GM a Team - We're bored edition - Writeups

[The J Rocka]

Depth Chart
Jordan/Speights
Landry/Gibson/Turkoglu
C.J. Miles/AK47/Pietrus
Fields/Brewer/Marco B.
Lawson/Douglas/Cole



Salaries
Hedo Turkoglu $11,815,850/$12,000,000 (non-guaranteed)
DeAndre Jordon $9,000,000/$9,000,000/$9,000,000/9,000,000
Landry Fields $6,000,000/$6,000,000/$6,000,000/$6,000,000 (PO)
Carl Landry $5,000,000/$5,000,000/$5,000,000/$5,000,000/$5,000,000
C.J. Miles $5,000,000/$5,000,000/$5,000,000/$5,000,000/$5,000,000
Andrei Kirilenko $5,000,000/$5,000,000/$5,000,000/$5,000,000/$5,000,000/
Ronnie Brewer $4,710,000/$4,370,000 (non-guaranteed)
Marco Bellinelli $3,500,000
Mickael Pietrus $3,000,000
Toney Douglas $2,067,880
Ty Lawson $2,544,529/$3,610,686
Taj Gibson $1,195,680 / $2,155,811 (TO) / $3,181,977 (QuO)
Norris Cole $957,000/$1,023,800
Marreese Speights $800,00/$800,000
Malcolm Lee $418,000/$800,000
Total Salary (2012/2013): $61,008,939

Draft Picks
MIN's 2013 1st
MEM's 2013 1st (lottery protected in 2013-2016)
NJN's 2013 2nd
NOH's 2014 2nd (top 55 protected)
MIN's 2015 2nd
DEN's 2015 2nd

========================

2012--Contender:
Wolves had dramatically transformed their roster which at one time had Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio, Michael Beasley, etc. Wolves were able to build a team that would have competed for a Championship for many seasons. With Dwight Howard, Carlos Boozer, Grant Hill, and Eric Gordon the team was ready to compete.

Summer--2012: (Rebuilding Mode)
Wolves had lost Dwight Howard to free agency, a move nobody had seen coming. Wolves were stuck without a starting center and were forced to hold onto Hedo Turkoglu without being able to move him with Howard to get some kind of value in return. Things were starting to fall.

Wolves were also forced to move franchise guard Eric Gordon because we could not afford to offer him the maximum contract. Had Hedo Turkolgu been moved, he could have possibly stayed on the team.

=========================

2012--New Identity:
Wolves had an entirely new roster after the loss of Howard and Gordon. Acquiring young up-and-coming talent like Ty Lawson, DeAndre Jordan to replace Howard, C.J. Miles, Carl Landry, Landry Fields, and solid bench depth, we were not ready to throw in the towel.

2012 to future:
With our young core moving forward, we feel we can grow as one and get back on our feet ready to compete in the near future. Most of the core players are locked up into long affordable contracts and look to stay with the Wolves for a very long time. Wolves also look forward to having over 14 million coming off the books after the 2013 season. We will have the opportunity to acquire a superstar to help carry our team further. We will also have two first round picks, cap space, and tons of young talent.

Conclusion:
Wolves have been on a major roller coaster ride throughout this entire process. After all of our original star talents leaving us, we felt we were going to be stuck in the dungeon for many years. Today, we now have a young starting five with plenty of talent along with a great bench.

===========================

Winning or not, I have showed that no matter what tough challenges you may come across, don't give up and keep fighting. Some people who may have gone through the same challenges with their team might have thrown in the towel and given up. I was determined to make this team better again and turn it around properly with young talent and flexibility. We now have both along with the tools to be ready to compete in a year or two. Despite losing superstars, I feel my team right now is even better than before.

[MJallday59]

Email: Mjallday59@yahoo.com
AIM: Elijah129




Ricky Rubio/Jimmer Fredette
Raja Bell/ Evan Fournier
Michael Gilchrist/Gordan Hayward
Derrick Williams/Anthony Randolph
Brook Lopez/Patric Young

Michael Gilchrist - Drafted #11
Draft Express : http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Michael-Gilchrist-5707/

Patric Young - Drafted #13
Draft Express : http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Patric-Young-5746/

Evan Fournier - Drafted #24
Draft Express : http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Evan-Fournier-5719/

Code: Select all


2012-2013 | 2013-2014 | 2014-2015
Brook Lopez|13,000,000 | 14,000,000 | 15,000,000
Patric Young | 1,875,469 |2,412,866
Ricky Rubio|  3,227,333 | 4,271,952
Corey Brewer| 3,243,000
Ryan Gomes| 4,000,000
Gordan Hayward|$2,532,960|$2,709,720|
Nikola Pekovic |4,503,600 | 4,837,200
Hakim Warrick 4,573,000
Raja Bell 4,200,000
Derrick Williams $4,252,100| 4,989,745 | 5,478,444
Jimmer Fredette $2,067,900 | 2,897,354
Shannon Brown| 2,000,000
Michael Gilchrist | 2,897,332| 3,103,454
Evan Fournier
Total: $50,394,654

We started with:

Rajon Rondo/
Ray Allen / Avery Bradley
Paul Pierce/ Jeff Green
Kevin Garnett/ Glen Davis
Jermaine O'Neal/Nenad Kristic

A playoff team? Definitely, but for how long?

- Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce & Ray Allen all over the age of 34
- Ray Allen, Jeff Green, Glen Davis, Jermaine O'Neal, Kevin Garnett all Free Agents.
- Would Rondo want to be a part of a rebuilding team?
- No true C

Change in Boston:

Key Trade #1 : Trading Ray Allen in exchange for Boris Diaw and Phoenix 2012 1st


Probably the biggest trade we made all season long. We maintain long term cap flexibility and acquire what would be the #4 pick in the draft, Harrison Barnes.

Key Trade #2. : Roddy B, Kevin Garnett in exchange for Ricky Rubio & Salary Fillers


Acquiring a player with Rubio's potential is every GM's dream, even at the cost of KG. With Rubio on year #1 of his rookie deal and KG looking for a final payday...this was an easy decision to make.

Key Trade #3 : Rajon Rondo in exchange for Brook Lopez.


Probably the hardest trade to make. A lot of people were down on Lopez b/c of the rebounding decline. The way I see it, at 23 years old & averaging 20 PPG 1.8 BPG..it's safe to assume last season was a fluke.

Key Trade #4 : Trading the #4 pick for Derrick Williams & Jimmer Fredette.


We essentially traded the aging, expiring Ray Allen for two lottery picks and then drafter Michael Gilchrist with our 1st.

New Look:

Overall I'm pleased with how my team turned out. A core of Ricky Rubio, Jimmer Fredette, Michael Gilchrist, Gordan Hayward, Derrick Williams, Patric Young and Brook Lopez makes a pretty exciting uptempo team.

[JoebobLollipop]

The Los Angeles Clippers:
What I started with:
PG: Mo Williams/Foye/Warren
SG: Eric Gordon
SF: Ryan Gomes/Aminu
PF: Griffin
C: Jordan/Kaman

What I ended up with:
PG: Curry/Harris
SG: Allen/James
SF: Iguadola/Budinger
PF: Odom/Morris
C: Bogut

I started off with some good pieces, mainly Eric Gordon and Blake Griffin. However this team had not experienced any sort of success and lacked any semblance of veteran leadership. The team I have now is a championship contender which still has many good young pieces that can grow and turn this team into a dynasty.

PG: My starting PG was Mo Williams, an overpaid shooting guard in a point guard's body who experienced his best season with LeBron James being the primary playmaker. Backing him up was Randy Foye and the little know Willie Warren. it is obvious that my team now has a huge advantage in this position. Stephen Curry is the next Steve Nash and backing him up is Devin Harris, who averaged a 22-8 only a couple of seasons ago. These two All-Star level players now make my PG position the strongest in the game.

SG: Eric Gordon is a great shooting guard but he didn't really fit into my team's style of play. Now however, I have a shooting guard who shoots the lights out and provides veteran leadership. Excepting Steve Nash, Allen and Curry are the two best shooters in the game. Backing him up I also have Damion James, a solid young prospect.

SF: Ryan Gomes is an overpaid SF who wouldn't start on most teams and Aminu didn't show much in his first year. Replacing them, I brought in Andre Iquadola. one of the most versatile players in the game. Iggy is somewhat of a LeBron-lite, as he can guard many positions and is a great distributor and rebounder. Backing him up is Chase Budinger, a great shooter with awesome athleticism.

PF: If your going to trade Blake Griffin, its going to be awfully hard to replace him. However, I was concerned with his injury a couple years ago and his all out, reckless style of play. Instead I brought in Lamar Odom, an awesome rebounder with excellent court vision. Like Iggy, he is another extremely versatile player. Backing him up is Markieff Morris, a banger who can step out and shoot the three.

