RealGM

We have a ton of writeups posted (26) and have a lot of people already signed up for the next game too, so I spend up this process a bit so we can move on. The teams that submitted a writeup include:

San Antonio
New Orleans
Sacramento
Miami
Portland
Houston
LA Clippers
Charlotte
Washington
Orlando
Boston
Detroit
Memphis
Atlanta
Dallas
LA Lakers
Indiana
Milwaukee
Philadelphia
Oklahoma City
Minnesota
New York
Cleveland
Golden State
New Jersey
Chicago

For the rankings, rank every team 1-26 (don't include your own team), based on how they did from what they started with.

I'll declare the winner once we get enough rankings (10-12 range), not setting a time limit, so people will be motivated to rank

1Charlotte did not start with much but has superstars
2 Clev also did not start with much but balanced squad
3 NOH Usual great job
4 Ind better team than when started
5 Hou solid job started out avg talent
6 LAC nice small moves
7 LAL
8 Mia
9 Port
10 Bos
11mil
12chi
13gs
14sa
15ny
16min
17phi
18atl
19dal
20mem
21orl
22det
23wash
24sac
25nj








Minnesota
New York
Golden State

Can we rank like top 5 or so? It's hard to rank 26 teams. We don't need to rank EVERYONE. I think it'd be alright if we just got the top 5 or so from rankings.

I mean there's really no need to say who did the worst job.

Also, I think it's premature to rank already, considering not everyone updated/posted their write-ups.

I just updated mine.

So far from what I've seen:

1. Charlotte - Started off with basically Kemba Walker and turned it into Deron+Melo
2. Cleveland - Had a little more than Charlotte but turned it into a well balanced playoff team.
3. New Orleans - Although went through 22 million trades, ended up with a nice roster.
4. LA Clippers - Smart moves, good for now and future.
5. Orlando - With the Dwight situation and horribad contracts; turned into a decent team.
6. Houston - Went from mediocre to solid team for now and future.
7. Milwaukee - A little TOO young but well balanced.
8. Memphis - Same as Milwaukee
9. San Antonio - Another well balanced team.
10. Chicago - Same as SAS

Just going to say it's hard for me to rank teams that started out stacked (MIA/LAL). Not saying they didn't do a good job though.

like kees asked, i strickly based this against your sytarting team. I tryed to explain as best i can, overall i think this was a fun round that went pretty smooth.
=============

Charlotte: well from a guy that watches every pathetic cats game, I will be try to be short. YOUR HIRED!

Cleveland: started with very few assets (really only Irving) now has a legit contender, not much more to say about the best GM in the league

Milwaukee: great job man, like the future very much

New Orleans: started out with very little, made a record number of moves (lol). Ended up with a BEAST PAIRING OF BIGS, and very nice players around them. Ended up with a solid playoff team, something NO would appreciate, that’s for sure.


Houston: GREAT JOB here, nice future squad, may have a year or 2 of growing pains, but fantastic job here man

Sacramento: started with nice pieces, but they all basically play the same positions. Ended up with a conventional team that I think will win some games down the road. Sac finally has a future and it is in sight

LA Lakers: got Dwight, that in itself is a win. Kobe is still Kobe, Nash is not still Nash. But with Kobe and D12, he can still get it done. EB and Prince are solid complimentary players, but no bench what so ever. At end of day, I think it is on par with RL, but Dwight in purple and gold was the plan and he did that

Dallas: took over another mess, made some GREAT trades with the little he had to work with. Nice future, and good job from the late season start. I do think this is realistic, cause people in big d would have fired old GM half way into season.

Atlanta: took over a mess, and now has a real team. Great job bud. They can win game, may not contend for the title, but better then RL, and light years better then what he started at midway into the game

Boston: this is very very HARD! Love the BIGS and if these OLD guys can stay healthy, TD/KG/Camby may be the best BIG rotation in this game, add to that DWADE (who is the man), but Shard and Maynor are not starters on winning teams at all. I think at the end of the day, they will finish the same as RL, just outside the elite teams

Miami: started with the top team and top assets, made some BIG upgrades @ C and PF. Hardin is a guy that I personally LOVE, and sessions is a nice reserve. Just wish he could have done better with the PG spot

San Antonio: nice rebuild of sorts. Did get younger which was a goal, Noy sure if they win more then RL, but does have better future

Memphis: LOVE the George/Monroe pairing, they both will be STUDS. Very good younger team, just think they could have gotten more for what assets they had, but those 2 young future STUDS are very nice, Good job man!

