Doin' Work GM-A-Team Write-Ups (Winner Announced)

[Koponen]

SALARIES:



OBJECTIVE:

We wanted to turn our bevy of young prospects into some legitimate veteran pieces and make the playoffs while keeping a bright future. We wanted to stay under the luxury tax this year, get some cap flexibility moving forward, and find a player who could develop into a superstar. We believe that we've accomplished these goals and that Evan Turner, Chase Budinger, Goran Dragic and Patrick Patterson form a very good young core. We have a ton of picks moving forward and think we have a team full of high character prospects who will improve together over time.

ROSTER/ROTATION/MINUTES:

STARTED WITH:
PG: Ty Lawson/ Raymond Felton
SG: Arron Afflalo/ J.R. Smith
SF: Danillo Gallinari/ Wilson Chandler/ Gary Forbes
PF: Kenyon Martin/ Al Harrington/ Marvin Ely
C: Nene/ Chris Andersen/ Timofey Mozgov/ Kosta Koufos

ENDED WITH:





PG: Evan Turner(22)/ Jose Calderon(21)/Goran Dragic(5)
SG: Jason Terry(31)/ Evan Turner(7)/ Goran Dragic (10)
SF: Andrei Kirilenko(28)/ Chase Budinger(16)/ Evan Turner(4)/ Vladimir Radmanovic
PF: Luis Scola(33)/ Patrick Patterson(15)
C: Emeka Okafor(32)/ Timofey Mozgov(16)/ Alexis Ajinca

Luis Scola 33
Evan Turner 33
Jason Terry 31
Emeka Okafor 32
Andrei Kirilenko 28
Jose Calderon 21
Chase Budinger 16
Timofey Mozgov 16
Patrick Patterson 15
Goran Dragic 15

FUTURE ASSETS:

2012 DEN 1st
2012 DEN 2nd
2012 PHI 2nd
2013 CLE Unprotected 1st
2013 GSW 2nd
2013 DEN 2nd
2014 NYK Unprotected 1st
2014 NOH 2nd
2014 MEM 2nd
2014 DEN 2nd
2015 DEN 1st
2015 LAC 2nd
2015 DEN 2nd

POSITION BREAKDOWN

KEY:
>>> - Way better
>> - Much better
> - Better
>= - Slightly better
= - Equal
(Sorry for ripping this off Karmaloop/Keeslinator, but this seems to be the ideal system)

Point Guard

Jose Calderon, Goran Dragic < Ty Lawson, Raymond Felton

We think Calderon and Dragic can do some really nice things for us next year. Lawson is a very good long-term piece, but we felt that Felton's success early last season was largely the result of Mike D'Antoni's scheme. We were willing to part with those two in order to improve the rest of our roster. Offensively, Evan Turner will handle the ball for us, but will mostly guard 2s and 3s so I'm listing him as a Shooting Guard in these rankings. Calderon is a very good facilitator, and with the offensive firepower on the rest of this roster, that's all we'll need him to be. Goran can be a spark plug off the bench in the mold of JJ Barea.

Shooting Guard

Evan Turner, Jason Terry >>> Arron Afflalo, J.R. Smith

Arron Afflalo is a good young player, but is inefficient and is a poor defender. J.R. Smith is just as inefficient and is arguably an even worse defender. Evan Turner is going to be a very, very good player moving forward. Despite his subpar rookie season, we believe that The Villain flashed some real ability last year. We want him to handle the ball for us and defend our opponents' top perimeter player, a role he filled very nicely in the playoffs against LeBron James. Jason Terry is a contender for the 6th Man of The Year Award every season, and will fit very nicely next to ET and Calderon because of his range and scoring ability. We will look to put both Terry and ET on the floor together for extensive minutes, with ET guarding the opposing two-guard and bringing up the ball.

Small Forward

Andrei Kirilenko, Chase Budinger, Vladimir Radmanovic <= Wilson Chandler, Danillo Gallinari, Gary Forbes

Wilson Chandler is another good young piece, but his asking price in free agency was too high, so we swung a S+T deal to get some value back for him. We saw Gallinari as an expendable piece for the right price, and we got a solid offer that netted us Luis Scola and some very good young prospects. Andrei Kirilenko is an excellent defender and an efficient scorer with range and athleticism; he is also on a very reasonable declining contract. Chase Budinger, we feel, can replace Gallo's offensive output and give us another outside shooter. Vlad Rad is just a body, but could contribute if injuries force him into an expanded role.

Power Forward

Luis Scola, Patrick Patterson >>> Kenyon Martin, Al Harrington, Marvin Ely

Kenyon Martin was an overpaid bum, as was Al Harrington, and Marvin Ely was an end of the bench guy. This was a huge position of upgrade for us. Luis Scola is a beast. He's one of the most skilled bigs in the game and can score from just about anywhere on the court. He is a great compliment to Emeka Okafor and will carry much of the scoring load for our team. He's also on a very reasonable contract. Patrick Patterson is a GREAT young player. He's a very good defender and a good scorer in the low post. We're very happy about our Power Forward positon.

Center

Emeka Okafor, Timofey Mozgov, Alexis Ajinca < Nene, Chris Andersen, Timofey Mozgov, Kosta Koufos

Emeka Okafor is the perfect compliment to Luis Scola. He is one of the best post defenders in the NBA and can score efficiently when given touches. Nene is a better all-around player, but commanded too much money in free agency. With the addition of Scola, we think the offensive dropoff from Nene to Okafor will be less important. Andersen was a good backup for us, but wasn't worth his $5+ million contract considering the development of young Timofey Mozgov. Koufos and Ajinca are both end of the bench guys.

WHY I DESERVE TO WIN:

When I took over this roster, we had a lot of young talent, but no true stars. We think that with Luis Scola and Evan Turner we have a very skilled tandem who can grow together and hopefully make multiple All-Star games together. Okafor and AK47 are great defenders who will contribute on both ends of the floor for us. Terry is a playmaker who is the perfect compliment to our young star Evan Turner. Our bench is top notch, with Jose Calderon, Chase Budinger, Patrick Patterson, Timofey Mozgov, and Goran Dragic playing significant roles. If Turner pans out as we expect him to (think pre-injury Brandon Roy), this roster will be very dangerous, and will be one of the best defensive teams in the league. Next year, we'll have some cap flexibility and will have Jose Calderon's expiring contract and picks/prospects to use in order to upgrade our roster. Our core starters are signed through the next three seasons on reasonable deals, and with two unprotected 1st (2013 CLE and 2014 PHI), we have the opportunity to upgrade our roster through potential lottery picks despite having an above .500 roster.

[Garmfay]

Reserved Wizards

[Karmaloop]

EDIT: You've got until midnight EST to get your write ups in. NO MORE extensions.

[Karmaloop]

EDIT: You have two hours to finish your write-ups, no longer. I've gotten two requests for extensions.

