Build a Team Scorecard Thread

[nashrambler13]

First??

Golden State Warriors



GS Warriors B.A.T Lineup...
PG: Ty Lawson - #3 - $1,546,560 (RFA 13/14) - (Pick 108)
SG: John Salmons - #15 - $8,000,000 (UFA 15/16) - (Pick 133)
SF: Danny Granger - #33 - $10,973,202 (UFA 14/15) - (Pick 13)
PF: LaMarcus Aldridge - #12 - $7,627,498 (RFA 11/12) - (Pick 48)
C: Kendrick Perkins - #43 - $4,390,208 (UFA 11/12) - (Pick 73)

PG: Mike Conley Jr. - #11 - $4,913,007 (UFA 12/13) - (Pick 228)
SG: Arron Afflalo - #6 - $1,959,577 (UFA 12/13) - (Pick 168)
SF: Bill Walker - #5 - $854,389 (UFA 12/13) - (Pick 288)
PF: Brandon Bass - #32 - $4,000,000 - (PO 12/13) - (Pick 314)
C: Hasheem Thabeet - #34 - $4,793,280 (RFA 13/14) - (Pick 193)

11th: Craig Brackins - #21 - $1,306,920 (RFA 14/15) - (Pick 348)
12th: Elliot Williams - #20 - $1,254,720 (RFA 14/15) - (Pick 372)
13th: Erick Dampier - #25 - $1,352,181 (UFA 11/12) - (FA)
14th: (EURO-Zoran Dragic- #2 - $473,604 (RFA 14/15) - (FA))

Coach: Scott Brooks (Pick 253)
Assistant Coach: Mike D'Antoni (FA)

Payroll: $53,463,146

Starters (and their roles)....
Ty Lawson: The Warriors see Ty as their Point Guard of the future, and he will start out the year as starter. We never expect him to become a super star, but he does have potential as a good close to All-Star type player, perhaps even attending one at one point. At the very least, he will be a good complement to our star Danny Granger. He's a good shooter, VERY willing and good passer, and has a very high basketball IQ, plus is an okay rebounder. He will see around 26 minutes a night but is liable to losing the starting job if he under performs.

John Salmons: Salmons was brought to the team as a defensive player with great shooting ability and good rebounding. Salmons is by no means a selfish player, and, if nothing else, is a smart passer, which will complement our franchise player very well. Salmons is someone who can lead the offense if Granger is having an off-night, and he is a player who can mentor some of our younger SGs to help the future a little. Salmons will also get around 30 minutes a night also, but he will most likely own the starting position without dispute.

Danny Granger: The Warriors, as mentioned before, see Granger as their franchise player. He is a great shooter and very good scorer who is a very good slasher and is very good coming off of screens. Granger is an underrated rebounder,which will help to apply a gang rebounding technique. Danny will get about 34 minutes a night. We understand that he is injury-prone to missing 20 games or so a year over the past few years, but we also feel that we have an adequate plan for games such as these. We also believe that slightly lowering his minutes will decrease his chances of injury.

LaMarcus Aldridge: LaMarcus is obviously our second best player, and he will have the role of sidekick to our superstar. His great scoring ability and jump shot will be very pivotal to our offense. LaMarcus is a decently young and up and coming PF who also has good potential. Aldridge will get about 33 minutes a night as to help preserve his young body.

Kendrick Perkins: The Warriors are very pleased to have Perkins as their center. We see that our starting power forward is widely considered as "soft", so to have such a strong and defensively minded center to protect the paint. Perkins will have the role of guarding the best big man on the opposing team. His offense is mildly well developed, so he is nowhere close to being a liability on the offensive end. Kendrick has been decently injury-prone over the past few years, so he will receive only about 28 minutes a night.

Bench... (and their roles...)
Mike Conley Junior: Mike, although still young, does have a bout of starters experience in the NBA, and while his duties will consist mostly of orchestrating the second unit and playing a small bit of off-ball play, he is the insurance policy if our starting point guard is not able to handle his responsibilities yet. Conley is a good shooter, and a decent floor general with above average passing abilities. If Mike outperforms Ty over stretches of time, he may start a few games in place of Lawson. If, however, Lawson handles his position as we think he should, then Mike will get about 16 minutes a night.

Arron Aflalo: We see Arron as a role player who plays the same sort of role on the bench that our starting shooting guard plays with our starting unit. Aflalo is a good shooter off of the pass and is a very feisty defender. We expect him to grow under Salmons as a scorer/defender and spell Salmons and at times play with the starters. Arron will see about 17 minutes a game on a regular basis.

Bill Walker: The Warriors organization picked Bill to be a spark off of the bench. Walker has the potential to be a very good scorer with his mix of shooting and driving abilities, and we believe Danny can help him in that pursuit. Walker has never been seen as a great defender,but we believe he can be adequate in our scheme. We also drafted Walker in the hopes that he could fill some of the void left be Granger if it happens that Danny ever has to miss a game. Bill will get around 21 minutes a night.

Brandon Bass: Bass will have the most limited role of the top 10 players on the team, but will be called upon for about 7 minutes a game to play good defense, get rebounds, and score a basket or two. Brandon is our example of a large body in the paint.

Hasheem Thabeet: Hasheem is a very raw center with limitless potential who we at the Warriors organization see as a player who could turn into one of the very few legit centers in the NBA. His shot-blocking instincts are uncanny as are his defensive intangibles. Although he is very raw offensively, we do not see that as a problem at this point in his career. Thabeet is the insurance for our injury-prone center, and we see him as a possible anchor to our defense for years to come. Hasheem will see about 22 minutes a night behind an un-injured Kendrick Perkins.

RESERVES: (and their roles...)
Elliott Williams: Elliott brings youth to the team as well as good scoring ability. He was brought on board to increase the depth of the team and to help challenge Arron and Mike to keep their second unit roles. Elliott will receive about a minute a game.

Craig Brackins: Craig was also drafted to add youth and shooting to the team, but he also adds rebounding and athleticism to a team that very much values them. He may play a couple of minutes every other game or so.

Erick Dampier: Dampier was signed for veteran leadership and the mentoring of both Perkins and Thabeet. We are very pleased to have such a capable 13th man on our team who will also help very much as an insurance center. He will play somewhere around 3 minutes a night.

(Zoran Dragic): The Warriors will be stashing Zoran in Europe in the hopes that he can become and above-average defender and shooter. We see his ceiling as a starting SG in the NBA, with a role very similar to John Salmons, Corey Maggette or Raja Bell.

Minutes Review:
PG: Ty Lawson (26) / Mike Conley Jr. (16)
SG: John Salmons (30) / Arron Aflalo (17) / Elliott Williams (1)
SF: Danny Granger (34) / Bill Walker (21) / (Zoran Dragic (0))
PF: LaMarcus Aldridge (33) / Brandon Bass (7) / Craig Brackins (1)
C: Kendrick Perkins (28) / Hasheem Thabeet (21) / Erick Dampier (3)

System:
Offense:The Warriors will be running a very fast-paced offense to best utilize the athleticism and youth on the team. Our Assistant Coach, Mike D'Antoni will help to execute this system as efficiently as possible. The half court offense will be very much built like the offense of our coach's former team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, a very motion-related offense.

Defense: As a team, the Warriors hope to be above-average at defense and the personal defensive abilities of the players on our team will be well utilized. Either Danny Granger or John Salmons will guard the best perimeter player on the other team, and Ty Lawson will guard the worst. Kendrick Perkins will handle the opposing team's best low-post threat, and we believe LaMarcus can more than handle the second best option of any team. Defense will lead to our offense, much like the Suns and Thunder's former defense's. It is possible that the Warriors will experiment with a zone defense also.

Scoring Strategy...
Contending (Out of 50 points): I see my team as very underrated at this point as I have heard little remarks on my team, but I believe that this team can compete against any team in this B.A.T. League. The GS Warriors are now remodeled as a very deep and VERY versatile team, with lineups to challenge any team. Our team has scoring options up and down the lineup, as any one of LaMarcus, Danny, Salmons, or even Bill Walker could handle the scoring load on any given night. This versatility and depth will make us very competitive against any team in a seven-game series. If we face a team that is stronger on the inside, we have Perkins, Thabeet and Dampier as our elite defenders in the post, not to mention Aldridge who can handle any third option big man. If the team is perimeter heavy, we believe that Samons, Aflalo and Granger can together handle any teams options.

Building for the Future (20 points): Our basketball team is incredibly young. We may not be the youngest team in the league, but with an average age of about 24.5, its safe to say that we have a bout of youth on our team. Adding to the fact that only 3 of our players are not under contract for 2011-12, its worth mentioning that our star player, Danny Granger, recently signed a very affordable contract extension. These player on the Warriors are definitely not going anywhere for a long time.

Cap Management (15 points): The Warriors are very pleased with how their cap worked out for them. We have about 5 million for use in free agency and to keep the team together. The contracts on our team are not all long-term, but there is no year that they all expire, and there is more than enough money to go around for our young players. Although I do not see the Warriors as a very active trade partner with other teams, we do have cap-room to make otherwise difficult deals easier.

Coaching (10 points): The Warriors are IMMENSELY pleased with their coaching staff. We see Scott Brooks as one of the top 5 coaches in the league, and he is also PERFECT for this team. He is a very young coach who is very good at getting young players to buy into our strategy and defense, and he is very good at distributing the minutes and keeping everyone happy. Scott will also be able to focus more on defense as he will be assisted on offense by none other than Mike D'Antoni. Mike will condition and train the offense to this team very well, and hi weaknesses (depth organization, bad at developing young players, defense) are perfectly complemented and covered up by out Head Coach. If they can get along well enough, than we believe we have the best coaching tandem in the league.

Chemistry/Roster Management (5 points): We as an organization are pleased with the chemistry of our team. The players on our team or, for the most part, ego-less people without much selfish desire. On the subject of roster management and mix of youth to veterans, although it is apparent that we have very little veterans, we have no worries. Erick Dampier, as the oldest player on the team, will have to set the example, which w believe is quite possible for him. Danny Granger will be the lead captain of the team, while Aldridge and Salmons will both have equal leading roles on the team.

GS Warriors-Suns BAT
PG:T.Lawson/M.Conley Jr.
SG:J.Salmons/A.Aflalo/E.Williams
SF:D.Granger/B.Walker/(Z.Dragic)
PF:L.Aldridge/B.Bass/C.Brackins
C:K.Perkins/H.Thabeet/E.Dampier (?)
Coaches:S.Brooks (HC) - M.D'antoni (Assistant)
Payroll:$51,637,361 + Damp/ZDrag

[Sun Scorched]

The THESIS is COMING.

In the event that, by the conclusion of a Salary Cap Year, a Team has failed to make aggregate Salary payments and/or incur aggregate Salary obligations equal to or greater than the applicable Minimum Team Salary for that Salary Cap Year, the NBA shall cause such Team to make payments equal to the shortfall (to be disbursed to the players on such Team pro rata or in accordance with such other formula as may be reasonably determined by the Players Association).

To be CONTINUED.....

[Miklo]

Detroit Pistons

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Roster
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Starters
PG Aaron Brooks – young and on a cheap, rookie scale contract. Will play hybrid guard next to Kobe, sharing ball handling and scoring duties. We hope to keep him around for the long haul, though if he gets too expensive down the road we are conditioning DJ Augustin who could eventually take the starting role in that scenario.