Indiana: RL pacers are playing great. He added some great names here, but I personally don’t like the FIT at all. Amare has proven he cant be the full time C and Iggy has proven he is not a SG. I think they will finish the same as RL, which will be like a 5 seed and a very difficult out in the playoffs. Just not a contender

Philadelphia: opposite of RL, went from young team playing together and buying into TEAM ball, to a solid vet team that will win games. Monte would be LOVED in philly. But as a Philly guy, I would prefer the RL team over the older squad, because I think this team is the same result as the RL team which is just a solid playoff team

Orlando: I would be interesting to watch this team. I am not sold on them winning more, but could be swayed. Ty and Jimmer could be very fun together, Plus Rudy and Horford. This team could turn out better then it will grade in this game. Solid job man

Golden State: got a different look which was the plan, just unsure if it worked. I guess its an upgrade, but not much

Denver: took a team that is playing great together and ended with a team I am not crazy about. I personally think every spot was downgraded (I paired the wings together), then again I don’t like RJ at all, so I may be harsher here then others. But JRich as 6th man is an improvement

Oklahoma City: had a great plam, just did not work out the way he hoped. Some very good potential players, just don’t think the people of OKC or KD would be very happy with this team from what they have now

Washington: upgraded his franchise guy (wall to Irving), traded a dumbass (McGee) for a nut job (DMC) but I do like DMC’s potential. But for a rebuilding team they are now in cap hell, while nice players, Batum will be viewed as a negative contract, Afflalo is grossly overpaid, Humph is grossly overpaid, plus Marvin Williams deadweight contract is still on books. I appreciate the effort putting proven guys around the kids, but the money that they pissed away will ruin a franchise that cant drawl as is

Portland: added some talent, but I think regresses

Minnesota: well at midseason, I thought they could be the team to beat, but don’t like the final roster. AD is a HUGE talent, but then again so was KLove

New York: just cant see Dirk playing SF next season at all, just a bad fit for me

Detroit: personally for a rebuilding squad, I liked Knight and Monroe more then anyone on the new squad. Sorry man

New Jersey: may be the worse team in the game, and traded away the unprotected pick, so nothing positive will come from setting the new NBA lose record. Should have done much better with DWill and Brook (and even M.Brooks and Humph had value)

1. Cleveland
Had a bit to start with, but I like that he didn't tank and still ended up with a really good, young, and stacked team.

2. New Orleans
The team didn't have a lot of pieces to start with, but ended up pretty damn well. I liked the team better at some point in the past though, lol.

3. Charlotte
Was the worst or 2nd worst team in 2012, but improved with Deron/Melo. Team structure isn't GREAT though, but the talent has to be acknowledged.

4. Houston
Had quite a bit to work with, but did a good job consolidating a lot of it. I thought the team was better with Jrue/LMA though, haha.

5. Orlando
Did pretty well post-Dwight IMO. Some nice, high-character pieces and should be competitive/young.



HM: San Antonio, Milwaukee, Memphis

SamBone wrote:Washington: upgraded his franchise guy (wall to Irving), traded a dumbass (McGee) for a nut job (DMC) but I do like DMC’s potential. But for a rebuilding team they are now in cap hell, while nice players, Batum will be viewed as a negative contract, Afflalo is grossly overpaid, Humph is grossly overpaid, plus Marvin Williams deadweight contract is still on books. I appreciate the effort putting proven guys around the kids, but the money that they pissed away will ruin a franchise that cant drawl as is

I respect your opinion, but I just wanna say that while Batum/Humphries don't have great contracts, DC's a rich team and a big market.

Also, the team was structured to have huge expirings every season (MW + Birdman + Barnes, Humphries, and then Batum) and shouldn't come anywhere near the luxury tax in future seasons despite Cousins/Kyrie extensions two and three seasons later, so it's not in "cap hell".