[SamBone]

sorry fellas, was away for the Holiday week



jjbail10@yahoo.com
AIM: The SamBone


ROTATION:

PG: Holiday (33) / R.Jackson (8) / N.Smith (7)
SG: Ellis (33) / Morrow (15) / (N.Smith) / M.Carroll
SF: T.Young (33) / J.Jones (15)
PF: Milsap (30) / Kanter (18) / M.Morris
C : McGee (28) / (Kanter) (7) / Udoh (13)

SALARY:


FUTURE PICKS:
2012 PHILLY 1st
2012 SA 1st
2012 CHI 2nd

2013 TOR 1st

2014 PHILLY 1st

2015 PHILLY 1st
2015 TOR 1st (top 3 protected)
2015 PHILLY 2nd

TPE's:

TRADES:
1. traded Iguodala and Brand to SAC for #7, 2013 Sac 1st, Okafor, and D.Greene (TPE created)
2. traded #7, #50, 2013 Sac 1st, Nocioni, and D.Greene to CLEV for #4 and #54 (TPE created)
3. traded L.Williams to DAL for Beaubois (TPE created)
4. traded #54, 2013 2nd, 2014 2nd and TPE (from trade #3) to NJ for Morrow
5. traded #16 and TPE (from trade #2) to HOUST for Milsap and #44
6. traded Meeks to MIL for pick # 33 (R.Jackson)
7. S&T S.Hawes to TOR for 2013 TOR 1st and 2015 TOR 1st (top 3 protected)
8. traded Speights to CHAR for M.Carroll, rites to Markieff Morris, and 2012 SA 1st
9. traded R.Beabouis and 2013 Philly 1st to Dallas for E.Udoh
10. traded Brackins to CLEV for the rites to N.Smith
11. traded Okafor, E.Turner and 2012 Philly 2nd to DEN for Ellis, McGee, J.Jones

DIRECTION:

This is simple, I wanted to give the Sixers something they did not have, which is a bright future. I think I have done that. I have decided to build around the young future of the franchise, which is Jrue Holiday (just turned 22). I have added something the franchise has been missing and that was Monte Ellis (25) plus a solid hard working low post player in Paul Milsap (26) and a up and coming defensive stopper in JaValle McGee (23). I also was able to keep Thaddeus Young (23) and get him a bigger role. Plus added another young raw defensive C to my bench in Epke Udoh (24). That group in itself is better in the current and for the future then the current group, plus iyt is a much better fit for the system that Doug Collins runs. Add to that starting group I have added what turned out to be the 3rd (PF/C Enes Kanter), 13th (PF Markieff Morris), 21st (G Nolan Smith), and 24th (PG Reggie Jackson) picks in the draft.

I took a team that has a 2011/2012 payroll of $82 mil and lowered the current payroll to a tad over $48 mil while improving the team. I also have $10 mil in cap space keeping the group together for next off season, all while keeping 1srt round picks every year going forward. (including mine and the SA 1st in next draft)

[Karmaloop]

All right guys, time to rank.

Miami
New York
Cleveland
Chicago
Boston
Utah
Golden State
Sacramento
Los Angeles (Clippers)
San Antonio
Toronto
Los Angeles (Lakers)
Detroit
Memphis
Portland
New Jersey
Charlotte
Denver
Philadelphia

Rank those teams from first to worse based on how well they did what they were looking to accomplish (i.e. rebuild, compete, etc.). Do NOT rank your team though. Also, post whose most likely to win the championship in 2012 and 2017.

[Karmaloop]

Sacramento - By far the best job done IMO. Basically turn the wasteland that is Sacramento and made them one of the biggest favorites for the title. Probably comes out of the very difficult West. An Aldridge/Chandler duo is pretty formidable. Spacing is going to be key as both Melo and Rondo both thrive in the paint. Not sure they actually have the shooting to win a championship though.

Charlotte Bobcats - Take it from me as I've GMed the 'Cats before, it's a thankless job. Major props to bness for the AMAZING job he did turning the Bobcats into a legitimate playoff team. The roster as a whole is impressive especially given the lack of assets the Bobcats had at their disposal.

Boston Celtics - Really liked what they did here. Had the same mentality I had a few games ago when I was OKC. A duo of Westbrook/Howard is pretty scary, and did a pretty good job putting parts around them to succeed like Ryan Anderson and James Harden. Depth is good as well, probably could stand for more shooting though. Overall, the future is so much more bright now.

Detroit Pistons - Props. Took a terrible team and actually made them a pretty good team. Probably won't ever win a championship, but should compete until they face the big guys of the East. Overall, fits pretty well together but age is going to become an issue pretty quickly.

New Jersey Nets - Think they actually took a step back after the Deron Williams/Danny Granger trade, but overall I like what they did. Probably not good enough to win a championship, but will definitely make it tough for the top tier teams like Miami to come out of the East unscathed.

Utah Jazz - Pretty good job, but it's basically dependent on Andrew Bynum really turning into that 20/10 player while playing great defense. A good young core needs some veterans around, and if you're relying on Chris Anderson to provide that veteran leadership you might be in trouble. Good young core, but needs veterans to help them mature.

Golden State Warriors - Overall, pretty good job. Basically depends on Greg Oden staying healthy. If he gets anywhere near where he was projected to be, the Warriors would vault up the rankings. Overall, pretty good job especially considering you didn't deal Steph Curry.

Los Angeles Lakers - The talent is there, but the fits is iffy. A Jefferson/Bogut frontcourt isn't very good defensively, and I'm not sure either one of them is good enough away from the basket to keep spacing. Bryant/Artest is the same. Massive upgrade at point guard from Derek Fisher to Devin Harris. Depth appears to be an even bigger issue here now.

Cleveland Cavaliers - Put some really nice pieces in place alongisde Kyrie Irving. The Cavaliers won't be FA players until after the 2012/2013 season, so this is looking more down the road. DeAndre Jordan should get more attempts in Cleveland, so he was a nice S&T target. Got some good assets for the future as well.

Philadelphia 76ers - Nice group as a whole, but no real direction IMO. Seems like there is two different directions going. One appears to be a win now, while the other is a win later. Probably would be better suited choosing one way and working that angle.

San Antonio Spurs - Pretty similar teams if you ask me. Downgraded at PG for an upgrade at SF and PF. Manu Ginobili is a year older, so he's probably going to be worse. The Blair for Haywood swap is a push IMO. It seems Haywood got a bit overvalued this game IMO. Lack of any depth down low and shooting kills the team this year.

New York Knicks - They seem to be built a bit better than how the current Knicks are, but they still have too many different parts. Putting a 2/3 of Marcus Thornton and Joe Johnson is going to have issues defensively, as both are more natural shooting guards. A frontcourt combo of Amare Stoudemire/Joakim Noah is pretty scary though. Depth is still an issue, but it's better than it was before.