SG Kobe Bryant – not much to be said here, this is Kobe’s team. We fully anticipate Kobe playing out the rest of his career here.

SF Shane Battier – our intangibles guy, lockdown defense, rebounding and a great 3-point shooter as well. Expiring contract who we anticipate will re-sign at a cheaper rate - and we intend on doing what it takes to keep him.

PF David West – Great offensively down low and solid rebounding, he’ll be fed the ball a lot when matchups are right. His minutes will vary interchangeably with Tyson Chandler's, as we anticipate rolling with a Hibbert/Chandler frontcourt when post D is crucial. In that regard, West will be used heavily when he's in, and his well-known efficiency will come much in the clutch because of that.

C Roy Hibbert – Young and on a great contract, excellent shot blocker and great rebounder, with a back-to-the-basket game as well. Very high potential. Hibbert is definitely our center for years to come.


Bench(with positions they’ll play):
PF/C Tyson Chandler – will play big minutes at C and PF, even more so in the playoffs. Excellent defensively and good rebounding…will be used situationally (against certain skilled bigs, or if one of the other bigs is off or injured)

SF/PF Al Thornton – young and versatile, he’ll get a good amount of playing time at both the SF and PF positions. He'll be a great energy guy off the bench who can put up big numbers.

PG DJ Augustin – young with a high ceiling; shows good passing IQ and can bring a scoring spark off the bench too. We hope to develop him into a passing specialist. He could eventually become the starting PG if Brooks' price tag gets too high, or depending how his ball handling skills progress.

SG Roger Mason Jr. – a guy who doesn’t need big minutes to make big shots. Will backup Kobe at the SG position and we anticipate some good energy off the bench, and also putting him in when the team needs some shooting to spread the floor. Super cheap contract for what he's worth.

PF Larry Sanders – a rookie with a very high ceiling…will get some minutes consistently and is part of the team’s big man plan for the future.

C Ian Mahinmi – a prospect and insurance big, serviceable enough to hold down the center position and has high shot blocking awareness and pretty solid on the glass.

PG Jason Williams – backup/insurance, also a piece that could be activated and used in the playoffs. Veteran with great ball handling and passing skillset.

SG/SF Jerry Stackhouse – backup/insurance, another piece that could be used in the playoffs and depending on injuries/performances.


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System
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Starters:
We plan on obviously revolving our game around Kobe. We envision an offense where Aaron Brooks and Kobe split ball-handling and passing duties, while the scoring strengths of both will also be utilized. Battier will allow us to run advanced offenses and defenses with his high-IQ plays - screens, great man and help defense, etc. He can also be depended on for some spot scoring. Having three offensive threats on the outside will bring out the strengths of David West and Roy Hibbert even more. West is a great passing big among other things so there will be a lot of defenses trying to collapse inside, only to have West feed it out to where the D is slacking. Hibbert is an amazing young player who will be huge for high-percentage post scoring as well as solid rebounding and high shot blocking IQ.

Bench:
Tyson Chandler is considered to be our sixth man. He'll also get some starts depending on the bigs we go up against. Chandler will get more minutes in games where we face guys like Tim Duncan and other high-IQ bigs, as he has shown the ability to lock those types down.

After Chandler, Augustin and Al Thornton will have the next-biggest roles. Augustin is a great young PG who we value most for his passing skills on the break and inside, and for his handles. We'll see him along with any combo of our other guards, even Brooks and Augustin, since we're running a dual-ball-handler system anyway. We'll use Thornton at SF and at PF for his scoring and rebounding, so we basically consider Tyson to be the backup center, while both Tyson and Thornton share backup PF duties (and Larry Sanders will get a few minutes per game at PF, but he'll also have time to develop).

Roger Mason Jr. will get his fair share of playing time as well; he'll be used as a potent spark off the bench, when we need some energy and shooting - he'll also see time in the clutch, when we need our best shooters out there to space the floor and hit that big 3.

Sanders as mentioned before will see a few mins/game at PF to develop our high-potential rookie - we hope he can consistently get those minutes so that he regularly gets out there on the floor.

Mahinmi, JWilliams and Stackhouse all speak for themselves and will be used as needed, and one of them will always be on the IR list interchangeably.
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How my team addresses the scoring
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Contending (50 points)
We feel the Pistons are not only contending, but are up near the top of the favorites list for a title. Kobe’s leadership and championship experience alone is a huge building block. Popovich also knows how to lead a championship team. The supporting cast is also key here. In our selections we made sure to pick players who would fit in particular roles, and personalities that would work well together. In fact, we even overlooked some leading talent that wouldn’t make sense on the basketball court. The team is also very strong defensively which is huge in the playoffs.
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Building for the Future (20 points)
We see building for the future as more than just having young players. We see it as also setting yourself up to be a winner in the future. So not only do we have some great young talent, but we have a gameplan for keeping Kobe surrounded for the next few years and establishing a young player base that will take over afterwards. Our young players from whom we expect a lot of growth are Aaron Brooks, Roy Hibbert, DJ Augustin, Al Thornton, Larry Sanders, and Ian Mahinmi.
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Cap Management (15 points)
As a contending team, we never intended on staying below the salary cap, and we did surpass it. What we did plan on and follow through on was remaining under the luxury tax line. This way, we are paying more than the salary cap, but we won’t be affected double by any salary. We consider this affordable for a contending team.



After this season we have some good expiring money, notably from Battier and Tyson Chandler. Jason Williams, Roger Mason Jr and Jerry Stackhouse expire as well, all for a grand total of $23 million in expiring contracts! Our position right now is that we'd like to bring Battier and Chandler back, since we think they'd both sign for less than their bloated contracts. Mason Jr would also be a nice piece if we can keep him on the cheap, and Williams and Stack might retire.
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Coaching (10 points)
Head Coach Gregg Popovich – championship experience, defensive focus, ability to interact with star players (Kobe here).
Assistant Coach Brad Stevens (Butler University) – excellent with young players, will work closely with our prospects and young talent, will help out with scouting as well.
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Chemistry/Roster Management (5 points)
We were really excited to get Kobe first, since he's shown an ability to re-commit to appreciating his supporting cast. We actively took a stance to only draft positive character guys and you can see it from our roster. During the draft, we even passed up on Ariza when he was the best player out there, because of his chemistry issues with Aaron Brooks.

On roster management, we made sure to draft a good blend of old players and young players, as well as a good mix of ball-handlers and players who excel off the ball.

[LV-Suns]

Head Coach: Phil Jackson
Assistant Coach: Hakeem Olajuwan

PG: Jameer Nelson
SG: DeMar DeRozan
SF: Jeff Green
PF: Blake Griffin
C: Al Horford

Kyle Lowry
Dominqiue Jones
Francisco Garcia
Juan Carlos Navarro
Trevor Ariza
Rasual Butler
Glen Davis
Brandon Wright
Erazem Lorbek

PG: Jameer Nelson: $6,722,222
SG: DeMar DeRozan: $2,453,880
SF: Jeff Green: $4,455,988
PF: Blake Griffin: $5,357,280
C: Al Horford: $5,444,857


Kyle Lowry: $5,750,000
Dominqiue Jones: $1,110,120
Francisco Garcia: $5,500,000
Juan Carlos Navarro: $762,195
Trevor Ariza: $6,322,320
Rasual Butler $2.4 mil
Glen Davis: $3,300,000
Brandon Wright: $3,398,071
Erazem Lorbek: $ 473,604

Salary: Approximately: $53 mil.


Minute Distribution
PG: Jameer Nelson(28)/K. Lowry(20)/Dominqiue Jones
SG: DeMar DeRozan(25)/F. Garcia(18)/J. Navarro(5)
SF: Jeff Green(26)/T. Ariza(22)/R. Butler
PF: Blake Griffin(28)/G. Davis(16)
C: Al Horford(32)/B. Wright(15)/E. Lorbek(5)

Starters
Jameer Nelson: Primary ball handler of the team. An efficient scorer and a decent playemaker as well. Plays decent defense even though he is undersized. An all-star.
DeMar DeRozan: 20 year old dynamic SG with great athleticism and upside. He is a good defender and he has the tools to be a lockdown defender. Good rebounder for a wing.
Jeff Green: Versatile wing who is capable of playing the 3 or the 4. An overall player. Jack of all trades.
Blake Griffin: Rookie phenom that could take the league by the storm. Number one overall pick. College player of the year 2009, averaged 23/14 with great efficiency. Summer league MVP 2009 before he got injured
Al Horford: Even though he is a natural 4, he has played Center all his life. Great defender/rebounder. Decent offensive player with a solid jump shot. Strong finisher.

Bench
Kyle Lowry: One of the best defenders at the PG position you can find these days. Uses his incredible quickness to score and get his teammates involved. Hustle player.
Dominqiue Jones: Explosive sparkplug off the bench
Francisco Garcia: Garcia is a talented player who is capable of doing everything that is asked out of him. Solid in nearly every facet of the game. Versatile enough to play 1-3.
Juan Carlos Navarro: One of the best players currently in Europe. Talented scorer and a decent ball handler.
Trevor Ariza: Long and athletic player. Solid shooter and a great finisher in transition. Plays great defense.
Rasual Butler- Butler is a natural scorer off the bench. He is long and athletic, plays both wing position. Solid shooter.
Glen Davis: Big Baby has been a winner so far in the NBA. Not really coveted coming out of college, he has made an impact since day 1. Davis is more talented than one would expect from a bench player. He uses his size and quickness well and he knows how to use his body to get upper hand against his defense. Good overall player.
Brandan Wright: Very long and athletic player with tons of potential. He is physically gifted to play in this league. Good skills around the basket. He could be vital piece to any team with some confidence.
Erazem Lorbek: Lorbek is probably the best big man currently playing in Europe. Great range, ability to make a play off the dribble, use of both hands, and great fundamentals are some decryptions that can be said about Lorbek

System
With Phil Jackson on board, I will be running the triangle as the main component on offense. Even though it seems like the roster doesn’t exactly have the personals to thrive using the triangle offense, it could work. Blake Griffin is a solid passer for a big man, a guy that can command double teams. Horford is also a big man that is very solid in this department. The overall ball movement will be spectacular due to all the unselfish players. The roster consist of players that could make great impact on defense, I feel like this is one of the best defensive teams. All the bigs gets to personally work with Hakeem exclusively every practice.

Contending
This team is already ready to compete for the championship. With a young team on board, you need clear leadership from the beginning. Phil Jackson will bring his 11x champion edge to the Mavericks . The team is also one of the deepest out there with all the talent available. Two All-Stars in the lineup (Nelson and Horford). Great length and size to compete defensively with every team in the league. All the players are high IQ players, some already being proven winner with playoff experience.

Building for the Future
When you have Blake Griffin on your team, no doubt the team is building for the future. The guy was the number one overall pick after the dominant season he had in Oklahoma. Horford is already an all-star just 3 seasons into his career. Green is also a 3rd year vet who is going to be solid for years to come. DeRozan was highly coveted coming out of USC one year ago. With Bosh out of the lineup, he will be also to showcase most of his talent on a daily basis.

