Charlotte Bobcats - MJallday is my guy! Kees mentioned something about the rankings being done this way since "the dinosaurs," and I thought damn, I've been playing Be A GM since nearly 2007? Thinking back to the guys that were in those games too was MJ was always there, and always been a great GM, but really did an exceptional job here. Charlotte is prob the toughest situation in the game, and to come away with two nice superstars, and a solid SG rotation, is awesome. I'm not a fan of Kaman at all, but he's serviceable enough, and Udoh has some talent as well (at the very least compliments Kaman upfront).
Houston Rockets - Ok. I probably talked to moss more than anyone in this game (no wonder he did so good, I KID
); and I think the Rockets finally have a direction, and one of the brightest futures in the league. Gallinari is underrated; just because he's Euro, and white, does NOT mean he's a bad defender. I don't know how many times I've seen that, Gallinari is an above average defender, and a player that was offensively doing 17-18 PPG on 60+% TS (should be rewarded with an all-star birth, IMO). Anyways, that rant aside, I love what I see from Thompson, and he's a terrific fit next to Lopez; Wall has the potential to become a franchise player, and think Henderson as he improves his range, and adds to his impeccable off the ball game, will be a terrific fit as well. Upgraded at every position, dangerously young, and has underrated depth. And he seriously might have broken the trade record in this game; 75 trades, holy ****.New Orleans Hornets - So, BI plays nearly every game, and you can pretty much chalk him down for a minimum top 3 finish. This is probably DISAPPOINTING for BI, that's how good he's been in these games, and that theme of "goodness" has continued in this one. LMA/Bogut is just nasty, Conley is a stud, as is Chandler. Fields fills his role, and all BI had to deal w/ was EG, and a few picks -- the bench could be a little better, but considering what BI had to start with, and the end product, we can let that slide. Awesome job, by a BEAST GM, arguably the best, ever.
Milwaukee Bucks - Acquired just ridiculous depth, got a stud in Westbrook, and has an insanely bright future. Milwaukee was a team w/ one guy with big value in Bogut, and a guy that gets underrated (unfortunately, by myself even) in Jennings. Now a team that has an insane amount amount of talent, and that BRIGHT a future. Riot did a fantastic job.
Sacramento Kings - I'll admit, I wasn't on the bandwagon at first, thought it was too much to give for Howard when you're Sacramento, and got less value than he gave out when he traded Howard away. But after that point, just began to start owning trades. Drummond is a franchise talent, Sullinger is a potentially nice fit, really liked the Thornton trade near the end; DD, Beasley, Knight, and Lee is a lot more spread out talent as well.
Orlando Magic - When you take the Magic, you're pretty much in a situation where you're gonna have to trade Howard (happened to me when I had them a couple games ago as well). You're also gonna get lowballed, because the offering team isn't going to give up huge value b/c they have to resign Howard as well. Fortunately, Arenas was amnestied, so it made it slightly easier to work with, but Orlando is a complete mess. Getting a Lawson/Gay/Horford trio is a terrific core, especially when you keep in mind that Howard WOULD leave. I liked the Asik trade, the Rush signing was good, not sold on the Thornton deal, but a really nice core.
Los Angeles Clippers - Didn't trade his three main guys with value (Butler, and Billups have 'meh' value, IMO). Got Crash, whose an awesome fit, Klay, whose looked awesome shooting the ball, and Blair for virtually nothing. Just a solid job.
Los Angeles Lakers - Dwight is a mega-star, getting him to LA, and pairing him w/ Kobe, and Nash; the ageless one is a team that's likely going to win a title. I thought the Brand signing was terrific, and Prince needs a change of scenery to return to a role he's more comfortable in, and I was absolutely kicking myself for not getting the deal he did for Chalmers. Crispy, has always been since I can remember; one of the absolute best in this game, no doubt, will only pull the deal when it's absolutely beneficial for him. I think we had maybe one conversation the entire game "Me: You want Dahntay Jones" "Him: For Salmons, sure." ".......". Didn't even try to counter offer, a man that knows what he wants. Respect. lol
Miami Heat - Normally, I don't have Miami this high, but I really like the job that was done here. Harden is awesome, I have hard-on for him, get it? So funny. But seriously, there are MUCH worse Wade replacements, Love was a terrific get, and to upgrade the center position to Gortat, and Valaciunas was brilliant. And, while some have commented that PG could be upgraded a little more, I actually really like Teague...I'm a loser that still follows McGrady, so I've seen my share of Hawks games this year, and he's got a real nice set three pointer, can get to the rim at will -- and while not a deadly playmaker, isn't needed w/ having Harden and LeBron on the wings.
San Antonio Spurs - Really like the job done here. Zbo/Noah really compliment each other upfront, same with the perimeter players Kees put together. Jennings is having a good season, and some solid depth/youth prospects coming off the bench. But please, for the love of god, put Tony Allen at the 3, and KMart at the 2, lol.
Atlanta Hawks - luke had how many weeks in this game? Just a couple, and did an AWESOME job. Got younger, got an All-Star young center, and other very nice pieces, winning all of his trades, IMO. It would have been great to see if luke had been able to take the team before FA; then Deron would have likely stayed, IMO, and the team goes from a legitimate playoff contender to one of the favorites in the Eastern Conference.
Dallas Mavericks - I do think the whole Dallas being a mess thing is slightly overblown, it's not that much different from the Mavs in real life. However, Karma did a terrific job getting value for Melo, and picking a direction. I think that was moreso the issue w/ the Dallas team that was inherited -- it had no sense of direction and a franchise player that was more geared to win now, w/ a team that couldn't do that. Now, Karma was able to acquire a core young player at every position, and still had some solid vets to be a good team for the present -- I'm a big fan of Williams, Turner's game, and believe in Biyombo's potential. Lotta nice PG prospects too, awesome job.
