Coaching the Pros

[Myles Nelson]

TRADE ANALYSIS

Nuggets trade: Da'Sean Butler
T'Wolves trade: Wayne Ellington
Winner: T'Wolves. They get a defensive forward as opposed to a spot up shooter who won't see the court much.

Pistons trade: Dajuan Summers, Austin Daye
Nets trade: Tyrus Thomas
Winner: Pistons. Thomas is much better than Summers and Daye. He comes with a few headaches, but talent wise he wins by a lot.

Blazers trade: Nic Batum, Rudy Fernandez
T'Wolves trade: Jonny Flynn
Winner: T'Wolves. They got rid of one of their PGs (they had 4) and acquired a fantastic young player in Batum. The Blazers needed someone to backup veteran Andre Miller and got him, but giving up Batum was too high of a price.

Hornets trade: Omri Casspi
Bucks trade: Larry Sanders
Winner: Hornets. Talent wise, this is a pretty even deal, but this gives the Bucks 3 SFs. Unless the Bucks have something up their sleeve, the Hornets won.

Kings trade: Donte Greene
Hawks trade: Jeff Teague
Winner: Kings. They got an athletic PG to go with Evans/West/Stoudemire, and gave up a bench player who hardly played last year.

Heat trade: Rafer Alston
Hornets trade: James Posey
Winner: No one. The Heat get a 3rd mediocre SF to pair with Josh Howard and Rasual Butler, and the Hornets get their 4th string PG.

[Myles Nelson]

After renouncements, we are left with 13M in cap space, and Wilson Chandler is a restricted free agent. Hopefully I'll have him back next year.

Despite having Xavier Henry, Danilo Gallinari, and D-League Star Tony Douglas, we still lose all 5 summer league games.

As a coach, I can't see what free agents are available, and the whole thing sims at once. This sucks.

[Myles Nelson]

[SIZE="5"]FREE AGENCY[/SIZE]

Due to restrictions placed upon me as a coach, I'll have to report everything at the end of the period, and do it team-by-team.

Boston: Earl Barron (1 year 2M), Shane Battier (2 years 13M), Kendrick Perkins (2 years, 17M)

Cleveland: Shaq (min sal), Delonte West (2 years 12M)

Dallas: Caron Butler (4 year 45M), Ben Wallace (1 year 6.6M)

Denver: Kenyon Martin (4 years 34M), Mike Conley (2 years 13M)

Golden State: Brandan Wright (2 years 12M), Reggie Williams (5 years 50M), Kelenna Azubuike (3 years 28M)

Indiana: Kyle Lowry (2 years 12M), Kris Humphries (2 years 9M), Zach Randolph (5 years 85M)

Los Angeles Lakers: Tayshaun Prince (3 years 20M)

Memphis: Tyson Chandler (2 years 12M), Josh McRoberts (2 years 12M)

Miami: JR Smith (2 years 13M)

Milwaukee: David West (5 years 62M), Jason Richardson (5 years 60M)

New Orleans: Al Horford (5 years 66M), Troy Murphy (5 years 60M)

New York: Wilson Chandler (tender offer), Bill Walker (2 years 7M), Sam Dalembert (3 years 19M)

Oklahoma City: Kevin Durant (6 years 104M)

Orlando: Vince Carter (2 years 22M)

Phoenix: Joakim Noah (4 years 38M), Corey Brewer (2 years 10M)

Portland: Andre Miller (1 year 8M), Greg Oden (5 years 57M), Peja Stojakovic (1 year 6.6M), Michael Redd (1 year 2.2M), Kyle Korver (min-sal)

Sacramento: JJ Redick (2 years 12M), Carl Landry (5 years 44M)

San Antonio: Marcus Thornton (2 years 13M), Tony Parker (4 years 43M), Richard Jefferson (2 years 12M)

Utah: Jamal Crawford (4 years 26M), AK47 (4 years 38M)

I really like most of these signings. A lot of teams that were contending kept their pieces together and some of them, San Antonio and Utah come to mind, added pieces to make them even better. I don't like New Orleans signing Troy Murphy although snagging Al Horford was good, and Memphis losing Randolph and replacing him with Chandler/McRoberts isn't gonna work. Atlanta has really lost a lot of players recently.

