PBSL Team Resolutions: 2025 Edition
Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2018 9:50 pm
It's that time of sim-year again when we're stuck in between two years for two days of parallel universe realtime, so that gives all of us GMs plenty of time to reflect on the past year and come up with some sim-resolutions for the upcoming calendar year. Since many teams seem to fall into the same habits year in and year out, however, I've taken it upon myself to offer my own suggestions to each GM in the league on what they might want to try to accomplish in 2025.
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic have done a stellar job of cashing in their assets and lining up contracts so that they have a serious shot at another title under GM false9. While they're battling for a spot atop the Southeast Division and a playoff shoe-in with Andrew Wiggins able to help them with a deep run, it's apparent that they're not yet fully all-in. Josh Jackson and Trae Young will hit RFA next year, and they'll both get maxes whether the Magic offers them maxes initially or not (you better believe that Josh Jackson gets that supermax money), and with that in mind, they did not go over the tax line this year. However, if the Magic are planning on pushing in all the chips, what they're really lacking next year is a big man (sub 7 foot Boban doesn't count). They can either try to move Biyombo and assets now for a slightly younger center, or they can use the time before RFA 2025 to try to lock one in before RFA eats up their space. If all else fails, a cheaper Biyombo could work pending his survival of training camp, but there's not much room for error if they want to fill out that starting lineup.
Boston Celtics
It's no secret that for Boston, it's tax repayment or bust. Assuming their point bank is up to date, they'll need 57 points (and to get under the tax by the trade deadline) to do it. They still have a strong team with assets that they can move for points (although not a lot of GMs are going to bite at paying Phil "40 Million" Millburn in a few years), they took on a league responsibility, and there are still plenty of points to be had. I think it's easily doable, and the stakes are high enough where if they can't, they lose Ayton. Now, it's just a matter of how they can get out of tax jail without losing any players or assets that they don't have to lose.
Vancouver Grizzlies
The Grizzlies are also in a bad tax spot, however, their bank is almost certainly not as clear as the Celtics as to how accurate it is. The unpaid tax bills amount to about 516 points, and it looks like they've amassed about a third of that, but it also looks like they haven't updated their points bank for a couple seasons. So that's one resolution: hire an accountant. Other than that, I hope Louie makes a commitment to keep being himself in 2025. The way he's navigated the Grizzlies through this tax fiasco has them playing a slightly different game than the rest of the league, and that game has been pretty fun to watch as a side-story for the past several seasons.
Phoenix Suns
GMessi welcomed Kevin Love back with open arms because the Suns just can't quit KL, baby. During a season where it seemed like the Suns were finally willing to reset to move on past the Love era, an easy schedule where they played the Los Angeles Clippers about 30 times in their first two sims gave Phoenix some more hope. While they have hope, they still don't have the one thing that I've never seen the Suns have--a true point guard to help run that offense, unless of course you count Ricky Rubio's orange corpse. If they've got Lavar Ball (and a promising PF in Thomas Knecht) on their roster, here's to having a better than average UFA next year for Phoenix where they land a nice supporting cast.
Washington Wizards
The Wizards roster page looks pretty grim, but their record is 18-11 with some high profile wins. I don't know how they do it, but it's happening, and it's happening with $64 million spent on three above-average point guards / undersized-by-necessity SGs. With only one of their picks in the next three seasons, the Wizards probably have more work if they want to rebuild than they do if they want to compete. However, they're going to need to start wheeling and dealing to get some true focal points on this team. The problem is that a lot of the pieces they have are ideal for teams that are pushing to compete, so it might be hard to get better win-now players in return. They might have to flip their greens for assets that they bundle together to flip for centerpieces. For this to work, xist might have to say "No more Mr. Nice Guy" in trades. I heard the Suns might need a PG, tho, so there's a start.
Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets are always a head scratcher to me. Ed puts together teams that look great on his roster page, and then playoff time comes and the Nets aren't making the noise we expect them to make. I'm not sure if it's team fit or gameplan or even anything Ed's doing in particular except maybe being in the wrong conference at the wrong time, but there's really not much anyone can do about that except push for realignment. Gotta start somewhere though in a tangible sense, and what sticks out to me is that the Nets are turning the ball over like crazy with a point guard who can pass and handle the ball incredibly well. If the Nets can get those turnover numbers down via a new offensive gameplan, maybe things will fall into place, especially after that Marcus Smart trade, which should be helpful for the team.
Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks under letsplayhorse have been a constant middling team in the Western Conference. Not an active online user, their GM probably isn't going to be doing statistical analysis on the whole league...instead opting to dabble in PBSL only in the confines of what's on his team (ironically, he has the post-graduate statistical expertise to understand all the real mathematical gobbledygook in Todd's articles better than anyone else in the league). What he really needs to do is set his life priorities straight, get Skype, and get his head in the goddamn game. Stop DVRing Fresh Prince of Bel Air episodes, smoke a pack of Spirit yellows, and figure out the mathematics behind winning a championship already.
