18/19 Tipoff Preview 6 on 5 (or 6 if you're counting the extra credit)

[false9]

It's the start of a new season, and what better way to kick things off than with a preview from my esteemed colleagues! Joining me are general managers:

JNR of the Minnesota Timberwolves
78 of the Houston Rockets
Gar Bageman of the Chicago Bulls
NOLa of the Sacramento Kings
Inner_GI of the New York Knicks

(Editor's note: responses were compiled prior to Sim 1)

1- We've had another busy offseason. What contender improved themselves the most? What team helped themselves the most in rebuilding?

JNR: The Hawks definitely improved themselves the most – insert Jesse Pinkman gif here. Getting Monroe is huge for them, especially as they lost their mainstay in Noah. Getting Deron Williams was icing on the cake. As far as rebuilding, the quick makeover the Kings made has them in a really interesting position this year. Lots of young talent, tons of different directions he could go in. It’ll be fun to see how long this rebuild goes.

78: I think the Sixers improved a bunch acquiring Harrison Barnes. He can score, defend, handle the ball and was a huge part in the Kings almost winning a championship. As far as rebuilding, I think the Kings did well in getting pieces from moving Harrison Barnes, Derrick Rose, and Iman Shumpert though was it necessarily the right move for the franchise. Time will tell.

Garbageman: I've narrowed the first part down to a few teams. The Bobcats made some trades and signings to improve, and they have an incredible backcourt tandem in Wall and Kyrie, but that's not it. The Trailblazers pretty much cashed in a couple years of assembled young talent to win now, but since they weren't a contender before, I can't really count them. And the Grizzlies have a deep veteran line-up with loco's last stand roster, but I'm going to say the Orlando Magic here. A player like Deandre Jordan is such an incredible difference maker that you're going to see them excel in a division with the Hawks and the Bobcats. What he brings defensively will surely bring them more playoff success than they had without him.

As for a rebuilding team, I think the Raptors had some solid training camps, but most teams out there just got a rookie with solid potential to continue on pace. I'm partial to my own team here, because the Bulls not only got a solid draft pick, but added on a handful of players in their mid 20s to multi-year contracts while most other rebuilding teams are refraining from rebuilding too much in order to keep the tank on.

NOLa: For the contender who improved, I have one in the East and one in their West. In the east, has anyone noticed the Cavaliers and the team he put together? Very quietly he traded for Shumpert, Kemba and Evan Turner, and signed Lebron James and Aminu. Out west the Blazers traded for Derrick Rose and a Kenneth Faried to help rising Star CJ McCollum compete for the Northwest division. The team that did not help themselves I want to say are my Kings, at least for this season. I could have ran the same team back and attempted another Finals run, but for cap management and team build purposes I decided this was the season to sacrifice.

Inner_GI: 76ers. The acquisition of Kanter, Barnes, and a perfect TC. The 76ers flirted with the division last year. This year, it's theirs to lose. I think the Bobcats can still be consider a rebuilding team, and I think they made some really great movies picking up 2 young guards with great potential for older assets. The addition of Dooley and Irving is a great addition to John Wall.

false9: As far as contenders, I'll agree with Raby on the Hawks. Coach Wig-ichick has done it again. Monroe is a great big, and adding Mozgov along with Gasol makes for 3 headed monster to deal with AD. And replacing Steph Curry with Deron Williams is an upgrade. Don't forget about the Cavs though. As NOLa rightly pointed out, their transaction really flew under the radar, but they have the talent assembled to play with anyone.

I have to give Josh props on his rebuild- TJ Warren rewarded his faith with a great TC and there will be some interesting vet pieces he can move on day 60. If he doesn't, he could have a sneaky contender for the 8th seed if he really wanted to lose to Detroit in the first round.

2- Let's get spicy- what move was a head scratcher? What transaction is going to blow up in a GM's face?

JNR: That money for Aaron Gordon. I don’t think it will be disastrous to Nick, but as I look at that team, I see a team with 10 players that is 4m over the cap. That means Nick doesn’t have a ton of wiggle room without sacrificing his competitive edge.