[Myles Nelson]

Sports Illustrated 2011-2012 Preview

Eastern Conference
1. New Jersey Nets (Devin Harris, Dwyane Wade, Andre Iguodala, Drew Gooden, Brook Lopez)
2. New York Knicks (Luke Ridnour, Xavier Henry, Danilo Gallinari, David Lee, Chris Bosh)
3. Milwaukee Bucks (Brandon Jennings, Jason Richardson, Corey Maggette, David West, Andrew Bogut)
4. Cleveland Cavaliers (Mo Williams, Simon Blevins, LeBron James, Antawn Jamison, Al Harrington)
5. Indiana Pacers (Brandon Rush, Marshall Yarbrough, Danny Granger, Zach Randolph, Roy Hibbert)
6. Philadelphia 76ers (Louis Williams, Evan Turner, Anthony Morrow, Elton Brand, Spencer Hawes)
7. Boston Celtics (Rajon Rondo, Shane Battier, Mike Miller, Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins)
8. Detroit Pistons (Rodney Stuckey, Rip Hamilton, Jonas Jerebko, Charlie Villanueva, Marc Gasol)
9. Charlotte Bobcats (Raymond Felton, Stephen Jackson, Gerald Wallace, Boris Diaw, Anthony Tolliver)
10. Orlando Magic (Jameer Nelson, Vince Carter, Damion James, Rashard Lewis, Dwight Howard)
11. Washington Wizards (John Wall, Gilbert Arenas, Josh Childress, Andray Blatche, Ryan Anderson)
12. Chicago Bulls (Derrick Rose, Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng, Taj Gibson, Omer Asik)
13. Miami Heat (Earl Watson, JR Smith, Ed Davis, Michael Beasley, Jermaine O'Neal)
14. Atlanta Hawks (Arron Afflalo, Kwadjo Holland, Marvin Williams, Josh Smith, Luis Scola)
15. Toronto Raptors (Jose Calderon, Jarrett Jack, Luke Babbitt, Andrea Bargnani, Amir Johnson)

Orlando and Chicago should all be way higher, Philadelphia and Detroit definitely should not be where they are. Nice to see us get some preseason love.

Western Conference
1. Los Angeles Lakers (Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Ron Artest, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum)
2. New Orleans Hornets (Chris Paul, Darren Collison, Gordon Hayward, Troy Murphy, Al Horford)
3. Utah Jazz (Deron Williams, Jamal Crawford, Andrei Kirilenko, Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur)
4. Golden State Warriors (Stephen Curry, Monta Ellis, Reggie Williams, Derrick Favors, Anthony Randolph)
5. Sacramento Kings (Beno Udrih, Tyreke Evans, Al-Farouq Aminu, Jason Thompson, Amare Stoudemire)
6. Oklahoma City Thunder (Russell Westbrook, George Hill, Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Daniel Orton)
7. Denver Nuggets (Chauncey Billups, Quincy Pondexter, Carmelo Anthony, Kenyon Martin, Nene Hilario)
8. Minnesota Timberwolves (Ricky Rubio, Joe Johnson, Wes Johnson, Kevin Love, Al Jefferson)
9. Portland Trailblazers (Andre Miller, Brandon Roy, Peja Stojakovic, LaMarcus Aldridge, Marcus Camby)
10. Dallas Mavericks (Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Caron Butler, Dirk Nowitzki, Brendan Haywood)
11. Los Angeles Clippers (Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, Paul George, Blake Griffin, Chris Kaman)
12. San Antonio Spurs (Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Marcus Thornton, Tiago Splitter, Tim Duncan)
13. Houston Rockets (Aaron Brooks, Kevin Martin, Trevor Ariza, Yi Jianlian, Yao Ming)
14. Phoenix Suns (Steve Nash, Willie Warren, Jared Dudley, Craig Brackins, Joakim Noah)
15. Memphis Grizzlies (Roger Mason, OJ Mayo, Rudy Gay, Ekpe Udoh, Tyson Chandler)

I see Portland, Dallas and San Antonio all making the playoffs and Golden State, Oklahoma City and Sacramento not making it. Those teams have too many questionable starters to be considered playoff teams, but then again this West is very deep and could end up multiple different ways.

[Myles Nelson]

Vs. Bobcats: 125-94 W
@ Philadelphia: 122-109 W
Vs. Chicago: 104-84 W
Vs. Orlando: 116-114 W
@ Atlanta: 112-102 W
Vs. Utah: 130-121 W
@ Dallas: 103-90 L
@ San Antonio: 115-100 W
Vs. Minnesota: 108-100 W

The worst part about my 8-1 start? I'm two games back of the Nets who have started out by going 11-0. Ugh

Vs. Memphis: 104-83 W
@ New Jersey: 109-90 L
@ Chicago: 114-97 L
Vs. Atlanta: 115-104 W
Vs. Indiana: 137-104 W
@ Detroit: 124-90 W

NOVEMBER EVALUATIONS
We're 12-3, 2.5 games back of the 15-1 Nets. We are 2nd in the Atlantic and 2nd in the East, exactly where the previews had us pegged.