Memphis Grizzlies - Pretty much in the same boat as the Clippers for me. Overall, their team looks pretty good, but I think too much stock was put into the small postseason run the Grizz had. They're good, but I don't think they're as good as they played. Middle of the pack team in the West who isn't among the elite.

Los Angeles Clippers - They essentially turned DeAndre Jordan and Mo Williams into Tony Parker, and then signed Shane Battier. Don't like the Griffin/Kaman frontcourt in real life, thought they needed to mix it up. I don't want to penalize them because the GM thought they were pretty good to begin with. I just don't think this team is anything more than a one and done team in the West.

Denver Nuggets - I think this team is pretty similar, only it just got quite a bit older. Some of the pieces fit well, while others not so much. A LOT of overpaid players on this roster. The future was more bright with the current Nuggets even without a potential star on their roster.

Portland Trailblazers - So this team is depending on D.J. Augustin, Michael Beasley, and David Lee to win games? Honestly, I'm not sure this team is much better than the present day Timberwolves roster. Might be a bit deeper, but there are just too many different parts it just doesn't make much sense IMO.

Toronto Raptors - Still a team that's going to struggle to win games. The only bright side I really see is that you got rid of the most harmful player to his team. You added a couple of nice pieces in J.J. Hickson and Nicolas Batum, but you've still got a couple of unnecessary contracts on your books even if you're under the cap. Going to struggle to reach 20 wins.

Chicago Bulls - Wow! The Chicago Bulls just got old in a hurry. The average age of their starting lineup is over 35 years old. The current Bulls were 27 year old on average for the starters. They might compete for championships this year, but they're future looks extremely dim. For trading a superstar in Derrick Rose, and a good albeit a bit overrated big man in Joakim Noah, they don't have to show for it.

2012 Champion: Boston Celtics
2017 Champion: Sacramento Kings

[Klomp]

Sorry guys, for some reason I thought we had til tomorrow to do writeups

[lukekarts]

We do...

[-Kees-]

New York's Rankings:

1. Boston - Great job here. Took a team that was on it's last years and turned them into probably the most valuable team. I love the core of Westbrook/Harden/Deng/Howard. Good job keeping me from your players I think it helped you in the long run.

2. Charlotte - Good job cuz. The old Bobcats had very limited resources and no direction. The new team is a for sure a lock for the playoffs and maybe 2nd round. Good balance in the starting 5, and they have a good bench too.

3. San Antonio - Interesting approch to this round. Staying as a contender was good and getting a core of Dirk/Butler/Manu/Wallace was also a good move. I think this team will contend for a title this year for sure.

4. Utah - I think that the core you made is one of the best. Utah needed to make some moves to even out the roster, and you did that. Adding Bynum was a great move, as well as getting a perimeter of Knight/Henderson/Williams. I think once your team develops, it will be one of the best.

5. Sacramento - Solid job again, BI. Part of the reason you weren't ranked higher was because you had a lot of assets to work with. Also, your team really lacks outside shooting and I think that will hurt your title chances. You did stay young though, got a go-to-guy in Melo, and got defensive.

6. Cleveland - I love what you did with this team. Keeping Irving was a very good move, and the defensive front court of Leonard/Davis/Jordan will dominate. I little worried about the 2 gaurd, but the upcoming draft is a deep one with wings so I don't think you will have a problem. Nice job.

7. Philadelphia - The 76ers needed a direction, and you gave them that. I think that Ellis will be a top notch superstar on your team because he is next to a PG that works perfectly with him. Ellis' only struggle is D, and that is Jrue's strength. Thad/Milsap/McGee is a very solid front court too, and Kanter has a high ceiling. You really loaded up on assets, which is a great thing to do, only question is will they all gel together.

8. Golden State - You brought this team a superstar in Paul, which is something that this team needs. Having an old star (Pierce) and a young star (Love) with him is a nice fit. Worried about defense though. Williams/Peirce/Love are all average/below average on D, and if Oden isn't healthy, I could see this team going down in the 1st or 2nd round.

9. Denver - Consolidation is what this team needed, and you did that. The ages of the players worries me some, but I think that your team will be able to win, and also have a decent future.

10. Memphis - Making small, smart moves is something that is often good for teams. Getting a better backup point was key. I think Vesely has a bright future in the NBA, and he was a great pickup.

11. Miami - Didn't make too many moves, but did address some issues. Glad you got Martin from Iggy, as I think if Martin plays next to a star, he will be outstanding. Worried about who will handle the ball because both LBJ and Evans have trouble playing off-ball. Good to get Beans, Spieghts, and Lou too.

12. Los Angeles Clippers - Traded away your key assets to upgrade the point. Starting 5 is better, but I feel your team might have been in a better spot before. Your team is now a playoff team, but you lost some assets that could've made them a championship team.

13. New Jersey - A few things. First, your team doesn't have a go-to-guy anymore, which will hurt. Next, your team doesn't have an aggresive wing, as Curry/Smith/Chandler are all shooters/players that don't drive to the hoop. And lastly (and prolly most important), your team's age is all over the place. Curry/Monroe are prospects that won't reach their full potential for at least 3 years. Nene is almost 29, and by the time Curry/Monroe become good, Nene will be exiting his prime. So although you prolly increase value, I think your team doesn't have a good direction.

14. Los Angeles Lakers - Upgraded the point at the cost of the bench. Bogut/Jefferson are such similar players, I don't think they area good combo at all. The team also doesn't have more 3PT shooting (lost Odom, Harris can't shoot well), which was a concern. Don't think that this team is better than before.

15. Detroit - Not exactly sure what you were planning here. You got older, don't have a go-to-guy, have a 38 year old PG, and still might not make the playoffs. You don't have any more bad contracts, but your team is old, and will have to start the rebuilding process again in a few years.

16. Toronto - Got rid of some bad contract, and the core of Lowry/DeRozan/Batum/Hickson isn't bad. Didn't like the Daivs/Hickson trade at all, and I think it might hurt your team down the road.

17. Portland - Pretty much just shuffled players around. Not sure that your team is better. Also worried about David Lee playing as your starting center...

18. Chicago - Yikes. Got older, got worse, traded the 23 year old MVP. Not sure there is much else to say, sorry man.

EDIT (forgot to put the champions...):
2012 Title Winner: San Antonio
2017 Title Winner: Utah


Thanks to Karmaloop for commishing! I had a great time, and I hope everyone else did too!

[Klomp]

We do...

Writeups, not rankings

[Blazer50]

I think the Rankings are subjective based on GMs bias toward Teams and individual players, but I would rate the results of this round as follows:

1 Boston Celtics: This was a great job in moving Old pieces, with a little mileage left, for an outstanding group of starters and backups. With limited future picks & TPEs, this team can still excel for the near future. I like the chemistry among these pieces.

