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Write Up

Please Put
Original Roster
Current Roster
Depth Chart.
Salary Situation for 3 yrs
Future Pick Situation.

Please feel free to elaborate why the current team is better for now and future.

To help with the final ranking use this rating system.

Ranking will be based on the following.

1)On a scale of 1-10 how well has the GM done based on what he started with.
2) 1-10 What is the teams salary situation relative to its win loss situation and market.
3) Champion this yr and 5 yrs from now.

PG: Tony Parker / Howard Eisley
SG: Manu Ginobili / Kerry Kittles
SF: Peja Stojakovic / Eddie Jones
PF: Kenyon Martin / Matt Bonner / Aaron Williams
C: Alonzo Mourning / Dikembe Mutombo / Jason Collins



All Picks

Player Stats

Tony Parker - 14.7 points (45%), 5.5 assists, 1 steal (34mpg)
Manu Ginobili - 12.8 points (42% / 36%), 3.8 assists, 1.8 steals (29mpg)
Peja Stojakovic - 24.2 points (48% / 43.3%), 6.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals (40mpg)
Kenyon Martin - 16.7 points (48.8%), 9.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 1.3 blocks (34mpg)
Alonzo Mourning - 7.8 points (59.7%), 5.5 rebounds, 2.7 blocks (20mpg)

Howard Eisley - 7 points (37%), 4.1 assists, 0.8 steals (23mpg)
Kerry Kittles - 13.1 points (45.3% / 35%), 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals (34mpg)
Eddie Jones - 17.3 points (41% / 37%), 3.7 assists, 1.1 steals (37mpg)
Dikembe Mutombo - 5.6 points (48%), 6.7 rebounds, 1.9 blocks (23mpg)
Jason Collins - 5.9 points (42.4%), 5.1 rebounds, 2 assists (28mpg)

Progress

The Nets team I inherited had a few things going for it - Jason Kidd, one of the greatest point guards of all time, in his prime; paired with two young promising talents in Richard Jefferson and Kenyon Martin. The team were the strongest in the East, but unfortunately no match to whomever would progress to the Finals from the West.

Beyond that, the franchise was stumped with Mutombo's large contract; and a plethora of mediocre supporting talent - Kerry Kittles, Lucious Harris, Rodney Rogers etc.

The franchise was also likely only a couple of years away from falling off a cliff.

So I set about changing things, not only for 2003/04 but also for the future.

The Result

Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson were traded, ultimately bringing back Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Peja Stojakvoic and Eddie Jones; furthermore a healthy Alonzo Mourning was added at Center.

The franchise now looks set to make the Finals from the East; with a really solid core that will only improve as time goes on. Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Peja Stojakovic and Kenyon Martin have All Star potential, and bring a nice balance of shooting, slashing, playmaking and defence. A healthy Zo at Center brings rebounding and defence, with depth at the position provided by Mutombo and Collins, whom are much better suited as bench players. My squad is exceptionally deep elsewhere too, with Eddie Jones an excellent shooter & defender; Kittles best suited to a bench role, and the likes of Williams and Rogers seeing limited minutes.

All Picks

Player Stats

Mike James - 9.3 points (42%), 4.2 assists, 1.2 steals (27mpg)
Rip Hamilton - 17.6 points (45.5%), 4 assists, 1.3 steals (35mpg)
James Posey - 13.7 points (48% / 38%), 4.6 rebounds, 1.7 steals (30mpg)
Chris Bosh - 11.5 points (46%), 7.4 rebounds, 1.4 blocks (33mpg)
Zydrunas Ilgauskas - 15.3 points (48.3%), 8.1 rebounds, 2.5 blocks (31mpg)

Dajuan Wagner - 6.5 points (37% / 32.%), 1.2 assists (16mpg)
Ricky Davis - 14.4 points (47% / 37%), 4.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.2 steals (31mpg)
Jason Kapono - 3.5 points (40% / 47%), 1.3 rebounds (10mpg)
Luke Walton - 2.4 points (42.5%), 1.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists (10mpg)
Vin Baker - 9.8 points (48.1%), 5.2 rebounds, 0.6 blocks (24mpg)
DeSagana Diop - 2.3 points (40%), 3.6 rebounds, 1 block (13mpg)

Progress

Cleveland sucked, and as a result, were on course for a top 3 pick. Sadly, bad luck in the draft lotto saw the team slump to the 4th pick overall. Chris Bosh is a good consolation prize, and along with the acquisitions of Rip Hamilton and James Posey via free agency, and further signings Jason Kapono, Luke Walton and Vin Baker; the talented duo of Big Z and Ricky Davis have a lot more help going forwards.

The Result

The roster remains financially flexible for the next few seasons and I have 3 current/future All Stars on board with Rip, Bosh and Ilgauskas. Posey meanwhile is a great defensive wing (and potentially a useful role player for a contender or two down the line...) and Mike James is well positioned for a breakout season. The bench is also much stronger; with the scrubs I started with (Coles, Jones, Hill, Stewart, Mihm) being replaced with young guys who have upside, and the experienced Ricky Davis. I expect playoffs for the next few years, with potential ECF appearances depending on how it works out with Bosh, Rip & Z.

