Kings of the Court: Bringing Victory back to Sacramento

Going to get DDSPB3 started with a default save Dynasty! No player changes at all have been done.
Name: Leo Ridjugi
Age: 24
Salary Cap - $50,000,000
Hard Cap - $70,000,000
[SIZE="2"](Side Note – Yes, I’m very aware of the BS that is happening in Sacramento right now. This is an escape for me. Don’t ruin it for me!)[/SIZE]
Luckily in DDSPB, and unlike real life, the Kings owners are willing to spend money!
I promise Mr. MaGoof that I’ll get this team in the Playoffs in exchange for $10-15 million over the cap. That means I can’t really go over $65 million, but when the team is only at $ currently, I think that is very possible. Here is our lineup –
Starting Lineup
Beno Udrih PG - A fine backup player, but we really need a better shooter next to Tyreke than Beno. Rankings: 2.0/2.0
Tyreke Evans PG – While I feel Evans still has plenty of real life potential in DDSPB it’s obvious he’s not going to ever be a very consistent scorer. I’ll be looking to ship him out for a player I feel better fits alongside Cousins. Ranking: 3.0/3.5
Omri Casspi SF – A good shooter and decent defender, but is probably a 6th man at best on a winning team. Rankings: 2.0/2.5
Jason Thompson PF – Not dominant in anything but not really weak in anything. Rankings: 2.5/2.5
DeMarcus Cousins C – The star on this team for years to come. A great potential big as long as he stays in line and listens to his coaches. Great scoring potential and a dominant rebounder, while a decent at best defender. Rankings: 4.0/5.0
Bench Depth Chart
Donte Greene SF – A below average bench player, another young trading piece. Rankings: 2.0/2.0
Hassan Whiteside C – A second round scrub who might fit in well as a trading pawn.
Francisco Garcia SG – A good defender, a good shooter, perfect bench role-player. The problem is he’s owed $18 million over the next three years. Rankings: 2.0/2.0
Free Agents –
Marcus Thornton SG – Currently a FA but I’ll overpay to keep him. An excellent shooter and scorer, his only real weakness is his average defense. A solid starter or excellent 6th man.
Samuel Dalembert C – Not a future piece, but an excellent win now returner with strong rebounding and defensive skills.
Not wanting to go anywhere, I decide I’ll make a trade in this June 20th window while I can – mainly trying to trade Tyreke for a more efficient stud to put as DeMarcus Cousins’ second fiddle. Minnesota won’t trade point guard Ricky Rubio, much to my displeasure. Golden State says no go to an Evans/Stephan Curry swap. But then I find a deal I really, really like.
Oklahoma City Trades –
SG James Harden
Sacramento Trades –
SG Tyreke Evans
I love it for us. I turn in Evans’ raw talent into a more consistant, and likely far more efficient James Harden. Harden is a very capable shooter, equal to Evans on scoring. Evans has a distinct advantage as a defender, but Harden is a smarter, more balanced player.
While I am a huge fan of Tyreke Evans in real life, it’s obviously not going to work building around him here.
Now, as for our coaches…
None of these guys are worth keeping around, and I fire them all unceremoniously. The team is obviously very young, and our star, DeMarcus Cousins, has a lot of developing to do before we can really win. The key for me is that our coach be not only a good strategy coach, but one who can really develop our young players.
With that in mind, I’m looking at four coaches in particular –
While Phil Jackson has the advantage in offense, defense and in strategy, I am not a fan of his D in player development. I need my coach to really work with DeMarcus Cousins, so I sadly chop Jackson off the list.
I decide to go with Jerry Sloan over Tomjanovich for the simple reason that both are basically tied as player developers, while Sloan is a better strategy coach. None of the other teams need a new coach, so ours are the only signings.
Sloan is the winningest coach in the NBA history, and we get three very solid assistants. Particularly, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will hopefully help DeMarcus Cousins out big time. Of course, my goal overtime is to go out and find a young coach who, in six years when Sloan inevitably retires.
With our coaching staff in line, we move our attention to the 2011 draft, where we hold the #7 pick.
The Mock comes out and has as follows -
1. Los Angeles Clippers – PG Kyrie Irving
2. Minnesota Timberwolves – PG Kemba Walker
3. New Jersey Nets – PF Kenneth Faried
4. Cleveland Cavaliers – Marshan Brooks
5. Toronto Raptors – C Jonas Valancciunas
6. Washington Wizards – SF Chandler Parsons
7. Sacramento Kings – PF Tristian Thompson
8. Detroit Pistons – PG Brandon Knight
9. Charlotte Bobcats – SF Derrick Williams
10. Milwaukee Bucks – SG Klay Thompson
11. Golden State Warriors – C Enes Kanter
12. Utah Jazz – PG Isaiah Thomas
13. Phoenix Suns – SF Kawhi Leonard
14. Houston Rockets – C Nikola Vucevic
A big isn’t a position of need for us, so I’m not sure why the mocks have us taking Tristian Thompson. Rather, I’d like to get a PG or a SF – or both.
