GM-a-Team: TMAC wins!

[Miller4ever]

Post your rankings here. It's just straight up 1-29 on how well they did as a GM.

The criteria is as follows:

-Per their stated direction, how well did they do?
-How efficiently did they do it? (most bang for buck)

That's basically it. I'm okay with people using their gut feeling on this as long as it's accurate.

[babyjax13]

Rankings of people with write-ups so far:

1. Atlanta - Starting five is fantastic, great fit, great bench. I really like what was done.

2. LA Clippers - Griffin - Westbrook is deadly, and I like the supporting cast a lot.

3. Phoenix - Love the lineup, really got great return for the players he started with.

4. Memphis - I really like the balance of the lineup. Deng - Gordon - Scola - Bogut is a great lineup, and with some of the young guys and veterans this team is in a great position to win a lot in the coming years.

5. New York Knicks - I love the potential of this team and the fit of all the pieces. Only two complaints are shooting, and I think you are overrating Evans a bit.

6. LA Lakers - Competitive rebuild, that's always good.

7. Chicago - Good job adding to Chicago's core!

8. Miami - The fit and defense of this team are much better. I think that the Heat with Howard win more games than with LeBron by a fairly large margin.

9. Cleveland - Not ecstatic with what has been done, but there is something to be said for adding so many assets.

10. Dallas - I think that with Dirk in the decline a lot more attention should have been payed to what happens next. Gasol is nice, but not enough to rebuild around. That said, their chances in the west are good.

11. Denver - Moving Monta, I felt, was a huge mistake. The good thing is that there are still a lot of assets on this team, it just remains to be seen what can be done with them.

12. New Orleans - I think that you could have found a better return for Paul, and I don't think that this team is set up better for the future or will be any better than it is now.

13. Washington - I think that they are in a better position than before, but not by much. I like Jimmer, he can be a great player, and I think he works with Wall well. Outside of that I'm not sure what to make of some of the pieces.

14. New Jersey - Marginal improvements.

15. Indiana - Loosing Zach hurt.

16. Orlando - Cousins is a nice player, but also a headcase. This team went from contender to serious rebuilder with a hit-or-miss prospect.

17. Oklahoma City - Lateral moves and too much risk for me to be comfortable.

18. Toronto - Lateral moves again.

19. Philadelphia - I echo what Luke says below.

20. Minnesota - You traded Love for Amare, then Amare for Pau, then Pau for Gay, then Gay for Batum....essentially trading Love for Batum and pieces. That's not good....

I think that everyone did a really fantastic job on their teams. There were very few that I thought did not improve, and even those it wasn't as if they put themselves into a worse situation.

[lukekarts]

1. PHX - Getting Kyrie Irving, and managing to pair him with an upgrade at SG, SF, PF & C was a brilliant job. Should make the playoffs and is young enough to develop into a contender.

2. CHI - Took a great team with plenty of assets, and made them better. Only knock is that Pierce and Caron have notably declined which lessens their advantage come playoff time, but they will still be the team to beat in the East.

3. MEM - Improved starters and bench at PG, SG and C, good progress, financially responsible, job well done.

4. DAL - Improved at SF and SG, downgraded at C. The team will be a contender, the only knock is that the window is probably only 2 years.

5. LAC - Good job to acquire Westbrook and move Baron Davis. Financially flexible, although the starting lineup lacks floor spacing outside of J-Rich

6. CLE - Good young core to build around in Hill/Barnes/Sullinger. Well positioned for the future.

7. MIA - Getting Dwight was a great move. Not convinced the bench is significantly improved, and the team lacks quality at SF, but improvements have been made and this team will contend.

8. ATL - Deep playoff team, getting Durant was excellent. My only concern is that at times the salary was extortionate - pushing $100m, and that would cripple the Hawks.

9. ORL - Moving Dwight is painful, but I can sympathise - the team was bloated with bad contracts and there were no assets to help create a supporting cast. To come away with no bad contracts, DeMarcus Cousins, Perry Jones and Brandon Knight is pretty damn good.

10. NYK - The team is constructed like a 1st round exit team. I am not sold that Tyreke can make big enough improvements to propel them further, but the team does have financial flexibility and a lot of good trade assets for the future.

11. UTA - Great return on Deron, team is younger and well constructed, but lacks a defensive interior presence which would make them a deep playoff team - still faces the same problems as the current Jazz, in that regard.