2 Los Angeles Clippers: Improved the PG & SF positions significantly with winners who will add to Team Chemistry. I think Stuckey and Thompson are great backups and the Clips have outstanding picks for their Future. Kaman & Splitter will be more than servicable at the Center position. Great Job.

3 Philadelphia 76ers: Excellent return on their Iggy Brand and they now have a formidable lineup two deep (weak backup at SF) with great salary situation going into big Free Agent / Draft season.

4 NY Knicks: Moved Melo +++ The Knicks realized you could not buy the championship and used a precieved major asset to fortify their lineup throughout. Thornton & Johnson are capable wings and will excel in D'Antoni's system. Amare & Noah will be solid bigs and this team is ready to bring the NBA back to the MSG.

5 Toronto Raptors: Cirque du Soleit pulls a rabbit out of its hat. Toronto moved all the difficult pieces and have nice array of young talent to build on (DeRosan, Batum and Hickson) with capspace and assets to continue this program. BC should do so well. Congrats - in my opinion.

6 Sacraments Kings: Solid moves throughout in making an overall improvement to this young team. I penalize as you ended up with Carmello Anthony whose issues may outstripe his talent. (Melo to Sacramento - not a move I would expects to see for LALA).

7 Cleveland Cavaliers: Good progression for the restocking of their talent pool. Moved some players that would not fit and have assets that will pay dividends in future drafts & FA'cy.

8 Charlotte Bobcats: A little thin in spots, but you have made a significant upgrade to a playoff contender with these moves. Given the talent you had to offer, this is a tremendous job. Now, make the chemistry work and MJ won't be the future Isaih Thomas of GMs.

9 New Jersey Nets: I though NJ got a lot of value out of moving D Will and Brook Lopez and ending up with Stephen Curry, Wilson Chandler, Nene and Greg Monroe. This would definately be a contender with a lot of Quality moves - though not the Splashy signings they will probably try to make. I think Kees did a very good job and could go somewhat higher, but he had more to start with.

10. MIami Heat: Made the necessary moves (PG / C), though I would have kept Wade and moved Bosh or LeBron. While DeWayne will probably break down sooner, he has the heart of a champion and will facilitate to accomplish the teams goals. Lebron facilitates, but neither he or Bosh have the killer instincts to get over the top. Still too much talent to count out.

11 Utah Jazz: Probably the team I would want to have at this point while the existing powers dwindle. While not all those players can achieve their potential, if most do this is a force in the 3 to 5 year future. Too Young to compete for now, but a well executed Plan!

12 Memphis Grizzlies: LIke Denver in the last game - sometimes less is more. I am not sure that the Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph, MIke Conley & Marc Gasol mentality will ever play for a championship, but the talent is there. If the GM believes in it then he did get some better depth and while not a great ride, has ended up with a team he believes in and one that has shown it can compete.

Portland Trail Blazers: (MY Team) 3 upgrades, 1 equal and 1 downgrade by positions, Improved depth, shooting, age and HEALTH. May look worst on paper, but the players who would contribute on a nightly basis make this an improved team.

13 GS Warriers: Feels like the Blazers with too much dependence on injury potential (Paul & Oden) Age - (Pierce vs Camby & Miller) an All Star (Love vs LMA) and Medium SG (Martin vs Matthews). If it works, this will be an outstanding playoff team.

14 Detroit PIstons: GM in and out and back in the game, which I think cost him on his final roster. When all was said and done, he moved pieces I am sure Detroit will want to shed and got some nice players in their place, but the overall improvement seems to be pretty flat. I think he was a couple of moves away from completing his plan.

15 Los Angeles Lakers: Not so much. Kind of like the Devon Harris deal, not big on their new front line and depth. Worst $ 98M roster in the league! Maybe win it all.

16 San Antonio Spurs: Thought the Spurs did roll their lineup and were able to upgrade at the SF and added Dirk and Hayward, their back court remains old. I think they should have acquired some younger players, picks, etc to start their future push while trying to contend 1 more time. Overall, pretty flat results IMO.

17 Denver: I think they will be within 2 games of finishing where they did in 2010. Lots of movement and they feel like the same team - pretty good all around. They get this low mark from me because I felt they had a lot of talent to start with and should have made some more significant upgrades.

18 Chicago Bulls: What happened to that young - 60 win team? Is there a lottery pick in 2018 they are targeting?

ONLY TEAMS POSTED

[MadNESS]

8th place really out of two sets of rankings I've been ranked 2nd and 2nd.

Just think of what I started with. The name of the game is to do a good job overall not make the best team.

[sterncohen]

Very well played game. Could easily have ranked #'s 2-7 here any number of different ways, and several other teams were improved as well.

1. Boston. Brilliant job. How much fun would this team be to watch?

2. Philadelphia. Millsap, McGee, Kanter, Monta Ellis, Morrow in exchange for Iguodala, Brand, and parts - that's a hell of a return. And I don't even like Ellis.

3. Sacramento. Three all-stars and the league's second best defensive center in exchange for two high-potential low-character guys. Only reason I don't have them higher is that the bench is awful.

4. Golden State. Huge questionmark at center, and I'm not convinced that Reggie Williams is a starting SG. But Paul, Love, Pierce is a spectacular big three.

5. Charlotte. Two borderline all-stars and several other solid starters is pretty amazing given the boatload of crap he started with. But ... no, Josh Smith is not a franchise player and, no, this team is not a contender. And it won't get better, given the age and contracts of the key players.

6. Utah. Terrific front line, questions about the back court. Rated lower than Charlotte only because he started with more talent.

7. San Antonio. This one surprised me, but looking at the final lineup it's arguably Nowitzki with a better supporting cast than he had in Dallas. Not sure Haywood is the starting center you want, though.

8. LAC. Adding Tony Parker to Griffin and Gordon makes this team a real threat. Doubtful about Kaman, and Battier may no longer be able to handle starter’s minutes.

9. New York. Adding Noah and Lawson is terrific; downgrading from Anthony to a declining Joe Johnson isn’t.

10. New Jersey. Good return for Williams. If Monroe and Nene can play well together, a very strong front line. Not convinced by the wings.

11. Cleveland. Clearly much improved, just not sure how much of that was due to having the #1 and #4 picks as opposed to the trades made. If Jordan is worth the big contract, nice job.

12. Toronto. Cleared out some nasty salaries, and I like the addition of Lowry. Center is weak, and I’m not as impressed by Hickson and Batum as many others are.

13. LAL. Harris is a clear upgrade at PG. The rest, though … I’d rather have Bynum and Gasol in the front court than Bogut and Al Jefferson, and the trade of Odom leaves a weak bench.

14. Detroit. Yes, there is much more talent here than on the real Pistons. It’s just enough talent to lose in the first round of the playoffs, and from there the picture gets steadily worse as the team ages rapidly.

