State of the Union: Pacific Division
Sept 21, 2024 13:37:09 GMT
verysilentone, SpikeLee14, and 1 more like this
Post by josephballin11 on Sept 21, 2024 13:37:09 GMT
Apologies on the delay with the article roll out, I've been getting my ass kicked lately 
Regardless, we are back with the Pacific division to round out the Western Conference.
Sacramento Kings
Rumor has it, VSO and Silver have a running side bet to see who can go the longest without trading the main piece of the team they inherited during the dispersal draft. So we all know by now that Fox, Murray, and Claxton are going to carry the Kings to a record north of 55 games. Over the offseason they lost important role players in Kevon Looney and John Collins. Will be interesting to see who steps up from them this year and if Keegan will go back to being the 30 point demon we saw 2 years ago. Lets see what the reigning 2 time western conference champs have up their sleeve.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Thank thy lord I gave a couple days before doing the writeups for this division. Melo has managed to fry his roster. He went from having a a nice young pairing of post players for the future with Baba and Coleman. He then opted into eating 17/12 Burn's max contract. I assume the thought process is to try and make one more run with Jokic before he retires, but as of now Sharpe and Risacher are sub-par level starters. Would be on the lookout to see what team will fall victim to the "Hey take x amount of mid ass draft picks for your star player." On the bright side, Trey Alexander looks very good and is locked up on less than a max
Phoenix Suns
Ahhhh the counter side to the Melo mishap. I really love the young trio that the Suns have collected between Cassell, Gill, and Baba. They probably won't be that good this season, but at some point you have to try and kick it into gear to win. Once they are able to capitalize on their 60 million in cap space while giving the youngins more time to develop, they will be an issue. Fun team! Would also like to add upon further review that Profit seems like a solid bet for a SF going forward. Really like the direction here!
Portland Trailblazers
Peculiar team Afro has created in his return back to the NBN. I like the Lively x Looney combo of big men, while Shaq gets some time to develop. SGA is consistently one of the best PGs around the league. Then we get to the SF position, where I feel like the trade for Jayson Tatum was a little much. I'm not a huge fan of the C+ defense and C rebounding, but his scoring is truly remarkable. That being said, if we take a look at the starting shooting guard position, we see 2nd year Michael Finley....who is carrying a C defense. Safe to say, that I think he will struggle to get stops. Additionally, I like the mix of Doug Overton and Walker as backup/project point guards. With some diligent camping, these guys may turn into solid players.
Golden State Warriors
With the exit of Cheddar, there is no one better than to hand the reigns of the franchise over to than 3x Champ, Carlos. He took over while the Warriors were riding the fringe of being a playoff contender. So he made executive decision to get the upcoming pick back and scrap the roster. I personally like the moves. Nothing is worse than having to ride the middle. During FA they were able to bring back multiple time All NBN PF Boozer on a deal that was less than max money. The past few years have been a struggle for him, but he is still only 23 years old with time to turn it around. Other key players on the roster are Bam and Franz. Both prior All-Star, I'll be curious on what the trade market would command for these two. Due to the size of Bam's contract, I can't imagine the asking price will be too much. The squad has gapping holes in the backcourt and I couldn't tell you what to even expect.
Los Angles Clippers
After a hot start to his NBN career, Sarr has sputtered out. To make matters worse, he still is owed a collective total of $200Ms over 4 years. Also on the roster they have the aging Donovan Mitchell. While he may be an automatic bucket, the 34 year old is still banking hella stacks this season and next. The one shimmer of hope the roster has is Ron Holland. Very high level all around solid player at on 25 years old and locked up long term for less than the max. Unlike the typically NBN 3.0 SF, Holland boasts a very attractive A defense and C+ rebounding in addition to putting up 20+ppg. Looks like the Clips will be stalled in mediocracy for a while until they can shed the large contracts...Then a rebuild is in their future.
Los Angles Lakers
No, No, No, winning this year! Spike has been open about the tank job his roster is undergoing. Franchise center piece is none other than the legendary Mutumbo, who is off to a hot start in the shot blocking sector. Outside of the roster, there is a hopeful long term player in Darryn Peterson. He is listed at PG, but his handles limit him to only having upside at SG. Ganub and Page are both younger guards that show some promise if camps/TCs hits right. It will be a slow grind with the rebuild. Hope the lotto balls and FA signings are in your favor Spike!