12. TOR - Comparably bad to the real life team, but without the crappy contracts of Calderon and (IMO) Bargnani. Will lose a lot of games, but Kanter/Davis/DeRozan is a nice defensive core and the team has much more upside.

13. NOH - The team is well rounded now but not any better than the real life team. That said, they have moved away from the CP3-era and will push for a playoff spot.

14. DEN - Had got a good return on Melo and a nice young core, but blew shot at higher ranking by questionable moves for Jeff Green and Bargnani

15. NJN - Unable to pull off a franchise player trade, however still made good progress by adding Josh Smith. Would expect the team to use its cap space in the next couple of seasons to add a marquee FA for the move to Brooklyn.

16. OKC - If Roy is healthy the team will be dangerous offensively. Defensively, a front court of Amar'e/Beasley is worrying. Good team but not better than what it was to begin with.

17. MIN - Took a team with low IQ guys (Darko, Beasley, Flynn) and replaced them with a team of low IQ guys + Tyson Chandler. The bench is a lot better and more experienced, so the team will win 30 games or more, but I think it lacks the franchise talent it possibly had in Love, to be great in the future. Trading Kyrie Irving IMO was the killer blow.

18. WAS - It's hard to say much good or bad here. Getting rid of Blatche was good, but the team missed out on a top pick in the draft and is going to lose a lot of games. Little progress has been made in terms of rebuilding

19. IND - Not Klomp's fault, but losing Zach in FA was a blow and I don't think it was possible to recover from it. The team is comparable to the current Pacers, will be stuck fighting for the 8th seed for the next few years.

20. PHI - Got rid of all the good and bad about the current 76ers. The only real improvements are at Center and I'm not sure it was worth it - the team is likely to be stuck in mediocrity for a while.

[-Kees-]

1. Suns - started with a team with a few bad contracts and old players a built them to a very nice future team. Line up of Irving/Ellis/Batum/Love/Jordan is great for the future.

2. Clippers - Really took a team of Griffin and Gordon, bad contracts and unproven prospects and made a solid team highlighted by Griffin, Chandler, Westbrook, Varejao and Gortat.

3. Hawks - Took a team that was ready to rebuild and fall apart and took them to potentially the best team in the league.

4. Knicks - Now are in great position for the future. The three bigs on their team will be able to develop (especially Favors) as fast as they want, as they have Lowry, Gallo and Evans to take the scoring load.

5. Mavericks - kept main player (Dirk) and gave him a true 2nd option in Joe Johnson. Pieces like Gasol, Davis and Brooks will keep them competitive for years to come.

6. Bulls - kept their two best players (Noah, Rose) and gave them a better supporting cast and bench while staying young.

7. Cavaliers - started with next to nothing and turned it into a nice core of young players. Hill, Barnes and Sullinger have huge potential for greatness together.

8. Heat - solved 2 of the problems with that team by getting Howard for LeBron. Now Wade can be the main guy, and they get an amazing defensive presence. Still don't have a great PG.

9. Grizzles - Bogut, Scola, Holiday, Gordan and Deng is a good lineup with lots of different roles. Also were financially aware during the process.

10. Jazz - Built for the future, while keeping their two bigs (Milsap, Jefferson). Harden and Curry will be a great compliment to Milsap and Jefferson.

11. Pacers - an interesting choice to build for the now did pretty well for them. Williams, Sefalosha, Granger, Randolph and Brewer will make a solid lineup to win now. Not higher because they don't have much at C.

12. Nuggets - have a solid team now, and allowing guys like Turner and McRoberts to develop without having to produce now.

13. Magic - got rid of a couple of the worst contracts in the NBA and made a young team with it. The future really depends on if Cousins can turn into an All-Star.

14. Lakers - I don't see much of an improve here. Kobe for Anthony, Gasol for CP3, Odom for Odom, and Bynum for Nene. Maybe more balanced, but I don't see them winning like the old Lakers.

15. Timberwolves - made a much more balanced team that has nice depth. Also, pretty much the whole team can play good D.

16. Wizards - got rid of Blatche, which is good. No other real improvements except Thad Young. Once Lewis' contract expires, they'll be able to sign someone who can really help Wall and McGee.

17. Hornets - kept a lot of the same team, but they aren't in a full rebuild with guys like Martin and Barbosa, but not fully contending with guys like Rondo and Landry. Although CP3 and West were both going to probably leave, I don't think they got the return they could've.