C: DeAndre Jordan showed no offense other than dunking and Kaman was a shell of his former self. Instead, I brought in Andrew Bogut, possibly the second best true center in the game. Bogut has a well polished offensive game and is my defensive anchor.

Rotation:
PG: Curry(24)/Harris(24)
SG: Allen(32)/Curry(12)/James(4)
SF: Iguadola(36)/Budinger(12)
PF: Odom(36)/Morris(12)
C: Bogut(36)/Morris(12)

Closing thoughts:
One of my main goals in this game was pairing up Dwight Howard with Blake Griffin. However, after that plan failed, I tried to create the most balanced roster I could. As it is, my team will be a championship contender for years.

[RR9]

MIAMI HEAT

MIAMI HEAT



Roster:
2012-2013/2013-2014/etc.

Lebron James $17,545,000/$19,067,500/$20,590,000/$22,112,500
Eric Gordon $13,000,000 / $14,680,000 $15,536,400 $16,587,722
Monta Ellis $11,000,000
Shane Battier $4,800,000 $4,800,000 $4,800,000
Pau Gasol $19,000,000 / $19,285,850
Emeka Okafor $9,180,000/$ 9,914,400/$10,707,552
Delonte West $2,600,000
Tomas Satoransky 800,000
Dewayne Dedmon 800,000
Maalik Wayns 800,000
Alec Ajinca 800,000
Ben Wallace 800,000/ 380,000
James Jones 800,000/ 380,000
Kurt Thomas $800,000


Total Salaries (with options): Total $73,205,000





Depth Chart:
Ellis/West/Wayns
Gordon/Satoransky
James/Battier/Jones
Gasol/Wallace/Thomas
Okafor/Ajinca/Dedmon

Picks:
1st for 2016 and on
2nds from 2014 and on

Starting Roster:
Chalmers/House
Wade/Miller
James/Jones
Bosh/Haslem
Anthony/Pittman

I decided to build around James. I traded away literally everyone else on my team; major assets of trades were: Wade, Bosh, Haslem, Miller, Chalmers, Jones.

These players became: Ellis, Gordon (3rd best SG in the league, behind kobe and wade), Pau Gasol (older than bosh, but with similar star power), Okafor, Battier, Delonte, Jones.

Ellis>>Chalmers: significant progress - I get a better ball handler in Ellis than chalmers and way better scorer/shooter. Ellis may be ball dominant but he has range and makes a great athlete for his size- he doesn't know how to create his own shot for nothing! He has solid court vision and with Gordon, LBJ the 3 form a very good core just before reaching their primes.

EG<=Wade: Gordon still has yet to reach his prime and he's only 22 years old and one of the most dominant shootguards in the league. the kid has a lot of strength and will definitely keep up with the likes of wade and kobe. EG is quite effiecient in scoring: avging 0.45/0.36/0.83 on 22.2 pts/4.4 asts/1.2 stls in 2010. These numbers can only go up playing with strong passers in lebron, monta, and pau.

LBJ is the best player in the game, he can do it all, and so what if he doesn't have a 4th quarter? he now has monta, gordon, and pau to help take over. all of them are capable first scoring options (monta usually is, gordon shares the load with blake, and pau shows up whenever kobe can't). Lebron made it to the championships with just wade and bosh, and has had the best record in the east when he was in CLE...nothing great of a cast. this goes to show that the more talent he plays with, the better the team does. i now have a lot more talent than he does in wade/bosh alone. more on team play later. final thought on lebron: he averaged 0.51/0.33 on 27/7/7.5 in 2010, WITH wade and bosh on his team. need i say more?

Pau Gasol is an elite big in this league. he's a top 5 big. he average 19/10/3.3 in 2010 on 0.53/0.82 shooting. 3.3 assts per game!! he can find ppl, dish out, or in. that's pretty phenomenal. ever since KG whooped him in the finals in 2008, pau has significantly improved his defensive ability and strength in holding his ground offensively and defensively. the guy's IQ for a big is quite phenomenal (he would've become a surgeon had he not chosen basketball, FYI, so he's damn smart and plays like it too). the spaniard has won multiple NBA championships and is absolutely a leader - he just lead spain to fiba championships and won it all. his experience and brilliant talent as a big will complement lbj and okafor in the front court very well. his range will stretch the floor for the back court to slash and dash to the basket. he plays with as much passion as anyone else (he might've learned that from KG too).

Okafor's a very strong defensive center. he's 10/10/1.8 blks per game on 57% shooting in 2010 with chris paul, a great passer - which means we can expect similar efficiency (not necessarily production because there are a lot of touches to go around!) with the passers on MIA. back to his defense though:he's an absolute anchor on defense. one of the best shotblockers in the game - the man was capable of getting 10 blocks in a career high game!!! that's a strong match with pau in the front court, especially with his finishing with dunks on offensive rebounding.

shane battier will be coming off my bench as he had in memphis. shane's got one of the best IQs in the game as a defender and spot-up shooter (he'll be getting plenty of open looks with my offensive prowress). he locks down the best: kobe scores as much, but on much worse shooting usually so that takes away a lot of touches from the other team's efficiency, melo, durant, gay, pierce, joe johnson, manu, etc. if they don't play C or pg, shane will be guarding that player if he is the best on the other team. why? because he's so effective in forcing players to their statistically lowest shooting spots on the floor. defense doesn't get much smarter than that, ESPECIALLY when shane does it so damn effectively.

my team overall has a great balance in scoring and defense: monta, EG, lbj, and pau will score without much trouble when each has 3 others to go-to for scoring backups. EG, lbj, okafor, and shane will cover a great deal of defense. okafor is absolutely capable of guarding the likes of dwight, bynum, amare, duncan, etc. he will lock down on D while pau flourishes on O. lbj will slice and dice the opposing defense - if any position on the other team helps to double, lbj has the option to dish it out to whoever gets left open, and they will hit an open shot easily. monta and gordon have great great range from deep; pau can play the pick and roll or triangle offense very effectively- his range as a big is great for someone who slices like lbj. okafor will usually be close to the basket so any center who comes to help defend lebron driving, lebron can jsut dish to okafor (or pau) for a wide open shot.

my bench is made of well experienced veterans and sharp shooters like james jones, battier, and delonte. ben wallace is an ex-DPOY but can still defend in limited minutes as he will be coming off the bench...oh and he has a ring too. kurt thomas was an especially effective substitute for noah while he was out in the 2010 season. satoransky is an up and coming combo guard from europe, ajinca has great potential as a growing center.

all 5 of my players are at least average on both defense and offense for their respective positions. granted that, the teams that have only 2 or 3 superstars will come into the championships EXHAUSTED because their teams relied on them so much. my team will spread the load on both ends of the floor, whether its from great ball movement or simply great rotation on help defense due to playing with a high bball IQ and being defensive-minded. they will be well rested and ready to go each round. this is all why i believe MIA should win-now. even in 5 years, lbj will 31, monta will be 30, EG will be 27...all still very well in prime mode, maybe even a little past it. with this core, and new cap room from pau and okafor leaving, we will also be able to sign new bigs who will want to play with these 3. so even in 5 years, MIA will be stacked with nearly prime players, already experienced with winning multiple championships by then.

PS, yeah i may have had very good assets to start off with in wade/bosh in particular, but i extended that talent to become youth, just-as-good talent through many small improvements, and well balanced, nicely deep team. i no longer only have 3 options on the team and that's it. I have at least 5 go-tos. i took advantage and DID make this team much better. some of you might rack on me for giving away paul, TWICE, but got gordon, who's gonna have as much value as paul very soon as a SG. he's so strong and athletic, and can shoot - a wade in the making imo. and monta's monta. pau is kobe's sidekick, and you gotta be GREAT to be kobe's sidekick. lebron's a franchise player who comes once a decade.

[babyjax13]

The "Super Teams"
1) Denver - How they got to where they are now from where they started is beyond me, fantastic job.

2) Golden State - Amnesty definantly helped you quite a bit, but swapping Curry and Ellis (with some spare parts) for Love, Lowry, Harden and Gortat is fantastic. This team has great chemistry and should be good for years to come.

3) New Orleans - Great fit, crazy chemistry...only dinging you a bit because if you hadn't have scored big in free agency you would have been in dire straights.

4) New Jersey - Essentially moved Deron, Lopez and Humphries for Westbrook, Aldridge, Gallinari and Afflalo. In my books that is one of the best retooling efforts I have ever seen in these games.

5) Oklahoma City - Kobe and Durant? That's pretty crazy. Adding Evans into the mix? That's just scary. The only question is whether or not there will be enough ball movement.

