Post by TimPig on Aug 3, 2018 21:40:05 GMT
h/t eric for building the macro
Atlanta Hawks
Mitchell Robinson
Before: A- C D A- C+ A
After: A- C D A- B- A
Finding something on the Hawks was somewhat difficult as most guys went just plus or minus one. Robinson, a former G-League standout, has been pretty one-dimensional since getting called up to the big leagues. Shot-blocking has always been where he’s stood out, averaging over three per game last year. His rebounding has left a lot to be desired for a big, however. The bump up to B- may inch him closer to ten per game, a number he has yet to reach in his career. If it does, he looks like a guy who will be putting up 20/10/3 for his career.
Boston Celtics
Mark Price
Before: C B+ B- A- D B
After: C A- B A- D C
Outside of Doumbouya, the Celtics roster is pretty barren. Mark Price is someone who has shown promise since being drafted but hasn’t received the appropriate investment that might push him into the upper-tier of point guards. A solid +2 in the two most important categories for a point guard - outside and handles - provide some natural help. He’s got +18 to go and based on Dennis Schroder’s awful scoring grades, those points should go into Price. Schroder did go +1 handles and +1 defense, but that won’t make up for scoring that looks nearly impossible to save.
Charlotte Hornets
Vince Carter
Before: A- B- C- C+ C B
After: A- B+ C C+ C B
Apparently Giannis went +2 inside after his training camp, but I’m hoping that’s just Druce trolling Fecta. Without those rosters being uploaded yet, I give the nod to Vince who goes +2 outside and +1 handling. Fecta’s invested in Vince’s jumper and he got his FT% up to respectability last season, but his 3PT% was still lacking, shooting 33% on 3s each of the past two years. A +2 bump to outside should help that percentage significantly.
Chicago Bulls
Marcus Fizer
Before: B D+ C C B B
After: B C- C C+ B B
Toss-up here between Fizer and first-rounder Solomon Hill as both went +2. I lean towards Fizer as he’s getting plugged into the starting lineup this year and went +1 in two important categories - outside and defense. He struggled from the free throw line as a rookie so I really hope that outside bump was due to a rare jumper increase. He put up decent bleal numbers off the bench as a rookie, and that help in the defense category should get him up to solid levels per 36.
Cleveland Cavaliers
DeeAndre Hulett
Before: B- C+ D+ B B- B
After: C+ C+ D B+ C+ B
Robot darling Hulett had a rough offseason, going -2 overall. You could probably consider it -1 since the handles grade on a big is whatever and it’s not like he has turnover problems. Drops to inside and rebounding hurt, however, especially for a guy who wasn’t particularly efficient or a good rebounder as a rookie.
Dallas Mavericks
Al Harrington
Before: B+ C C- B- C+ B
After: B+ C+ C- B B- B
Still raw, still only 20, still showing tons of potential for growth. Any sort of natural improvement to jumper and FT% would be lovely for Delap, and the D/R numbers get better as well for a guy who looks like he’ll be a power forward primarily. Honorable mentions going the other way to all of Delap’s point guards, who somehow just keep getting worse despite their youth.
Denver Nuggets
Rafer Alston
Before: B- C+ B- B D B
After: B C+ B- B+ D+ C
A guy I think we’ve all pretty much written off after a pair of really bad seasons, Rafer shows some signs of life this year, going +3 in three useful categories. It seems like the gradeset and age should give Mike something to work with, but that’s a big risk. Kenyon Martin also had a nice camp, going +1 in defense and rebounding. Gobert, unfortunately, did not, seeing a drop to his inside.
Detroit Pistons
Dzanan Musa
Before: C+ B+ C+ B+ B- B
After: C+ A- C+ A- B- C
A guy Dump hesitated to resign, the grades are appealing and may have Musa in line to eventually replace Jackie Moon at small forward for the Pistons. The increase will be particularly helpful following Luke Maye’s departure in the offseason. Love the bumps to outside and defense with no negatives across the board. Shamorie Ponds went +1 inside, but other than that this team stayed pretty consistent. Peyton Siva, a second-round pick, may have some upside after going +1 in outside and defense.