>>>>> MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES <<<<<
>>>>> MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES <<<<<
[size=140]

ORIGINAL ROSTER -
Jason Williams / Earl Watson / Brevin Knight
Wesley Person / Mike Miller / Mike Batiste
Stromile Swift / Shane Battier / Mike Dickerson
Lorenzen Wright / Robert Archibald
Pau Gasol / Cezary Trybanski / Chris Owens


2003-04 PLAYER ROSTER / STATs
Mario Jaric ------$1,925,000 - 8.5 ppg / 3.0 rbs / 4.8 ast / 1.6 stls
Brevin Knight --- $5,000,000 -- N/A - 4.7 ppg / 2.0 rbs / 3.6 ast / 1.6 stls
Earl Watson ----- $1,325,000 - 5.7 ppg / 2.8 rbs / 5.0 ast / 1.1 stls
Jalen Rose ----- $13,279,500 - 15.5 ppg / 4.0 rbs / 5.0 ast / 1.1 stls
Jim Jackson ---- $5,000,000 -- 12.9 ppg / 6.1 rbs / 2.9 ast / 1.1 stls
Lucious Harris -- $650,000 $702,000 - 10.3 ppg / 3.0 rbs / 2.0 ast / .07 stls
Jerome Williams - $5,400,000 - 6.2 ppg / 7.0 rbs / 1.1 ast / 1.3 stls
Mike Dunleavy -- $3,332,500 - 11.7 ppf / 5.9 rbs / 2.9 ast / 0.9 stls
Lamar Odom --- $10,000,000 $10,800,000 - 17.1 ppg / 9.7 rpg / 4.1 ast
Boris Diaw ----- $1,384,400 - 4.5 ppg / 4.5 rbs / 2.4 ast / 0.8 stls
Gary Trents ---- $650,000 N/A -- 5.6 ppg / 3.2 rbs / 0.7 ast / 0.3 blks
Melvin Ely ----- $1,629,000 - 11.1 ppg / 7.1 rbs / 1.6 ast / 1.2 blks
Antonio Davis -- $12,000,000 - 8.9 ppg / 8.4 rbs / 1.7 ast / 0.8 blks

TOTAL SALARY >>> $61,575,400

LINE-UP
Marko Jaric / Earl Watson / Brevin Knight
Jalen Rose / Jim Jackson / Lucious Harris
Corey Maggette / Mike Dunleavy / Jerome Williams
Lamar Odom / Boris Diaw / Gary Trent
Melvin Ely / Antonio Davis

[b]Lots Better - TOR and MEM 2005 Firsts for DWill or CP3
Improved Draft potential for the PG Sweepstakes with Mem & Toronto's 1st - Upgraded Mike MIller to Jalen Rose - Magetter/Dunleavy for Stromile Swift and Lamar Odom & Boris Diaw for Lorenzo Wright. All Major upgrades at the cost of Pau Gasol (Who was much better suited to the Triangle) and Jay Williams - all flash. Ely & Davis are both above average - solid Centers on both offense & defense.

>>>> SACRAMENTO KINGS <<<<
AIM: Scott.ins - Email: scott.ins@aol.com

ORIGINAL ROSTER
Mike Bibby / Bobby Jackson / Mateen Cleaves
Doug Christie / Jim Jackson / Brent Price
Peja Stoyokovic / Gerald Wallace / Keon Clark
Chris Webber / Hedo Turkaglu / Lawrence Funderburke
Vlade Divac / Scot Pollard

2003-04 ROSTER
Andre Miller ------ $10,000,000 $10.8M - 14.8 ppg / 4.5 rbs / 6.1 ast / 1.7 stls
Carlos Arroyo ---- $650,000 $702,000 --- - 12.6 ppg / 2.6 rbs / 5.0 ast / 0.9 stls
Lindsey Hunter --- $3,300,000 - N/A - 3.5 ppg / 2.0 rbs / 2.6 ast / 1.2 stls
Jamal Crawford -- $2,578,000 --- N/A --- - 17.3 ppg / 3.5 rbs / 5.1 ast / 1.4 stls
Marquis Daniels - $722,700 - $776,900 - - 8.5 ppg / 2.6 rbs / 1.1 ast / 0.9 stl
Carmelo Anthony - $2,691,000 - 21.0 ppg / 6.1 rbs / 2.8 ast / 1.2 stls
Josh Howard ---- $1,821,600 $1,958,200 - 8.6 ppg / 5.5 rbs / 1.4 ast / 1.0 stl
Chris Webber ---- $15,937,500 $17,531,250 - 18.7 ppg /8.7 rbs / 4.6 ast / 1.3 stls
Joe Smith ------- $5,446,000 $ 5,899,400 - 10.9 ppg / 9.7 rbs / 1.7 ast / 1.5 blks
Vlade Divac ------ $12,051,500 ---N/A --- - 9.9 ppg / 5.7 rbs / 5.3 ast / 1.0 blks
Rasho Nesterovic - $8,500,000 ---N/A --- - 10.9 ppg / 9.7 rbs / 1.7 ast / 2.5 blks

TOTAL SALARY >>>>> $62,919,479

FINAL ROSTER
Andre Miller / Carlos Arroyo / Lindsey Hunter
Jamal Crawford / #25 Marquis Daniels
Carmelo Anthony / #7 Josh Howard
Chris Webber / Joe Smith
Vlade Divac / Rasho Nesterovic

2003 Draft:
#7 Josh Howard ---- $1,821,600 $1,958,200 $2,094,900 27.0% 34.1%
#25 Marquis Daniels - $722,700 $776,900 $831,100 80.1%

Better Starters / Better Depth - Officiated out of 2002 Championship (game 6 Lakers)
This team would compete for a championship from a Talent, depth/Balance and Chemistry Standpoint - Andre > Bibby / Crawford > Christie / Melo & Josh Smith > Peja and better depth behind the same starting PF (C Webb) and Vlade at Center.

