Tales from the front office

[daltontr]

2020-2021 SEASON

PRE SEASON REPORT

OWNER MEETING
Jerry wanted to know what to expect this year and I told him that I thought we could make a good playoff run. He said, "A deep run in the playoffs is certainly respectable and maybe we can win it all next year?" I'm thinking this guy has dementia, because even though we might be a solid playoff team, there is no way this lineup is going to win an NBA championship unless we get Kyrie some help. Plus, the annual salary increases were more than I expected and I still have three roster spots to fill!

Jerry then says, "Success comes at a price-what's the cost of our success going to be? Which I took as an opportunity to see just how deep a dive I could take into the Reinsdorf wallet. No owner wants to pay the luxury tax, but we were going to have to exceed the cap to bring in real talent, so I said, "You won't have to pay the luxury tax" and then held my breath. He said, "Okay" and I knew it was time to start combing the free agent market.

STAFF CONTRACTS
Both Chris Fleming and Nate Loenser are in the final years of their respective contracts. I don't think I'm going to find two better assistants for the money, but I'm going to wait until the end of this season to renegotiate their contracts. The problem is that it will be virtually impossible to give both of them what they want. I really need Jerry to pony up more money for staff contracts, but there doesn't seem to be a mechanism to do so. If the staff budget isn't increased by the end of the year, we will easily exceed our budget next year and Jerry hates paying too much for staff. Meaning, my job is going to be in jeopardy.

DRAFT REPORT
We only had a single draft pick and since it was the 54th overall pick, I didn't put much effort into evaluating rookies. Ultimately I chose Torrence Jackson, a shooting guard from Oklahoma State, where he averaged 7.5 ppg and 4.1 rpg. In my opinion, he isn't NBA talent. I considered signing him to a rookie contract, just to fill a roster spot, but I knew I would immediately send him down to the G-League. Since I had no confidence that he would ever develop into an NBA caliber guard, I didn't see the point in tying up nearly $1 mil on a player that would never see the court. He will be released.

UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS
Forward Davis Bertans - I was really hesitant to renounce his rights. He is an excellent outside shooter and a welcome addition to the team, but his asking price of $14 was simply too much. Plus, I have my eyes on a couple of free agent power forwards and I need the cap space.

Guard Denzel Valentine - I felt that the $5 mil a year asking price was rather reasonable for someone with Denzel's talents. I chose to retain his rights and I would happily resign him at that price.

Guard Isaiah Thomas - He never really played a role on the team and there wasn't much of a future for him here with so many talented guards ahead of him on the bench. I renounced his rights.

After all was said and done, I managed to free up an additional $17 mil in cap money that will go a long ways towards signing a big name free agent.

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[daltontr]

SUMMER LEAGUE ASSIGNMENTS
(Active Roster)
G Chris Chiozza
G Torrence Jackson
F Chandler Hutchison
F Daniel Gafford
F Luke Cornett

(Free Agents)
C Ante Zizic
C Angel Delgado
G Yogi Ferrell
G Rashad Vaughn
G Tyrone Wallace
F Julius Perry
G Morgan Spruel

I don't really give a lot of credence to the summer league, but the team we assembled went a surprising 8-0. Even more surprising was the play of center Ante Zizic. The 23 year-old from Croatia was originally drafted by Cleveland with 23rd overall pick. Although I don't ever see him as a starting center, he definitely could provide some valuable minutes coming off the bench. I'm seriously thinking about signing him, but his $5 mil asking price might be more than I'm willing to pay.

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[daltontr]

FREE AGENCY

We did not fair well in the free agent market. We weren't looking to hit the lottery, but the players we were targeting were far too expensive and since we are using this year to get our young players some experience, all we really need is some seasoned veterans to provide some stability coming of the bench. However, since we were unable to sign a single player, we will have to wait now until the season starts to fill out the roster.

