Should Your Team Sign Phil Milburn?

[garbageman]

The Phil Milburn Report

The trade deadline is a bittersweet time in the PBSL season. Although most seasons, it seems like there are more moves on day 60 than there are at the trade deadline, it's usually not for a lack of trying. It's an active time for GMs, and it's in many cases, a last stand to try to give your team one last boost or trim that salary number down to save points from the tax man. However, the period that follows is generally the slowest time for PBSL (unless you miss the playoffs). The sim 9-12 lull usually means that depth charts are set (unless you're fortunate enough to have the record to rest players--and even then, it's kind of boring watching your scrubs lose out the last half sim), no more roster moves are going to be made (no waiver claims on the tax guillotine's recent wave of vet mins), and most of the teams are on cruise control, either surefire playoff teams or teams that have already tanked out of contention.

Still, there are plenty of things a truly dedicated PBSL fan could pay attention to. The defending champion Orlando Magic are still on pace to break the Nuggets single season win record if they can just go 20-2. That would be some nice revenge as the Nuggets were the only team to hand them a loss in last year's playoffs.

I'm also looking forward to seeing some new GMs in the playoffs. Both the Clippers and Lakers look to make their first playoff appearances under their current GMs.

However, there are still a lot of playoff races that aren't decided yet. Division 1 and Division 3 in Alpha each have 4 teams who could feasibly win their divisions, and it looks like with the Bulls and Trailblazers atop the conference (Chicago's already clinched, and Portland's only a few games away), only the best 6 of those 8 teams will make the post-season. Meanwhile, in Omega, the playoff picture looks pretty stable, however there is still some maneuvering room towards the cutoff. The Pelicans have a solid team for an 8th seed, and they look stronger than the Warriors and Cavs, who are tied for 9th, but those two teams aren't that far behind (however, the Pels have more home games left to play).

Even if that conference is solid, some teams that are in might be able to extend their playoff lives a little bit by adding someone like the 15 year vet.

Before his release, Phil Milburn started all 49 games for the Hawks, putting up 15.5 points on 50.8% shooting from the field and pulling down over 8 boards a game in a shade under 35 minutes of play. His free throw percentage was respectable .738, and he wasn't a foul liability. Still, nobody claimed him off waivers, and at the time of this article, he still finds himself unemployed. Though he's past his prime, the three time all-star journeyman could prove useful for a 9th team (or useful AGAIN for one of the eight teams he previously played for). Let's take a look at which teams could use him.


BROOKLYN NETS

CURRENT STANDING: The Brooklyn Nets are currently third in Division 3, and if the season ended today, they'd finish in the 6th seed--a favorable spot as the third seed Spurs currently have a worse record than them. Anyone in this spot avoids the Bulls and Blazers until the Conference Finals.

CURRENT TAX SITUATION: The Nets are just over the cap, so they still have plenty of room before the apron.

CURRENT POWER FORWARD SITUATION: While the Nets have the outstanding Simon Pheonix starting at PF, Gregory Skinner soaks up the majority of the backup PF minutes. While Skinner isn't a bad backup, there's no argument that Milburn would be an upgrade for Brooklyn's bench.

SHOULD THEY SIGN HIM? Yeah. If I were the Brooklyn GM, he'd be on my roster right now.


ATLANTA HAWKS

CURRENT STANDING: At 24-32, the Hawks released Milburn, waving the white flag on a season mired by injury to Mo Bamba and Kyle Kuzma not playing up to expectation.

CURRENT TAX SITUATION: The Hawks released Milburn to sneak under the apron. It wouldn't make sense for them to hop back over.

CURRENT POWER FORWARD SITUATION: Not that it matters, but the Hawks filled out their frontcourt with Chris Pallies to join Mo Bamba. I'm not even going to look up who their backup is, and despite nabbing a promising young center in Pallies, it's only a one year rental with a single year of bird rights, which gives the Hawks only slight flexibility in retaining him. Pallies, however, has made it no secret that he wants max money, whether he's earned it or not. Enough about Pallies, though, this article's probablyORLANDO gonna be over 3000 words anyway.