Bosh: 21.3 ppg, 10.5 rpg, 1.5 bpg, 50.2%. His rebounds are a bit down but everything else is up. Bosh is making progress

Gallinari: 18 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.5 spg, 52.7%, 47.5% from 3. A move back to his natural position of SF seems to have helped. His shooting will not stay this hot, but it's nice to see.

Lee: 16.9 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 3.9 apg, 60.8%. His hot shooting is welcome, his low rebound total should be improved upon. His shot selection has vastly improved, which is a nice bonus.

Henry: 13 ppg, 48.7%, 45.2% from 3. He is always good for scoring, and he's gotten better pretty much everywhere in his game. His defense has improved as well.

Chandler: 11.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 45%. Henry's fantastic play last year has moved Chandler to a 6th man role, but he's doing just fine off the bench.

Ridnour: 11.5 ppg, 6.6 apg, 4.7 A/TO, 59.6%. I'm aware this shooting will not stay like this forever. I will enjoy it while it lasts though.

Livingston: 7.4 ppg, 5.0 apg, 48.5%. I gave him some more minutes this year and he has responded well.

Walker: 6.3 ppg, 51.4%, 43.8% from 3. With Shannon Brown, who was ahead of him last year, gone, Walker has been able to step up and show off his offensive game.

Dalembert: 4 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.7 bpg, 51.9%. The fact that he leads my team in blocks while only playing 12 minutes a game kind of concerns me, but Dalembert is the exact kind of defensive presence we need.

Borman: 1.9 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 47.8%. Borman's anemic play actually makes me miss Eddy Curry, believe it or not.

[Myles Nelson]

Vs. Phoenix: 100-92 W
Vs. Portland: 109-98 L
@ Indiana: 122-111 W
@ Washington: 118-109 L
Vs. Detroit: 116-92 W
@ Milwaukee: 115-93 W
@ Toronto: 117-113 W
@ Lakers: 123-113 L
@ Sacramento: 105-89 L
@ Clippers: 122-101 L
Vs. Chicago: 112-105 W
@ New Jersey: 122-94 L
Vs. Oklahoma City: 124-107 L
Vs. Denver: 104-91 W

Being 19-10 isn't terrible by any means, but that means we went 7-7 in December, which doesn't help at all. I'd have rather kept up our hot streak than stagnate. We're already 7.5 back, as the Nets continue their dominance of the entire NBA. They are 28-4. Next closest team? The Clippers at 23-7.

[bobbyr]

Great to see your dynasty continue!

The Nets are really scary in this universe! Sweeping the ultra tall LAkers in the Finals, are you kidding me?

Some interesting developments and trades/FA-signings. I really like the dynamics of this dynasty universe.

Bosh has been great as the new franchise player in New York, sorry about your first round exit against the Cavs, sweeps hurt. Look at it this way though: The CAvs have peaked last season, you team will get better with all the young players, I'm sure you can establish your team as the second or third force in the East!

Why didn't you use a real rookie file for 2011 though? There were 2 available when you started this dynasty, I always like to play with real players, to keep the realism. Would have been nice to see Irving, Kanter etc in the leaue this year in your world

Oh and free Toney Douglas, he's the D-League MVP for Christ's sake!

[Myles Nelson]

Thanks man!

Yeah, I was ridiculously surprised. I know the Nets have a fairly stacked lineup but I mean, the Lakers held the advantage at almost every position.

Bosh is great, I hope Lee and Gallinari can keep it up this year. Things are really looking up.

The Cavaliers actually had Marcus Thornton last year but had him down in the D-League. I feel like he would have been a game changer for them, perhaps they could have even taken down the mighty Nets. Who knows. They lost him in FA though and their team didn't get any better.

I totally forgot about it. I'll use it for 2012 though!

Yeah, probably not going to happen. His A/TO ratio in the D-League was 2.1, which was lower than both Ridnour and Livingston in the NBA. As good of a scorer Douglas is, I don't need a backup SG who's 6'1". He can continue his great success in the D-League If Bill Walker or Shaun Livingston should falter, Douglas is next in line.