The "Really Good" teams
6) Minnesota - Ended up having the toughest job in the game and still was able to field a very good team. They are balanced, young and promising.

7) Boston - I love Brook Lopez, he is a fantastic player. You added a lot of potential, but Rubio and Fredette both have a lot of questions at point guard.

8) Orlando - Making the changes you did knowing Howard was probably leaving was fantastic. Favors + Cousins is a scary front-court.

9) Chicago - Made changes that the real Bulls could only hope to make. Bosh is a perfect pairing with Rose and Noah.

10) Miami - Gordon and Gasol are fantastic additions. Ellis? There were probably better fits out there, but he is still a very good player. The bench also improved, although not to a massive extent. Most of your moves felt pretty lateral, and I wish you had been able to keep Bogut and add a good point guard instead of Gordon (as much as I like him).

11) Milwaukee - Inherited a really tough situation and added players with potential. Not crazy about Perry being next to Hill, but otherwise it is a really solid rebuild.

12) Philadelphia - Added really good young players that should make this team into a perenial playoff team.

13) New York - Sessions should be starting on that team (IMO), but that wouldn't change your ranking. I like some of the moves you made, I love the pairing of Matthews with the other players on your team, and your bench is very good.

14) Cleveland - Massively overpayed for Rush and Bass, I think both of those moves would come back to bite the real team in the long run. Otherwise, you did what you should do by adding great young prospects.

15) Dallas - Your team would be fantastic right now, but with all of the players being the age they would be in two full seasons? I think that the window is slammed shut. You did make some very nice moves though, and improved a very hard team to work with. Could have trimmed more salary, though.

16) Houston - I think you are a little stuck in mediocrity, but this is a perennial playoff team with lots of assets that could be moved for a star player.

17) Charlotte - You could use a better bench, but otherwise it is a pretty solid team. Not crazy about you still having Salmons, which is the only thing keeping you from jumping a few spots.

18) Phoenix - Great job, especially considering what you started with. I'm not crazy about your center position, but this is a good start.

Teams with less improvement

19) Washington - Added some good young players, but otherwise made mostly lateral moves.

20) Atlanta - Felt like there was a lot of lateral movement. Sure, you moved Johnson, but you also added Boozer and Ariza's contracts.

21) LA Clippers - Odom and Allen will be shells of their former selves in two seasons time. I love that you added Curry, Bogut and Igoudala to the mix, but I just don't think this team is a contender and that would be the only reason for the Clippers to move Blake.

22) Sacramento - I think you were a better team when you started. Moving your few bad contracts was good, but you don't have any prospects on the same level as Evans, Thornton or Cousins.

23) Utah - Pretty much what everyone else has said. The team you started with had a lot of talent to move for more young pieces if you wanted to go that route, or to add a better player. Instead? Millsap, Harris and Jefferson are gone for what amounts to a lottery pick, Chris Kaman, Baron Davis and Marcus Morris (with a few other inconsequential parts).

2013 Champion: New Orleans
2018 Champion: Golden State

[poopdamoop]

SALARIES

LaMarcus Aldridge - $13,500,000 / $14,628,000 / $15,756,000
Russell Westbrook - $12,000,000 / $13,000,000 / $14,000,000 / $15,000,000
Danilo Gallinari - $12,000,000 / $13,000,000 / $14,000,000 / $15,000,000
Anderson Varejao - $8,618,182 / $9,286,364 / $9,954,545(UNG)
Beno Udrih - $7,372,200
Arron Afflalo - $6,000,000 / $6,000,000 / $6,000,000 / $6,000,000
Mike Miller - $5,800,000 / $6,200,000 / $6,600,000(PO)
Anthony Tolliver - $3,000,000 / $3,500,000 / $4,000,000
Quentin Richardson - $2,627,400 / $2,808,600(PO)
Mehmet Okur - $2,000,000 / $2,000,000
Nazr Mohammed - $800,000
Keyon Dooling - $800,000
James Posey - $800,000

TOTAL SALARY - $73,917,782

DRAFT PICKS

2013 LAC 1st, 2013 DEN 2nd
2014 NJ 1st
2015 NJ 1st, 2015 NJ 2nd

ROTATION

Westbrook(34)/Udrih(14)/Dooling(spot)
Afflalo(30)/Miller(18)
Gallinari(34)/Richardson(14)
Aldridge(30)/Tolliver(18)
Varejao(28)/Okur(14)/Aldridge(6)/Mohammed(spot)

1. Traded Deron Williams for LaMarcus Aldridge and Wesley Matthews

2. Traded Wesley Matthews and Hou 2012 1st (lotto protected) for Danilo Gallinari

3. Traded Brook Lopez, Jordan Farmar, and NJ 2012 1st for Rajon Rondo

4. Traded Rajon Rondo, Damion James, Marshon Brooks, 2012 NJ 2nd, and 2013 NJ 1st for Chris Paul, Mike Miller, and Channing Frye

5. Traded Chris Paul and Johan Petro for Russell Westbrook, Anderson Varejao, Quentin Richardson, and 2013 DEN 2nd

6. Traded Channing Frye, Anthony Morrow, and Jamario Moon for Arron Afflalo, Beno Udrih, and 2013 LAC 1st

WHY I SHOULD WIN

I took a team with an expiring superstar in Deron Williams and a solid young center in Brook Lopez, who were surrounded by bad contracts and mediocre players, and turned them into a championship contender

PG - Deron is a better player than Westbrook, but because of Russell's age and contract situation I think this can be called a wash. Backupwise, Farmar is a bit cheaper than Udrih, but Beno is expiring

SG - Clear upgrade here. Afflalo is the perfect role-playing SG for any team, a stud defender who can hit 3s. Morrow wasn't as good an all-around player, and Marshon Brooks was a late-round rookie who likely wouldn't have done anything. Miller is also a very good backup swingman

SF: Another clear upgrade. Travis Outlaw was bad enough to be amnestied, and Damion James was a scrub. Gallinari is a bit overpaid, but if he develops into a 20 point scorer, which seems reasonable, he'll be the perfect 3rd option for this team, and Richardson is another solid backup swingman.

PF: HUGE upgrade. Humphries was a UFA, and Brandon Wright was a RFA, and also kinda terrible. Aldridge is probably a top 5 PF in the league, and is only 26 years old. He and Westbrook make a dominant duo, and Anthony Tolliver is a nice option off the bench.

C: Potentialwise, we downgraded here. However, Lopez's rebounding and defense issues + huge new contract compared to Varejao's cheaper deal make this another even swap, playerwise. Andy V is the perfect fit next to Aldridge, an All-Defensive caliber C who can anchor a defense. Off the bench, Mehmet Okur and Nazr Mohammed give us two different looks, whereas before we had Johan Petro's terrible contract.

Overall, I think this team is in a much better place than it was a year ago. My starting lineup is 22, 25, 22, 26, and 28, so we'll be able to compete for a long time. Even right now, we have two star players, a great 3rd option, and defensive role players surrounding them. I think we can compete right now, and we'll be even better in 5 years.

[SamBone]

WASHINGTON WIZARDS
jjbail10@yahoo.com
AIM: The SamBone

ROTATION:
PG: Wall (33) / Rivers (15) / S.Mack
SG: N.Young (30) / (Rivers) (10) / S.Young (8)
SF: Vesely (20) / Casspi (20) / (S.Young) (8)
PF: T.Thompson (28) / Blatche (20) / Seraphin
C : McGee (28) / Hickson (20)

SALARY:



TPE's:

DRAFT PICKS:
- 2013 WASH 1st
- 2013 WASH 2nd
- 2014 WASH 1st
- 2014 WASH 2nd
- 2015 WASH 1st
- 2015 WASH 2nd

TRADES:
2012 salary
1. traded Crawford, Singelton, 2012 2nd to Clev for T.Thompson
2013 salary
1. traded Booker to CLEV for Casspi

WRITEUP
I lost the cancers the franchise and added Tristian Thompson (2011 #4 pick), Casspi, JJ Hickson, Sam Young and drafted Austin Rivers (projected to go #3 in 2012). Still have cap space and have a nice starting 5 with great depth for years to come. Plus still have all my picks

[sterncohen]

Rankings from Golden State

Outstanding

1+. The commissioner. We’ve had very well run games before, but I thought this set a new standard for clarity, timeliness, and courtesy. Thank you.

1. New Orleans. If you start with a departing Chris Paul and not much else, and end with Dwight Howard, Dwayne Wade, and Deron Williams all signed to long-term deals, you win the game.

2. Denver. New world record for trades, and the last few turned a good performance into a spectacular one.

Very Good

The rank order in this group is pretty arbitrary, and I could easily see mixing up the order below quite a bit.