SHOULD THEY SIGN HIM? No.


PHOENIX SUNS

CURRENT STANDING: The Suns are the worst team in the Omega Conference, and they're fighting for another top draft pick that they can rename after a historical figure to piss off Raby.

CURRENT TAX SITUATION: They've got the most cap space in the league.

CURRENT POWER FORWARD SITUATION: They have an old version of the best player in PBSL history, Anthony Davis, and a young version of the man who invented the lightbulb, Thomas Edison.

SHOULD THEY SIGN HIM? No.


MIAMI HEAT

CURRENT STANDING: At 29-30, they're 2.5 games out of the 8th seed and 3 games out of the 3rd seed thanks to their very even division.

CURRENT TAX SITUATION: Like the Nets, they're over the cap, but well under the apron. A 10+ year vet min would not be a problem.

CURRENT POWER FORWARD SITUATION: They're starting John Carreno at PF. With 4.3 fouls per 29.2 minutes and negative value to the team according to advanced metrics, they should be starting Phil Milburn.

SHOULD THEY SIGN HIM? Without question.


NEW YORK KNICKS

CURRENT STANDING: Even with a decent looking team, the Knicks are 19-39, which puts them firmly out of the playoff race.

CURRENT TAX SITUATION: They are currently under the apron by about 6 or 7 million.

CURRENT POWER FORWARD SITUATION: They're starting former PG Stephen Wright at the 4 spot, and he made the all star team. Behind him, they have Jason Waters, who isn't great, but it doesn't matter.

SHOULD THEY SIGN HIM? No, but it's Dr. Kavarga, so he might do it just to spite the teams that could use Milburn.


ORLANDO MAGIC

CURRENT STANDING: They're the best team in the league.

CURRENT TAX SITUATION: They're about 37mm over the tax, and signing Milburn would cost them an extra 6 points. It's probably chump change to someone with a 42 game winning streak to start the season, though.

CURRENT POWER FORWARD SITUATION: With Judd Williams backing up all-time great Boban Marjanovic, they already have a reserve who is very similar to Phil Milburn in terms of size and ability. Judd's probably putting up better numbers per 36 by virtue of being in a backup role.

SHOULD THEY SIGN HIM? No, but at 55-5, the Magic can do whatever they want and not be quesitoned.


PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS

CURRENT STANDING: The Trailblazers are pretty firmly in 2nd place in the Alpha Conference, although that will only net them 4th seed in the playoffs.

CURRENT TAX SITUATION: Though they're not the most expensive team in the league, their repeater status has them paying the highest tax bill in the league.

CURRENT POWER FORWARD SITUATION: Unlike last season, the Trailblazers aren't incredibly deep at PF. They have a great starter in Bagley III, but their backups are Philip Dewar and Jerry Simmons. Yeah, I've never heard of them either.

SHOULD THEY SIGN HIM? You know what? Probably. It'll cost them 8 points, but they could get some decent mileage out of him--especially if this is the Blazer's last grab at a ring with this current build.


VANCOUVER GRIZZLIES

CURRENT STANDING: 23-36 in Division 5. Not a playoff bound team.

CURRENT TAX SITUAITON: They're under the apron enough to be able to afford him.

CURRENT POWER FORWARD SITUATION: They have the same PF situation as they've had for the last few seasons thanks to GM amirkhanmanu's initial burst of 4 year contracts, followed by several seasons of not making any moves. Still, with Fanelli and Kirkendall taking on most of the PF minutes, Milburn probably wouldn't be of any used to them if they were competing anyway...it's their backcourt that lacks depth.

SHOULD THEY SIGN HIM? No, but I don't think we have to worry about them doing it.


