Oklahoma City Redux - No "Process" Here-Win NOW!

Oklahoma City Redux - No "Process" Here-Win NOW!

Postby brimick87 » Mon Jul 06, 2020 6:34 pm

I'm again going to take on the reigns as GM of the OKC Thunder. But this time I'm not trading for future assets or anything of the such unless it's not going to hurt me at all in the short run. I want to win now. Just like the owner is asking me to do.

I also want to see what kind of team I can put together while exploiting the current trade engine before Gary puts out the next version that's going to make it wayyyy harder to do. :)

I'm also going to be hiring head coaches as 1st assistants before promoting them so I don't have to pay head coach salaries. This is the only way to put together a staff while meeting the budget guidelines.

I'm also going to try to manipulate the owner so that he gives me as big a player budget as possible while also not expecting me to deliver to deliver year to year. I'm simply going to lie and tell him the won't be any good every so he doesn't expect much. If I put together a REALLY great team I may tell the owner we're championship material, but only if we're effectively a dynasty most likely.

I'm going to be trading my own first round picks freely in the early years of the save because the game doesn't generate enough top-tier caliber talent to truly help put you over the edge for championships. If I think I spot someone who's being very undervalued in the draft I may give up something to get him if I think it's worth it. And I may well be holding other teams lottery picks anyone from exploiting the ai.

In my next post, I'm going to go over the roster and explain who I think I need to keep/trade/release and why. And I've LOVE feedback if I'm missing something, this is my primary hope. So don't be afraid to tell me where I'm mixed up if I am. I rather enjoy my viewpoint being challenged.
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Re: Oklahoma City Redux - No "Process" Here-Win NOW!

Postby brimick87 » Mon Jul 06, 2020 6:45 pm

PG - CP3/SHA/Schroeder

Unfortunately I know no matter what coach I hire the AI isn't going to be inventive enough to play these guys together, so at least one needs to go. Paul is still an all-star caliber player and SHA has some great key attributes and has 3 years left on a rookie contract. Schroeder is going to need to be traded to create more depth.

SG - Burton/Diallo/Ferguson/Roberson

This is a mess. But the only who isn't on an expiring contract is Ferguson and he has enough potential to be traded for something anyway. Roberson is probably going to be used for salary matching purposes and so will the other guys if need be/if anyone will take them.

SF - Galinari/Nader

Galinari is 31 and on an expering contract and his key attributes like defense/intelligence/outside shooting aren't that great. We need to move him to get back something we can build with.

Nader is a non-entity. First guy released if I need a roster spot. Hell, I may release him before I need one just for fun.

PF - Bazley

This is an area that needs some improvement.

C - Adams/Noel/Patton ETA:Muscala, I think I forgot him for obvious reasons

Adams is kind of soft but he's a building block who will likely sign a cap friendly extension in a couple of years. So he's staying put for now.

Noel/Patton are both getting traded for whatever I can exploit the AI for.

Muscala is a warm body I guess.
Last edited by brimick87 on Mon Jul 06, 2020 9:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Oklahoma City Redux - No "Process" Here-Win NOW!

Postby brimick87 » Mon Jul 06, 2020 6:48 pm

I should note I'm using the roster mod that Gary was using in the developer dynasty this week. It's basically the same as the default but with accurate history added.
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Re: Oklahoma City Redux - No "Process" Here-Win NOW!

Postby brimick87 » Mon Jul 06, 2020 6:55 pm

Staff :

Billy Donovan - I'm going to let him finish out his contract (2 years) as I can't fire him and stay within budget anyway. And I definitely can't extend him and stay within budget.

Maurice Cheecks -His contract is up after this year and I plan on hiring donovan's future replacement here to a long term contract so I can simply promote him without having to pay him a head coaches salary.

Brian Keefe - Contract is up after this year and we'll try to find someone to hire cheaply here - right now he wants 1.5 million for 4 years to stay on as 2nd assistant that's just not happening.

Vin Bhavnani - Not terrible for a 3rd assistant but he wants over a million to stay on but he has 2 years left on his contract and he's cheap so I'm probably just letting that play itself out.
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Postby brimick87 » Mon Jul 06, 2020 10:11 pm

I sign Faried with the open roster spot I started the game with.

This already very much improves the team :

CP3/SHA/Schroeder
Burton/Diallo/Furgeson/Roberson
Galinari/Nader
Faried/Bazley
Adams/Patton/Noel/Muscala

We currently have 15 players under contract and are about 11 million under the player budget set by the owner.

