New York, New York! Bringing a championship home

[zike_42]

“This just in, disgraced owner of the Dallas Mavericks Mike English has been found guilty of child slave labour charges and will spend a minimum of five years in prison. Asked what he thought of this conviction English stated that he “just felt so sorry for everyone that he hurt, especially the workers and his beloved basketball team.” So what is going to happen to his basketball team he loves so much? Well, we’ve been told th-“

I got a knock on the door.

“Hello Mr Silver, how can I help you?” I ask.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was at the door.

“I actually need to talk to you about this mess.” He said, pointing at the TV. “You know that we have to come down hard on you, right?”

I sighed, “Right.”

I offer him a drink, which he accepts. Unfortunately he went right down to business.

“First things first, your championships are safe. These charges didn’t give the on court team an advantage so they aren’t in jeopardy. However...”

He looked down and swallowed, this didn’t bode well.

“The Dallas Mavericks squad has to be released from the team.”

“WHAT?!?” I yelped, more in surprise than in anger.

“The punishment for your ex-owner’s crimes is that all of your players are to be cut from this roster and placed into free agency for other teams.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“That seems a bit excessive, don’t you think. I have built this team for six years, you expect me to just start again with a clean slate?”

“Not quite.” He looked like he was trying to find the right words which meant that the hammer was coming down. “The players are going to be cut from the team, which means that their contracts stay with you. Also, you can’t participate in free agency this off season, so you will have to make up your team with minimum salary guys.”

I sat there for what seemed like an hour. This team is worth over $65 million, and all I have to show for it is, well, nothing. And those contracts I gave out to our best guys that run for four, five years are going to strangle us now.

“But this will ruin the team!” I was starting to get furious. “You want to drive basketball out of Dallas, the fans love the Mavericks!”

“What do you expect me to do, huh? Say that having child slaves is OK in the NBA because the fans love the basketball?” I have never seen Mr Silver so angry before, this has obviously been a hard decision for everyone to accept.

“I’m sorry Yaxley, but this is happening. Take a few days to get your head around it and tell your team. Again, I’m sorry.”

With that he left me sitting in my office that is usually so nice and inviting, but now seemed like a prison cell.
_________________________________________________________________

I sit everyone down, from our captain Andre Drummond to our water boys and physios. I tell them the bad news that this team was being broken up. Not because of anything they did but because of an owner that wanted to save money anyway he could. Their reactions were predictable but no less gutting.

“This is rigged man, just rigged,” yelled Tristan. “They just didn’t want us to get a threepeat.”

“”What happens to us?” Asked Joe, “What are we supposed to do, just pull up our roots and move on? I love it here!”

There were nods of approval.

Andre chimed in, “Maybe we don’t sign with anyone else; we’ll just wait out free agency and sign back here for the minimum. Hell, we’re getting paid either way.”

I thought I would put a stop to it, because if they kept going I might change my mind and join them. “Look, as much as I would love that, and I mean LOVE that idea, that’s collusion and would put the team in even more hot water than it is now. I want you guys to go into this free agency like any other, apart from you can’t sign here. Also, we don’t know our new owner until after the draft lottery so get out while you can, he might be a real Grinch and kick you all to the curb.”

I have never seen fifteen grown men look so downtrodden before. This was the end of an era even before it could become a dynasty.

“Just think of this way, this team was just too good to be kept together.” I said after a few moments of sad silence. “We have the best record of all time last season and will always be defending champions even if those New Orleans jerks win it next season. This is a team for the ages. I remember a character on a movie about twenty years ago once said, ‘You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become a villain.’ So don’t think of this as an angry or sad day, think of it as us becoming heroes forever.”

After about a minute the whole team cracked up laughing.

“Dude that was the cheesiest thing I have ever heard.” Marcus responded.

Well, at least I got them laughing again, I guess.

[OzzieLaker]

I say abandon that mess

I can usually sign a couple of 3 1/2 star guys for 2 year minimums if it's a good FA class. See what you can do.

[Cleasby]

Please be a draft update tonight

[OzzieLaker]

How do you change the names of the people in the draft class, anyway?

[zike_42]

How do you change the names of the people in the draft class, anyway?