3. Miami. It helps to start with a ton of talent, of course. And I think Ellis is all wrong for this team, particularly at PG. And the bench is still pretty miserable, with the exception of an ageing Battier. After all that, though, LBJ / Gasol / Eric Gordon / Okafor is an amazing combination.

4. Boston. A complete rebuild that I think brought back quite a bit more talent than complete rebuilds usually do in this game. Although I don’t see Brook Lopez as a star, Lopez and Derrick Williams is an awfully good young frontcourt, and Gilchrist is a fine prospect. Rubio is the giant questionmark – if he’s what people expected a few years ago this team is really good. If he shoots 28% from the floor, not so much.

5. Dallas. It’s hard to make a championship team better, and he did. The downside, of course, is that it’s getting older fast, and the improvements sacrificed what little young talent the team had. But worth it, I think, to add Paul Pierce and strengthen the bench.

6. Chicago. Again, this was a hard team to improve, and in my opinion Bosh for Boozer is a very large upgrade. Not as sold on Redick and Carter at SG, and the loss of Gibson is not small, but it’s a better team.

7. Cleveland. I’m not giving credit for Drummond, since the real Cavs will have a high lottery pick, and getting #1 was luck. So this amounts to: turned a good prospect in Tristan Thompson into a potential superstar in Harrison Barnes. And that’s enough, in my view, to call this a very good performance.

8. New Jersey. I like the Westbrook / Aldridge / Gallinari core a lot and think Varejao and Afflalo were perfect complementary pieces to put alongside them.

9. Philadelphia. Much better balanced lineup, with a strong frontline in Bynum and Millsap. I think the talent subtracted (Igoudala, Thad Young, and Elton Brand, whose bad contract overshadowed a really good season) is pretty close to the talent added, but this team is a stronger contender than the real Sixers.

10. Toronto. Again, I’ll chalk up Anthony Davis to a bad team and luck in the lottery. Adding Beal and Augustin, while clearing out bad contracts, is still an impressive accomplishment, and this looks like a lineup that can play well together.

11. Washington. Like my comment on Cleveland here – turned some OK pieces into a good prospect in Tristan Thompson, and that’s an accomplishment. I would have liked this team better if it had moved out Blatche and Young and gotten some talent in return, though.

12. Houston. Zillions of moves later, this team has upgraded C in a big way with Nene, and upgraded PG to a lesser but still significant extent by replacing Lowry with Rondo. And I like the Thad Young signing (and wish I’d offered an extra couple of million and gotten him myself). The loss of Kevin Martin hurts a lot, though – I don’t know where the scoring comes from, so it’s hard to see this team getting past the first round of the playoffs.

13. Milwaukee. I loved the late-game theft of both Paul George and Jeremy Lamb, and a lot of bad contracts (and bad players) are gone. And I think trading Bogut is justifiable given the very significant injury risks. But … Jordan Hill isn’t a starting center.

14. Orlando. Impossible to judge, of course – how can you determine a fair return for Dwight Howard? If one of Favors or Cousins turns out to be 85% of Howard, awfully good. And it seems to me that there’s a pretty reasonable chance of that. I’m not as impressed by the rest of the young players here, though, and I wouldn’t bet on this team to come together.

Pretty Good

15. Charlotte. Sorry to repeat myself – no credit for the high draft pick (Sullinger), so what we’ve got here is the addition of Wes Johnson. If he turns into a star I’ve rated Charlotte far too low, but I don’t see that happening. And I think the trade of Augustin and Thomas did not bring sufficient value back.

16. LA Clippers. This is one of several teams that I would have rated much higher before the last round of trades. And if I’d been the player agent I would have had Howard sign with LAC, and would then have rated them first. But after all that, I would rather have Blake Griffin, Eric Gordon and DeAndre Jordan than Curry, Iguodala, and Bogut.

17. Phoenix. Horford is, over the long run, better than anybody on the real Suns. I’m not convinced that any of the other four guys in the lineup are legitimate starters, though at least two of them (Dudley and Hill) are fine reserves. And I don’t see much else here to build around, with the possible exception of Beaubois.

18. Atlanta. Good players, and nice job moving out Johnson’s contract. But Horford is, in my opinion, better than anybody added, and Smith may be as well. And I though the contracts for both Wallace and Felton were way too high, and will put this team right back in a very difficult salary situation, especially combined with the amount owed to Boozer and Perkins.

Not as Good

19. Oklahoma City. Another team that I would have rated about ten slots higher at an earlier stage of the game. In particular, Gasol was a brilliant acquisition – why trade him?
There’s surely still a great deal of talent here. But talk about mismatches … Bryant and Durant? And, God help us, Tyreke Evans as a point guard next to the two of them? And Brand is not a center, and Camby will be 83 years old in 2012-13.

20. New York. I’m no lover of Carmelo Anthony, but I think he and Fields could have brought a significantly better return, or at least a return that created a better-balanced team. Center is weak, I don’t think Josh Smith is a small forward, and Billups looked done this year.

21. Sacramento. Very decent young players in Batum, Patterson, and Klay Thompson. None of them, I think, is close to having star potential. I don’t like Evans or Cousins, but both of them do; I think Sacramento would have done better to build around one of them plus a high draft pick and trade the other.

22. Minnesota. I’m sorry about this low ranking; I thought Minnesota did a terrific job early in the game. The trade for Howard was a gamble that didn’t pay off; fair enough. After that, though… Love, Derrick Williams, Rubio, and Wes Johnson are gone, and Lawson and Jordan are about all they have to show for all that talent.

23. Utah. What I see here is the addition of McAdoo, and the subtraction of Favors, Millsap, and Harris. Talent out > talent in.

[BlackIce]

Denver Nuggets


1. NOH – I have to put them first. Howard/Wade/Williams is a nasty core, I don’t love the supporting cast but the core alone is enough to carry the team. Great job.

2. MIN – All things considered they did very well. Losing Dwight for nothing and STILL being able to field a good young team is impressive. I like the backcourt quite a bit.

2b. GS (move everyone from here down a spot, so TOR becomes 4 etc.). Like the others said amnesty helped, still I love me some Kevin Love. Elite rebounder with 3 point range, and only in his early 20's? If he can improve his defense we have something here. Lowry is a bull, a strong defender that proved he belongs in the starters role this year. Very underrated player. Gortat is a good role player that fits well in this all white frontcourt . Harden can handle the ball a lot on this young team, in this role he thrives I think as a legit 2nd option. Good bench. Fantastic job.

3. TOR – Really like what they did with my hometown team. Anthony Davis has superstar upside imo, and could very well be the best player in the 2012 draft. Beal is a legit prospect in the mold of Eric Gordon perhaps. He kept his two best assets and adding a solid point in DJ. If only the real raps..egh.

3b. NJ - Amazing job. Started with Williams and downgraded a bit to WB. Varajao isn't on the same level as Lopez. Other than that, wow. Afflalo/Gallo (overpaid but you had to match)/LMA is an amazing core and a team that is going places. Congrats.

4. CHI – Simple but effective. Adding Bosh to an already good core and not overdoing it (A lesson I have yet to learn ) scores a high place on my list. Could have added more to the bench perhaps. Less is more in this instance.

5. DAL – Similar to Chi, adding Pierce without losing a whole lot gives them the best team in the league perhaps. Old team for sure, but they were old before. May as well add to a good team than tearing it down and rebuilding, I agree with the direction here.

6. MIA – Controversial maybe, but I like what they did to an extent. They started off with elite assets so a lot was expected of them. Gordon is a suitable Wade replacement but is not and will never be a top 3 player. I prefer Bosh to Gasol, mostly due to youth. The reason I like what they did is because of the Okafor and Ellis upgrades and adding a legit bench.

7. WAS – Literally did nothing wrong, no bad moves which is quite rare. Just didn’t do enough for me to justify a higher spot. I know I said less is more with CHI but turning Boozer into Bosh is what did it for them. Anyway, I like all their moves and it was smart to keep Wall and Mcgee, and I love the addition of the Canadian Tristan Thompson. Good job.

8. CLE – Drummond is nice but like Stern said the real life Cavs have a shot at him as well. No, the reason I have them this high is the addition of Barnes, a blue chip that looks to be a great player in the future. Kept Irving as well.

9. PHX – Turned not much into something. Horford is a fine franchise player, and the rest is aight. PHX is one of the hardest team to do anything with I respect the job they did. Tried to stay young as well which is good, may have been a mistake to move the pick though.

10. OKC – Adding Kobe/Reke to that team could have won the game for OKC but it came at the expense of their starting C, Westbrook and Harden. You gotta give to get but I’d have preferred a Bogut or Bynum at C and only one of Kobe or Reke. Still exceptional though.

