WTF am I Even Writing ABout?
Posted: Sat Jul 13, 2024 2:54 pm
I am pretty bored today and still need media points. Memes and Powerrr Rankings were always my bread and butter for the season, however that is not as sure of a thing as it used to be for me. Firstly, thanks to whoever decided that memes would be for 21 memes in a year instead of 30, then I also can't get my powerrr rankings to work anymore after the plugin I was using to run the program stopped being supported and was pulled from google sheets. This has lead me to go back to actual thinking when it comes to writing an article. Of we go to what others have done articles on in the past! Oh hey, this looks easy, simple, and has not been done in a while. Thanks @logpmess for having two articles early on that I thought about writing. First would be a draft preview. I got the first pick player down and then realized how dumb this is since I am also picking in the top five as of now. Where I would be detailing the teams situation and if they should pick the player they are projected to pick. Ok so here is the bit I wrote on that.
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I am going to go for the projected top five right now, which are the Hawk Tuahs, Slim Jim Timbs, the dead cap cats, Bucking the trend of active GMs, and me the Celtics.
1. Hawks: 13-69
Key Players: Herman Campbell, Candice Parker
Needs: An active GM, Front Court Depth
Key Potential FAs: David Brown, Jaylen Brown, Herman Campbell, Candice Parker
Projected Pick: Joseph Crab
The Hawks are in a precarious position. They had some decent talent on the team this year, having players like Candice Parker, David Brown, and Jaylen Brown who are all quality complimentary players. They also have an emerging PG in Herman Campbell who looks to be a really great player at the position for a long time. All of the players I just named are also potentially free agents at the end of the season, and if I am Parker I think I don't take the money given how the team played, but the $78 million may be too much to pass up. Anyways, this team with the talent just mentioned should not be a projected first pick overall. However, I went back and checked the roster inputs for the season by the Hawks, and could not find Cashcab's name once. So that now makes sense, and is a shame. This team could have been a lot better if they had an actual gameplan.
All of this makes the pick at number one more complicated as well. Who do they pick given all the talent leaving? Do they even pick a player or let the two hours go by without anything said? I don't think the latter happens because Grepple will give him a heads up, or the Mavs will try to trade for the pick. If I am the Hawks I am not worried about this seasons "needs" and just pick the player I like best to go with Campbell OR is someone I can draft and just ignore since I may do that anyway. Joe Crab may actually fall in this field. He is a G/B older player. It looks like he may be an athletic specimen, and that is why he is Green current, but his offensive outlook looks pretty good, and ready for the league already. He can step in next season and probably start or be a main role player for this Hawks team, which is something they should consider. They still may want to do some research, as there may be some other good players out there, but this wouldn't be a bad pick. Also, if you get the first pick, hit me up I'll trade up.
After this I realized that the next few players are G/B for recommended picks, so the computer is not really helpful this season with drafting based on the order it picks. IDK, this idea seems dumb given I am in the running for a top pick so...
Lets move on to the next idea. The next article of interest I saw was another article Logan did on RFAs and the likelyhood that they would leave. This seemed like a good idea, given that it is something I could do now and then revisit on a yearly basis. Well, after looking at the RFA class, at first glance, I thought that it is probably going to be either people that are staying for sure (Angel Reese, Trayce, etc) or players that are not even on rosters or worth the cap hold. I fully expected before writing this idea out that it would turn into like every other recent RFA, 0/10 chance leaving.
Draft for Reference
Pick 1: Herman Campbell
I already talked some about the Hawks, but this guy really is the best thing going for them right now. He is already a top flight PG from the offensive side, averaging a double double last season. Campbell is not the best player in this RFA class, but he is the best player at the position everyone wants the most. The biggest negative to his game is the defensive side of the ball where he is just ok at perimeter defense and can not steal the ball. He also really hasn't been that great from a +/- perspective. Hopefully you can bump that defense to a B and it doesn't get blocked because of the threat of purple potential. Campbell is on track to be a top ten PG though, and may be the best player to potentially steal of the top end guys, with the idea that the Hawks may forget to check.
Chance of leaving: 3/10
Pick 2: Angel Reese
The only reason that Reese leaves the Mavs is because of the fact that he is going into his second contract. Maybe LTS decides that Reese is now too old and says "I need a younger player". If that is your plan, hit me up LTS, I will send you Daniel and my pick! Reese is a future scoring champ I think and will help carry whatever team they are on into the playoffs.