Salaries: 03/04 ||| 04/05

Raef Lafrentz $8,178,750 ||| $9,714,500
Steve Nash $5,750,000 ||| $5,750,000
Vitaly Potapenko $5,715,000 ||| $6,191,250
Brent Barry $5,400,000 ||| UFA
Calvin Booth $5,446,800 ||| UFA
Jerome James $5,000,600 ||| $5,455,200
Juwan Howard $5,000,000 ||| $5,800,000
Mike Miller $3,380,000 ||| RFA
Ron Artest $5,200,000 ||| $6,157,895
Vladimir Radmanovic $1,669,800 ||| $2,300,984
Joseph Forte $1,080,360 ||| UFA
Ansu Sesay $688,679 ||| UFA
Ronald Murray $349,458 ||| UFA
Reggie Evans $650,000 ||| $650,000

Total $53,309,447

Old Roster:
Murray
Allen/Barry
Lewis/Radmonavic
Evans/Campbell
Potapenko/James/Willis

New roster:

Nash (36) / Murray (12)
Miller (32) / Pietrus (8) / Barry (8) / Forte
Artest (34) / Pietrus (14) / Radmonavic / Sesay
Howard (34) / Radmonavic (8) / Evans (6) / Booth
Lafrentz (30) / Evans (18) / Potapenko / James

Picks:
2003 SEA 1st
2003 SEA 2nd
2004 PHX 1st
2004 SEA 1st
2004 SEA 2nd
2005 SEA 1st
2005 SEA 2nd
2006 SEA 1st
2006 SEA 2nd

Trades:
1. NUMBER: 27. WITH: POR, MIL, IND. IN: 2004 PHX 1st, Ron Artest. OUT: MIL 2003 1st.
2. NUMBER: 29. WITH: LAC. IN: Andre Miller, 2003 LAC 2nd. OUT: Rashard Lewis.
3. NUMBER: 42. WITH: POR, DAL. IN: Raef Lafrentz, Steve Nash. OUT: Ray Allen.
4. NUMBER: 45. WITH: POR, MEM. IN: Mike Miller. OUT: Andre Miller.

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Writeup:

Problems:

The old Sonics team had a few problems. One was the lack of a star. Allen was a great wing, top 5ish range, but he wasn't someone who could control the game. Lewis is a solid 3rd/4th option on a contender, not a 2nd. The old team had very little defense, no good bigs, and no PG either. Plus the duo of Lewis/Allen has already failed, so I decided to ditch it. I also wanted to build a young contender, which the old team was not

Key Trades/Transactions:

1) Allen for Lafrentz/Nash

This was easily the best offer I got for Allen. Nash is a 2 time MVP in the future, and the best PG from 04 till 11. He is the new face of the franchise, and can make any and every offense go. Raef brought a vet big that can anchor my D and actually start and have success.

2) MIL 1st for Artest/2005 1st

Starting this game, I had the Milwaukee 1st, which was very valuable considering they were rebuilding. I traded with MIL, getting Artest, a 24 year old DPOY. The pick ended up being David West, so trading West for Artest/1st turned out to be a great trade in my favor. I think Artest is a great fit with Nash, because he can anchor the D while Nash takes care of the O.

3) Signing Juwan Howard to MLE

This one just fell into my hands. Howard is a great compliment to Evans/Raef, because he has a silky smooth jumper, and a great pick and pop big. I really feel like he is the prefect type of big to put with Nash, and those 2 should create a great source of offense with their P&R. Another thing I want to mention is that his production doesn't go down, he just is played less in HOU. He has a PER36 of about 14/7 for about 4 years, and we feel he should get that or better playing with Nash.

Results:

I have built a team with very few flaws. My team is young, has great O (Howard, Artest, Nash, Miller, Pietrus), great D (Evans, Artest, Raef, Pietrus), and great depth (Nash/Murray, Miller/Pietrus/Barry, Artest/Pietrus/Radmonavic, Howard/Evans, Raef/Evans/James). I feel we can attack and contend with anyone now, and we will be more relevant in years to come.

Salaries: 03/04 ||| 04/05



Anfernee Hardaway $13,500,000 ||| $14,625,000
Michael Finley $13,281,250 ||| $14,609,375
Vince Carter $11,326,000 ||| $12,584,688
Dale Davis $9,061,000 ||| UFA
Eric Dampier $7,842,000 ||| UFA
Jermaine O'Neal $13,000,000 ||| $14,365,000
Christian Laettner $5,625,000 ||| UFA
Ruben Patterson $5,435,500 ||| $5,899,000
Sam Cassell $5,250,000 ||| $6,250,000
Kwame Brown $4,252,080 ||| $5,361,873
Jeff McInnis $3,300,000 ||| $3,600,000

Total: $91,872,830

Old Roster:

Stoudemire/McInnes
Wells/Patterson/Anderson
Wallace/Pippen
Randolph/Wallace/Davis
Sabonic/Davis

New Roster:



Cassell (34) / McInnis (14) / Gill
Finley (28) / Hardaway (12) / Patterson (8)
Carter (36) / Patterson(12)
O'Neal (34) / Laettner (8) / Davis (6)
Dampier (30) / Davis (12) / Brown (6)

