Post by TimPig on Jul 18, 2018 19:14:03 GMT
Editor's note: I'm going to stop writing about compuGM'd teams.
Atlanta Hawks
2004 Record: 22-15; 2nd in the Central
Key Additions: Chris Chiozza, Chalky Studebaker
Key Losses: None
Analysis: The Hawks won 56 games in 2000, but since then have won 47, 47, and 46 games. This year, they’re on pace for about 48 wins, but have cooled down significantly since winning their first 10 of 11 games, going 12-14 since.
JHB may finally be prepared to make a move to send the aging Benji Hammon out of town, acquiring Chris Chiozza last season to eventually replace him. The jury is still out on Chiozza, however, and the feelings towards him by GMs around the league are very mixed. Adel and Knox are a solid group of wings, but the bigs are lacking. Mitchell Robinson gets blocks but is not as efficient as you’d like to see out of an elite big.
Hammon is on his way out, Adel’s contract expires after this season, and with Robinson, Knox, and Chiozza’s huge deals this team won’t have much flexibility moving forward.
Charlotte Hornets
2004 Record: 11-21; 7th in the Central
Key Additions: Jon Pierce
Key Losses: Shareef O’Neal
Analysis: Might there finally be a light at the end of the tunnel for the Hornets? If nothing else, they’re at least starting to outperform the teams who don’t have a GM after finishing last in the Central from 2000-2002.
Vince Carter is looking like a stud, putting up 30 ppg while shooting over 50% from the field. He could be someone to build around, but for this team to go anywhere it’s going to require Fecta to move on from failures like Cecil Exum and R.J. Barrett. Jon Pierce is historically a good player but has struggled this year. I’m honestly not sure why the Hornets chose to pay him big on a one-year contract since he certainly wasn’t going to turn them into a contender. No one is going to want to trade for him at the deadline unless they want a big expiring contract.
Brad Daugherty is crazy efficient as well but for some reason refuses to shoot. I’m not really sure why that is. I think it was a mistake to trade Shareef O’Neal for what is sure to be two late firsts. He’s averaging 14 points, 9 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game as the fourth (at best) option on the Blazers. He’s also still only 22 and has +23 left for his career.
Chicago Bulls
2004 Record: 21-13; 1st in the Central
Key Additions: Jock Landale, Marcus Fizer, Desmond Mason, John Petty
Key Losses: Dazon Ingram, Sagaba Konate, Dennis Rodman
Analysis: A surprising run through the playoffs after the acquisition of Jim Halpert at the deadline culminated in a Game 7 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals. After spending a few years accumulating young talent, it looks like the Bulls may be ready to put together some sustained success.
No one on this team is over 30 and with the departure of Ingram, there are no important contracts expiring any time soon. Some nice depth was added in the offseason through the draft in Marcus Fizer, Desmond Mason, and AJ Guyton. Jock Landale and his elite efficiency were added to the frontcourt as well.
In the backcourt, Sarunas Jasikevicius is making very nice strides through two seasons and still has +20 to go for upgrades. He looks like he could be a good point guard in a league that lacks them. Halpert is struggling from the field this season, but that hasn’t stopped the Bulls from sitting tied atop the league in field goal percentage. His defense continues to be solid for a wing player.
Detroit Pistons
2004 Record: 21-19; 5th in the Central
Key Additions: Juwanna Mann
Key Losses:
Analysis: There isn’t a ton to see here. Dump rode Jackie Moon and Luke Maye to some successful seasons, but other GMs in the Central have caught up. Shamorie Ponds is putting up nice points per game from the point guard position but his field goal percentage is awful. Ladder darling Mark Alarie could be a player if Dump tried at all. The Yommy experiment probably needs to end. He’s putting up decent points and rebounds but his FT% makes him a poor man’s Udoka Azubuike.
There isn’t a ton to like about this team in my opinion outside of Luke Maye. Everyone else has major holes in their game (or age, in Moon’s case). While he was able to ride this core to some decent playoff success, I don’t see it going much further anytime soon.
Indiana Pacers
2004 Record: 21-18; 4th in the Central
Key Additions: Morris Peterson, Dennis Rodman
Key Losses: Michael Porter Jr., De’Anthony Melton
Analysis: The Pacers’ key additions from last season make up their key departures from this season. Two youngsters with lots of potential are gone as Porter Jr. and Melton both left for Seattle. As it happens, the Pacers are seriously lacking at the small forward spot, where Porter is eligible and has shown promise with plenty of room for growth through upgrades.