EVERYONE PLEASE RANK ALL TEAMS

I will not count your rankings if not all are posted. As troublesome as this may sound, we have been doing it this way since the dinosaurs, and it messes with the total rankings (at the end, to count them all up) if we don't have all teams ranked for each poster that ranks.

Thanks. I'll have mine up probably tomorrow.

1. Cleveland - Took a team with basically 3 assets, and turned it into a team that will be a middle playoff team or better now, with the main core only being right around 23 years old. Curry/Bynum is a great duo.

2. Charlotte - took over a terrible team, and got 2 legit superstars. the depth is what worries me is all though, Kaman is someone I personally don't like at center either.

3. NOH - Team with not much to build with either and got a beast frontcourt of Chandler/LMA/Bogut, with a very underrated PG in Conley.

4. Milwaukee - Got great value for Bogut and Westbrook will thrive as the #1 guy. Lots of talent, need a couple guys to get in there because there's a lot of low BBIQ guys, lol.

5. Orlando - going in with knowing Dwight will leave is hard and he turned it into a nice situation. Lawson - Gay - Horford is a great trio, and sliding Horford to PF is smart. Asik is a great defender and Rush is a good roleplayer too.

6. Sacramento - I thought that he was going to be much lower early with his Dwight trade, but he rebounded great. I think you just need a true passer at PG, but there's a ton of talent there.

7. LAC - didn't trade the big 3 pieces, and got improved depth, a nice sg prospect and upgraded the SF spot.

8. LAL - Kobe - Dwight is great, and then a great fit in Nash. Brand is a great fit with Dwight because of his mid-range jumper as well. Then got a lot of nice role players around those 4 too.

9. Memphis - I'm really high on George and Monroe. Would've liked to see you combine the other assets and your bench to get a 3rd or even 4th guy. But still a pretty nice job overall.

10. Miami - really hard with a team that's so good already. Love is a great fit with LBJ, Gortat is a big upgrade at center, and James Harden is playing like a top 5 SG. Just would've liked to see a little bit better PG, but still really nicely done.

11. Chicago - Trading Rose is hard...but I like the team still. Rondo is a top 5 PG, Pierce is still a great SF, Josh Smith and Pau compliment each other well(even tho I don't like Pau at full-time center). Then having Thabo playing great defense with Jet off the bench is nice.

12. Boston - Setting up for a last title run. Wade is struggling this year but still a great player, and have an interesting frontcourt with 2 of the best PF's ever. Should be able to really compete for a year or 2, and then the vets contracts will expire.

13. Dallas - Melo and roleplayers on bloated deals, now you have a couple guys with big talent(ET/Dwill) but haven't lived up to the #2 billing quite yet. I really like Biyombo's potential, and think Meyers Leonard is going to be a nice player as well.

14. SAS - Jennings is playing great this year, and I like the ZBO / Noah frontcourt, just think that there were a lot of people who did quality jobs this game. I do like that you have some youth and picks to infuse in there once ZBO slows down though.

15. ATL- did very good in a short time. Hibbert with Manu / Deng and Boozer is a good team right now, and then Hibbert can pick up more of the slack once the others slow down more. Mo Williams is playing out of his mind as well which is good for your bench.

16. Washington - Even though the Batum contract is insane, that's what you had to do to get him. Irving - AA - Batum - Cousins is a good core to move forward with. I'm not near as high on Cousins as you but still think he's a great piece.

17. Indiana - Iggy is more of a 3 then a 2, Amare is more of a 4 then a 5(and he's starting to slow down, on a big contract), and Granger has been down this year on offense. The perimeter defense is nice, but the post defense is not really good and I think the current pacers team looks nice, but a solid job.

18. Philadelphia - Still a good team, but isn't going to win a championship. TP will be an all-star and Monta is a top 5 SG, but there's not much rebounding from Scola or Perk. You do have a solid bench though, and you should be right in the middle of the pack of playoff teams for the next few years.

19. Minnesota - I liked the job before he traded Love. Losing that big of a talent is hard. Rubio and Anthony Davis is a really cool pair going forward though, and there is still a lot of nice talent left...along with a good veteran in AV. I don't like Arenas near a young team at all though.

20. Portland - I think had LMA/Nene together which would've been a great way to end, but ended up going young. Has a nice trio of rookies with Kemba - Leonard - Kanter, but I don't think any of them will be as good as LMA.

