most important part of your team in FBB and the spurs have a good trio that can all get 25ppg. This team is hard to predict for me but Bellamy has to be like at least a 15/12 guy for them to be good in my opinion.
Jazz (UCF: 4, Zheld, 2)
PG RJ Hampton
SG Kareem Queeley
SF Eddie Calder
PF Rudy LaRusso
C Nate Thurmond
Key Dragan Kicanovic
Key Tom Stith
Key Andrew Bogut Jr
UCF: Normally this title is reserved for the Nuggets, but the Jazz have officially taken over as my new favorite roster. They have sooo much young talent and the Queeley signing was an A++ move. They rebounded very nicely from losing Jalen Green. There was a lot of lottery luck involved though as it wouldn’t look the same if they landed the #3 or 4 pick instead of Green, Wilt, and Thurmond. Hampton’s on the verge of joining the game’s elite PGs. Queeley was such a smart pickup for a 1 year deal since he had a bunch of cap space. Dragan has all the makings of a top SG if he can just get those damn turnovers in check. LaRusso is on one of the best contracts in the league. Stith, Bogut, Thurmond are all high upside youngsters. Zheld should have no problem keeping this core together for the next 3 years or so. That being said, they almost have too many young pieces and could really look to package 2 of them together for a star. They are in position where they can be picky and wait for one that fits what they want to do and is on the right contract. I think they should be firmly in the playoff discussion this year, but are probably a year or 2 away from title contention without a big trade.
Zheld: It is hard to rate your own team but the Jazz lucked into the #1 pick this offseason and got a great young big man in Nate Thurmond. This also meant that one of the keys to the Wilt Chamberlain deal ABJ is expendable. That being said the Jazz can afford and have been patient in working to identify needs on the team and waiting until a true star player becomes available to consolidate some of their young assets to trade for an upgrade somewhere. In the meantime this team goes a legit 10 deep and should challenge for the playoffs this year. Queeley was a good pickup and can start at SG for them until Dragan gets his turnover problem under control. Calder also will be starting at SF for them while Stith continues to be camped. Right now between Stith and Queeley they probably have 45ppg coming off their bench. They have flexibility in their cap room moving forward as Hampton and Dragan are signed under the old cap rules and for some reason LaRusso insists on taking below market deals. The Jazz should be a team to watch out for in the west this year.
Rockets (UCF: 5, Zheld: 3)
PG Al Attles
SG Anthony Edwards
SF George Yardley
PF Willis Reed
C Bill Russell
Key Tommaso Felici
Key Dior Johnson
Key Bob Love
UCF: The Rockets look to be a borderline playoff team. They should easily be the #5 seed in the Midwest and will be battling the likes of Warriors/Sonics/Lakers/Suns for a playoff spot. They made some big and some controversial moves this offseason, trading away future 1st round picks for Hall of Famer George Yardley and PF Felici. They have a very strong big man rotation with Reed/Russell/Felici. Reed’s development into a legit starter in his 2nd year is/will be huge for them. Russell will never live up to the hype after failing to be camped for most of his rookie contract, but he’s still a very good defensive big. Yardley is my favorite player in the NBN and I’m hoping he rebounds after an injury riddled season last year. If he can return to his all-NBN form, that will give the Rockets a go-to scorer that they otherwise lack. Their guards are the big question marks. I just don’t think Edwards is a good enough SG. He’s never shot above 42%, is a poor 3pt shooter, and turns it over way too much. He does bring some rebounding and defense, but that’s not enough in a league flush with elite scorers at the position. Dior’s development was huge for them and give them a potentially decent duo with Attles. I think they are an upgrade at SG away from feeling comfortable about making the playoffs in a deep Western Conference.
Zheld: The Rockets will be relying a lot on internal improvement this season to try and change their recent fortunes. Lucky for them it seems like they got that development as Dior Johnson and Anthony Edwards seem to have taken big steps together in TC and look like one of the best young backcourts in the NBN. Russell seems destined to just be a defensive stopper and rebounder and nothing else at this point but Willis reed looks legit. Despite what the Rockets Gm says about Yardley he will score 27+ppg for this team and is an excellent rebounder for his position. This team is only going as far as their backcourt and Yardley will take them but for the first time in a while I can see the Rockets making the playoffs. They keep this up and keep making money to camp their players this could be a team on the rise.