18. Thunder - have lots of talent, but almost all of their players like to have the ball in their hands and only a few like to play good D. Also other than Amare, they don't have depth at the PF and C.

19. Raptors - cut salary and bad contracts which is good. I believe the only player on their team with star potential is DeRozen, and the others (Kanter, Johnson, Bayless) are players that will turn into role players. Missing one key piece that would bring it together.

20. Nets - Smith was a nice acquisition, but now have an inconvenient mix of old and young players. Smith, Jamison and Harris aren't exactly young. Marrow, Lopez and some of the rookies are obviously prospects and young players.

[sterncohen]

1. PHOENIX – If you can start with what the Suns have got and wind up with Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving, plus some other strong young players, plus plenty of salary flexibility, I want you as GM of my team.

2. DALLAS – Great job. Vast upgrade in backcourt scoring to complement Nowitzki; Gasol is a downgrade on defense from Chandler but an upgrade on offense; Jackson and Hill are a big plus at SF. Still an old team and I’m not convinced that the young guys are good enough to keep it in contention in the future, but a stronger championship contender now by far.

3. ATLANTA - Beautifully balanced lineup, multiple stars, strong on both offense and defense. Center is a mess but I think there’s enough here to withstand that weakness.

4. CHICAGO – The acquisition of Gasol is huge; perfect fit next to Noah. And Pierce makes the Bulls a stronger championship contender at least in the short run. I think the depth has suffered – in particular, the loss of the outstanding defensive second unit – but nobody would want to face this lineup in the finals.

5. MEMPHIS - Huge backcourt improvement with Gordon and Holliday. If Bogut stays healthy this is a really good team.

6. UTAH – Curry and Harden is a tremendous return for Williams, Ariza is a clear upgrade at SF, and he accomplished this without giving up Millsap or Jefferson. The bench is thin.

7. LAC – Definite improvement at SF and I like the defensive combo at center. I’m not sure that in the long run Westbrook proves to be vastly superior to Gordon, but the team overall is clearly stronger.

8. MIAMI – No doubt a better balanced team. But it’s minus LBJ.

9. CLEVELAND – Basically Sullinger and Barnes and not much else, but fine job clearing out the bad contracts and starting fresh.

10. LAL – Not sure what to think here. Paul / Anthony vs. Bryant / Gasol on the superstar front helps a lot when it comes to age – this team will surely be in competition longer than the real Lakers. But there’s less balance here, without Gasol scoring inside, and the bench is thin and includes several guys who are done. I think a plus overall, but may not see the upgrade as being as large as some others do.

11. NY - Another puzzle. If Evans returns to last year’s form, this is a big improvement. Horford and Perkins together provide a very nice, tough, offense/defense combo inside, and the wings can score. But if Evans remains this year’s version, I’m not sure this team gets past the first round of the playoffs.

12. DENVER – Good news: cleared out salary, started over with young talent. Bad news: what most of that young talent has in common is that they haven’t shown that they’re very good. Stuckey, Mayo, Green, Bargnani – lots of money for guys who’ve been in the league for several years and just aren’t better than average, despite their potential. If a couple of them get substantially better, or Turner turns out to be a star, terrific. If not, I don’t see this group contending.

13. OKC – Who knows? If Roy gets moderately healthy and Beasley and Stoudemire are willing to play some defense, this is a very difficult team to stop. If not, it’s LBJ and Stoudemire surrounded by a badly mismatched collection of broken-down pieces.

14. TORONTO – Nice job clearing out bad contracts. The young players acquired don’t seem to me to be good enough to make this team a likely contender in the future.

15. NEW ORLEANS – Added some talent, at the price of giving up Chris Paul; don’t see it as enough to make them a contender, with particular concern about the wing defense, lack of post offense, and very weak backups on the front line.

16. NEW JERSEY – I don’t see this team as substantially better or worse than what they started with.

17. MINNESOTA – Zillions of moves, but the bottom line is that they’re down Kevin Love with nobody nearly as good to take his place.

18. INDIANA – Randolph is a significant upgrade on the front line, though at a very high price. The rest of the team seems somewhat worse to me and overall there’s not enough here to contend.

19. ORLANDO – Some good young players; nobody who has any chance of being as good as Dwight Howard, and not enough talent overall to make up for losing him.

20. PHILADELPHIA – I’m afraid I think that, except perhaps at center, this team is worse across the board than the real Sixers.

