Post by ucfinfan86 on Nov 29, 2023 15:50:28 GMT
Rules are not official yet so I am not counting an amnesty into these rankings
Boston Celtics
This is a team ready to win a championship now. There is a lot of high salaries on this team, but you should have a 2-3 year window to win a title as long as you can manage the luxury tax. Starting off with a 25yo star like Jayson Tatum who is signed for 3 years gives you a building block to start NBN 3.0 with. With a deflated league, he’s the only wing so far with B+ A- offense. The real downside with this team is there is absolutely no youth on this team. Jrue looks solid with one of the only players with B+ defense. They do have questions though. The Jaylen Brown contract is scary, there isn’t a lot of depth, and have almost no rebounding. Can Porzingis be an effective center with C+ rebounding?
Orlando Magic
The only team so far with 3 players with A potential. This would be a fun team to build and could be a juggernaut in a few seasons. Paolo isn’t the typical FBB PF that teams normally want, but B B+ offense at 20yo with A potential makes him one of the most intriguing players in the East. Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs look to be good complimentary young players. Black and Howard don’t have great ratings but show A potential where most teams only have 1 or so players with potential. Fultz is intriguing as well. They have a pretty clean cap sheet with no long term large salaries.
Philadelphia 76ers
This is a very top heavy team, but Joel Embiid looks to be one of the best players in the file. Along with the scoring, there won’t be many players in the file that can match B+ B+ def/reb. If you aren’t selecting a team full of youth then I think grabbing one of the elite players is the best strategy. Hopefully Maxey can be the 2nd fiddle and if he can you have your 2 core pieces to build a contender around. The rest of the roster is pretty blah, but they will go into next season with a ton of cap space to allow you to be creative and potentially clean up in free agency when most teams will be over the cap. Or you can try and use the expiring contracts to acquire salary at a discount in the trade market.
Charlotte Hornets
Originally I had them lower on the list but I’ve come around to them after seeing more roster ratings being input. LaMelo should be a top asset at 22yo and A potential still and signed long term. Brandon Miller and Mark Williams give you 2 other prospects to build a core with. Miller with the A potential and draft pedigree and Mark Williams looks like a nice young big man. Terry Rozier is the only long term bloated salary, but he actually might be a decent player. Youth and cap flexibility is about all you can ask for.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Originally I had them near the top of the list, but they’ve come down a tier after comparing Garland to the other PGs in the file. I don’t think Garland’s ratings do him justice and with C potential and a big contract, he might not be that attractive. Not many bigs have A- A- def/reb and with a flat 20mil salary, I think Jarrett Allen will be a very valuable player in the file. Evan Mobley is also intriguing and with Allen is probably the best big man duo in the East. Similar to Garland, I don’t know if C+ A- does Mitchell justice? He’s an effiicient 28ppg scorer. Strus also gives you another shooter in a file that doesn’t have an abundance A- outside players.
Brooklyn Nets
The Nets were the toughest team for me to place. I could see the argument of them being a top 3 team or down another spot or 2. I think Ben Simmons is a very fun build and I want him on my team. Cam Thomas is a 21yo scorer a B B+ already and Mikal Bridges is one of the top SFs in the game to start. Nic Claxton with A- B+ and some offense. Cameron Johnson looks solid, but with C rebounding is probably unplayable at PF. Royce O’Neal, Day’Ron Sharpe, Dinwiddie, Finney-Smith, Walker, this is a deep team with a pretty clean long term cap sheet.
Milwaukee Bucks
I had a lot of trouble placing the Bucks. On one hand they aren’t all that different from the Celtics, especially if Brown is amnestied. On the other hand their main players are 28, 32, 33, and 35 years old and all really expensive. There’s a chance you could win a title in year 1, but I think it gets bleak quick. I also don’t know how to feel about Giannis. He didn’t translate the best in NBN2.0, but he’s a better real life player now. There’s also no youth to speak of on this team. I could see an argument for them being near the bottom of the list or just behind the Celtics. I’m sticking them in the middle.
Atlanta Hawks
I’m just not a Trae Young fan and it’s probably clouding my judgement. Also how the hell does Trae Young have B- defense?? Anyways, Young and Murray will give you a tremendous backcourt. Murray is the only PG with A- outside and A- handling so far. They have 4 wings with A- shooting. This team could really just out shoot a lot of teams in the beginning of the file. Jalen Johnson is interesting and Clint Capela will be a solid big. I think the Hawks have potential to be a good team right off the bat with a few moves and Murray/Young just dominate most guards each game.
Detroit Pistons
This is a young team without a lot of long term salary cap commitments. Cade Cunningham is highest profile of the young players but his build doesn’t really jump out at you with C+ B+ scoring and below average Def/Reb. He does have A pot still though. Ausar Thompson could likely be the prized asset here. Rookie with A pot and B Def/Reb at 20yo is intriguing. He could be a 10 reb guy at SF and provides inside offense. All of his camping focus can go to shooting. They have an assortment of other youth with Stewart, Duran, Ivey, Hayes. Another solid rebuilding team.
