Post by ucfinfan86 on Jan 25, 2024 17:13:18 GMT
Winners
Los Angeles Clippers
-Drafted the top prospect
-Sarr +3 in TC
While some may say this is just a cop out calling the Clippers a winner this offseason, when you have the opportunity to get a guy like Alexandre Sarr, you should automatically be thrown in this tier. Not only that, but he had the lotto luck and was able to move up. Sarr should end up in the Wemby/Chet tier when it’s all said and done. He looks really good after his +3 TC. Unfortunately, his other 2 first rounders didn’t do very well in TC, but both look like they have solid builds that could help them going forward. I do wish that they used some of their cap space to grab assets to flip while they’re still in a rebuild. All-in-all, not the most adventurous offseason for the Clippers, but they got the clear best prospect in our first draft. That makes them a winner.
Memphis Grizzlies
-Drafted 3 nice first round picks in Tarrant, JJJ, and Leyva
-Gets back Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke
-Ja Morant MVP season?
While Memphis had a much different offseason then the Clippers, they find themselves going into a much better position in season 2. After taking year 1 to figure things out within the league and stock pile some nice 1st rounders, the Grizz welcome back Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke. Adams should dominate the boards and immediately become one of the better defensive bigs we have in the league and Clarke will provide some much needed rotational depth. They should immediately have one of the better big groups in the league. On top of that, all 3 of their 1st round picks had decent TCs accompanied by their pre-TC mentor with Desmond Bane. Overall, this team is in a prime position to make some noise this upcoming season. I’ll be interested to see what UC does and when he feels as though his time to throw some chips in.
New York Knicks
-Moved up to draft DJ Wagner
-Had a great TC
-Signed Nic Claxton and traded for Julius Randle
Another controversial one, but I do like what the Knicks have done this offseason. To start off, they were lucky enough to move up to 3 from pick 5 in the lotto, which allowed them to take DJ Wagner. He looks like he should end up a top-tier scorer in this league in what I think is a weird position right now. Now to free agency. YES, Claxton is a clear overpay, but fresh off a DPOY, while we’re new to the league starting, I don’t think it will come back to bite them like it may 10 seasons down the road. Not only that, but it’s a team that can afford to take on that contract right now, when you have guys like DJ and Mara making what they are, while looking they way they do. I also like Ingram and think the trade for Randle is okay. Him paired next to Claxton should cover up his weaknesses. All-in-all, I think when you have TCs like this with your two young guys and you make a signing like Claxton, you put yourself in a good position to move forward faster than expected with the rebuild.
Washington Wizards
-Great TC
-Get Lonzo back
Give Dash some love. He stubbornly didn’t tank properly last year and ended up with the 9th pick, but seems to have found a nice player in Collier who went +5 (without camping). Bilal also had a favorable TC to give him a pair of young building blocks. Lonzo was an amazing signing last offseason and had a huge TC to look like a legit starting PG. Deni was a nice resigning. There is a foundation here to start working with now and he has some tradable pieces to go either direction this season. Gafford, Kuz, Deni, Collier, Ball, Rui.
Oklahoma City Thunder
-Tatum/Harden trade
They gave up a lot with Giddey/Paolo, but they got the best SF in the league at a position where there’s only a handful of capable starters. This is a team that is ready to win now and has 2 players that have the potential to be the best players at their position with Tatum and Chet. It’s only a small portion but they also were then able to hit on Lakota Taylor’s draft note to move him to SF and now he can backup SG as well and provide quite an advantage with his rebounding. He also had a nice TC from NBN2 hall of famer Roko Prkacin. They also traded just traded for James Harden to likely give them an amazing super sub and really fill out their rotation. Trae / Rozier / Tatum / Chet / Lopez with Harden/Holmes/Barnes off the bench is a good team.
Losers
Golden State Warriors
-Lost Steph Curry to retirement
-Lost Klay Thompson to free agency
-Didn’t use any cap space
While it’s tough to put a team in the loser category just because they lost a player to retirement, when that player is Steph Curry, it completely shifts the position of your team. After a trip to the WCF, Steph retires and Klay leaves in free agency, leaving the Warriors with Kevon Looney as your best player? Not only that, but they didn’t make any moves in FA with the cap space they had, so they are a team that’s clearly headed for a tank (and maybe a new GM). Fortunately for them, they have their firsts, but maybe it’s best to sell off some of their guys like Looney and Draymond to stockpile some assets as you go into the boring stage of sim leagues.
