One Key Factor in each team's offseason

[WigNosy]

As we watch the Finals wind down, let's look at each team and figure out what one thing is the key to their offseason... teams are being done in the order they currently appear on the Standings index.

Brooklyn Nets - Their MLE signing
Buddy is going to get maxxed and that's going to put the Nets in the tax. They started Artest at SG this season but he's 39 and they have to replace him. The best chance they'll have to do that is to grab a shooting guard with the MLE. How they deploy this new tool will be the key in whether their team steps forward or backward.

Philadelphia 76ers - Where Enes Kanter signs
Van Grimaldi will be the Sixers' top off-season priority and thanks to RFA will stay. Kanter is an unrestricted Free Agent and if he stays, the Sixers could be favorites to win the Atlantic next season... but if he gets an offer he can't refuse somewhere else, the 76ers will have a hard time replacing his interior defense.

New York Knicks - Chandler Parsons' contract demands
What Parsons is willing to sign for will really determine whether the Knicks have the flexibility to add another quality piece - if he's willing to take a discount, the Knicks will be heavy hitters in Free Agency. If he's not - even if the Knicks sign another player - they'll lose some of the depth they needed and may have to look at tearing things down to rebuild around Jokic sooner rather than later.

Toronto Raptors - Zach LaVine's ascension
LaVine made a nice leap this season to "quality player" but he's being paid like a star. The Raptors desperately need him to take another jump and become that star next season because the rest of their talent is still a little too raw.

Boston Celtics - The trade value of draft picks
Conroy has amassed four first round picks this offseason. His lottery pick (currently projected 4th) should net him another nice building block, but how fast the Celtics rise will depend on how much other teams value his lower draft picks and whether he can consolidate multiple picks into another single strong asset with a trade to mix with Towns, Russell, and Ulis.

Detroit Pistons - Where Bojan Bogdanovic signs
I know, I'm shocked too, but the Pistons have most of their core locked in next year. Bojan is their second-leading scorer (behind AD) and gives them the floor-spacing deadeye three-point threat AD needs to operate. If he leaves Detroit, they could be in big trouble scrambling to replace his offense, as they're not likely to have a ton of spending cash once Odis Jackson (RFA) is re-signed.

Cleveland Cavaliers - Whether Evan Turner can step up
The Cavs are seeing LeBron, Iman Shumpert, and Kemba Walker all hit unrestricted free agency and the thinking here is they can't bring back all three - which means Evan Turner is going to have to move into a starting role. The kind of production the Cavs can get from him probably informs how they prioritize their offers to LeBron, Shump, and Kemba in free agency.

Indiana Pacers - Pauly's use of Cap Space
The Pacers surprised a lot of people this year with a lot of signings of players who were a tier below star status on cheap deals. With that depth, Pauly has managed a nice season this year. Will he be able to repeat the feat or will the MLE allow too many of these guys to be snatched away?

Chicago Bulls - Vernon DeSantis' Training Camp
The Bulls felt like they underachieved last year. At this point I think Biyombo is what he is. TJ Warren and Victor Oladipo look like a nice wing tandem and Dennis Smith Jr. will only get better. They've been patient on DeSantis but I think he needs to step up sooner rather than later for the Bulls to have hope next season.

Milwaukee Bucks - Ping Pong Balls
The Bucks tanked last season but didn't finish with quite the draft position they'd hoped for, I'll wager. They have two-thirds of a core with Hawkins and McNary and with free TC insurance don't have to worry about them getting better. They do need to hope the lotto ping pong balls are kind and give them a guy who's good enough to make that a trio rather than getting a "fake blue."

Orlando Magic - Training Camp
The Magic may yet win the title this year, but with their three core guys at 29 and 30 years old, they have to hope for a training camp that only lightly touches them instead of hitting them with an all-out smite. The MLE will help them add depth but if one of their key three gets smited, that will hurt their title hopes next year.

Atlanta Hawks - Harland Ellinger's Training Camp
The Hawks have managed to put off moving Ellinger into the starting lineup with back-to-back signings of older point guards as a stop gap (Curry, Williams). With the MLE coming into play next season, it's going to be much harder for them to sneak in a signing with a medium amount of cap space, so Ellinger is finally going to have to play. He has been a mixed bag so far in the time he's gotten, and he's about to get paid like a star in RFA... the Hawks had better hope he performs like one.

Charlotte Bobcats - Their Big Free Agent target
Darth's trades this season mean Klay and Kyrie both hit UFA at the same time... their salaries are likely to eat up most of his cap if they command maxes. So Darth will be swinging for the fences in RFA hoping to ink a guy at a deal too rich for the incumbent team's blood (not likely). Knowing Darth, his backup plan consists of targeting a big man he thinks he can get to sign a contract before Klay and Kyrie re-up so if I were a team with a quality expiring big, I'd be very afraid of the Bobcats.

Washington Wizards - Andre Drummond's player option
The Wizards are probably hoping Drummond decides to test the Free Agent waters so they can hit the reset button. If he declines, look for a full reset. If not, the Wiz may try to compete. Odd to see so much of a team's plans rest in one player's hands.