[Crispy]

1. Suns - Terrific job here. I don't know how they did it to be honest lol.

2. Hawks - Like what they did a lot. Seemed like a team that was going to be stuck in mediocrity for a while, but they'll be winning with Durant for a long time.

3. Clippers - Westbrook/Griffin is the best young duo in the game, plus adding two quality Cs (Varejao, Gortat) was big.

4. Bulls - Has to be the most balanced/talented team in the game. The starting 5 will be crazy good.

5. Mavericks - Definitely upgraded offensively, losing Chandler was big I think though.

6. Grizzlies - Pretty much upgraded everywhere except for PF. If Gordon and Holiday improve enough they can be future contenders.

7. Miami - Wade, Bosh, Howard will be too dominant, much better than they were before with LeBron.

8. Cavaliers - Barnes, Sullinger, two top 5 picks in 2012, and future cap space is a great rebuild.

9. Jazz - With the emergence of Harden, their future looks very bright with Curry and Harden in the back court.

10. Magic - Great job of getting Cousins, who I think will be a star, but Knight and Jones are big question marks.

11. Nuggets - I like the future of Turner, Mayo, and Bynum, but other than that there's not much potential on the team. Everyone else has peaked I think.

12. Lakers - Retooling the team to be younger while still being able to contend is nice, but I don't think they're as good as they were before.

13. Wizards - Keeping Wall was the smartest thing the team could have done. Also adding T. Young, Jonas V., and Fredette was good. Fredette is a great fit with Wall I think.

14. Pacers - Would be ranked higher had they not lost Randolph. Good attempt at trying to make a win now team though.

15. Thunder - LeBron and Amare will be dominant, but really I like the old Thunder better because of their overall youth and defense.

16. Raptors - Stuck with the rebuild. DeRozan, Davis, Kanter is nice going forward.

17. Hornets - Really didn't do much to improve themselves. Team doesn't have much direction.

18. Wolves - I think they downgraded. Didn't end up with enough talent considering they traded Love and Beasley.

19. Nets - Didn't do much to improve. There's more talent, but their direction is unclear.

20. 76ers - Downgraded pretty much everywhere except C.

[Zarko]

#1Clippers
#2 Dallas
#3 Phoenix
#4 Lakers(
#5 Bulls
#6 Hawks
#7NYK-
#8Orlando
#9 Denver
#10 Utah-
#11 Memphis
#12 Wizards
#13 NOH
#14 Cleveland-
#15 OKC
#16 NJN
#17 Minnesota
#18 Miami
#19 Indiana
#20 Phili

[why22]

Phoenix
Lakers
Hawks
Bulls
Clippers
Knicks
Memphis
Mavs
Utah
Denver
Okc
New Orleans
Toronto
Orlando
NJN
Minnesota
Miami
Indiana
Washington
Phili

[lukekarts]

1.Phoenix
2 Lakers
#3 Hawks
#4 Bulls
#5 Knicks
#6 Utah
#7 Memphis
#8 New Orleans
#9 Utah
#10 Denver
#11 Memphis
#12 Okc
#13 NOH
#14 Toronto
#15 Orlando
#16 NJN
#17 Minnesota
#18 Miami
#19 Indiana
#20 Phili

You ranked the Hornets twice (8, 13) and no Clippers

[sterncohen]

Also Memphis twice but no Washington.

[SamBone]

1. PHOENIX – I do not think this is even a question, the only person that should not have PHX rated #1 is PHX himself, since he can not rank his team. Best overall job I think I have ever seen in this game, much respect!

2. MEMPHIS - I love the end result here. He took a team that just never could get it together, and turned it into a very solid team. Not sure they are ready to win, but will be very good and have a bright future.