SIGNINGS
SG Pat Connaughton 6-5 / 209 lbs / 28 years old (1-Year $1.9 Mil)
SG Allen Crabbe 6-5 / 212 lbs / 28 years old (1-year $2.2 Mil)
SF Torrey Craig 6-7 / 215 lbs / 30 years old - (Two-Way G-League Contract - $75000 for 2 years)
C Zhou Qi 7-1 / 210 lbs / 25 years old - (Two-Way G-League Contract - $75000 for 2 years)

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[daltontr]

2020-2021 SEASON

We are currently $23.3 million under the cap and we have six players who will become free agents at the end of the season. Two of those free agents are starters; C Jarrett Allen and PF Lauri Markkanen. Both players are young and each has three bird years remaining, so signing each of them to an extension is certainly a possibility. I'm also toying with the idea trading for someone who can compliment Kyrie and provide us some much needed defense, but I know I'm going to have to give up a lot to do that. Parting with Markkanen would be a difficult decision, but I guess that's why I get paid the big bucks.

Lastly, I picked up the rookie option for SF Chandler Hutchison. He doesn't play much, but he is still young and could develop into a decent bench player and it never hurts to have a little depth.

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ROSTER
PG | 4.0 | Kyrie Irving
SG | 3.5 | Zach Lavine
SF | 3.0 | Rui Hachimura
PF | 3.5 | Lauri Markkanen
 C | 3.0 | Jarrett Allen

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BENCH
 C | 2.5 | Wendell Carter
PG | 3.0 | Coby White
SG | 2.0 | Pat Connaughton
SG | 2.0 | Allen Crabbe
PF | 2.0 | Luke Kornet
SF | 2.0 | Chandler Hutchison
PG | 2.5 | Chris Chiozza
PF | 2.0 | Daniel Gafford

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G-LEAGUE
SF | 2.0 | Torrey Craig
 C | 2.0 | Zhou Qi

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CONTRACTS
Player              | Pos|  Ht | Wt  |Age | Contract
Wendell Carter Jr.  | C  | 6-9 | 259 | 21 | $5,448,840/2y
Daniel Gafford      | PF | 6-10| 234 | 22 | $1,517,981/3y
Chandler Hutchison  | SF | 6-7 | 197 | 24 | $2,443,440/2y
Luke Kornet         | PF | 7-2 | 240 | 25 | $2,304,878/1y
Zach LaVine         | SG | 6-6 | 181 | 25 | $19,500,000/2y
Lauri Markkanen     | PF | 7-0 | 240 | 23 | $6,731,508/1y
Coby White          | PG | 6-4 | 185 | 20 | $5,572,680/2y (RO)
Kyrie Irving        | PG | 6-2 | 195 | 28 | $33,329,100/3y
Jarrett Allen       | C  | 6-11| 243 | 22 | $3,909,902/1y
Rui Hachimura       | SF | 6-8 | 230 | 22 | $4,692,840/2y (RO)
Chris Chiozza       | PG | 5-11| 175 | 25 | $1,517,981/1y
Pat Connaughton     | SG | 6-5 | 209 | 28 | $1,954,634/1y
Allen Crabbe        | SG | 6-5 | 212 | 28 | $2,257,194/1y
Torry Craig         | SF | 6-7 | 215 | 30 | $75,000 (2W-GLG)
Zhou Qi             | C  | 7-1 | 210 | 25 | $75,000 (2W-GLG)

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[daltontr]

TRADE UPDATE

Lauri Markkanen and Jarrett Allen were in the final years of their contracts, so my first order of business was to try and extend their deals. Unfortunately, we couldn't settle on a mutually beneficial salary structure and I decided to trade them instead. Obviously, I wanted to secure players of similar talents, with an emphasis on shoring up our defense. Ultimately, I traded Markkanen to the Memphis Grizzlies for Jaren Jackson and Allen to the New Orleans Pelicans for Derrick Favors and their 2022 1st round pick. Favors salary is far higher than Allen's, but we'll have him for the next four years and he brings some veteran talent to a team that is quite young. We are certainly giving up some offensive power, but we should be able to counter that with better defense. Well, at least that's the plan.

