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Post by The Athletic on May 21, 2018 15:01:40 GMT -5
 
1. Denver Nuggets
GM: Denver Nuggets (Kevin)
2017 Record: 13-1
Points: 9464 (2nd in West)
Basketball Dynasty Champion
Cap Room: $20.785M
Projected Roster:
Analysis:
The reigning champs are back again and the quest to defend their title starts now. This is going to be a big off-season for this team but Kevin has shown over the past couple years he will be up to the task. There are just a lot of decisions to be made. The Nuggets choose to go all in last year and it obviously worked out for them. But now heading into the off-season they have about 20 million in cap space with key guys like Thad Young, Kyle Anderson, and Elfrid Payton all free agents. Quite obviously without some wheeling and dealing 20 million is not enough to keep even 2 of the 3. Kevin will have to decide who he is keeping, who he feels he can get the most for in the open market etc. One thing he has going is Elf cut his hair, he's no doubt going to shoot better next year so maybe Kevin can bring in some goods for him. Outside of the free agents it's very clear who this team is led by. Victor Oladipo had an unbelievable season was 3rd team all bball 26 and was the clear leader for this team all year. The Nuggets will have to lean on him heavily heading into next year and he really is probably the only untouchable player on this team. The Nuggets have two very interesting players heading into the off-season, and I mean interesting in a sense that the respective players values I think vary pretty volatility across the league. Ricky Rubio and Paul Millsap. Ricky Rubio was pretty awful all year long and then suddenly became a very solid point guard down the stretch. If he plays that way all next year he's going to be a big piece for the Nuggets. Paul Millsap was hurt for a good part of the year, and never was Atlanta Hawks Paul, but he was solid when he needed to be and ultimately was a big part of the Nuggets title. Whether he carves out a solid role and stays healthy next year will be crucial. Overall we don't have many doubts about this team going into the off-season. There are definitely holes, but this team has a title for a reason. Ownership is proactive and will address the holes in one way or another. Expect that when things fire up again next October the Nuggets will be among the favorites.
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Post by The Athletic on May 21, 2018 15:15:49 GMT -5
   1. Utah Jazz
GM: Charlotte Hornets (TJ)
2017 Record: 6-8
Points: 7085 (9th in West)
Eliminated in 1st Round
Cap Room: -$6.79M
Projected Roster:
Analysis: TJ and his Jazz had a tough year. There isn't really a doubt about TJ's basketball knowledge (in general) and to me I really attribute the Jazz's poor season to two differently things. First off you really can't do much when Bledsoe quits on his own team and along with it about 2/5ths of his season. Then you got Niko getting railed in the face by his own teammate, and then to finish it off you got your highest paid player taking the year off essentially because he hurt his heel. At a certain point it just seems like it wasn't meant to be. The second part was TJ was obviously not as engaged as he's been in past seasons. To be fair this makes a lot of sense, people grow up this league is a hobby and other things are going to take precedence. The league has also changed and it has become a lot harder to make deals, but that's the nature of the beast and if TJ wants return the levels he once was he's going to have to put in some effort. The good thing is there's a lot here still to work with. Joe Ingles is a good basketball player, and TJ should be looking to cut as much cap as he can asap in order to figure out a way to bring back Joe and Nurk. Niko was also huge on the Pelicans and if he is anything like what he was down the stretch for the Pelicans TJ has gotta be happy. Bledsoe and Conley are two very solid point guards, I mean this team still posses a lot talent. The tough part is going to be figuring out how to deal with the money. The Jazz are 6 million over the cap and haven't even re-signed their two guys yet moving Conley is almost certainly a must, and I really doubt he will be able to receive fair value for him. Nevertheless TJ has the both the knowledge and the savvy to figure it out, it really just depends if he's up for it. Don't expect to see the Jazz as big players this free agency as they have got to figure out their own situation first before even thinking about spending money. |
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Post by The Athletic on May 21, 2018 15:34:08 GMT -5
   3. Portland Trailblazers
GM: @camel
2017 Record: 8-6
2017 Points: 7975 (7th in West)
Eliminated in the First Round
Cap Room: $4.15M
Projected Roster:
Analysis: The Blazers really had a solid season and I think surprised some people. There are definitely some things that need to be worked on but moving forward this team has a lot of promise. The team is clearly led by studs Kemba Walker and Bradley Beal. Beal solidified himself as a franchise piecing moving forward, and despite his hefty price tag, the Blazers can be confident they have a top 5 shooting guard moving forward. Kemba had a weird year, but he's just entering his prime and is probably considered a franchise player moving forward. Now where the Blazers really hit a home run was the with Lauri Markkanen. He showed star potential this year and is on the books for the next 3 years at a premium price, hell of a job by the Blazers. Now let's get into the bad. Heading into the off-season the Blazers have little wiggle room (4+ Mill in cap). They still need to re-sign Wiggins and 4 mill isn't going to cut it. Luckily Wiggins will only cost $12.48 million to re-sign and the Blazers have over a month to make that happen. It's pretty obvious where the problem is when looking at this team. Chandler Parsons continues to swindle owners in here and in the NBA. He is on the books for the next two years and is owed is close to 50 million over the next two seasons. Obviously the Blazers need to get that figured out. There is little to no chance somebody takes that contract on so cutting him may just have to be the move. We'll see, the Blazers always keep their moves under wraps and are definitely one of the quieter GMs in the league. Nevertheless it's worked for them so far. Expect this team to shed the Parsons contract get Wiggins under contract and look to sign some cheap vets in free agency. Hopefully for the Blazers and their fans the team takes another step this year, these are crucial years in Portland.