Golden State Warriors
Quentin Richardson
Before: B- B+ C- C+ C B
After: B- B+ C B C B
Q-Rich goes +3 after having a better rookie season than Darius Miles, likely because Fecta initially praised the Miles pick and trashed the Richardson pick. The +2 defense is particularly nice, and he’s still got +15 to go in the lab. Miles actually had a decent camp as well going +1 to defense and rebounding.
Harlem Globetrotters
Dazon Ingram
Before: B+ B C B+ C+ B
After: B+ B C A- B- C
I’m already pretty sad I traded this guy for 75% of a season of Jock, but what can you do? Ingram goes +2 in two categories that you love to see out of a shooting guard, defense and rebounding. He’s already a fantastic rebounder for a wing and this bump should push him into pretty unique territory. The defensive stats don’t look great on paper, but maybe a slight bump to steals is in order after this camp. Oh, and he still has +14 to go to up his scoring grades even further.
Houston Rockets
Brain Winter
Before: C+ A+ A- B+ C C
After: C A+ A- B+ C C
Almost nothing to see in Houston where everyone seemed to pretty much be going plus or minus one. Gallatin’s outside went down one, Beahm’s rebounding increased by one - pretty insignificant stuff overall. Winter loses one to his inside which probably won’t have all that drastic of an effect on the best outside shooter in the league.
Indiana Pacers
Victor Oladipo
Before: C+ B+ B- A- C B
After: C+ A- B B+ C B
The guy who should’ve gone 1.1 had an interesting camp. The bump in outside and handles are great, particularly for a combo guard who may be best suited to play the point. The A- defense grade to start was very appealing. I don’t like that dropping to B+ but it’s still pretty darn good for a guy who is only 21. Shoutout to the Pacers’ other young building block, Morris Peterson, who went +1 in both defense and rebounding.
LA Clippers
RJ Cole
Before: B A B C+ C B
After: B A B C C B
Going out on a limb here as someone who admittedly doesn’t know much about the software. One thing I do know, however, is that the software ranks your players within their respective position groups. Prior to training camp, the software had Malik Newman above RJ Cole. Despite Cole going -1 in defense, he somehow jumped above Newman, who did nothing in shown grades except increase his shown potential by one. So I guess the hope here is that, despite no grade changes, RJ progressed and is overall a better player than he was last year?
LA Lakers
Len Bias
Before: A B+ C B C B
After: A B C B- C B
Uh oh, Bias goes -2 at 26 years old in outside and defense. With Otto Porter’s rough rookie TC (even, -2 shown potential), this team really only has Bias locked in as a good player so the last thing you want to see him do is go -2 at this stage in his career. Mikal Bridges, who looks decent on paper, also went -1 rebounding.
Miami Heat
Ray McCallum
Before: C+ B B+ B- C- B
After: C+ B+ A- B D+ A
Nice find, Yawn. Ray already appears to be light years ahead of the last lottery point guard you took. Plus three in outside, handling, and defense. He goes -1 in rebounding which isn’t ideal, but you can take that kind of drop out of a point guard when the rest of the stats are as appealing as they are. The A- handling grade after rookie TC means you probably won’t ever need to worry about him staying PG eligible, so you can pump his +25 into grades that help the C+ inside.
Milwaukee Bucks
Trevon Duval
Before: B C B- B C- B
After: B+ C B B C- C
Not a ton to see in Milwaukee as Ayton, Fall, and Godbolt didn’t really do anything. First-rounder Ben McLemore went +1 outside, but I think you’d really have wanted to see a boost in defense or rebounding for a lottery wing. I think we mostly know who Duval is at this point, but bumps to inside and handling never hurt for a point guard. If he ends up starting this year, which he should, he’s in line for his best year yet. If McLemore can score some points, this team could contend again.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Collin Sexton
Before: B+ A- B A- C+ D
After: B+ A- B+ A- C D
It’s gotta be Collin in Minnesota, strictly because of the natural increase in handling, which gets him back to point guard eligibility. But does Ian play him there? Alex Schmidt did fine at the point last year, and Sexton provided standout rebounding (which went -1) from the shooting guard position. I could see Ian messing around with a few different lineups before settling on a starting five in the playoffs. Jaylen Barford, DJ Hogg, or Schmidt could perhaps play shooting guard if Sexton does go back to the point.
