Post by delap on Aug 10, 2022 13:37:11 GMT -5
This has been a tumultuous off-season in the heartland of America, where a new team (Milwaukee? Maybe? The league office is mum on the subject) almost joined in... but the Bulls franchise was rescued from the trash heap by the reappearance of old friend Odin.
Cavaliers became Pacers, Pacers became Raptors, Raptors became Bulls. Only the Pipers avoided incestuous player moves in the 3031 offseason, leaving us with one contender (Indiana) and probably only one other playoff team (Toronto). The rest... eh... we'll see.
3030 Record: 64-18
Key Losses: Ricky Ledo (retirement), Paul Davis (FA)
Key Additions: Reggie Miller (Draft), Horace Grant (Draft), Killian Tillie (FA), Kenyon Martin (FA)
Commentary: His cap sheet is immaculate, he has a solid mix of young and old, and he maintains 3.5 starters from last year’s phenomenal team (Hulett counts as a ½ starter). The additions of Tillie/Martin as D/R bigs on super cheap, long-term contracts was impressive. He managed to hang onto Frankie Smokes and Hulett for similar long-term, middle-class deals… despite both players receiving offers for higher starting money at some point in Free Agency. Onyeka Okongwu is his only contributor expiring this year and he has plenty of space to give him the next contract, even if it is a MAX. This is some fine work from the GM of the Pacers. He has stated in *Shout* that he intends to transition to a full “outside” offense with Reggie Miller in the fold and has really built a team around that concept. Okongwu is the only player on the team that will really be hand-cuffed by that approach, but he’s a defensive maven and should still be fine. If there is a space to worry about, it might be rebounding, as Paul Davis was 2nd on the team in rebounding/36 last season… but clearly the hope is that Kmart will provide some of that same output in 3031.
Notable TC Results: Horace Grant (+2, double rebounding), Ron Moore (+2, handling/defense), Reggie Miller (-1, handling)
Projected 3031 Record: 66-16
3030 Record: 42-40
Key Losses: Immanuel Quickley (FA), Dennis Rodman (FA), Elijah Hughes (FA), Mariol Shayok (FA), Tiny Gallon (trade)
Key Additions: Mehmet Okur (FA), Kevin Johnson (Draft), Paul Davis (FA), Darius Miles (trade), John Wall (FA), Brad Lohaus (Draft)
Commentary: The Raptors have long been a team with only minor shifts in roster from year-to-year, so to see so many changes (and 3 or 4 new starters) from one season to the next is big. Last season saw the Raptors as an accidental playoff team, as most of the year was spent tinkering with a lineup to determine the value and best placement of rookies R.J. Barrett and Brandon Clarke, as well as the value of Tiny Gallon. Immanuel Quickley was clearly the star of the team and has showed a proclivity to scoring in an outside system. His turnovers have always been slightly off-putting, but the new crop of PGs in Wall/KJ may not provide much relief for weary Toronto fans in that area. For this season, the Raptors are clearly signaling a return to the “inside” offense that was heavily featured in their best seasons around Kareem. Mehmet Okur and Paul Davis are both coming off of career years in Houston and Indiana, respectively, and should thrive as the focus of the attack. That alone should bump up the Raptors win totals by 4-6 games. A trade for Darius Miles was recently completed and should only bolster that win total more. Any additional improvement will come from the wildcard that is John Wall, who barely played last season and has been held out of the last 2 pre-seasons by the secretive Pacers GM, and/or natural growth from R.J. Barrett, last year’s 2nd overall pick. His rookie season wasn’t disappointing, but it wasn’t thrilling either. Raps fans are still on the fence about him and Year 2 is crucial for his development.
