Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2020 17:52:11 GMT -8
Dallas Mavericks: B
Denver Nuggets: C
Royal had Melo looking sweet and dealt him for a big who looked like far from a surefire star. I liked his late picks in the first round, particularly Beno Udrih, a C+/B scoring PG who could be a very good starter with camps. The Sprewell signing is unforgivable; the Fizer signing was too long. Keeping Baron was smart and necessary, and Royal ended up getting himself a potential lotto out for Baron. Nuggets are set up OK for a two-year tank with Al Jeff, a high 2005 pick, and another solid ’05 pick via the Bucks.
Houston Rockets: B
Ahsan seems to have a knack for developing unheralded bigs, which arguably enabled him to package DD and Moiso for Dirk. I was cool on that deal because I really like Moiso and think DD and Dirk are scoring equals, but I think Ahsan may be able to pull off a 55-win team here. Dirk at SF gives Houston a chance to have elite rebounding, and this is a top five offense. Can’t see them getting past Sacramento or LA, but that was the case with Moiso and DD, too.
Minnesota Timberwolves: B
Jeb was right to go big and add Zo in his CY. He was also right to clear space to re-sign Paul Pierce, who is a lot better than people think. Pierce can average 25+ PPG on 46/80/43ish splits and averages 7.1 RPG for his career. He has a handling AC remaining, too. Pleased with Jeb’s offseason overall, but I think there’s genuine CY danger here if he starts TJ Ford, Sam Cassell, or Chris Duhon at PG. A glaring flaw at a vital position is an invitation to underperform your talent. I’d like to see Jeb explore a Bosh deal—Bosh is worth a massive return and shouldn’t go easily, but the Wolves could contend if they get the right deal for him. Otherwise, the play is probably to net a good PG for Butler and go with JRich/Pierce on the wing.
San Antonio Spurs: C
John tinkered at the margins this offseason—I didn’t like him moving his ’07 to Seattle or flipping the GST ’06 for Dampier—when it sounds like he’s more interested in retooling. I can’t blame him for sticking it out with an incredible young duo, but moving firsts for players who don’t move the needle isn’t going to help now or when the retool comes.
Odom on a max isn't pretty, either, though that was unavoidable.
Utah Jazz: A
Tired of kissing JR’s ass but he’s a good GM, he makes me laugh, and his tooth is all fucked up so let’s compliment him. Drafted what could be a perfect frontcourt, including stealing AB outside of the lotto. JR pick looks very good, too. Added a very good young PG for picks. He’s being patient and selective in building a team of young, fitting friends around LeBron. He already has a starting lineup and a good sixth man on board, and he has picks and cap to keep going. I hate to see it!
Memphis Grizzlies: A-
Golden State Warriors: A-
Got a great scorer in Kevin Martin who seems to carry massive value around the league. Cashed in one of his ’05 picks for Shaun Livingston, who looks like the real thing at PG. Still a ways to go with the rebuild, and he may want to hype and shop Hinrich, but Manas is stacking good young players with plenty of draft capital and cap room to go.
Los Angeles Clippers: C
I’m on record supporting the Duncan deal because Frangie got an absurdly good young backcourt out of it, but I think he needed to arrange to get his ’05 first back or aggressively pursue bigs to make the deal worth doing. I don’t think the Clippers are as bad as their preseason suggests. Tariq Abdul-Wahad is an under-the-radar stocks:to monster, and guys like Clark, Bradley, and Rose are serviceable in the frontcourt. I’d like to see Frangie shop Rush (or JJ) for quality bigs, though, as I think Giricek supersubbing can be a fine third option and the Clips need rebounding far more than they need scoring. Starting JJ and Rush will be a disaster on the glass.
Los Angeles Lakers: A
Nanz hates his team but I love what he did! Dirk and picks became DD, Eddy Curry, and Jalen Rose. The Lakers were exceptionally thin last year and managed to dominate. I don’t see any weaknesses this year! Supersub Rose, an inside scoring machine in Eddy, and as good a non-Kobe scorer as exists in DD on top of Kidd/Manu/JO (piece of shit ex-Mavs). The favorites! People ask me if I love this man. I do.
Phoenix Suns: A
Hate to give Andrew this kind of credit, but he fleeced Sargo in the LJ deal and cashed in nicely on Harold-affiliated assets for Big Dog. Adding two elite scorers and great rebounding to a 40-win baseline is nice—and good. Kept J-Will and added a solid young peej in Jameer Nelson. Good things all around, and then he took a shot at the Mavs in the preseason thread, so fuck him!!!
Portland Trail Blazers: B
Losing his ’07 along the way hurt, but I loved the Ricky Davis deal. Ricky’s 25 and just did 29 on 49/93/42 for one of the best teams in the league. I think there’s 48 wins here with the right DC—probably one with Ricky and Marion on the wing so that Ricky can feast at SG and Marion can subsidize a weak-rebounding backcourt with double digit boards at SF. I love this man.
Sacramento Kings: B
Adding talent for cap he’d never be able to use was smart. Sarunas is a perfect backup PG, and DerMarr rebounds nicely to go along with 46/87/47. But the Kings find themselves without a viable third big and with a weak bench, having failed to land anyone with their MLE. Decent offseason, and they’re as likely as anyone to win a ring, but there are holes here.
Seattle Super Sonics: A+
Love to kiss my pals’ asses, and Mark has earned this horrendous smooch. Inherited a fucking gross situation, complete with albatross contracts clogging up space in GP and NVE and a nasty lil' max owed to Shaq O'Neal. Skillz-level trading to get his picks back for Shaq and Curry, and added four other firsts in the loaded 2007 draft along the way. He even got a pick for GP and NVE. Absurdly good job by my dear friend Mark. Love to have him back.
