Post by TimPig on Jul 15, 2020 7:26:16 GMT
Anaheim Amigos 2040 Record: 57-25; 3rd in the West (as the Blackhawks)
Key Additions: Artis Gilmore
Key Subtractions: Salah Mejri
Breakdown: Anaheim returns most of the team that won last year’s title in the Tri-Cities, with the only significant change being at the fourth big spot, where Artis Gilmore replaces Salah Mejri. I think Artis is overrated, but as a fourth big, you could certainly do worse. The midseason acquisition of Tyler Ennis gave this team the additional scoring punch it needed alongside Joel Embiid to take advantage of a weak Western Conference and a LeBron-less Bulls team. Fortunately for Bill, the West once again appears to be significantly behind the East in terms of talent, especially with the Mavericks selling off. Overall, this is a solid but unspectacular team across the board. No major contributor is at risk of massive decline, so the Amigos should continue to contend in the West for the next couple of years.
Predicted 2041 Record: 58-24; 1st in the West
Dallas Mavericks 2040 Record: 58-24; 1st in the West
Key Additions: Montrezl Harrell, Buddy Hield, Bradley Beal, Armond Hill
Key Subtractions: Al Horford, Larry Bird, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Dion Waiters, Butch Lee
Breakdown: In my mind, the Mavericks had the most bizarre offseason of any team in TMBSL. After finishing with the first seed in the West and entering the postseason with the highest fracs in the league, they were unceremoniously swept in the Western Conference Finals by eventual champion Tri-Cities. Dallas was an excellent team whose entire core - Butch Lee, Larry Bird, Dragan Tarlac, and Dan Issel - were all in or entering their prime. Lee and Bird are among the league’s best at their positions, and there seemed to be a straightforward path to upgrading the other three positions and their bench with the draft assets - particularly 1.8 and 1.9 in a deep 2043 draft - necessary to do so. Instead, the Mavs decided it was time to rebuild and now have four top-five picks in the next four years, as well as three others in the first half of the first round. They’ll also have some cap space to play with as they focus on building around their 2045 first overall pick. As the roster currently stands, I'm not sure I see a player I'd bet on being a starter in the league five years from now. Tarlac or Hield seem like the best bets, but I wouldn't put money on it.
Predicted 2041 Record: 41-41; 6th in the West (among human teams)
Oakland Oaks2040 Record: 33-49; 11th in the West
Key Additions: Bill Laimbeer
Key Subtractions: Eric Leckner, LaPhonso Ellis
Breakdown: The Oaks have yet to put together a complete roster and develop an identity after a combination of questionable and unlucky moves over the past few seasons. Trading the rights to Kevin Garnett looks really bad in hindsight, and losing Austin Carr in free agency shortly after only adds salt to the wound. The best thing going for this team are the three top-five draft picks they have over the next three seasons. Pascal Siakam has yet to show us he can be anything more than an average third big. Anthony Davis put together a nice little season at age 33, but there’s no way he fits into any sort of rebuilding plan in Oakland. Malcolm Brogdon might be able to turn into a decent non-shooting decent defending shooting guard. Outside of those three, things are really bleak. Here’s hoping Kujo makes a couple of his upcoming draft picks before JHB comes calling.
Predicted 2041 Record: 30-52; 9th in the West (among human teams)
Phoenix Suns2040 Record: 36-46; 8th in the West
Key Additions: Myles Turner, Kristaps Porzingis
Key Subtractions: Aaron Gordon
Breakdown: An unfortunate TC has dampened hopes in Phoenix, where Andrewluck was hopeful he’d found his big man duo for the next 10-12 years in the same draft. Hopefully the negative grade changes are a mirage and aren’t indicative of two busts waiting to happen, though both players’ profiles indicated they might take a bit of time to come around. Fred Hoiberg has been a decent surprise as a consistent scorer his first two years in the league and could certainly start on a contending team, especially in a league lacking tons of good shooting guards. Phoenix will need to continue to fill in around him, and that starts with the development of Turner and Porzingis. If all three of those players work out and hang around, the first overall pick in 2046 could just be the final piece that this team needs, but that’s a big if.
Predicted 2041 Record: 38-44; 8th in the West (among human teams)
Portland Trail Blazers2040 Record: 49-33; 4th in the West
Key Additions: Salah Mejri, Eric Leckner
Key Subtractions: Artis GIlmore
Breakdown: Portland was the beneficiary of Skrouse’s impatience, netting a couple of key young pieces that will certainly hasten their rebuild. Andrew Bynum, the main part of the deal alongside 2043 1.2, had a very nice TC, capitalizing on the 100 potential he entered the league with. He needed help with both his inside and jumper to become a truly dominant big man, so we’ll see if his +1 inside during the offseason contributed to that recipe and will allow Majic to invest in his jumper instead. Pete Maravich, who also came over in the Bynum deal, may be the best player on this team today, but with a future lineup that is likely centered around Bynum and Patrick Ewing, this team isn’t in need of a scorer who seems to thrive in an outside offense. Majic seems keen on moving him, but so far hasn’t received any bites. With plenty of future cap space, the Blazers have the luxury of being able to wait for the right deal before moving him. This team isn’t built to win this year, but took some big steps last season towards setting themselves up for the future.