CHARLOTTE BOBCATS

CURRENT STANDING: With single digit wins, the Bobcats aren't a threat to anyone except themselves. The Lakers have their pick next year, and after winning the lotto to get Delmar Lopez, it looks like the Cats have them in line for another nice rookie.

CURRENT TAX SITUATION: They're 6 or 7 million under the tax, so perhaps the time to get Milburn was when Wig would've payed them points to do so.

CURRENT POWER FORWARD SITUATION: The best player on their team is probably power forward Cheick Diallo. With Nikola Jokic and David Lassiter also on the team, the frontcourt minutes are pretty much covered, though overall, the team has a very slim roster.

SHOULD THEY SIGN HIM? No. I don't even think signing him would help them feel better about not having that pick and making it early-mid lotto instead of early lotto.


NEW ORLEANS PELICANS

CURRENT STANDING: The Pelicans are sitting in the 8th seed of the Omega Conference, and they'll probably at least hold on. However, that means they'll run right up against the monolithic Magic in round 1.

CURRENT TAX SITUATION: They're under the apron just enough to where they could sign Milburn without consequence.

CURRENT POWER FORWARD SITUATION: The Pelicans are pretty stacked in the front court. They moved Timo Cruz to the wing to try out a twin towers lineup with Randy Abney and A.C. Williams. Behind them, Eugene Melson and James Freeman both get significant minutes, and Frank Garden can play either forward spot off the bench. They're pretty set.

SHOULD THEY SIGN HIM: I wouldn't, but I'm not Max Malone, and I'm surprised they didn't at least give him a tryout.


INDIANA PACERS

CURRENT STANDING: The Indiana Pacers currently hold a 2 game lead over the Lakers to sit atop Division 3. They're outdoing expectations, and if they hold on, they could even rank as high as the 2 seed.

CURRENT TAX SITUATION: It's the Pacers, so they're under the tax because Indiana is a conservative state about fiscal responsibility and religious freedom.

CURRENT POWER FORWARD SITUATION: They've currently got a glut at PF with Ben Simmons, Matthew Ragland, and Blair Quattlebaum all listed at that position. Their best player, Michael Williams, starts at C, but he's more than capable of playing PF, too, if they want to play Williams alongside backup C and prominent foul machine John Vines.

SHOULD THEY SIGN HIM: Nah, it wouldn't make a difference.


MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES

CURRENT STANDING: The Timberwolves once again reign supreme over the abysmal Division 2 in the Omega Conference where they will likely remain until the divisions are reshuffled despite Nick Malone's best efforts.

CURRENT TAX SITUATION: The Wolves are a slightly more expensive team than the Pelicans but could still sign Milburn without fear of going into the repeater tax. They also kindly kept all the orange vet mins on their roster at deadline instead of trying to improve the situation their.

CURRENT POWER FORWARD SITUATION: They have all star Chad Marsh starting at PF, but second year player Frederic Hughes is getting the backup big minutes at both positions. He's not bad, but personally, I'd rather have Milburn in the playoffs.

SHOULD THEY SIGN HIM: Yeah, for a team struggling with depth, Milburn could be a big help in a position where they could use it.


GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS

CURRENT STANDING: The Warriors are tied for the 9th spot in the Omega Conference. They're 2.5 games behind the Pelicans, as this article has already pointed out.

CURRENT TAX SITUATION: The Dubs have about 13 million to spend before they hit the cap.

CURRENT POWER FORWARD SITUATION: They've got Clemente Torres starting, and he's playing well, but he's very prone to foul trouble. Derick Hunter gets some nice bench minutes behind both the PF and C spots (starting C Ernest Long also plays aggressive and picks up a lot of fouls). Hunter has a high ceiling, but he's nowhere close to reaching it. Phil Milburn could be useful here if they're truly going to make a playoff push, although a competent PG or more developed SF would help as well.