21. New York - Has talent on the team, but Dirk at SF is not going to work out very well on defense. But once Dirk/Okafor are gone, I like the trio of Lowry / Lamb(who should be a difference maker right away) and Bosh.

22. OKC - There's still talent on the team, but a lot of the talent overlaps. Durant / Barnes, Jrue / Collison. It's stuck in where it wants to go I think. A little more time and you might've been able to turn all the young guys into more win now guys with still some potential to help out Durant and Chandler.

23. GS - I like the bigman depth, but I'm not a fan of Stuckey as fulltime PG(or Roddy B), getting a true PG would help. The GS team might win more games now then the real life one, but their future doesn't look too promising.

24. Denver - Has a lot of big contracts on the books(JJ / Biedrins / RJ / Jrich) and the team might not even be better then current Denver. JJ is starting to slow down, and his contract is going to be a burden.

25. Detroit - Monroe is a future star, and I don't see one on the team now. Brooks is a nice piece, but I don't see him becoming a building block. The big contracts are gone, but I don't think you had to lose as much talent as you did.

26. New Jersey - 3 good - great assets in Deron / Brooks / Brook Lopez but there's really nothing left that's close to any of those guys. I think you might of given up once you were ranked lower then you were which is why the team is what it is now.

edited to include chicago.

I read Feb 8th when I first check the write-ups thread. so i just realized kees pushed it up to Feb 7th. ugh. anyway, i wrote up what i could and it is now posted so PLEASE INCLUDE ME into your rankings! thanks.

my rankings:

#1 CHA: two super-stars is awesome. greatest improvement by far.
#2 ToBe Continued

1 Charlotte - gets top nod for me because Cleveland had more to begin with than Charlotte, but great job by both.
2 Cleveland
3 NO
4 Lakers
5 Sac
6 Atlanta
7 Houston
8 Boston
9 Miami
10 LAC
11 Bucks
12 Dallas
13 Philly
14 SA
15 OKC
16 Indy
17 Chicago
18 Memphis
19 GS
20 Wash
21 Orlando
22 Portland
23 NYK
24 Detroit
25 Minny
26 NJ - sorry man

27 write-ups... that's great.

Since I've got two teams, I'll post one ranking and include my teams in parenthesees and you can include/exclude them as you see fit. I'll try to be as critical of my teams as possible. Also, I rank based on how far you come. Teams with less assets that do more is more impressive than teams with more assets that do little.

Cavaliers - Love how this turned out. Essentially turning Irving and a couple of players who are overvalued to Cavaliers fans into a nice trio of Curry/Gordon/Bynum along with some nice role players. Depth issues, but with how few assets they started with quite impressive.

Bobcats - I'll probably get blasted but I'm not overly impressed with the roster. Sure, you've got two stars in Williams and Anthony, but the lack of quality bigs is really going to haunt them. In the end, it turned into Drummond and cap space for Anthony and all the young talent they had before for Williams. Good improvement though.

Rockets - Really like the way this team turned out. A few things I would have pursued, but for a team that really had no identity this team is set to be a really good team in a few years if Wall/Thompson turn out well. Depth is an issue though.

Lakers - Can't hate a team that was a middle of the pack team in the West into a Nash/Kobe/D12 trio even if that team is old. Really competes for the next year or two before the team starts to fade.

Hornets - Pretty intimidating 4/5 combo in LMA/Bogut. A bit weak with the 1-3, but having two franchise bigs goes a long way towards winning in the West.

Spurs - Really like how this team turned out. You took an aging core and turned it into a relatively young core with the correct complimentary pieces. Would have been better had you been able to put a different SF next to Martin/Allen at the SG.

Heat - Let me start out by saying I love the Harden/LBJ/Love/Gortat mix, and the PG situation still needs upgrading but you've got penalize the Heat because they've got two of the best players in the NBA and another really good big man.

Pacers - Like, but don't love what the Pacers did. They essentially used their cap space as a big trading chip turning Hibbert into Stoudemire and then George into AI2. Not sure the pieces fit well together though.

76ers - Interesting combination of talents, but lack of a consistent inside presence along with both Parker and Ellis being ball dominant guards is going to hurt them in the end. Better fit together than the current 76ers though.

