RealGM

We’re back on. Spec away.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/37807596/nba-power-rankings-way-too-early-edition-our-first-look-2023-24

Early power rankings for 2024 are up at ESPN. Orlando has some work to do. (Side note, these rankings aren't very imaginative early on, are they?)

East
1. Celtics ▲1
2. Heat ▲6
3. Bucks ▼2
4. 76ers ▼1
5. Knicks ❯
6. Cavaliers ▼2
---------------
7. Hawks ❯
8. Nets ▼2
9. Bulls ❯
10. Raptors ❯
___________
11. Pacers ❯
12. Magic ▲1
13. Wizards ▼1
14. Hornets ❯
15. Pistons ❯

eyriq wrote:https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/37807596/nba-power-rankings-way-too-early-edition-our-first-look-2023-24

Early power rankings for 2024 are up at ESPN. Orlando has some work to do. (Side note, these rankings aren't very imaginative early on, are they?)

East
1. Celtics ▲1
2. Heat ▲6
3. Bucks ▼2
4. 76ers ▼1
5. Knicks ❯
---------------
6. Cavaliers ▼2
7. Hawks ❯
8. Nets ▼2
9. Bulls ❯
10. Raptors ❯
___________
11. Pacers ❯
12. Magic ▲1
13. Wizards ▼1
14. Hornets ❯
15. Pistons ❯

Put a few bucks on MIA…you just know they’ll get Dame. Riley tasted Finals with a ragtag team.

Skybox wrote:Put a few bucks on MIA…you just know they’ll get Dame. Riley tasted Finals with a ragtag team.

If Jrue Holiday really sees this as his last year, I expect him to be in elite condition and 100% focused. My money is soundly on the Bucks for the East.

As for the NBA champion for the next couple years, my favourite is easily the Nuggets. Look at this salary structure: Hoopshype: Denver Nuggets Salaries

Denver might have the most future minded GM in the league. I cannot see how this team does not dominate through at least the end of the 2024/25 season. The financial structure is brilliant.

My vote for manager of the year for 2023/24 is Calvin Booth, even before the off-season has officially started!

drsd wrote:

Skybox wrote:Put a few bucks on MIA…you just know they’ll get Dame. Riley tasted Finals with a ragtag team.

If Jrue Holiday really sees this as his last year, I expect him to be in elite condition and 100% focused. My money is soundly on the Bucks for the East.

As for the NBA champion for the next couple years, my favourite is easily the Nuggets. Look at this salary structure: Hoopshype: Denver Nuggets Salaries

Denver might have the most future minded GM in the league. I cannot see how this team does not dominate through at least the end of the 2024/25 season. The financial structure is brilliant.

My vote for manager of the year for 2023/24 is Calvin Booth, even before the off-season has officially started!

i cant believe this is his last year. he will play his final option year. i cant see him walking away from $39.5 million.

Holiday probably announced his retirement to let teams know not to trade for him.

Sent from my SM-G781U using RealGM mobile app

eyriq wrote:https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/37807596/nba-power-rankings-way-too-early-edition-our-first-look-2023-24

Early power rankings for 2024 are up at ESPN. Orlando has some work to do. (Side note, these rankings aren't very imaginative early on, are they?)

East
1. Celtics ▲1
2. Heat ▲6
3. Bucks ▼2
4. 76ers ▼1
5. Knicks ❯
6. Cavaliers ▼2
---------------
7. Hawks ❯
8. Nets ▼2
9. Bulls ❯
10. Raptors ❯
___________
11. Pacers ❯
12. Magic ▲1
13. Wizards ▼1
14. Hornets ❯
15. Pistons ❯

To me, Miami's bouncing of us in the season had them playing as a much much better team then their record suggested. Aka, I am not surprised they made it to the finals.

Was Riley's strategy all along to build a team that can bounce the east elite?

JoshuaPotter wrote:

eyriq wrote:https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/37807596/nba-power-rankings-way-too-early-edition-our-first-look-2023-24

Early power rankings for 2024 are up at ESPN. Orlando has some work to do. (Side note, these rankings aren't very imaginative early on, are they?)

East
1. Celtics ▲1
2. Heat ▲6
3. Bucks ▼2
4. 76ers ▼1
5. Knicks ❯
6. Cavaliers ▼2
---------------
7. Hawks ❯
8. Nets ▼2
9. Bulls ❯
10. Raptors ❯
___________
11. Pacers ❯
12. Magic ▲1
13. Wizards ▼1
14. Hornets ❯
15. Pistons ❯

To me, Miami's bouncing of us in the season had them playing as a much much better team then their record suggested. Aka, I am not surprised they made it to the finals.

Was Riley's strategy all along to build a team that can bounce the east elite?

Yeah, I don't mind them getting the largest bounce, they definitely outplayed their seeding. They had a large amount of within season instability as well.

