An Early Look At The New Divisions

[garbageman]

After 246 straight seasons where the Sacramento Kings won the Pacific Division, the league swiftly moved to realign the league and balance out into the Alpha and Omega conferences. The move eschews complete randomness by installing some safety checks--namely, that teams with low activity GMs are spread out evenly across the divisions, and nobody from the same East/West division ends up in the same Alpha/Omega division. It remains to be seen how this will effect the league, however, the overwhelming majority of GMs supported the move. Undoubtedly, there are plenty of great storylines to come out of this shift. Here's what I'm looking forward to seeing from all of these new divisions:


DIVISION 1: Alpha Conference

Teams: Golden State Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards

The biggest thing that stands out to me here is that the Bucks and the Raptors will be more directly competitive, and after last season's trade that netted the Bucks a win-now PG in Joffrey Baratheon while the Raptors were able to not only reset tax, but also get RJ Barrett to complement Bjorn Ironside for a future wing tandem that could feature the two best players at those positions. Now, the Bucks will have to deal with that, and it'll get tougher to deal with every year. Doug's ease of fluidity between rebuilding and competing is a big advantage here, so he hasn't Plaxico'd himself too bad. It was still a good move for both teams, in my opinion, but it's still a bit of a nice twist that complicates the Bucks win-now window.

With the Jazz in full rebuild mode and the Warriors GM presence still a question mark, that could be the only major story developing in division 1. The Wizards have long strived to field competitive teams without really breaking the bank enough to have a deathblow roster, and that paints a pretty clear picture of this division for me. I see the Bucks winning out, the Raptors improving upon last year, and the Wizards, despite having to make some tough decisions on who to bring back and at what cost, bringing back enough players to be a winning team. To shake that up, the Wiz will need to bring in an impact player before resigns. Marshall Starr, JR Johnson, Billy Kingston, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Robert Oxford are all in restricted or unrestricted free agency this year, so it's a lot of chess for xist to play to influence whether he can nab a higher ranking in this division.


DIVISION 2: Omega Conference

Teams: Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, Charlotte Bobcats

Aside from the recent kerfuffle between the Pelicans and Bobcats GM, this division seems like a real mish-mash. There aren't really any major storylines I'm interested in, although if I'm any of these teams, I see this as a clean slate to push in chips to try to be dominant. The Celtics were the best of the bunch last year, making it to the Eastern Conference Finals, so coming from a stacked Atlantic Division, Division 2, this should justify doubling down. The T-Wolves had a pretty solid season last year, so their rebuild is progressing faster than expected, and they could continue to try to speed it up, especially if they can get Diallo back (and keep him as productive). The Bobcats and Pelicans have some wiggle room for free agency, and the Cavs, who have had a rough go in the Central behind the Bulls, Bucks, and Pistons, should see a little more breathing room in Division 2, so they could find success--maybe not this year--by looking for a new direction.

The Celtics look like the strongest team in this division, and the Cavs have the most work to do. The other three teams are in similar cap situations, but of them, I think the Timberwolves are in the best position to take a step forward. I'll write them in as second place for now, and we'll see what happens.


DIVISION 3: Alpha Conference

Teams: Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers

With 3 50 win teams, this division looks pretty heavy. The 76ers, Magic, and Pistons are all forces to be reckoned with, and it's hard to tell who will come out on top. I don't think it will be the Pistons: another year of wear and tear on Anthony Davis will hurt them, and they're pretty much maxed on salary without James O'Connor. The 76ers are in the same spot salary-wise, but they have more pieces to work with on their roster...Markelle Fultz and Ben Simmons at peak with three solid young players, and a great defensive piece in Marcus Smart. The Magic have Trae Young, Bronny James, Josh Jackson, and supermax Boban. Their chances at this division will rely heavily on TC, but if I had to make a steak bet now, I'd have to go with the 76ers...especially since the letsplayhorse trap exists, and now Andy has to face Shaun 4 times.

The Dallas Mavs will continue their rebuild, so their goals will be to compete more at the end of the 5 year shake up time frame then the beginning. The Clippers are kind of a wreck right now, but if their GM is still around, there's still plenty of time to right the ship. If Phil Brooks isn't retained in RFA though, sim-Ryan and his sim-ancestors have a double dose of depressing sim-basketball to watch for the time being.