New York Knicks
Whitey Von Neida
Before: B- B- C B+ C+ D
After: B- B C B+ B- C
An...older team so not a ton of growth was expected. Von Neida had a nice camp, however, going +2 in outside and rebounding. At 28, he’s a baby compared to most of this Knicks roster. Herb Jones departed in the offseason and was a great D/R wing, and the rebounding bump should help Von Neida assume some of that slack on the glass. Honorable mention to Jock Landale who went +1 in rebounding as well. The issue with Jock has always seemed to be the coach not giving him enough minutes - perhaps better rebounding could help that?
Orlando Magic
Jake Shuttlesworth
Before: B+ B+ C- A- B- C
After: B B+ C- A- B- D
Not a significant change in shown grades except for the -1 (which isn’t great), but I think Skrouse should probably be pleased that Shuttlesworth didn’t regress more than this. All other shown grades stay the same and, at 35, it looks like he should still be a very good contributor. The rest of the team is right around 30 so not much change was to be expected. Cameron Parker had an interesting camp, going -1 inside and +1 outside.
Phoenix Suns
Hakeem Olajuwon
Before: A C C A B+ B
After: A C C A+ B+ B
Another team without significant change, but their twin towers each went +1 - Olajuwon in defense and Templeton, at the ripe old age of 32, in outside. I think Olajuwon’s better defense will be more important for the Suns though. This team needs to add one stud wing to really contend now that Butch McRae is seeing serious decline. If Andy waits too long to make that deal, the same thing will happen to Steph.
Portland Trail Blazers
Malcolm Moore
Before: B+ B B- A B- C
After: B B B A C+ C
This was a rough camp for the Trailblazers, despite Bonga going +1 outside and Shareef going +1 rebounding, which is about all the positive that happened. Moore goes -2 in the categories that matter, and Dirk’s defense gets even worse. I continue to think that he won’t ever become a real contributor in the league.
Sacramento Kings
Peyton Gragg
Before: A- B+ C B+ B C
After: A- B+ C B B- B
Not a good look for Gragg, whose D/R grades each see a -1 drop. He’s been historically good in those departments stats-wise, so who knows what kind of effect this will actually have. Honorable mention to Steven Adams, the guy BK picked in the first round while asking “how the ****” he was still available, once again proving he’s smarter than everyone else in the league. Adams went unchanged in camp.
San Antonio Spurs
Courtney Alexander
Before: C+ B- A- B D A
After: B- B- A A- D+ A
The pressure really got to Courtney last year as he had a rough rookie season, but it looks like an extra season has helped him mature. +4 overall is outstanding and it came in great spots. Inside scoring will help his putrid efficiency, handling will help him retain PG eligibility, and +2 defense and +1 rebounding should eventually make him a well-rounded player. Seth Curry should backup both guard spots after going +1 in each scoring category as well.
Seattle Supersonics
Nerlens Noel
Before: C D C- A- B+ C
After: C D C- B+ B C
Woof. Sorry Duc, doesn’t look like you’ll be striking D/R gold two years in a row. Noel goes -2 right off the bat, kind of the opposite of the dream teen TC you were hoping for. And it came in the two categories where he may have been decent. If he isn’t killing it on defense and rebounding he’ll probably wash out pretty quickly as those scoring grades aren’t worthy of a roster spot.
Toronto Raptors
Cuttino Mobley
Before: B B C+ B+ C B
After: B+ B+ C+ B C B
Another huge offseason for Cuttino as he gets the coveted +1 in each of his scoring grades. With proper investment this guy should end up really good. We know his strength is already above average and the jumper isn’t bad. He’s almost at two bleals per game and should get there with natural progression. Not great, but not awful either. He needs help with efficiency and his final +6 should go into that.