Picks:
2005 POR 1st
2006 POR 1st
2006 POR 2nd

Trades:
1. NUMBER: 2. WITH: MIL. IN: Sam Cassell, Toni Kukoc. OUT: Damon Stoudemire, 2003 POR 2nd, Antonio Daniels.
2. NUMBER: 4. WITH: TOR. IN: Vince Carter, Antonio Davis. OUT: Zach Randolph, Scottie Pippen, Bonzi Wells, 2004 POR 1st, 2004 POR 2nd.
3. NUMBER: 16. WITH: LAC. IN: Michael Olowokandi. OUT: Toni Kukoc.
4. NUMBER: 17. WITH: LAL. IN: Deavon George, Tracy Murray, 2003 LAL 2nd. OUT: Arvydas Sabonis, Qyntel Woods, 2003 POR 1st.
5. NUMBER: 22. WITH: GSW. IN: Antwan Jamison, Latrell Sprewell, Earl Boykins. OUT: Sam Cassell, Rasheed Wallace, Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje.
6. NUMBER: 27. WITH: SEA, IND, MIL. IN: Jermaine O'Neal, Damon Stoudemire, 2005 PHX 1st. OUT: Deavon George, Antawn Jamison, Chris Dudley.
7. NUMBER: 37. WITH: WAS. IN: Jalen Rose. OUT: Latrell Sprewell, Earl Boykins, 2003 LAL 2nd.
8. NUMBER: 42. WITH: SEA, DAL. IN: Michael Finley. OUT: Derek Anderson, Michael Olowokandi, 2005 PHX 1st.
9. NUMBER: 44. WITH: WAS. IN: Tyrone Lue, Kwame Brown, Christian Laettner. OUT: Damon Stoudemire, 2005 POR 2nd.
10. NUMBER: 45. WITH: SEA, MEM. IN: Sam Cassell, Eric Dampier, Penny Hardaway. OUT: Jalen Rose, Antonio Davis.

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Writeup:

Problems:

There wasn't a ton that was wrong with this team, it was a playoff team, had a few young pieces, and just kinda went along. However, it lost in the 1st round 3 years in a row, and a few core pieces (Sabonis, Pippen) were getting old, expiring and retiring. In RL, this team then missed the playoffs for 5 straight years. I wanted to change this, get younger, keep the depth, and also compete at a higher level, and I did all of it.

Key Trades/Transactions:

1) Zbo/Pippen/Wells/Picks for Carter/Davis

Getting Carter was probably the best thing we did. He is a top 3 wing, and doesn't really slow down until 2009. He can take over games, is a great rebounder, has range and is my #1 option on offense. He is one of the hardest guys to stop in the league, and is still young enough to be my future star. Another key thing I want to say is that I kept him the whole game, even though I got a lot of offers.

2) The Sam Cassell saga

We picked him up, traded him, then picked him up again in this game. The first pickup was a good one, Stoudemire/2nd for Kukoc/Cassell. We got a great role player and a huge upgrade at the point. We got good value when we traded him (Sheed/Cassell for Jamison/Sprewell, roughly). After we traded him, we knew we made a mistake and wanted him back. We traded an aging Rose for Cassell and a young defensive anchor in Dampier (+ a swap of bad contracts). Overall, we got a lot out of Cassell, and welcome this All-NBA 2nd Teamer to our team.

3) George/Jamison/Dudley for JO/Stoudemire/1st

I think this is the trade that separates me from everyone else. JO>Jamison, Stoudemire>George/Dudley and I got a 1st out of it. JO is a core piece to my franchise, and brings it on both ends of the floor. He is a complete, 20 PPG scorer of decent efficiency (47 FG%), and brings a lock-down defender too. I ended up trading Stoudemire for some much needed big man depth and youth (Brown/Leattner).

Results:

I built the 3rd best team in the West (and overall) that was 6th in a much weaker conference. With Shaq dropping in production after this year in PHX, and San Antonio not improving much after the 03 playoffs, I have a great chance of taking the West over. Even if I don't, I started with a lot less than the other top teams and are still arguably better than them. I am set up for the now well (Cassell, Finley, Carter, Penny, Patterson, JO, Davis, Dampier) and for the future (Carter, Patterson, JO, Dampier, Brown), and because of said reasons, I feel Portland should win this GMaT.

Starting Roster:
C:Michael Olowokandi/Sean Rooks/Melvin Ely
PF:Elton Brand/Chris Wilcox/Zhizhi Wang
SF:Lamar Odom/Eric Piatkowski/Cherokee Parks/Tremaine Fowlkes
SG:Corey Maggette/Quentin Richardson
PG:Andre Miller/Keyon Dooling

Current Roster

Brian Grant $ 12,234,063
Antonio McDyess $ 13,500,000
Eddie Robinson $ 6,204,000
Willie Green $ 350,000
Rick Fox $ 4,734,797
Lebron James $ 3,349,100
Joel Przybilla $ 2,373,000
Marcus Fizer $ 3,727,000
Lorenzen Wright $ 6,600,000
Brendan Haywood $1,125,360
Nick Collison $ 1,071,200
Kyle Korver $ 966,800
Steven Hunter $ 1,431,600
Damon Jones $ 650,000

Salary: $58,957,720

At the start Clippers had a good team with great players on the paper, but this team had no chemistry as in real life 03 season shows this team didnt even made the playoffs, so I tried rebuilding and did it through draft. Even tough some picks didnt pan out like I thought, luckily I got the first pick of 03 draft

Rotation:
C:Haywood/Pryzbilla
PF:Wright/Grant
SF:Lebron/Fox
SG:Green/Korver
PG:Daniels/Jones

My plans are for future with this team and building this team around LeBron. This team already is set on C position with great offensive and defensive force Haywood and great blocker Pryzbilla and PG with defensive veteran Daniels and sharp shooter Damon. Also I have a future superstar in Lebron James and great role players in Korver-Collison-Green. With two possible lottery picks(mine and Bulls because they didnt sign Brand now his roster is not good to make playoffs at all) in 04 season I will get good players for SG-PF positions.

I have a great cap situation with 28M expiring this year and Brian Grant's 13M expiring in 05 season so I can find my second option for Lebron in FA too, unlike Cavaliers I wont sign Hughes to a big and long contract.