Cap Management
The Mavericks are well under the cap with only 54 million dollars on the payroll. Even after all the free agent signings, the team is still about 4 million under. Most of the players on the roster are still under their rookie contract, with couple due for an extension.


Coaching
Best coaching staff in the league?
Phil Jackson’s resume speaks for itself. 11x championships and led multiple teams to dynasties.. The greatest coach ever.
Hakeem Olajuwan: One of the most skilled to ever play the game. Every year, you hear how certain players are working with Hakeem to help out with their post game. I am very pleased to have Griffin/Horford under his wing.



Chemistry/Roster Management
..


I will update more as soon as I can. Just updating my status that I am not dead. Sorry for the delay

[DRK]

TEAM NAME- Houston Rockets

Head Coach: Rick Adelman
Assistant Coach: Elston Turner
Roster:
- Al Farouq Aminu
- Trevor Booker
- Josh Boone
- Samuel Dalembert
- Maurice Evans
- Randy Foye
- Paul George
- Al Jefferson
- Kenyon Martin
- Sergio Rodriguez
- Evan Turner
- Fran Vasquez
- Russell Westbrook
Starters:
PG: Russell Westbrook-will be the primary ball handler, although will share duties with Evan Turner He will be a treat to drive and finish strong at the rim. He also is a strong rebounder at his position.

SG: Evan Turner- will play a role similar to Westbrook. He will be mainly shooting from the mid range, or close range. His size will help him driving to the rim. He is a great passer, and also is a strong rebounder.

SF: Paul George: Will be a perimeter shooting threat. Also is very quick off the dribble and one of the most athletic players on the team. He also is a good defender. His main roles will be shooting the three and leading the fast break.

PF: Al Jefferson: primary inside scoring threat. He will use the whole keyway to score. He also will be instructed to go after every offensive rebound.

C: Samuel Dalembert: Will rarely be a target on offense. His main roles will be to be a the defensive stopper and grab rebounds.

Bench(positions they’ll play):
PG Sergio Rodriguez: Primary ball handler. Will set up plays with his outstanding court vision

SG Randy Foye: Main 3pt shooting threat

SF: A.F.Aminu: Very athletic slasher. Also a tenacious rebounder. Will be primary target on offense to score inside or from the mid range.

PF: Kenyon Martin: Main inside scoring threat. Also instructed to grab as many rebound as possible.

C: Fran Vasquez: Expected to catch lob passes from either guards to dunk at the rim. Was one of the best inside defenders in the Euroleague. His skills will translate into the NBA game.

Reserves
Josh Boone: Will be baking up both the C and PF positions. Also acts as an insurance policy if anyone at those positions gets injured. Boone will take a large part in practises

Sonny Weems:
Dynamite scorer. Will get more playing time than any other of our reserves. Will even be elevated to the bench if he plays well. Still very young, and has large potential.

Maurice Evans:
Is a great defensive stopper. His main role will to stop opposing players such as Wade or Kobe. He also is a threat from 3pt arc. He will have quite a bit of playing time.

Trevor Booker
Playing time will be hard to find for him in his first season. He will spend a lot of time developing in the D-League.

System

Offense: Our team will run a relatively low paced offence. Our main goal is to get points through dribble penetration by either Westbrook, Turner, or George, although George will play more of a long distance shooting role. The ball will be passed around the “D” quickly in order to find an opening into the key. Another plan for our offense will be to throw lob passes into either Jefferson or Dalembert to finish strong at the rim.

If the ball is acquired off a turnover, or a defensive rebound, our team has been instructed to push the ball in transition. This catches the defense off guard as they expect us to walk the ball up. The fast breaks will be lead by Westbrook, Turner, or George, although George is the most preferred candidate for running the fast break because of his very strong leaping ability and strong finishing ability.

Defense:
Our starting lineup is a very tall and lengthy one. We will commonly switch between man to man defense and zone, in order to catch the opponent’s offense off guard.

Offseason Plans

With our total of 31 million dollars in expiring contracts, the Houston Rockets will be eagerly pursuing all star forward Carmelo Anthony in the free agency. It would be hard for Melo to turn down playing with a young core of Westbrook, Jefferson, Turner, and Paul George.

We will plan to resign Samuel Dalembert to a 4 year contract. Although we will most likely let Kenyon Martin go, as his age and injury concerns may be a problem. This will give fiery rookie Trevor Booker a chance to make the rotation.

Salaries

PG R. Westbrook/ S. Rodriguez
SG E. Turner/ R. Foye/ S. Weems
SF: P. George/ A.F. Aminu/ M Evans
PF: A Jefferson/ K. Martin/ T.Booker
C: Dally(TB)/ F. Vasquez/ J Boone

Salary: 66.31mil (Approx. 31mill expiring)

How does your team meet the following:
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Contending (50 points)

-Quick explanation
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Building for the Future (20 points)

-Quick explanation
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Cap Management (15 points)

-Quick explanation
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Coaching (10 points)

-Quick explanation

[lilfishi22]

Oklahoma Thunder

Roster
Starters:
PG: Rajon Rondo: Improving year after year since he came into the league, he became an All-Star last season while leading *his* (yes, next season it won't be the Big 3's team anymore) team a few wins away from a 2nd championship in 3 seasons. He's a proven floor general, being able to handle the pressures of distributing the ball to three HoF scorers. His All-NBA defense and all-star play making ability will serve as an example for the rest of the team while leading the team by promoting the same team defense/offense philosophy the Championship Boston team took to the NBA Finals. The Thunder see this 24 year old PG as the franchise player.

SG: Mike Miller: The Thunder's long range threat and secondary ball-handler/playmaker, ever-efficient Mike Miller will stretch defenses with his .405FG% shooting from 3PT range, allowing Rondo to do his thing in the lane. In addition to being a long range shooter, he's also an excellent ball-handler and passer with a career average of 3.2APG (4.5APG career high). While offense will be his calling card, his defense is average by NBA standards. He's seen as a bit of a soft defender but with good length and above average foot speed, he's able to guard SG and SF adequately. Where he's a bit below-par on defense compared to the rest of the team, he makes up for with his great rebounding (career 5.1RPG, 2nd among SG's last season) from the guard position

SF: Luol Deng: His offensive game is considered one of the most versatile in the NBA with the ability to post up, spot up shoot, shooting off screens, slash to the rim, grab offensive rebounds and score in transition. He's the perfect complementary scorer next to Rondo as he can score from almost anywhere. Not a catch and shoot threat from the 3PT line but a definitely not a player defenders can leave open at the 3 as he'll make the open shot if given the space to shoot. Along with his scoring and defense, he's also an above average rebounder at his position and was 4th among SF in the NBA last season in this department.

PF: Carl Landry: One of the most efficient lowpost scorers in the league, Landry will bring toughness (see Dirk Nowitzki's teeth), energy, athleticism and most importantly, offense in the low post to the team. While not considered a premier post scorer, Landry has quietly put up 18PPG on .520FG% for the Kings last season. At 4.9FGA around the rim on .701FG% and at only a 54.2% assisted rate, he ranks 1st amongst PF's in FG% at the rim. To complement his solid low post game, Landry also has the ability to hit the mid-range shot(4.8 attempts on .440FG%, 3rd among PF's), allowing him to step out on offense. We believe that playing with more 3PT scoring threats and a top passing PG, will help him elevate his game to the next level.

C: Joakim Noah: He is the heart and soul of the team. The vocal leader on the court, Joakim Noah has developed into one of the top young center's in the NBA. His quickness, strength and length has allowed him to become one of the best rebounders in the NBA and also a top notch post defender and shot blocker. He will be the defensive anchor to this young Thunder team. Noah's game can only be described with one word, hustle. He brings 110% effort every night, going after every loose ball and offense rebound. His relentless spirit will translate into other players playing together with more effort and thus making the team better. Where he lacks the offensive touch, he'll grab garbage buckets, complete alleyoops, run the PnR game with Rondo, run in transition and is the perfect complement next to Landry who can score inside or step outside where needed.


Bench:
-Kirk Hinrich (PG): He's probably tied as the best defensive PG in the league along with Rondo, he has the ability to guard PG's, SG's and at times, even SF's. A very high basketball IQ player who is fundamentally sound in all aspects of the game, he's the perfect leader for the 2nd unit. As mentioned before, Hinrich is a very fundamentally sound player who brings along a decent scoring game to go along with his excellent defense. He's a good floor general who knows how to control tempo and distribute the basketball. On top of the leadership and PG qualities Hinrich brings, he also gives the team a good amount of toughness and his lead by example defense is a great example of that. Hinrich will also see time at the SG position.
-Drew Gooden (PF): Another low post threat who will be coming off the bench for Landry, Gooden has been in the league for a long time and has been a solid contributor wherever he's been. A solid low post scorer, he ranks close to last in assisted buckets among PF's and like Landry, has the ability to step out to hit the midrange shot if needed. Defensively, he will not block many shots but as a individual post defender, he does a passable job against the average PF. He's a very good rebounder (3.5ORPG) and that is attributed to his excellent boxing out ability. A pretty savvy veteran on the defensive end, he will not pick up meaningless fouls on fake-outs and the likes. Along with Hinrich, he will bring veteran leadership to the 2nd unit.
-Delonte West (SG): West will be the Thunder's back up SG. While he does lack some size, he makes up for with his defensive toughness, ability to create his own shot and 3PT shooting ability. Next to Hinrich, he'll be focusing more on scoring than play making. He's a solid spot up shooter and has a great mid range game. Defensively he'll bring a lot dedication and toughness. He is more suited to guard PG's which means Hinrich will most likely defend the opposing team's SG.
-Marquis Daniels (SF): Another defensive stopper with a decent offensive game. He's a highly versatile wing who can defend PG's, SG's and SF's while having the ball handling ability to play PG. A decent 1-on-1 player, he has developed a nice midrange jumper. Not much of a threat from the 3PT line, but has the ability to finish pretty well at the basket. With him playing off Hinrich and Gooden, like West, he'll only have to focus on defense and being a slasher/cutter.
-Joel Pryzbilla (C): One of my favorite backup C's in the league because of his hustle and defense, Pryz bring a lot of toughness to the front court. An excellent shot blocker, rebounder and defender, he'll be a good player next to Gooden who primarily an offensive player. A highly efficient player, he'll score without any plays called for him as he'll score on opportunities from offensive rebounds and moving without the ball.
-Sam Young (SF): A young player who just finished a solid rookie campaign with the Grizzlies. Not known as a scorer but he will put points on the board by hustling on rebounds and leaking out on fast breaks.
-Da'Sean Butler (SF/PF): A combo forward who could do a little playmaking, grab rebounds and score. His knee is still in question but if he's able to rehab successfully, he'll definitely get minutes off the bench with his size and offensive versatility.
-Derrick Caracter (PF/C): Caracter has had some off-court red flags but since his transfer to UTEP, those issues seems to have mostly left him. A high risk/high reward player, he'll provide size off the bench and his offense will be what earns him minutes. He has an uncannily high level of skill more akin to guards than PF/C's. He can handle the ball, is very quick, fluid and possesses a nice soft touch around the basket. Combined with a good work ethic, he'll have a good opportunity to earn his minutes.

