Pipetown Powerhouse? Premier Pick Plus Improved Pipers Points to Potential Prosperity (69 views)

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Pittsburgh, PA (AP) - In the midst of a successful 3025 campaign, the Pittsburgh GM hopes to erect a powerhouse in the East by adding the top selection from this year's rookie draft into the mix.  On Monday, general manager B.A. made official what many around the league suspected by announcing the Pipers' selection of Demarcus Cousins first overall.  Cousins, the hot rod from the University of Kentucky, enters the league as a promising young big man full of potential.  He should bring the ability to clean the glass to Pittsburgh immediately while the rest of his game might need some time to develop.

While the latest 1.1 selection has Pipetown fans drooling, the current iteration of the Pipe has resulted in just as much moisture.  At the time of publication, Pittsburgh sits at 48-18, two and a half games out of first place in the central and the same number of games back from the 1 seed in the East.  The 48 wins are only two less than the 3024 Pipers won when they finished 50-32 on the season before a disappointing 4-0 first round sweep at the hands of the Indiana Pacers.

The cast of characters in 3025 isn't wildly different than 3024 despite the wildly improved results.  Long time Pipers shooting guard Ricky Pierce finally called it quits after 3024 after spending his entire 13 year career in Pittsburgh.  The team has ushered in the new era without Pierce quite well.  Newly acquired stay Jayson Tatum forms a capable wing duo with free agent addition and defensive specialist Stanley Johnson.  Long time Piper big man Jahlil Okafor still patrols the paint and he has flourished alongside Troy Murphy, the club's free agent find from 3024.  Another Piper fixture, point guard John Beckman, rounds out the starting five.

While Beckman is a shell of what he once was from a scoring standpoint, the veteran has transformed his game in recent years, turning himself into a floor general of sorts who takes care of the basketball and makes those around him better.  He may not be able to shoot the ball like he did in his younger years, but he runs the offense as well as he ever has and steals the ball nearly twice as often as he turns it over.

Fans are hopeful that the team can make a run in this year's postseason, but it is hard for them to not look ahead to next season when Boogie will be joining the fun.  The major question mark for the 3026 version is what happens with Jahlil Okafor whose contract expires at the end of this campaign.  The center will be 31 by the time the offseason rolls around and in the midst of one of the best seasons of his career, you have to expect he will be looking to cash in in a big way.  With Cousins' 4 million dollar rookie salary factored in, the Pipers only have around 50 million on the books so they should have plenty of space to bring Okafor back if they choose to do so.

[TinyTimPig]

Pipe town is soaking.