I invite all of the top talent to work out for us, and I have a list emerging –
1. PG Kyrie Irving – A star in the making, but Los Angeles would be fools to part with him.
2. PG Kemba Walker – A five star prospect who may be easier to grab than Irving. Hard worker with no real weakness.
3. PG Brandon Knight – Realistic selection at #7 and an all around solid player.
4. SF Kawhi Leonard – An excellent role player with great defensive abilities who would fit in with our current team.
5. PG Isaiah Thomas – A backup plan incase all three of the other PGs are off the boards. A very good prospect, just not as good as Irving, Walker or Knight.
6. SF Derrick Williams – Not rated as high as Leonard, but a good scorer and rebounder.
7. C Jonas Valanciunas – Would play PF next to Cousins.
I feel that my best shot at a real star in this draft would be Walker. Kemba, alongside James Harden and a resigned Marcus Thornton off the bench, would basically secure my guard position for years. But where would Walker go? Minnesota doesn’t need him, but is he a big enough star to merit them taking him anyways?
More and more I find myself wanting two picks. I really want to get both Kemba and Leonard. Can I pull it off?
Name: Leo Ridjugi
Age: 24
Salary Cap - $50,000,000
Hard Cap - $70,000,000
[SIZE="2"](Side Note – Yes, I’m very aware of the BS that is happening in Sacramento right now. This is an escape for me. Don’t ruin it for me!)[/SIZE]
Luckily in DDSPB, and unlike real life, the Kings owners are willing to spend money!
I promise Mr. MaGoof that I’ll get this team in the Playoffs in exchange for $10-15 million over the cap. That means I can’t really go over $65 million, but when the team is only at $ currently, I think that is very possible. Here is our lineup –
- Code: Select all
Num Player Pos Ht Wt Age From Exp Contract
32 Francisco Garcia SG 6-7 195 29 Louisville 6 $5,800,000
20 Donte Greene SF 6-11 226 23 Syracuse 3 $1,679,913
34 Jason Thompson C 6-11 250 24 Rider 3 $3,001,284
19 Beno Udrih PG 6-3 205 28 none 7 $7,232,500
13 Tyreke Evans SG 6-6 219 21 Memphis 2 $4,151,640
18 Omri Casspi SF 6-8 220 23 none 2 $1,341,960
15 DeMarcus Cousins C 6-11 292 21 Kentucky 1 $3,627,720
33 Hassan Whiteside C 7-0 227 23 Marshall 1 $740,437
Starting Lineup
Beno Udrih PG - A fine backup player, but we really need a better shooter next to Tyreke than Beno. Rankings: 2.0/2.0
Tyreke Evans PG – While I feel Evans still has plenty of real life potential in DDSPB it’s obvious he’s not going to ever be a very consistent scorer. I’ll be looking to ship him out for a player I feel better fits alongside Cousins. Ranking: 3.0/3.5
Omri Casspi SF – A good shooter and decent defender, but is probably a 6th man at best on a winning team. Rankings: 2.0/2.5
Jason Thompson PF – Not dominant in anything but not really weak in anything. Rankings: 2.5/2.5
DeMarcus Cousins C – The star on this team for years to come. A great potential big as long as he stays in line and listens to his coaches. Great scoring potential and a dominant rebounder, while a decent at best defender. Rankings: 4.0/5.0
Bench Depth Chart
Donte Greene SF – A below average bench player, another young trading piece. Rankings: 2.0/2.0
Hassan Whiteside C – A second round scrub who might fit in well as a trading pawn.
Francisco Garcia SG – A good defender, a good shooter, perfect bench role-player. The problem is he’s owed $18 million over the next three years. Rankings: 2.0/2.0
Free Agents –
Marcus Thornton SG – Currently a FA but I’ll overpay to keep him. An excellent shooter and scorer, his only real weakness is his average defense. A solid starter or excellent 6th man.
Samuel Dalembert C – Not a future piece, but an excellent win now returner with strong rebounding and defensive skills.
Not wanting to go anywhere, I decide I’ll make a trade in this June 20th window while I can – mainly trying to trade Tyreke for a more efficient stud to put as DeMarcus Cousins’ second fiddle. Minnesota won’t trade point guard Ricky Rubio, much to my displeasure. Golden State says no go to an Evans/Stephan Curry swap. But then I find a deal I really, really like.
Oklahoma City Trades –
SG James Harden
Sacramento Trades –
SG Tyreke Evans
I love it for us. I turn in Evans’ raw talent into a more consistant, and likely far more efficient James Harden. Harden is a very capable shooter, equal to Evans on scoring. Evans has a distinct advantage as a defender, but Harden is a smarter, more balanced player.
