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Post by The Athletic on May 29, 2018 14:59:15 GMT -5
  1. New Orleans Pelicans
GM: New Orleans Pelicans (Alex)
2017 Record: 12-2
2017 Points: 9700 (1st in the West)
Lost in the Western Conference Finals
Cap Room: $37M
Projected Roster:
Analysis:
The New Orleans Pelicans shattered pre-season expectations finishing 12-2 en route to a Western Conference Semis appearance. Not bad for a team that had self proclaimed they were in rebuild mode. Just goes to show what can happen when you're active and have a good knowledge of the NBA. As for the team heading into next year it still looks like a no doubt playoff team, but with the new form our league is taking every owner has a lot of work to put in within the off-season if they wanna field a true contender when October rolls around. The Pelicans similar to some other teams that competed for a title now have to decide whether to re-sign Favors or Reddick. My guess is Favors but who knows. From there that is gonna slash the Pelicans cap down to anywhere from the mid twenties to the low twenties. With essentially a full roster the Pelicans are going to have a lot of room financially to make moves to improve the squad. Out of all the contenders the Pelicans are probably in the best financial situation, something that is going to be huge going forward. Obviously the actual team is led by Russell Westbrook. While there are a lot of players that are better in real life than in here I think this is a rare case in which it is the opposite. The Pelicans will never have to worry about Russ' fantasy numbers as Russ cares about them. He's the perfect player to back your fantasy franchise. The big second piece is going to be Devin Booker. Almost everybody I know loves Dbook, and believes he's got all the potential in the world. Now it's just about taking steps every year, he can score at a level that 22 year olds just shouldn't be able too, now he's gotta show he can expand his game and do it all. If he does the Pelicans are in damn good shape moving forward. The team is really deep, with guys like Gortat, Timmy, Hield, Johnson, and even Frank all having moves within the team. Expect the Pelicans to use this off-season to improve the squad in whatever way he needs to. This team has talent, depth, money, potential, and an engaged owner; a recipe for a title. Let's see what happens.
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Post by The Athletic on May 29, 2018 15:16:55 GMT -5
2. Memphis Grizzlies
GM: Memphis Grizzlies (Luke)
2017 Record: 11-3
2017 Points: 9233 (3rd in the West)
Lost in the Western Conference Semis
Cap Room: $32.875M
Projected Roster:
Analysis:
the Grizzlies have been one of those teams, that since the inception of Bball Dynasty 25 you just knew was always going to be in the thick of it. 2017-2018 was no different. The Grizzlies had their ups and had their downs but when it was all said and done they finished 11-3 and made it the Western Semis. The Pelicans were slightly better during the year, but this was a legit threat to make a run before the Nuggets brought that all to an end. The Grizzlies will no doubt be in the thick of it once we fire back up again, but let's take a look at what they have to do heading into the 2018/2019 season. The Grizzlies very obviously have a big three that determines just how far they will go. Chris Paul, Jimmy Butler, and Paul George are all bonafide stars, but they are an interesting group of 3. Paul probably brings the most question marks, he's a stud both in real life and in here, but he's probably the least impactful of the three because he doesn't bring as many counting stats as Jimmy and CP3. However, with his situation really up in the air, he could land in a much better spot in which Russ is not taking 3000 shots a game. CP3 showed despite his age he is still a star in this league, I can see the Rockets being more careful with him during next season, but when he does play he will be among the best in the game. Lastly, Jimmy took a little bit of time to warm up to Minny but once he finally got set, it was clear the Wolves were his team. All three will be huge moving forward. Re-signing George will leave the Grizzlies with not a ton of cap to work with, but with almost a full roster this team will be looking to be right back at the top. Initial rumors out of Memphis are that everybody is available so we'll see just how Luke looks to approach this off-season. |
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Post by The Athletic on May 29, 2018 15:33:28 GMT -5
  3. Houston Rockets
GM:No GM at this current time
2017 Record:5-9
2017 Points: 7221 (8th in the West)
Missed the Playoffs
Cap Room: $56.43M
Projected Roster:
Analysis:
The Rockets are currently without a GM at a pretty critical stage for their franchise. The Rockets came into year in a weird position, they had some decent players but definitely not enough to truly compete and the season finished out exactly how a team with that much talent should. Bad but not super bad. Rockets need a direction, badly. The most obvious decision is to re-sign Demarcus Cousins, he's not going to be cheap and is coming off major surgery, but there's no way you can let him walk. From there it's figuring out how to transition either to a contender or a team that is in a clear rebuild, that may and very likely could mean dealing Boogie, the Rockets have to do something to get out of this weird mediocre position. Outside of Boogie there are definitely some players to take a good look at. Harrison Barnes is a very interesting player to examine. He's making 24 mill a pretty big figure and a number that not all GMs in this league would pay for him. But he's very clearly the number 1 option in Dallas and has made a lot of strides since coming into this league. Will the Rockets be able to find good enough return out there to deal him? RHJ is another guy you just want on your squad, he had a really good year and has a team friendly deal for another year. Larry Nance has also showed flashes and at times in both Cleveland and LA was a very good fantasy player. Is Kennard a player in this league? All these are questions that need to be answered by the Rockets general manager and their staff. This team has a lot to work with and just needs an smart owner to take over.
