New York, New York! Bringing a championship home

[zike_42]

It’s lottery time so hopefully a team with a good draft pick can give me a job.

14th – Memphis (0)
13th – Atlanta (0)
12th – Chicago (0)
11th – Utah (0)
10th – Brooklyn (0)
9th – Boston (0)
8th – Dallas (-2)

Both Toronto and Philadelphia have jumped.

7th – Los Angeles Lakers (-2)
6th – Atlanta (-2)
5th – Toronto (-2)
4th – Orlando (-2)
3rd – Toronto (+5)
2nd – Philadelphia (+5)
1st – Phoenix (+1)

It’s awards time and it will be interesting to see who gets into Lebron James’ and Dwyane Wade’s injured spots.

Most Valuable Player:
Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder – 33.2 points, 1.5 assists, 7.9 rebounds, 1.0 steals, 1.1 blocks

Very well deserved but I don’t think he would have beaten Lebron if he was healthy.

Defensive Player of the Year:
Dwight Howard, San Antonio Spurs – 19.0 points, 1.5 assists, 11.3 rebounds, 1.9 steals, 2.2 blocks

Another award that should have an asterisk on it as Anthony Davis would have won if he was healthy.

Sixth man of the Year:
Joe Johnson, Brooklyn Nets – 17.1 points, 4.5 assists, 3.8 rebounds, 0.5 steals, 0.0 blocks

At least the team got something out of the massive contract.

Rookie of the Year:
Ernest Jameson, Los Angeles Lakers – 11.8 points, 1.1 assists, 8.2 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 0.5 blocks

No doubt, check the All Rookie teams for some random names.

Coach of the Year:
Mike Woodson, New York Knicks – 61-21 (.744)

Yay! Well deserved and should continue into the future.

All NBA First Team:
Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
James Harden, Houston Rockets
Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves
Dwight Howard, San Antonio Spurs

All NBA Second Team:
Chris Paul, New York Knicks
Paul George, Indiana Pacers
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Charlotte Bobcats
Kenneth Faried, Denver Nuggets
Andrew Bynum, Cleveland Cavaliers

All NBA Third Team:
Damian Lillard, Portland Trailblazers
Eric Gordon, New Orleans Hornets
Rudy Gay, New York Knicks
Greg Monroe, Detroit Pistons
Al Jefferson, Charlotte Bobcats

All Defensive First Team:
Chris Paul, New York Knicks
Paul George, Indiana Pacers
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Charlotte Bobcats
Ekpe Udoh, New York Knicks
Dwight Howard, San Antonio Spurs

Nice, two Knicks.

All Defensive Second Team:
Ricky Rubio, Minnesota Timberwolves
Iman Shumpert, Indiana Pacers
Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs
Serge Ibaka, Oklahoma City Thunder
Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies

All Rookie First Team:
Charles Canady, Los Angeles Clippers
Joe Holmes, Philadelphia 76ers
Andrew Owens, Philadelphia 76ers
Chevalier Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder
Ernest Jameson, Los Angeles Lakers

All Rookie Second Team:
Brian Taylor, Chicago Bulls
Josh Rozier, Miami Heat
Julian Johnson, Toronto Raptors
Hayletts Smith, Orlando Magic
Ben Chambers, Boston Celtics

Who are these people?

I get the call I have been dreading. It wasn’t much of a phone call, all he said was, “not good enough, you’re fired.”

Great, unemployment.

The next day I get four phone calls from four NBA teams wanting me as their GM. They were Chicago, Indiana, Memphis and surprisingly Miami. I guess their GM got fired because Lebron and Wade got injured which would suck. I tell them I would think about it and get back to them.

[color="Red"]Who should I go for? Chicago, Indiana, Memphis or Miami? The result is up to you readers.[/color]

[PointGuard]

My vote: Memphis. 2nd choice: Chicago.

[Rizzo]

My vote: Memphis. 2nd choice: Chicago.

I second these suggestions. Both teams seem to be sitting in NBA purgatory and would allow you to either make a big time trade to build around a marquee player or blow it all up and rebuild. Either way, I'll be here following your next move.

[Cleasby]

Memphis from me

[zike_42]

I guess the mob has spoken.

[zike_42]

I call Mike Hershey about that GM position and he still wants me for it and I accept. I probably should have checked on the personality of the Memphis Grizzlies’ owner to see what I was getting myself into with this job as it isn’t the best. He doesn’t want to spend any money, doesn’t care if we win and if I can’t make that happen then he won’t hesitate to can me. Wonderful.

