2027-2028 PRE SEASON REPORT So...new owner and he demands we stay within the cap, but we were $42.2 million dollars OVER the cap before renouncing the rights to Adams, Fultz and Williams. After doing that we were still $256,127 over the cap. I have to admit, I'm really getting over this penny pinching crap. I'm almost tempted to just gut this team out of spite...but I won't. I'm going to somehow get this team under the cap and then let the chips fall where they may. Seriously, this is beyond irritating. The owner expects us to make a deep playoff run, but I've got to cut payroll AND retain P.J. Washington, who has already declared that he intends on testing the free agent waters at the end of the season. Well...guess who just moved to the top of the list of potential trades! Man...I really want to eviscerate this team and then Mic drop ole Humphries at the end of the season, but I have a reputation to maintain, so I'm going to make the best of a bad situation. Regardless of what happens this season, I think I'll explore my options at the end of the year. I would like more financial freedom to compete with the Dallas Mavericks of the world. Hell, maybe Mark Cuban will give me a job...
...Okay, a significant amount of time has passed since I wrote that previous paragraph and I've decided to completely gut the team, but not in a bad way. Essentially, I decided that if this was going to be my last hurrah, I was going to go out with a bang. I was going to assemble the best possible team that I could, with the caveat that no one was untouchable and if I ended up over the cap when all was said and done, so be it. What's the worst the owner can do, fire me. Don't do me any favors pal. So, I began scouring the NBA to see which teams might be willing to make some deals and many, many, many, hours later, I had completely reshaped the team. Four of the five starters are now gone! Marcus Donovan and Bradley Beal were packaged in a deal to obtain D'Angelo Russell from the Warriors. Brandon Ingram was sent to the Celtics for Jayson Tatum and P.J. Washington was shipped out to Toronto for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Yes, Giannis is getting old in the tooth, but I only need one more season out of him. The last deal I made was to acquire shooting guard Gregory Hawkins from the Wizards for Viktor Florakis and a 2028 1st round pick via Golden State. I like Hawkins a lot. He is a rookie, so I don't think coach Starks will start him, but he should see significant minutes and I think he is a potential Rookie of the Year.
By the way, that deal for Jayson Tatum was crazy and I'm pretty certain that the Celtics GM Clarence Anderson is going to get fired for it. He must have been off his meds, because they gave us Tatum and their 2029 first round pick for Ingram. Yea, I know that is completely insane, but it happened and I couldn't believe it myself. It was one for the ages and now Ingram is by far the best player the Celtics have, because the GM gutted the rest of the team and fired the entire coaching staff! Their starting lineup looks like this: Edwin Simmons (PG), Romeo Langford (SG), Brandon Ingram (SF), Bobby Portis (PF) and Anzejis Pacecniks (C). I can only assume that the GM was aggressively cutting salaries, because they are now one of only three teams under the cap.
Anyway, when all was said and done with the trades, we went from $256k to $6.5 million over the cap and I wasn't done spending. If you think Humphries is pissed now, wait until he sees the bill for the free agents I'm about to sign. Do I care? No, I do not. It's all or nothing this season, so time to go shopping in the free agent market. I may be over the cap, but I was certain I could get a key player or two via the mid and low level exceptions. My first thought was to go after a couple known quantities, shooting guard Markelle Fultz and center Steven Adams. I went after Fultz first, only because I knew there were very few free agent shooting guards. I figured since Adams was pushing thirty-five, he might eventually settle for a low level exception near the end of the free agent period. I figured that was a long shot, but you only get one mid level exception and I needed someone to provide top cover for my rookie shooting guard. There wasn't a lot of player movement in the beginning and nearly all of the activity revolved around teams re-signing their own players. However, on July 27th, Fultz accepted the mid level offer and I was thrilled. Now I just needed a big man and Steven Adams was still unsigned. He dismissed my initial low level exception offer, so I figured I wait until August 1st and try again. August 1st came and Adams agreed to the low level exception and now I had my two guys. I was pretty pleased with myself, because that doesn't happen very often. Lastly, I made a minimum offer to former Bulls small forward Chandler Hutchison to provide a little extra depth on the bench and he eagerly accepted.
DRAFTNothing to get excited about. We had two picks in the second round and drafted small forward Travis Gibson and small forward Antonio Alexander. I don't think either will make the team.
TRADESWarriors trade PG D'Angelo Russell, 2028 1st round pick, 2030 1st round pick for PG Marcus Donovan and SG Bradley Beal.