3. LA CLIPPERS – Got rid of poor contracts and built a very nice team! Blake and Westbrook are gonna be fun. The JRich signing seemed odd to me, but I like the squad a lot! And will have room to grow

4. CHICAGO- kept the young CORE and Gasol is a great fit. PP will have trouble fitting in IMO, since even playing with other stars, he is still #1 in Boston, he can not have that role here and at his age, I am not sure how that will fly. I think the injured Caron is being over rated, but that being said, this team will be in EC Finals for sure, and will not be an easy out

5. ATLANTA – Took a team with a lot of very good players that just can not play together for some reason. Will be facing CHI in EC Finals, but payroll for ATL is not realistic, the only team that challenged the MAX cap (a few times). Very nice willing team! Iggy and DWest are awesome next to KD, TP will be great, not sure Dally is the answer at C, but very good team! Turk and Al Harrington’s contract kill any future improvements

6. MIAMI- LBJ really was not a great fit in Miami, so trading him for D12 is an improvement, IMO. Jose actually is not a bad option next to Dwade and D12 should make Bosh better then he is playing. I would have liked a better SF. An d actually listed a better roster and salary page would have made it easier for people to judge

7. LA LAKERS – The overall judging (not just winning) hurts LA here because I honestly do not think this team could beat the real life Lakers. I give him credit for trying to switch things up, and credit should be given for payroll! I true starting PF would have really helped this team. Love the Nene (but at max ? ) and CP3 additions, and Wes is proving he is a legit future star. I think trading Kobe for Melo hurt more then it helped

8. NY KNICKS- I really like Al Horford and Perkins together, a lot will ride on Tyreke and if he can be the tyreke of last year and not this season. Gallo can grow as well as Favors!

9. UTAH – nice rebuild job, Steph Curry will be great. Has some financial flexibility and room to grow.

10. TORONTO – cleared money, adding young talent that is very unproven. Step in the right direction, but this is not a 1 year job.

11. NEW ORLEANS – team looks like it is still a year or 2 away from making a BIG move. A lot of work still to do, but has the flexability to do so

12. INDIANA – another team that is stuck in the middle (in real life) Some nice additions in ZBO (but wow did he get paid!) and Thabo. But think the steps back at PG and C will hurt more then the additions help

13. DENVER – not really sure I like this team too much. I think real life Nuggets got better return for Melo. Some young talent with upside, but not sure they have a franchise guy yet. Cap situation isn’t that good either so improvements may be hard to come bye

14. NJ NETS – think this team stayed the same, but still has future money for 2012.

15. WASHINGTON – this is a team waiting till Shard expires to make a splash. This job was a 3 year job, hopefully the draft well and can add to Wall/McGee. Thad is a nice start and Jimmer with Wall should be fun.

16. OKC –a team that I think will get crushed against the real life team. Roy is a huge gamble. D or lack of D will kill this team. LBJ and Amare will carry them to the playoffs, but I do not like the end result vs the starting point.

17. CLEVELAND – took a crap team with nothing to work with and at least adding 2 very nice prospects. Needs a lot more work, but solid job for what he had to work with

18. ORLANDO – has some talent but Cisco and Beans eat up a lot of cap and will prevent them from adding help. Got rid of some overpaid players, but not sure replacing Dwight with Cousins as the face of franchise was a good idea.

19. MINNESOTA – just don’t get this team, think he got a tad trade happy and lost focus. Started with KLove and tons of financial flexability and now has tons of long term money tied up in TyThomas, Tyson Chandler, AK47, Nick Young, Mike Miller and even another 2 years of J.Jack. that does not relly fit with Lawson / Rubio future. I do think now that he has played a game, moss will be much better next round.

20. PHILADELPHIA – I think rookie mistakes and starting late with a very difficult team hurt things here. Made some really nice moves, and I thought was gonna do a great job, then switched direction and got stuck, IMO. With the way real life Sixers are playing, this team is much worse. The only real improvement is Kaman who has major injury issues.

[SamBone]

WOW, I have been ranked 2nd by 2 teams and 10 and 12 by 2 other! I love this game

[why22]

sambone im at 17!!!!! cmon thats just hater!!!!

[SamBone]

sambone im at 17!!!!! cmon thats just hater!!!!

no hate at all man, i said you had nothing to work with and did a good job.

I believe Cleveland has the worst roster to work with in this sort of game. But even adding 2 talented rookies, no body knows if they can play in the NBA. Your team is built around Barnes who is most likely staying to school since he is not ready and Sullinger who is falling down the draft boards faster then Barnes did, mostly because most NBA scouts do not believe he is big enough to be effective in the NBA, and you have him stting the bench behind Yi. You do not have a real PG on the roster, which I view as a major issue (GHill is a bench combo guard that is most effecive playing off the ball). Cole was the biggest bust in the past draft. again, you had nothing to work with so the job is very difficult! You do not have a player on the roster (outside of GHill who is ideally a 3rd G) that is a real NBA producer, IMO. That is why I ranked other ahead of you. Adding the Philly pick in 2012 is nice, but again, taking the last place team (with 2 solid youngish BIGS that are very valued in this game in AV and JJ) and turning into a last place team with 2 rookies that have major question marks if they can play does not rate high on my list.