This team is better than the team I started because they only made the playoffs one year with their core and lost almost everyone for nothing in return, now I have a future superstar in a big market and great role players around him, and this will be a contender even in the Wild West after probably 3 years

Starting Roster

C:Shaquille O'Neal/Slava Medvedenko
PF:Robert Horry/Samaki Walker/Mark Madsen
SF:Rick Fox/Devean George/Tracy Murray
SG:Kobe Bryant/Kareem Rush
PG:Derek Fisher/Jannero Pargo

Current Roster

Kevin Garnett $ 28,000,000
Kobe Bryant $ 13,500,000
Arvydas Sabonis $ 6,850,000
Robert Horry $ 5,000,000
Derek Fisher $ 3,000,000
Steve Smith $ 2,000,000
Kareem Rush $ 1,097,640
Elden Campbell $ 1,000,000
Horace Grant $ 1,000,000
Anthony Johnson $ 650,000
Jumaine Jones $ 650,000
Voshon Lenard $ 650,000
Travis Outlaw $ 698,800
Shane Battier $ 2,533,440
Jared Jeffries $ 1,428,700

Salary: $68,097,640

Depth Chart
C:Sabonis/Grant/Campbell
PF:Garnett/Horry/Jeffries
SF:Battier/Jones/Outlaw
SG:Kobe/Lenard/Smith
PG:Fisher/Johnson

At the start:

Lakers had a great team that just come out from 3-peat but as we all know Kobe-Shaq didnt co-exist and that team broke down. So like Buss did I stick with Kobe who has more years to compete for title with Lakers and traded Shaq away. Also even tough they were great players Lakers role players were old and Lakers didnt had real depth so I tried to fix that problem.

PG position:

We had a great starting PG in Fisher but Pargo is a young player and doesnt have the experience to be the backup PG for a contender so I upgraded in that area with Anthony Johnson good size and good defensive player that would split minutes with Fisher and keep him fresh for playoffs

SG position:

Kobe is the greatest SG of current players so I didnt have problems with the starter but even tough Rush is great I thought I need a more reliable veteran back-up that would keep me in contending and could teach things to Rush so I signed both Voshon Lenard 14 ppg player for this year and had experience in Heat and Steve Smith perfect veteran that played for Hawks, Blazers and Spurs.

SF position:

Fox was on the decline and couldnt defend like he used to and Devean George wasnt a great 3rd option so I upgraded in that are with trading for Shane Battier who has long career ahead, great defender, great shooter and a great glue guy from Duke, also now I have all the depth I didnt need with Jumaine Jones who will help for 2 years and Outlaw who will help my team in the future after dealing with some injuries so my wing positions are set for a long time.

PF position:

This is the position I have that improved greatly but I had to give some to get some. With trading for KG, Lakers get a great duo in Garnett-Kobe that would compete easily for 6+ years. And I signed Horry for MLE and also I have Jeffries as a good defensive backup and teachers in Garnett+Horry he will get better than he did in real life. So this position is set for the future too.

C position:

I downgraded in this position but I did because of Shaq-Kobe feud. I ended it before it got out of hand and traded away one of the most dominant player in Shaq for Garnett. It is a great move because now I can compete for the title for more years. Also I signed great veterans Campbell and Grant both are ex-Lakers and know the players and could play for 10-15 minutes. Also I didnt waive Sabonis who was the MVP of the Euroleague in 04 season at age 40 so he could still play effectively and be the 5th option and a distrubitor for 15-20 minutes.

Results:

I upgraded at 4 positions and only downgraded at one, I have a great core in Garnett-Battier-Kobe-Fisher and this team plays in Los Angeles so this team will attract a lot of veterans and I could get my defensive or offensive C in FA with MLEs etc. With great core and with great backups this core doesnt have to play at %110 every game so they wont get hurt as much with playing 100 games every year. Also cap is not a problem for Lakers because we have a Owner that wouldnt mind going over the luxary for contending.

Even tough I started with a good team it was a declining team so I rebuilded a little and got a great team that would compete for the title and takeover the West over SAS-PHO-POR-SAC with 2 great perimeter defenders in Kobe-Battier, great inside defender in KG, great 1-2 punch in Kobe-KG, great role players in Fisher-Battier-Smith-Johnson-Grant-Horry that could win it all. I believe this team will win the GMaT because of the reasons I listed and because I upgraded in every way.

Contact RiotPunch:
E-mail - condood@gmail.com
AIM - RiotPunch33




Started with:
Payton / Cassell
Redd / Mason
Thomas / Haislip
Mason / Caffey
Przybilla / Gadzuric

Ended With:
Alston / Calderon
Richardson / George
Thomas / Croshere
West / Garrity
Bender / Pachulia

2003 Salaries -
SG - Jamison Brewer - $638,679
SF - Devean George - $4,545,000
F - Austin Croshere - $7,610,000
F - Tim Thomas - $11,825,000
PG - Rafer Alson - $870,000
PF - Marcus Haislip - $1,547,280
SG - Quentin Richardson - $1,806,000
PG - Jose Calderon - $2,190,000
PF/C - Jonathan Bender - $5,680,000
PF - David West - $1,160,000
C - Dan Gadzuric - $563,679
Total Salary - $38,946,317

Why we should win:
Bucks management started this game with one goal, to tear down and rebuild through the draft. We traded good players away in order to obtain, what we thought, would be high quality assets. We re-acquired our own 2003 1st rounder, and felt we got hosed out of a top-4 pick with a clearly atrocious roster. From that point we managed to acquire David West, Rafer Alston, Jose Calderon and Quentin Richardson while keeping all of our own draft picks. We expect to be in the hunt for Dwight Howard come draft time next year. We managed to field a nice young team despite having some unlucky set-backs.