Chance of leaving: 0/10
Pick 3: Alex Fudge
Fudge is an interesting guy. He has been on several teams since being drafted. Starting at the Bulls, then to the Raptors, back to the Bulls, then to the Blazers. This guy is better then the movement that has been shaping his career so far. He isn't going to be the top player on the team, but can be a huge impact player if utilized right. I can see him being turned into a small ball PF and giving all sorts of fits on the offensive side of the ball while not being a liability on the defensive side. It will be interesting if someone throws a max contract at Fudge does Logan match or does he look to build his team else where? This is probably the last of the players who will get top end money (depending on who has money).
Chance of leaving: 5/10
Pick 4: Dick Bavetta
Dick Bavetta is a guy that has a role and can probably do it pretty solidly for a team. Given his draft spot though I am sure Ed wishes that the guy had a better player to this point. On the other side of the coin though, Ed may be happy that Bavetta is not a top end talent. This gives Ed the possibility to bring back Bavetta on a decent deal instead of Bavetta getting a max contract and having to wave goodbye. I am interested in the player, but thinks Ed could get lucky here and keep his salary cap manageable given he will already be over cap on day one of the next season.
Chance of leaving: 3/10
Pick 5: Trayce Jackson-Davis
I could go into detail about Trayce but we know Roberto is going to max contract him and will be the core of his next build. Trayce is Roberto's next Safi. Where the guy was not the top player going into the draft, but may become the best player of the draft.
Chance of leaving: 0/10
Pick 6:Brain Porter
Well, the Pelicans have bigger fish to fry when it comes to young talent. Porter is not worth the cap hold he will require for the Pelicans to be honest. I don't know. Pelicans may really like him for all I know, and he has been a wild card in the past when it comes to players evaluation. He only has a good INS, and really nothing else.
Chance of leaving: 7/10
Pick 7: Tiki Roberts
Another guy not worth the cap hold to consider retaining:
Chance of leaving: 10/10
Pick 8: Evan Barber
Not even available for RFA.
Ok, so to round out the top ten after this is one more guy who will probably get signed back to his team (Johnell Davis) and Dino Sanchez (who can not be apart of RFA). I was actually surprised once I started writing to see how some of these guys may actually leave. Based on recent RFAs though, they will sign with their incumbent team or just be matched so...
Now that I wrote this portion I realized that this may actually turn into an interesting RFA class. Do even five of the top ten picks become RFA eligible? Does Fudge looks at his fourth team in as many seasons? Who knows. I am also not really sure how to end this article, as it has been a weird article all the way through, so I will leave you with another instance of just random thoughts that seem to work out and that people liked:
- -
I am going to go for the projected top five right now, which are the Hawk Tuahs, Slim Jim Timbs, the dead cap cats, Bucking the trend of active GMs, and me the Celtics.
1. Hawks: 13-69
Key Players: Herman Campbell, Candice Parker
Needs: An active GM, Front Court Depth
Key Potential FAs: David Brown, Jaylen Brown, Herman Campbell, Candice Parker
Projected Pick: Joseph Crab
The Hawks are in a precarious position. They had some decent talent on the team this year, having players like Candice Parker, David Brown, and Jaylen Brown who are all quality complimentary players. They also have an emerging PG in Herman Campbell who looks to be a really great player at the position for a long time. All of the players I just named are also potentially free agents at the end of the season, and if I am Parker I think I don't take the money given how the team played, but the $78 million may be too much to pass up. Anyways, this team with the talent just mentioned should not be a projected first pick overall. However, I went back and checked the roster inputs for the season by the Hawks, and could not find Cashcab's name once. So that now makes sense, and is a shame. This team could have been a lot better if they had an actual gameplan.
All of this makes the pick at number one more complicated as well. Who do they pick given all the talent leaving? Do they even pick a player or let the two hours go by without anything said? I don't think the latter happens because Grepple will give him a heads up, or the Mavs will try to trade for the pick. If I am the Hawks I am not worried about this seasons "needs" and just pick the player I like best to go with Campbell OR is someone I can draft and just ignore since I may do that anyway. Joe Crab may actually fall in this field. He is a G/B older player. It looks like he may be an athletic specimen, and that is why he is Green current, but his offensive outlook looks pretty good, and ready for the league already. He can step in next season and probably start or be a main role player for this Hawks team, which is something they should consider. They still may want to do some research, as there may be some other good players out there, but this wouldn't be a bad pick. Also, if you get the first pick, hit me up I'll trade up.