I also dock points from teams that simply trade for useless contracts then waive them for the cap hit (I believe you waived 8 guys in 2011, eating the salary) and then 3 guys in 2012 (actually Nejera counded against both payrolls). Seems very poor business for a team that can not get fans to come and has noone for the fans to want to come and see.

If you added any NBA talent or even kept Hickson, you would have been higher

again, no hate, just lack NBA talent

and for the record, you did not even rank my team when I did my rankings so the fact that you ranked me 12th had nothing to do with it.

I would LOVE to hear the reasons for that

[why22]

sambone im at 17!!!!! cmon thats just hater!!!!

no hate at all man, i said you had nothing to work with and did a good job.

I believe Cleveland has the worst roster to work with in this sort of game. But even adding 2 talented rookies, no body knows if they can play in the NBA. Your team is built around Barnes who is most likely staying to school since he is not ready and Sullinger who is falling down the draft boards faster then Barnes did, mostly because most NBA scouts do not believe he is big enough to be effective in the NBA, and you have him stting the bench behind Yi. You do not have a real PG on the roster, which I view as a major issue (GHill is a bench combo guard that is most effecive playing off the ball). Cole was the biggest bust in the past draft. again, you had nothing to work with so the job is very difficult! You do not have a player on the roster (outside of GHill who is ideally a 3rd G) that is a real NBA producer, IMO. That is why I ranked other ahead of you. Adding the Philly pick in 2012 is nice, but again, taking the last place team (with 2 solid youngish BIGS that are very valued in this game in AV and JJ) and turning into a last place team with 2 rookies that have major question marks if they can play does not rate high on my list.

I also dock points from teams that simply trade for useless contracts then waive them for the cap hit (I believe you waived 8 guys in 2011, eating the salary) and then 3 guys in 2012 (actually Nejera counded against both payrolls). Seems very poor business for a team that can not get fans to come and has noone for the fans to want to come and see.

If you added any NBA talent or even kept Hickson, you would have been higher

again, no hate, just lack NBA talent

and for the record, you did not even rank my team when I did my rankings so the fact that you ranked me 12th had nothing to do with it.

I would LOVE to hear the reasons for that

im sorry i only realized it later that i ranked you so low, im gonna ajust it. my mistake and lol yeah cleveland was crazy hard, im doing a contender next time around

[TMACFORMVP]

Usually I'm not a huge fan of ranking already great teams extremely high, but I'd have to say, the contenders in this game did a marvelous job of keeping the core, and adding other HUGE pieces to build super teams. Honestly, I feel from 1-7, all the teams are interchangeable (I'd put em all #1), and nobody, I repeat, NOBODY did a poor job from everyone that's posted a writeup. That's partly why I hate doing these rankings because I don't look at teams as finishing "best" or "last," rather how good a job they did, period. Anyway, here are my rankings, had a very tough time with them, and still not too sure b/c I keep flip flopping through certain teams.

#1 - ATLANTA HAWKS - The current Hawks are in an interesting position. They have a solid nucleus of players, have become a perennial playoff team, but you can't help fight off the notion they're pretenders rather than contenders. And they haven't proven in their play otherwise. It doesn't look like they're improving, and are going to be stuck as a middle of the pack team unless something drastic changes. What they need is a true superstar, someone like a Kevin Durant. They could also use elite PG play, in the mold of a Tony Parker. I've always thought while JJ was a very good all-around player, an elite perimeter defender would be of good service to the Hawks, someone in the Andre Iguodala mold. Hmm, pair that with a PF that can pick and pop, or roll to the basket, and a shotblocker/rebounder at center, and you'd finally have a contender. This is EXACTLY what BI has done (if you hadn't noticed already, lol). It's relatively younger too, with their superstar being ridiculously young. The only problem is the glaring salary issues, otherwise terrific job as always.