I'm curious about the Nets and Raptors, those are my two early favorites to fall into the bottom 5. Pacers, Magic, and I think the Hornets will all be fighting to get into the play-in.

JoshuaPotter wrote:

eyriq wrote:https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/37807596/nba-power-rankings-way-too-early-edition-our-first-look-2023-24

Early power rankings for 2024 are up at ESPN. Orlando has some work to do. (Side note, these rankings aren't very imaginative early on, are they?)

East
1. Celtics ▲1
2. Heat ▲6
3. Bucks ▼2
4. 76ers ▼1
5. Knicks ❯
6. Cavaliers ▼2
---------------
7. Hawks ❯
8. Nets ▼2
9. Bulls ❯
10. Raptors ❯
___________
11. Pacers ❯
12. Magic ▲1
13. Wizards ▼1
14. Hornets ❯
15. Pistons ❯

To me, Miami's bouncing of us in the season had them playing as a much much better team then their record suggested. Aka, I am not surprised they made it to the finals.

Was Riley's strategy all along to build a team that can bounce the east elite?

Riley isn't afraid to make bold moves and deal with the consequences either. He also knows how to mold a team together once he makes that bold move. I'd pay big bucks to see what Riley would've done with our team over the last 5-6 years.

eyriq wrote:https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/37807596/nba-power-rankings-way-too-early-edition-our-first-look-2023-24

Early power rankings for 2024 are up at ESPN. Orlando has some work to do. (Side note, these rankings aren't very imaginative early on, are they?)

East
1. Celtics ▲1
2. Heat ▲6
3. Bucks ▼2
4. 76ers ▼1
5. Knicks ❯
6. Cavaliers ▼2
---------------
7. Hawks ❯
8. Nets ▼2
9. Bulls ❯
10. Raptors ❯
___________
11. Pacers ❯
12. Magic ▲1
13. Wizards ▼1
14. Hornets ❯
15. Pistons ❯

I want to say i can't imagine a healthy Orlando team finishing outside the top 10. They were over .500 for a large chunk of the season, and they have age and development curves on their side.

The problem with this logic is they are going to have to finish higher than some of the teams ranked above them.

Hawks, have talent and weakness, probably need a bit of rebalance this offseason.
Nets - who knows. Bridges is great, but after that Dinwiddie, Simmons, Claxton. I guess Simmons could find the intensity he once had.
Bulls - Just don't see how they are going to get any better. call them 40-42.
Raptors - I think they run it back, re-sign FVV, and they should be better with Poeltl for the whole year.

Theoretically, we could finish above all these teams, but we won't have much room for a losing streak. a 2-8 streak next year is really going to hurt our end of year standings.

Also probable some team will experience significant injury. Harden could leave Philly., and then they are an Embiid back/knee injury away from the play in. Of course the Pacers, Pistons, and possibly Hornets should be much improved. Hornets could be adding Brandon Miller and Miles Bridges.

Can't wait to find out who we area adding to this team next week....

jonbob17 wrote:

eyriq wrote:https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/37807596/nba-power-rankings-way-too-early-edition-our-first-look-2023-24

Early power rankings for 2024 are up at ESPN. Orlando has some work to do. (Side note, these rankings aren't very imaginative early on, are they?)

East
1. Celtics ▲1
2. Heat ▲6
3. Bucks ▼2
4. 76ers ▼1
5. Knicks ❯
6. Cavaliers ▼2
---------------
7. Hawks ❯
8. Nets ▼2
9. Bulls ❯
10. Raptors ❯
___________
11. Pacers ❯
12. Magic ▲1
13. Wizards ▼1
14. Hornets ❯
15. Pistons ❯

I want to say i can't imagine a healthy Orlando team finishing outside the top 10. They were over .500 for a large chunk of the season, and they have age and development curves on their side.

The problem with this logic is they are going to have to finish higher than some of the teams ranked above them.

Hawks, have talent and weakness, probably need a bit of rebalance this offseason.
Nets - who knows. Bridges is great, but after that Dinwiddie, Simmons, Claxton. I guess Simmons could find the intensity he once had.
Bulls - Just don't see how they are going to get any better. call them 40-42.
Raptors - I think they run it back, re-sign FVV, and they should be better with Poeltl for the whole year.

Theoretically, we could finish above all these teams, but we won't have much room for a losing streak. a 2-8 streak next year is really going to hurt our end of year standings.

Also probable some team will experience significant injury. Harden could leave Philly., and then they are an Embiid back/knee injury away from the play in. Of course the Pacers, Pistons, and possibly Hornets should be much improved. Hornets could be adding Brandon Miller and Miles Bridges.

Can't wait to find out who we area adding to this team next week....