Utah Jazz
Clarence Withers
Before: A- A C+ A- C+ D
After: A- A- C+ B+ C+ D
Ank went out and got Clarence Withers to give him a third stud shooting guard alongside Gary Bossert and Mustapha Heron, but Withers appears to be showing some age, going -1 outside and -1 defense before even suiting up for the Jazz. Not really sure what Ank’s plan is on the wings. Heron may be the only one with the size to play small forward, but that leaves either Bossert or Withers as a super sub. Either of those guys would score 30 per game as a starter.
Vancouver Grizzlies
Ayo Dosunmu
Before: B B+ A- C+ D A
After: B- A- A- B- D+ B
I still think this guy is a great project. Great size, still young, and went +3 in outside, defense, and rebounding. With Khalid El-Amin losing PG eligibility and the acquisition of Bobby McDermott, I’m not sure what Odin has planned for his backcourt. Tyler Blevins is slotted in at shooting guard, Trendon Watford and Devin Durrant are two viable small forwards, and Alexis Antetokounmpo is someone Odin seems to like. This roster should, and likely will, look very different very soon.
Washington Bullets
Simisola Shittu
Before: A- C- D+ B+ A- A
After: A C- C- A- A- B
The Bullets have unfortunately struck out on a couple of lottery picks with Shard and Barkley not exactly lighting it up. But they can always fall back on Simi, who is already one of the best bigs in the league and went +2 in the two areas you wanted him to - inside and defense. He also goes +1 in handling but as he hasn’t had historically bad turnovers, hopefully that doesn’t make him start passing more. His efficiency isn’t exactly great for a top-tier big, but the inside boost will almost certainly help that.
Washington Wizards
Troy Brown
Before: B+ B A+ A- C B
After: B B A A- C- C
One of TMBSL’s best hidden gems of 5.0, Brown may be set to take a step back after lighting it up for the Wizards in his first real starting gig. Brown shockingly went -3 at age 25. The handling drop is whatever since he hardly turns it over and isn’t fighting for PG eligibility anyway. He’s a solid rebounder from the SG position, averaging 6.6 per game last year but that may take a hit as C- is not a very nice rebounding display grade for wings. The biggest concern is obviously the drop in inside.
Atlanta HawksMitchell Robinson
Before: A- C D A- C+ A
After: A- C D A- B- A
Finding something on the Hawks was somewhat difficult as most guys went just plus or minus one. Robinson, a former G-League standout, has been pretty one-dimensional since getting called up to the big leagues. Shot-blocking has always been where he’s stood out, averaging over three per game last year. His rebounding has left a lot to be desired for a big, however. The bump up to B- may inch him closer to ten per game, a number he has yet to reach in his career. If it does, he looks like a guy who will be putting up 20/10/3 for his career.
Boston CelticsMark Price
Before: C B+ B- A- D B
After: C A- B A- D C
Outside of Doumbouya, the Celtics roster is pretty barren. Mark Price is someone who has shown promise since being drafted but hasn’t received the appropriate investment that might push him into the upper-tier of point guards. A solid +2 in the two most important categories for a point guard - outside and handles - provide some natural help. He’s got +18 to go and based on Dennis Schroder’s awful scoring grades, those points should go into Price. Schroder did go +1 handles and +1 defense, but that won’t make up for scoring that looks nearly impossible to save.
Charlotte HornetsVince Carter
Before: A- B- C- C+ C B
After: A- B+ C C+ C B
Apparently Giannis went +2 inside after his training camp, but I’m hoping that’s just Druce trolling Fecta. Without those rosters being uploaded yet, I give the nod to Vince who goes +2 outside and +1 handling. Fecta’s invested in Vince’s jumper and he got his FT% up to respectability last season, but his 3PT% was still lacking, shooting 33% on 3s each of the past two years. A +2 bump to outside should help that percentage significantly.
Chicago BullsMarcus Fizer
Before: B D+ C C B B
After: B C- C C+ B B
Toss-up here between Fizer and first-rounder Solomon Hill as both went +2. I lean towards Fizer as he’s getting plugged into the starting lineup this year and went +1 in two important categories - outside and defense. He struggled from the free throw line as a rookie so I really hope that outside bump was due to a rare jumper increase. He put up decent bleal numbers off the bench as a rookie, and that help in the defense category should get him up to solid levels per 36.