SHOULD THEY SIGN HIM? They could sign him, and it wouldn't do any harm, but I think the Warriors are a little too underdeveloped to do anything this year. There are plenty of other teams that would really be missing out if the Warriors came out and played on Phil Milburn.


UTAH JAZZ

CURRENT STANDING: The Jazz are a little bit above .500, rendering Gary as a modern day Preseason Presser Nostradamus, and they're currently sitting in the 7th spot in the Omega Conference.

CURRENT TAX SITUATION: They're just barely in the first-year tax, and signing Milburn would put them in the next tier, but it's not that expensive a jump.

CURRENT POWER FORWARD SITUATION: The Jazz are currently starting Thomas Knecht at PF, and behind him, they have the handsomely overpaid Mike Piazza. Their backup Center, Damion McNary is a bit undersized and more of a natural fit at PF. Overall, they probably don't need Milburn.

SHOULD THEY SIGN HIM?

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WASHINGTON WIZARDS

CURRENT STANDING: 42-15, 2nd by 2 games behind the Bucks in Division 4.

CURRENT TAX SITUATION: They're under the tax now, and signing Phil shouldn't put them over the apron. However, it should be noted that the Wizards are in tax hell.

CURRENT POWER FORWARD SITUATION: The Wizards have no shortage of bigs with Dragan Bender, A-Rod, Long Anderson, Thomas Minter, and Philip Cuomo. In a pinch, 7'3 SF Marshall Starr could play PF as well. They're probably hurting more for a true 3 than anything else, and Milburn's spryer days are long over.

SHOULD THEY SIGN HIM? Nope. Wouldn't do them much good.


CHICAGO BULLS

CURRENT STANDING: 53-6, the alpha of Alpha.

CURRENT TAX SITUATION: The Bulls are in their 2nd year of spending big money, and while their financials are in order to handle it (and maybe even again next season), signing Phil Milburn would cost them an additional 7 points this season.

CURRENT POWER FORWARD SITUATION: The Bulls seem set here with a front court of Daniel Bowens and Wanderlei Silva and Hyman Low coming off the bench. They've got Stefan Rush behind Hyman Low, and while Milburn might be better at this point than Rush, Rush is in Jack Haley territory, only averaging garbage time minutes.

SHOULD THEY SIGN HIM? No, otherwise I would have because I'm writing this article.


BOSTON CELTICS

CURRENT STANDING: The worst record in the league.

CURRENT TAX SITUATION: The Celtics have cap room, the league's leading scorer and not much else.

CURRENT POWER FORWARD SITUATION: Who's starting for the Celtics. Marquese Chriss? Jesus. David Niemeyer and John Sylvia are also getting decent minutes. And none of it matters. The Celtics are a dumpster fire, and Phil Milburn might get them the win that costs them tank commanding position.

SHOULD THEY SIGN HIM? No way, De La Rosè


SACRAMENTO KINGS

CURRENT STANDING: A nice even .500, which puts them 2 games back of the playoffs and 2.5 games back of their division.

CURRENT TAX SITUATION: Like the Thunder, Timberwolves, and Pelicans before, the Kings are just enough under the apron that they could sign Phil Milburn and stay there, but should they???

CURRENT POWER FORWARD SITUATION: They're starting 6'5 Peter Hartley at PF, and though Hartley has the skills you want out of a 4, he's still 6'5. Meanwhile, they have Donovan Mitchell playing as their other forward, so a front court where nobody's taller than 6'5 is pretty undersized. Signing Milburn might allow them to get taller since their backcourt is one of the worst in the league. Getting Donovan Mitchell in there at point or even at the shooting guard spot might be a great idea for them, and it might propel them into the playoffs...or even the division lead...with a Center as powerful as Haynes.

SHOULD THEY SIGN HIM? Yeah. I think it would make a big difference for the Kings to sign Phil Milburn, especially in Division 1.