Great analysis. It's a conundrum. Every season sees a handful of teams experience huge swings in their year-over-year wins, this year will be no different. The trick is being able to identify most likely candidates. Anyway, the only thing Orlando can do is worry about their key decisions. If we take another year for player development and evaluation, we run a real risk of missing out on the play-in.

eyriq wrote:

jonbob17 wrote:

eyriq wrote:https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/37807596/nba-power-rankings-way-too-early-edition-our-first-look-2023-24

Early power rankings for 2024 are up at ESPN. Orlando has some work to do. (Side note, these rankings aren't very imaginative early on, are they?)

East
1. Celtics ▲1
2. Heat ▲6
3. Bucks ▼2
4. 76ers ▼1
5. Knicks ❯
6. Cavaliers ▼2
---------------
7. Hawks ❯
8. Nets ▼2
9. Bulls ❯
10. Raptors ❯
___________
11. Pacers ❯
12. Magic ▲1
13. Wizards ▼1
14. Hornets ❯
15. Pistons ❯

I want to say i can't imagine a healthy Orlando team finishing outside the top 10. They were over .500 for a large chunk of the season, and they have age and development curves on their side.

The problem with this logic is they are going to have to finish higher than some of the teams ranked above them.

Hawks, have talent and weakness, probably need a bit of rebalance this offseason.
Nets - who knows. Bridges is great, but after that Dinwiddie, Simmons, Claxton. I guess Simmons could find the intensity he once had.
Bulls - Just don't see how they are going to get any better. call them 40-42.
Raptors - I think they run it back, re-sign FVV, and they should be better with Poeltl for the whole year.

Theoretically, we could finish above all these teams, but we won't have much room for a losing streak. a 2-8 streak next year is really going to hurt our end of year standings.

Also probable some team will experience significant injury. Harden could leave Philly., and then they are an Embiid back/knee injury away from the play in. Of course the Pacers, Pistons, and possibly Hornets should be much improved. Hornets could be adding Brandon Miller and Miles Bridges.

Can't wait to find out who we area adding to this team next week....

Great analysis. It's a conundrum. Every season sees a handful of teams experience huge swings in their year-over-year wins, this year will be no different. The trick is being able to identify most likely candidates. Anyway, the only thing Orlando can do is worry about their key decisions. If we take another year for player development and evaluation, we run a real risk of missing out on the play-in.

+1 good analysis.

Adding to it, I do not think Pistons / Hornets improve much. I think they want to be in the draft a while longer.

I'm just happy that we may have 5 young players better than Scottie next season.

Sent from my SM-G781U using RealGM mobile app

JoshuaPotter wrote:+1 good analysis.

Adding to it, I do not think Pistons / Hornets improve much. I think they want to be in the draft a while longer.

Pistons will have Cade back healthy and have a ton of young players and the 5th pick, improve by player development. They also have a ton of money. They might be the favorite for Austin Reaves, if the Lakers pass. I don't think they will be better than the Magic but I don't think they tank either.

Hornets had the following games missed: Lamelo 46, Rozier 19, Hayward 32, Miles Bridges 82.
They will be adding the 2nd pick, got rid of Mason Plumlee (opens up time for Mark Williams).....And they still have Clifford there to grind out wins. They were "only" 7 wins behind the Magic last year. Guess it probably depends on Bridges situation.

Next year's draft is terrible at the top. I am sure there will be some players that emerge during the upcoming college/GLeague season, but it's not like there is a lot of incentive to play for draft picks next season.

jonbob17 nailed that point that nobody will be actually seeking to tank for 2024 class, that looks like one of the weakest drafts in last 10 years at least.

We need to go after Beal, he would round out our roster plus add a vet.

Trade Suggs, Cole, Isaac, 6, 11, and future first rounder for Beal

PG: Fultz/FA
SG: Beal/Houstan
SF: Franz Wagner/Okeke
PF: Paolo/Bol Bol
C: Carter Jr/Mo Wagner

MagicTownBaller wrote:We need to go after Beal, he would round out our roster plus add a vet.

Trade Suggs, Cole, Isaac, 6, 11, and future first rounder for Beal

PG: Fultz/FA
SG: Beal/Houstan
SF: Franz Wagner/Okeke
PF: Paolo/Bol Bol
C: Carter Jr/Mo Wagner

Instant no

MagicTownBaller wrote:We need to go after Beal, he would round out our roster plus add a vet.

Trade Suggs, Cole, Isaac, 6, 11, and future first rounder for Beal

PG: Fultz/FA
SG: Beal/Houstan
SF: Franz Wagner/Okeke
PF: Paolo/Bol Bol
C: Carter Jr/Mo Wagner

I like the thought but Beal will be 30 before the season starts. Assuming we’re 3 years away from developing the rest of the roster to contend, he doesn’t really fit our timeline.

High price for Beal. Our guard depth chart may not be great in terms of quality of players. But that is a throw the baby out with the bath water scenario IMHO.

Kudos for being ballsy.

Yeah I think the East will be very competitive next year from top to bottom. I don't think any team sets out to tank from day 1.