15. Miami. The idea of breaking down one of the big three into pieces is right, and Kevin Martin is a fine player. But PG and C, and the weak bench, don’t seem improved enough to me to justify giving up Wade. Tyreke Evans is a poor fit with LeBron and Bosh – another ball hog (and weak outside shooter) won’t work in Miami. And Biedrins may be nothing more than a bad contract at this point.

16. Denver. An odd match of players, with four older starters who need to win now but aren’t talented enough to be serious contenders, coupled with Evan Turner playing out of position at PG. I don’t think this team would do as well as the real Nuggets next season or thereafter.

17. Portland. The loss of Aldridge and Gerald Wallace more than offsets the gains at other positions.

18. Chicago. Older and worse than the real Bulls.

[SamBone]

First off, I gotta say that this game is the most wide open game I have ever seen. Some really great rebuilds, some very interesting winning units (all have holes, IMO). I honestly am not sure who will win. A few winning teams have unrealistic payrolls for the city they are in which is something I personally hate, but then again, they are selling out to try and win which sometimes has to be done. Nobody is a sure thing, or perfect team this go around so it is anyones game!


1. Charlotte Bobcats: not sure this team can win, but took the team with the worst assets and gave them legit NBA talent. Not sure of the fit, but I like Iggy and JSmooth together with Perk. Scoring and shooting are a HUGE hole, but think the overall job here is GREAT!

2. Boston: I am not as sold as some on weather this team can win or not, but rebooting the older 3 stars with D12, Westbrook, Harden is a very good job. Personally think they very badly need a PF to be able to win, and maybe another shooter (Anderson moved to the bench and adding a starting PF next offseason may guarantee this team the 2013 title, I am not sure if they can win 2012?

3. Utah: I love the potential of this group. I personally seriously question weather it will work (I do not think DWilliams can play the 3, but some say he can, others say no, only time will tell). I love the guard grouping. During the draft, I thought taking Knight over Kemba was a mistake, but now seeing things, Knight is a better fiit for this team (sort of reminds me of what Utah did taking DWill over CP3, DWill turned out to be a perfect fit for them at the time) I really think spacing will be an issue (unless Hendersion can find some range this summer). Overall a GREAT group of talent with a lot POTENTIAL. May be the best team once they mature.

4. SAC: very very interesting team. BI made a ton of moves and may have had this game in hand if he wanted before flipping basically the entire team he built. Rondo/Thabo/Melo/LMA/TC will win a lot of games and I think is set up nicely for a playoff run. No bench at all (which I hate) but the starting 5 is solid. Thabo should help Melo on the defensive end, but I am still not sold that a Melo led offense can win. Plus not sure the Kings ownership could swallow a $80mil payroll or could afford to pay the tax, but GREAT JOB since the team they had, cound not win at all, this team May be able to and is for sure a top team

5. MEMPHIS: basically stayed the course which should be regognized. Vesely and Jonas are not expected to do much which is smart, they could deveolpe into STUDS, but the team is good enough to not force them into doing anything in the current. Personally would have liked a better starting SG (Allen is a great defensive player but more of a 6th man, IMO) I do like the Neal addition to the bench, would have just loved to see a true starting SG added. Team is set up to do some damage! This team could turn into the best unit down the road, because I personally think Conley is learning how to play and will only get better.

6. Clipps: I do think TP is a nice addition, he would fill in very well next to EG. I think they should have tried better to get a better SF then Battier who I do not think can be a starting SF at this time in his carreer. And letting DeAndre go (he was not worth the contract so I can not blame you there) really hurts because Kaveman has not been healthy in years. Upgraded team, but still needs mopre work

7. Lakers: This may be the surprise team to win the 2012 title. Kobe is still maybe the best win now player in the game. Bynum’s injuries and Pau’s disappearing act killed him this past season. Swapping them for Bogut and Al Jeffwas needed and an upgrade IMO. Devin Harris is a nice fit. Think they will miss Odom and I am not sure they can trust Whack-O-Ron. But the new BIG 3 may be in LA for 1 last run. Overall job is poor IMO, because of the payroll and the fact that they are at the MAX CAP for next season and can not even add players to get to the roster min, will really hurt them when that time comes.

8. SA: this is the hardest team to rank, IMO. Could be very good, has zero future. They are in cap hell, Caron is getting paid a lot and playing a ton of minutes for a guy that may never play again. Not being able to move RJ hurts, IMO. Trusting Haywood to anchor your team is a HUGE risk after how he has played in Dallas. All that being said. Manu and Dirk together is a GLOBAL MARKETING DREAM COME TRUE! Crash as a 3rd option with zero offensive pressure is an ideal role which I personally think he will thrive in. I think Dre running the point is ideal for this unit as well. Joel off the bench is a very nice piece as well, IMO

9. NYK: Amare and Noah together is a GREAT JOB all in itself. While I do agree that JJ can play the 3 for spurts, him being moved to the 3 as a ful time carry the offense guy, I really question. Thorton is a nice addition, but I would have much rather seen a real SF with Lawson/Thorton/JJ. Overall I think it is an upgrade, just not sure its enough

10. TOR: great job, dumped crap deals, added some young talent. Very very raw, but good job! SOLID

11. CLEV: young and unprove team with no cap space is kind of hard to sell, IMO. LOVE the potential in Irving, Leonard(was a HUGE reach at his draft spot), and Ed Davis. But is way overpaying DeAndre. Limited room for improvement

12. NJ: I am really torn on this team also. I do like Steph and Monroe but not sure this was the correct direction that ownership would have wanted. I hate NENE playing PF (and his contract)

13. MIAMI: really do not like this team. The big 3 needed to be separated and broken into smaller parts. I hate the fact that DWade was the one that moved and do not like the fit of Tyreke (who I like a lot) with LBJ (and Bosh for that matter). Biens was a poor addition and even worse fit IMO. KMArt is a great addition and would really work next to LeFroud

14. PORT: moving on from Roy and Odem was a must. But I personally hate the way the new look team is built. Lee as your C and Beasley as your PF will never win a thing. DJ is a defensive liability as is Wright (I do like both players offensive game next to Wes, but they will give up 200 points a game as a starting unit)

15. GS: finally giving GS a franchise player is great, but I doubt CP3 will stay. Klove will really shine playing with CP3. Oden kills all hopes of this team doing anything. PP on D with Love (instead of KG) will hurt things, Reggie is a guy I love, but thinking he can start for a winning team is not good idea. Just an poor risk in my opinion and sold out to get CP3 and Love which is great, but other parts just are not good, and again ODEN kills this team

16. DET: like what he wanted to do, just things did not work out the way he wanted.

17. CHI: ouch, started with the biggest upside, ended up OLD and a worse team, IMO

2012 CHAMP: i will say Kobe gets his last ring (LA LAKERS)

2017 CHAMP: Utah Jazz

[NBA Champs]

1. Bean Town
2. Spurms
3. Grizz
4. Queens (Lakers)
5. Heat
6. Clippers
7. Philly
8. NY
9. Mormons (Utah)
10. W's (Warriors)
11. Jersey
12. PDX (Portland)
13. Denver
14. Toronto
15. Sac-Town
16. Charlotte
17. Cleveland
18. Chi-Town

P.S. I seriously could have named the Spurs the winner and I really, really jerked at editing my list and putting them in 1st place. Boston just goes a little deeper all the way to the 3rd string.