Salary:
Team Salary:
G: Rajon Rondo - $9,090,909 [4yrs/$45,909,091 left]
G: Mike Miller - $5,000,000 [4yrs/24,000,000 left (4th yr PO)]
F: Luol Deng - $11,345,000 [3yrs/27,965,000 left]
F: Carl Landry - $3,000,000 [E]
C: JoaKim Noah - $3,128,536 [$4,239,167 QO]

G: Kirk Hinrich - $9,000,000 [1yr/8,000,000 left]
G: Delonte West - $854,389 [E]
G/F: Marquis Daniels - $2,388,000 [E]
F: Drew Gooden - $5,765,000 [4yrs/$20,288,400 left]
C: Joel Przybilla - $7,405,300 [E]

G/F: Sam Young - $886,000 [$947,800 TO]
F: Da'Sean Butler - $473,604 [Unguaranteed]
C:Derrick Caracter - $473,604 [Unguaranteed]

Total Salary for 2010-2011: $58,490,342 [18,589,433 expiring]


System:
The Thunder strength will, without a question, be on the defensive end. With solid defenders from 1-5 and defenders off the bench, defense will be strongly emphasized. Bringing in top defensive assistant coach Tom Thibodeau, who was considered as the architect behind many of the defensive plays/structure for the Boston Celtics team, he is the perfect coach for a team with a roster of defensive players. Defensively, this team will focus on individual defense, putting the responsibility on the individual players and this will make the players appreciate the merits of being a strong defensive team and allowing this team to become an excellent defensive team as a whole. With defense being an emphasis, the players will develop toughness and play with a lot of energy and hustle.
After defense, rebounding, passing and playing smart will be the three things the team will concentrate on. The team is made up of very high basketball IQ players such as Rondo, Hinrich, Deng and Noah and playing smart and as a team will make this a much better squad. Offensively we'll look at pushing the ball initially (on the possession) as to take advantage of the athletic players on the team and beating the defense down the court but if the push is stopped, a secondary offense focusing on passing, penetration, spacing,timing and use of the low post will be there. We will not force the fastbreak like SSOL did but will push the ball on defensive stops. In the half-court set, we'll focus on an inside-outside game with Landry being the primary low post player, putting several long-range/mid-range/cuting threats around him and letting Rondo create on penetration off screens from Noah, which will also open up PnR opportunities.

How does your team meet the following:
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Contending

Defense wins championships and defense is what this team will emphasize. The Thunder will bring in a fastbreak off defensive stop system with a strong and methodical secondary offense. The players we have are long, defensive-minded and have strong leadership at the PG position. We will defend as a team even though individual defense is emhpasized and it is the pride taken on the defensive end that will make the Thunder a strong playoff team.

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Building for the Future

The Thunder is realtively young team with Rondo(24), Deng (25), Noah(24) and a whole host of 2nd year and rookies. Along with the youngsters, this team also has some young vets like Hinrich(29), West (28), Przybilla(31), Miller(29) and Gooden (30). With Rondo being the franchise guy at only 24, I think this team is in fairly good hands going forward.
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Cap Management

The Thunder is sitting slightly over the salary cap at $58.5m and with $18.5m worth of expirings, there is a lot of flexibility. Landry, Daniels, Pryz and West will all most likely resign for a relatively cheap with no player except for Landry(guessing around $8-$9m) making more than mid-level money. Noah will most likely see a max extension. There will be a lot more financial flexibility after this season and should we decide to go young we can and if we decide to go all in, we could do that as well.
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Coaching

Tom Thibodeau has been known to work with young players and is a player's coach. He brings with him a great deal of experience and respect on the highest level possible outside of being a head coach. Players respect the work he puts in identifying flaws in their game and coming up with solutions to fix them. Despite this being his first head coaching job, he's been an assistant head coach for almost 30 years. He's considered a a defensive genius and a more than capable offensive coach.
Mike Budenholzer has been an assistant coach with the Spurs for the last 12 seasons and is known for drawing up some of the best last possession defensive plays. He's been under the tutelage of one of the best coaches in the league, Popovich, for many years and he'll bring that experience to this young team. It's a bit selfish bring this up on a Suns forum, but I thought this quote is a good example of what he brings.

The perfect example of all of these defensive factors coming together occurred at the end of Friday's San Antonio-Phoenix game. With the Spurs clinging to a two-point lead, the Suns called a timeout with three seconds left to set up a play.
San Antonio assistant coach Mike Budenholzer grabbed a clipboard and diagrammed a play that he had seen Mike D'Antoni run late in a game against Chicago several weeks ago. It's a beautifully designed back-door play that attempts to draw the defense out to the perimeter and then counter with one player making a quick cut to the rim for an open layup.
Budenholzer repeated to Hedo Turkoglu several times during the timeout, "Don't follow Joe Johnson to the three-point line! They're setting you up for a back door!" When the play developed, the 6-foot-8, 230-pound 2-guard Turkoglu started to feel himself drawn to the perimeter but remembered Budenholzer's advice, stayed at home and broke up the play. The Spurs hung on to win.

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Chemistry/Roster Management (mix of roles, ages, etc)

Admittedly, the Thunder does have a few players with potential red-flags like West and Caracter, however, for the most part, this team is filled with a lot of smart, high character guys. The only major redflags is West, but with Daniels able to play 3 positions, he could be an insurance guard for West should he act out. The team has a handful of role players that know their role and won't play outside of it and this will keep any egos from clashing.

Minutes:
PG: Rondo (32)/ Hinrich (16)
SG: Miller (26)/ West(12)/Hinrich (10)
SF: Deng (32)/Daniels (16)
PF: Landry (25)/ Gooden(23)
C: Noah (30)/ Pryzbilla (18)

[JasonDaPsycho]

San Antonio Spurs

Roster

Starters

PG: Stephen Curry
A young PG who can fit into any style of play. While he may not be a traditional pass-first point guards, his instincts and understanding makes him a good, if not great, point guard. He is relatively young and handled himself well in the rookie season. He is also a hard-working player (shootouts before and after game) and I believe he will flourish under the mentor of Scott Skiles.
Oh and he looks cute so the team may gain a couple more female fans.

SG: Richard Hamilton
He is a proven veteran. He is an intelligent player who does a little bit of everything. From scoring to passing to defense, he does all of them. His salary might be high, but I am getting a high production player in return. Despite the fact that his team was not playing well the last two years, I believe it is not his fault. Him surrounded by this level of talent may just bring him the success he had always been going for.

SF: Luc Richard M'bah a Moute
Luc is a physically gifted player. He is a great athlete. The most important of all is the fact that he can lock down a player (making KD look bad is one of the things he do). He might not have that Bruce Bowen intensity, but he can be really effective. Plus, he rebounds the ball pretty well. Although he can't really score well, I don't see that as a problem given the fact that the team has a lot of players who can score in place.

PF: Jason Thompson
Again young and athletic. He is a very promising player. He rebounds the ball pretty well and can score some points here and there. Basically an above average PF with a high potential.

C: Marc Gasol
Marc is an incredible talented post player. He scores very well in the post AND makes his FTs. A good center is extremely difficult to come by these days. Of course his salary will be multiplied by next season, but I believe it is all worth it. Plus 3 offensive boards a game seems nice.

Bench

PG: Eric Maynor
Probably not going to be a star. But he's a hard-worker. He again does lots of things on the court. He is a player who fully appreciates his role. Just a good character guy

SG: Daequan Cook
As mentioned when he's drafted, he might not have played well last year, I still have confidence in him. Shooters get hot and they get cold. In addition, the Miami Heat was using him strictly as a 3 pt shooter whereas he's much better than that. He shall show improvement in under a new coach and a different franchise player.

SF: Gordon Hayward
Gordon Hayward will undoubtedly be the team's first player off the bench. He is basically Hedo who can't shoot 3s but can rebound the ball well. He can play multiple positions and will allow more flexibility for rotation. He allows the team to play small ball or just flat out create mismatches.

PF: Nick Collison
6'10 hard worker, role player. He's extremely efficient when it comes to grabbing boards, which is the biggest emphasis on the team's style of play.

C: Antonio McDyess
He's the oldest player on the team and the major reason I took him is because he can provide veteran leadership to a relatively young team. But that isn't just it. He can provide some scoring (his deadly mid-range shot) and again, rebounding. His hunger for a championship ring may also motivate younger players.

PG: Sundiata Gaines
Another role player. He can score a bit here an there. He is also a relatively cheap player. He also is mad clutch, hitting a game winner against Lebron during regular season and another one in summer league.

SG: Alonzo Gee
Athletic SG who might become something in the league. Best case scenario he provides scoring off the bench. Worst case scenario he gets no PT.

PF: Leon Powe
Energy player. Rich man's Lou Amundson. Defense and rebounding. Going to be lots of hustle plays. OK to look pass injury because his salary is relatively low.

C/PF Byron Mullens
Might be something, might not be. Either case, a huge project. Probably won't see playing time this year. But he does have a high potential. Plus I heard he's been working hard.

Coach: Scott Skiles
We all saw what he did to Brandon Jennings. We all saw what he did the the young Bucks. He is the perfect coach for a young team like this.


Contention
Let's be honest. This team is not going to win big any time soon. Hopefully, the team will starting achieving something (Conference Finals talk) in two years. The team WILL succeed even for now, just not in serious talk for a title due to the presence of Rip Hamilton. Probably a playoffs team.

Future
The team is built with the future in mind. Youngsters grow under mentor by good veterans. The core of Stephen Curry and Marc Gasol are apparently the major pieces of the team, and they're still somewhat unproven. It's all for the future.

Cap Management

Salary:
G: Stephen Curry $2,913,840
G: Richard Hamilton $12,650,000
F: Luc Mbah a Moute $854,389
F: Jason Thompson $2,178,000
C: Marc Gasol $3,480,000

G: Eric Maynor $1,417,800
G: Daequan Cook $2,169,856
F: Gordon Hayward $2,356,320
F: Nick Collison $6,750,000
C: Antonio McDyess $4,860,000

G: Alonzo Gee $762,195
G: Sundiata Gaines $762,195
F: Byron Mullens $1,204,200
F: Leon Powe $915,852

Total: $43,274,647

As you can see, the team is way below the cap.. As I said, the team is built with the future in mind, that pretty much explains all the rookie contracts on the team. Even the salary of the highest paid player on the team is under $15 million a year.

Chemistry
The only 2 players who are above 30 will serve as mentors to the relatively young team. The rest of the players are all willing workers. They may not be good at doing some of the dirty work, but they'll try hard. I believe the chemistry will be on par to that of OKC Thunder last year.

[MrMiyagi]

Reserved

[Moochiefried]

Memphis Grizzlies

Starting Lineup

Point Guard, Ricky Rubio – The youngest player on our roster, but has played 4 years in the most competitive league in Europe, making him experienced beyond his years and giving him the ability to come in and contribute immediately. While he is too young to be given the reigns at this point, we feel that a couple years down the road he has a chance to a be a very special player. Rubio's role on our team would be as a distributor, something that he is excellent at. We feel that the group of players assembled to play alongside him are a perfect compliment to his abilities. Joe Johnson provides another ballhandler in the starting lineup who can relief some of the pressure off the young point guard, while David Lee is one of the best pick and roll players in the game right now, and JaVale McGee can throw down any pass put around the rim. Watching footage of him shows you that he has that special quality to make players around him better, and his passing and ball handling are so crafty that I couldn't being reminded of Steve Nash. Defensively, Rubio is no slouch either. He has the length to bother smaller point guards, and quick hands enable him to collect many steals (led the Spanish league in 2006-07). Finally, Rubio is a winner. He has been doing it for years in Spain, leading them to numerous EuroCup Championship wins, and we feel confident that he will continue to be a winner in the NBA.