Bucks - Not really thrilled with how this turned out. Westbrook is a nice piece, but I'm not convinced there is a co-star on that roster. Aren't set up for significant cap space or a high enough pick to really help their roster.

(Mavericks) - Talk about a terrible team to take over. With Anthony and a couple of bloated contracts, a young core of Turner/Williams/Biyombo/Meyers and a couple of other young pieces is a nice turnaround for the Mavericks.

Hawks - For how bad a shape the Hawks were when lukekarts took over, he turned them around pretty nicely. With limited assets, he put together a pretty good roster despite the glaring need at PG.

Warriors - Really think there is going to be a LOT of issues playing together, as all but Ray Allen are best in the paint. It's going to get really clogged in there.

Thunder - I honestly think they regressed. Chandler and Perkins is a wash on a good day, but injury histories likely make me lean Perkins. Don't like Bargnani or his contract and HUGE downgrade at PG.

(Celtics) - Not at all what I had hoped the final product was, but salvaged it for one last run at a title and set the Celtics up with significant cap space after the 2013/14 season and Wade still under contract. Plenty of other assets as well.

Kings - Really want to put this higher, but to me this is just a case of pushing pieces around and getting different parts of similar value. Like the idea of the Sullinger/Drummond duo, but the 1-3 could be rather disappointing.

Clippers - Pretty much stood still. Not SamBone's fault since the Clippers really aren't a team that needed a significant overhaul. Adding Crash helps, but his injury history is scary and HUGE hole at SG.

Magic - Really like the Lawson/Gay/Horford trio, but there is huge holes at SG and C as well as depth issues. Clearly not a finished product, but makes some runs in the East in a few years.

Bulls - The Bulls just old and in a hurry. For the next year or two, the Bulls will compete but I'm not sure they're any different than the Celtics from last year.

Timberwolves - If they would have stuck with the Rubio/Love/Bogut I probably would have kept them up higher, but it seemed like a lot of unnecessary moves.

Knicks - Talent is clearly obvious, but significant issues working together. Nowitzki won't fit at SF, and Grant Hill isn't young enough to be playing SG for significant minutes.

Wizards - At first glance, looks like a really good job but there are a LOT of red flags there. Batum's contract instantly becomes one of the worst in the NBA, and then a bunch of other overpaid players. If Cousins doesn't pan out, the Wizards are in a world of hurt.

Blazers - Got worse and I'm not sure they're better in the longhaul. The Blazers really do need to completely revamp their team, but LMA is on a really team friendly deal and only netted Kanter and Walker. Decent haul, but you'd expect more for him. And then some extra weight on the books.

Grizzlies - Similar boat to the Blazers. They were a top 3-6 team in the West, and now they've got Monroe and George and some other spare parts. Hate the Hawes contract and doesn't seem like this team is bad enough to get a good enough pick to find a franchise player.

Pistons - The Pistons are one of the toughest teams to GM, but they might have gotten worse in this situation. They had a potential young star in Greg Monroe they seemed to have dealt him for salary cap savings.

Nuggets - Honestly not really a fan of what the Nuggets did. They got a lot older and are in salary cap hell with Joe Johnson, Andris Biedrinis, and Nene on the books. Not sure there is more than a middle of the pack team in the Western conference.

Nets - Started with Deron Williams and Brook Lopez and really nothing to show from it. Really no young star pieces or no great superstars there in Brooklyn. A mess.

1. Charlotte - it's not perfect, but it's much much better. 2 superstars in Charlotte is great considering the assets he started with.

2. Cleveland - nice

3. Houston - added a nice mix of potential to the team, both defensively and offensively. Wall still has star potential, Henderson can be as good as Martin was, Gallinari is a big SF upgrade, Vasely is a nice athlete, and TT/Brook in the front court is a complimentary mix.

4. New Orleans - substantially upgraded into a good playoff team, though IMO overpaid for an underperforming Bogut and was perhaps deserving of a better ranking a few trades prior.

5. Dallas - great short term effort.

6. Milwaukee - solid effort at building a young team full of potential, and starting from scratch.

7. Minny. Good effort in upgrading the perimeter whilst turning Love into a solid defensive front court. Just lacks a scorer.