Mavs (UCF: 6, Zheld, 7)
PG Hot Rod Hundley
SG Paul Walther
SF Lee Shaffer
PF Skinny Johnson
C Evan Mobley
Key Nelson Demarco
Key Jim Lotcutoff
Key Jayden Nicholson
UCF: The Mavericks again just don’t look like they will have enough to compete for a playoff spot. Mobley was a huge disappointment last year and looks wildly overpaid. Skinny’s rebounding declined and looks like he may struggle to get to double digits as a starter at this point. SF Lee Shaffer was given a rookie max extension and was another disappointment. $13mil for a SF who put up 11-6 last season isn’t going to cut it. He did increase in TC from B- to B+ inside, but he’ll need a big jump offensively to live up to that contract. The lone bright spot is PG Hot Rod Hundley, who proved to be an elite scorer, but with 3.4 TOs last year it really saps a lot of his value. I always thought he was best fit as SG, but then his lack of rebounding becomes more of an issue. They don’t own their pick this year and won’t have a lot of cap room next year. I don’t see how the Mavs dig themselves out of this hole in the next few seasons.
Zheld: While I respect the Mavericks GM for going for it and trying to make the playoffs last year. This team is in trouble and are basically the Nets of the NBA after the Pierce/Garnett Celtics trade. They do not have 1 young player on their team that I like and for as good as Hot Rod is I have questions about whether he can be the starting PG on a champ level team. Skinny Johnson declined in TC but should still be a 20/10 guy. The downside of this though is that his best attribute is his below market contract and at 34 if he is starting to decline that contract will not be below market forever. If I were the Mavs I would go balls to the wall to try and compete this year (preferably with as many expiring’s as you can get and then just rebuild for as long as it takes without any shortcuts. The key for them long term is going to be getting out of Schaffer and Mobleys deals and they will probably have to deal Hundley to get a team to take eon those deals. Unfortunately I would anticipate the Mavs being one of the worst teams in the west this year.
Wolves (UCF: 7, Zheld, 6)
PG Josh Firsch
SG Luguentz Dort
SF Bill Mlkvy
PF Vern Mikkelsen
C Hunter Dickerson
Key Mel Hutchins
Key Tyrese Maxey
Key Reggie Harding
UCF: I really didn’t like what the Wolves did this offseason. They gave $31mil to a 33yo big man who probably would have signed a 1 year deal for 3-4mil. They also gave Dort a huge 2 year contract. He declined last season and had a pretty bad TC this season. Luckily it was only a 2 year deal, but between both deals, they are now hampered for the next 2 seasons. They don’t own their pick this year, so I understand wanting to do what you can to try and compete. They own their pick next season, so these deals should help them tank next year, but this rebuild is going to take a while. Vern is still a good player, but isn’t worth the contract and no one will want to potentially pay him until he’s 39yo. Dickerson has some value offensively, but a center who struggles to average 10rebound a game is no bueno. The only youth they have is C Reggie Harding, but he failed to improve in TC. The lone bright spot is SF Bill Mlkvy who is excellent offensively and is on a great contract. He should have some value if the Wolves decide to move on and start the rebuild a year early.
Zheld: Status quo for the wolves who paid a huge price to keep their core together and gave Dort basically 30mill a season for the next 2 years to remain their SG. He promptly rewarded the Wolves by declining in TC and I don’t see him as a 25ppg guy anymore. Bill MIkvy has BY FAR the best contract in the league and it’s a shame that there isn’t a better team around him because averaging 30/9 and making 7mill a year you can spend a lot of money on other positions. I did not understand the moves they made this offseason. They are paying almost 30mill to 3 big men who are basically replacement level. I think their subpar big men and PG play will torpedo their chances of making noise while they have MIkvy locked up on such a good deal which is unfortunate. I have them struggling in the loaded west this season.
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