Shooting Guard, Joe Johnson – Our teams leader and star player. Joe Johnson is the guy who has the ball in his hands in the last minutes of the 4th quarter in a tight game. He is an all around player who is a willing distributor, a three point threat, and an excellent defender. A proven all-star and good team player, we feel that Johnson is a player who we can build around for the future with, while remaining competitive in the short term.

Small Forward, Corey Brewer – We feel that he can be a good complementary player for our starting line-up, and will fill a valuable role of lockdown defender and will provide another scoring threat. The ability to play off the ball, run the floor, and knock down open jumpers makes him a perfect fit to play alongside two good playmakers and ballhandlers in Ricky Rubio and Joe Johnson.

Power Forward, David Lee – Lee is our co-captain, and anchors our teams front court. Lee is a legitimate 20 and 10 guy, who can shoot a midrange jumper with consistency, be a tough low post presence on defense, and make good passes out of the block. He will provide a certain stability and consistency to the team with his hardwork and hustle play. Off the court he has a great work ethic, is a supportive teammate, and great locker room guy. We are confident that when surrounded with the right players, Lee will continue to put up big numbers and will finally get to be a part of a successful franchise.

Center, JaVale McGee – Upside and potential are the key words here. While still a little raw, McGee possesses athleticism at the center position that I only see rivaled in Dwight Howard. Paired with David Lee in the front court, and playing alongside two great distributors in Joe Johnson and
Ricky Rubio we are confident that McGee will have an immediate impact. His role at this point in his career won't be maximized and we built up our front court depth so that we have adequate backup for him while he is still in his development stage, but we feel that in a couple years McGee has a chance to become a superstar.

Bench

Point Guard, Luke Ridnour - Our team needs some veteran leadership and experience. Playing as a backup for another young PG, Ridnour averaged 10 points and 4 assists. We feel that if he can come in and provide this type of stability off the bench, backing up the 19 year old Ricky Rubio, our team will be much improved.

Shooting Guard, Tony Allen - He is a great man to man defender, who has played on a championship caliber team for the better part of his career and therefore knows what it takes to be successful. With a relatively young and talent filled roster, Allen will be looked to for stability and leadership off the bench and will provide an abundance of experience for the younger players.

Small Forward, CJ Miles - Still young, but with 5 years experience, we feel that Miles is still developing and can continue to improve in seasons to come. However at the moment, he is an excellent addition to our bench and is ready to play good minutes of the bench at the SG and SF positions. He's a solid defender, superior athlete, and a good shooter, who looked great for the Jazz in the postseason. We feel that Miles is the type of do it all player that provides energy and scoring, that every team needs coming off the bench.

Power Forward, Jordan Hill – Hill is a nice talent to have coming off the bench. He is more size and athleticism for our front court, and still being young we feel that playing behind David Lee will help him learn and develop. His abilities are a great fit for our benches energetic and high octane identity.

Center, Spencer Hawes - Having a good rotation, and depth in the front court is very important for championship teams. Picking up Spencer Hawes gives us another big body down low and a talented post player, who can split minutes with the young and still progressing JaVale Mcgee. We see Hawes as an important part of our franchise's success and feel he is a good hard working teammate with the attitude we look for in building team chemistry.

Point Guard, Greivis Vasquez - Some good insurance at the point. Vasquez is a smart and and savvy playmaker, who has four years of college basketball experience and will be a capable backup point guard in the event of an injury. Probably won't see many minutes playing behind Rubio and Ridnour, but he could develop into a nice bench player in the future.

Power Forward, Jon Brockman - You can't under estimate the value of having a work horse on your team. Jon Brockman is the type of player that makes everyone around him work harder. Having Brockman on the team provides us with some toughness and gives us a competitor who can inspire others to play harder. Having the talent and depth that our team does at every position, we felt that it was important to draft a player who can play spot minutes and push the starters in practice.

Center, Solomon Alabi - A huge defensive presence, who solidifies our teams front court a bit more. Alabi feels like the type of player that we could send to the D-League to develop during the season, and bring up if we had an injury or needed more big bodies.

System

Offense
The Memphis Grizzlies are going to do it all. Everyone in our line-up can run the court and we'll look to break when we can with Rubio pushing the tempo. However when not available, we can easily slow things down and play a half court set. I would see pick and rolls as being an essential part of our offense. Both Rubio and Johnson can find the open man off the pick and roll, and both Lee and McGee are very capable finishers. Also, David Lee, Joe Johnson, and Ricky Rubio are all creative playmakers who the offense will naturally flow through. The bench was molded to make the transition between first and second string seem like no big deal. Ridnour is a very solid backup point guard who can keep things under control and run this energetic and high scoring bench unit.
Defense
Man to man defense will be our primary defensive game plan. In our starting line-up our back court players, Rubio, Johnson, and Brewer, are all excellent man to man defenders. Our front court might struggle against some more physical bigs, but we feel that Lee is tough enough to hold his own at the power forward position and JaVale McGee is athletic enough to bother most centers. Off the bench Tony Allen is a defensive stopper and the rest of the group is more than capable of holding down the fort.

Contending

The Grizzlies for the most part are a young team, but our two top players are both in their prime and are both proven contributors and all-stars in the league. At the very least we feel like a playoff team with Lee and Johnson at the helm, and know that there is a great future to look forward to. The front court is built for a playoff run, and they have the ability to body up with many big, strong lineups. Our bench is championship caliber with a good mixture of youth and experience that we feel will come together very well. Doug Collins is a great coach to have on board. He knows how to win and he knows how to get the very best out of his players, and we feel if we are able to get the best out of this group during this season, that we could be competitive with any team.

Building for the Future
The Memphis Grizzlies are excited with our young talent. Ricky Rubio, JaVale McGee are both potentially future all-stars, and the rest of the roster sports many players under the age of 25 who can play an important part in the future of the franchise. We are proud to have built a team with so much youth and talent that has the ability to remain competitive. Joe Johnson and David Lee, our two stars, both have many years of good play left in the tank and overall we feel that the next few years in the Grizzlies franchise will be very bright.

Cap Management

PG- Ricky Rubio, Luke Ridnour, Greivis Vasquez 3,627,720 4,000,000 1,003,560
SG- Joe Johnson, Tony Allen 16,324,500 3,000,000
SF- Corey Brewer, CJ Miles 3,703,472 3,700,000
PF- David Lee, Jordan Hill, Jon Brockman 10,800,000 2,669,520 1,000,000
C- JaVale McGee, Spencer Hawes, Solomon Alabi 1,601,040 2,974,320 770,000

Total = $55, 174, 032
CAP = 58,044,000
Were able to come in under the cap while sporting two big contracts and a ton of young talent. A lot of bang for your buck players.

Coaching
Doug Collins is a superb coach with an excellent track record. He is known for having a great rapport with all his players and being a likeable coach. We think that he a really knowledgeable coach, who knows how to win basketball games and coaches a style of play that suits our team. For our assistant coach we choose Tyrone Corbin, a very seasoned coach who has worked with the Utah Jazz for the past several years and is credited for a lot of the development of their big men, which is something we hope we can continue to do for our team.

Roster Chemistry
There is a healthy mixture of youth and experience on our squad, it is set up so that we are not relying on our young players to lead or carry the team. That role is delegated to our two proven all-stars and veteran players, but our younger players play an important role on the team nonetheless. Character of the players was crucial to the Memphis Grizzlies front office when choosing our team. All of our players have a stellar reputation on and off the court, and for the most part stay out of trouble on their own time. A lot of our players are known as good locker room guys and that was a factor when picking players. We are very confident that are team will get along very well on and off the court.

Sorry for making you read so much. I had a lot of fun doing this. Thanks for organizing everything Miklo.

[KayZee]

Reserved


And I am voting Frank Lee, Kerrsed, KJ7, tsherkin and maybe 1 or 2 more global mods to be the judges

[Calvin Klein]

Ok, I will not be so smooth with the words for obvious reasons, but I'll try my best.

STARTING FIVE

PG: Steve Nash
Knicks feel Steve has at least 3 more years left at all star level. He'll be the team leader and floor general. The system will be built around him, at least for the first 2 or 3 years.

SG: Ray Allen
Allen will provide leadership and experience. He is a champion and with him, the Knicks will have one of the best shooting backcourts ever.

SF: Tayshaun Prince
Prince can do a little bit of everything. He can defend, rebound, hit the mid range shot. We'll have him as our lock down defender and he will be in charge of guarding the opposing team's best wing players.

PF: Derrick Favors
Favors will be our guy for the future. He has a great wingspan which translates into solid defense. He is already a good finisher and will focus on improving his offensive moves in his first years with the team. Assistant Coach Kevin McHale will be his main mentor and teacher.

C: Elton Brand
Brand has regressed since his injury two seasons ago. But after a long recovery, he should be back 100%. Maybe not enough to reach all star level. But enough to be a solid starter. He is an amazing rebounder for his size, can block shots and score inside. He will start playing center, but might switch positions with Favors or Pekovic, depending on the situation.

BENCH

Richard Jefferson SF
Jefferson was a bad fit in San Antonio, but playing in a more uptempo system, alongside Steve Nash, he should go back to his old self and contribute instant offense from the bench. Another guy with Finals experience.

Louis Williams PG/SG
Williams is along the most athletic guards in the league. He is a great scorer and will definitely improve at the point guard position with Nash mentoring him.

Mickael Pietrus SG/SF
Pietrus is another player who will flourish in this system. He can run the court, shoot from long range, and finish inside. Plus he is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. Prince and him can take turns at guarding the Lerons and Kobes of the league.

Udonis Haslem PF/C
Haslem is a solid backup for the PF/C position. He has championship experience. He is a great defender and rebounder, and has a really good mid range shot. Has proven to be clutch too.

Nikole Pekovic C
Pekovic is one of the best bigs to come out of Europe this year. He has been a top 5 Euroleague player and is ready to make the jump to the NBA. He will be playing backup center at first, but if he improves, he might make the starting line up in the near future.

Von Wafer SG
Wafer is a good athletic guard with a nice shot. He can score at will and provide points off the bench. His attitude has been a concern, but we feel that working with Nash, Allen and other veterans, this should not be a problem.

Jeremy Lin PG
Lin has been one of the surprised of the summer league. At first he'll be a 12th man, but we have great expectations for him and feel he could become a nice backup for Williams in the future.

Jerome Jordan C
Jordan is our insurance bi g. We plan on using him as a practice player at first, but could develop into a nice backup big in case of injuries.