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ROSTER
PG | 4.0 | Kyrie Irving
SG | 3.5 | Zach Lavine
SF | 3.0 | Rui Hachimura
PF | 3.5 | Jaren Jackson
 C | 3.0 | Derrick Favors

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BENCH
 C | 2.5 | Wendell Carter
PG | 3.0 | Coby White
SG | 2.0 | Pat Connaughton
SG | 2.0 | Allen Crabbe
PF | 2.0 | Luke Kornet
SF | 2.0 | Chandler Hutchison
PG | 2.5 | Chris Chiozza
PF | 2.0 | Daniel Gafford

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G-LEAGUE
SF | 2.0 | Torrey Craig
 C | 2.0 | Zhou Qi

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CONTRACTS
Player             | Pos|  Ht | Wt  |Age | Contract
Wendell Carter Jr. | C  | 6-9 | 259 | 21 | $5,448,840/2y
Daniel Gafford     | PF | 6-10| 234 | 22 | $1,517,981/3y
Chandler Hutchison | SF | 6-7 | 197 | 24 | $2,443,440/2y
Luke Kornet        | PF | 7-2 | 240 | 25 | $2,304,878/1y
Zach LaVine        | SG | 6-6 | 181 | 25 | $19,500,000/2y
Jaren Jackson      | PF | 6-11| 242 | 21 | $7,257,360/2y
Coby White         | PG | 6-4 | 185 | 20 | $5,572,680/2y (RO)
Kyrie Irving       | PG | 6-2 | 195 | 28 | $33,329,100/3y
Derrick Favors     | C  | 6-9 | 246 | 29 | $15,404,013/4y
Rui Hachimura      | SF | 6-8 | 230 | 22 | $4,692,840/2y (RO)
Chris Chiozza      | PG | 5-11| 175 | 25 | $1,517,981/1y
Pat Connaughton    | SG | 6-5 | 209 | 28 | $1,954,634/1y
Allen Crabbe       | SG | 6-5 | 212 | 28 | $2,257,194/1y
Torry Craig        | SF | 6-7 | 215 | 30 | $75,000 (2W-GLG)
Zhou Qi            | C  | 7-1 | 210 | 25 | $75,000 (2W-GLG)

TEAM SALARY $103,209,941
CAP STATUS +$12,209,059

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[daltontr]

OCTOBER 2020
In the season preview we were ranked #1 in the Division and #2 in the Conference. However, that was before the two trades that sent Markkanen to the Grizzlies and Allen to the Pelicans. Consequently, the slow start to the season is somewhat concerning. No one has hit the panic button just yet, but this isn't the best of starts and some pundits are already calling for my head. However, it's still early days and as I anticipated, we are marginally down in scoring, but much improved on defense. Last year we were ranked 2nd in offense and 28th in defense; so far this season we are 7th in offense and 14th in defense.

REGULAR SEASON RECORD
3-4 (4th - Central 0-0)

Key Injuries
10/31 - PG Kyrie Irving (Sore Back - should return 11/3)

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[daltontr]

NOVEMBER 2020
This time last year we were 8-12, so the 14-8 start is much improved. Kyrie is ranked 7th in the league in scoring, averaging 27.2 ppg and the team is far better defensively than it was last year. More importantly, Jaren Jackson is ranked 24th, averaging 21.5 ppg, which is significantly better than the 15.9 ppg of Lauri Markkanen. I know it's only two months into the season, but I'm starting to feel much better about the future of this team and Skip Bayless can go suck it. We are currently ranked 2nd in the league in points per game and lead the league in blocked shots with 8.1 bpg. Not bad for a team with the second lowest payroll in the league...did I mention that Skip Bayless can suck it, because he can.

Interesting note: The 76ers are a league best 19-1 and are currently on a thirteen game winning streak. Their only loss was a 95-88 defeat on Nov. 1st to the Portland Trailblazers. The Utah Jazz are also on a twelve game winning streak of their own and the woeful Toronto Raptors have only won one game all year. The Raptors have lost eleven straight and their only victory was an 88-79 win over the Orlando Magic. 