78: Obviously the Pelicans paying Aaron Gordon alot of money is a head scratcher and could potentially blow up in their faces, but I do wonder if the Kings and Bucks decided to rebuild too soon, especially the Kings who were two points from winning it all and were now ready to add depth. The Bucks won 54 games last season and though didn't fare well, they still had a nice young core and blew it up quickly. They did add some nice young pieces and have a ton of cap room moving forward so again time will tell if this was the right move.

Garbageman: I'm honestly not sure what's going on in Miami. While the Bucks went on an impulsive trade spiral, there is at least a semblance of a future plan there. The Heat, unimpressed with late lotto players, traded away a shot at Don Houghton, who, if insured, would have been their best looking prospect, didn't insure the pick they traded down for, and stocked up on two large, one year contracts in Chris Paul and Rudy Gay without getting anything for the future in return. They weren't really able to add much around them to compete now, so it's a head-scratcher to me why they took on those contracts.

NOLa: The biggest head scratcher was the Pelicans/Hawks trade in which the Pelicans traded a 2021 first for Aaron Gordon. Gordon isn’t good at anything but he also isn’t bad at anything, and the contract is an overpay but it’s not terrible. I just didn’t like the Pelicans giving up yet another pick for a player I strongly feel the Hawks would not have accepted for that contract price.

Inner_GI: Head scratcher off-season award goes to the Kings rebuild. You lose in the finals by 2 points in OT to the most OP of OPs. I don't think the trades brought back what I would expect from NOLa. I'm not a believer, at the moment.

I didn't get the Trailblazers trading Broomfield for Ed Davis on a sign and trade, I think long term, that's a bad move. That's the type of move you make when you feel close to making the finals, not when you are coming off a 19 win season. (not to mention the Rose trade...)

false9: I'm not going to join the chorus and rag on the Aaron Gordon sign and trade. In agreement with Josh, I will gladly rag on the Heat though. Trading for Gay and Paul seemed like win now moves, but then failing to re-sign Monroe? The rumor mill says he was not offered a 4 year deal, which is quite puzzling. Letting the prize rookie get hit in TC is a cherry on top of the turd sundae.

3- For any mere mortal, a -43 training camp would be a fatal blow, but Anthony Davis is no mere mortal. Is the window open for the league or will we see AD lift the title again in June?

JNR: I want to applaud the league, particularly the east, for their fortitude in not completely giving up in the face of the Pistons. The Hawks, Magic, and Bobcats all stepped up to make better teams, and that could benefit them. I do think we’ll see a different team win the title.

78: The league is more wide open now though the Pistons barely staved off the Hawks and Kings en route to their first ever title. I would be surprised if the Pistons don't get knocked off in the playoffs with AD getting hit in TC and a bunch of teams in the East getting better.

Garbageman: The window would've been open either way, but it's more open now. The Pistons can still win, too, behind a player as good as AD, but the Kings almost topped them last year, and plenty of teams got better and are reacting to AD's presence by either tanking or putting together strategies to stop him.

NOLa: Anthony Davis took some bumps in some key areas: inside shot, offensive rebound, post defense and block. There’s good news and bad news for the rest of the league. The bad news is that even with this hit, Davis is special in large part to his athleticism with very high attribute ratings, and he’s still great there. The good news is this isn’t last year’s Davis, so the door is open for another East team to represent in the Finals.

Inner_GI: AD is probably the favorite to win again. The TC just makes him look less OP... I'm going to let you in on a secret. He's still OP.

false9: Logan is right- AD is still OP. But with the Hawks, Nets, Cavs, Magic, Bobcats, and Sixers all ready to take on a slightly depowered AD and Pistons team, I think someone will knock AD out. Unless Stephen Keitt gets dealt for a win now piece...

4- Look into your crystal ball and tell me who's going to find themselves in a new home by deadline day.

JNR: Brook Lopez probably. Hit me up.