Portland Trailblazers
-Dropped from projected 1 in lotto to 4
-Scoot didn’t improved as he hoped
-Harden signing and Ron Holland are positives
This is nothing against my boy MC, but dropping from projected 1 to 4 in the lottery is a killer, especially in this draft and the way it looked pre-TC. Losing out on Sarr, Wagner, and Topic had to hurt, but I do think Portland made the right move with Ron Holland. The SF position is so bad right now and after a +2 in TC, he seems primed to be one of the better young guys we have in the 3 spot. Unfortunately, Scott didn’t have the TC that he had hoped and most of the other young guys didn’t do much in terms of improvement. I will say, I do like the Harden signing and think it was a smart way to use his cap space. He should yield at least a 1st and some cash in a trade.
Brooklyn Nets
-Lost Nic Claxton to a massive deal
-No moves to balance roster post-FA
-New GM!! (good)
Another team that had a relatively quiet offseason, but lost a huge piece in Nic Claxton. Now, they were in a transition period and didn’t have a new GM at the start of free agency, so that’s probably why Claxton is gone, but would he really have wanted to match what their rival Knicks offered? I’m unsure, especially with the position that they’re in cap wise. Regardless of losing Claxton, I’m not 100% sure where this team will end up. I’m interested to see if they start Jaylen Brown after he improved in TC and slide Bridges to the bench. Bridges should have some value around the league, so I’ll assume they will move him for a better big to go next to Zubac. While I’m not sure they got as bad as say the Warriors with their big departure, anytime you lose the DPOY, there will be some struggles.
Miami Heat
-Lost James Harden in FA
-Anthony Davis -1 Reb
-No FA Acquisitions
Tough offseason for a team that went all in at the start of the NBN league and had a 2-3 year window. They are out their firsts for the next few seasons after trading everything for Anthony Davis and now just watched James Harden walk in free agency for nothing. There wasn’t much they could do in free agency being at $171mil salary with only 9 players under contract, but they could have used their MLE to sign any number of guards that went for it. To make matters worse, their best player Anthony Davis went -1 rebounding. Not a huge deal, but never good when a 31 year starts to show signs of decline. Not sure what the Heat do now. They can try and use cash to find a PG or they can try and trade 1 of their big 4 for depth and make another run at it. I am afraid the team may have reached their peak last season when losing in the ECF.
Detroit Pistons
-Bad TC
-Lack of moves
There’s a few teams that had ample cap space that just sat on their hands and didn’t do much. I think they failed to optimize one of their assets. Look at the Blazers for example who signed Harden and turned him into a draft pick and cash. There was a few FAs out there who could have netted a pick and quite a few who could have atleast gotten some cash. You can also use your space to eat a bad contract (still have the opportunity). The thing that makes the Pistons different is they had a really bad TC (not necessarily their fault). I hated the Almansa pick during the draft and he had a bad TC, going -1 Hand and only +1 Reb when his mean allure was the 18yo TC bump. The Pistons tanked all of last year and don’t really have much to show for it. Cade went up in handling which is nice. Ausar still can’t score. Oh and none of their prospects were camped last season!
Honorable Mentions
-Didn’t like Celtics approach to FA. Think they didn’t utilize their cap space effectively to acquire additional assets. They did have a decent team TC though, so wouldn’t consider them winners or losers
-Was ready to crown the Spurs a winner, but I can’t with that Siakam contract. Wemby and Edwards look great though!
-Raptors got a decent haul for Randle and Barnes had some TC movement.
-SGA looks amazing and I really liked the Buddy signing. Franz TC kept and lack of bigs at the moment kept them from being a winner
-Mavs did get a decent haul for Tatum. Paolo and Giddey both improved and from a nice young trio with Luka (who also went +2).
