Post by TimPig on Jun 28, 2019 20:21:40 GMT
Atlanta Hawks The Hawks returned to TMBSL with a bang last year, finishing fourth overall in TMBSL and third in the East. Some savvy moves in free agency brought in God Shammgod on a long-term deal for a great value and Darius Miles, who I think many forgot was still in the league, for one year. The midseason acquisition of Stephen Jackson, also on a long-term sub-max, gave the Hawks a really strong backcourt.
Shammgod and Jackson return this season, along with an improved group of bigs. Last year we saw the Hawks stick with traditional D/R bigs, but this season they’ve brought in the aging but still very effective Simisola Shittu. Jonas Valanciunas is a young big who still has +25 in his pocket and looks like he could be a steal on an MLE. The Hawks seem to be in the market to add a stud wing to replace Miles this year, and if they can, they’ll finish near the top of the East again.
Projected 2020 record: 61-21
Charlotte Hornets Freshly removed from the albatross contracts of legendary Yao Ming and sub-legendary Vince Carter, the Hornets weren’t players in free agency as they’re still saddled with Giannis’ contract, which still has two years and an average value of about $33,000,000, making him TMBSL’s highest paid player at age 34. While Giannis is still effective, he doesn’t fit on a roster with no one else over the age of 23.
Nash, Iguodala, and Kanter all look like they have bright futures, but Kanter and Paul Silas will both be up for raises once Giannis’ contract expires. Not much can be done this season, but if the Hornets gave a single shit they’d amnesty Giannis after this season to try and be players in free agency next year.
They won’t, so this team will return to its rightful place as TMBSL’s desolate wasteland after their dynasty ended just a few short seasons ago.
Projected 2020 record: 30-52
Chicago Bulls The Bulls overachieved in the regular season last year, but Bulls legend Simisola Shittu was no match for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the playoffs. Most expected the Bulls to take a big step back last year following the retirement of Miles Bridges with no clear replacement, but big improvements by Willis Reed, Armen Gilliam, and Dennis Hopson helped Chicago achieve the best record in the regular season, including a 24-game winning streak to end the year.
Shittu has moved on to Atlanta and, after an offseason that didn’t see any true marquee free agents come to Chicago, rumor has it the Bulls are focused on a youth movement, which could mean the departure of future Big Baller Bulls inductee Dave Lattin.
Lots of prospects with bright futures, but it’s unclear at this point how they all fit together. It wouldn’t be shocking to see the Bulls make a few moves this season in order to try and be players in free agency again next season.
Projected 2020 record: 44-38
Dallas Mavericks After so many years, the Mavericks finally took home a title. Led by all-world point guard Kyrie Irving, who will likely go down as the greatest point guard in TMBSL 5.0 history, the Mavericks will be a contender for as long as he remains in the blue and green. They also retained the services of DeMarcus “Boogie” Cousins with a max contract - perhaps an overpay but something that was required considering the situation the Mavs were in. If they tried to nickel and dime him and he left, it was going to be Kyrie and a bunch of second-tier players trying to contend. Not a great recipe for success.
During the offseason, the Mavs added Terrell Brandon, who would probably be better served as trade bait to improve their depth elsewhere. I like the Mavs’ starting five - two big scorers at point guard and center in Irving and Cousins, two effective role players in Bison Dele and Manu Ginobli, and a defensive stalwart and nine-time champion (!!!) Stacey Augmon at small forward.
The Mavs didn’t really lose anything of major consequence in the offseason, and I expect them to win the West this year.
Projected 2020 record: 62-20
Detroit PistonsThe Pistons have the makings of a real nice group here with Zan Tabak, Shawn Kemp, Chris Webber, and Rick Fox, but they haven’t been able to add the final piece around those guys to push them over the top. Time is running out with both Tabak and Fox turning 33 this season.
The backcourt is in an awful place heading into this season, with two underachievers in Ray Allen and Reggie Miller vying for minutes at shooting guard and Steve Francis and rookie Shaun Livingston at point guard. Had Mike upgraded one of Allen or Miller previously, he could invest +25 this year into Francis or Livingston and perhaps this backcourt would get a bit closer to average. Instead, there will be at least one weak point unless he can pull some strings to trade one of his stud big men for a couple of more effective guards.
This team has ridden the play of their big men to great regular season success, but the holes in their backcourt have been exposed during the playoffs. I expect to see more of the same this year.