While I am a huge fan of Tyreke Evans in real life, it’s obviously not going to work building around him here.
Now, as for our coaches…
- Code: Select all
Coaching Staff
Head Coach Record Age Playoffs Titles Exp Salary Strat Off Def Pot Dev
Paul Westphal 316-274 (.536) 61 4 0 9 $1,500,000 D D D D D
Assistant Coaches Age Playoffs Titles Exp Salary Strat Off Def Pot Dev
Jim Eyen 54 0 0 0 $600,000 D D D D D
Mario Elie 47 0 0 0 $400,000 D D D D D
Truck Robinson 55 0 0 0 $200,000 F F F F D
None of these guys are worth keeping around, and I fire them all unceremoniously. The team is obviously very young, and our star, DeMarcus Cousins, has a lot of developing to do before we can really win. The key for me is that our coach be not only a good strategy coach, but one who can really develop our young players.
With that in mind, I’m looking at four coaches in particular –
- Code: Select all
Name Age Exp Record Playoff Champ Strat Off Def Pot Dev Pace Press Def Style
Phil Jackson 66 20 1155-485 (.704) 20 11 A B B D D slow low Man-to-Man
Rudy Tomjanovich 62 13 503-397 (.559) 7 1 C C B C C average low Man-to-Man
Jerry Sloan 69 26 1221-803 (.603) 20 0 B C B C C very slow high Man-to-Man HC
While Phil Jackson has the advantage in offense, defense and in strategy, I am not a fan of his D in player development. I need my coach to really work with DeMarcus Cousins, so I sadly chop Jackson off the list.
I decide to go with Jerry Sloan over Tomjanovich for the simple reason that both are basically tied as player developers, while Sloan is a better strategy coach. None of the other teams need a new coach, so ours are the only signings.
- Code: Select all
Coaching Staff
Head Coach Record Age Playoffs Titles Exp Salary Strat Off Def Pot Dev
Jerry Sloan 1221-803 (.603) 69 20 0 26 $6,000,000 B C B C C
Assistant Coaches Age Playoffs Titles Exp Salary Strat Off Def Pot Dev
Tim Grgurich 61 0 0 0 $600,000 D D D D C
T.R. Dunn 56 0 0 0 $350,000 D C D C C
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 64 0 0 0 $300,000 D D C D D
Sloan is the winningest coach in the NBA history, and we get three very solid assistants. Particularly, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will hopefully help DeMarcus Cousins out big time. Of course, my goal overtime is to go out and find a young coach who, in six years when Sloan inevitably retires.
With our coaching staff in line, we move our attention to the 2011 draft, where we hold the #7 pick.
The Mock comes out and has as follows -
1. Los Angeles Clippers – PG Kyrie Irving
2. Minnesota Timberwolves – PG Kemba Walker
3. New Jersey Nets – PF Kenneth Faried
4. Cleveland Cavaliers – Marshan Brooks
5. Toronto Raptors – C Jonas Valancciunas
6. Washington Wizards – SF Chandler Parsons
7. Sacramento Kings – PF Tristian Thompson
8. Detroit Pistons – PG Brandon Knight
9. Charlotte Bobcats – SF Derrick Williams
10. Milwaukee Bucks – SG Klay Thompson
11. Golden State Warriors – C Enes Kanter
12. Utah Jazz – PG Isaiah Thomas
13. Phoenix Suns – SF Kawhi Leonard
14. Houston Rockets – C Nikola Vucevic
A big isn’t a position of need for us, so I’m not sure why the mocks have us taking Tristian Thompson. Rather, I’d like to get a PG or a SF – or both.
I invite all of the top talent to work out for us, and I have a list emerging –
1. PG Kyrie Irving – A star in the making, but Los Angeles would be fools to part with him.
2. PG Kemba Walker – A five star prospect who may be easier to grab than Irving. Hard worker with no real weakness.
3. PG Brandon Knight – Realistic selection at #7 and an all around solid player.
4. SF Kawhi Leonard – An excellent role player with great defensive abilities who would fit in with our current team.
5. PG Isaiah Thomas – A backup plan incase all three of the other PGs are off the boards. A very good prospect, just not as good as Irving, Walker or Knight.
6. SF Derrick Williams – Not rated as high as Leonard, but a good scorer and rebounder.
7. C Jonas Valanciunas – Would play PF next to Cousins.
I feel that my best shot at a real star in this draft would be Walker. Kemba, alongside James Harden and a resigned Marcus Thornton off the bench, would basically secure my guard position for years. But where would Walker go? Minnesota doesn’t need him, but is he a big enough star to merit them taking him anyways?
More and more I find myself wanting two picks. I really want to get both Kemba and Leonard. Can I pull it off?