---------------------------------

System
This team will be based on what we already know about Alvin Gentry. It'll be mostly a fast paced team, but with focus on defense. Nash will be in charge of creating space and open looks for others like Ray Allen, Pietrus or Jefferson. He will also be able to play the pick and roll/pop with either Favors or Brand.
On defense we have two elite back court defenders in Prince and Pietrus, and we shouldn't have many rebounding issues with Brand, Favors and Haslem as our bigs.
As we've seen with the current Suns team, Gentry likes to use his bench, and we have a starter quality bench with this team, so minutes will be mixed. Guys like Jefferson, Pietrus or Haslem could get up to 30 minutes in the right situation.


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Contending (50 points)

I feel this team is built to contend right away. We have a 3 year room to get it done and if not, then we can start rebuilding.
We have championship/finals experience in Allen, Prince, Pietrus, Jefferson and Haslem. Great leadership in Nash and Allen. Gentry's system has taken his previous team as far as the conference finals. With this team, though, Gentry will have much better defense AND rebouding, which were weaknesses before. And if anybody gets injured, we have plenty of starter quality players who can play multiple positions to fill their roles.


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Building for the Future (20 points)

As I said before, this is a win now team. If that cannot be done, we will be set to rebuild in 3 years. We have two great big men projects in Favors and Pekovic, so we will most probable be set on the front court. Williams can become a great floor general after Nash retires, and we could fill the wings spots in the future with draft picks.
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Cap Management (15 points)


Orange: Player option
Blue: Team option
Green: Qualifying offer

Again, this is a team built for contending right away. We don't mind paying the tax as long as the team is successful. If you want to contend, you have to spend. After Nash/Allen retire, we'll be set for a new beginning, with most contracts having expired already.

I think expiring contracts this year are not that meaningful because of the next free agent class which is pretty weak. The best player out there will be Carmelo Anthony, and he would most probably sign an extension anyways, to avoid the new CBA. So that's the reason that expirings are not that important for this season.

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Coaching (10 points)

I guess this point was already explained in the system part.

The only thing to add would be Kevin McHale as an assisntant coach. A hall of famer, multiple champion who can provide both Favors and Pekovic all his knowledge on the game. One of the best fundamental big players ever.

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Chemistry/Roster Management (mix of roles, ages, etc) (5 points)

I think this is one of the most humble, hard working mix of players. There are virtually no egos in this team. And even players like Jefferson or Brand, who used to be starters on previous teams, have accepted the possibility of coming off the bench. It's a team of veteran players working together for the ultimate goal, and there's no doubt they will be able to get the young players to buy into it.





EDIT: I Think i might be able to complete this thing by Sunday/Monday. We have time?

[Stix]

Placeholder...

[febah07]

TEAM NAME Utah Jazz
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Roster

Starters:
PG: Deron William: Maybe the best PG in the game right now. He has a high basketball IQ, is one of the best when it comes to passing and is a very good shooter. He is very strong for a point guard and also pretty athletic for his position. He is the leader of this team and our franchise player.

SG: Jason Richardson: One of the NBA's premier athletes & scorers: can beat most players one-on-one and jump over anyone. He has developed a nice perimeter game. Is a solid passer. Brings a lot on the defensive end and as a rebounder. A go-to scorer.

SF: Thaddeus Young: Can do it all well: score going to the hoop, score with range, defend, pass, and rebound. A great natural athlete with a long frame. Plays with good balance and quickness. A hard worker.

PF: Zach Randolph: A top scorer and rebounder. Blessed with a huge frame, long arms, good coordination and nice hands in the post. Can bull his way for easy buckets and boards, but also has a nice short-range shooting touch. A good passer for a big-man.

C: Tiago Splitter: Dominant in the low post for several years in Europe. A tall, long, quick, and powerful inside player. Very skilled as a passer for a big man and a quality defender and rebounder. Scores well with short-range moves.

Bench:

J.J Barea: A natural playmaker. Fearless and confident with the ball in his hands and acts as a court general on the floor. A clutch shooter and a good passer. Can take over games as a scorer. Deron cant play for 48 minutes so Barea will take over when Deron needs a brake.

Carlos Delfino: Versatile: rebounds well, hits threes, can play small forward and shooting guard, and defends several positions well. Gritty and tough. Lanky and fluid with good quickness and explosiveness. Displays a high skill level in most areas. He will be our "allround" weapon from the bench.

Ersan Ilyasova: Brings a nice inside-outside game. Uses his extremely long arms to block shots, grab rebounds, and poach steals. Agile & fluid. Can shoot the three and will spread the floor.

Cole Aldrich: Possesses the game, approach, and massive wingspan of a true NBA pivot. Anchors the low post at both ends and is a gifted shot-blocker and rebounder. Feisty, battles for boards and second chances, and has nice hands for put-backs and short hooks. He will share big minutes with Splitter to protect the paint.

Kwame Brown: Athletic and fluid for a 7-footer. Shows nice footwork and good quickness for a center. A skilled short-range scorer and a pretty good passer out of the post.

Keith Bogans: Brings a nice mix of perimeter shooting and rebounding tenacity. Versatile, and plays bigger than his size. Efficient: takes care of the ball, and is usually very accurate on his free throws.

Kris Humphries: Very athletic for a power forward and an active leaper. Gets good position and excels on the boards. Has a solid shooting stroke. A good locker-room guy. He will bring energy from the bench.

Wayne Ellington: A fantastic natural shooter with a sweet outside stroke; hits for a solid percentage from the field. Shows nice court vision and passing ability. A good rebounder for a perimeter player

System:

With Sloan as coach and Deron as centerpiece of this team the jazz will play the "jazz-system".

Cap Managment:

Complete Team Salary is: 66 339 245$

we have 2 big expirings with zach randolph 17 333 333$ and jason richardson 14 444 444$. that will give us plenty playroom in the next season. we expect these players to sign for less next season.

note: i will add a few thing later, have to go now

[NashtyNas]

Portland Trailblazers

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Roster

Starters: (explanations to come, this is just a template for myself)
Chris Paul

Brandon Rush

Josh Howard

Andrea Bargnani

Andris Biedrins

Bench(positions they’ll play):
PG: CJ Watson
SG: Marco Belinelli
SF: Wesley Matthews
PF: Tyrus Thomas
C: Jason Smith
G: DJ Strawberry
F: Donte Greene
C: Theo Ratliff

System
(Comments to be added)

How does your team meet the following:
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Contending (50 points)

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Building for the Future (20 points)


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Cap Management (15 points)


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Coaching (10 points)


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Chemistry/Roster Management (mix of roles, ages, etc) (5 points)

[whambamslam]

I throughly enjoyed doing this it was awesome.
Here is the review of my team.

TEAM NAME
New Jersey Nets
Roster
R. Lewis
D. Howard
J. Kidd
M. Okur
E. Gordon
D. Fisher
C. Andersen
W. Chandler
Zydrunas Ilguaskas
Scottie Reynolds
Luke Harangody
Stanley Robinson

Starters:

Starting Line-up
Center Dwight Howard

Dwight Howard is our superstar player that the team is built around. Dwight is the best center in the league. He will anchor our defense and be one of the go to guys on offense. Dwight will be our star player for the present and future. He is still only 24 years old and entering the prime of his career. Dwight should play 33-37 minutes a night.

Power Forward Mehmet Okur
Okur will be used for his midrange and 3 point shooting he has averaged about a 3 per game throughout his career. Okur is also a decent rebounder with career average of about 7 per game.

Small Forward Rashard Lewis
Rashard will give the nets versatility he like Okur is an excellent 3 point shooter averaging close to 40% from 3 for his career. Rashard at 6’10 playing the Small forward position gives the Nets an excellent height advantage in the front court. Rashard will be expected to be an offensive threat and play off of what Dwight and Jason Kidd create giving him plenty of open looks

Shooting Guard Eric Gordon
Eric Gordon is an excellent scorer and will only get better. Being in only his 3rd year he will be expected to come into his own this year.

Point Guard Jason Kidd
J-Kidd is our veteran point guard he may have lost a step, but with this team he will be asked to be a distributor first and scorer second. He has an excellent rapport with Dwight having won a gold medal with him on team USA. Kidd is still an above average defensive point guard and with this team around him could challenge for the league lead in assists.


Bench(positions they’ll play):

The Nets bench will be a strong point of the team. The bench will go 9 deep every night.

Derek Fisher
Fisher is the savvy veteran point guard that is excellent in the clutch. Fisher bring championship experience to the Nets. Fisher will play heavy minutes in the 4th quarter of close games and will spell Jason Kidd.

Chris Andersen
The “Birdman” will be the spark off the bench he is a fan favourite with his hustle and defense. He will play mostly Power Forward and some center against smaller teams. He will be getting 17-25 minutes a night depending on the matchup.

Wilson Chandler
Chandler will play small forward and shooting guard off the bench. Chandler is very versatile he can cover multiple positions and can score when needed.

Zydrunas Ilguaskas
Big Z will mostly be insurance for when Dwight gets in foul trouble. He is a veteran big man that has experience playing with a superstar player. He will play more minutes against bigger teams against smaller teams his minutes may go to birdman.

Scottie Reynolds
He will mostly just play in garbage time. He’s a young player that can learn from two veteran point guards ahead of him in the depth chart.

Luke Harangody
Same as above he won’t play much but is a big body that can be used if there is an injury.

Stanley Robinson
He won’t play much as with the other rookies on the team. Excellent athlete and has the potential to develop into a good player.


System
The Nets will be good in all aspects of the game. The nets will rely on the fundamentals and will play solid team defense with Dwight protecting the rim. On Offense the Nets will be running a lot of pick n' rolls between kidd and howard. Howard will demand a double team and after getting the ball will have excellent 3 point shooters to pass out to.


How does your team meet the following:

Contending (50 points)

The Nets are one of the favourites to win a ring this year. With a superstar player in Dwight Howard and 3 all star players around him this team has high expectations. Plus this team has 17 all star appearances and 13 NBA finals appearances and 6 NBA championships among it.

Building for the Future (20 points)

-Quick explanation
This team has some older players on it such as Kidd, Fisher, and Ilguaskas, but Dwight Howard and Eric Gordon are the future of this team. In addition to Howard and Gordon there are also 3 rookies with potential to become quality NBA players.

Cap Management (15 points)

-Quick explanation

R. Lewis $20,514,000 D. Howard 16,509,600 J. Kidd 8,500,000 M. Okur 9,450,000
E. Gordon 3,016,680 D. Fisher 3,700,000 C. Andersen 3,942,000 W. Chandler 2,130,481
Zydrunas Ilguaskas 1,352,181 Scottie Reynolds 437,604 Luke Harangody 437,604
Stanley Robinson 437,604

Luxury tax 70,307,000
Total Salary $70,427,754
Difference +120,754

My goal was to stay under the cap for the first few rounds, but then I had Rashard Lewis fall to me in round 5 because of his salary. So after that my cap strategy changed from staying under the cap to staying under the Luxury tax. I would have stayed under the Luxury tax threshold had Big Z not been there I decided that having a veteran post presence to play against the bigger teams and when Dwight gets into foul trouble was worth going over the tax for. I ended my draft with three rookie minimum players to stay as close to the tax as possible. I ended up being only $120,754 over the tax.