-Kings didn’t do anything crazy but got some good TCs out of their core. Dunn not improving is a bummer. Not sure TC makes up enough ground to really improve enough from 41-41 to make a difference
Los Angeles Clippers
-Drafted the top prospect
-Sarr +3 in TC
While some may say this is just a cop out calling the Clippers a winner this offseason, when you have the opportunity to get a guy like Alexandre Sarr, you should automatically be thrown in this tier. Not only that, but he had the lotto luck and was able to move up. Sarr should end up in the Wemby/Chet tier when it’s all said and done. He looks really good after his +3 TC. Unfortunately, his other 2 first rounders didn’t do very well in TC, but both look like they have solid builds that could help them going forward. I do wish that they used some of their cap space to grab assets to flip while they’re still in a rebuild. All-in-all, not the most adventurous offseason for the Clippers, but they got the clear best prospect in our first draft. That makes them a winner.
Memphis Grizzlies
-Drafted 3 nice first round picks in Tarrant, JJJ, and Leyva
-Gets back Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke
-Ja Morant MVP season?
While Memphis had a much different offseason then the Clippers, they find themselves going into a much better position in season 2. After taking year 1 to figure things out within the league and stock pile some nice 1st rounders, the Grizz welcome back Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke. Adams should dominate the boards and immediately become one of the better defensive bigs we have in the league and Clarke will provide some much needed rotational depth. They should immediately have one of the better big groups in the league. On top of that, all 3 of their 1st round picks had decent TCs accompanied by their pre-TC mentor with Desmond Bane. Overall, this team is in a prime position to make some noise this upcoming season. I’ll be interested to see what UC does and when he feels as though his time to throw some chips in.
New York Knicks
-Moved up to draft DJ Wagner
-Had a great TC
-Signed Nic Claxton and traded for Julius Randle
Another controversial one, but I do like what the Knicks have done this offseason. To start off, they were lucky enough to move up to 3 from pick 5 in the lotto, which allowed them to take DJ Wagner. He looks like he should end up a top-tier scorer in this league in what I think is a weird position right now. Now to free agency. YES, Claxton is a clear overpay, but fresh off a DPOY, while we’re new to the league starting, I don’t think it will come back to bite them like it may 10 seasons down the road. Not only that, but it’s a team that can afford to take on that contract right now, when you have guys like DJ and Mara making what they are, while looking they way they do. I also like Ingram and think the trade for Randle is okay. Him paired next to Claxton should cover up his weaknesses. All-in-all, I think when you have TCs like this with your two young guys and you make a signing like Claxton, you put yourself in a good position to move forward faster than expected with the rebuild.
Washington Wizards
-Great TC
-Get Lonzo back
Give Dash some love. He stubbornly didn’t tank properly last year and ended up with the 9th pick, but seems to have found a nice player in Collier who went +5 (without camping). Bilal also had a favorable TC to give him a pair of young building blocks. Lonzo was an amazing signing last offseason and had a huge TC to look like a legit starting PG. Deni was a nice resigning. There is a foundation here to start working with now and he has some tradable pieces to go either direction this season. Gafford, Kuz, Deni, Collier, Ball, Rui.
Oklahoma City Thunder
-Tatum/Harden trade
They gave up a lot with Giddey/Paolo, but they got the best SF in the league at a position where there’s only a handful of capable starters. This is a team that is ready to win now and has 2 players that have the potential to be the best players at their position with Tatum and Chet. It’s only a small portion but they also were then able to hit on Lakota Taylor’s draft note to move him to SF and now he can backup SG as well and provide quite an advantage with his rebounding. He also had a nice TC from NBN2 hall of famer Roko Prkacin. They also traded just traded for James Harden to likely give them an amazing super sub and really fill out their rotation. Trae / Rozier / Tatum / Chet / Lopez with Harden/Holmes/Barnes off the bench is a good team.
Losers
Golden State Warriors
-Lost Steph Curry to retirement
-Lost Klay Thompson to free agency
-Didn’t use any cap space
While it’s tough to put a team in the loser category just because they lost a player to retirement, when that player is Steph Curry, it completely shifts the position of your team. After a trip to the WCF, Steph retires and Klay leaves in free agency, leaving the Warriors with Kevon Looney as your best player? Not only that, but they didn’t make any moves in FA with the cap space they had, so they are a team that’s clearly headed for a tank (and maybe a new GM). Fortunately for them, they have their firsts, but maybe it’s best to sell off some of their guys like Looney and Draymond to stockpile some assets as you go into the boring stage of sim leagues.
