2026-2027 PRE SEASON REPORT I'm still basking in the glory of a third NBA Title, the owner is super happy, I have the entire starting lineup returning for next season and my job security has risen to 100%. All is good and it's time to get to work on the repeat. First is the draft...ugh...I never feel good about the draft and I always come away thinking I totally screwed the pooch. We had the 4th pick overall (via OKC) and I had my sights on small forward Terry Rosen. The mock draft had him falling to me with the fourth pick, but he went second overall, so I went with who I thought was the best available, PF Lee Askew. It's possible that I may have taken him too early, but I like his potential. Bosl...I still think he was a good pick at the 30th spot, despite what that idiot J.P. thinks. Harris was the last pick in the draft and I don't think we will retain him on the roster, but we'll retain his rights so that he can go play overseas.
Since I didn't get the small forward that I was looking for during the draft, I reached out to the Celtics and sought a trade for Viktor Florakis. Florakis is only nineteen and played in Greece. He is raw, but has a ton of potential. He won't have an immediate impact, but I think he can be a superstar in the future. Boston must have thought so too, since they picked him with the sixth overall pick. Prying him away from Boston wasn't easy and I gave away a lot to get him, but he is now a Bull. Let's hope I was right about him.
Contract wise, we have our entire starting lineup returning, but Bradely Beal was going to be a free agent at the end of the season. So, I either have to trade him, let him go to free agency or offer an extension. I did the latter. Yes, Beal is thirty-three years old and he's not getting any younger, but he'll save me over $7 million next year and $5 million the following year. Beal will be thirty-seven in the final year of his contract, but I should have his replacement by then, but he'll be a $30 million dollar backup, so I'll probably have to trade before then. I don't normally like to resign players nearing their mid-thirties, but Beal is a very good player and he provides stability to the lineup. Too many times I've been forced to trade away talent because of the financial constraints place by the owner, this time I decided to end that streak and maintain some team continuity. It may cost me in the end, but I'll worry about that when the time comes.
Free agency...what to say. Players want insane amounts of money and if your at or over the cap, like we are, your not competing for any real talent. We needed to fill some rosters spots, so I simply waited until there were only a couple days remaining in the draft and picked up some role players. However, since we were already over the cap, I was going to have to get creative and utilize some exceptions to fill out the roster. We desperately needed some depth at shooting guard, so I offered a one year mid-level exception contract to Markelle Fultz and he accepted. Next I offered point guard Spencer Dinwiddie a two-year $6,358,346 to provide experience and depth at point. The Dinwiddie acquisition will also allow me to send both Bosl and possibly Askew or Florakis to the D-League to get some playing time that they would not normally have gotten riding the bench.
In the end we will start the season $30.4 million over the cap, but at least we won't be paying any luxury tax.
DRAFTLet me just say that J.P. can suck it. You know who I'm talking about. That talking head who critics everyone's pick during the draft. One minute he's blathering on about how Marcus Bosl is the best player still on the board, then the very second after I select him, I should now be fired for doing so. Personally, I can't say I'm entirely thrilled with any of the guys I drafted. I know it was ultimately my decision, but it really makes me wonder just how much I can trust WSSN or even my own staff. Sometimes the draft seems to be a complete crap shoot and I suppose it is in real life, so I'm not complaining, just pontificating on the subject. Truth is, they all look great until you actually draft them. Maybe they'll develop into great players, but this draft seemed more like pin the tail on the donkey...and I'm the donkey.
Lee Askew - PF/Georgia Tech (1st RDPick #4)
Marcus Bosl - PG/UCONN (1st RD/Pick #30)
Brandon Harris - SF/Butler (2nd RD/Pick #60)
TRADESChicago Bulls trade SF Justin Shin, 2027 1st RD pick and 2029 1st RD pick to the Boston Celtics for SF Viktor Florakis and 2027 2nd RD pick.
CONTRACTSContract extension with Bradley Beal ($85,588,230/3yr).
Exercised team option for Steven Adams.
Exercised rookie option for Andrew Miller.