Predicted 2041 Record: 43-39; 4th in the West (among human teams)
Sacramento Kings2040 Record: 35-47; 9th in the West
Key Additions: Russell Westbrook, Justise Winslow, Devin Booker
Key Subtractions: LaMarcus Aldridge,
Breakdown: RW did a lot to shore up his perimeter this offseason, trading for Russell Westbrook and drafting Justise Winslow and Devin Booker. Westbrook has already proven he’s a viable starter and is only 23, so the Kings should be set at the point for a number of years. At worst, he could probably slide over to shooting guard or be a very good backup at the 1 and 2. Which brings me to Devin Booker, a player with a big name who puts up big points IRL but whose skillset doesn’t seem like it’ll translate to TMBSL in the slightest. I was a huge fan of Winslow entering the draft, especially since he’s only 19 and has shooting guard eligibility. He should be a solid defending and rebounding shooting guard, allowing his upgrades to go into inside and jumper. B C scoring grades aren’t fantastic on their surface, but we’ll see how it looks in preseason. There are a ton of questions up front. Bargnani is an efficient enough scorer and blocks enough shots, but if you want to start him, you’ll need a center who can cover for his rebounding deficiencies. Sacramento doesn’t have that as of today, but maybe 1.4 in the 2042 draft can fill that void.
Predicted 2041 Record: 42-40; 5th in the West (among human teams)
San Antonio Spurs2040 Record: 43-39; 5th in the West
Key Additions: None
Key Subtractions: None
Breakdown: San Antonio had one of the more uneventful offseasons of any team, focusing on re-signing Jamal Murray to a max deal rather than play the free agency RNG. Murray was a killer scorer and excellent rebounder at point guard with more-than-passable defense, but turnovers have always been a glaring issue. Based on all of that, he should excel as a shooting guard, where turnovers will drop and rebounds and steals should go up. He also still has +10 that likely goes into strength, making him an even more well-rounded player. Omer Asik’s season-long numbers don’t look great, but after receiving +35 inside via his hidden gem status, he tore it up in the playoffs and looks like he could be a very good big man with his above average defense and decent rebounding. For some reason, the coach didn’t give Patrick Ewing Jr. any love, limiting him to 27 minutes per game despite being listed as a starter and a scoring option. He was getting nearly that many minutes as a backup wing in Chicago, so maybe the best way to maximize his talent will be to have him resume those duties if/when San Antonio can find another starting caliber small forward. Jokic continues to be an efficient scorer, but not much else. This team’s biggest hole is at point guard, but they have the first overall pick in the Isiah Thomas draft, so he looks like the obvious choice assuming the build pans out.
Predicted 2041 Record: 44-38; 3rd in the West (among human teams)
Seattle Supersonics2040 Record: 38-44; 7th in the West
Key Additions: Mario Hezonja
Key Subtractions: Calvin Murphy
Breakdown: This team looks like they may be starting to come around after an impressive first TC for Hezonja that might give him the potential to be one of the league’s top small forwards. Based on his profile and grades, he may be different than many of the of high inside, low outside, good rebounding small forwards we’ve seen (Larry Bird, Julius Erving, Dominique Wilkins, Purvis Short). The beautiful thing about Hezonja, like Winslow, is that he has shooting guard eligibliity, where his C+ rebounding would immediately make him a top-tier rebounder for the position. Assuming his turnovers aren’t bad, he has the chance to be great. Next to him, Seattle has the best defender in the league in Clint Capela, though Duc’s unwillingness to budge on moving him is...surprising. Cheick Diallo is decent at power forward, but hasn’t continued to improve after a promising audition in San Antonio. Sergio Rodriguez has quietly become one of the league’s better point guards after posting his best season last year, though turnovers remain a problem. There’s a decent foundation here in Hezonja and Rodriguez, and if Duc chooses to move the 29-year-old expiring Capela for a good pick, he could really have something going in the next few years.
Predicted 2041 Record: 40-42; 7th in the West (among human teams)
Vancouver Grizzlies2040 Record: 57-25; 2nd in the West
Key Additions: Patrick O’Bryant, Adam Morrison, Jaylen Brown
Key Subtractions: Bill Cartwright, Dominique Wilkins
Breakdown: If not for an untimely injury to Larry Wright, we might be talking about the Grizzlies as Western Conference or TMBSL Champions. With Wright out, Kay Felder was forced to start which led to a predictable playoff collapse. Entering 2041, the Grizz appear to have lots a bit of high-level talent in Cartwright and Wilkins, but added depth primarily through Jaylen Brown. With the logjam of bigs in Vancouver, someone had to move and it ended up being Cartwright, who had a down year in just about every category except rebounding. Morrison is a downgrade from Wilkins, but is locked up long-term and much younger. It appears Druce is going in on a big man duo of Theo Ratliff and Kevin Love, both of whom have shown promise but have yet to establish themselves as elite players. Their development is likely the key for this team. Derrick Rose is sort of the forgotten man here as he’s struggled as a starter, but he’s still only 22 and just went +3 in TC. If he gets it together, Ratliff - Love - Morrison - Brown - Rose is a really nice young core, though it might lack a true #1 scorer.
Predicted 2041 Record: 52-30; 2nd in the West (among human teams)