2012: Spurms
2017: TBA

[nikkoewan]

I judge the job based on 3 things:
1.) improvement in roster
2.) direction
3.) overall job in relation to his restrictions(owner, market, arena etc..)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.) Boston - a team that only had 2 good~great assets in Rondo and Green, and 3 aging veterans who's value should not be too high because they are on the edge of their careers basically reloads and reloaded great. Bravo.
2.) Cleveland – The wasteland left by ‘The Decision’ was transformed to have young assets with a budding superstar(in my eyes). And because of Dan Gilbert, he has the capability to absorb bad contracts like Richard Hamilton and Beno Udrih.
3.) Utah – a team that was at a cross road(contend or rebuild), made a choice. And he rebuilt very well. Basically converted Devin Harris, Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap (3 of Utah’s most prominent veterans) into Derrick Williams and Andrew Bynum which IMO is a good return. Plus, kept his team's payroll below the luxury tax, which for a small market team is huge.
4.) San Antonio – starting 5 is better than what San Antonio had. But with a starting 5 consisting of Miller, Nowitzki, Ginobili and Haywood, depth will be very important. However, besides Douglas, i don’t trust anyone from his bench. Plus 15 million over the cap is too much for a small market team.
5.) NY – New York’s weaknesses were lack of big who can defend and rebound & a bench. GM did one of those without sacrificing any of his strength. Still has a solid 1 to 4 but added Noah. Still has no bench to speak of though(Jack and Brown are iconsistent). Money is a not much of an issue so 80M seems to be fine for James Dolan.
6.) Sacramento – a team primed for a rebuilding basically turned into a contender. But doesn’t have a bench. And basically has 10 players. But my question is, with the Maloofs losing money, an outdated Arena(that can’t hold enough people to support the expenses), is this really the right move?
7.) MEM – i liked that he kept his core together. What i didn’t like was not improving on his team’s weaknesses. MEM lacked three point scoring, and if anything, spacing is very key in the playoffs, when defenses pack the paint and pressure is higher. Besides Neal, who’s a reliable three point scorer? Conley and Gay shot 39.6% but that was on 2.7 attempts. I however like Vesely and Valanciunas combo, a LOT.
8.) Charlotte – a GM who did the best he could with what he had(probably best of us as he suggested). But was the direction he took good? Being a general manager is not just about pulling good trades and good signings, its also about direction. His team might have been way better than what he had, but i’m not sure that’s the direction he should have took. He has 4 players locked into huge contract for 3 years(Iggy, Jsmoove, Perk and Garcia). IMO, he should have rebuilt.
9.) NJN –I was in a similiar boat before I got CP3(GSW). I asked myself, is Curry good enough to be a go-to-guy? My answer was yes, but is it a sure thing? No. That said, his starting 5 is good, but not great. Kind of like what Denver is right now. For a team with just 2 assets? That’s a huge thing.
10.) Philadelphia – had 2 bad contracts in Brand and Iggy and got rid of them while rebuilding. Millsap’s locked under a good contract, and has young talent all around(Holiday, Kanter, Mcgee, Tyoung) but where does Ellis fit in all this? Ellis is overrated, plain and simple. Ellis plays better when all he has to do is run and score. That meant putting facilitators around him like Baron and Jackson. Sadly, Philly only has Holiday. So Ellis might still keep on jacking shots. Also lacks an efficient go to scorer.
11.) LAL – Great that he was able to upgrade the PG position. I also doubt Jefferson at the 4. I looked into his advanced stats as a PF, not so good. Plus he still has injury issues with his C. Plus no bench besides Maggette(who is not a player i like) and Fisher.
12.) Tor – pinned all his rebuilding hopes on Nicolas Batum, who i think is at 150% best a 3rd fiddle to two great fiddles. But he doesn’t have anyone that can become a 1st or 2nd fiddle. Overall, some trades were great, some weren’t.
13.) LAC – a team lost in translation. Does it want to contend or continue building its youth? Added Parker – a proven winner – yes. But was the move a good one short term and long term fit? Maybe no. Still has Kaman(who should have been traded), signed Battier to a bad contract, but got Stuckey, who is great placed in a situation he can thrive(as a a 6th man). That Cleveland pick is great, but Minny pick will be very low. Overall? This ranking is based more on the GMs choice of direction that his moves, which were good, but did not just fit(IMO).
14.) Miami – a team that had 1 massive hole(lacked a big who can defend and rebound), a medium hole(bench), and a tiny hole(PG but IMO Chalmers fits and is good enough). Solved only one of them. Still has a huge hole in the middle with no one to flank Bosh but a oft injured Biedrins. Bench got better though. Louis, Rudy, Haslem and Nazr is good enough. Still a tiny hole at the point. Evans does not fit. Doesn’t play defense like Wade, isn’t as good in using cuts and baseline screens as Wade(so no outside shooting will hurt him very much), so overall, hole is still there, maybe even made it wider. I like Kevin Martin though.
15.) Denver – another team that was at a crossroad. And GM seems to be confused. Okafor, Scola, Terry, AK47 and Calderon are all “win-now” players. While Patterson, Turner, Budinger are “build through youth” players. I could accept GMs decision had he placed a superstar beside those 5, but although i think Turner does have some superstar qualities, he still isn’t and there is still the question of will he be.
16.) Portland – got worse, and it wasn’t even to rebuild. Miller and Camby were players that made POR a winner. GM traded them, so maybe he was thinking to rebuild or reload. I can’t identify which one though. Plus has a seriously undersized frontcourt with Beasley and Lee. Also has no bench to be proud of. For a small market team to be 7 million over the luxury tax(with Rashard, Outlaw basically rotting in the bench)? Even with Allen’s deep pockets, he didn’t get anything done with 7 million over.
17.) Chicago – team that had tons of potential due to youth and talent, became a really old team without any hope for a championship.
18.) Detroit – i knew the team was bad and difficult to GM. But for a team that bad to try to become a contender was the wrong decision. Coupled with trading the only asset he should have kept(Monroe) for Dalembert. Bad move.

2012 champs: i'll go Miami. LBJ, Bosh and Martin as a trio are awesome. even the Celts would have a hard time fighting that.
2017 champs: i'll go Cleveland. Cleveland has a solid foundation with potential superstar Irving, good possible 2nd fiddle with Leonard, good frontcourt in Ed Davis and DeAndre Jordan. They also have a 2012 lottery pick from Det, and another 2013 possible lottery from Den.