Miami Heat - Lotto Ping Pong Balls
The Heat went all in this season and flamed out. Fortunately they don't have any long-term salary commitments, the ping pong balls will simply determine the quality of their first piece in their rebuild and thus how fast it probably happens.

Minnesota Timberwolves - Other teams' interest in Brook Lopez
Brook has been a sneaky-important piece in the Wolves' success this season. If they can continue to pay him under market, they'll have a great shot to win the West again next year and try for the title again. If not and the market pays Brook more than the Wolves want to, they will be scrambling to replace his production up front.

Portland Trailblazers - Jayson Tatum's readiness for playing time
The Blazers will probably be able to make some semblance of replacement of Faried and/or Bogut with the MLE, but to really add talent, they're going to have to look for development from within. Tatum will have to be ready to shoulder more of the load than the 14 mpg he got this season for that to happen.

Denver Nuggets - Chet Dooley's contract
Chet Dooley is a restricted free agent and the amount he commands in RFA will determine how much flexibility the Nuggets have to shape the rest of their roster. His production suggests he might be a 12 to 15 million dollar man, but RFAs tend to get overpaid and if he winds up getting a full max, that really hurts the Nuggets ability to reload... especially with Buddy Hield up for RFA next season. The Nuggets need a favorable contract with Dooley to have a good shot at getting and keeping another key piece long term through Free Agency.

Oklahoma City Thunder - Jabari Parker's trade value
The Thunder expressed a willingness to blow their team up in the trade blocks this year, but Parker, being an RFA signee, couldn't be moved. On the one hand, the Thunder have shed most of the rest of their contracts and can rebuild around him... but if they get a big enough offer, they might just be ready to blow the whole thing up if they aren't convinced he's their pillar of the future. If they get garbage offers, though, they'll almost certainly make him the centerpiece of a rebuild.

Utah Jazz - Big Free Agent Signings
The Jazz have assembled a team of cheap, productive players on rookie contracts. If they can make a big splash or two in free agency, they could leap back into the thick of the playoff picture in the West. It's just the same question the real NBA has - even if they have cap space, can they convince quality stars to come to UTAH?

Phoenix Suns - The SimConomy
The Suns' trade block was updated earlier with the question "who needs points?" Nobody has more of them than the Suns. If teams are desperate for points and the Suns can make some favorable trades, they could put a very interesting team together around Love. If teams aren't interested in trading more tangible assets for points... we're looking at yet another year of the Suns trying to use short term FA deals to build around a rapidly-aging Love.

Golden State Warriors - Ben's involvement
Ben has his work cut out for him with a tax bill, a mediocre team, but a lot of interesting young assets. If Ben is really involved, he should be able to give this team a drastic makeover with wheeling and dealing... if not, we're looking at more mediocrity.

Los Angeles Lakers - Vision from the Stewards
The Lakers will finally start protecting their guys with TC insurance, which will help, but what will make a big difference in the way this team performs is the vision the stewards settle upon for the team - build slow or win now? The Lakers' draft position will probably influence that some but giving this team a rudder for the first offseason in years will be a big difference.

Sacramento Kings - Ping Pong Balls
Projected to have the 2 and 3 picks currently, a bad lotto could really hurt the Kings' enthusiasm and might see them try to trade up. But regardless of how things turn out in the lotto, they'll get a couple more good players - look for them to have a young team that's probably a year or two away from really being scary.

Los Angeles Clippers - how far trillotto's come along the learning curve
Last season, the Clips front office had to jump into the middle of Free Agency without much time to get a feel for the league. How far along they are on the learning curve will make a huge difference in whether this year's free agency is great... or a flop.

Dallas Mavericks - whether they choose Jeff Withey or Gerard Carlsen as their big of the future
Dallas had a surprising season to many when they won the division last year. They got contributions on the cheap from both of these guys but the likelihood both of them can be signed cheaply again is not good. Fearthebrow seems to have found production from unexpected spots this season but you have to think teams have seen what he was able to do and will look to poach these guys to weaken the Mavs.

New Orleans Pelicans - Blake Griffin
Art imitates life. The real life Clippers just dumped Blake after signing him to an outsize deal and deciding he wasn't quite good enough to warrant the cap hell it was going to put them into. Nick is about to have that same dilemma as Blake's 30 and the Pelicans will only have the MLE with which to reload.

Vancouver Grizzlies - Points
The tax man has cometh for the Grizzlies, who completely wipe their books to zero. The Grizzlies are likely going to be open for business for unwanted contract dumping provided they get points or picks in the deal. How many points and how fast they can fill their coffers isn't just the story for this season, but for many seasons.

Houston Rockets - 78's optimism
A large tax bill probably makes the Rockets think about trying to dump the expiring contracts of Horford and Lawson, but will 78 find any takers? How soon will he find a new core to get excited about?

San Antonio Spurs - Dennis Schroeder
Schroder is a young asset with some market value and the Spurs are looking to pay off a tax bill as well. Maybe this division should be called the Southtaxed. The Spurs will, I'm sure, be listening to offers now that they enter a season where they'll have their own pick and no reason to keep any talent on the roster.

[ballsohard]

5 Points to last year’s total sir; You capped out!


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