New York Knicks
Julius Randle could dominate the file offensively and be a serious problem. With a deflated file, his C defense probably won’t kill you either. Robinson and Hartenstein form a very formidable big man trio with Randle. RJ Barrett gives you a bit of youth at 23 and should be a good scorer. I am concerned that Brunson will translate to FBB with only C inside. If Brunson is a 25ppg in FBB then I think the Knicks are fine, but if he’s not then I think this team could struggle. They have a little youth, but not much and they have some dead salary. Hart won’t give you much offensively, but atleast has B+ defense. Fournier is probably unplayable at SF with D+ rebounding.
Indiana Pacers
Tyrese Haliburton will be a star. A outside and A+ handling at 23 and signed long term. A very similar situation to LaMelo and the Hornets except I like Miller/Williams more then the secondary pieces here. Turner is the 2nd best piece and will be a big time shot blocker and give you some shooting from a big. Walker/Mathurin give you some youth. Hield gives you A shooting. Pretty clean cap sheet outside of Haliburton. It’s probably more of a rebuilding team around him than one that tries to compete right away.
Toronto Raptors
Scottie Barnes looks like a fantastic, young, well rounded wing. At 22y he’s right up there with with the most intriguing young players in the East. Aside from that there’s not a whole lot in Toronto. Siakam has underwhelming ratings. I’m probably more intrigued by OG. Probably best as a trade chip since you can’t start both OG and Scottie. Cap sheet is clean after year 2 to remake roster anyway you want. Dick has good potential.
Chicago Bulls
I may be letting real life influence my take here, but this is just an uninspiring roster. Zach LaVine gives you scoring and not much else and isn’t that appealing when he’s making $40+mil. DeRozan and Vucevic are both good players, but are older and won’t provide much value in the future. Lonzo Ball is probably the most interesting piece at A potential and B+ outside and defense. This is a team that needs to compete right away to make sense, otherwise it’s probably a 45 win team without much future assets. It’s just not very appealing unless you grabbed them and tore it down immediately, in which case there’s a lot of pieces here that could bring back some picks or prospects to jump start a rebuild
Washington Wizards
Just not much here. Gafford is on a solid contract and with A rebounding that could help a lot of contenders. Kuzma could give you some offense, but has C rebounding at PF. Poole is among the worst contracts in the league. Bilal is the only piece that really matters here.
Miami Heat
Just awful, stay away
Will add in Pistons, Pacers, Bucks and Raptors once there rosters are set
Boston Celtics
This is a team ready to win a championship now. There is a lot of high salaries on this team, but you should have a 2-3 year window to win a title as long as you can manage the luxury tax. Starting off with a 25yo star like Jayson Tatum who is signed for 3 years gives you a building block to start NBN 3.0 with. With a deflated league, he’s the only wing so far with B+ A- offense. The real downside with this team is there is absolutely no youth on this team. Jrue looks solid with one of the only players with B+ defense. They do have questions though. The Jaylen Brown contract is scary, there isn’t a lot of depth, and have almost no rebounding. Can Porzingis be an effective center with C+ rebounding?
Orlando Magic
The only team so far with 3 players with A potential. This would be a fun team to build and could be a juggernaut in a few seasons. Paolo isn’t the typical FBB PF that teams normally want, but B B+ offense at 20yo with A potential makes him one of the most intriguing players in the East. Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs look to be good complimentary young players. Black and Howard don’t have great ratings but show A potential where most teams only have 1 or so players with potential. Fultz is intriguing as well. They have a pretty clean cap sheet with no long term large salaries.
Philadelphia 76ers
This is a very top heavy team, but Joel Embiid looks to be one of the best players in the file. Along with the scoring, there won’t be many players in the file that can match B+ B+ def/reb. If you aren’t selecting a team full of youth then I think grabbing one of the elite players is the best strategy. Hopefully Maxey can be the 2nd fiddle and if he can you have your 2 core pieces to build a contender around. The rest of the roster is pretty blah, but they will go into next season with a ton of cap space to allow you to be creative and potentially clean up in free agency when most teams will be over the cap. Or you can try and use the expiring contracts to acquire salary at a discount in the trade market.
Charlotte Hornets
Originally I had them lower on the list but I’ve come around to them after seeing more roster ratings being input. LaMelo should be a top asset at 22yo and A potential still and signed long term. Brandon Miller and Mark Williams give you 2 other prospects to build a core with. Miller with the A potential and draft pedigree and Mark Williams looks like a nice young big man. Terry Rozier is the only long term bloated salary, but he actually might be a decent player. Youth and cap flexibility is about all you can ask for.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Originally I had them near the top of the list, but they’ve come down a tier after comparing Garland to the other PGs in the file. I don’t think Garland’s ratings do him justice and with C potential and a big contract, he might not be that attractive. Not many bigs have A- A- def/reb and with a flat 20mil salary, I think Jarrett Allen will be a very valuable player in the file. Evan Mobley is also intriguing and with Allen is probably the best big man duo in the East. Similar to Garland, I don’t know if C+ A- does Mitchell justice? He’s an effiicient 28ppg scorer. Strus also gives you another shooter in a file that doesn’t have an abundance A- outside players.