DIVISION 4: Omega Conference

Teams: Brooklyn Nets, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Lakers

Like Division 3, here's another division boasting 3 50+ win teams, including the 73 win Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets could get Duren'd by Duren, but with Otto Porter, Jr., Jerry West, and Gustave Lecroix, they have the makings to try and bring back Duren, the reigning league MVP, and have another go at a championship. Or, with a high tax bill, they could push to sell off and try to build around the very ready now Jerry West. The Nets bring back a powerful core and a high tax bill, even if RPF has more than enough points to cover it. Medina and Kight are solid players, so even if the Nets can't get rid of Kight despite bumping their block all the dang time, they should still be able to dip into the tax if they have to compete for a couple more seasons (banner creator's always a quick 5 points). The Rockets are the most interesting case here. They've had the advantage of playing in a Southwest Division that at times looked terrible. Now out of the Western Conference, I feel like the Rockets are likeliest to slide into 3rd if Nuggets and Nets both keep pushing with what they have.

The Pacers find themselves on the short end of the stick here...always looking to compete, the Pacers find themselves in yet another division where there are at least 2 teams at any time who are going to be a little better versed to try to win the division. With West, the Nuggets have the AD like player with a more experienced GM to be a force all 5 years, and the Nets are just as tenacious in terms of trying to win, but with a GM who isn't as afraid to spend when he has the chance. The Rockets, too, despite coming from the Southwest, have the same mentality, which should translate to success (though maybe not as much as if they were beating up 3 non-competing division rivals).

The Lakers are also in this division.


DIVISION 5: Alpha Conference

Teams: Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs

If Tani was getting bored in the Pacific, I think it might be a while before he can't handle the competition of this division. The Spurs are coming off a ring, but with a 151 point tax bill that they might not be able to pay off, I can see Carlos selling off a lot of pieces out of necessity. He'll keep BDJ, but expect everyone else to be way more gettable than normal. And with players like Vernon Desantis, James Gebhardt, and Jayson Tatum locked in for more than just one year, he could get an extremely nice return the sooner he acts. The Heat could be good, but they weren't good enough to make a repeat playoff appearance last year, and they have limited room to get better without making any kind of earth shattering moves. The Thunder will continue to improve. They'll be better than last year, but with the conferences evened out, their W/L record won't improve as much as it would have without realignment. The Knicks will never be good again.

Unless Erik Haynes turns down a supermax to play somewhere else and Tani kills himself, I think the Kings walk out of this division with another banner to hang from their rafters, or for wherever you hang banners once you're all out of rafter space.


DIVISION 6: Omega Conference

Teams: Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trailblazers, Vancouver Grizzlies

What strikes me about this division is that these teams seem to be at different stages of development, almost more so than any other division. The Hawks will probably improve from last season, just knowing how well Wig can manage a team, and I don't see him taking the patient route if he doesn't have to (and he doesn't). The Suns are in a similar situation...they just sold off, though, and they don't have the same group of young prospects or even the same amount of cap space to be good next year (though the Hawks have to bring back Kuzma, which who knows, they might do for a vet min somehow). The Bulls HAVE to be good by virtue of Wig having their pick and the tax man having their balls, and the Trailblazers will likely be good...albeit with tough decisions about bringing back important pieces like Jaylen Brown and even Joseph Redding, it's possible that last season was their ceiling. The Grizzlies won't be relevant anytime soon. They were stewarded last year, but only, if I understand correctly, until Louie comes back. Unless Louie is removed by the league as GM and a new GM gets the Grizzlies with a reset tax bill, it's going to be the same story in Vancouver.

I'd say it's a two way fight right now between the Bulls and the Blazers, and I'll give myself the vote of confidence because I gotta believe that I haven't indirectly given a division rival even a decent 2028 1st, and I gotta believe that the 1400 articles and years of Sim Vegas I've put time into are worth having a gruesomely expensive team.

Still, sweating those Hawks. If they're not good this year, Wig's going to have them back in the playoffs next year.

[TheSyndicate]

DIVISION 4: Omega Conference

The Lakers are also in this division.

#Savage

[IamQuailman]

This will be counted as part of the next season tally....

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