Contact RiotPunch:
E-mail - condood@gmail.com
AIM - RiotPunch33




Started with:
Tinsley / Strickland
R. Miller / Mercer
Artest / Harrington
O'Neal / Foster
B. Miller / Bender

Ended with:
Marbury / Atkins
Bell / Jones
Hill / Harrington
Jamison / Skinner
Murphy / Brezec

Salaries 03/04:
Raja Bell - $5,000,000
Al Harrington - $5,690,000
Grant Hill - $13,279,250
Fred Jones - $1,506,000
Primoz Brezec - $861,600
Stephon Marbury - $13,500,000
Antawn Jamison - $11,326,200
Troy Murphy - $1,507,000
Chucky Atkins - $3,900,000
Jiri Welsch - $1,326,600
Brian Skinner - $650,000
Total salary: $50,437,400


Why we should win:
The Pacers wanted to assemble a title contender with player locked down to long contracts. We had some nice players here to begin with, but re-signing them was no guarantee. To end up with three superstars in Stephon Marbury, Grant Hill and Antawn Jamison, to us, is a fantastic core. Add in nice contributors in Troy Murphy, Raja Bell, Al Harrington, Brian Skinner and Chucky Atkins and you have a recipe for a team that can go deep into the playoffs for several years to come.

Depth Chart Before:
DeClercq/Garitty
Gooden/Kemp
McGrady/Hill (injured)
Giricek/Sasser
Armstrong/Vaughn


Depth Chart After:
Andersen/Voskuhl
Gooden/Medvedenko
McGrady/Hassell
R. Miller/Barry
Hinrich/Strickland


2003-2004 Salaries:
Tracy McGrady $13,279,750
Reggie Miller $7,200,000
Chris Andersen $6,000,000
Drew Gooden $3,004,560
Rod Strickland $2,000,000
Slava Medvedenko $1,540,000
Kirk Hinrich $1,534,000
Jeryl Sasser $1,125,729
Trenton Hassell $638,679
Jake Voskuhl $650,000
Jon Barry $650,000
Total: $37,622,718


Draft Picks:
2004 ORL (Top 10 protected; owed to Pistons)
2004 POR 1st
2004 ORL 2nd
2004 LAL 2nd

Write up: Starting with this roster was a major challenge. There honestly wasn't any talent outside of Tracy McGrady and Drew Gooden. I was able to dump Grant Hill's contract which gave the Magic major flexibility.

Magic missed the playoffs in 2003 but were able to draft PG Kirk Hinrich to help run the team replacing Darrell Armstrong.

Magic really needed to keep McGrady happy (happy=playoffs/team talent) so we were able to sign Reggie Miller to help take the load off McGrady and also help fight for a deep playoff run.

Magic were also able to acquire a starting defensive center in Chris "Birdman" Andersen to pair with scoring Drew Gooden who we feel are a great pair in the front-court.

Adding key role players such as Trenton Hassell, Rod Strickland, Jon Barry, and Jake Voskuhl provide the Magic with a fairly decent bench.

Overral: Magic are still missing that second superstar and missing out on a lot of the top 2003 FAs, Magic will still have enough cap space to go after another top FA in 2004. Team still has Tracy McGrady, savvy veteran in Reggie Miller, and young key players in Gooden, Hinrich, and Andersen.

Depth Chart Before:
Blount/M. Bryant
Baker/Battie
Walker/Williams
Pierce/Brown
Delk/Coles


Depth Chart After:
Parks/Burke
Brand/Battie
Pierce/Williams
Hughes/Brown
Delk/House

2003-2004 Salaries:
Paul Pierce $11,326,219
Elton Brand $10,000,000
Eric Williams $5,004,000
Larry Hughes $5,000,600
Tony Battie $4,400,000
Tony Delk $2,925,000
Kedrick Brown $1,757,640
Walter McCarty $1,100,000
Eddie House $650,000
Cherokee Parks $650,000
Pat Burke $650,000
Total: $43,634,459

Picks:
2004 Bos 1st
2004 Bos 2nd

Write up: Boston Celtics had little flexibility, veterans starting to go down hill, and were mediocre. Celtics had to move on without Antonie Walker and were able to move him for Jerry Stackhouse (exp) + a young SG in Larry Hughes. With the addition to Hughes, we were able to slide Pierce to the SF spot forming a younger back-court.

Being stuck with Vin Baker's contract no way the Celtics were able to sign any big name FAs. We traded our 2003 first + Baker for Juwan Howard (exp).

In the offseason, we lost our starting center in Mark Blount to FA. We now have short-term band-aids in Cherokee Parks & Pat Burke (solid backup) to help our front-court for one season.

Signing FA Elton Brand was major. We had the flexibility and need to pair Paul Pierce with another young superstar to grow with in their still young careers.

Lokking forward to 2004 Offseason:
Eric Williams' $5 million contract will be off the books which will open up enough flexibility to upgrade the center and starting point guard position. With Brand-Pierce duo it should be an attractive place to play.

Golden State Warriors:
Original Roster:
PG: Arenas/Sura/Boykins
SG: Richardson/Dunleavy
SF:Jamison/Mills/Welsch
PF: Murphy/Fortson
C: Dampier/Foyle

Roster Now:
PG: Arenas(24)/Ford(20)/Hudson(4)
SG: Redd(36)/Arenas(12)/Hardaway
SF: Lewis(36)/Pippen(12)
PF: Gasol(36)/Kemp(12)
C: Curry(24)/Okur(24)

Salary Situation:
2003-04:$40,741,387
2004-05: $30,675,891
2005-06: $21,224,729

Picks: All previously owned future picks

Position Breakdown:
PG: Arenas/Sura/Boykins<Arenas/Ford/Hudson
Despite trading Arenas, I managed to sign him back in the end. Ford is a cheaper, younger, and better replacement for Sura and Hudson had some good years with the T-Wolves.

SG: Richardson/Dunleavy<<Redd/Hardaway
Richardson and Dunleavy are two good SGs who have plenty of versatility. However, they can't compare to Redd. Redd is an elite scorer and shooter who fits perfectly with my team.