11. BOS – Lopez/Williams is a deadly offensive frontcourt and with the defensive minded rookie at SF I like the makeup of this team a lot. This team will depend a lot on the development of the young Ricki Rubio, we’ll see how he performs next season. Tough job Boston is, good job.

12. PHI – Good defensive minded team with young players that have allstar upside (Holiday/Turner maybe/Bynum) and great role players in Chandler/Millsap.

13. HOU – Good playoff team that can compete with anyone, good defense but a lack of a go to scorer will hurt come playoff time. I would have liked to see Martin at that SG spot instead of Crawford. Interesting team, I like the makeup and Rondo/Nene are fantastic players that are big upgrades.

14. ORL – Love, love the frontcourt. Not only is it young, it fits. Defense/Offense both projecting to be solid rebounders. Not much in the backcourt though and although I like Green they needed more of a scorer/creator at either the PG or SF spot.

14.b MIL (move everyone from here down a spot).I think they could have gotten more for Bogut tbh. Keeping Jennings was cool, and I really liked the George trade, he is long and looks to be a good building block. Perry Jones was a smart pick, but no real C where Bogut used to be hurts.

15. CHA – Not much to say here, good job. Sullinger looks to be a good prospect and I like that they keep a lot of their core.

16. LAC – I would have kept Griffin, I prefer Curry to Gordon (barely) though and Iggy/Bogut are unreal upgrades.

16.b ATL (move everyone from here down a spot). I like the team but they overpaid Gerald Wallace by about 6 mill and had a better frontcourt with Perkins/Nene to begin with. I don't really love OJ Mayo, he seems to have regressed and though JJ is overpaid he is an allstar level player. Wallace is a one time allstar, but if I had to overpay for one of them it would be JJ. Plus Mayo on a 9 mill a year contract isn't ideal. Still Felton is an upgrade and the bench is much improved.

17. NYK – I think Melo should have gotten more value, Smith is playing out of position and Haywood is overpaid. That being said, I like the improved defense, and the keeping of Amare.

18. SAC – Cousins/Reke have a ton of upside, no real stars here. Batum is a GREAT defensive minded role player with good upside but not a ton here. First time GM did a decent job, hope to see them in future games.

19. UTA – Just not a ton left on this team, considering the riches they started out with..

If I missed anyone lemme know. Good job everyone, thanks to babyjax the commish. Thankless job, I’ve said it before.


Edit - Missed ATL, GS and MIL

added

[-Kees-]

A few things before a start the rankings. One, thanks to Babyjax for commishing, it was done extremely well, all issues were handled promptly and (IMO) the right way. Two, what was weird about this game was that it changed mid way through. A ton of teams either got really good, or got really bad. It was strange, I had never seen it before.

1. Denver - Outside of me, this is clear number 1. Smith/Curry for Griffin+ was an awesome trade, and you have a decent (not great) bench and role players. One of your best jobs, BI.

2. Golden State - Amnesty helped a lot, but you still (despite that) did a great job. Lowry was a solid pickup, Harden and Love should do well, plus Gortat, all from Ellis/Curry. I also think Miller will be the best SF from this draft, that was a great draft choice.

3. Philly - Picking up Bynum is the key here. I think he is a great pickup, and Jamison/Jackson are both excellent vets to bring to your team. Good job overall.

4. Cleveland - Winning the lotto was good, and Bass/Rush were good pickups too, but I'm not sure about Barnes. Keeping Williams may have put you higher, but still a solid job.

5. Orlando - One of those teams that ended well, picking up Favors with Cousins. Decent supporting cast, but adding a better backcourt would've been nice.

6. Houston - I really like the makeup of this team. It's young, and has good balance. Crawford can close the games, you kept Scola, and Thad/Nene provide a ton of O. Great job overall, I think the value and fit of this team is awesome.

7. Oklahoma City - Wow. Tons of talent, but doesn't fit. Kobe/Evans both need the ball, and Durant need his shots too. Like I said, great talent upgrade, but fit doesn't work (Brand at C doesn't either).

8. Boston - Great rebuild, good choice on what to do. I like the starting 5, and depth is solid too.

9. Dallas - Upgrade right now, but got older. Not to be redundant, but I'm not sure getting better/older is better than worse/younger. Got extra pieces from nothing though, so a few good moves for sure, just not quite on point.

10. Chicago - Not as sold on this as others. Losing Bogans, Brewer, Gibson is a huge deal, Bosh is clearly a plus, but I don't think it's enough to outset the loss of D. Redick/Carter also isn't enough at the 2.

11. Toronto - Getting 2nd in the lotto was a key to success, but Beal was a good pick. Much better than the current Raptors, but not sure how much of that was you VS luck in the lotto.

12. New York - Bringing in defensive players around Amare is a smart move, and Matthews/Smith/Haywood was a decent return on Melo.

13. Miami - Pretty lateral moves overall. Wish you would've kept Paul...but you did ok otherwise. Pau is similar to Bosh, and Gordon/Ellis is a young backcourt with potential, but lack of defense. Pau isn't great in this area either, and I think that's the big thing you lost, even though you got younger.

14. Washington - Nothing bad, but nothing amazing either. Thompson was best move, but still lack a distinct, scoring big. You might be able to get one in next year's draft, but that seems to be the only issue.

15. Phoenix - Horford is a good building block, but I think you had a better team earlier. Seems a bit like a team of role players, but then again, so was the old Suns. Marginal improvement at best.

16. Milwaukee - Good 4 man core, but very little D. Maybe you can land a big time C, but otherwise it'll be a bit rough. Good to bring down to 20M payroll too.

17. Minnesota - Losing Dwight was tough, no doubt. Maybe you shouldn't have tried to get him, or if you did, keeping Bosh might've been good. Only real bright side is that you might land Shabazz Muhammad in next years draft, who looks like something special.

18. Sacramento - Lacking a true superstar, and still young. No one as good as Cousins or Evans, overall a downgrade.

19. Atlanta - Playoff team, but not much more. Also an extremely high payroll will hurt Atlanta a lot (Paying 92M is a bit rough), especially considering you don't have a great #1.

20. LA Clippers - Got better now, but keeping Griffin should've been a must. Again, better than before, but Griffin has the chance to be a top player for the next 10 years.

21. Utah - Trading Favors wasn't a good move, and I don't see any other major improvements.

[5th pick sucks]

1) Hornynets - Added Dwight and Deron in the offseason. Took a risk, but it payed off. Nothing more to say really Deron/Wade/Dwight and some solid role players = the Chip.

2) Warriors - May have them a little high, but to get Harden/Love and Gortat as well as Lowry, you're doing something right. Love ya core. Think the Warriors ought to give ya a call.

3) Magic - Love the Cousins/Favors front-court. And Thornton is insanley good on Offence. Jeff Green is also another play I'm really found of. If Mr Teage develops, ya have a dynasty.

4) Minny - Even though these aren't based 100% on effort, he gets the spot. He gave up some much, to get so little after FA. He was forced to make some moves. Lawson and Jordan will create some damage in the future

5) Denver - Made some pretty damn good moves, all I can really say. Got a franchise player in Blake. He's set..

6) Miami - He started off with a lot, but he didn't screw up thats all that really counts at this point Imo lol..

7) Dallas - Moved some of his younger pieces which may come in effect at a later date to be announced, but Paul Pirece is a damn upgrade and thats all I **** care about.

8) Rockets - Rondo, Nene, Thad. I'm done speaking

9) Philly - Love the adding of Bynum and Millsap. Chandler is a SF that can strech the floor and is a great fit with Jrue. However it would be a major concern to me if Bynum were to get injuried which is a high possibility.

10) Nets - Hve nothing to really say here,. Love the core

11) Chigaco - Adding Chris Bosh for Boozer was a huge booster to this sqaud.

12) Cavs - Added Barnes and Andre is all that really matters.

13) Boston - Even though they had a pretty easy start-off going throughj the rebuilding process which three stars is easy. Just need to find takers. Love the sqaud though

14) Knicks - In the aftermath, getting Matthews, Smith, and Haywood around Melo is definatly a decent job. However I'm not 100% sold on Billups starting in this league at the moment

15) Oklahoma City - My dropper, but only because Kobe/Durant/Evans, is extreme talent, problem is, it doesn't fit. Great job though

16) Raptors - Got a better PG and Beal and Davis. Boom goes the bomb. Love to see them in the future.

17) Hawks - Nothing special, nothing horrible either. Guess what I'm trying to say is I didn't like them losing Horford

18) Bucks - Until dealing Jordan I thought this team had potential. Maybe the center issue can be fixed Via draft.