SAN ANTONIO SPURS

CURRENT STANDING: Leading division 1 by the hair of their chinny-chin-chins.

CURRENT TAX SITUATION: The Spurs are a few million dollars under the cap right now.

CURRENT POWER FORWARD SITUATION: They're starting Shareef O'Neal, who despite looking like he's got plenty of great skills, has trouble staying on the floor due to a propensity to foul folks. Behind him, they have another young guy in Conrad McRae. With Bryce Dejean-Jones at his prime, their bigs are generally guys with decent potential who are still too young to be near their peaks.

SHOULD THEY SIGN HIM? Also, yeah. In general, most teams in this division could use a guy like Phil Milburn. Maybe he won't bring a ring to Division 1, but he could bring a division title to someone.


DALLAS MAVERICKS

CURRENT STANDING: At 22-36, their in 11th place in the Omega conference.

CURRENT TAX SITUATION: Just under the cap.

CURRENT POWER FORWARD: The Mavs are starting Nick Papagiorgio at PF and can also play starting C Jarrett Allen there if they want to play Marius Hemm at C. Dennis Williams gets most of the backup PF minutes when Allen isn't sliding over, and while he's not great, those minutes probably wouldn't be better spent with Milburn.

SHOULD THEY SIGN HIM? No. The Mavs have long been mired in being just outside the playoffs, and this season isn't much different. They've got some injuries this season, too, and since they have their own pick and probably need to blow it up and go back to the drawing board, Milburn doesn't really help them accomplish any of their goals this year.


CLEVELAND CAVALIERS

CURRENT STANDING: The Cavs are tied for 9th out in Omega, sitting 2.5 games behind the Pelicans.

CURRENT TAX SITUATION: They're just over the cap but well under the apron.

CURRENT POWER FORWARD SITUATON: The Cavaliers front court is a pretty even 3 man rotation with Domingo McKoy starting, Andrew Baldwin playing an undersized center, and Elliot Radke backing them both up. Radke and McKoy both play less than 30 minutes per game, and Thomas Ahearn gets an additional 10 minutes at the PF spot in games when McKoy and Radke get in foul trouble (both average around 4 fouls per 36). Milburn might be an improvement over Ahearn, but not enough of one to move the needle too much.

SHOULD THEY SIGN HIM? In a perfect storm situation, maybe Milburn vaults them just barely over the Pels into the 8th seed, but a lot of things have to line up for that to happen. No harm in taking a swipe at him, but it'll probably be a fruitless exercise...out in Omega, 8th seed is going to be a warm up for the Magic, so unless the Cavs think one more PF could get them all the way up to 7, they probably aren't the best home for Milburn.


LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS

CURRENT STANDING: The Clippers are sitting pretty in the 6th seed right now, which would line them up to play the Timberwolves, which might be more favorable a matchup than the 4th seed Wiz. If they can hold there, they should.

CURRENT TAX SITUATION: The Clippers are 30mm over the cap. Signing Milburn would cost them 4 points.

CURRENT POWER FORWARD SITUATION: The Clip Show spent big on Joe Futrell, designating him as the starting PF of the future, and he is a heavy offensive force for them. They recently added Aaron Donald who should be a powerhouse off the bench. They're pretty set with that spot with really efficient scorers (both are dancing around 20 PER) and Milburn would be a downgrade from either one. Meanwhile, they've got Jaren Jackson at C and William Caine backing him up, so their frontcourt is pretty strong on a fairly balanced team.

SHOULD THEY SIGN HIM? No. As good as they're doing, they're already over the cap more than they should be for the 6th seed in the slightly more beta Omega conference.


PHILADELPHIA 76ERS

CURRENT STANDING: The 76ers hold a 19-38 record under new GM KeepIt1000. They're not mathematically eliminated, but they probably shouldn't be gunning for the playoffs at this point.

CURRENT TAX SITUATION: The 76ers are under the apron by slightly more than one 10+ year vet min contract, so they could definitely afford him without risking paying tax.