Brooklyn Nets
The Nets were the toughest team for me to place. I could see the argument of them being a top 3 team or down another spot or 2. I think Ben Simmons is a very fun build and I want him on my team. Cam Thomas is a 21yo scorer a B B+ already and Mikal Bridges is one of the top SFs in the game to start. Nic Claxton with A- B+ and some offense. Cameron Johnson looks solid, but with C rebounding is probably unplayable at PF. Royce O’Neal, Day’Ron Sharpe, Dinwiddie, Finney-Smith, Walker, this is a deep team with a pretty clean long term cap sheet.
Milwaukee Bucks
I had a lot of trouble placing the Bucks. On one hand they aren’t all that different from the Celtics, especially if Brown is amnestied. On the other hand their main players are 28, 32, 33, and 35 years old and all really expensive. There’s a chance you could win a title in year 1, but I think it gets bleak quick. I also don’t know how to feel about Giannis. He didn’t translate the best in NBN2.0, but he’s a better real life player now. There’s also no youth to speak of on this team. I could see an argument for them being near the bottom of the list or just behind the Celtics. I’m sticking them in the middle.
Atlanta Hawks
I’m just not a Trae Young fan and it’s probably clouding my judgement. Also how the hell does Trae Young have B- defense?? Anyways, Young and Murray will give you a tremendous backcourt. Murray is the only PG with A- outside and A- handling so far. They have 4 wings with A- shooting. This team could really just out shoot a lot of teams in the beginning of the file. Jalen Johnson is interesting and Clint Capela will be a solid big. I think the Hawks have potential to be a good team right off the bat with a few moves and Murray/Young just dominate most guards each game.
Detroit Pistons
This is a young team without a lot of long term salary cap commitments. Cade Cunningham is highest profile of the young players but his build doesn’t really jump out at you with C+ B+ scoring and below average Def/Reb. He does have A pot still though. Ausar Thompson could likely be the prized asset here. Rookie with A pot and B Def/Reb at 20yo is intriguing. He could be a 10 reb guy at SF and provides inside offense. All of his camping focus can go to shooting. They have an assortment of other youth with Stewart, Duran, Ivey, Hayes. Another solid rebuilding team.
New York Knicks
Julius Randle could dominate the file offensively and be a serious problem. With a deflated file, his C defense probably won’t kill you either. Robinson and Hartenstein form a very formidable big man trio with Randle. RJ Barrett gives you a bit of youth at 23 and should be a good scorer. I am concerned that Brunson will translate to FBB with only C inside. If Brunson is a 25ppg in FBB then I think the Knicks are fine, but if he’s not then I think this team could struggle. They have a little youth, but not much and they have some dead salary. Hart won’t give you much offensively, but atleast has B+ defense. Fournier is probably unplayable at SF with D+ rebounding.
Indiana Pacers
Tyrese Haliburton will be a star. A outside and A+ handling at 23 and signed long term. A very similar situation to LaMelo and the Hornets except I like Miller/Williams more then the secondary pieces here. Turner is the 2nd best piece and will be a big time shot blocker and give you some shooting from a big. Walker/Mathurin give you some youth. Hield gives you A shooting. Pretty clean cap sheet outside of Haliburton. It’s probably more of a rebuilding team around him than one that tries to compete right away.
Toronto Raptors
Scottie Barnes looks like a fantastic, young, well rounded wing. At 22y he’s right up there with with the most intriguing young players in the East. Aside from that there’s not a whole lot in Toronto. Siakam has underwhelming ratings. I’m probably more intrigued by OG. Probably best as a trade chip since you can’t start both OG and Scottie. Cap sheet is clean after year 2 to remake roster anyway you want. Dick has good potential.
Chicago Bulls
I may be letting real life influence my take here, but this is just an uninspiring roster. Zach LaVine gives you scoring and not much else and isn’t that appealing when he’s making $40+mil. DeRozan and Vucevic are both good players, but are older and won’t provide much value in the future. Lonzo Ball is probably the most interesting piece at A potential and B+ outside and defense. This is a team that needs to compete right away to make sense, otherwise it’s probably a 45 win team without much future assets. It’s just not very appealing unless you grabbed them and tore it down immediately, in which case there’s a lot of pieces here that could bring back some picks or prospects to jump start a rebuild
Washington Wizards
Just not much here. Gafford is on a solid contract and with A rebounding that could help a lot of contenders. Kuzma could give you some offense, but has C rebounding at PF. Poole is among the worst contracts in the league. Bilal is the only piece that really matters here.
Miami Heat
Just awful, stay away
Will add in Pistons, Pacers, Bucks and Raptors once there rosters are set
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