The owner also wants a 4 star player which I won't be able to give him this season BUT maybe I can trade for someone who will turn into that player.

The owner expects a deep playoff run and soon we'll announce a series of deals designed to maximize the odds of that while also not hurting us going forward.
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What can I get for Galinari?

Postby brimick87 » Mon Jul 06, 2020 10:24 pm

I need to trade Galinari. He's 31 and on an expiring and I have needs to fill. I have Faried/Adams at PF and C with effectively no backup and I see Faried more as a 6th man but I could also use him at SF to replace Galinari so I don't have to get one back. I need a shooting gaurd, power forward, backup center.

This is the first trade I worked out :

Hornets Receive : Galinari, Noel, 2021 OKC First Round Pick
Thunder Receive : PJ Washington, Cody Zeller

I give up Galinari who I don't particularly care for anyway, Noel who wasn't going to play, and a first round pick I'm sure I can put in the mid-20's.

I get back PJ Washington who's now our starting PF and franchise building block. I also get Zeller who's going to be a more than able backup for Adams.

Roster now looks like this :

CP3/SHA/Schroeder
Ferguson/Diallo/Burton/Roberson
No SF (I'm cutting Nader to create a roster spot)
Washington/Faried/Bazley
Adams/Zeller/Patton/Muscala
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Fixing that Small Forward Problem

Postby brimick87 » Mon Jul 06, 2020 10:32 pm

I have 3 point guards and as previously stated, Schroeder needs to go because I need a shooting guard and small forward. This deal seemed like highway robbery but the AI agreed to it.

Hawks Receive : Schroeder, Ferguson, 2020 Oklahoma City First Round Pick, 2022 Oklahoma City First Round Pick
Thunder Receive : Huerter/Hunter/Reddish

I give up a point guard I didn't want, a shooting guard I didn't care for, and 2 likely late first round picks to get THREE building blocks.

Now my roster is starting to take shape :

CP3/SHA
Huerter/Diallo/Burton/Roberson
Hunter/Reddish
Washington/Faried/Bazley
Adams/Zeller/Patton/Muscala
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Plugging one last gap

Postby brimick87 » Mon Jul 06, 2020 10:42 pm

I still need a starting shooting guard or atleast someone who can rotate with Huerter.

I think this trade should get it done:

Kings Receive : Patton and Roberson
Thunder Receive : Bogdanovic

Now I'm 10 deep.

CP3/SHA
Bogdanovic/Huerter
Hunter/Reddish
Washington/Faried
Adams/Zeller

I also have Bazley, Burton, Diallo, and Muscala taking up space on the bench. Diallo and Burton are on expirings and Muscala has a player option he'll likely decline. So in terms of getting these 4 off the books I only have to cope with 1 more season of Bazley.
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Long-Term Roster Plans

Postby brimick87 » Mon Jul 06, 2020 11:43 pm

So it's time to evaluate the new look Thunder :

CP3/SHA

Paul is still an all-star level player but the third year of his contract may well be brutal. No choice but to ride it out with him.

SHA is a quality backup PG with 3 years left on his rookie contract. He's very tradeable as well. But for the forseeable future he's most valuable to us backing up Paul.

Bogdanovic/Huerter

Bogdanovic is on an expiring and if all goes well the plan is to resign him for two more years with an option for the third so we can have cap space flexibility after Paul's contract is up.

Huerter has 3 years left on his rookie contract. Somewhat similar situation to SHA.

Hunter/Reddish

Both rookies on 4 year contracts. This is an ideal situation.

Washington/Faried

Washington is a rookie with 4 contract years left.

Faried signed for the league minumum and we're not going to have his bird rights since he'll have only been with us one season. We'll have to try to resign him or fill his absence with the mid level exception.

Adams/Zeller

Both have 2 years left on their contracts. Adams will likely sign a cap-friendly extension as mentioned before. And I may try the same tact with Zeller because I'm not sure I want a regen starting over Adams unless he's pretty exceptional.

Diallo/Burton/Muscaal/Bazley

Diallo and Burton are expiring. Muscala has a player option I expect him to decline. And Bazley is our first round draft pick this year so we're stuck with his cap hit for another season.
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1st Season Recap

Postby brimick87 » Tue Jul 07, 2020 1:51 am

We went 53-29 and had a first playoff series against Denver that we lost 4-0 because of injuries to Bogdanovic, Adams, and Zeller. And Paul missed game 4. Which led to all sorts of weird lineups with even burton-bazley-muscala getting sustained minutes. Needless to say it wasn't pretty.

Utah won the championship, so we we're clearly in a pretty loaded division.
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