by zike_42 » Sun Jul 28, 2013 8:11 pm
It’s time to renounce so free agents and there isn’t anyone I want to keep, so say goodbye to Westbrook, Wall, Freeman, Jameson, Anderson and Baker. There is a guy in the scouting department that has the biggest crush on New York’s Terry McKenzie and keeps badgering me to trade for him. I know that he is way out of our price range but to show that I listen to my employees I call up New York.
“Hello Yaxley, what can I do for you?” Answered GM Grant Hill.
“Hey Grant, just putting feelers out on some trade prospects, nothing serious.”
“OK, what do you have in mind?”
“I’m interested in Terry McKenzie, is he available?” I question with a little hesitation in my voice.
“Honestly, no. He is a franchise player in the making and we want to keep him in the Big Apple for as long as possible.” Fair enough, but I push a little.
“He seems a great talent but we have some great young guys here, how about Julius Hobbs, Kelly Pryor, Curtis Anderson and our first round pick for Terry?”
“Look Yaxley, I like you. I love what you have done in Dallas even with all the controversy but the only player I’m interested in trading Terry for is Jack and I’m certain that you don’t want to give him up, right?” He sounded a little angry that I kept asking.
“Fair enough Grant, just checking. Good luck with your Knicks next season, I love Terry with Vlado and you should turn some heads.” I try and pacify the situation.
“Fingers crossed.” With that Grant hung up the phone.
Well, that went well.
Its Summer League time and we have three participants with Curtis, Kelly and Julius joining some hopefully of getting a spot.
Our first game is against Toronto and we take care of business fairly easily with a 108-99 win. Julius Hobbs top scored with 20 points but it was invitee Kebu Clark who took the game head on with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 5 steals but went 6/17 from the foul line. Why don’t big guys learn how to shoot free throws? Curtis Anderson was also great at PG with 18 points, 7 assists and 5 turnovers. John Morris was the best for the Raptors with 19 points.
Game two wasn’t as good, going down to Seattle 110-92 as the Sonics had six players in double figures as number seven pick Alfons Dietz had 13 points, 5 assists and 3 steals. Kelly was our top guy with 16 points as Kebu Clark fell back to earth with 0 points, 1 assist and 1 foul in 29 minutes and for most of the game I didn’t know he was out there. Julius had another nice outing with 14 points and 9 rebounds.
It’s not about the wins in summer league but it’s nice to be in the games as we got blown out by Houston 109-92. Julius Hobbs was fantastic with 25 points and 6 rebounds on 9/13 shooting and I like his offence at the moment. #2 pick Andy Kante had 21 points and 8 rebounds and he is rebounding much better than I thought.
Another loss, this time to Minnesota 99-93 as Colin Walker was great with 23 points and 7 assists while Chris Benjamin, who was drafted right at the end of the first round had 18 points and 14 rebounds. Julius Hobbs didn’t score much with 12 points but had 10 rebounds which is what I want to see. Kelly Pryor had 19 points to offset Curtis Anderson’s 2/10 night. Kebu Clark must be still living off his first game because he had another 0-fer with his only stat in 27 minutes being one foul. That’s it.
Our last game of the summer league ended up close but it really wasn’t for the rest of the game as we went down to Indiana 108-100. Steal of the draft Tip Smith had 21 points and 7 rebounds as #3 pick last season Jason Sanders had 18 points and 10 rebounds. Julius Hobbs was again very nice with 12 points and 11 rebounds while our backcourt of Pryor and Anderson combined for 33 points and 9 rebounds. I was really going to try and sign Kebu Clark after his first game but now he is nowhere on my radar after another woeful game, playing 27 minutes for 2 turnovers.
His first game was 16 points and 8 rebounds but after that he averaged zero points, zero rebounds, 0.25 assists and 0.5 turnovers. Big fall off. Actually, I found out later that he broke his arm but didn’t tell anyone because he wanted to impress the NBA teams! Wow, talk about dedication, he is back on my radar because that takes some big balls to play four games with a broken arm.
The year’s free agency isn’t as good as last year’s and like the previous year a lot of the top tier free agents are restricted so they most likely won’t be going anywhere. Here are the top ten –
SF Tiburcio Tommasini*
PG Camah Williams*
C Ronnie Howard
SF Chris Jackson*
SF Marlo Graham*
SG James McDaniel
SF Ali Riley
SF Andrew Owens
PG James Blakemore*
SG Reggie Blake*
As we are still over $10 million above the salary cap I won’t be going after the higher rated guys but we have the full MLE to play with so I feel like we should be able to get a nice starting C. I offer Joey Thunell the MLE as he isn’t the best scorer but his rebounding and defence are very good which is what I want.
After only two days Tiburcio Tommasini goes back to Portland for a five year maximum contract which is a win/win for both sides. Joey is interested in our offer and is mulling it over.
A few days later Camah Williams goes back to Minnesota for just less than the max but the big news is that James McDaniel spurns the Riders and signs a four year deal with Atlanta, making the Hawks much more potent. I don’t know why Atlanta keeps bringing in SGs with Chris Jones there; they picked Kelly Pryor two drafts ago and now bring in McDaniel. They must think that Jones is more of a PG in their sets.
Chris Jackson goes back to the Lakers, Marlo Graham re-signs with Seattle, Mike Joseph likes it in Nevada and Matias Perez turns down a very lucrative offer with Charlotte to go back to Toronto. In disappointing news Joey Thunell re-signs with San Antonio for not that much more than I was offering. I give the MLE to Marlon Haymon to see if he bites.