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Post by The Athletic on May 29, 2018 15:50:29 GMT -5
  4. San Antonio Spurs
GM: San Antonio Spurs (Chris)
2017 Record: 8-6
2017 Points: 8217 ( 6th in the West)
Lost in the First Round
Cap Room: $9M
Projected Roster:
Analysis:
The Spurs had an up and down year that ended with them finishing 8-6 and losing in the first round of the playoffs. The Spurs had a solid team, but truth be told it wasn't a contender. Now Chris has a whole off-season to work his magic and put together a team he does feel has a shot at all. First off lets address the elephant in the room. Clint Capela is a free agent and will cost about 20 million to re-sign. The Spurs don't exactly have that money right now, but don't think for even a second that Capela will hit the open market. I fully expect Chris to make some moves to clear up the money to re-sign the rising star that is Clint Capela. In terms of what the Spurs are going to have to do at least one of Batum, Bazemore, or Marvin Williams will be headed out of town. All three had solid seasons, but all three are also probably overpaid. Delon Wright had a really good year, and is probably capable of eventually becoming the starting point guard for a team, Chris really had to be encouraged with his development. TJ has a clear role carved out, and Malcolm Brogdon while hurt for a good portion of this year I think has shown enough to be considered a key piece, at least while he is so cheap. I think the big thing for the Spurs is the continued development of Steven Adams and Clint Capela. Adams is getting paid like a star, and Capela is about to be. They've got to play stars for the Spurs to be a championship level team. It's tough for Adams when Russ steals his defensive boards and limits his offense to put backs but I fully believe Adams is capable of being a 18/14 ish guy in the right situation. Ultimately the Spurs have to decide whether they want to be a team based on depth and then improve that depth, or look for more star power up top. There is a lot to be done this off-season for the Spurs but I have no doubt come September this team will be competing for a playoff spot. It will be interesting to see what path Chris chooses for his squad.
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Post by Golden State Warriors (Caleb) on May 29, 2018 19:50:09 GMT -5
  5. Dallas Mavericks
GM:Grizzlies GM (Royce)
2017 Record:
2017 Points: 8879 (5th in West)
Lost in the First Round
Cap Room: $60M
Projected Roster:
Analysis:
The Mavs had a solid year under the leadership of Royce Li aka Landon. I mean it would be pretty tough to not have a good year when you are led by arguably the two best players in the game in Lebron James and Kevin Durant. Unfortunately the duo just wasn't quite enough as the Mavs depth lacked resulting in the Mavs being sent home in the first round to the Grizzlies. Now the Mavs sit in an interesting position, do they feel confident enough to re-sign Lebron and make moves to field a supporting cast? Or does Landon blow this thing up, trade Durant, re-sign Bron and then trade him? It really is up to him. Lebron is going to be a ton to re-sign at his age now, do the Mavs decide to ere on the side of caution and sign him to a short term deal? Or do they lock him up all the way up? The tough part of going all in is losing players to free agency, and the Mavs are going to lose a key piece in Lou Williams. Obviously who knows what his role is next year, but it is still tough to lose a player that was that big a piece for you. Outside of Bron and KD this team is pretty shallow and Landon really has a lot of work to get it back to a title contender. The good thing is, you really don't need a ton else when you have Bron and KD, but the tough this is Landon has few assets outside of them to work with. Even with LeBron re-signing there will be some money to play with so we'll see what Landon can do. |
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