Notable TC Results: R.J. Barrett (+4, outside/handling/double defense), Brandon Clarke (+3, inside/defense/rebounding), Kevin Johnson (+2, handling/rebounding), Okur (+2, handling/defense), John Wall (-1, handling), Darius Miles (-3, inside, outside, defense)
Projected 3031 Record: 50-32
3030 Record: 44-38
Key Losses: Killian Tillie (FA)
Key Additions: John Fox (Draft)
Commentary: Sapular is rolling back an almost identical team that really underperformed last season, hoping that age holds off for one more year, allowing HOFers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Giannis Antetokounmpo to give it one last run. The young, bright star of Kevin Porter Jr. was clipped last season by injury, but he showed incredible potential in the games he did play, so there is some hope for him in the coming year to take some load off of the all-timers. Super-Glue Guy Remon van de Hare should pick up the minutes from the departing Tillie, which is probably a net neutral for scapular, though you have to think he could’ve given Tillie the same (or better!) contract and really had a nice piece for years to come. The best hope for improvement here is on the offensive end and from the man in the contract year, Isaiah Stewart. He’s incredibly efficient, so if he can take more shots (a distinct possibility!) the offensive efficiency of the team should improve. The Cavs were dead average in efficiency and rebounding last season, so improvement in either area could signal a slight boost. However, they turned the ball over a ton, had one of the lowest A:TO ratios in the league, despite a PG who rarely turned it over running the show… and nothing has really changed about their roster that will impact that. The team is treading water.
Notable TC Results: Kevin Porter Jr. (+4, inside/outside/double defense)
Projected 3031 Record: 43-39
3030 Record: 40-42
Key Losses: Karl-Anthony Towns (retirement), De’Andre Hunter (FA),
Key Additions: Patrick O’Bryant (FA), J.R. Smith (FA), Greg Monroe (FA)
Commentary: Big makeover going on in Pipetown, as their arguably best player called it quits after the 3030 season. The question is… will 2 re-treads from the BK-Coaching tree be enough inside to improve the team in 3031? Or is this just another season waiting for salvation in the form of back-to-back 1.1s in 3034/3035? Outside of Ja Morant, there isn’t a lot of be very excited about on this roster. J.R. Smith and Roosevelt Chapman need an ‘outside’ offense to thrive and Ja Morant requires an ‘inside’ one… probably? We still aren’t sure what Ja will look like when he’s given the keys, and it sure seems like GM ba is not comfortable with that yet either, as steady hand Walt ‘Clyde’ Frazier was brought back again on a 1-year deal to play point. The good news? This team should have ~$30m of space entering 3032 free agency, so their biggest moves are ahead of them. I would expect anyone not named Morant (or maybe Ellis) to be on the block immediately as the Pipers look toward the late 3030s as their time to shine. In my opinion, they should be moving ahead with the Ja as full-time PG experiment, if only to gauge their team needs for the real show in 3 seasons. But that’s just me.
Notable TC Results: Clarence Martin (+3, handling/double defense), Ja Morant (+1, outside), Walt Frazier (-2, outside/defense)
Projected 3031 Record: 37-45
3030 Record: 33-49
Key Losses: GM Mike (hiatus), everyone not named Zach Randolph (contraction)
Key Additions: GM Odin (welcome back!), Chris Mihm (FA), Immanuel Quickley (FA), Bob Greacen (FA), Elijah Hughes (FA), Willie White (FA), etc.
Commentary: A new era in the United Center is unveiled! For now, Quickley is the centerpiece of the team and everyone else could be gone quite quickly, if necessary. Greacen and Mihm could fetch assets in return pretty quickly as the Bulls need to load up their war chest with picks… so GM Odin can then trade those picks for players… because he’s not gonna draft. A complete total makeover should lead to more success than last season, but it’s unclear where GM Odin wants to go in the near term. He will surely keep his powder dry for FA the next couple seasons, though. Odin has long been a believer in rebounding, so the 2nd to last REB% of the 3030 iteration of the Bulls is surely disappointing and he will instill hitting the boards as part of his cultural shift (hence the Elijah Hughes signing… who is an very strong rebounder on the wing.) As of press time on this article he is still missing half a roster, so there is room to build more character to the team in the next 24 hours.
Notable TC Results: Elijah Hughes (+2, outside/rebounding), Immanuel Quickley (+1, defense), Chris Mihm (-2, inside/defense)
Projected 3031 Record: 37-45