More big news as Reggie Blake signs an offer sheet worth just over $10 million a year with New York and the Bobcats have three days to match the offer or he will be a Knick. Haymon doesn’t like our offer so the MLE goes to Emmett Emerson. If we can get EE I will fall off my chair but it’s worth a try.
Ronnie Howard re-signs with Memphis which takes care of our top ten. It looks like Charlotte have given up on Reggie Blake so sign James Blakemore to an offer sheet for the same amount Blake signed with New York for.
Just as I thought, Emmett Emerson went back to Phoenix for much more than I offered. It’s like a game of musical chairs with this MLE as the next target is 26 year old Ryan Wadley.
Damn, damn, damn. Not only did Ryan Wadley accept his tender offer with Chicago, Marlon Haymon signed with Detroit to massively cut down our centre options. Ryan Garris and Ron Winston re-signed with their respective teams for over $10 million a year which was always going to happen as a lot of the young talent accepted their offer sheets. Just like most punters thought, the Bobcats didn’t match Reggie Blake’s offer so he is officially a New York Knick. It may be overpaying but I offer Peter McCaffery a three year MLE because he is a big body that is a fantastic defender.
Jared Arenas goes back to Philadelphia for a great deal and Ali Riley re-signs with Los Angeles. It’s good to see Brandon Anderer get paid, signing a 4 year, $23 million deal to stay with Milwaukee. I up the offer to Peter McCaffery to a four year deal because New Orleans are circling as well. There is still some nice talent out there like Andrew Owens, Jamal Howell and Sam Jennings just waiting for a new deal but probably out of my price range.
I’m striking out like a blind batter with no arms as Peter McCaffery goes back to New Orleans and I shelve my MLE. Andrew Owens makes the Knicks nice a stacked for four years and the first signing I have been able to make was third string PG Isaac Holdan.
Actually I lied about the MLE as I sign Jamal Howell to a one year contract for $5 million. He is 33 years old and quickly declining but he still has talent and for one year it’s no risk. Matt Wingfield comes here as our third string SG for two years at the minimum.
In a surprising change we get a steal with former #1 pick Casey Floyd signs on the dotted line for a two year LLE contract. Also we finally get a centre (but not starting material) in Issiah Hemhill for two years at the minimum. He is a horrific defender which is usually someone I hate but his other skills are good for a bench player. At 14 players and over $20 million above the cap I’m done. Hopefully Mr Stuart doesn’t get too angry about the salary on this team, especially when we still have $40 million in cut salary this season.
After the free agency I give Nashon Smith a three year, $30 million extension which is pretty damn good for a All NBA second teamer and All Defence first team last season. As training camp comes and goes Jack looks even better than last season. He should be a top five player in the league and I’m sure the 12 other teams that passed on him in the draft are kicking themselves now. Both Curtis Anderson and Kelly Pryor have improved but it looks like Jamal Howell will be starting at SG so I’m going to send Curtis down to the D-League for a while to give him some playing time. In negative news, Casey Floyd is practically useless now and is slotted as 13th man. What a waste of a number one pick, averaging 11.9 points a game for his career. I really thought when he went to Indiana and averaged 17 points per game his career would change but I was mistaken. Bust.
We’re picked to come 12th in the West which is quite low I think, we should again be gunning for a playoff berth with the new additions to the team.
Western Conference Pre-Season Rankings
1 – Los Angeles Lakers
2 – Portland Trailblazers
3 – Nevada Neon
4 – Minnesota Timberwolves
5 – San Antonio Spurs
Last – Denver Nuggets
This Western Conference is brutal as those top four teams all could easily win 60 games this season. Denver are definitely in a rebuilding year but it’s going to be really tough this season.
Eastern Confernce Pre-Season Rankings
1 – Miami Heat
2 – Memphis Grizzlies
3 – Boston Celtics
4 – Chicago Bulls
5 – Washington Wizards
Last – Cleveland Cavaliers
I’m not sure about this line-up and the Raptors shouldn’t be as low as seventh. Even the Bobcats at 10th are too low with an aging Anthony Davis. It’s good to see the Hawks higher than last at 11th but the Cavs are dead on, Ron Winston and Brooks Badu need to have career years to stay out of the gutter.
Pre-Season All NBA First Team:
Ledaryl McMillian, Golden State Warriors
Kenneth Long, Miami Heat
Enrique Mendez, Minnesota Timberwolves
Marcus Randle, Memphis Grizzlies
Mark Lewis, Utah Jazz
Pre-Season All NBA Second Team:
Michael Taylor, Los Angeles Lakers
Mike Bickerstaft, Oklahoma City Thunder
Jack Dawkins, Dallas Mavericks
Anthony Davis, Charlotte Bobcats
Jimmy Forrest, San Diego Riders
Pre-Season All NBA Third Team:
Camah Williams, Minnesota Timberwolves
Earl Oliver, Portland Trailblazers
Tiburcio Tommasini, Portland Trailblazers
Brad Largent, Chicago Bulls
Eryk Charnowski, Miami Heat
Here we go, your 2027-2028 “Dallas Dynasty 2.0” Dallas Mavericks –
PG – Nashon Smith
SG – Jamal Howell
SF – Jack Dawkins
PF – Julius Hobbs
C – Joe Duggins
6th – Issiah Hemhill
7th – Shawn Latimer
8th – Kelly Pryor
9th – Matt Wingfield
10th – Bart Flanders
11th – Casey Floyd
12th – Changa Hendricks
13th – Isaac Holdan
D-League – Curtis Anderson