CURRENT POWER FORWARD SITUATION: The 76ers are all in behind young Glen Sabo, even getting rid of Cheick Diallo to get themselves a decent backcourt player in D'Angelo Russell. While that didn't turn around the team like a young GM would expect, it's ok. They've got their pick. Milburn would be a better backup option than Durant Badham, Kevin Modica, Tyron Ferris, or any other big they give small minutes to, but there's little need for a win-now player who won't win you anything later.

SHOULD THEY SIGN HIM? No.


HOUSTON ROCKETS

CURRENT STANDING: The Rockets are third in the third division with a 32-26 record. If the playoffs started today, they'd finish 7th in Alpha.

CURRENT TAX SITUATION: The Rockets are over the tax once again (albeit barely). They're in the 4+ year repeater bracket, so Milburn would cost them 8 points. They really slept on cutting a couple of vet mins to get out of that repeater status.

CURRENT POWER FORWARD STATUS: The Rockets have one of the most stacked front courts in the league with Kristaps Porzingis, James Christner, and Alton Hill. They start Christner at PF, and when he gets into foul trouble, Alton Hill gets some of those minutes. Milburn might be able to help them on nights where Christner is hacking too much (or probably would've helped them weather that Alton Hill injury), but on other nights, there'd be no time to play him.

SHOULD THEY SIGN HIM? No. All three bigs are healthy now, so he wouldn't be worth the 8 points.


DENVER NUGGETS

CURRENT STNADING: Even though they weren't able to move Jerry West, the Nuggets started dismantling when West was injured for most of the first half of the season. They're currently 15-42. It is unclear whether they continued to bench Jerry West in order to tank harder without the league noticing, however, I'm sure we'll find out after this next sim.

CURRENT TAX SITUATION: Even though the Nugs are dismantling, they're still over the cap (but not the apron) due to Jerry West and Alvin Briseno's contracts.

CURRENT POWER FORWARD SITUATION: They just traded Aaron Donald, but they still have bigs like Daniel Harrison and Victor Eldred. There's space for Milburn on the roster for sure, but not purpose.

SHOULD THEY SIGN HIM? No. Although if they did play West, are they statistically eliminated from the playoffs? It'd be an uphill battle for sure.


LOS ANGELES LAKERS

CURRENT STANDING: The Lakers currently are the 5th seed in the Alpha Conference even though they have the 4th best record. They're 2 games out of the division lead.

CURRENT TAX SITUATION: The Lakers are under the cap and could afford Milburn duty-free if they needed him.

CURRENT POWER FORWARD SITUATION: With Kane Jacobs, Tibor Pleiss, James McCormick, Wyatt Battle, and Andre Nickels in the frontcourt rotation, there would be no room for Phil Milburn on the Lakers. However, if they could find room for him, J.R. Johnson has been a revelation for LA, and he'd find a way to get Milburn the ball for points somehow.

SHOULD THEY SIGN HIM: No. Let the current front court do what it do.


MILWAUKEE BUCKS

CURRENT STANDING: Last but not least, we have the Bucks, who occupy the 2nd seed in the Omega Conference with a division lead of 2 games over the Wizards.

CURRENT TAX SITUATION: The Bucks are once again just under the apron, and adding Milburn would put them over...so you can see where this is going.

CURRENT POWER FORWARD SITUATION: The Bucks have plenty of bigs that are good and none that are great. With Alec Sargeant getting the start and minutes going to Wilburn Clark, Greg Payne, and Jonathan Constantino (though many of those minutes are at C, at least Constantino and Clark seem capable of playing PF, too), there probably wouldn't be a need for Milburn anyway. With the Magic as the clear frontrunners in Omega, a great big is what the Bucks would need for it to make a difference--not a good one.

SHOULD THEY SIGN HIM? Nope.

[false9]

>3000 words= 10 points