Coaching (10 points)

-Quick explanation

The Head Coach of the New Jersey Nets is Coach Mike Krzyzewski with
Assistant Coach Tim Grgurich

Coach Mike krzyzewski has coached superstars at Duke and has a history of winning there. But the main reason in picking coach K is his experience coaching team USA. He has already coached the top 2 players J-Kidd and Dwight Howard on the Nets and is currently coaching Eric Gordon on team USA and won a gold medal.
My assistant Coach is Tim Grgurich because with a head coach with little NBA experience Grgurich makes up for that with 18 years of being an assistant coach. He runs his own camp that veteran players attend as well as other NBA coaches. Coach K is the perfect fit for this team.


Chemistry/Roster Management (mix of roles, ages, etc) (5 points)
The Nets have a nice blend of veterans and young players. Every player on this team has a specific and well defined role. There isn’t a player on the team that will disrupt the locker room. To put it simple there are 3 young quality players (Howard Gordon and Chandler), 3 rookies (Robinson, Harangody, and Reynolds) 3 aging vets that still have something left (Fisher, Kidd, Ilgauskas) and 3 mid career players (Okur, Lewis, and Andersen).

[Risensun]

Reserved

[MrVince]

Suns.

Roster
Head Coach: Rick Carlisle
Asst. Coach: Marc Iavaroni

Michael Beasley - $4,962,240
Will Bynum - $3,500,000
Marcus Camby - $8,453,250
Vince Carter - $17,300,000
Chris Douglas-Roberts - $854,389
TJ Ford - $8,500,000
Jason Maxiell - $5,000,000
Dirk Nowizki - $17,278,618
Etan Thomas - $1,223,166
Marcus Thornton - $762,195
Dorell Wright - $3,500,000

Starters:
-List your starters by position and a few words about their strengths, role, etc.
PG - Will Bynum - Primary ball-handler, not necessarily a main offensive option. Role is to get the ball to the scorers of the team.
SG - Vince Carter - Scorer, whether it is outside behind the three-point line or whether it is to drive the lane and put the ball in the hoop. Point-guard/Ball handling duties may be needed occassionally.
SF - Michael Beasley - Scorer, height advantage will help take advantage and get oppurtunities and even create mismatches. Shooting and driving the lane. From time to time may be need to play PF.
PF - Dirk Nowitzki - Multi-Dimensional Scorer to confuse the opponents. Scoring from outside, mid-range and from the inside from the post. Main option on offense and a leader on both ends of the floor.
C - Marcus Camby - Defend good big men inside and grab rebounds on both ends.

Bench(positions they’ll play):
PG - TJ Ford - Will be required to play point-guard and ball handling duties will be needed. Not necessarily a scorer although good oppurtunities to score should not be passed. Good passing ability will be needed.
SG - Marcus Thornton - Scorer, main scorer on the bench.
SG/SF - Chris Douglas Roberts - May be needed for ball-handling duties from time to time but main role is to score.
SF - Dorell Wright - Outside/Three point threat.
PF/C - Jason Maxiell - Mainly needed on defensive end but will also be needed to score on the offensive end. Agressiveness, athleticism and activeness will be helpful.
C - Etan Thomas - Post/Inside threat and also defense will be required to block shots and grab rebounds.

System
Offense - Play will be a medium pace. Fast breaks will be executed occassionally but most of the offensive sets and plays will be at a medium pace that is not slow nor fast. Main goal is to find scorers when they are open and assist them in scoring. Fastbreaks will usually be led by Michael Beasley, Vince Carter, Will Bynum, Chris Douglas Roberts, Marcus Thornton and/or TJ Ford. The team will execute different types of sets to get the ball to a player both in the post and on the perimeter, a few of the players will out-size the defender which is when a post play will be used to take advantage of the situation.

Defense - A lot of decent defenders on the team. Inside defense will not be a problem with the likes of Marcus Camby, Etan Thomas and Jason Maxiell. Perimenter defense may be a problem although height may intimidate the opposing team from time to time.


How does your team meet the following:
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Contending (50 points)

The team has a lot of offensive threats that will be able to help score points to win games although the team will also rely on their defense both inside and outside. The likes of Marcus Camby, Jason Maxiell and Etan Thomas inside will help stop or limit the opposing team when running plays to attack the inside. Leadership and experience of the veterans is there with the likes of Vince Carter, Dirk Nowitzki and Marcus Camby.
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Building for the Future (20 points)

Young players such as scorers in Marcus Thornton, Will Bynum, Michael Beasley and Chris Douglas Roberts. Should be a good core in the next following years.
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Cap Management (15 points)

The team is over the cap by $1 million but the expiring contracts of players such as TJ Ford (8mil) will be helpful to get the team under the cap.
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Coaching (10 points)

The team has two great coaches in Carlisle and the experience Marc Iavaroni. Rick Carlisle has been a head coach for the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons since 2001. But he has been an assistant coach since 1994, coaching under great coaches such as PJ Carlesimo and in 1997 under Larry Bird. He was 2002 Coach of the Year winner after coaching the Pistons to a 50-32 record in two consecutive season. His winning percentage as a coaching is above 50%. Carlisle will bring his experience as an NBA head coach to lead the team to a championship.
Marc Iavaroni has been an assistant coach for a number of NBA teams including; the Phoenix Suns, Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors and LA Clippers and a head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies. Iavaroni will bring his experience as an NBA assistant coach as well as a director player development to the table to lead the team to a championship.

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Chemistry/Roster Management (mix of roles, ages, etc) (5 points)

The team does have a few egos but most players are known for their high level of determination to win games. Michael Beasley may become a problem with his attitude but things may change for the better after experiencing how good he can be when he plays like a team player and keeps his attitude on a good note.

PG - Bynum (28) / Ford (20)
SG - Carter (30) / Thornton (18)
SF - Beasley (26) / Roberts (14) / Wright (8)
PF - Nowitzki (35) / Maxiell (8) / Beasley (5)
C - Camby (28) / Thomas (14) / Maxiell (6)

[TASTIC]

Starters:

Point Guard
Our starting point guard is Devin Harris. The floor leader for the team and the catalyst to the Pacers’ high powered offense plays with high emotion and passion, and has shown he can run a team with a dominant scorer at forward next to him. Having worked his way up from end of the bench to fringe All Star, Harris possesses the traits the Pacers want as their starting PG. Speed, athleticism, a reliable jump-shot out to 18-20 feet but with some 3 point range, great slashing ability and the willingness to play D. He has good size at PG, at around 6’3”, and we believe his ability to get to the line and make his foul shots, makes him able to play shooting guard for some stretches, alongside his backup, Jarret Jack.
Harris’ numbers don’t jump out off the page and scream ‘elite’, but his career numbers as a starter are impressive, at around 16pts 3reb 6asst 1.4stl and 44%fg. We feel with Melo as the top scoring option, Harris will be much more at ease as the second scorer and concentrating on setting his other teammates up, with his production increasing to around 18pts 3reb 7.5asst. At only 27, he is only one season removed from a 21.3pt 3.4reb 6.9asst 1.7stl season, and is not brutal on the payroll at $9m per season.

Shooting Guard
The Pacers believe they have two possible starting candidates at off guard, though due to relative inconsistent outside shooters at the other spots in the starting five, they have chosen to trot out Kelenna Azubuike. Az’s outside shot, tremendous athleticism, hard working mentality, and physical demeanor is an asset to any team. He will defend multiple positions, get out on the break or fill a lane when needed, and most importantly will knock down open threes. His career numbers have been warped in the Warriors’ system, but his three point career rate of approx 44% (1.5 out of 3.4 in 84 games as a starter) means he’s an integral piece of the Pacers’ backcourt and starting five. Azubuike’s ability to body up smaller shooting guards, and his rebounding prowess at around 5 per game as a starter proves he belongs in the starting lineup.

Small Forward
The Pacers’ franchise player Carmelo Anthony mans the small forward spot, where he resumes his mantle as one of the truly elite scorers in the league. Developing into a multi faceted 3, Melo has already racked up career numbers of 24.7pts and 6.2reb in over 500 regular season games at only 26. His developing all round game shows an increase in free throws, steals and overall production, and he is the focal point of the Pacers’ offense. Melo has some fanfare that comes with being a superstar, but it is rare to find any superstar that doesn’t have some sort of baggage. Anthony is in the final year of his contract, and after shopping him briefly this offseason, the Pacers are aiming to lock him up long-term. They feel his improved outside shooting combined with Devin Harris’ slashing and passing skills will make them a hard combo to match up against, combined with both players’ penchant for getting to the line and making their free throws.

Power Forward
The Pacers will roll out a player oozing in talent and promise. Anthony Randolph’s rebounding and shot-blocking ability make him the perfect running mate for the Pacers’ guards, and his length and athleticism will make him a matchup nightmare. His skills are very raw, but the Pacers feel his natural ability and work ethic – as evidenced by his bulking up from 197lb to approx 230lb since being drafted in 2008 – will make him one of the most improved players in the coming season.
He has been described by many scouts as a player with “huge upside”, “fluid and explosive”, “extremely versatile forward”, and we feel he has the ability to play any position from SF through to C. There are some maturity issues surrounding Randolph, along with question marks whether he will ever get it all together, but people need to remember, he’s only been in the league two years and has only just turned 21.

Center
The Pacers were excited to add one of the bigger, more physical pivotmen in the game, Brendan Haywood. Haywood brings a strong low post defensive presence, and considerable rebounding and shot-blocking prowess and a no-nonsense approach
Not known as a scorer, he is at ease with his role as a defensive specialist, and will get his fair share of offensive rebounds and put-backs/layups. As a legit 7”0” 260lb banger, he owns modest career averages of 8.5pts 6.8reb 1.6blk on 54% fg in only 24mins per. The Pacers are expecting 28-30mins of physical intimidation on the defensive end for Haywood, approaching his numbers over the past 3-4 yrs at around 10pts 7reb 2blk.

Bench:
Jarrett Jack
Our main backup at both guard positions, Jack provides a no nonsense approach to the game, and has show he is a consummate pro and is adept at both coming off the bench, and as a starter. He is by no means an elite athlete or a lights out shooter, but the dude can and will play minutes as the Pacers' 6th man. He has three point range, rarely turns the ball over, and he brings a tough, physical presence at backup point guard especially.

Ronnie Brewer
Our principle ball stopper off the bench, Brewer's ability to steal the ball as well as knock down mid-range shots make him a perfect compliment to Kelenna Azubuike. Another very good athlete to come off the bench, the kink in his jumpshot doesn't bother the coaches as he knocks down his shots at over 50% for his career. He doesn't have three point range, but his skills as a cutter and slasher make him a nice fit either as a starter or off the bench. At a reasonable cost too.

Andres Nocioni
Seems to be a theme here. Another tough, gritty player who can play multiple positions and doesn't mind messing it up with bigger players down low. He'll be used as a sniper off the bench and to spread the floor should the Pacers need him to spell Randolph at PF from time to time. Very underrated as a defender, he leaves everything he has on the floor and is a great team player who's also excelled at international level against top class competition.

Reggie Williams
The Pacers love this guy's story. Undrafted, unheralded and underrated. Great scoring potential off the bench, somewhat lost in the limited games he played, was his all round ability as both a shooter and a passer. Another player who's both affordable and versatile.