Right click on a player's name when you are on the roster page and you can change name, jersey number, position and college but if you are in commissioner mode you can change all type of stats.

[zike_42]

Usually after a championship I don’t want to go back to work, I just want to sit and soak in the glory of being the best team in the world. But this time I don’t have anyone to celebrate with. All of my players are gone and we don’t even have a draft pick to get more. I gloss over the draft lottery to see if there were any upsets –

16 – Minnesota (0)
15 – Boston (0)
14 – Phoenix (0)
13 – Indiana (0)
12 – Washington (0)
11 – Los Angeles (0)
10 – San Antonio (0)
9 – Brooklyn (0)
8 – Miami (0)
7 – Sacramento (0)
6 – San Diego (0)
5 – Denver (0)
4 – Memphis (0)
3 – Atlanta (-2)
2 – New York (+1)
1 – Oklahoma City (+1)

In all of my time watching the lottery that must have been the most boring countdown ever. Only one team dropped and that was only from one to three, talk about anti-climactic.

I’m pretty sure Anthony Davis has wrapped up the Defensive Player of the Year award again but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him win another MVP award. Andre Drummond and/or Marcus Randle have to be locks for All NBA nods.

Most Valuable Player:
Anthony Davis, New Orleans Hornets – 20.8 points, 1.8 assists, 10.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 4.0 blocks

Defensive Player of the Year:
Anthony Davis, New Orleans Hornets

Yep, no doubt.

Sixth Man of the Year:
Earl Oliver, Portland Trailblazers – 16.3 points, 2.8 assists, 4.2 rebounds, 0.4 steals, 0.5 blocks

Why the hell is Oliver not starting? He is one of the best SGs in the whole league and no offence to Jake Chase, by and large the best SG on the Blazers. There needs to be a petition to ‘free Earl’.

Rookie of the Year:
Lance Ellis, San Diego Riders – 15.7 points, 1.2 assists, 6.8 rebounds, 1.0 steal, 0.0 blocks

Only missed one rookie of the month award and was again the overwhelming favourite to win this award.

Coach of the Year:
Jeff Van Gundy, New Orleans Hornets – 63-19 (.768)

This is so rigged. Not only did Kevin Garnett lead his team to a much better record he also won the championship. The Hornets are the NBA’s golden boys, no doubt.

All NBA First Team:
Kyrie Irving, Houston Rockets
John Johnson, Detroit Pistons
Darrell Hampton, Indiana Pacers
Anthony Davis, New Orleans Hornets
Jimmy Forrest, San Diego Riders

All NBA Second Team:
Ledaryl McMillian, Golden State Warriors
Varlam Chavchavadze, Boston Celtics
Enrique Mendez, Minnesota Timberwolves
Derrick Favors, Utah Jazz
Mark Lewis, Utah Jazz

All NBA Third Team:
Reggie Dobbins, Phoenix Suns
James McDaniel, Washington Wizards
Paul Orvis, Toronto Raptors
Jared Arenas, Philadelphia 76ers
Jeff Cunningham, Los Angeles Lakers

So the team with the best record (by a long way) and the championship rings have no All NBA players? At least that just shows how deep this team is and how well they play (played) together.

All Defence First Team:
Li-chi King, Philadelphia 76ers
Hillar Petrauskas, New Orleans Hornets
Paul Orvis, Toronto Raptors
Anthony Davis, New Orleans Hornets
Mark Lewis, Utah Jazz

All Defence Second Team:
Nashon Smith, Orlando Magic
Dion Waiters, Milwaukee Bucks
Cedric Watson, San Antonio Spurs
Carl Farmer, Seattle Supersonics
Andre Drummond, Dallas Mavericks

All Rookie First Team:
Michael Taylor, Los Angeles Lakers
Vlado Prazina, New York Knicks
Anthony Allison, Atlanta Hawks
Lance Ellis, San Diego Riders
Matt Piatowski, Indiana Pacers

All Rookie Second Team:
Marcus Barnes, Chicago Bulls
Adarrial Faye, Oklahoma City Thunder
Jamaal Lewis, Chicago Bulls
Billy Manley, Oklahoma City Thunder
Chad Gaines, Orlando Magic

I get ready to be tackled by Mr English because ‘we did so well in cutting salary and still getting that trophy’ but he never came. It took longer than I would like to admit to realise that the only tackles Mr English will be getting are the bad touch ones in prison.