Here are the current Memphis Grizzlies players –

PG Mike Conley – A decent point that has great defence (being named all defensive second team in 2012) but for $9 million a year I don’t see him earning that. If I can find someone else for cheaper I will deal Conley.

PG Ernest Davis – A waste of a 13th pick the second year man is awfully average. He has some potential but I don’t think he will see any gametime in the pros because I will send him down to the D-League the first chance I can.

PG Mario Chalmers – Our second best PG and he can run a team about par. He is only paid $3 million a year so for a back up PG I don’t mind him.

SG Hassan Benton – Similar to Iman Shumpert when I first got to New York, a decent SG but has oodles of potential. His defence is top notch and I want to see where this kid can go. Has unbelievable work ethic as well.

SG Tony Allen – Our beast. A magnificent defender and may be one of the best at the SG position in the league. Unfortunately he doesn’t really do much else and is owed nearly $28 million over the next three years which is too much, especially for this owner.

SG Dion Waiters – My old favourite has been unhappy here in Memphis because of playing time and probably our best trading asset. I would love to keep him around but if I can’t move Allen he will be the next to go.

SG Gerald Green – Nothing really exciting about Green apart his $3.5 million expiring contract.

SF Wilson Chandler – He is an average player and good with his teammates but he is just average and I need stars on this team. He will probably be starting at this stage.

SF Gerald Wallace – Another of my Knicks players Wallace is another great defender but probably not enough of an all around player to warrant his $20 million contract over two years. I will deal him because his contract will fit with higher paid players.

SF Perry Jones III – A great bench SF who should be on this team for a while to come. He does everything needed from a bench player and is great with the fans and teammates.

PF Cliff Broermann – Meh.

PF Ivan Johnson – A decent bench PF but his attitude isn’t the best. I’ll keep him around until he makes some trouble.

PF Zach Randolph – Used to be a great, even elite PF but has slipped a lot. Only averaging 14 points and 7 rebounds a game and I will look to trade him at any chance. It will be hard because he has a long, terrible contract.

C Marc Gasol – Our best player and a $16 million expiring contract. I’ll will do anything to get him back because I love having big men that average over two steals and two blocks a game.

C Matt Bonner – Read Gerald Green’s description.

Coach – Lionel Hollins – Not a very good coach and is still on the books for four more years which sucks. If he stinks it up next season I will fire him and face the consequences later.

So at the moment we are $17,707,129 over the salary cap which means we are $5,707,129 into luxury cap territory and for a 40-42 team that is atrocious. A real challenge for me as in the three years I have been in the league the most wins this Memphis team has won is 43. Yuck.

Onto normal GM business as the NBA Draft is approaching fast, so here is the Mock Draft –

1 – Phoenix – SF Wesley Fields
2 – Philadelphia – PF Nate Roberts
3 – Toronto – PG Alex Crawford
4 – Orlando – C Drew McAfee
5 – Toronto – SF Paul Orvis
6 – Atlanta – SF Antoine Martin
7 – LA Lakers – SF Pat Archie
8 – Dallas – PF Dave Webb
9 – Boston – SF Rasheed Miller
10 – Brooklyn – PF Leonard Hale
11 – Utah – C Jonathan Benson
12 – Chicago – SF Jamal Howell
13 – Atlanta – SG Igor Lepinat
14 – Memphis – SF Derek Thomas

I like Roberts as #1 at the moment but Fields is still good. I think Benson will go higher than #11 but other than that pretty good in my opinion.

[PointGuard]

I probably should have checked on the personality of the Memphis Grizzlies’ owner to see what I was getting myself into with this job as it isn’t the best. He doesn’t want to spend any money, doesn’t care if we win and if I can’t make that happen then he won’t hesitate to can me. Wonderful.

LMAO...you're welcome!

So...don't spend money and lose and he'll be a happy camper, right?

[zike_42]

LMAO...you're welcome!

So...don't spend money and lose and he'll be a happy camper, right?

Pretty simple I reckon, I don't know why other teams don't do that.

[Rizzo]

Seems like your owner has set you up to succeed on all levels...or maybe not lol.

[Cleasby]

Will be a real good challenge for you after being at the Knicks. May be a case of cash in and start again with that bad roster?