After this I realized that the next few players are G/B for recommended picks, so the computer is not really helpful this season with drafting based on the order it picks. IDK, this idea seems dumb given I am in the running for a top pick so...
Lets move on to the next idea. The next article of interest I saw was another article Logan did on RFAs and the likelyhood that they would leave. This seemed like a good idea, given that it is something I could do now and then revisit on a yearly basis. Well, after looking at the RFA class, at first glance, I thought that it is probably going to be either people that are staying for sure (Angel Reese, Trayce, etc) or players that are not even on rosters or worth the cap hold. I fully expected before writing this idea out that it would turn into like every other recent RFA, 0/10 chance leaving.
Draft for Reference
Pick 1: Herman Campbell
I already talked some about the Hawks, but this guy really is the best thing going for them right now. He is already a top flight PG from the offensive side, averaging a double double last season. Campbell is not the best player in this RFA class, but he is the best player at the position everyone wants the most. The biggest negative to his game is the defensive side of the ball where he is just ok at perimeter defense and can not steal the ball. He also really hasn't been that great from a +/- perspective. Hopefully you can bump that defense to a B and it doesn't get blocked because of the threat of purple potential. Campbell is on track to be a top ten PG though, and may be the best player to potentially steal of the top end guys, with the idea that the Hawks may forget to check.
Chance of leaving: 3/10
Pick 2: Angel Reese
The only reason that Reese leaves the Mavs is because of the fact that he is going into his second contract. Maybe LTS decides that Reese is now too old and says "I need a younger player". If that is your plan, hit me up LTS, I will send you Daniel and my pick! Reese is a future scoring champ I think and will help carry whatever team they are on into the playoffs.
Chance of leaving: 0/10
Pick 3: Alex Fudge
Fudge is an interesting guy. He has been on several teams since being drafted. Starting at the Bulls, then to the Raptors, back to the Bulls, then to the Blazers. This guy is better then the movement that has been shaping his career so far. He isn't going to be the top player on the team, but can be a huge impact player if utilized right. I can see him being turned into a small ball PF and giving all sorts of fits on the offensive side of the ball while not being a liability on the defensive side. It will be interesting if someone throws a max contract at Fudge does Logan match or does he look to build his team else where? This is probably the last of the players who will get top end money (depending on who has money).
Chance of leaving: 5/10
Pick 4: Dick Bavetta
Dick Bavetta is a guy that has a role and can probably do it pretty solidly for a team. Given his draft spot though I am sure Ed wishes that the guy had a better player to this point. On the other side of the coin though, Ed may be happy that Bavetta is not a top end talent. This gives Ed the possibility to bring back Bavetta on a decent deal instead of Bavetta getting a max contract and having to wave goodbye. I am interested in the player, but thinks Ed could get lucky here and keep his salary cap manageable given he will already be over cap on day one of the next season.
Chance of leaving: 3/10
Pick 5: Trayce Jackson-Davis
I could go into detail about Trayce but we know Roberto is going to max contract him and will be the core of his next build. Trayce is Roberto's next Safi. Where the guy was not the top player going into the draft, but may become the best player of the draft.
Chance of leaving: 0/10
Pick 6:Brain Porter
Well, the Pelicans have bigger fish to fry when it comes to young talent. Porter is not worth the cap hold he will require for the Pelicans to be honest. I don't know. Pelicans may really like him for all I know, and he has been a wild card in the past when it comes to players evaluation. He only has a good INS, and really nothing else.
Chance of leaving: 7/10
Pick 7: Tiki Roberts
Another guy not worth the cap hold to consider retaining:
Chance of leaving: 10/10
Pick 8: Evan Barber
Not even available for RFA.
Ok, so to round out the top ten after this is one more guy who will probably get signed back to his team (Johnell Davis) and Dino Sanchez (who can not be apart of RFA). I was actually surprised once I started writing to see how some of these guys may actually leave. Based on recent RFAs though, they will sign with their incumbent team or just be matched so...
Now that I wrote this portion I realized that this may actually turn into an interesting RFA class. Do even five of the top ten picks become RFA eligible? Does Fudge looks at his fourth team in as many seasons? Who knows. I am also not really sure how to end this article, as it has been a weird article all the way through, so I will leave you with another instance of just random thoughts that seem to work out and that people liked: