Good morning all! As I am sure some of you have already skimmed past this point, I will say boo on you. If you have not, I appreciate you taking my opinions seriously (even though I even think they are questionable.) So to start off, Season 50 was a great one all around. I initially had serious aspirations for a deep playoff run, but quickly took note of how my team was constructed against the rest of the league and decided to pivot a little bit. I moved newly signed JRod to Denver for Brendon Silva and RJB. While I initially thought this move would tank my team, RJB actually brought some stability that JRod was not providing. He brought a defensive presence and was another rebounder that I could have on the court, which was huge since Oturu took a hit in TC and became a liability to a degree as a starter. Thankfully I also had Maker on my team, who had an outstanding season. He truly grew into a top center last season, where I think he will stay in the top 3 centers through this contract and next potentially. I was feeling good about stealing a first round from someone in the playoffs until Wade got hurt at the end of the season. After that it was just playing with house money. We lost to a really good Pacers team in the playoffs. Wade going down did show me how well Brooks can play though, which was a benefit as well.
Going into this season, I had Wade on a RFA max already and would enter the tax conversation, so I wanted to try to really start competing. I made a trade with Nick to get Ben Franklin and to have Waters return home from the Pelicans for Kerry Powell and Silva. This gave me another good wing, a good guard, and most importantly the access to MLE that I did not have prior. Draft was quite on my front due to not having a pick. Then in RFA we had three guys on the docket. Wade was a no brainer max. I considered Lathrop a good get at his price, but he then got hit in TC. I also brought back Chatham on a decent deal as well. UFA was just me trying to solidify my depth, mainly trying to get another wing to go with RJB and Franklin since I know I have to compete with what was just Delmar originally, but add Pearman to the group. So out of the MLEs we threw out there, Rickly signed with us.
I have some high hope for my team. I think if the cards are dealt right, I could be a potential championship team, but I do hope to at least be competing for the Omega conference title. We have good depth across the board and some players that can do a little bit of everything. Wade had another outstanding TC this year so I look to him, Maker, and Franklin to be my leaders this season. TC was also very kind to Oturu after punching him in the face last season, which after trading Powell away and betting on him to bounce back, was a very pleasant surprise. Anyways my starting five this season will probably be:
1. Waters
2. Wade
3. Franklin
4. Oturu
5. Maker
First bench player: Brooks
On a separate note, I am happy to see the Cavs start to make some moves to develop their team more, and to have SuperDog come into the fold with us. I am excited to see how they and K100 do. The best part is that SuperDog, who of the four of us is the newest, probably has the best chance at a championship. If that happens I will forever feel shamed considering how long I have been around.
If you have any questions please ask!