Instead I get Mr Harry Stuart; an solar/wind/other renewable energy billionaire would wants to diversify his asset.

“Hello Yaxley, tough bit of luck for you with your ex-owner. Let’s get down to business then.”

He obviously didn’t care about this team; he just saw it as part of his business.

He continued, “How do you think this team will go without any of your stars? And more importantly, how much is this sports team going to cost me?”

Sounds like my time in Memphis. “It’s obviously going to be a rough year as we can only sign minimum contract guys but with the cap hold of our old players we will still be over the cap by about $10-15 million.”

He gives me the stink eye, “That is a little too high for me, try and get it below the cap.”

I was nearly going to rage at him that there is nothing I can do about the money as it is already locked in and we can’t move it but I thought better of it. He looks like one of those guys who are brutal to people who don’t give him what he wants, so we will cross that bridge when we get there.

“I’ll try my best Mr Stuart.”

And he was off. I want Mr English back.

Luckily for the team we got to keep all of our coaches and even though next season will be a massive hit to Coach Garnett’s overall winning percentage I don’t think he will mind much.

The mock draft has been released, but for the first time ever (probably because I have nothing else to do with no players and no picks) I’m going to do a preview of six of the best players in the draft. Expect that in the next day or so.

1 – Oklahoma City – SF Jack Dawkins
2 – New York – PF Terry McKenzie
3 – Atlanta – PG Cort Majishun
4 – Memphis – PG BB King
5 – Denver – C Art Stevenson
6 – San Diego – SF John Brown
7 – Sacramento – PG Jaymes Kincaid
8 – Miami – SG Kenneth Long
9 – Brooklyn – SG Mike Bickerstaf
10 – San Antonio – SG Chris Jones
11 – Los Angeles – SG Chris Canal
12 – Washington – PG Donta Punt
13 – Indiana – PG Detric Jones
14 – Phoenix – PG Colin Walker
15 – Boston – PG Tavorris Hallbauer
16 – Minnesota – C Joe Moore

This is definitely a wing heavy draft. There are only two centres and one power forward mocked to be in the lottery so get a guard while you can. I definitely can’t see Mike Bickerstaf falling to #9, he would be the steal of all steals. I’ve heard around that OKC are thinking of taking him at #1, that is how good he is. And what’s with the names? Cort Majishun (formerly Marius White), BB King, John Brown, “Wizard” Jones? Looks like a few parents had some fun with their names.

[zike_42]

With what could be one of the best drafts in the last ten years only days away, I thought I would pick through the class for six players who I think could be the best in the crop. Starting with PGs and going up to Cs so it doesn’t look like I’m playing favourites.



Formerly Marius White, Majishun decided to change his name to stand out from the crowd. He probably didn’t need to do that because his game does that for him. He is a born scorer and loves to put the ball in the hoop at any occasion. That doesn’t mean that he doesn’t pass the ball. His court vision is excellent for a 20 year old and he can even sky for some rebounds as well. He probably won’t be the number one pick because he is still learning the game, but he is showing improvement on a daily basis. If he goes to a team that will let him make those rookie mistakes then he will be a force in a couple of years.

Prediction – Top three on a good day but probably around fifth.



The “Wizard” is an all around genius, simply by his numbers you can tell he can do nearly everything. At 21 years old he is a little older than the other guys but that won’t stop him from taking the league by storm soon enough. Great passer, tenacious defender and good shooting skills he can be a little streaky at times. He has also been known to fall in love with his jump shot as his driving skills are nearly non-existant. That doesn’t really matter because when he is on it’s like the opposition is in slow motion. The only other real knock on him is that because of his bulldog type defence he doesn’t get much lift contesting shots, so he won’t be leading the league in blocked shots any time soon.

Prediction – Could go as high as three or as low as eight. Closer to three though.