Cleveland CavaliersDeeAndre Hulett
Before: B- C+ D+ B B- B
After: C+ C+ D B+ C+ B
Robot darling Hulett had a rough offseason, going -2 overall. You could probably consider it -1 since the handles grade on a big is whatever and it’s not like he has turnover problems. Drops to inside and rebounding hurt, however, especially for a guy who wasn’t particularly efficient or a good rebounder as a rookie.
Dallas MavericksAl Harrington
Before: B+ C C- B- C+ B
After: B+ C+ C- B B- B
Still raw, still only 20, still showing tons of potential for growth. Any sort of natural improvement to jumper and FT% would be lovely for Delap, and the D/R numbers get better as well for a guy who looks like he’ll be a power forward primarily. Honorable mentions going the other way to all of Delap’s point guards, who somehow just keep getting worse despite their youth.
Denver NuggetsRafer Alston
Before: B- C+ B- B D B
After: B C+ B- B+ D+ C
A guy I think we’ve all pretty much written off after a pair of really bad seasons, Rafer shows some signs of life this year, going +3 in three useful categories. It seems like the gradeset and age should give Mike something to work with, but that’s a big risk. Kenyon Martin also had a nice camp, going +1 in defense and rebounding. Gobert, unfortunately, did not, seeing a drop to his inside.
Detroit PistonsDzanan Musa
Before: C+ B+ C+ B+ B- B
After: C+ A- C+ A- B- C
A guy Dump hesitated to resign, the grades are appealing and may have Musa in line to eventually replace Jackie Moon at small forward for the Pistons. The increase will be particularly helpful following Luke Maye’s departure in the offseason. Love the bumps to outside and defense with no negatives across the board. Shamorie Ponds went +1 inside, but other than that this team stayed pretty consistent. Peyton Siva, a second-round pick, may have some upside after going +1 in outside and defense.
Golden State WarriorsQuentin Richardson
Before: B- B+ C- C+ C B
After: B- B+ C B C B
Q-Rich goes +3 after having a better rookie season than Darius Miles, likely because Fecta initially praised the Miles pick and trashed the Richardson pick. The +2 defense is particularly nice, and he’s still got +15 to go in the lab. Miles actually had a decent camp as well going +1 to defense and rebounding.
Harlem GlobetrottersDazon Ingram
Before: B+ B C B+ C+ B
After: B+ B C A- B- C
I’m already pretty sad I traded this guy for 75% of a season of Jock, but what can you do? Ingram goes +2 in two categories that you love to see out of a shooting guard, defense and rebounding. He’s already a fantastic rebounder for a wing and this bump should push him into pretty unique territory. The defensive stats don’t look great on paper, but maybe a slight bump to steals is in order after this camp. Oh, and he still has +14 to go to up his scoring grades even further.
Houston RocketsBrain Winter
Before: C+ A+ A- B+ C C
After: C A+ A- B+ C C
Almost nothing to see in Houston where everyone seemed to pretty much be going plus or minus one. Gallatin’s outside went down one, Beahm’s rebounding increased by one - pretty insignificant stuff overall. Winter loses one to his inside which probably won’t have all that drastic of an effect on the best outside shooter in the league.
Indiana PacersVictor Oladipo
Before: C+ B+ B- A- C B
After: C+ A- B B+ C B
The guy who should’ve gone 1.1 had an interesting camp. The bump in outside and handles are great, particularly for a combo guard who may be best suited to play the point. The A- defense grade to start was very appealing. I don’t like that dropping to B+ but it’s still pretty darn good for a guy who is only 21. Shoutout to the Pacers’ other young building block, Morris Peterson, who went +1 in both defense and rebounding.