19) Suns - In the aftermath of this game it lookes to be Nash for Horford.. I'll freakin take it

20) Washington - Don't know what to say. Didn't really change anything. Like the adding of Thompson and Rivers though.

21) Clippers - Trading Blake was the reason of the drop-off. Would have been rated a lot higher if it weren't for the lt trade.

22) Bobcats - Like a previous Ranker said, not much credit for the high pick. Wes has shown to be decent at best, maybe he can show me different though.

23) Utah - Trading Favors was a big big no no.

[Warriorfan]

\First great game thanks for commishing babyjax a very time consuming undertaking.


Work in Progress.



Champion 2013 NO
Champion 2018 NO\
Best team assembled fits well and has youth.

1. Denver Really good job started with maybe one all star and vbuilt a contender. You were very active. I even think during the game you had a better team than you ended with. -

2,New Orleans
The champion but winning the Free Agent sweepstakes was a main reason after getting Wade

3. Chicago Disciplined to not make wholesale changes 60 win team. Bosh good trade,.


4. Orlando - Tough spot with Dwight did well in getting youth bright future.

5. Dallas Two Time Champt Pierce and Jameer good additions.

6. Golden State Improved bigs thought should have kept Curry .

7.Philly - Depth solid team no superstar but will make playoffs consistently.

8. Cleveland - Winning the lotto was good, and Bass/Rush were good pickups too, One trade to many.

9. Boston - Good rebuild, good choice on what to do. I like the starting 5, and depth is solid too
.



. 10 Toronto - Getting 2nd in the lotto was a key. Did what you could with little to start with..

11 Minnesota -Liked the gamble on Dwight recovered well from loss,.

12. New York - Bringing in defensive players around Amare is a smart move, and Matthews/Smith/Haywood was a decent return on Melo.

13. Miami Started with a lot. One Paul trade to many. Better Depth better salary.-


14. Phoenix - Horford is a good building block, Lost more talent then gained.

15 Milwaukee - Solid core could not get much done with cap space.


16. Washington - Mainly status quo,

17 Atlanta - Playoff team now but high payroll not a contender.

18 Sacramento Started with 4 young good pieces ended with less. -

19. LA Clippers - Traded a future Superstar. Had cap space and combo with young talent. Did not finish well..

[MagicalMe]

Well, first of all, thank you for a nice game. I had a great time talking and dealing with most of you, guys. Thank you, babyjax, for being a good commish, i got all my questions answered and everything else was pretty clear.
Most of the GM's did a good job, i had a hard time ranking the teams, because so many good teams.. Wow.. Of course, i could have some teams under-rated or over-rated, but i guess, this game is not about winning, it's about getting fun. Now to the rankings:

1.New Orleans. You planned everything well. You knew what you were doing and got the big 3, that is even more scary than what Pat Riley formed some time ago in the south beach. Thin bench, but you will form it in few years with draft picks and solid free agnets, who you could be able to sign with MLE. Nice job, building this powerhouse.

2.Denver. A really good team, with 2 superstars leading the way. Other guys, such as Hibbert, Wright, Barea, Thompson are solid and young pieces. Veterans in Hil, Diaw brings experience. I like the way, team can contend both now and in the future.

3.Golden State. Nice young core! Harden + Love is scary. Gortat brings good defense and Polish hammers out of the pick and roll. I like Lowry a lot too. Really nice job.

4.Dallas. It was hard to make champions better, but you did. You’ve got Paul Pierce to make your chances to win even better now. You kept Tyson Chandler, who was huge with his defense. You’ve got a good replacement PG when Kidd retires and some depth in Hayes, Davis. Nice job, you’ve also won a title in 2012, which shouldn’t be forgotten ranking your job.

5.Philadelphia. I like your balanced starting 5 which is young and talented. Bench is decent too. Nothing more to say, in some time, Philly can win the Eastern conference with a roster like this.

6.Cavaliers. Future big 3 possibly? Irving/Barnes/Drummond can be scary in the future if they all live up to their potential. Of course, some of this, may be considered as a luck in the lottery, but that doesn’t mean, that you didn’t do a solid job. Bench is also good.

7.Boston. Huge amount of young talent. And I really like what you have here in your team. Your team’s deep, young and should be exciting to watch, because scoring wouldn’t be a problem for you. I am doubtful about your SG position, but everything else looks nice.

8.New Jersey. Players fit nicely. Love your starting 5. Your starters are signed for a long time. Nice!

9.Charlotte. Added some young good guys and I like that. Tough place to start playing with, but in the end, your roster looks really good for the future.

10.New York. You started with a good team, but still, you’ve done a decent job. You got more balanced starters, added some nice depth and cut the salary of Billups. You improved defense, what was a weak point for the NYK. Yet another team, who has done a good job.

11.Miami. You had a team, that was really strong. I think you should have kept CP3, because I don’t really like Ellis being a PG in team like this. EG is good and young, but not as good as Wade. Okafor is good addition, but his contract is a bit too big. Gasol is older than Bosh and talent-wise, about the same. Bench is still thin outside of Battier and West. I think, you got the talent, but not necessarily what you needed.

12.Clippers. Some people are mad about Griffin being traded. But I like the new core. Bogut is a really good C, your PG rotation is really good, I like both Allen and Odom and Iggy brings you the defense and playmaking. Good job, in my opinion.

13.Milwaukee. While other rebuilding teams already got their players, you set things up. You have many draft picks, low payroll, which are good conditions to build your team. You’ve got a long-term plan, so it’s hard to rank your team, but I couldn’t rank it higher than this.

14.Washington. Pretty silent in the course of the game, but did a good job by adding some nice young pieces.

15.Toronto. Good job, but I would rank you much higher if you didn’t have 2 overpaid players in RJ and Tyrus Thomas. But anyways, you improved your Raptors and your starters have good value now.

16.Chicago. I understand your decision, to keep all of Deng, Noah, Asik, Rose, because I really like these players and their defense. Bosh is better than Boozer. Also, you brought in Ray Allen type of SG in Redick, but the loss of Gibson and Brewer hurts. Solid job overall.

17.Houston. You’ve got a deep, talented team. You have some vets and some young guys. Surely, you’re not rebuilding and I would doubt that you’re contending. So my biggest concern is, if this team wouldn’t be stuck in mediocrity.

18.Atlanta. Solid, deep team, but neither guy is a real number 1 option. Payroll is bigger than the talent level would require it to be, so, even though, you have good quality guys, I couldn’t rank you higher.

19.Minnesota. You have done an amazing job at the start. I remember you had a core of Bogut/Bosh/Gordon/Williams, but you decided to gamble for Dwight. The gamble didn’t pay off, so even though you didn’t give up and got a complementary squad, but I can’t rank you higher, because I’d actually take the old T-Wolves, instead of yours.

20.Oklahoma. Not really high on the job done. PG, SG and SF positions are amazing, but I’m not sure about the fit. I think this roster requires 1 more move, moving any of Tyreke, Kobe for a really good center and PG who wouldn’t need the ball that much.

21.Sacramento. Young team, willing to improve, but neither player seems to be a superstar and real number 1 option. I’m not high on Oden, because of his injuries. Could have done better starting with Evans and DMC.

22.Phoenix. Seems like the team is stuck in mediocrity. Not high on Roy anymore and even though I really like Hill and Horford, I think, you should have tried to try something different (getting a high draft pick for example).

23.Utah. Actually, I’m not impressed by your performance. At the start, you’ve got good amount of young talent, but when I look at your roster now, it seems like your team lost that bright future and surely, isn’t contending now.