Seventh Woods was another nice G-League find for Heebs. He doesn’t turn the ball over like Melton did, but his rebounds and field goal percentage leave a lot to be desired. Tons of expiring contracts leave this team in limbo as only Donta Hall, Morris Peterson, Karim Shabazz, and second-rounder Speedy Claxton are guaranteed after this season.
It’ll be interesting to see what this team does with Taurasi, who is one of the best players in the league but has inexplicably been receiving only 27 mpg this year. Taurasi will be 30 next year and I don’t see Heebs offering a max contract, so we’ll see how other GMs feel.
Milwaukee Bucks
2004 Record: 19-15; 3rd in the Central
Key Additions: None
Key Losses: None
Analysis: The Bucks fell in the Finals last season and it appears Trofie is still struggling with the loss having not logged on in the past week. He didn’t have a first round draft pick this past offseason after trading it for Trevon Duval and made no major additions while not losing anyone of significance either.
DeAndre Ayton, 24, and Champ Godbolt, 21, are both excellent players with +5 and +25 left to go, respectively. Ayton and Tacko Fall are both free agents after this season while Godbolt expires after next year. We’ll see if Trofie comes back around to make them offers and keep them in Milwaukee. If not, we’re sure to see some max contract offers get thrown around.
This is still a team that lives and dies with its bigs. Pierce and Duval are both replaceable in the starting lineup. Shavon Shield has been a pleasant surprise but turns it over way too much. Ayton is enough to get this team to the playoffs pretty much by himself, but they need help in the backcourt.
Toronto Raptors
2004 Record: 13-19; 6th in the Central
Key Additions: Jason Hart
Key Losses: R.J. Cole
Analysis: R.J Cole left for nothing, which is the worst thing that could have happened for this team. Plenty of teams felt Cole was max-worthy, so if nothing else, there were certainly some trades that could’ve been made had the Raptors’ GM been more present.
Still, even without Cole, I think this team has solid makeup in the backcourt with Miles Bridges, Cuttino Mobley, and Carsen Edwards all being young and signed for at least the next three years.
In the frontcourt, the efficiency honestly isn’t bad with Wiley and Karcher putting up staggering field goal percentages, but each has their problems as Wiley’s a bad free throw shooter and Karcher doesn’t shoot enough. Unfortunately, Nick Richards has not improved to the level anywhere near where this team would have hoped.
This team is sure to be in the lottery again and if they at least keep resigning their backcourt and can get lucky with a big in the draft, who knows what could happen.
Atlanta Hawks2004 Record: 22-15; 2nd in the Central
Key Additions: Chris Chiozza, Chalky Studebaker
Key Losses: None
Analysis: The Hawks won 56 games in 2000, but since then have won 47, 47, and 46 games. This year, they’re on pace for about 48 wins, but have cooled down significantly since winning their first 10 of 11 games, going 12-14 since.
JHB may finally be prepared to make a move to send the aging Benji Hammon out of town, acquiring Chris Chiozza last season to eventually replace him. The jury is still out on Chiozza, however, and the feelings towards him by GMs around the league are very mixed. Adel and Knox are a solid group of wings, but the bigs are lacking. Mitchell Robinson gets blocks but is not as efficient as you’d like to see out of an elite big.
Hammon is on his way out, Adel’s contract expires after this season, and with Robinson, Knox, and Chiozza’s huge deals this team won’t have much flexibility moving forward.
Charlotte Hornets2004 Record: 11-21; 7th in the Central
Key Additions: Jon Pierce
Key Losses: Shareef O’Neal
Analysis: Might there finally be a light at the end of the tunnel for the Hornets? If nothing else, they’re at least starting to outperform the teams who don’t have a GM after finishing last in the Central from 2000-2002.
Vince Carter is looking like a stud, putting up 30 ppg while shooting over 50% from the field. He could be someone to build around, but for this team to go anywhere it’s going to require Fecta to move on from failures like Cecil Exum and R.J. Barrett. Jon Pierce is historically a good player but has struggled this year. I’m honestly not sure why the Hornets chose to pay him big on a one-year contract since he certainly wasn’t going to turn them into a contender. No one is going to want to trade for him at the deadline unless they want a big expiring contract.
Brad Daugherty is crazy efficient as well but for some reason refuses to shoot. I’m not really sure why that is. I think it was a mistake to trade Shareef O’Neal for what is sure to be two late firsts. He’s averaging 14 points, 9 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game as the fourth (at best) option on the Blazers. He’s also still only 22 and has +23 left for his career.