If there was anyone that was a spitting image of Richard Hamilton from the 2004 NBA Champion Detroit Pistons it’s Long. He just doesn’t get tired, running off screen after screen after screen for a mid range jump shot where he is automatic. He can shoot the three but the mid range is his bread and butter. Defenders get run ragged chasing after Long and he makes them pay from the foul line as well. To makes things better for Long he still has some growing to do. Couple him with a good passing point guard and someone who can set effective screens I can imagine him getting to 22-25ppg in the future. Even though he has a good eye for passing and can dribble well he is sometimes too unselfish, looking for his teammates when he should just shoot the ball. Also, he may be a marathon runner and never gets tired his leaping ability and physical presence is only average.

Prediction – Around the mid-lottery, so from seventh to eleventh.

To be continued, I can only post four images in a single post.

[zike_42]

Continued from last post



This may be exaggerating but he has been touted ‘the next Lebron James’. Huge hype for the kid out of Fairfield but it isn’t that far from the mark. At the moment he is extremely raw, probably playing in the D-League next season but his potential is drool worthy. If you can name it he can do it: scoring, rebounding, passing, ball handling, defence, blocking shots the list goes on. He has a decent work ethic but the team that drafts him needs to get on his case from day one to get to his potential.

Prediction – Dawkins is a hard one to gauge, as he could go as high as number one or could drop out of the lottery because he is so raw. Most experts are saying around the five to ten spot. Tiburcio Tommasini was drafted number seven and look how he turned out...



The most NBA ready player in the draft and at 22 years old you would hope so. He is the best rebounder in the class by far and should start from day one for a team that doesn’t have a star at PF. He loves working on the low block, facing up and then using his quick feet to get around his defender. His defence is probably near his rebounding level and loves to smother oppositions into the ground. Decision making isn’t a strong suit for him which is a little worrying because as a junior he should have worked that out by now but all in all if he gets decent minutes McKenzie is the front runner for rookie of the year but probably won’t be the guy people think of when they look back on this class.

Prediction – Top three, no doubt.



A true back to the basket big man he also has a nice jump shot making him deadly. At 6’11”, 273lbs there isn’t many guys who can stay with his crafty post moves and he never gets tired which is amazing at his size. He is a decent rebounder and has great timing for blocking shots but his main strength is his post defence. He is like a brick wall that not many people can break through. Like all 20 year olds he is still far from a finished product but he is absolutely the best centre in the class, but that’s not saying much.

Prediction – No higher than the end of the lottery, but could drop to 18th or so if teams don’t need a centre.

[zike_42]

2025 NBA Draft

No players and no picks so let’s get to it.

1 – Oklahoma City – SG Mike Bickerstaf
I really like this pick on an aging Thunder roster he will be given the keys to the franchise from day one. His defence needs to improve but his shooting ability will carry the team at times.

2 – New York – PF Terry McKenzie
As said before the most ‘NBA ready’ player in the draft. I like this pick if he can withstand the pressure of playing in New York who haven’t been good in a long time. Will be a good piece next to Vlado Prazina.

3 – Atlanta – SG Chris Jones
I didn’t think he would be this high but his work in the combine helped him out. At 6’6” he is a great size and can even play a little PG if needed. The talking heads aren’t that happy but it’s a decent pick.

4 – Memphis – PG Cort Majishun
This was probably always going to happen as the Grizzlies were looking for a new franchise PG after John Wall and Cort will be just that. Very good pick.

5 – Denver – SF Thomas Perkins
I’m a little surprised that the Nuggets didn’t go with Jack Dawkins here if they were looking for a SF. Sure Perkins is a great scorer but a team with patience would get a superstar in the making with Dawkins. The experts are shredding this pick to pieces and I’m going to agree with them.

6 – San Diego – SF John Brown
This kid is really good. He doesn’t have the upside like some other players but he can score and rebound as good as anyone in this draft. Great pick up and the Nuggets are fuming.

7 – Sacramento – PG Jaymes Kincaid
The second best PG in the draft is as quick as they come. The Kings were looking for a PG and they got a good one here.

8 – Miami – SG Kenneth Long
Can run for days and an automatic mid range scorer, the Heat got a steal here. Hopefully they throw him into the fire straight away to get him running.

9 – Brooklyn – SG Chris Canal
The Nets were looking for Long to drop but they got a good silver medal in Canal. One of the best passing SGs in the draft he nearly averaged a triple double in college.

