Stuck in the Middle with You

[garbageman]

Stuck in the Middle with You

As a General Manager, you enter each season hoping to have a competitive team that can make a deep playoff run, even win the championship. There are some seasons where you know that’s not going to happen. You know your team will finish in the basement, and you just hope the season goes by quick and that the draft class looks promising.

Then there are the seasons in between. You don’t have the roster to take home the hardware, but maybe you’re a piece or two away. Or, conversely, you have a young’n or two to build your future around, but you still have a couple stars that you could trade away, even if you won’t get back your perceived value for your precious blue chip players. This is the boat I’m in right now with the Chicago Bulls, and I’m not alone. With a month until the all star break, a lot of other teams are in that same ship with me...the S.S. Somewhere Between .400 And .600 Win Percentage, which is definitely winning the tank race for best yacht name.

In this article, we’ll take a look at these teams (including the entire Southwest division), where they’re at right now, who they have to trade, and whether or not they should buy or sell come trade deadline. Even though I’m not going to examine my own team for the purposes of this article, feel free to hit me up to try and work out a deal. I’ve got some win-now guys and some rookie contract guys, and I’m itching to do something. But enough about me…

BOSTON CELTICS

Record: 19-17 (.528)
Playoff Position: 7th seed in the East
Analysis:

The Boston Celtics have a young, expensive, and talented team after matching max contracts on Tyler Ulis and Julio de la Rosa in RFA. With only 9 players, they lack the depth to really buy, and they don’t really have a conventional center on their roster. They could pair Jaylen Brown with a big contract if they think they can get a phenomenal player in return, but the contracts of guys like Dennis Schroeder, Dario Saric, and the expiring Phil Milburn seem like more likely candidates for a deal.

Conclusion: Don’t have a fire sale, but try to sell one big contract for depth and cap relief.


BROOKLYN NETS

Record: 21-25 (.457)
Playoff Position: 9th seed in the East (2.5 games out of 8th)
Analysis:

The Brooklyn Nets are always an enigma to me. Last year, with a strikingly similar roster, they were an injury away from a conference finals appearance. It was a big injury--Buddy Pedraza’s broken leg--but that’s healed, and Buddy finds himself on the block. With a big three of F. Cole Medina, Buddy Pedraza, and TJ Warren, I’d at least peg the Nets as a .500 team, especially with the acquisition Kevin Whittaker (albeit at a hefty contract) and the emergence of Marquese Chriss at center. They also have Glenn Irvine, who’s potentials got lifted in TC, but they don’t have a lot of moveable contracts. It’s either big maxes for their main guys or rookie contracts and mins, so there’s not a lot of fluidity to upgrade anywhere. After a few failed attempts with this build, methinks that RPF is right to shop his stars.

Conclusion: Sell


CLEVELAND CAVALIERS

Record: 18-25 (.419)
Playoff Position: 10th seed in the East (4 games out of 8th)
Analysis:

The Cavs had some space to spare in free agency, but not a whole lot thanks to Gordon Hayward’s expiring 40 million dollar contract. They were able to grab Thomas Robinson on a cheap one year deal, but aside from that, they didn’t grab anyone worth selling. Main star Dirk Hardpeck is still playing strongly, and they have a trio of young guys who could be decent. They’re playing better than I’d expect, but not well enough to keep anyone around. You’re not going to find a buyer for Hayward, but Hardpeck and Thomas Robinson should be gone before trade deadline.

Conclusion: Sell


DALLAS MAVERICKS

Record: 22-28 (.458)
Playoff Position: 11th seed in the West (4 games out of 8th, 4.5 games out of 3rd)
Analysis:

New GM letsplayhorse is finding his footing with all four hooves and should’ve rebuilt going into this season, but with the training wheels off, he rolled the dice on an aging roster coming off of a division win. He’s got a couple of solid young guys in moderately priced Jason “48 mpg” Fisher and John Beaird, but neither of them is the kind of player you build your team around. He’s got an expiring contract in Whiteside that might be hard to move, but there’s one obvious jewel on his roster that could help set him up nicely. If he can swap Bradley Beal for a young player better than Beaird or Fisher, he should jump on that. And get under the tax.

Conclusion: Sell


DENVER NUGGETS

Record: 26-19 (.578)
Playoff Position: 7th seed in the West
Analysis:

The Nuggets already made the decision to cash in by moving Marcus Smart and Jamey Brown to Indianapolis for Paul George. PG joins Jrue Holiday and Deandre Jordan for a very balanced top three. Beyond that, they have Jerry West, Aubrey Broomfield, and a Wizards pick that projects to be good, especially since OPJ is being shopped around as his unfortunate injury is almost done healing. If the Nuggets can use that Wizards pick for an upgrade, they should, but it also acts as insurance for them to be able to stand pat, get a low playoff appearance, and still have a nice prospect coming in next season to join West. Jrue and Jordan’s contracts are too heavy to do anything with--or around--this year anyway.