Jonas Jerebko
Love this guy's no nonsense European style of play, and though a wiry 6'9", he more than made up for his lack of bulk at PF by hustling and doing the little things to keep his team in the game. Unfortunately the Pacers lost him for possibly the season with a torn achilles tendon.

Ben Wallace
Another lunch pail guy who fits what the Pacers are after on the bench - tough, defensive, able to guard multiple positions and a real pro. What he lacks in free throw ability, he makes up for in strength downlow and toughness.

Darrell Arthur
A player the Pacers were glad slipped to them late in the draft, Arthur has had a few starts in the NBA and has room to improve as a specialist rebounder at the PF spot. He is a work in progress, but was once touted as a lottery pick, he slipped unceremoniously to #27 but has room to grow as he enters his 3rd season at just 22yrs old.

Dimitris Diamintidis
A GREAT defensive presence in Europe for a decade, Spiderman brings arguably the best perimeter D outside of the USA, to the NBA. As a cunning lefty capable of running the point and playing shooting guard, he could be a real surprise matching up against bigger guards in the NBA.

Minute Distribution

Harris 32
Azubuike 26
Anthony 36
Randolph 28
Haywood 30
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Jack 24
Brewer 20
Nocioni 16
RWilliams 14
Wallace 12
Arthur 10
Diamintidis 6

Little bit over the 240 I know, but there's some injury prone players in our team.

System
The Pacers will roll out a fast paced offence and basically aim to get to the line early and often, behind Anthony and Harris. Coach George Karl has shown he can handle egos, and knows how to incorporate both a defensive C (Camby, now Haywood) and an athletic PF (KMart, now Randolph), as well as a score first PG (Billups, now Harris).
The Pacers lack any real inside scoring presence, and instead will look to run isos with Harris outside, and spread the floor with Nocioni, Azubuike and Jack from outside. Melo will clearly be the primary scoring option, and we'll look to use him in the post against smaller players, or out on the break against bigger, slower players.
On the defensive side of things, we have two notable shotblockers in Haywood and Wallace, and an up and comer in Arthur. Perimeter D is important, and both Brewer and Azubuike use their strength and athleticism to good use at the defensive end of the floor. Jack is capable on D, and their Euro vet Diamintidis will more than likely be able to handle what most average combo guards can throw at him. Nocioni will be asked to handle both SF and PF duties, and much like Azubuike and Jerebko, he can play bigger than his actual size would suggest.

Contending
The Pacers selected players based on a win now situation, they lack any real inside presence to build a champion around - for now - but we feel as a running team this unit is hard to match up against. We believe with a running team led by Devin Harris and a strong bench with literally starters at nearly every backup spot, we definitely should be looking for a title in it's first year together. There is only one alpha dog per se, so there will be no ego issues and we think the veterans on the bench are both winners and professionals, from top to bottom.
Karl is an experienced coach who has made it to the Finals before and has had success basically wherever he has ended up. Coach Frank has a lot of head coach experience, which is vital considering Karl's health issues.

Building for the Future
We believe the Pacers are built to win now, but with a nice young core built around Melo, Harris and Randolph, the chance is there to be perhaps stronger in 2-3 years time once Randolph has matured, as he has superstar potential. We feel the team is in a good cap space situation, with only once max deal both now, and none looming on the horizon currently.

Cap Management
This team went with one max player in Melo, and attempted to stay as close to the cap as possible by surrounding it's superstar with role players on good salaries. Nocioni is perhaps overpriced as a 7th-8th man, but he's the sort of vet that always fills a need and in the grand scheme of things, his salary is not too bad for a guy who can start and give you 12 and 6 a night.
The main core of Harris/Melo/Anthony is under contract for at least this year, and we're working on a contract extension with Melo this offseason.

Coaching
George Karl's experience with a dynamic forward/point guard combination at both SEA and DEN, makes him a perfect coach for this team. He has also coached Melo before so he knows how to get the best out of our star player. We're hoping his experience with Shawn Kemp as a young athletic freak in SEA helps him get at least some of the potential Anthony Randolph shows on a nightly basis.

Chemistry/Roster Management (mix of roles, ages, etc)
We think the collection of players acquired will have some real chemistry as a unit, as Wallace is the only player with a championship ring, he is the team's co-captain along with Carmelo Anthony, and despite being a reserve, he is it's emotional leader. We have some nice young players - particularly in the frontcourt with Melo/Randolph/Arthur/Jerebko, and a nice young scoring point guard on a very reasonable salary. The bench in particular is strong, with veteran role players who have split their careers as both starters and as reserves - so they know their roles.


Sit ubu sit.

Good dog.

[Desertfox]

MILWAUKEE BUCKS


***

Starters:

Point Guard: Ramon Sessions (6'4", 24yo, $3,964,320)

A young unselfish player with great court vision. He is still improving and will hopefully add a three-point shot to his repertoir.


Shooting Guard: Tyreke Evans (6'6", 21yo, $3,880,920)

Rookie of the year... Only player other than Jordan, Robertson, and LeBron to average 20/5/5 in his first year... The Bucks expect great things from this young man. One of those once in a generation type players around which championship teams are built.


Small Foward: Boris Diaw (6'8", 28yo, $9,000,000)

Good defender, very flexible (can play all 5 positions), good IQ, plenty of experience, former most improved player.


Power Foward: Ronny Turiaf (6'10", 27yo, $4,000,000)

Hard nose defender, plenty of hustle, will get under other player's skin.


Center: Yao Ming (7'6", 30yo, $17,686,100)

All-star, good shooter, tallest starting player in the NBA. Dominant center, deadly jumper, good defender, good IQ. Plus will bring tons of Chinese money for the owners and make Evans a surefire all-star.


The starters feature three ballhandlers, and an all-star wing-center combo which every NBA champion has had. There is no good 3 point shooter in the starting line up, but the Bucks do not feel this is a problem as with 3 ballhandlers the defense can be broken down allowing the two slashing guards to penetrate, and if no opportunities develope, there is always the 7'6" center who can shoot over anyone. Turiaf is there for garbage point and offensive rebounds.

On defence, the froncourt has Yao and Turiaf, and intimidating and tall duo. Diaw can defend all 5 positions, and Evans and Sessions while not great defenders are not bad either. There is no weak link on defense.

This team will play a half court physical style, but can run if need be. Against smaller teams, or when in need of three point shooters, both Barbossa and Dudley can start.

Just for fun, the team can start a monstrous lineup of Yao 7'6"/Monroe 6'11"/Diaw 6'8"/Bjelica 6'10"/Evans 6'6", all of which also happen to be good ballhandlers...


***


Point Guard: Sergio Llull (6'3", 22yo, $473,604), Nemja Bjelica (6'10", 22yo, $473,604)

Llull: Good IQ, doesn't commit many turnovers, solid shooter, confident and aggressive. Potential as PG of the future.

Bjelica: 6'10" PG... great ballhandling and passing skills. Still raw but great potential.

Shooting Guard: Leandro Barbossa (6'3", 28yo, $7,100,000), Matt Janning (6'5",22yo,$473,604)

Barbossa: Fast, good 3-point shooter, can play PG, plenty of experience, good for 13-15 points of the bench every game.

Janning: Pure shooter, has potential.

Small Foward: Jared Dudley (6'7", 25yo, $2,151,068), Eduardo Najera (6'8", 34yo, $2,800,000)

Dudley: High IQ, very good defender, excellent 3 point shooter, hustles, most atlethic hands in the NBA.

Najera: Good defender, hustles, plenty of experience, not afraid to do the dirty work.

Power Foward: Greg Monroe (6'11", 20yo, $2,798,040), Gani Lawal (6'9", 21yo, $473,604)

Monroe: Good decisions making, IQ & passing ability. Can create own shot.

Lawal: Good defender, good rebounder, good role player, good work ethic.

Center: Zaza Pachulia (6'11", 26yo, $4,251,250), Semih Erden (7'1", 24yo, $473,604)

Pachulia: Though defender, aggressive, good back to the basket game.

Erden: Raw but has great potential and can develop into a good starting quality center.


The bench rotation will feature Llull, Barbossa, Dudley, Monroe, and Lawal. Najera and Pachulia will also see time depending on the matchup. Bjelica, Janning, and Erden are projects, who will probably see only garbage minutes unless an injury happens.

Llull, while a rookie, is a careful PG who doesn't turn the ball over, Barbossa can score in bunches and jumpstart a stangnant offense, Dudley provides 3 point shooting and defense, Lawal provides hustle, with Monroe providing post scoring.



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Contending (50 points)

With two all-stars and three good players the Bucks are sure contenders. They have a balanced team with both good offense and defense and a deep bench. So long as Yao remains healthy the Buch will be contenders.



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Building for the Future (20 points)

With only two players over 30 years old (one the third string SF), the Bucks are loaded with young players with great potential, including 6 rookies. None of them have the pressure of being starters and all have good players to learn from. Even if only half the rookies pan out, that would be 3 more good players.

The sophmore among the group happens to be the Rookie of the Year, and three of the rookies have played in international basketball tournaments and have faced pressure before. This is a young team with hardley any holes.

The largest contract on the books is also an expiring, and the next two largest contracts expire the year after, leaving the team with a chance to add good free-agents, including possibly Carmelo Anthony.


-Quick explanation
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Cap Management (15 points)

The Bucks salary stands at $59,999,718, slightly over the salary cap, but below the lux tax. With Yao being an expiring the Bucks have the option of trading him to a team cutting salary if injuries where to cut his season short.

Also Barbossa and Diaw expire the year after leaving the team plenty of cap space to acquire free-agents or to trade to teams needing to cut salary. All three play positions which can be covered or are replaceable meaning they can be easily traded for good players/picks/potential.


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Coaching (10 points)

HC: Paul Westphal

The coach is Paul Westphal. Took a Suns team to the NBA Finals and has experience with the cornerstone of the team (Evans-Kings). While some might not see him as that good, he has taken teams to the NBA Finals and has plenty of experience.

***

Chemistry (5 points)

No known troublemakers on the team. Barbossa and Dudley are great teammates who will be sure to keep up the team's spirits. Language might be a problem with China, Spain, Brazil, France, Serbia, Turkey, Mexico, and the Ukraine represented.

[nashrambler13]

Do not score the teams in this post!




And I don't know where the hell these team owners have gone too...

LA LAKERS
PG: Rodney Stuckey / Milos Teodosic
SG: Ben Gordon / JJ Reddick
SF: Danilo Galinari / Damion James
PF: Carlos Boozer / Tyler Hansbrough
C: Andrew Bogut / Daniel Orton

Coach: Dan Majerle

Payroll:$54.2 M

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
PG: Gilbert Arenas / Mike Bibby
SG: OJ Mayo / Jordan Crawford
SF: Wesley Johnson /
PF: Pau Gasol / Ekpe Udoh
C: Brad Miller / Dexter Pitman

Coach: Tom Izzo

Payroll:$57.9 M

SACRAMENTO KINGS
PG: Baron Davis
SG: Avery Bradley
SF: Omri Cassipi / Luke Babbitt
PF: Brook Lopez / Ed Davis / Jarvis Hayes
C: Robin Lopez / Jermaine O'Neal / Nazr Mohamed / Sean May

Coach: Don Nelson

Payroll:$37.9 M