#2 - CHICAGO BULLS - There's not much you can do with the team that currently has the best record in a competitive top heavy Eastern Conference Finals. All you can hope for is to upgrade the bench, and improve upon the starters, maybe at the sacrifice of some of the core. bness, once again, no surprise dominated the competition. I feel bness for the second competition in a row has built the best team in the NBA. Had we gone with the traditional "Best Win Now," category, the Bulls would definitely get my vote. Was able to upgrade the SF and PF spot with legitimate all-stars and NBA Champions WITHOUT giving up his two best pieces. Butler is a nice fit with the remaining starting lineup, and somehow, god only knows was able to build a DEEP and effective bench as well. I think with the given Bulls team, there's not much better anyone could do. An elite job, done by an elite GM.

#3 - DALLAS MAVERICKS - Bone coming through again as always. Only joined halfway out of the courtesy to keep the game moving with more available GM's. As a result? Took a Mavericks team, added an all-star wing, and while the loss of Chandler for his defense hurts, Gasol is more than a capable replacement, and a better future option. I loved the SJax pickup, and keeping Kidd to orchestrate the offense was brilliant. Then you factor in a ridiculously deep bench with 6MOY candidates all the way around (Brooks, Crawford, Hill, Glen Davis as a third stringer?). Ridiculous depth, and a marked improvement in the starting lineup on the perimter.

#4 - LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS - As always, another great job by r0c. Surrounded Griffin with a nice supporting cast, and getting Westbrook was awesome. Chandler fits in nicely with starting lineup, in fact the entire starting lineup fits really well together. Outside of intimidation and shot blocking in the paint in the starting lineup, there aren't very many holes to attack. The Clippers should now be legitimate playoff team that should contend for a long time.

#5 - NEW YORK KNICKS - At first I wasn't sure I would have gone a more youthful route after the Knicks had finally begun to look like a playoff team. But Crispy has done a fantastic job of now building a team that's not only better than the Knicks in which he took over, but GREATLY improved the future outlook as well. I love the defense of the frontcourt, and with Evans and Gallo's potential on the perimeter, the Knicks are a future contender. Add that with salary cap flexibility, and solid role players with Favors potential? A fantastic job.

#6 - MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES - It's funny to think one of the main reasons I like what Memphis has done is because of the substantial upgrade at the SG position. I say it's funny because a year ago, it's unlikely that a team would trade Mayo for Gordon, because the notion was that MAYO was the better player. poop has done, as always another very good job. He's upgraded the backcourt, while relatively matching the production the Grizzlies get from 3-4 spots. And at the center spot, he's tremendously improved in that regard with Bogut who's arguably the 2nd best defensive anchor in the NBA.

#7 - LOS ANGELES LAKERS - This was tough. I'm not all too sold they're better than the current built Laker team, but I applaud the job luke did anyway. There's not much you can do with the defending back to back champs. If you rebuild, you're likely going to be looked at in a negative light breaking up a championship team. And if you try to add onto the core, the only thing you can really do is add a PG because the Lakers are set everywhere else. So I think the the most efficient option is to rebuild the team into a younger contender. Paul/Melo is deadly, while Odom, Nene, and Wes Matthews are terrific role players. Add that with a solid bench, and you have a contender that's younger, which is exactly what luke set out to do.

#8 - CLEVELAND CAVALIERS - An admirable job. Took the worst team in the NBA, and gave them a legitimate direction. Dished all the veterans, got two building blocks in Barnes and Sullinger, while having a lot of cap flexibility in 2012. Paired with another top pick as he mentions, depending on the development of Barnes and Sullinger (likely a good chance they become very good players), Cleveland's future has the potential to be real bright. I'm also a fan of the Hayes and Hill pickups.

#9 - UTAH JAZZ - At first, I wasn't too sure about trading Williams, just because he's an arguable top ten player in the NBA. But after seeing the real life trade (which was still decent value I suppose), this one however was much greater value. Curry is a legitimate star at the PG position, and he paired with Harden forms a potent backcourt for the future. The Jazz don't lose too much for the current, while are more balanced and equipped for the future.

#10 - MIAMI HEAT - Moved LeBron for Howard, and while I'm a believer that LeBron is a better overall player than Dwight, this allows Wade to slot back into his original role, and makes them a better team overall IMO. I do think the bench is a tad bit overstated, but Calderon fits nicely in a role where he'll act as a primary/secondary ball handler, and feed off the attention from the new big three.

#11 - DENVER NUGGETS - An underrated job. I think it'd be very interesting to see how Bynum plays when he's arguably the focal point of his offense. We've seen how he's done when Gasol is in the lineup, so the prospects he does evolve into a top three center is likely. Bargnani gets too much hate, while Turner and Mayo still have the potential to be very good. I suppose the question is if he got better return for Melo than they did in real life. It's debatable, but we also have to keep in mind, Melo in the game wasn't going to sign an extension regardless of situation, which lessens his value.