78: I think Kevin Durant could be moved. The Clippers have a new GM and if the team struggles early on, he could get tempted by some nice offers. Hopefully he doesn't rush it and trade him to a contender with little in return as some inexperienced GMs have done before. That's where it's up to the GMs in the league to try to be fair and not just take advantage of a new GM.

Garbageman: Klay Thompson. The Nuggets need to get under the tax, and Jrue's contract is too scary while Collison's TC losses in the athleticism department mean he's not going to be an easy piece to get rid of at 23 million a year. Klay's on a one year deal and is the kind of piece that can help a contending team out bigtime.

NOLa: Tough one to pick out after all those trades in the offseason. I’m leaning towards a surprise trade of Markelle Fultz from the 76ers. The 76ers have talent and are loaded at the wing position, but they lack in one important aspect: they have no true PG. Their best passer is Babineaux who may or may not even see playing time this season. What better player to get value from than Fultz, who could possibly fetch a talented PG.

Inner_GI: Any expiring deal on the Grizzlies. If they can't move expiring contracts... the fun ends and it'll be time to face the tax man. I hope he finds a deal for Mbah, and Butler.

A real prediction. Draymond Green finds a new home.

false9: Some interesting stuff here; I wouldn't put it past Scott shake things up. And who isn't rooting for team tax to keep it going? RACK UP A 1,000 POINT BILL, LOUIE. But I think Josh has the right size, wrong shape. Darren Collison will find himself dumped off to a team with cap space, as Ryan will want to avoid Louie's fate.

5- Time for your Finals pick- who you got?

JNR: The West is wide open, but I’m going to bet on myself this year. Wolves and Hawks with the Hawks winning it all.

78: The Sixers have a young deep team and took the Hawks to 7 games last season. They've gotten better and have enough depth to sustain injuries. I've got them representing the East. In the West, the Northwest Division may be the toughest in a watered down conference, but I think the winner will come out of the Southwest with the Grizzlies unless the Nuggets GM doesn't quit.

Garbageman: Whoever wins the ECF. I'll say 76ers come out of that one over the Magic to go on and defeat the Grizzlies.

NOLa: Orlando vs Timberwolves; Orlando wins 4-2.

Inner_GI: 76ers vs Timberwolves. The west is a wasteland. WTH happened

false9: I've got the Hawks surviving AD and the Eastern gauntlet and beating TEAM TAX out of the West in 5.

Extra credit- give me a weird prediction for the season. (Such as "Doug doesn't make anymore rash trades")

78: Lakers GM will do recommended less than 10 times this season.

Garbageman: Anthony Davis does not win MVP, DPOY, or lead the league in points.

NOLa: Kings win the Pacific because the Pacific is in a terrible down year.

Inner_GI: Bold Prediction: The West will have 7 of the top 10 lotto picks.

false9: The auto pilot Golden State Warriors will win the Pacific.

That's it for us- let us know what you guys think.

[IamQuailman]

Good stuff, guys

[false9]

I'll clean up the formatting on this when I get home, could use a shiny coat of paint.

[NOLa.]

Thanks for putting this together, false.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[digiskunk]

Great work, I really enjoyed reading that

[ballsohard]

5 points to all the participants can be had

[ballsohard]

Please remember this is 5 on 5 not 5 on 6. If you're going to take 5 other's answers, i'd like to see the author comment on the answers and not the original question as that would be 5 on 6.

All can collect 5 points
JNR of the Minnesota Timberwolves
78 of the Houston Rockets
Gar Bageman of the Chicago Bulls
NOLa of the Sacramento Kings
Inner_GI of the New York Knicks

[false9]

Article renamed to reflect 6 on 5 (or 6)

[IamQuailman]

Article renamed to reflect 6 on 5 (or 6)

This reminds me of Price is right game... HOLE IN ONE *TAPS GAME LOGO* OR TWO

Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk

[ballsohard]

Andy, I messed up here. I copied your list of GMs and didn't include you. You can also collect 5 points. Sorry brother.