Portland Trailblazers
-Dropped from projected 1 in lotto to 4
-Scoot didn’t improved as he hoped
-Harden signing and Ron Holland are positives
This is nothing against my boy MC, but dropping from projected 1 to 4 in the lottery is a killer, especially in this draft and the way it looked pre-TC. Losing out on Sarr, Wagner, and Topic had to hurt, but I do think Portland made the right move with Ron Holland. The SF position is so bad right now and after a +2 in TC, he seems primed to be one of the better young guys we have in the 3 spot. Unfortunately, Scott didn’t have the TC that he had hoped and most of the other young guys didn’t do much in terms of improvement. I will say, I do like the Harden signing and think it was a smart way to use his cap space. He should yield at least a 1st and some cash in a trade.
Brooklyn Nets
-Lost Nic Claxton to a massive deal
-No moves to balance roster post-FA
-New GM!! (good)
Another team that had a relatively quiet offseason, but lost a huge piece in Nic Claxton. Now, they were in a transition period and didn’t have a new GM at the start of free agency, so that’s probably why Claxton is gone, but would he really have wanted to match what their rival Knicks offered? I’m unsure, especially with the position that they’re in cap wise. Regardless of losing Claxton, I’m not 100% sure where this team will end up. I’m interested to see if they start Jaylen Brown after he improved in TC and slide Bridges to the bench. Bridges should have some value around the league, so I’ll assume they will move him for a better big to go next to Zubac. While I’m not sure they got as bad as say the Warriors with their big departure, anytime you lose the DPOY, there will be some struggles.
Miami Heat
-Lost James Harden in FA
-Anthony Davis -1 Reb
-No FA Acquisitions
Tough offseason for a team that went all in at the start of the NBN league and had a 2-3 year window. They are out their firsts for the next few seasons after trading everything for Anthony Davis and now just watched James Harden walk in free agency for nothing. There wasn’t much they could do in free agency being at $171mil salary with only 9 players under contract, but they could have used their MLE to sign any number of guards that went for it. To make matters worse, their best player Anthony Davis went -1 rebounding. Not a huge deal, but never good when a 31 year starts to show signs of decline. Not sure what the Heat do now. They can try and use cash to find a PG or they can try and trade 1 of their big 4 for depth and make another run at it. I am afraid the team may have reached their peak last season when losing in the ECF.
Detroit Pistons
-Bad TC
-Lack of moves
There’s a few teams that had ample cap space that just sat on their hands and didn’t do much. I think they failed to optimize one of their assets. Look at the Blazers for example who signed Harden and turned him into a draft pick and cash. There was a few FAs out there who could have netted a pick and quite a few who could have atleast gotten some cash. You can also use your space to eat a bad contract (still have the opportunity). The thing that makes the Pistons different is they had a really bad TC (not necessarily their fault). I hated the Almansa pick during the draft and he had a bad TC, going -1 Hand and only +1 Reb when his mean allure was the 18yo TC bump. The Pistons tanked all of last year and don’t really have much to show for it. Cade went up in handling which is nice. Ausar still can’t score. Oh and none of their prospects were camped last season!
Honorable Mentions
-Didn’t like Celtics approach to FA. Think they didn’t utilize their cap space effectively to acquire additional assets. They did have a decent team TC though, so wouldn’t consider them winners or losers
-Was ready to crown the Spurs a winner, but I can’t with that Siakam contract. Wemby and Edwards look great though!
-Raptors got a decent haul for Randle and Barnes had some TC movement.
-SGA looks amazing and I really liked the Buddy signing. Franz TC kept and lack of bigs at the moment kept them from being a winner
-Mavs did get a decent haul for Tatum. Paolo and Giddey both improved and from a nice young trio with Luka (who also went +2).
-Kings didn’t do anything crazy but got some good TCs out of their core. Dunn not improving is a bummer. Not sure TC makes up enough ground to really improve enough from 41-41 to make a difference
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