LA ClippersRJ Cole
Before: B A B C+ C B
After: B A B C C B
Going out on a limb here as someone who admittedly doesn’t know much about the software. One thing I do know, however, is that the software ranks your players within their respective position groups. Prior to training camp, the software had Malik Newman above RJ Cole. Despite Cole going -1 in defense, he somehow jumped above Newman, who did nothing in shown grades except increase his shown potential by one. So I guess the hope here is that, despite no grade changes, RJ progressed and is overall a better player than he was last year?
LA LakersLen Bias
Before: A B+ C B C B
After: A B C B- C B
Uh oh, Bias goes -2 at 26 years old in outside and defense. With Otto Porter’s rough rookie TC (even, -2 shown potential), this team really only has Bias locked in as a good player so the last thing you want to see him do is go -2 at this stage in his career. Mikal Bridges, who looks decent on paper, also went -1 rebounding.
Miami HeatRay McCallum
Before: C+ B B+ B- C- B
After: C+ B+ A- B D+ A
Nice find, Yawn. Ray already appears to be light years ahead of the last lottery point guard you took. Plus three in outside, handling, and defense. He goes -1 in rebounding which isn’t ideal, but you can take that kind of drop out of a point guard when the rest of the stats are as appealing as they are. The A- handling grade after rookie TC means you probably won’t ever need to worry about him staying PG eligible, so you can pump his +25 into grades that help the C+ inside.
Milwaukee BucksTrevon Duval
Before: B C B- B C- B
After: B+ C B B C- C
Not a ton to see in Milwaukee as Ayton, Fall, and Godbolt didn’t really do anything. First-rounder Ben McLemore went +1 outside, but I think you’d really have wanted to see a boost in defense or rebounding for a lottery wing. I think we mostly know who Duval is at this point, but bumps to inside and handling never hurt for a point guard. If he ends up starting this year, which he should, he’s in line for his best year yet. If McLemore can score some points, this team could contend again.
Minnesota TimberwolvesCollin Sexton
Before: B+ A- B A- C+ D
After: B+ A- B+ A- C D
It’s gotta be Collin in Minnesota, strictly because of the natural increase in handling, which gets him back to point guard eligibility. But does Ian play him there? Alex Schmidt did fine at the point last year, and Sexton provided standout rebounding (which went -1) from the shooting guard position. I could see Ian messing around with a few different lineups before settling on a starting five in the playoffs. Jaylen Barford, DJ Hogg, or Schmidt could perhaps play shooting guard if Sexton does go back to the point.
New York KnicksWhitey Von Neida
Before: B- B- C B+ C+ D
After: B- B C B+ B- C
An...older team so not a ton of growth was expected. Von Neida had a nice camp, however, going +2 in outside and rebounding. At 28, he’s a baby compared to most of this Knicks roster. Herb Jones departed in the offseason and was a great D/R wing, and the rebounding bump should help Von Neida assume some of that slack on the glass. Honorable mention to Jock Landale who went +1 in rebounding as well. The issue with Jock has always seemed to be the coach not giving him enough minutes - perhaps better rebounding could help that?
Orlando MagicJake Shuttlesworth
Before: B+ B+ C- A- B- C
After: B B+ C- A- B- D
Not a significant change in shown grades except for the -1 (which isn’t great), but I think Skrouse should probably be pleased that Shuttlesworth didn’t regress more than this. All other shown grades stay the same and, at 35, it looks like he should still be a very good contributor. The rest of the team is right around 30 so not much change was to be expected. Cameron Parker had an interesting camp, going -1 inside and +1 outside.
Phoenix SunsHakeem Olajuwon
Before: A C C A B+ B
After: A C C A+ B+ B
Another team without significant change, but their twin towers each went +1 - Olajuwon in defense and Templeton, at the ripe old age of 32, in outside. I think Olajuwon’s better defense will be more important for the Suns though. This team needs to add one stud wing to really contend now that Butch McRae is seeing serious decline. If Andy waits too long to make that deal, the same thing will happen to Steph.
Portland Trail BlazersMalcolm Moore
Before: B+ B B- A B- C
After: B B B A C+ C
This was a rough camp for the Trailblazers, despite Bonga going +1 outside and Shareef going +1 rebounding, which is about all the positive that happened. Moore goes -2 in the categories that matter, and Dirk’s defense gets even worse. I continue to think that he won’t ever become a real contributor in the league.