Projected 2020 record: 49-33
Harlem GlobetrottersThe Globetrotters continue to retool year after year, making the difficult but wise decision to trade Boogie Cousins and his upcoming enormous raise to the Mavs last season for a few more years of security in wing Paul George. The decision to trade Boogie was made a bit easier due to the presence of Pau Gasol, Vlade Divac, and Zach Randolph, three bigs who all put up at least comparable numbers to Cousins.
Unlike the Pistons, Harlem has been able to fill in their backcourt. John Wall is overpaid for what he gives you at point guard, but he gets the job done and there aren’t many better alternatives at his position. The wings look like they’ll be handled by committee, with George, Cazzie Russell, and the newly signed Caron Butler likely all getting significant minutes but deferring to their group of plus big men.
The Globes also look like they had another successful contraction draft this offseason, grabbing 19-year-old Jermaine O’Neal. He looks like he’ll be the next in line once Gasol or Divac age their way out of Harlem.
Projected 2020 record: 59-23
Miami Heat The Heat made the biggest splash in the offseason for the second year in a row, once again acquiring the jewel of the class. Last year it was Tim Duncan, this year it’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who will go down as the greatest player of all time. Those two alone will be enough to put the Heat in the conversation as the favorite this year, but that’s not all they have.
Rodney Rogers will provide some excellent scoring punch off the bench as the third big, while Andrei Kirilenko looks like he could be a great D/R small forward. Tracy McGrady saw a bump to his inside in training camp and should be ready to shoulder a heavier load this year, though he probably won’t need to.
The biggest question remains at point guard, where Allen Iverson, Andre Miller, Chris Duhon, and Sebastian Telfair all have major question marks. If Miami can upgrade at point guard, they’re my pick to win it all.
Projected 2020 record: 63-19
New Orleans BuccaneersCan we just contract this team and ban BK already?
Projected 2020 record: 0-82
Orlando MagicYou have to feel bad for Orlando fans, who rightfully got their hopes up when Kareem came to the Magic in a previous contraction draft, but had their hopes dashed year after year as the Magic went deep in the playoffs but could never quite bring it home. Now Kareem is gone and the rebuild begins.
There are bright spots on the team, but they all come with red flags. Livio Jean-Charles is an elite scorer but is aging and has no place on a young team not looking to contend this year. He’ll be trade bait later in the season, but I’m not sure what kind of a return he’ll get as most teams are already pretty set in the frontcourt.
Kawhi Leonard looks great defensively, but his offense leaves a lot to be desired. He looks like a great secondary player, especially with his contract, but he needs scorers around him. Nick Van Exel is one of the league’s few good point guards, but his contract is atrocious and pays him almost $18,000,000 five years from now when he’ll be 35 years old.
No doubt about it, this is a rebuilding year in Orlando. Their best hopes will be to flip some of the above assets for first round picks and hope that some of those picks strike gold in the lottery.
Projected 2020 record: 34-48
Portland Trail Blazers Portland is an interesting spot. They have a couple of talented youngsters in Tobias Harris and Kobe Bryant, who they grabbed in contraction, a rookie who had a great training camp in Devin Harris, and then a few grizzled old veterans who are nearing the end of their careers.
Amare Stoudemire, Qyntel Woods, Steve Stipanovich, and Marcus Taylor were all potential first-team TMBSLers at one point, but those days are past them. This team is in some sort of purgatory now where it’s likely not going to grab a high draft pick with their old guys racking up some wins, but they’re also not championship contenders.
They do have a number of expiring contracts, however, so they likely are going to be big players in free agency next year.
Projected 2020 record: 45-37
Utah JazzAnother expansion team from last season, the Jazz signed some promising free agents to flip for assets in order to really set themselves up for the future, and were on their way to doing that with the trade of Stephen Jackson to the Hawks. Then other things came up and the plan went on hold for a bit.
Still, Jay Williams is one of the league’s better point guards and could likely be flipped to a contender for a package of at least a few prospects and picks, even if the return would be less than it was last year. Al Jefferson is a good looking young prospect the Jazz might be able to build around, but it’s pretty bleak outside of that.
Projected 2020 record: 32-50
Washington BulletsLots of good young prospects in Washington to be excited about, but they haven’t stuck around for long enough to help this team build something. Greg Monroe looks great and has another +10 and a camp, while Dwight Howard looks like he could be a real stud if given +25 and a camp. Elton Brand and Antoine Walker also show promise but desperately need upgrades.
Outside, I like Rick Barry a lot and think he could be a very good shooting guard if he was given +25 to his inside and/or strength. Penny hasn’t improved much at the point guard position but is good enough to get the job done.
I like the foundation here and decent enough depth shouldn’t be hard to find. If this team invests in what they already have, they look like they could be very good.
Projected 2020 record: 42-40