[MagicalMe]

Outsider's vote here, as you recommended me in discussion thread. If there's a rule that only players can vote, ignore it, if not, count it

1.Boston Celtics. Awesome job, creating a team that still is a contender, but is a much younger with a very good upside. Maybe the only weaker position is PF, but everywhere else, I like the job done. And not only the starters are good, but they have a very good back ups.

2.Charlotte Bobcats. The improvement is made. Defense of this team should be very good. Also, with this starting crew passing on offense would be really nice. Bench is decent. You started with a bad bad team, so you get your bonus for making it noisy in the playoffs. But.. Why you’re not getting first place? Just because Boston isn’t weaker now and it has better upside, in my opinion. Awesome job, anyways!

3.Utah Jazz. I like this teams youth. Every position is filled with a good young talent. An average team now, but may turn to a real monster in years to come, if they keep their talents and if those talents work hard and if Bynum stays healthy. Nice rebuilding!

4.Sacramento Kings. Team with a good defense/offense mix. You have excellent defensive back court. You have a defensive center. And two great scorers in Forward positions. Rondo is great at hitting open teammates, so those scorers should benefit from RR9. Chandler should get some alley-ops too. Anyway, the only guy in the bench that I like is Reggie Evans, so with bench like this, I think this team wouldn’t win it this season, but they would have a nice future, especially if the depth is improved.

5.Golden State Warriors. Team has a good mix of veterans (Paul Pierce, Mike Miller, McDyess) and some young guys, who have already been, all-stars (Love, Paul). But the real x-factor for me here is Greg Oden. If he’s healthy team has a chance to make some noise. Nice job, anyways, team improved a lot.

6.San Antonio Spurs. A very deep, talented, powerful team. What cuts a bit of a value is the age: there isn’t many young players, and some of them are already aging, so if this team fails to win now, fans of SA would have to wait longer than they would want.

7.Cleveland Cavaliers. Nice team in years to come. They are young, they have many draft picks. Maybe SG position could have been younger, but team, of course, needs some veterans who could teach young players some secrets of the game. I like the job done.

8.Philadelphia 76ers. The youth is there, the potential is there, I like what you’ve done. Ellis and Holiday fits very well. This team should fight for 8th or so seed to make playoffs, get some experience and maybe become elite team in coming years.

9.Memphis Grizzlies. I like what you’ve done. The same starting 5 that already has 1 surprising playoff appearance is now loaded with a better bench. But, like others mentioned shooting and spacing may hurt this team (yes, you added good shooter in Neal, but you lost Mayo, so no big improvement there).

10.Los Angeles Lakers. I like the guard spots. They have 2 awesome starters (Kobe, Harris). They’re pretty deep also. SF position is nice too. You can have Maggette’s ability to score/get to the line or Artest’s defense. Nice. But as for the frontcourt, it took a step back, I think. Bogut and Bynum are about equal to each other, but Al at the 4 isn’t really attractive for me, since neither Jefferson or Bogut have a decent jumpshot. The bench of the frontcourt got worse too. Odom >> Gooden (overpaid) and Foster. Also, this team hasn’t got a bright future. You could only hope, that they win it now.

11.Los Angeles Clippers. I like the starting 5 of this team. Bench is good too, with Stuckey, Thompson and Splitter. Anyway, this is a playoff level team, which, I guess, wouldn’t win it this year and later the age of Parker, Battier and Kaman would take some negative effect.

12.Denver Nuggets. A pretty strong team. But again, it’s not winning a title now, it’s not winning it later. AK, Scola, Calderon, Terry – they’re all getting old and they feel like they need it to win already. Those players won’t improve. Of course, team won’t be screwed later, because it has some decent young players, but I think, that the original Nuggets were weaker now, but had better upside.


13.Portland Trail Blazers. When I look at this team, I think, that it was 1 move away from becoming a really strong team. That move could be getting a center and slide Lee to PF. If that would have been made, I’d like this team much more than now.. As for now, Lee at C isn’t good, I’m not a huge fan of B-Easy too. The depth is good and I like the starters of PG, SG, SF positions. Still have to penalize you for Outlaw’s and Rashard’s contracts, even though, i like Lewis.

14.Miami Heat. Improved depth and improved shooting is what a team needed, but it wasn’t really hard to get that with the players that Miami traded (Wade, Miller, Anthony, Jones). Also, I’d question Evans’s fit there. Maybe a more experienced and better shooting PG would be a better fit (Billups, Nash), because we don’t know, how Tyreke would perform in the most serious games and his shooting isn’t his strength too.

15.New York Knicks. I like the front court. Noah is a very good defender/rebounder and Stoudemire... Well, nothing to say about him. Everybody knows, what he can do offensively. But I’d think, that back court may have been slightly better. JJ is OK player with non OK contract and i see him better at SG position. And there's a question if Lawson can handle a team like this. IT takes a lot of pressure. I like Thornton though, but with Amar’e and JJ on this team, he wouldn’t be as effective as he was in Sac town.

16.New Jersey Nets. The team has a decent bench and a good starting five. But, I don’t think, that this team would have a chance to win now, also, I think, some guys will just develop (Curry, Monroe) while others wanna win it now (Crawford, Nene, Smith to name a few). So, team is stuck in mediocrity until it gets a real superstar player or until it goes to full rebuilding mode.

17.Toronto Raptors. I think, that this team doesn’t have a potential like some other rebuilding teams (Utah, Cavs). Starting 5 improved, but bench is pretty awful. Overall, the job done is not impressive for me.

18.Detroit Pistons. Team got better talent wise. They could make the playoffs, but.. They won’t win now, they won’t get better later. Some of the players may soon retire, some may drop their efficiency, so this team would be stuck. There are no young promising players and poor write-up doesn’t help you too.

19.Chicago Bulls. Awful, I think. This team got very very old and even in this season, I don’t see them winning. First of all, they’d need some time to gel with each other. Also, they are so old, that they would have to be rested for quite a lot. They should make the playoffs, but I don’t see Chicago performing there well, especially without home court advantage, which they wouldn’t get because of resting veterans in RS. Future is screwed too.

2012 champs: Boston Celtics
2017 champs: Utah Jazz

[Tully305]

Cleveland's Rankings


1.Boston Celtics: Love the additions of Harden and Howard. Westbrook is a talent, but I still question his maturity in the long-haul. Might have some cap troubles in a couple years trying to keep Westbrook, Howard, and Harden. Still, I think you built the team to beat in 2011/2012.

2. Utah: Love the direction the team is going, not a big fan of Bynum, but the addition of Knight, Henderson, and Williams with Favors I LOVE. Great job.

3.Memphis Grizzlies: Did a great job by keeping the team basically intact with some nice additions. Love the addition of Vesely and Valanciunas. Nice job!