Exercised rookie option for Jermaine Baker.
Renounced rights to Robinson Wilson, Travis Jefferies, Rawle Atkins and Joe Chealey.
Released Brandon Harris (Retained Rights)
FREE AGENCYSG Markelle Fultz $12,900,000/1y (Mid-Level Exception)
PG Spencer Dinwiddie $6,358,346/2y
TEAM ROSTER- Code: Select all
STARTERS | PS | MPG | PPG | APG | RPG |
Marcus Donovan | PG | 33.5 | 18.2 | 7.3 | 3.7 |
Bradley Beal | SG | 37.6 | 21.5 | 4.8 | 4.4 |
Brandon Ingram | SF | 31.3 | 14.9 | 2.6 | 4.8 |
P.J. Washington | PF | 35.6 | 20.6 | 3.1 | 8.8 |
Steven Adams | C | 31.0 | 14.9 | 2.3 |11.5 |
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BENCH | PS | MPG | PPG | APG | RPG |
Justin McCuthison | C | 18.0 | 11.6 | 0.6 | 6.6 |
Markelle Fultz | SG | 23.4 | 8.2 | 2.3 | 3.2 |
Spencer Dinwiddie | PG | 17.5 | 7.7 | 3.9 | 1.9 |
Jermaine Baker | PF | 10.4 | 3.8 | 0.6 | 2.6 |
Lee Askew | PF | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Viktor Florakis | SF | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Andrew Miller | PG | 6.1 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 0.5 |
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D-LEAGUE | PS | MPG | PPG | APG | RPG |
Marcus Bosl | PG | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Kurtis Williams | SG | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
CONTRACTS (TEAM SALARY $179,126,717 / CAP STATUS $-30,407,855)- Code: Select all
Player | PS | CUR | POT | HGT | LBS | AG | EX | SALARY | CONTRACT
Bradley Beal | SG | 3.5 | 3.5 | 6-3 | 207 | 33 | 14 | $33,740,793 | $119,329,023/4y
P.J. Washington | PF | 4.0 | 4.0 | 6-9 | 236 | 28 | 7 | $31,366,553 | $64,653,507/2y
Brandon Ingram | SF | 3.5 | 3.5 | 6-7 | 196 | 29 | 10 | $25,881,408 | $52,831,314/2y
Marcus Donovan | PG | 3.5 | 3.5 | 5-11| 168 | 25 | 4 | $25,700,000 | $82,497,000/3y
Steven Adams | C | 2.5 | 2.5 | 6-11| 265 | 33 | 13 | $17,583,090 | $17,583,090/1y
Markelle Fultz | SG | 2.5 | 2.5 | 6-3 | 200 | 28 | 9 | $12,900,000 | $12,900,000/1y
Lee Askew | PF | 2.0 | 4.0 | 6-9 | 241 | 23 | 0 | $7,553,153 | $15,672,753/2y (RO*2)
Justin McCuthison | C | 3.5 | 4.0 | 6-11| 280 | 22 | 2 | $7,344,480 | $16,649,936/2y
Viktor Florakis | SF | 2.5 | 4.0 | 6-9 | 219 | 19 | 0 | $6,212,377 | $12,890,677/2y (RO*2)
Spence Dinwiddie | PG | 2.5 | 2.5 | 6-5 | 215 | 33 | 12 | $3,179,173 | $6,358,346/2y
Andrew Miller | PG | 2.0 | 2.0 | 5-11| 178 | 23 | 1 | $2,865,800 | $5,932,206/2y (RO)
Jermaine Baker | PF | 3.0 | 3.0 | 6-8 | 217 | 25 | 2 | $2,730,640 | $7,222,542/2y
Marcus Bosl | PG | 2.0 | 2.0 | 6-0 | 189 | 23 | 0 | $2,069,250 | $4,293,650/2y (RO*2)
Kurtis Williams | SG | 1.5 | 1.5 | 6-2 | 193 | 25 | 1 | $75,000 | $75,000/1y (2W-DLG)
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