8. Miami - Breaking up Miami is painful but this is a younger, deeper Miami which should contend for the next 5 years. Great job.

9. Orlando - a good effort at rejuvinating a doomed franchise.

10. Lakers - landed Dwight, put the team back on top for a year or 2.

11. Indiana - very deep playoff team, but I think I liked it more when it had a legit defensive C.

12. Spurs - defensive issues at the forward spots aside, this is a younger Spurs who may not content but nonetheless are well positioned for deep playoff runs long into the future.

13. Philly - good deep playoff team, just lacking the star talent, and given the way the real team is performing, it's not such a huge improvement.

14. NYK - despite bad fit, the team is probably better than the current Knicks - better assets too.

15. Washington - overpaying a couple of guys, but to be fair, Irving/Cousins is a much better long-term core.

16. Boston - Ambitious FA, short-term contender, but a good effort nonetheless.

17. Sacramento Kings - traded some highly talented low IQ guys for some highly talented low IQ guys. Team is slightly better but progression hasn't been outstanding

18. LA Clippers - nice incremental improvements but nothing step changing compared to the guys ranked above.

19. Memphis - Monroe/George is a great young core, but I'm not sure there is enough to show in return for the old core.

20. Chicago - put too much effort into trying to make a completely different team. It's good, but I'm not sure it's better.

21. OKC - getting Deron was awesome, then threw it away.

22. Detroit - modest improvements, but I don't like the fact Monroe was moved.

23. Golden State - lateral at best.

24. Portland - change of direction hurt badly. Gay/Aldridge was a nice combination but for whatever reason the team has gone much younger.

25. Denver - older, more expensive, and probably not a realistic contender.

26. New Jersey - got lost with the direction somewhere I think.

Alright, we have 5 full rankings so far. If people who ranked only 5 or 10 want to edit theirs to have all teams, then I will count them, but I want at least 10 rankings just to have a good enough sample size. I'll have mine in most likely tonight.

SamBone wrote:Detroit: personally for a rebuilding squad, I liked Knight and Monroe more then anyone on the new squad. Sorry man

moss_is_1 wrote:25. Detroit - Monroe is a future star, and I don't see one on the team now. Brooks is a nice piece, but I don't see him becoming a building block. The big contracts are gone, but I don't think you had to lose as much talent as you did.

Karmaloop wrote:Pistons - The Pistons are one of the toughest teams to GM, but they might have gotten worse in this situation. They had a potential young star in Greg Monroe they seemed to have dealt him for salary cap savings.

lukekarts wrote:22. Detroit - modest improvements, but I don't like the fact Monroe was moved.

No hard feelings, but in my defense, Monroe was averaging 13/8 at the time he was dealt, not the 16/10 hes putting up now. I really thought that getting this team out of cap hell would be worth more than it has been so far, especially considering the propensity in this game of FAs being overpaid. Only one player on the roster you could possibly think is overpaid (Felton), but he's still making less per year than what he makes in real life.

Klomp wrote:

SamBone wrote:Detroit: personally for a rebuilding squad, I liked Knight and Monroe more then anyone on the new squad. Sorry man

moss_is_1 wrote:25. Detroit - Monroe is a future star, and I don't see one on the team now. Brooks is a nice piece, but I don't see him becoming a building block. The big contracts are gone, but I don't think you had to lose as much talent as you did.

Karmaloop wrote:Pistons - The Pistons are one of the toughest teams to GM, but they might have gotten worse in this situation. They had a potential young star in Greg Monroe they seemed to have dealt him for salary cap savings.

lukekarts wrote:22. Detroit - modest improvements, but I don't like the fact Monroe was moved.

No hard feelings, but in my defense, Monroe was averaging 13/8 at the time he was dealt, not the 16/10 hes putting up now. I really thought that getting this team out of cap hell would be worth more than it has been so far, especially considering the propensity in this game of FAs being overpaid. Only one player on the roster you could possibly think is overpaid (Felton), but he's still making less per year than what he makes in real life.

That is a fair point. I wasn't involved from the start either, so I don't have much clarity on what you got in return - only what you're left with.

I must point out that from 13-22 on my list there was really not a lot between it. 22 may seem low on the list but I don't think any of those teams got much worse (if any), just the top 10-12 made much bigger improvements.