4.New York Knicks: I like the addition of Noah next to Stoudemire as well as Lawson at the PG position. I also like the bench built up with young, athletic hustle guys in Brown, Eyenga, and Amundson. Nice job!

5.Charlotte Bobcats: Great job with little to no assets. Also like your bench; no crippling contracts but your picks are kind of depleted in the next few years. Great Job!

6.Sacramento Kings: Definitely a WIN-NOW team. Just not sure the scoring is there to do it against a great defensive team. Still, how can you not love Aldridge, Chandler, and Melo. Bench is a little thin.

7.Los Angeles Lakers: Team may win it all in 2012 or 2013, but after that, the payroll is a killer that will cause this team to be lottery team in the near future. Like the addition of Bogut and Marshon Brooks, not much after that.

8.San Antonio Spurs: An experienced starting five that is built to win now, but I don’t see a great future as they age. Not really sold on the bench players as well.

9.Toronto Raptors: A nice young rebuild after losing Chris Bosh for scraps. Never let go of DeRosan (koudos!), and dumped all the bad contracts without taking on bad ones. Also has a great future with a ton of 1st round draft picks. Great Job!

10.Los Angeles Clippers: Parker is a nice upgrade, but I’m not a big fan of Kamen at the 5. I like the assembled bench and there are no real crippling contracts in the future. This team may crack the playoffs next year, but with several picks in the next few years, they can easily improve.

11.Philadelphia 76ers: Nice young rotation, with an equally impressive bench. Nice job!

12.New Jersey Nets: Don’t like the money tied up at the PF position(Nene is talentaed, but way overpaid). Love the addition of Curry and Chandler.

13.Miami Heat: Liked the improvement at the PG and C position, and improved the bench a bit. Future looks bleak though as they have little assets to keep improving the team.

14Golden State Warriors: I doubt Chris Paul would stay with the Warriors in the long-term, like the addition Kevin Love. Did not like the acquisition of Oden. He’s what breaks this roster for me.

15.Detroit Pistons: Dumped a REALLY bad team of players. Not sure they can make the playoffs with that roster, but it is still an improvement from what they started with.

16.Denver Nuggets: Not sure how I feel about this team. Don’t think they can make the playoffs, but they have a ton of future assets to improve.

17.Portland Trailblazers: Augustin is a nice young talent, but I don’t like the additions of Beasley and Lee. I feel like the team took a step backwards. To be honest though, they had some bad contracts to unload, so they made some improvements in that area.

18.Chicago Bulls: Traded the MVP for win-now veterans in Garnett, Allen, Camby, Davis and Hill. Just not sure that team would last though the playoffs on experience alone. Has an abundance of future picks, so obviously they can rebuild, but that will take several years.


2012 Champion: Boston Celtics

2017 Champion: Utah Jazz

[lukekarts]

Utah Jazz GM Rankings

1. Boston - really good result, my only complaint would be the Dwight Howard trade maybe taking it a step too far (Westbrook/Harden/Deng/LMA/Noah was an amazing lineup). Still, best rebuild I have ever seen in Boston.

2. Charlotte - gifted Derrick Williams, which turned a lacklustre team into a playoff one, which is great for Charlotte. Only downside is that whilst Iggy, Smoove, Felton and Perkins win a lot of games, I don't see them contending.

3. Memphis - I like jobs like this. Keep the core in tact, add a significant amount of upside to the bench (Jonas, Vasely), so the run can be extended. My only gripe is that none of the talent is in the backcourt.

4. New York - upgraded at Center massively, whilst being roughly the same in terms of quality, between PG-SF (Melo>JJ but Lawson/Thornton should be better than Billups/Fields). Might have issues defensively but far less than he started with, the scoring punch should be good, Amar'e as the clear cut lead man. Very good job, long-term contender here.

5. LA Clippers - people are higher on DeAndre than me - I think Tiago has as much potential, the acquistion of Parker is great, and whilst Battier might not have that much left in the tank, he's a solid veteran and I think Aminu can step in next season. Good incremental improvements here.

6. Philly 76ers - Great job, good talent, nice mix of experienced young and raw young players, good upside, kept key pieces in place.

7. San Antonio Spurs - probably a contender, though age could easily catch up, and overall I'm not sure they're better than Dallas. Of more concern is the payroll ($100m inc lux tax) which would be painful for San Antonio. I'm also not sure what Butler has in the tank. The team is deep though, just maybe slighlty too old.

8. New Jersey Nets - not a contender but a very good young team that will bring playoff basketball back to New Jersey. No risk of Deron leaving, no bad contracts (except Nene in 2-3 years), decent payroll.

9. Sacramento Kings - very good team, but loses marks for having absolutely no shooters whatsoever (which means if/when they meet Boston, they lose), plus breaking cap rules and not having 12 players :p

10. Golden State Warriors - the defnition of high risk. Paul might not hang around. Love might never get defence, Pierce might decline, Oden may never get healthy, Asik might just be a bench player. If it works out, great, if not, who knows? Good effort though.

11. LA Lakers - great team, Bogut will be a defensive force. Losing Odom will hurt a bit though, and Maggette is a team killer. May have been better served stopping at the Bogut trade.

12. Miami - Didn't really improve at Center too much, Biedrens is a better rebounder but worse defender. I'm not sure if I'd trade Wade for Kevin Martin and Tyreke Evans (given what that backcourt achieved in Sacramento, in 'Reke's best season), the bench is fairly lateral. Added a fair chunk of salary for maybe minor improvement but less star power.

13. Cleveland - a lot of trades, not sure on the result. It's a slight upgrade on real life but I think the roster really lacks scoring.

14. Detroit - got good quick but sold out on upside of #8 and Monroe in order to do so. Makes the playoffs for 2-3 years, before falling into the same problem as now - old players attached to big contracts that nobody wants.

15. Toronto - stuck in the rut I found myself in with the Raptors, too many bad contracts, very few possibilities to acquire a true franchise potential player. Still, at least there's a bit of defence in the perimeter, but I'm not sure how Hickson and Hawes will cope. May have been better served keeping Davis and #5.

16. Denver - you said it yourself, got better at 2 positions, worse at 3. Also, "Arron Afflalo is a good young player, but is inefficient and is a poor defender" made me lol. 49.8% FG%, 42.3% FG%, 62% TS%; 58.1% eFG% and great defence. You sure you know who Afflalo is?

17. Chicago - scarily old. I think the lineup is worse than the Celtics starting team, so probably won't win a title, Kemba is a nice to have but really don't know what the thought process was in adding a 35 year old core to Chicago.

18. Portland - not a fan at all. Lateral at PG, addition by subtraction at SG, worse at SF, PF, and unnatural fit at C. I'd rather be saddled with Roy as the current Portland than be saddled with Outlaw and Lewis as the new Portland.

2012 Champion: San Antonio Spurs def Boston Celtics
2017 Champion: Boston Celtics