[Myles Nelson]

@ Orlando: 119-95 W
Vs. Cleveland: 118-112 L
Vs. New Jersey: 117-106 L
@ Minnesota: 101-72 L

We shot 2/31 from beyond the arc in this game. Henry and Gallinari went 0/19.

@ Memphis: 124-105 W
@ New Orleans: 106-98 L
@ Houston: 108-96 W
Vs. Atlanta: 109-88 W
@ Atlanta: 103-91 W

This last win put us at 24-14, but Henry broke his elbow in this game and is out for two months. Chandler reclaims his spot in the starting lineup, Walker moves up to 6th man, and Toney Douglas is going to get minutes now backing up both the PG/SG spots.

Vs. Philadelphia: 104-84 W.

In 8 minutes, Douglas went 3/3, with 1 assist, 1 steal and 0 turnovers. I guess he has some skill.

Vs. Milwaukee: 113-81 W
Vs. Sacramento: 122-96 W
Vs. San Antonio: 111-93 W
@ Philadelphia: 116-106 W
Vs. New Orleans: 105-84 L
Vs. Washington: 102-94 L

[Myles Nelson]

February 1st, 2012

Eastern Conference
1. New Jersey Nets (41-6) A1
2. New York Knicks (29-16) A2
3. Cleveland Cavaliers (28-18) C1
4. Orlando Magic (28-18) S1
5. Boston Celtics (25-22) A3
6. Chicago Bulls (26-23) C2
7. Washington Wizards (21-24) S2
8. Milwaukee Bucks (21-25) C3
9. Philadelphia 76ers (19-25) A4
10. Atlanta Hawks (19-26) S3
11. Indiana Pacers (17-26) C4
12. Charlotte Bobcats (16-28) S4
13. Toronto Raptors (13-33) A5
14. Miami Heat (12-32) S5
15. Detroit Pistons (8-36) C5

Western Conference
1. Los Angeles Lakers (36-11) P1
2. Los Angeles Clippers (33-11) P2
3. New Orleans Hornets (34-13) S1
4. Denver Nuggets (30-16) N1
5. Golden State Warriors (26-19) P3
6. Dallas Mavericks (25-19) S2
7. Oklahoma City Thunder (24-20) N2
8. Minnesota Timberwolves (24-22) N3
9. Sacramento Kings (22-21) P4
10. San Antonio Spurs (23-22) S3
11. Utah Jazz (22-24) N4
12. Portland Trail Blazers (18-27) N5
13. Houston Rockets (15-27) S4
14. Phoenix Suns (13-33) P5
15. Memphis Grizzlies (10-35) S5

Scoring
1. LeBron James - CLE - 30.6
2. Kobe Bryant - LAL - 27.2
3. Carmelo Anthony - DEN - 25.7
4. Monta Ellis - GSW - 25.3
5. Danny Granger - IND - 25.3
15. Chris Bosh - NYK - 20.6

Assists
1. Chris Paul - NO - 9.6
2. Russell Westbrook - OKC - 9.3
3. Rajon Rondo - BOS - 9.1

Rebounds
1. Dwight Howard - ORL - 15.8
2. Andrew Bogut - MIL -13.1
3. Yao Ming - HOU - 12.5
4. Chris Bosh - NYK -11.6

Blocks
1. Dwight Howard - ORL - 3.9
2. Ekpe Udoh - MEM - 3.8
3. Andrew Bogut - MIL - 3.5

Steals
1. Monta Ellis - GSW - 2.3
2. Tyreke Evans - SAC - 2.0
3. Trevor Ariza - HOU - 1.9

Rookie Report
SF Joe Merfeld - PHI - 3rd Pick - 14.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 41%.
PG Lloyd McBride - TOR - 5th Pick - 13.0 ppg, 5.3 apg, 4.4 rpg, 1.3 spg, 43%, 40% from 3.
SF Matt Rivers - PHX - 6th Pick - 12.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.1 bpg, 44%.
PG Trey Bains - MIA - 4th Pick - 11.3 ppg, 6.2 apg, 39%.
PG Ashley Okelley - DET - 2nd Pick - 10.9 ppg, 3.7 apg, 1.0 spg, 36%.
C Michael Claxton - DET - 1st Pick - 7.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 42.6%.
C Tim Thompson - NJ - 19th Pick - 7.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.6 bpg, 60%.
C Marlo Borman - NYK - 20th Pick - 2.4 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 50%.

Can we swap rookie Cs with NJ please?