Washington Wizards - OK, I'm not huge on Batum's contract, but it was what was needed to secure him as a RFA. Good enough reason? Maybe, but that's not going to overshadow the fact he's an AWESOME fit w/ Washington's roster, and has very high potential. Irving/Cousins, I like more than Wall/McGee, and the rest of the team is filled w/ really nice fitting role players. The Wizards are currently a dysfunctional team with a team full of morons. This team is filled w/ role playing guys that all fit together, play their roles, and let's not forget that Washington DID take into account the future extensions of his two main guys. It's a team that can make the playoffs in the current day, and will only get scarier in the future. A good job, for SURE.
Chicago Bulls - Really love the team RR9 put together, arguably the best team in the league. Pierce is still a top SF, Rondo isn't Rose, but he's very good himself. Thabo, with Smith probably make him the most imposing defensive team in the league; Gasol is still an all-star sort player, and Terry off the bench, with Gibson is sick. A team that can win the championship with very good players all round.
New York Knicks - Needed a little more time, IMO. Dirk at SF isn't ideal, but I think he's tremendously improved the talent of the team, and can still be a contender in the Eastern Conference, which is more that can be said about the current Knicks squad. I mean, there's certainly no Linsanity, but has a lot of very good assets, with a ridiculously talented squad. I mean, even if you wanna run a 3 man rotation with Dirk, Okafor, Bosh, and have Lamb/Hill, and Lowry sort in the backcourt, you're talking about a very good team.
Indiana Pacers - Iggy/Granger have been dying to team up together. Amar'e despite his struggles, with a change of scenery is probably back at the level of previous seasons; however, I don't like him at full time center defensively, and don't think West appropriately makes up for his weaknesses. Billups, and good FA signings make the team a contender; how much better is it from the real life Pacers? I'm not sure, sacrificed a bit of the future w/out George and Hibbert, but a contender, no doubt.
Boston Celtics - I think when you have DWade, it's never a BAD idea to try to clear cap and go for the gold (Dwight/Deron). Unfortunately, it didn't work out, but made some nice signings, Duncan/KG, whilst old, are still very productive (and frankly, I have a man crush on Duncan), with decent depth -- the future isn't terribly bright, but it's essentially a different look sort C's.
Memphis Grizzlies - I LOVE George/Monroe, that's a good duo now, but a deadly one in the future. The depth is nice as well; I think could have done a little more in terms of consolidation/assets the Grizzlies had, but overall, solid job.
Portland Trailblazers - I thought was one of the GM's that just made very good trades all game -- however; I'm not sure I would have went to the rebuild w/ the situation that was already there (LMA, Gay, Nene frontcourt at one point). But now has a solid young team with good potential; I'm a huge fan of Kawhi's and Kanter's game.
Philadelphia 76ers - I think Parker and Ellis are two of the more UNDERRATED guys in the league, because a.) no one talks about Parker, b.) bash Ellis on misconceptions about his game. I liked the conventional lineup, but I'm not sold the team has taken the next step for competing for the title, and has sacrificed some of the future.
Minnesota Timberwolves - I loved the Bougt/Rubio/Love sort trio, w/ role players like T.Allen. I don't think there was a hit in actual value w/ the Love trade, but it wasn't completely necessary. Nonetheless, Davis has monster potential, and there's terrific depth all round to become a team that can contend in the future depending on Davis's potential.
Denver Nuggets - I don't think there was a bad job done here, but I think Gallo could have potentially fetched more than JJ. I'm not sure the team neccessarily improved for the current, but the payroll, and future were sacrificed to keep a similar caliber team.
Oklahoma City Thunder - This one is tough, OKC is probably the toughest to rank in these games -- loaded w/ assets; I like Chandler more than Perkins (I think Perkins is severely overrated), but their value is closer considering contracts. The downgrade at PG has been mentioned, but IMO, the trade that hurt the most was trading Harden for Kevin Martin, which was subsequently traded for cap-space. Harden, IMO, has top 5 SG value in the league, and trading him for capspace, when he had a rookie contract to begin w/ was just a matter of deciding to go a different direction later in the game. Nonetheless, DID keep KD, still has a defensive center, with a young nucleus, and guys w/ upside that can potentially do damage.
Golden State Warriors - I think for the most part, actually made a lot of solid deals -- however the one that hurt was the Wade for Nene/Afflalo picks, which were flipped for a guy like Okafor/Odom. Ultimately, the move for Wade was a good one, but trading him for two role sort players isn't maximizing his trade value. Nonetheless, rebounded well w/ a few nice trades after that, but it's a team stuck in mediocrity, very similar to the current Warriors, however w/ lesser trade value, and less upside, but potentially better for the next season.
Detroit Pistons - I think had the right idea, continue the young theme, eliminate the bad contracts; but went about the wrong ways in doing that, IMO. I don't think you trade a piece like Monroe unless an upgrade is coming along (did acquire Marc Gasol though, but the same logic would apply for him), and wouldn't have traded a Top 5-6 pick to unload Gordon, who IMO, doesn't have extreme negative value. Overall, it's a young core, that would need a superstar sort breakout from a guy like Quincy, which I'm not sure I see happening; not a terrible job by any means, just not sure I like it particularly more than Monroe/Knight, and a top 5 pick.
New Jersey Nets - I actually think NJ was making all the right moves to start the game, had Horford, Ginobili and a few other nice pieces that could have potentially enticed Deron to stay, IMO. A few questionable moves hurt the mid-game sort ranking, and from there went on a sort of spree to acquire only white players, an attempt which was successful prior to the final perplexing deal. Anyway, had a few assets to play around w/ and now a team with no real sense of direction, purpose, or talent, really.
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