Freedom! (now with update)

[condors]

I love the offseason part of the game

heading into the draft I have 2 1st round picks there are only 3 centers and 1 power forward projected to be taken the 3 center are 2 9 and 12th and the power forward 30th. I was looking at getting a starting small forward and center in the draft. Looking at the prospects the guy I want will probally be taken #1 overall at small forward. The center I like could be gone at #2 if either is there at #4 i will try to move up and get one. After those guys i don't see any possible stars maybe some role players but not stars.

Well they were drafted 2nd and 3rd. I drafted "the best" that were left didn't like them after looking at them and traded them to other teams. I did pick up a small forward and power forward in the 2nd round that will be ok bench players.

Free Agency we decided to go "all in" and give Marc Gasol a max deal on the small forward side my favorite available is Caron Butler but i don't see him as a max guy so will be looking for a 1 year or bargin guy later

We land Marc Gasol and sign 2 other undrafted centers as projects one is Austin Evans 6-10 with 6 scoring but only 3 defense and Jermaine Wilkins 6-10 with 3 scoring and 9 defense. Both backups signed 5 year min contracts.

I bring back Allen Iverson and Earl Watson to back up at point guard, Delonte West will be backing up Turner, Tayshaun Prince will we spliting time with our rookie 2nd round pick David Edward. Elton Brand will be spelled by our other 2nd round pick Jason Erege.

Overall I am not even close to happy at our small and power forwards. Tayshaun Prince and Elton Brand are not good enough to challenge the good teams in the East let alone win a title. We are on paper in much better shape then we were a year ago and we have 8 million in cap room. (i tried to get Butler to sign a 1 year deal but it didn't happen). I am going to play my 2 2nd round picks as starters and hope either "booms" and is better than advertised.

[condors]

Preseason we are projected 7th in the East

We win 42 games and 5th seed taking on the 4th seed Orlando. It is a pretty close series but we lose in 7 games.

I hire a new 3rd assitant Kim Hughes and extend the contracts of the other coaches on the team. Doug Collins isn't the best coach but he isn't bad either.

Our small and power forwards didn't do anything special. We are still in the market to upgrade there. Marc Gasol had an injury filled season but Austin Evans got a chance and he now has 3 ball potential vs 2 when i signed him.

The draft brings us a power forward and a shooting guard. The power forward is undersized but is ready to start over Brand.

Free agency we don't see a small forward that we like but we do like a 6'8" shooting guard Gaylon Watkins who went undrafted with his 10 defense rating we sign him to a 5 year deal.

Opening day roster 2012

pg Jrue Holiday (3.0/3.5)
pg Mike Bibby (2.0/2.0)
sg Evan Turner (3.5/4.0)
sg Kevin Lopez (1.0/2.5)
sg Gaylon Watkins (1.5/2.0)
sf David Edward (2.5/2.5)
pf Elton Brand (2.5/2.5)
pf Jason Erege (2.0/3.0)
pf Jerry Dixon (3.0/3.5)
c Marc Gasol (3.5/4.0)
c Austin Evans (1.0/2.5)
c Jermaine Wilkins (1.0/1.0)

I don't see us contending this year but if we lose Brands contract and can bring in a pretty good small forward we could get into the mix next season.

[condors]

Marc Gasol plays 28 games this season and we win 39. Not going to have it happen again next year so we part ways with the very talented center. We get a 1st and 3 2nd round picks for him and we have salary cap space in free agency.

In the free agent mix is Dwight Howard and Chris Paul 2 of the best players in the league. I offer them max deals even though i wasn't in the market for a pg
but i believe you should get the best player you can with a max deal. Having Howard and Paul would make the team an instant contender.

We get both of them and I think this team could win something.

[condors]

When all the deals are done the 2013 Philadelphia Freedom opening day roster

pg chris paul 28 years old (4.5/4.5) one of the best in the league
pg Jose Calderon 31 years old (2.5/2.5) his 10 ball handling makes him a secure ball handler when Paul is on the bench
pg AJ Price 26 years old (2.0/2.5) his 9 defence is why he is here
sg Evan Turner 25 years old (3.5/4.0) was 3rd team nba last year
sg Gaylon Watkins 24 years old (1.5/2.0) he is 6'8" and has a 9/10 rating on defence
sf Jason Nelson 22 years old (2.5/3.5) he was the 8th pick in the draft last year I traded for him because he already has a 6 for scoring and 8 for defending looked to be a good fit for my team here has a great work ethic and personalty
sf Da'Sean Butler 26 years old (2.0/2.5) a 9 rating for defending
pf Jerry Dixon 21 years old (3.0/3.5) last years first round pick only 5 rating for scoring but 8 for def rounding, 6 defense, 7 blocks and 6 steals
pf Jason Erege 22 years old (2.0/3.0) he is a 5 scoring and 5 defending guy i actually thought about trading him and tried to get a lock down defender type but didn't find the a guy I liked better
c-Dwight Howard 27 years old (4.5/4.5) he is the reigning mvp and defensive player of the year
c-Austin Evans 23 years old (1.0/2.5) he is the oppisite of most of my backups 6 for scoring and 3 for defending there are not many centers that can score and i find him interesting has 7 rating for blocks
c-Jermaine Wilkins 24 years old (1.0/1.0) he is here because he makes the min he has actually gotten worse than when i first signed him from a 9 to 7 defense 2 scoring he will just be riding them pine and a coachs dnp. If injuries hit this year i will sign a free agent there is JaVale McGee whom i considered bringing in but he will not be happy riding the pine so if i need him hopefully he will still be there.

Overall I am happy with this team. The "experts" have us ranked 3rd in the East behind Miami Wade, Lebron, Bosh, Miller with Mehmet Okur and Kevin Garnett as their 6th man. Chicago is ranked 2nd with Derrick Rose, Jason Richardson, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah with Steve Nash as the 6th man

We should be a contender for at least the next 5 seasons.