SF: Jamison/Mills/Welsch<Lewis/Pippen
Lewis is a better shooter than Jamison and is on a much better contact. Pippen helps provide some veteran leadership and awesome defense and versatility.

PF: Murphy/Fortson<<<Gasol/Kemp
While Murphy can step back and shoot the three, Gasol is a much better all-around player who can actually be a number 1 or 2 option on a team. Kemp is obviously not what he used to be, but still has a veteran-mindset.

C: Dampier/Foyle<<<Curry/Okur
In Dampier and Foyle, I have two shot-blocking centers on bloated contracts. Curry and Okur are much younger and provide an inside, outside punch.

Problems with old team:
One major problem with the 02-03 Warriors was there salary. In Fortson, Mills, Sura, and Foyle, they had a lot of dead weight with bloated contracts They did have a couple young players like Arenas and Richardson, but for the most part, their team was not going anywhere. Now I have a great team with young players who also are very cheap. I will have room in the future to sign star players while maintaining my young core.

Results:
I have a great, young team that is an immediate title-contender. With my players not even near their prime, i have the makings of a dynasty. On my team, the primary scoring option will be Redd, with Gasol being the second, and Arenas the main playmaker and third. Along with players like Curry,Okur, and Lewis, I will have no trouble scoring at will. That along with veterans like Hardaway and Pippen gives me some good defense too.

Den and Det Writeups

Den Original Depth Chart

PF Nene
SF Nico Tsivi
C Marcus Camby
SG Rodney White
PG Shammod Williams

Depth Chart Now
PF Carlos Boozer , Darko ,
SF Wally Szerbiak rodney white
C Nene, Mikki Moore
SG Bobby Jackson delfino james jones
PG Jay Williams, smush parker

Salary
PF Carlos Boozer 500,000 640,000 NA
PF Darko 1,200,000 1,400,000 1,800,000
PF Nico Tsilvili 1,400,000 NA NA
SF Wally Szerbiak 2,700,000 NA NA
SF Rodney White 1,090,000 NA NA
C Nene 2,090,000 2,400,000 NA
C Mikki Moore 500,000 640,000 800,000
SG Bobby Jackson 1,400,000 1,800,000 NA
SG James Delfino 980,000 1,200,000 1,600,000
SG James Jones 380,000 500,000 640,000
PG Jay Williams 3,400,000 4,000,000 5,000,000
PG Smush Parker 500,000 640,000 800,000

Cut
Vin Baker (12,000,000)
Corliss Williamson (12,000,000) buy out
Scott Pollard (4,700.000)




Det
Original Lineup
PF Cliff Robinson
SF Tayshaun Prince Corliss Williamson
C Ben Wallace Melmut Okur ZRebracca
SG Rip Hamilton hubert Davis
PG Chauncey Billups Jon Barry

Lineupe Now
PF Karl Malone, Derrick Coleman
SF Tayshaun Prince Gordon Girocek
C Marcus Camby, Kurt Thomas Chris Kamen
BG Gary Payton Jerry Stackhouse, Keith Bogan
PG Jamal Tinsley Speedy Claxton

Salary
PF Karl Malone 8,000,000 8,000,000 (PO) NA
PF Derrick Coleman 6,000,000 6,000,000(TO) 6,000,000
SF Tayshaun Prince 1,000,000 1,200,000
SF G Girecek 1,050,000 1,200,000 1,400,000
C Marcus Camby 7,200,000 7,600,000 NA
C Kurt Thomas 5,400,000, 6,000,000 NA
C Chris Kamen 1,600,000 1,840,000 2,400,000
SG Jerry Stackhouse 6,000,000 6,000,000 6,000,000 (TO)
SG Keith Bogans 380,000, 420,000 500,000 (TO)
PG Gary Payton 9,200,000 9,200,000 9,200,000 (TO)
PG Jamal Tinsley 840,000, 900,000 960,000
PG Speedy Claxton 500,000 640,000 800,000

Cut
Z Rebraka ( 4,000,000)

San Antonio Spurs


Original Roster:

Tony Parker/ Speedy Claxton
Manu Ginobili/ Steve Kerr
Bruce Bowen
Tim Duncan / Malik Rose
David Robinson [Retired]/ Kevin Willis



Current

Jason Kidd/ Brent Barry
Latrell Sprewell
Richard Jefferson/Bruce Bowen
PJ Brown
Tim Duncan/ Luis Scola


With Robinson retiring, we decided to shake things up for the long term. We traded Gino and Parker for the Triple Double Machine in Kidd, picked up a peaking Sprewell [18 PPG 45% FG] a solid PF-C in PJ Brown and the ultra talented Luis Scola.

We strongly believe that we have the best team in the WC.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Then:

Troy Hudson, Anthony Peeler
Kendal Gill,
Wally Z, Reggie Slater
Kevin Garnett,
Rasho Nesterovic, Oliver Miller


Now:

Steve Blake,
Joe Johnson
Gerald Wallace
Amare Stoudemire
Kendrick Perkins



With Garnett approaching FA, and with our cap being hellacious, we decided it would be best to part ways with KG instead of seeing him walk. We now have the best young core in the league with Johnson, Wallace, Amare and Perkins.

Depth Chart

Mo Williams/Charlie Ward/Chris Childs/Frank Williams
Jason Richardson/Bob Sura/Hubert Davis
Rodney Rogers/Bo Outlaw/Shandon Aderson
Adonal Foyle/Clarence Weatherspoon/Walter McCarty
Ben Wallace/Michael Doleac/Othella Harrington/Travis Knight



Charlie Ward $ 6,030,000
Ben Wallace $5,500,000
Hubert Davis $2,956,250
Jason Richardson $2,789,280
Adonal Foyle $ 4,400,000
Bob Sura $6,266,666
Travis Knight $4,402,500
Michael Doleac $1,540,000
Frank Williams $894,960
Mo Williams $1,457,300
Chris Childs - $1,166,667
Rodney Rogers - $3,075,600
Shandon Anderson $6,700,000
Bo Outlaw $6,585,000
Clarence Weatherspoon $5,445,600
Othella Harrington $2,925,000
Walter McCarty - $650,000

Why I should win:

The NY were in complete caphell and missed the playoffs with the highest payed salary in the year 2002-2003. Instead of trying to rebuild, the Knicks added bigger name players on huge money and it prolonged the suffering for over nearly a decade.