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Post by The Athletic on May 21, 2018 15:52:23 GMT -5
  4. Oklahoma City Thunder
GM: Oklahoma City Thunder (Loren)
2017 Record: 4-10
2017 Points: 6323 (11th in West)
No Playoffs
Cap Room: $25.47M
Projected Roster:
Analysis:
Ah everyone's' favorite Loren Colpo. The guy is too busy being grounded to ever have a decent team, the kid is so good at being mediocre it's scary. Anyways, there are some positives to look at here. Despite overpaying George Hill and Gorgui Dieng the Thunder still have $25 million to play with heading into the off-season. This free agent class is shaping up to me be pretty decent, so 25 mill probably nets the Thunder a cream of the crop guy or a couple middle tier contributors. We'll see what Loren's plan is. As for the actual team there really is just one bright spot. Sabonis showed a ton this year. When given consistent minutes Sabonis is easily a 30+ PPG player. Still young and cheap that is very valuable. Kelly Olynyk also had a really good year and if the friction between Hassan and the Heat continue into the off-season Kelly could be looking at a pretty nice sized role next year. If that happens his 10 mill deal over the next 4 is definitely a bargain. Outside of those two it's pretty bleak. The Thunder are loaded with aging vets who will struggle to average over 20 a game. Dieng is way overpaid, Gordon is overpaid, Hill is overpaid, Kieff is decent but doesn't fit this team's direction. Even young guys like Collins, and McCaw have got to show a lot more for them to be considered key pieces. Loren got a big boy job locked up so hopefully that leads to his parents laying off a little and then a better team, but honestly I doubt it. For me the Thunder have to focus on a couple things this off-season. 1. Figure out a direction. Do you want to rebuild? If your answer is yes, then trade guys like Gordon, George Hill, Kieff, etc. and cut cap. Do you want to compete? If the answer is yes, re-sign Lin, move some things around and buy low on on expensive guys like Conley that will produce. It's really anyone's guess as to what happens, my guess is Loren will find a new interesting way to be bad. Either way we all still love you bud.
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Post by The Athletic on May 21, 2018 17:15:34 GMT -5
  5. Minnesota Timberwolves
GM: Minnesota T-Wolves (Matt)
2017 Record: 3-11
2017 Points: 5595 (Last in the West)
Missed Playoffs
Cap Room:$21.462M
Projected Roster:
Analysis: Tough year for the T-Wolves. They came into the year with high hopes that were immediately crushed when Gordon Hayward went down for the year with a brutal leg injury. The T-wolves did some wheeling and dealing throughout the year and are now in a pretty good position to compete heading into next year. For starters they probably have one of the most valuable pieces in all of fantasy with Anthony Davis. Davis who is still just turned 25 averaged 48 last year and is only going to get better. Obviously the same question remains and that is can he stay healthy. If he does he's easily a top 5 if not top 3 fantasy player and is huge for the Twolves movingforward. Outside of Davis the Wolves have CJ McCollum, one of the better two guards in the league. His 25 million price tag is tough as even in a good year he only averaged 25.8, a solid number but not a number worth a 25 million dollar price tag. CJ is really limited by not having high assist numbers, and his scoring is capped in a sense as he will always be at the very best 1B in Portland. I think he continues to take strides but in order for him to reach his maximum potentially I think he's gotta leave Portland or have Dame leave. Jaylen Brown's year has to be really encouraging for this franchise. And while I'm not sure he'll ever do enough to be a 30 point scorer Brown will be a very good player in this league for years to come. Looney has shown flashes this year, so having him locked up at the near minimum for the next couple years is really sneakily valuable. This team is really set up well, they have 3 key pieces, some secondary help, the 3rd pick in the draft and another 20+ mill in cap room. If the right strings are puled this is not only a playoff team but a contender. The right strings still need to be pulled, watch out for the Twolves in 2018/2019. |
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