#12 - OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER - I had a tough time with this one. In terms of duos, you can't get much better than LeBron/Amare, in fact that's probably the best duo in the game. I love Brandon Roy, I still think he's an effective player just because of how smart he is. However, he can't be relied on at this point with his knees. Beasley is talented, but not a particularly good fit, while the interior defense is lacking to say the least. But purely from a duo standpoint, with LeBron/Amare and decent veterans, never say never.

#13 - ORLANDO MAGIC - This was a very interesting job done. The teams direction completely changed midway through the game. At first, I'll be honest in saying I was not too big a fan of the some of the trades made, but I think he rebounded from a somewhat shaky start at rebuilding. I do like that he TRIED to go win now at first, but ultimately couldn't build a team that wouldn't interest Dwight in resigning. Cousins/Jones can be deadly in the future, while Knight has potential, and Wright, Fields, Thompson, Jerebko, Neal, and even Biedrins provide a decent supporting cast.

#14 - WASHINGTON WIZARDS - Didn't make too many trades, but had a good draft, and I liked the pickup of Thad Young. I think a more natural two guard instead would have garnered a higher ranking, but understandably limited having Rashard Lewis still on the books.

#15 - INDIANA PACERS - I feel bad for Klomp. Losing Randolph in FA hurt, even though he ended up getting him back. A trio of JJ, Granger, and Randolph would have received a higher ranking. I do think he did a good job of rebounding however. The perimeter is dangerous and will win them games, but the frontcourt defense is the only concerning thing from being a legitimate contender, which was ultimately the goal that was intended.

#16 - NEW JERSEY NETS - Still has flexibility for FA, while adding another huge piece in Smith. I do see some concern in terms of direction, but I LOVE the fit of Smith next to Lopez in the frontcourt. His shot blocking, and defensive ability compliments Lopez's offensive game. I'm not so sure on Jamison's

#17 - MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES - Honestly, Minny GM might have been my most favorite person to talk to in this competition, so putting him this low hurts me. I do think the job he's done is slightly underrated however. He chose to build around Rubio, and surrounded him with immense depth, and young talent. Hickson the past couple months has been good for a double double, Wes J compliments Nick Young, who's proven he's essentially a 20 PPG scorer. Thomas, Randolph, and Kirilenko provide a lot of versatility, and with Chandler anchoring the defense, I'd expect Minny to be a better team for this current season. And depending on how good Rubio is, they could surprise people in the future.

#18 - NEW ORLEANS HORNETS - Some nice flexibility, not really too much a difference in terms of build from the current Hornets team. The Martin pickup was a good one, should compliment Rondo well in the backcourt.

#19 - TORONTO RAPTORS - I also think he did a solid job as well. I like the commitment to change the mindset more defensively, dished a lot of poor contracts, and has extreme flexibility for the future. Has a lot of good big men, which many teams can't say in the NBA.

#20 - PHILADELPHIA 76ERS - Sigh, this hurts as well. Another good guy, but some of the latter trades were questionable. In a sense, I agree with SamBone's view, the first initial trades were quite good, but changing directions and goals late put the team in a flux. I actually like the talent on the team, but it's a bit confusing as guys like Roddy, Bledsoe and Blatche are more geared towards the future while I feel Kaman, Haywood, Pietrus sort are more geared for the win now. I'd like to think I'm a pretty good judge of things, and I have no doubt after learning from his first game that he'll be a dominant player in these games for the time to come.

[Klomp]

Adding the Philly pick in 2012 is nice,

Wait a second, I have the PHI 1st I thought...

[roc]

Been insanely busy and have only managed to get halfway through my rankings so far. When is the deadline?

[Miller4ever]

Tonight, midnight.

[poopdamoop]

Don't have time to do detailed rankings, but I'll elaborate on these tomorrow hopefully

1. Phoenix
2. LAC
3. Atlanta
4. Chicago
5. Dallas
6. LAL
7. New York
8. Utah
9. Denver
10. Orlando
11. Miami
12. Cleveland
13. New Orleans
14. OKC
15. Indiana
16. Washington
17. New Jersey
18. Toronto
19. Minnesota
20. Philadelphia