Celtics trade SF Jayson Tatum, 2029 1st round pick (CHI via BOS) for SF Brandon Ingram.
Raptors trade PF Giannis Antetokounmpo for PF P.J. Washington.
Wizards trade SG Gregory Hawkins, 2029 2nd round pick for SF Viktor Florakis, 2028 1st round pick (GSW via CHI)
CONTRACTSExercised rookie option for Marcus Bosl.
Exercised rookie option for Andrew Miller.
Exercised rookie option for Viktor Florakis.
Exercised rookie option for Lee Askew.
Renounced rights to Steven Adams
Renounced rights to Markelle Fultz
Renounced rights to Kurtis Williams
Release and renounced rights to Travis Gibson
Release and renounced rights to Antonio Alexander
SUMMER LEAGUE ASSIGNMENTSC | James Jackson
PF | Lee Askew
PF | Jermaine Baker
SF | Antonio Alexander
SF | Travis Gibson
SF | Viktor Florakis
PG | Marcus Bosl
PG | Andrew Miller
FREE AGENCYSigned Markell Fultz to a 1-year deal worth $13,300,00
Signed Steven Adams to a 1-year deal worth $5,100,000
Signed Chandler Hutchison to a 1-year deal worth $2,976,861
TEAM ROSTER- Code: Select all
STARTERS | PS | GM | GS | MPG | PPG | APG | RPG |
D'Angelo Russell | PG | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Markelle Fultz | SG | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Jayson Tatum | SF | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Giannis Antetokounmpo | PF | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Justin McCuthison | C | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
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BENCH | PS | GM | GS | MPG | PPG | APG | RPG |
Gregory Hawkins | SG | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Jermaine Baker | PF | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Steven Adams | C | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Spencer Dinwiddie | PG | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Chad Hutchison | SF | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Lee Askew | PF | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Andrew Miller | PG | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Marcus Bosl | PG | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
James Jackson | C | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
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D-LEAGUE | PS | GM | GS | MPG | PPG | APG | RPG |
Marcus Bosl | PG | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
James Jackson | C | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
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CONTRACTS (TEAM SALARY $180,591,551 / CAP STATUS $-27,591,551)- Code: Select all
Player | PS | CUR | POT | HGT | LBS | AG | EX | SALARY | CONTRACT
Giannis Antetokounmpo | PF | 5.0 | 5.0 | 6-11| 242 | 33 | 14 | $47,351,563 | $148,171,857/3y
D'Angelo Russell | PG | 3.5 | 3.5 | 6-4 | 193 | 31 | 12 | $35,086,694 | $72,468,779/2y
Jayson Tatum | SF | 4.0 | 4.0 | 6-8 | 204 | 29 | 10 | $34,941,933 | $111,662,262/3y
Markelle Fultz | SG | 2.5 | 2.5 | 6-3 | 200 | 29 | 10 | $13,000,000 | $13,000,000/1y
Gregory Hawkins | SG | 3.0 | 4.0 | 6-4 | 198 | 22 | R | $9,655,533 | $20,035,133/2y (RO)
Justin McCuthison | C | 3.5 | 4.0 | 6-11| 280 | 23 | 3 | $9,305,456 | $9,305,456/1y
Lee Askew | PF | 2.0 | 4.0 | 6-9 | 241 | 24 | 1 | $8,119,600 | $16,807,572/2y (RO)
Steven Adams | C | 2.5 | 2.5 | 6-11| 265 | 34 | 14 | $5,100,000 | $5,100,000/1y
Jermaine Baker | PF | 3.0 | 3.0 | 6-8 | 217 | 26 | 3 | $4,491,902 | $4,491,902/1y
Spence Dinwiddie | PG | 2.0 | 2.0 | 6-5 | 215 | 34 | 13 | $3,179,173 | $3,179,173/1y
Andrew Miller | PG | 2.0 | 2.0 | 5-11| 178 | 24 | 2 | $3,066,406 | $7,794,804/2y
Chandler Hutchison | SF | 2.0 | 2.0 | 6-7 | 197 | 31 | 9 | $2,976,861 | $2,976,861/1y
Marcus Bosl | PG | 2.0 | 2.5 | 6-0 | 189 | 24 | 1 | $2,224,400 | $4,604,508/2y (RO)
James Jackson | C | 1.5 | 3.0 | 6-11| 270 | 22 | 1 | $1,792,030 | $1,792,030/1y
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