Champion 2013: Hornets
Champion 2018: Cavaliers

[Blazer50]

Based on how I felt people performed in this game:

1 MN - Got hosed on the Howard ruling in FA - deserved to keep him (and would have had the commitment) but played on and built a nice contender that is a super star short of winning.
2 GSW - Built a good starting lineup with excellent depth (Calderon at $3M might be his best signing).
3 PHI - Solid positive moves and built a team 2 deep (center??) and did it over the 1/2 game - change GMs I believe. Good job
4 ATL - Great job. Again should not have had to eat cap space resigning Gerald Wallace but went max and still was creative and made moves to improve an enigmatic team. Good depth as well.
5 LA Clippers - Should have keep Griffin but recovered nicely - Great squad
6 Miami - Should have kept CP3 (thought he had more time and was trying for a true PG). Star struck GM who chased every high profiled star and got more than his share. Lack balance and quality depth, but kept it under $80M and would compete.
7 DEN - someone else mentioned that he had better teams earlier (a BlackIce trait - Just Trade Baby) but he did end up with a balance talented squad. Marked down for 39 (yes a young 39 but 39) year old starting SF and slow Hibbert. He started great last year, but ran into "motivation" issues which alway concern me. Also has Wright (SF) out of position.
8 CHI - Good to Good - should have been more active in the game, but the limited moves he made were positive.
9 CLE - Young - great accomplishment - had good drafts and executed a plan for improvement over the 2 seasons. With time this team will be a solid contender.
10 OKC - Westbrook to Hinrich and E Brand and Camby at Center. Your assets should have gotten you a better return.
11 CHA - definite improvement with future develepment - still some quesiton marks (PG, SF & Center).
12 PHX - Came from nowhere and made solid offers throughout to build a team that could get into teh playoffs. Very little to start (Nash) and had to go on a rebuild mode.
13 ORL - Not as good as when the game started - but I did like dealing with him. Solid player, just tough to lose Dwight and have the FA he had.
14 MILW - Could have been more active, created a decent team and had to move Bogut.
15 Boston - Some nice new pieces and younger.
16 NEW ORLEANS - given the game in FA rulings and you swing a Spencer Hawes deal. Pick up left over FA on minimum deals and have Capspace. Nothing right about this team in NO, but at least no one goes to the games and maybe they will be in Seattle soon (or a city near you).
17 DALLAS - OLD and never did try to get into the game - There was an $80M Hard Cap and you kept your high priced players and added Paul Pierce. Nice to play by your own rules, but You did not win my vote (However, I did like dealing with you and ranked you 3rd for your other team- PHI). Dirk for Griffin was the obvious move - hope you at least tried for that.
Knicks were criticized for not getting More for Carmello - and they needed a SF, but that was the buy in to play in the new CBA game.
18 -19 NJ and WA - Did not play - Thanks for keeping your players on the sidelines. Your efforts have been justly rewarded.

[JoebobLollipop]

1. Denver: Awesome job in getting CP3 and Griffin
2. MIN: Despite losing out on Howard, still got a good, young core.
3. Toronto: Has a great young core.
4. Miami: Great job on surrounding LBJ with better pieces.
5. GSW: Got rid of all bad contracts and now might actually play defense
6. NOH: Got helped out too much from the 2012 FAs.
7. Boston: Great rebuilding job although i don't think Lopez is worth that money.
8. ORL: Great front court and got rid of Hedo/Arenas
9. CLE: Awesome young core.
10. New Jersey: Got WB and LMA together.
11. Houston: Turned a bunch of depth into a real center and top PG.
12. Dallas: Good addition of Pierce but didn't make enough trades to justify a higher ranking
13. Chicago: See Dallas but with Bosh instead of Pierce.
14. MIL: Good young core w/o many bad contracts.
15. PHI: Losing Iggy hurts, but I like the addition of Bynum.
16. ATL: Maintained playoff team.
17. SAC: Decent young players
18. PHX: Better core of Beaubois/Horford/Dudley to build around.
19. Charlotte; Like the addition of Wes Johnson,
20. NYK: Didn't get enough for Camelo
21. OKC: Tyreke/Kobe/Durant=major fighting for shots
22. WAS: Only made one trade
23. UTA: Lost value on most positions

[RR9]

1. OKC, great job building around durant...good depth. trading away wb was the right move. nicely done getting kobe with durant. enjoyed trading with you.

2. CHI, you kept a good cast, but didn't play the game....why even play if you're just gonna mostly sit still? almost no value added to the game.

3. DEN, great job pairing cp3/blake. bench is weak. i'd put you at about #3. great job staying active.

4. SAS, i have nothing to say to you because i never even talked to you. you made 0.5 moves?

5. DAL, i loved the move getting pierce with dirk. you're a top 3 team as well. you kept a lot of your cast, but getting pierce, jameer, big baby, and chuck hayes were all good moves. wish you were a bit more active, but i don't think you traded with yourself so that's good. or if you did, i remembered it was fair on both sides.

6.MEM, not too active, but i like the gain of JJ...maybe he'll try harder with a great contending team, lost a lot of defense though.

7. NJN, well done gaining so much youth and talent for dwill and brook.

8. LAC, why'd you give up blake? nice getting back curry, smith, and bogut, but lost a franchise player...

9. GSW, nice makeover. lowry/harden/miller/love/gortat is a great team.

10. LAL, work on your negotiation please. being super flipfloppy on every trade discussion we had made me stop making you offers.

11. NYK, see HOU.

12. PHI, not sure what direction you're trying to go. if it's youth, nice with jru, evan, and bynum. good trading with you PHI/DAL.

13. WAS, sorry about the EG situation. i'm sure you weren't happy about that. also sucks that you weren't more involved, but great young team still.

14. HOU, pleasure trading with you and really appreciate you staying so active. we made some great moves. you gathered good youth...will be a playoff team for seasons to come. might have traded a bit much with yourself (understandable given slow response times of certain teams).

15. ATL, you love Gwall and i respect that lol. solid cast, very solid. i'd put you in top 5. nice trading with you.

16. IND, granger and kmart def will do some damage, but nothing too much outside strong wings.

17. MIN, good job making up after dwight's departure.

18. TOR, great rebuilding progress.

19. DET, like your core a lot.

20. BOS, rubio+ is a good young core.

21. MIL, solid rebuilding job.

22. ORL, wow @ your front court and great assets outside of that too. will become a contender soon.

23. CLE, great youth. that's all i have to say. great job being active (eventhough we didn't trade much). I give you the 2018 championship.

24. SAC, you were at a great rebuilding mode and flipped 180, pretty poorly. your writeup was also very weak. great great job staying active though. i enjoyed trading with you.

25. PHX, you did what you could with what you had. if roy's good, he and horford are a superb core.

26. CHA, Great youth, but traded withyourself for NOH to get some cap.

27. NOH, what a fluke in NOH, and i mean the offense. you might've made a good pitch, but that's just unrealistic. NOH is not a main city like ORL was and we all know dwight wants either that or on a championship competing team and MIN was already at that point. i blame the agents who signed them to you. you had one superstar going into FA - that alone isn't enough to attract TWO other tier 1 stars lol.

28. UTA, not sure what you were doing the entire time...maybe helping OKC too much.

29. PDX, stopped playing after FA.

2013 champs minus MIA: OKC
2018 champs: CLE

[RiotPunch]

1. Denver Nuggets
Great job, man. You always produce the longest list of transactions, sometimes you make a few more than you should and hurt your team, but this game you owned. That lineup you started with and then ending with an extended CP3 and a young Blake Griffin is fabulous.
2. New Orleans Hornets
Just like someone said earlier in this thread, if you end the game with an extended D-Wade, D-Will and D-12, you pretty much win. I gave Denver the edge because he actually achieved his success via trading while you just sat back with one superstar and got extremely lucky in FA.
3. Minnesota Timberwolves
I feel for you, man. J-Rocka had built a GREAT team and then got RAPED in free agency. If that would have happened to me, it would have been hard to keep going. He didn't quit, and he ended up with a nice young core of players. You're at 3 for your work building "both" teams.
4. Chicago Bulls
Some criticize you for "not playing the game", but I have no problem with you standing pat and making realistic transactions. Trading for the sake of trading isn't why I play this game personally. I play to put the best possible team on the floor, and pairing Bosh with Rose and Noah was a great move for the Chicago Bulls.
5. Dallas Mavericks
The aging veteran super-team. You stacked up on all-star players in their twilight years and was able to bring a second consecutive championship to the city of Dallas. Well done acquiring Pierce.
6. Boston Celtics
You had a direction and stuck to it. I've seen a lot of GM's fail miserably in this game at running the Celtics, but I like what you did quite a bit. It was great working with you and the end product from our trade, Derrick Williams being paired with Brook Lopez, gives you a real nice frontcourt.
7. Golden State Warriors
Harden and Love make for a great (unathletic) duo. Great starting point for building a contender, much better than where you were when you started.
8. Toronto Raptors
Great job being commish, first of all. Beal / DeRozan / Davis is a real nice young core. Augustin should distribute the ball well to those weapons and hopefully Jonas can develop into a good center.
9. Oklahoma City Thunder
Kobe and Durant is insane, even if it would only last a couple of years given Kobe's age.
10. Miami Heat
I thought you were making some poor moves throughout the game, but your final product is a helluva team. That type of shooting / scoring talent around LeBron bodes well for your upcoming playoff run.
11. Houston Rockets
Losing the lottery sucks, but you did a great job of bringing in two good young players in Johnson and Sullinger. I thought you did well considering you didn't have a whole lot to work with.
12. New Jersey Nets
Got a player tied down through the Williams deal in LMA, and getting Westbrook was nice. This team has a lot of potential.
13. Orlando Magic
I bumped this down because Utah was an incompetent GM and that Favors trade would never happen in real life. However, a frontcourt of Favors/Cousins is beastly.
14. Washington Wizards
Didn't have any reasons to make a lot of trades. He kept his main assets in Wall / McGee and added other young prospects in Thompson / Rivers, who fit in pretty well. Good working with you.
15. Atlanta Hawks
I don't necessarily agree with the moves you made, but hell you picked a direction and seemed pumped about the moves you made. I dig that. Who am I to judge your moves if you are thrilled with them?
16. Milwaukee Bucks
Ultimately didn't get enough for Bogut, in my opinion. If that Minny pick was a lotto pick it would have been adequate. Good job ending up with a frontcourt of Jennings / Lamb / George though, those three will be great on both ends of the court.
17. Los Angeles Clippers
Good job being active. Don't agree with some of your big moves, not to beat the dead horse here, but namely the Blake trade soured my ranking for you.
18. Phoenix Suns
Well done acquiring Horford and a solid cast around him, unfortunately I see this team missing out on the playoffs and struggling to improve in the future. I know mediocrity when I see it (I'm a Bucks fan) and this is mediocrity.
19. New York Knicks
Kind of ended up with a mess in New York. Some talent there but not sure how it meshes together.
20. Sacramento Kings
Seemed to change directions multiple times throughout the game. Started with a promising young core and ended with ???
21. Utah Jazz
Yeah...