Chicago Bulls 2004 Record: 21-13; 1st in the Central
Key Additions: Jock Landale, Marcus Fizer, Desmond Mason, John Petty
Key Losses: Dazon Ingram, Sagaba Konate, Dennis Rodman
Analysis: A surprising run through the playoffs after the acquisition of Jim Halpert at the deadline culminated in a Game 7 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals. After spending a few years accumulating young talent, it looks like the Bulls may be ready to put together some sustained success.
No one on this team is over 30 and with the departure of Ingram, there are no important contracts expiring any time soon. Some nice depth was added in the offseason through the draft in Marcus Fizer, Desmond Mason, and AJ Guyton. Jock Landale and his elite efficiency were added to the frontcourt as well.
In the backcourt, Sarunas Jasikevicius is making very nice strides through two seasons and still has +20 to go for upgrades. He looks like he could be a good point guard in a league that lacks them. Halpert is struggling from the field this season, but that hasn’t stopped the Bulls from sitting tied atop the league in field goal percentage. His defense continues to be solid for a wing player.
Detroit Pistons2004 Record: 21-19; 5th in the Central
Key Additions: Juwanna Mann
Key Losses:
Analysis: There isn’t a ton to see here. Dump rode Jackie Moon and Luke Maye to some successful seasons, but other GMs in the Central have caught up. Shamorie Ponds is putting up nice points per game from the point guard position but his field goal percentage is awful. Ladder darling Mark Alarie could be a player if Dump tried at all. The Yommy experiment probably needs to end. He’s putting up decent points and rebounds but his FT% makes him a poor man’s Udoka Azubuike.
There isn’t a ton to like about this team in my opinion outside of Luke Maye. Everyone else has major holes in their game (or age, in Moon’s case). While he was able to ride this core to some decent playoff success, I don’t see it going much further anytime soon.
Indiana Pacers2004 Record: 21-18; 4th in the Central
Key Additions: Morris Peterson, Dennis Rodman
Key Losses: Michael Porter Jr., De’Anthony Melton
Analysis: The Pacers’ key additions from last season make up their key departures from this season. Two youngsters with lots of potential are gone as Porter Jr. and Melton both left for Seattle. As it happens, the Pacers are seriously lacking at the small forward spot, where Porter is eligible and has shown promise with plenty of room for growth through upgrades.
Seventh Woods was another nice G-League find for Heebs. He doesn’t turn the ball over like Melton did, but his rebounds and field goal percentage leave a lot to be desired. Tons of expiring contracts leave this team in limbo as only Donta Hall, Morris Peterson, Karim Shabazz, and second-rounder Speedy Claxton are guaranteed after this season.
It’ll be interesting to see what this team does with Taurasi, who is one of the best players in the league but has inexplicably been receiving only 27 mpg this year. Taurasi will be 30 next year and I don’t see Heebs offering a max contract, so we’ll see how other GMs feel.
Milwaukee Bucks2004 Record: 19-15; 3rd in the Central
Key Additions: None
Key Losses: None
Analysis: The Bucks fell in the Finals last season and it appears Trofie is still struggling with the loss having not logged on in the past week. He didn’t have a first round draft pick this past offseason after trading it for Trevon Duval and made no major additions while not losing anyone of significance either.
DeAndre Ayton, 24, and Champ Godbolt, 21, are both excellent players with +5 and +25 left to go, respectively. Ayton and Tacko Fall are both free agents after this season while Godbolt expires after next year. We’ll see if Trofie comes back around to make them offers and keep them in Milwaukee. If not, we’re sure to see some max contract offers get thrown around.
This is still a team that lives and dies with its bigs. Pierce and Duval are both replaceable in the starting lineup. Shavon Shield has been a pleasant surprise but turns it over way too much. Ayton is enough to get this team to the playoffs pretty much by himself, but they need help in the backcourt.
Toronto Raptors2004 Record: 13-19; 6th in the Central
Key Additions: Jason Hart
Key Losses: R.J. Cole
Analysis: R.J Cole left for nothing, which is the worst thing that could have happened for this team. Plenty of teams felt Cole was max-worthy, so if nothing else, there were certainly some trades that could’ve been made had the Raptors’ GM been more present.
Still, even without Cole, I think this team has solid makeup in the backcourt with Miles Bridges, Cuttino Mobley, and Carsen Edwards all being young and signed for at least the next three years.
In the frontcourt, the efficiency honestly isn’t bad with Wiley and Karcher putting up staggering field goal percentages, but each has their problems as Wiley’s a bad free throw shooter and Karcher doesn’t shoot enough. Unfortunately, Nick Richards has not improved to the level anywhere near where this team would have hoped.
This team is sure to be in the lottery again and if they at least keep resigning their backcourt and can get lucky with a big in the draft, who knows what could happen.