6 full rankings so far. Just send in your rankings already.

i don't really want anymore rankings to come in...

Warriorfan, you forgot to add Denver... trust me, i can't afford a non rank. lol.

Kees, not that it much matters, but you forgot me as well and have two Dallas'.

Cavaliers: Irving/Thompson/Varejao have a fair bit of value, but it doesn’t compare to what T-Mac ended up with. Franchise PG, SG, C, a damn young team, and good role players to boot. Beat me yet again 

Bobcats: I was surprised by how well MJ did with this mess of a team, and I was this close to putting him first. Lack of big men gave T-Mac the edge but damn, this was your best showing and I love what you did.

Bucks: I liked the team a few moves before even more, but still an outstanding job. WB/Mcgee with good rookies around them and a real identity (running team, fast break points) is enough for a high finish in my book

Lakers: Howard/Kobe with Nash running the show (even an aging Nash) and decent pieces around them. Very nice.

Rockets: Weak depth, but a fantastic starting 5 imo. HOU is a tough team to have and Lowry didn’t have the value he has now at the beginning of the game.

Heat: Did about all you can do with the Heat. I like the balanced approach you took and really like
the additions of Jonas and Harden. Harden/LBJ allow for an average pg to thrive.

Spurs : Don’t like the two SG wing tandem but outside of that I have no complaints.

Hawks: Took a team in dire straits and turned them into a defensive minded playoff team with plenty of youth.

Pacers: An offensive juggernaut without a D anchor. Iggy will be asked to do a lot on both ends on this team, in terms of playmaking, defense, etc. Scoring won’t be an issue though.

6ers: Ellis is a nice player to build around but I’d prefer to pair him with a dominant big, not an allstar pg. Deep though, not bad by any means.

Celtics: Wade and the deepest frontcourt in the league seems like a recipe for success. Would like a better pg and sf but all in all I think this is a true contender. Elite D, shooting around Wade, and a true closer.

Mavericks: Karm had Melo and little else to work with, he managed to put together a decent young team surrounded by vets.

Magic: I LOVE what Scarface did here. Lawson/Gay/Horford is a wonderful young core.

Clippers: Didn’t do much, but not much was needed tbh. Wallace was a good addition, and depending on how Klay develops this could be a title contender. I’d have lived to see a proven option at SG though.

Timberwolves: Best future in the league.

Bulls: Would have built around Rose, got old fast. Legit contender for the next few years though.

Thunder: Could have done more with OKC I think, but not the worst job by any means.

Warriors: I’d have preferred a younger team with a franchise guy. That being said this team is a playoff team and that can’t be said for the Warriors now.

Wizards: Didn’t like the Batum deal, but I like Irving/Cousins quite a bit. Salary issues are the only reason they are in this spot.

Grizz: Paul/Monroe is great but MEM started out with a few good assets. I would have liked to see yigur be more aggressive.

Kings: I love the young, dominant frontcourt but the perimeter is lacking.

Knicks: Love the talent, not the fit.

Blazers: Again, started out with more than they ended up with.

Nuggets: I liked the team at the playoff point and felt they got shafted a bit. Had great depth and a solid team. End product was ok.

Pistons: Gave up too much talent for salaries sake. I read what klomp wrote but the fact remains.

Nets: Good GM, just didn’t have much luck this game.

Thx to Kees for commishing, and lemme know if I missed anyone.

1. Houston – Houston’s harder than most people think, because the only asset of great value you have is Lowry, the rest are more minor prospects, which not many people want (or want to give you much for). I love the starting 5, great job.

2. Cleveland – Very nice core of Bynum/Gordon/Curry. Good role players, and didn’t have much to start. Don’t quite get Marion in there, but it works out.

3. Charlotte – Took one of the worst teams in terms of assets and made them a contender with strong star power. My only question is which one of Deron, Smith, Melo, Jamison and Kaman is going to play defense? Would have been higher if the fit (especially on D) was better.

4. New Orleans – Excellent finish, you have a group of players that focus on D, but are still strong on O. I liked your team better at other points in the game though. Future picks and cash are a little low too.

5. Dallas – Underrated job IMO. I love the core of Bledsoe, Turner, Williams, BB, Davis, Leonard, and it was a good decision to build for the future. Also good that you didn’t give Jack away for a bag of chips like some GMs would have.