REGULAR SEASON RECORD
14-8 (2nd - Central 2-2)

Offensive Rating - 6th (111.4)
Defensive Rating - 11th (106.9)

Key Injuries
11/3 - SF Rui Hachimura (Sprained Ankle - should return 11/13)

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 CONFERENCE STANDINGS
  EASTERN | WESTERN
PHI 19-01 | LAL 19-04
DET 14-06 | UTA 18-04
CHI 18-08 | POR 15-06
NYK 14-09 | GSW 15-06
BOS 10-11 | HOU 14-07
ATL 10-12 | NOP 13-08
BKN 09-12 | PHO 12-08
CHA 08-13 | LAC 13-09
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IND 07-13 | DAL 12-09
ORL 07-13 | SAS 12-10
MIL 06-14 | SAC 10-11
MIA 06-14 | DEN 09-13
CLE 06-16 | MEM 07-13
WAS 05-16 | MIN 07-15
TOR 01-20 | OKC 05-15

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[daltontr]

DECEMBER 2020
The 76ers are still the best team in the NBA, but Joel Embiid went down with a broken ankle on Dec. 10th against the Warriors and Philadelphia has looked rather pedestrian, going 6-5 in his absence. It could be worse though, as the Toronto Raptors have been absolutely wretched. They are ranked 30th overall in offense and 24th in defense. On the bright side, they did manage to win three games in the Month of December and that is a vast improvement over their 1-20 start to the season. For the Bulls, we continue to play well and went 7-2 after Kyrie went down with an injury. It's good to know that we have enough depth to stay competitive even when our best player is sidelined with an injury. We are a little over a month away from the trade deadline, but I don't see any reason to mess with success at this point. Barring any injuries, I think we are poised to make a deep run in the playoffs, which would thrill Mr. Reinsdorf.

REGULAR SEASON RECORD
26-11 (1st - Central 7-2)

Offensive Rating - 2nd (112.8)
Defensive Rating - 11th (106.8)

Key Injuries
12/15 - PG Kyrie Irving (Strained Hamstring - should return 12/30)

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CONFERENCE STANDINGS
  EASTERN | WESTERN
PHI 28-09 | LAL 28-10
CHI 26-11 | LAC 24-13
DET 24-11 | HOU 24-13
NYK 27-13 | NOP 22-13
BKN 19-17 | DAL 22-14
BOS 18-18 | POR 22-14
ATL 18-19 | UTA 22-15
IND 15-19 | GSW 21-15
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CHA 14-22 | PHO 18-17
MIA 14-22 | SAC 17-18
MIL 12-24 | SAS 18-20
ORL 12-24 | DEN 16-21
CLE 10-26 | OKC 16-21
WAS 10-27 | MEM 12-25
TOR 04-13 | MIN 11-24

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[daltontr]

JANUARY 2021
Well...I just had to say it didn't I. "Barring any injuries, I think we are poised to make a deep run in the playoffs, which would thrill Mr. Reinsdorf." Never, ever, ever suggest that everything is going to be great, barring an injury, unless your looking for the basketball gods to strike down your starting guard. Yep, Zach Lavine is lost for the season with an ACL tear. Zach is an integral part of this team. No one gets more minutes than Zach and his 18.1 ppg is going to be sorely missed.

Since we don't have a lot of depth at that position, I decided to see if any team would be willing to part with a veteran player who was in the final year of his contract. Rent-a-guard so to speak. Enter guard Lou Williams. Williams is a 6'-1", 175 lbs, 34 year-old shooting guard from the L.A. Clippers. He has excellent ball handling skills and is a good shooter. Lou is in the final year of his $8 mil contract and looking for playing time, so he fits the bill perfectly. I was able to obtain him from the Clippers for SG Allan Crabbe and two second round draft picks. Williams will jump right into the starting role vacated by Lavine.

REGULAR SEASON RECORD
34-18 (1st - Central 11-3)

Offensive Rating - 3rd (112.2)
Defensive Rating - 12th (107.1)

Key Injuries
1/6 - SG Pat Connaughton (Sprained Wrist - Out until 1/18)
1/26 - SG Zach Lavine (Torn ACL - Out until 11/22/21)

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CONFERENCE STANDINGS
  EASTERN | WESTERN
PHI 38-11 | LAL 36-16
NYK 37-15 | HOU 36-17
CHI 34-18 | NOP 32-17
DET 31-18 | DAL 31-19
ATL 28-22 | LAC 30-21
BOS 26-22 | UTA 29-21
BKN 28-24 | GSW 28-22
IND 21-28 | PHO 27-23
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CHA 20-31 | SAS 28-24
MIA 19-32 | POR 26-25
MIL 18-33 | DEN 25-29
ORL 17-33 | OKC 23-28
WAS 15-35 | MEM 21-29
CLE 13-37 | SAC S0-30
TOR 08-44 | MIN 15-36