10 – San Antonio – SG John Flanigan
A huge 6’8” SG who is only 187lbs he will be pushed around to start with but once he gets into the groove he should be fine. He has major weaknesses in his game like defence and a crazy bad streaky shot but if all goes well the Spurs have a steal here.

Mock draft number one pick Jack Dawkins has dropped like a stone, probably because he looks rawer than expected.

11 – Los Angeles – PF Daniel Roma
I don’t know much about him but there are boos coming in from the crowd. It’s Lebron James’ first draft pick as a general manager and it’s a stinker.

12 – Washington – PG Detric Jones
A good PG but I would have thought that BB King would be the next PG drafted. Jones can sometimes disappear from games which aren’t what the Wizards want, especially if DeShaun Worley bolts in free agency.

I try and snag Indiana’s pick (which is next), even offering our first round pick next year which should be high because we don’t have any players but they still don’t bite.

13 – Indiana – SF Jack Dawkins
That’s why; they wanted the same guy as I did. Dawkins is extremely raw and will spend this season in the D-League but this is an absolute steal and twelve other teams will be kicking themselves for passing him up.

14 – Phoenix – PG BB King
Good pick here as King dropped a little. Not the best defender but a great shooter and passer, what you want from an end of the lottery pick.

15 – Boston – C Art Stevenson
Who would have thought that the best centre in the draft would be picked at #15? He won’t ever be an All Star but Art should be a decent starter in the league for a long time.

16 – Minnesota – PG Colin Walker
With Camah Williams finally getting playing time the Wolves were looking for a back up point guard and they got one here. Not the best player but at 6’6” he can play both positions well. Pretty average pick, not good and not bad.

There are still some decent players left on the board and some teams outside the lottery will be getting a steal. Just goes to show how good this draft really is. Guys like Donta Punt, Joe Moore, John Kelly, Jeff Hope and Marcus Blackshear were all rated four star players by WSSN, the leading sports network in the world.

17 – Brooklyn – SG John Kelly
18 – Detroit – C Joe Moore
19 – Chicago – SF Dereck Crumble
20 – Charlotte – PG Donta Punt
21 – Miami – PF Tim Greenberg
22 – Seattle – C Joe Galloway
23 – Toronto – PG Tavorris Hallbauer
24 – Milwaukee – PF Michael Ellis
25 – Miami – PG Marcus Blackshear
26 – Charlotte – SF Charles Logan
27 – Houston – C Marty Delk
28 – Utah – SG Thomas Webster
29 – Portland – PF RJ Thompson
30 – Cleveland – SF Ben Wilson
31 – New Orleans – C Paul Duke
32 – Charlotte – C Daryl Cunningham

It was an extremely quiet draft in regards to trades, even though there were quite a few of them. Only one really woke me up after the first round.

Toronto trade:
PG Darrin Owens

Charlotte trade:
PG Winston Young
2025 2nd round pick

Winner – Charlotte. As it is practically a PG for a PG the one who gets the best PG wins. That would be Charlotte and Darrin Owens who really didn’t get a chance in Toronto with Matias Perez starting and being slotted in as the starting PG I hope Owens gets a chance to grow.

Chicago trade:
PG Marcus Barnes

Boston trade:
SF Quinn Kelly
2025 2nd round pick

Winner – Boston. Another PG who could excel with more minutes, Barnes is more of a scorer than Owens but still an intruiging prospect. He should get some quality minutes next to Chav-chav. Kelly isn’t really a good player and will most likely be a bench warmer.

New York trade:
SG Abasi Thomas
PG Alex Crawford

Portland trade:
SG Jake Chase
2025 2nd round pick

Winner – Draw. It would be a win for the Knicks if they didn’t have Chase starting over Vlado Prazina and this could be the situation he was in Portland all over again. If they start Prazina at PG which he very capable of playing then it will be a New York win. Crawford was dealt to Toronto (check next trade) so they got a whole lot of expiring out of this deal.

Portland trade:
PG Alex Crawford

Toronto trade:
C Sviatoslav Guseinev

Winner – Portland. Expiring for a two year deal. Other than that, yawn.

[Cleasby]

Nice my guy goes at 3. Hopefully his size will help him!!