6. LA Lakers – You did exactly what the Lakers wanted, and that was win a title. I also think you are the favorite for the 2013 title, and can build around Dwight for the future. Value went up big time IMO.

7. Orlando – Very traditionally build team with scoring coming from the wings, defense from the bigs. Okay return for Dwight, but FA and trades really helped you here.

8. Milwaukee – Milwaukee is horrible in real life in terms of value, and this team seems to have a much clearer direction and age group. Worried that there is 1 too many knuckleheads to do great things, but value went up for sure.

9. LA Clippers – Paul/Klay/Crash/Griffin/Jordan. Wow, perfect fit, ready to win, did exactly what ownership and the fans wanted.

10. Sacramento – Didn’t like the Dwight trade, and I’m not sure your new prospects are better than your old ones, but you do have more of them, and they fit.

11. Memphis – Well done job here. Filled your goal perfectly! (Looks just like the 00 Kings). Would have ranked you higher if you had gone win now, which I think would’ve been the best choice considering they came from 1 game away from the CFs last year.

12. Miami – Going young was good, and I think you have what it takes to win now and in the future. However, going from 3 legit stars to 2 legit stars keeps you from going higher, even if age and depth increases. Good job keeping Bosh from me .

13. Washington – Good core that fits, and better attitudes on the team (for the most part). Cousins is looking great this year, all of his numbers are up, and I think this team has a nice future. Max to Batum is questionable though…

14. Atlanta – Hibbert was a great addition, and so was Manu, but Manu is in his last season, and Boozer isn’t as valuable as Lee. Tough job taking over with so few pieces, but decent job considering everything.

15. Boston – I think this team is pretty similar to before, but with an older franchise player (Wade/Rondo). It has title hopes this year (although not sure it can beat MIA or LAL), but after this, I think the decline is too fast to make any great runs. Really lost out on Dwight which is what hurt.

16. Portland – LOVED your team when it was PG/Crawford/Gay/LMA/Chandler, wish you would’ve kept that. Solid young pieces in place, but not sure it was necessary to rebuild.

17. Indiana – Great offensive team, horrible defensive team. Good job to choose to compete now, but I don’t see anything past 2nd round/CFs for this team because of the lack of defense.

18. Oklahoma City – Decent job, got younger. I would’ve liked to see a nice youth movement, but while keeping Deron/Durant.

19. Minnesota – Kept Rubio (good) but Davis at center is a big stretch, especially if that is his full time position. Good role players too, but not sure if it’s better than the Wovles now.

20. Golden State – Overpaid for Wade a bit, then undersold him a bit, leading to a loss of value overall. Good recovery in later trades, and it’s a solid team, but lacking a true PG and go-to-scorer.

21. Philadelphia – Cheers! Did great early on, but losing Wallace in FA and trading Manu were 2 tough losses. I like that you planned out your team and its fit, but the age and talent might not be there.

22. Chicago – Downgraded at PG, C, SF, depth for a slight SG upgrade and a decent PF upgrade. Not sure it’s better than the old team, and you lost a top 5 value player in Rose.

23. New York – The big loss here for me is Dirk at SF. I don’t think he has an advantage on either end of the floor from there, and it hurts that in your best lineup, only Lowry has good ball-handling skills.

24. Denver – Tough break here. I wish you would’ve kept Dirk, and I think you got under ranked a bit (I would think a 2nd round exit seems like your teams best analysis), but taking on Beans, RJ and JJ really kills your cap in the future.

25. Detroit – I like that you cut the salary, but you didn’t really need to. DET wasn’t in a position to go after FAs for a year or 2, and then the guys started expiring, so it would turn into an Indiana type situation (tons of cap, good young core). I do like Miller and Brooks, but I don’t think it was as good as before.

26. New Jersey – Lost on a few tough breaks, loved DWill/Manu/Horford, but after some trades lost too much value.


Commissioners Note: Thanks for everyone who played, stayed active, and kept their roster up to date. I know I wasn't a great commish (regret that) and too many mistakes were made. I hope everyone was still able to have fun and put my shortcomings aside to improve for the next game. Again, thanks to everyone for playing, it was a very fun game this time around with a lot of active GMs.