Conclusion: Buy, but only if it’s cheap


DETROIT PISTONS

Record: 23-22 (.511)
Playoff Position: 8th seed in the East
Analysis:

The Detroit Pistons have the best player in the game, so they should ALWAYS be buying. They have a few more years on his current contract, and another supermax after that is likely, so why hold back? They have some bad, but moveable contracts that they took on to get rid of CJ McCollum, whose contract the next two years will be a nightmare for the Jazz. James O’Connor hits RFA next year, and as a blue potential SF, he’s going to be expensive. The Pistons should not be as low as 8th right now. They need to get guys who will do their job on defense and won’t take shots away from Anthony Davis, unless they’re reliably made three point shots to space the floor. If only they had a younger version of Shumpert.

Conclusion: Buy


HOUSTON ROCKETS

Record: 24-21 (.533)
Playoff Position: 9th seed in the West (.5 games out of 8th, 1 game out of 3rd)
Analysis:

It’s crazy times in the Southwest, and the Rockets are still in the hunt. This division is so interesting to watch because realistically, any of these teams can make the playoffs, and nobody has any clue who’s coming away with the division crown. Somehow, Al Horford is still a valuable center at nearly 400 years old. The Rockets could go either way, but their main problem lies in balance. They also have a tendency to enter a season with completely open books and end up with max contract players who probably could’ve gone a little cheaper. McCormick and Gordon are good, but they need an even better player if they want to win more than the Southwest Division. Jonathan Treat at 20 million a year isn’t the best idea either.

Conclusion: Like the Celtics, maybe sell one guy (AG or McCormick) to get more depth and a more balanced roster, especially going forward.


INDIANA PACERS

Record: 18-27 (.400)
Playoff Position: 11th seed in the East (4 games out of 8th)
Analysis:

Before the season started, the Pacers had gotten so many reasonable contracts on really good players that they should have made waves in the Central Division. Unfortunately, most of those players were wings, and they were (and still are) missing a true big (although Judd Williams is putting up a lot of points) and a pure point guard (though Smart and LaVine seemingly should fit the bill). If the Pacers were willing to deal a future piece in Truman Wrenn or even Judd Williams, they could have balanced out their roster and gotten some more wins. However, at this point, they should continue unloading the contracts they grabbed in free agency and lean into their pick.

Conclusion: Sell


NEW ORLEANS PELICANS

Record: 25-21 (.543)
Playoff Position: 8th seed in the West (.5 games out of 3rd)
Analysis:

Some patience is starting to finally pay off for the Pels as Buddy Hield and Eckbert Winkler are playing some good basketball as the right and left-hand men beside Damion McNary. They’ve got cap space, and they’re in the playoffs if the season ends today. If they make a trade to improve themselves even more, they could run away with a tight division. Alvin Pack seems upgradable, and Rodney Hood should change his name to Rodney Not Very Good, because he’s worse than that joke.

Analysis: Buy


PHOENIX SUNS

Record: 27-19 (.587)
Playoff Position: 6th seed in the West
Analysis:

Hanging around with Kevin Love must have done Thomas Knecht right. Heading into RFA, he’s one of two players, alongside rookie PF Angel Penrod, who are under 30. The Suns have player options on Vucevic, Oladipo, and Love to make decisions on, but for the most part, they could have a clean slate next year if they want to. Love’s still good enough to keep the team in the playoff hunt, but he’s getting to the point in his career where he needs to at least share leadership duties with someone else equipped to be a number one option. They don’t have their pick, so there’s no point in selling off this year, but they don’t really have the resources to really improve any of their positions. Just let Love do his thing.

Analysis: Stand pat


SAN ANTONIO SPURS

Record: 21-21 (.500)
Playoff Position: 10th seed in the West (2 games out of 8th, 2.5 games out of 3rd)
Analysis:

It’s amazing to me that the Spurs are a .500 team this year. They’ve got a ton of young talent, they’re way under the salary cap, and they have no defense whatsoever. I don’t think the Spurs have a star to sell. Their best player right now is untradeable due to RFA signing rules. Yet, it still might be too early to buy. Standing still might be the best move here, but they’ve also got a lot of positions where there’s a potential logjam. It’s a good problem to have, but they’ll definitely want to cash in those duplicates at some point--even if it’s just for points to boost the guys the Spurs really want to keep on their team. After all, you can only insure 3 dudes.

Analysis: Buy, but only a little present for yourself for doing a great job


VANCOUVER GRIZZLIES

Record: 24-19 (.558)
Playoff Position: 3rd seed in the West
Analysis:

This makes sense if the game rewards bravado. With little more than Kyrie Irving, the Grizzlies have managed to, up to this point, take control (but by the slimmest of margins) of the Southwest Division. After steamrolling through a third of his massive tax bill, Louie managed to put together a competitive team. But he still has a long way to go until he can pay off his tax, and he’s about all out of assets. Without his pick until 2024, the Grizzlies should grind out as many wins as they can this year, but if a deal that gets them points for Kyrie Irving comes along, they should jump on it, and they should make sure that they’re back in the tank next season.

Conclusion: Sell what you can right before deadline, and sell the rest next offseason.

[digiskunk]

5 points