Instead of going down the same route, I decided to try to clear capspace and gain youthful players. I had to part with fan favorite All Houston to get Ben Wallace. Ben Wallace is young and in the middle of his prime, and he is a defensive monster. The best defensive player in the game at this point in time. Allan Houston is great but he is 32 years old in the game at this time, so we had to part with him at some point anyway.

I also feared that Latrell Spreewell would leave my team in free agency("He needs more money to feed his family"), so I decided to trade him to get a young Jason Richardson and Adonal Foyle. Jason Richardson in his prime is just as good as Allan Houston, and he has been getting better every year from his rookie year to now. Adonal Foyle is an excellent shotblocking Center. He is another defensive player that I can put next to Ben Wallace. This makes the NY Knick defense extremely good. Nearly unstoppable.

I drafted Mo williams because he was the best player available. and the only player who made the all star team out of the remaining players I had available to drafted. He's an excellent shooter and gives my team good ball spacing.

I also did the impossible by trading Antonio McDyees huge contract for two expiring contracts. Antonio Mcdyees had a season ending injury and he was being paid over $11 million a year and the Knicks were painfully stuck with that contract. I was able to trade him without losing any assets. This would be like the Magic trading Hedo Turkoglu or Gilbert Arenas without giving up anything to get rid of them.

This team is better now and better for the future. The Knicks were one of the leagues worst defensive teams in 2002/2003. With the adition of Ben Wallace and Adonal Foyle the Knicks are now one of the best defensive teams. The Knicks have a legit perennial allstar and DPOTY candidate with Wallace. And going forward the Knicks have lots of youth and cap flexibility with expiring/near expiring contracts

TL;DR version Summary

Overall I upgraded at all positions except for the small forward position in this game. I have a good young core in Ben Wallace/Jason Richardson/Mo Williams/Adonal Foyle. I also have a lot of expiring contracts going into the next few free agencies, So I have the flexibility to make moves. I cut down the Knicks total salary by about $35 million dollars in just 1 year while adding great young players to my team so that we will be great in the future.

Toronto Raptors



Salaries:



Blue - Team Option
Green - Player Option
Red - Qualifying Offer
Grey - Unguaranteed
Mauve - Early Termination

Depth Chart:

PG: M.Bibby(36)/E.Boykins(12)/J.Terry
SG: J.Terry(34)/M.Peterson(14)/C.Jeffries
SF: S.Jackson(36)/M.Peterson(12)
PF: Z.Randolph(36)/K.Thomas(12)/B.Miller
C: B.Miller(33)/J.Foster(15)

Draft picks:

2004: TOR 1st/ IND 1st (top 12 protected) MEM 2nd/ CLE 2nd
2005: TOR 2nd
2006: TOR 1st/ TOR 2nd

Text:

I started with the team that had Vince Carter and many mediocre, overpaid players around him. What I ended up with, is a balanced team, that is pretty much young. With Mike Bibby being an awesome PG I also have Jason Terry, who’s always capable to score. Stephen Jackson brings the shooting, defense and toughness to my team. Then I have 2 post options in Zach Randolph (starting his 20/10 road) and Brad Miller. These two players are capable of hitting jumpers, as well as bullying opponents in the post. So, my offense would have no problems when they have to score. Lack of defense you say? What about Morris Peterson and Jeff Foster? My coach can always get these guys off the bench to streghten our D. Lineup of: Bibby/Peterson/Jackson/Miller/Foster isn’t as bad defensively, right? I also have productive Kenny Thomas and Earl Boykins off the bench, in case some players are struggling or if injuries occur.
So, don’t buy on my “starters not having enough D”. I have a 9 man core, that has stoppers, scorers and balance in every position. In fact, balanced roster was the reason I gave away Melo. I could have kept him as an amazing future talent, but, in fact, now I have a team both for now and for the future.

Washington Wizards



Salaries:



Blue - Team Option
Green - Player Option
Red - Qualifying Offer
Grey - Unguaranteed
Mauve - Early Termination

Depth Chart:

D.Stoudemire(30)/K.Dooling(18)/T.Lue
L.Barbosa(32)/B.Wells(16)
A.Walker(35)/B.Wells(13)
U.Haslem(31)/T.Kukoc(14)/A.Walker(3)
C.Wilcox(36)/E.Thomas(12)/Z.Wang

Draft picks:

2004: WAS 1st/ SAS 1st/ WAS 2nd
2005: WAS 1st/ WAS 2nd / POR 2nd
2006: WAS 1st/ WAS 2nd

Text:

With MJ having a last season I wanted to give him a chance to win in 02/03. I got some experienced guys and I thought the lineup of D.Stoudemire/M.Jordan/L.Sprewell/A.Walker/B.Haywood was good enough to do that, but it just didn’t happen (I was ranked very low for some reason..)
After that, I realized I had to rebuild. I couldn’t force things, so what I did was just getting rid of some of those big contracts (Grant/Sprewell). I got some young talents too with Haslem and Barbosa. With some guys coming as expirings.
To sum everything up, this team is just starting to rebuild. We have 2 big contracts coming off the books after the summer of 2005, so then we might explode in free agency, get a center, guys, that we have now might be developed, maybe some talent would come through the draft.