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ROSTER
PG | 4.0 | Kyrie Irving
SG | 3.0 | Lou Williams
SF | 3.0 | Rui Hachimura
PF | 3.5 | Jaren Jackson
 C | 3.0 | Derrick Favors

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BENCH
 C | 2.5 | Wendell Carter
PG | 3.0 | Coby White
SG | 2.0 | Pat Connaughton
PF | 2.0 | Luke Kornet
SF | 2.0 | Chandler Hutchison
PG | 2.5 | Chris Chiozza
PF | 2.0 | Daniel Gafford

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G-LEAGUE
SF | 2.0 | Torrey Craig
 C | 2.0 | Zhou Qi

INJURED (Season Ending)
SG | 3.5 | Zach Lavine


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CONTRACTS
Player             | Pos|  Ht | Wt  |Age | Contract
Wendell Carter Jr. | C  | 6-9 | 259 | 21 | $5,448,840/2y
Daniel Gafford     | PF | 6-10| 234 | 22 | $1,517,981/3y
Chandler Hutchison | SF | 6-7 | 197 | 24 | $2,443,440/2y
Luke Kornet        | PF | 7-2 | 240 | 25 | $2,304,878/1y
Zach LaVine        | SG | 6-6 | 181 | 25 | $19,500,000/2y
Jaren Jackson      | PF | 6-11| 242 | 21 | $7,257,360/2y
Coby White         | PG | 6-4 | 185 | 20 | $5,572,680/2y (RO)
Kyrie Irving       | PG | 6-2 | 195 | 28 | $33,329,100/3y
Derrick Favors     | C  | 6-9 | 246 | 29 | $15,404,013/4y
Rui Hachimura      | SF | 6-8 | 230 | 22 | $4,692,840/2y (RO)
Chris Chiozza      | PG | 5-11| 175 | 25 | $1,517,981/1y
Pat Connaughton    | SG | 6-5 | 209 | 28 | $1,954,634/1y
Lou Williams       | SG | 6-1 | 175 | 34 | $8,000,000/1y
Torry Craig        | SF | 6-7 | 215 | 30 | $75,000 (2W-GLG)
Zhou Qi            | C  | 7-1 | 210 | 25 | $75,000 (2W-GLG)

TEAM SALARY $109,033,747
CAP STATUS +$6,466,253

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[daltontr]

FEBRUARY 2021
New arrival Lou Williams has played well at times, but his shooting has been somewhat streaky and his defense has been suspect at best. However, filling the shoes of a star player like Zach Lavine is a big ask for the 34 year-old. Also, center Zhou Qi tore his MCL while playing for the Bison in the G-League, so we do not have anyone we can call up in the event of an injury to Derrick Favors or Wendell Carter. Consequently, I decided to sign free agent center Isaac Humphries to a one-year $1.5 mil contract to provide a little short-term depth at the position.

REGULAR SEASON RECORD
39-23 (1st - Central 11-3)

Offensive Rating - 6th (111.5)
Defensive Rating - 11th (106.8)

Key Injuries
1/26 - SG Zach Lavine (Torn ACL - Out until 11/22/21)

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 CONFERENCE STANDINGS
  EASTERN | WESTERN
PHI 47-13 | HOU 42-20
NYK 44-19 | NOP 40-21
CHI 39-23 | LAC 41-22
DET 38-23 | GSW 38-23
ATL 36-25 | UTA 37-24
BKN 35-27 | DAL 37-25
BOS 31-28 | LAC 37-25
MIA 25-37 | SAS 33-29
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CHA 24-37 | PHO 31-29
IND 23-38 | DEN 33-31
MIL 22-39 | POR 31-30
ORL 19-43 | MEM 26-34
WAS 18-44 | OKC 26-37
CLE 15-45 | SAC 24-36
TOR 12-50 | MIN 17-44

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