Regardless, we are back with the Pacific division to round out the Western Conference.
Sacramento Kings
Rumor has it, VSO and Silver have a running side bet to see who can go the longest without trading the main piece of the team they inherited during the dispersal draft. So we all know by now that Fox, Murray, and Claxton are going to carry the Kings to a record north of 55 games. Over the offseason they lost important role players in Kevon Looney and John Collins. Will be interesting to see who steps up from them this year and if Keegan will go back to being the 30 point demon we saw 2 years ago. Lets see what the reigning 2 time western conference champs have up their sleeve.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Thank thy lord I gave a couple days before doing the writeups for this division. Melo has managed to fry his roster. He went from having a a nice young pairing of post players for the future with Baba and Coleman. He then opted into eating 17/12 Burn's max contract. I assume the thought process is to try and make one more run with Jokic before he retires, but as of now Sharpe and Risacher are sub-par level starters. Would be on the lookout to see what team will fall victim to the "Hey take x amount of mid ass draft picks for your star player." On the bright side, Trey Alexander looks very good and is locked up on less than a max
Phoenix Suns
Ahhhh the counter side to the Melo mishap. I really love the young trio that the Suns have collected between Cassell, Gill, and Baba. They probably won't be that good this season, but at some point you have to try and kick it into gear to win. Once they are able to capitalize on their 60 million in cap space while giving the youngins more time to develop, they will be an issue. Fun team! Would also like to add upon further review that Profit seems like a solid bet for a SF going forward. Really like the direction here!
Portland Trailblazers
Peculiar team Afro has created in his return back to the NBN. I like the Lively x Looney combo of big men, while Shaq gets some time to develop. SGA is consistently one of the best PGs around the league. Then we get to the SF position, where I feel like the trade for Jayson Tatum was a little much. I'm not a huge fan of the C+ defense and C rebounding, but his scoring is truly remarkable. That being said, if we take a look at the starting shooting guard position, we see 2nd year Michael Finley....who is carrying a C defense. Safe to say, that I think he will struggle to get stops. Additionally, I like the mix of Doug Overton and Walker as backup/project point guards. With some diligent camping, these guys may turn into solid players.
Golden State Warriors
With the exit of Cheddar, there is no one better than to hand the reigns of the franchise over to than 3x Champ, Carlos. He took over while the Warriors were riding the fringe of being a playoff contender. So he made executive decision to get the upcoming pick back and scrap the roster. I personally like the moves. Nothing is worse than having to ride the middle. During FA they were able to bring back multiple time All NBN PF Boozer on a deal that was less than max money. The past few years have been a struggle for him, but he is still only 23 years old with time to turn it around. Other key players on the roster are Bam and Franz. Both prior All-Star, I'll be curious on what the trade market would command for these two. Due to the size of Bam's contract, I can't imagine the asking price will be too much. The squad has gapping holes in the backcourt and I couldn't tell you what to even expect.
Los Angles Clippers
After a hot start to his NBN career, Sarr has sputtered out. To make matters worse, he still is owed a collective total of $200Ms over 4 years. Also on the roster they have the aging Donovan Mitchell. While he may be an automatic bucket, the 34 year old is still banking hella stacks this season and next. The one shimmer of hope the roster has is Ron Holland. Very high level all around solid player at on 25 years old and locked up long term for less than the max. Unlike the typically NBN 3.0 SF, Holland boasts a very attractive A defense and C+ rebounding in addition to putting up 20+ppg. Looks like the Clips will be stalled in mediocracy for a while until they can shed the large contracts...Then a rebuild is in their future.
Los Angles Lakers
No, No, No, winning this year! Spike has been open about the tank job his roster is undergoing. Franchise center piece is none other than the legendary Mutumbo, who is off to a hot start in the shot blocking sector. Outside of the roster, there is a hopeful long term player in Darryn Peterson. He is listed at PG, but his handles limit him to only having upside at SG. Ganub and Page are both younger guards that show some promise if camps/TCs hits right. It will be a slow grind with the rebuild. Hope the lotto balls and FA signings are in your favor Spike!
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