Sacramento KingsPeyton Gragg
Before: A- B+ C B+ B C
After: A- B+ C B B- B
Not a good look for Gragg, whose D/R grades each see a -1 drop. He’s been historically good in those departments stats-wise, so who knows what kind of effect this will actually have. Honorable mention to Steven Adams, the guy BK picked in the first round while asking “how the ****” he was still available, once again proving he’s smarter than everyone else in the league. Adams went unchanged in camp.
San Antonio SpursCourtney Alexander
Before: C+ B- A- B D A
After: B- B- A A- D+ A
The pressure really got to Courtney last year as he had a rough rookie season, but it looks like an extra season has helped him mature. +4 overall is outstanding and it came in great spots. Inside scoring will help his putrid efficiency, handling will help him retain PG eligibility, and +2 defense and +1 rebounding should eventually make him a well-rounded player. Seth Curry should backup both guard spots after going +1 in each scoring category as well.
Seattle SupersonicsNerlens Noel
Before: C D C- A- B+ C
After: C D C- B+ B C
Woof. Sorry Duc, doesn’t look like you’ll be striking D/R gold two years in a row. Noel goes -2 right off the bat, kind of the opposite of the dream teen TC you were hoping for. And it came in the two categories where he may have been decent. If he isn’t killing it on defense and rebounding he’ll probably wash out pretty quickly as those scoring grades aren’t worthy of a roster spot.
Toronto RaptorsCuttino Mobley
Before: B B C+ B+ C B
After: B+ B+ C+ B C B
Another huge offseason for Cuttino as he gets the coveted +1 in each of his scoring grades. With proper investment this guy should end up really good. We know his strength is already above average and the jumper isn’t bad. He’s almost at two bleals per game and should get there with natural progression. Not great, but not awful either. He needs help with efficiency and his final +6 should go into that.
Utah JazzClarence Withers
Before: A- A C+ A- C+ D
After: A- A- C+ B+ C+ D
Ank went out and got Clarence Withers to give him a third stud shooting guard alongside Gary Bossert and Mustapha Heron, but Withers appears to be showing some age, going -1 outside and -1 defense before even suiting up for the Jazz. Not really sure what Ank’s plan is on the wings. Heron may be the only one with the size to play small forward, but that leaves either Bossert or Withers as a super sub. Either of those guys would score 30 per game as a starter.
Vancouver GrizzliesAyo Dosunmu
Before: B B+ A- C+ D A
After: B- A- A- B- D+ B
I still think this guy is a great project. Great size, still young, and went +3 in outside, defense, and rebounding. With Khalid El-Amin losing PG eligibility and the acquisition of Bobby McDermott, I’m not sure what Odin has planned for his backcourt. Tyler Blevins is slotted in at shooting guard, Trendon Watford and Devin Durrant are two viable small forwards, and Alexis Antetokounmpo is someone Odin seems to like. This roster should, and likely will, look very different very soon.
Washington BulletsSimisola Shittu
Before: A- C- D+ B+ A- A
After: A C- C- A- A- B
The Bullets have unfortunately struck out on a couple of lottery picks with Shard and Barkley not exactly lighting it up. But they can always fall back on Simi, who is already one of the best bigs in the league and went +2 in the two areas you wanted him to - inside and defense. He also goes +1 in handling but as he hasn’t had historically bad turnovers, hopefully that doesn’t make him start passing more. His efficiency isn’t exactly great for a top-tier big, but the inside boost will almost certainly help that.
Washington WizardsTroy Brown
Before: B+ B A+ A- C B
After: B B A A- C- C
One of TMBSL’s best hidden gems of 5.0, Brown may be set to take a step back after lighting it up for the Wizards in his first real starting gig. Brown shockingly went -3 at age 25. The handling drop is whatever since he hardly turns it over and isn’t fighting for PG eligibility anyway. He’s a solid rebounder from the SG position, averaging 6.6 per game last year but that may take a hit as C- is not a very nice rebounding display grade for wings. The biggest concern is obviously the drop in inside.