2013 Champs:
Denver Nuggets

2018 Champs:
My team

[lukekarts]

New Orleans - Pat Riley likes this.

Orlando - I suppose if you're gonna have to trade Dwight away, you'd be hard pressed to find a better eventual return than no bad contracts plus Favors and Cousins. Two of the highest potential bigs on one team, the outlook looks much much better for the Magic.

Boston - great young team assembled, deserves a lot of credit considering the old guys don't have that much value.

Minny - Thanks for staying with the game - pulled off some great recovery moves after losing Dwight. I suspect moving Bosh for Boozer was the cause

Nuggets. Decent team but poor at SG, SF; only average interior defense. Great job at bringing Blake and Paul together, but the overall team isn't that much improved on a 30+ win Clippers team so is still a few pieces away from contention.

Chicago - upgrading from Boozer to Bosh was a great move, took the 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' approach and it paid dividends.

Toronto Raptors - underrated job. Team is full of potential, Thomas and R-Jeff aren't really negatives in this scenario either.

Cleveland - Drummond/Barnes/Irving is full of potential. Horrible trade of Tristan Thompson though.

Golden State Warriors - completely rebuilt around Reggie Williams. The team is improved, outlook is good.

Milwaukee - cleared out all the bad (there was a lot of bad) and added some potential in George and Jones. Will struggle for a couple of years but outlook is much better

Charlotte - did nothing groundbreaking but was unlucky with draft and looks well set for the future.

Phoenix - clear of bad contracts and added a long-term talent in Horford. Still a lot of work to go, but was one of the least desirable jobs and huge strides have been made.

Miami - the roster is deeper but I'm not sure it's better. Ellis, Gordon and LeBron clash more than Wade/LeBron do; saved only by the fact Pau / Okafor is a very balanced front court.

OKC - Team was better mid-game IMO; took steps backward with weak defensive front court and reliance on an old Kobe. The team is still really deep and will likely contend but I think lacks the 19/10 big man the team had earlier.

Washington - Thomspon is a good addition; the remainder of the team is in tact which is not necessarily a bad thing but in the long run I'm not sure how a team of poor IQ guys like McGee, Blatche & Young will do.

LAC - hard to give great credit for moving Blake, but the end product is upgraded massively at 3 positions and downgraded massively at 2 so by my maths thats +1 in your favour.

Houston - some clear upgrades at PG & C; some bizarre changes of direction during the game but end product makes the playoffs consistently.

Atlanta - solid improvements but I think the team is stuck where it was before (4-5th seed) with little young talent to improve things. Slightly better team but backwards progress vs the rest of the league.

New York - not really sure it's better than the current Knicks. Chauncey is old, I like Matthews and Smoove a lot but combined I think their impact is not quite the same as Melo.

Sacramento - better rounded team, but the big negative is that there's nobody here with anything close to Cousins or Tyreke's potential.

Utah - Sold out on half the teams potential for an end product that I don't think too much of.

2013 Champion: Chicago
2018 Champion: New Orleans or Cleveland

[babyjax13]

Still looking for people to post/finish their rankings. Results will be up tomorrow evening or Thursday afternoon (sorry for the delay, things are a bit hectic at the moment).

[SamBone]

N.O. – unrealistic, because I do not believe that Dwight would want to play on that team. He has been on the record saying a “Dream Team” is not what he would want and he would rather beat the “dream Team” then play with them, and I also think DWill would not want to play with DWade because of DWill ego, that said, it is a better fit then the Miami Trio in real life. A PF could make this team unbeatable

DENVER: Literally did nothing wrong, a lot of bad moves which is quite rare, but also some tradional ICE Magic done. Just did so much, couldn’t justify giving the top spot. Blake and Hibbert are a great pair and that CP guy is ok. Should be the 2018 champ if all stay and ICE does not completely redo the team by then

PHILLY – Like this team a lot. Not sure trusting ET is a good thing, but love the position this team is in for the future and will win a lot of games in the current, good job

BUCKS: great job, had a team of crap contracts and now has flexability and hope. Love Perry Jones and Lamb in the draft, and George and Jennings as cornerstones in pretty solid. Great job man

BULLS: made too many moves for my likeing, lol. But like this team. Wish they had a post presence, I am not a fan of Boozer at all, but actually think Boozer fits better then the much better player (Bosh), but that’s just a personal opinion of fits/not fits. But Bosh was a great addition, and JJ stuck under the radar, and should be great fit

MAGIC: turning a laim duck Dwight and some overpaid players into Cousins and Favors is pretty good job. Not sure how Beasly/Thorton/Jeff Green will play together, but some nice talent here. Paying RoLo that sort of cash to be a bench player, may hurt

CHARLOTTE: Nothing bad, but nothing amazing either. Adding Salmons was the worse move, but still lack a proven NBA scorer. You might be able to get one in next year's draft, but that seems to be the only issue. I do like the pairing of Henu and Wes Johnson, both should work of eachother nicely, not sure Kemba works with those 2 (I would invision a better shooter next to Hendu who has negative range) But I d think Kemba could be a star, personally I think Sullinger will not be good in NBA, but a very solid team

CAVS: potential!, but best proven NBA players are Bass/Hansbrough with is not saying much, really hard to rank this team, Drummond, Irving, Barnes COULD all be great, or could be busts. Again, like the prospects, but have no clue if they will live up to hype. more proven players would have moved you up, but then again, that did not work for me.

OKC: I think an aging Kobe would actually work next to KD, that may be crazy, but I do not see the issues happening that others think. The “older” guys here (Kobe, EB, DWest, Kirk) could work well with the top scorer in the game. Tyreke in the 6th man role is awesome for this team. Wish they had more of a true C, but team should still pile up a lot of W’s.

GS : turned some OK pieces into a young star in Harden and Love. I would have liked this team much better if it had moved out Epke and Reggie Williams and gotten some talent in return, though. But like the squad

TORONTO: Added some good young players, but otherwise made mostly lateral moves. Like Beal and DeRozen going forward, but taking on RJ hurts a lot

NJ: like what this team turned into

BOSTON: gutted the place, building around Brook and Dwill has hope. Rubio could keep the fans interested, but not a fan of the “prospects” that this team has, but that’s me, all are rated well, I personally just don’t think they will be good. Team really needs rebounding, especially since I see DWilliams as more of a Beasly then a Griffin.

SUNS: did not start with much of anything, and still landed Horford, just not sure this team can win many games, but then again, had not much to work with when started

Dallas: PP is a good addition; the remainder of the team is in tact which is not necessarily a bad thing but in the long run I'm not sure how a team well over the max salary cap could be put together. Sort of the reason the players will not accept the owners proposal for a real hard cap

MINNY: not sure what he was trying to do here, but then again, losing unjustly losing Dwight will cripple any franchise

ATL: not a fan of this team, sorry

SACTOWN: Don't know what to say, traded maybe the best future BIG in the game and ended up with a criple. Not sure this team could score 50 ppg. And Batum has a solid career ahead of him, but doubt its as a near MAX player and a #1 scoring option. But that’s me

JAZZ - Mainly status quo,

CLIPPS: Should have traded Jordan

MIAMI:

KNICKS/HOUSTON: did not make me an offer all game, would have really wanted to trade with the starting team. Thanks for keeping your players on the sidelines. Your efforts have been justly rewarded.