Detroit Pistons
Their obvious goal should be to retain Anthony Davis in the offseason, but as the only team able to offer him a supermax, that shouldn't be so hard. Their other goal, which is also obvious, is to surround him with a team that can win them another championship because if the hands down best player in the game retires with only one ring, he's not getting my HOF vote.
Denver Nuggets
The powerhouse of the West. I'm not going to say that they should set their resolution to winning a championship, but Ryan should at least have a strong goal of finishing 2nd in GMOY voting.
LA Lakers
After stewards gave the Lakers a promising future, Tray came back to get some wins, but ultimately, not make much noise. I haven't seen too much activity from Tray (other than a late RFA match that happened after the buzzer), and he hasn't even taken any bad 76ers contracts, so maybe it's time for Tray to take another little simcation and let Scott and some stewards flip his core for some promising young upstarts.
LA Clippers
He peeked his head in during the off-season to draft a guy and rename him (as well as match on Emmitt McNiel), but he’s the quietest of the new crop of GMs. I think a good resolution for theHollywoodClipShow is to show more of a presence. He doesn’t need to get in the Skype Chat or go crazy making memes, but more presence would likely lead to more success.
Sacramento Kings
Sure, Tani was down in the dumps over Duren, but it doesn't really matter when you're the Kings. Tani's resolution this year should be the same as it is every year in perpetuity: win the Pacific Division. With a four-strong core of Mitchell, Hield, Pulley, and Haynes, all locked into long term commitments, it's time for Tani to let his broken heart heal and forget Jeffrey Duren ever existed.
Miami Heat
With Devin Booker and World B. Free, the Heat have a super-potent backcourt combo. They're sitting at .500 right now and prepared to make some waves, but next season is where they should really hope to cash in. Whether it's Long Anderson after a strong training camp or someone from outside, the Heat should try to find a stronger supporting cast. Daniel West and Aubrey Broomfield are ok, but they can do better, and that's what they should commit to this offseason.
Charlotte Bobcats
The GM of the Charlotte Bobcats needs to be a little more assertive with his feelings.
Portland Trailblazers
Helmed by one of PBSL's greatest statistical minds, the Portland Trailblazers look like they'll have an incredible team in a year or two, and it's surprising to me that they're off to such a rocky start this year. At 12-18, the Trailblazers don't crack the upper half of the rankings in any specific category for differential. That tells me that despite a great young roster, the team doesn't really have an identity. Once Joseph Reading and Frank Jackson are a little further along, the team should be playoff bound based on talent alone, but if they're 12-18 this year, kucoach should be spending 2025 trying to figure out how to get his star players to work together a little better. For all their talent, they're defensive pushovers, and they're also missing grittiness on the boards. It's an enviable position to be in, but they're going to have to do some trust falls and whatnot to get everyone on the same page.
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers have been brutally good for a long time now, and it seems like their perennial hopefuls (and a rational bet) to win the whole dang thing. However, there's one thing that I believe has been killing them in the playoffs, and that's their foul ratings. The Bulls faced off against them a couple times, and as an opposing GM, my strategy was always to go after the guys who are going to get in foul trouble. Other teams have tried to exploit that as well. Right now, they're 26th in the league in terms of fewest fouls committed, and that's after trading Ayton--a huge liability--to the Celtics. Ben Simmons is also prone to fouling, but his talents are so rare, it's understandable that his fouling is forgivable. However, he's averaging 4.2 fouls per game. In a contract year, balls is going to have to decide whether spending the coin on foul training is worth it. If he's re-upping Simmons' contract, I think there's no other choice.
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz barely escaped the tax reaper, but they still sold off all of their assets and then put together a semi-competitive looking team that isn't really all that competitive. Digi needs to look back to the past and realize what got him to two finals...balls out tanking. This half-assed Paul George / Rudy Gobert / Kevin Whittaker on oversized contracts bit has got to stop, and Gary's got to embrace the methodology that landed him the likes of Joseph Kight and Juicy James. If he can, do it, Gary should get all the talent off of his roster in exchange for whatever points or picks he can get his hands on so that in 4 years, he's got enough points to RFA his next franchise player and rack up another tax bill for Doug to help him calculate his way out of.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Even sim-Cleveland is so boring that everyone forgets the Cavs are a team. They've got a lot of nice young players, but the one thing I'd really love to see them do is to give up on Dirk Hardpeck and his oversized contract. Hardpeck looks like a great scorer because, well, he is, but part of that is also because he's the only option on the Cavs and has been for ages. They need to stop overvaluing him, stop overpaying him, and deal him if they can.
San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs made some incredible moves over the offseason, including bringing in Josh Hart and Juicy James for excellent deals in their favor. The one move I didn't like? Paying Buddy Pedraza that Dirk Hardpeck money. Pedraza took a hit in training camp, and he's just going to keep getting older and less effective. They're really good right now, but he's moving the opposite way as the rest of the young team. If at all possible, they need to dump Pedraza, get under the tax for the 2025-2026 campaign, and really go balls to the wall in that offseason to resign Gebhardt and Jones when they really want to dip into the tax.
Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are entering the 2nd year of tax status, and they're just now finding success that should guarantee them a playoff berth. However, Bjorn Ironside's RFA hits at the end of this year, and D'Angelo Russell's contract is also expiring. To keep this core together, they're going to have to really commit to plunking down a ludicrous amount of points next season. Their resolution? Find a way to not do that. It might take trying to split up Antetekounmpo's contract into several role players, but like the Jazz build that almost got them a couple rings, the gameplan to tank your way into a bunch of rookies who are all on similar windows talent-wise in their 2nd contracts looks like it's a strategy that comes with high risk and rare rings.
Chicago Bulls
Since their success in the 2020 campaign, the Bulls seem to have taken a step back due in part to the media circus around having the league's most handsome GM. However, there is nothing they can do about this.
Oklahoma City Thunder
It’s nice to see someone helming the Thunder after years of neglect, and so far, they’ve been way more successful than the low bar set by the previous GM’s disappearance. Right now they’re at a pace to slightly outdo their win total last year. I’d like to see them beat that mark. I know it’s kind of antithetical to tank for some teams, but especially when you’re new, I think trying with a bad team helps you learn a lot about the game a lot faster than winning with a good team that you started out with.
New Orleans Pelicans
They’re in the playoff picture through four sims, and after 5 consecutive seasons with no playoff appearances, you better believe the Pelicans should resolve to make the playoffs. Nick’s too seasoned a GM to miss out again, but we won’t know for sure until the All-Star Break whether he’s one trade away from dropping out of the playoff race or winning his division.
Indiana Pacers
The Pacers are so financially responsible that the prospect of paying a perfectly good player in Marcus Smart $20 million dollars (with only this season guaranteed) bothered them so much that they gave someone what will almost certainly be a lotto pick to take his contract without even bothering to see if they could have gotten something in return for Marcus Smart while keeping their pick (spoiler alert, they could have). I’d like to see the Pacers go over the tax at least once to put together a team they really think has a shot, but barring that happening, the Pacers should resolve to not trade a lotto pick ever again.
New York Knicks
The Knicks need to resolve to reset their tax status, sure, but they also need to stop throwing 10 points at every bench player proposed to them. That Chet contracts going to be hard to move, so any opportunity to move him from here on out is probably an opportunity they should take. The alternative could end up being more costly. And just because you have a ring doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t still run these terrible trade offers by someone more experienced with point and player value.
Golden State Warriors
Don’t listen to the haters. As one of the proponents of a free market for tanking, I commend your creativity in approach to the game. It’s something not a lot of new guys would think of as a way to approach the game. I’d like to see you try breaking the game with your gameplan if you were approached about breaking the game with your starters. You can learn just as much about the game by trying out what doesn’t work as trying out what does. Your resolution is to land a higher draft pick than the Bobcats.
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks have not missed the playoffs for 17 straight seasons. That’s all well and good, but maybe try shaking things up by having a bad team one year? Resolve to try new things!
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves have DeSean Hawkins on the block, and their resolution better to be to get a really phenomenal return for him, because if it’s not as good as my day 60 offer you refused, by god, I’m naming my next lotto pick after your kid, and I’m going to spite regression train him to a red/red player.
Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks should not be content until they have all 14 lotto picks next draft. Anything less than that would be an embarrassing failure for Quail.
Houston Rockets
And finally, we have the Houston Rockets. In true last but not least fashion, I’d like to see 78 pledge ahead far into the future by resolving to never let Al Horford die. I want him blue at 40. I want him blue at 50. It’ll take a lot of points and possibly, a lot of politicking point discounts in training / retraining for players over 40. I just know that the day we have a g/g Horford will be a day when our banners should hang at half-mast.
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic have done a stellar job of cashing in their assets and lining up contracts so that they have a serious shot at another title under GM false9. While they're battling for a spot atop the Southeast Division and a playoff shoe-in with Andrew Wiggins able to help them with a deep run, it's apparent that they're not yet fully all-in. Josh Jackson and Trae Young will hit RFA next year, and they'll both get maxes whether the Magic offers them maxes initially or not (you better believe that Josh Jackson gets that supermax money), and with that in mind, they did not go over the tax line this year. However, if the Magic are planning on pushing in all the chips, what they're really lacking next year is a big man (sub 7 foot Boban doesn't count). They can either try to move Biyombo and assets now for a slightly younger center, or they can use the time before RFA 2025 to try to lock one in before RFA eats up their space. If all else fails, a cheaper Biyombo could work pending his survival of training camp, but there's not much room for error if they want to fill out that starting lineup.
Boston Celtics
It's no secret that for Boston, it's tax repayment or bust. Assuming their point bank is up to date, they'll need 57 points (and to get under the tax by the trade deadline) to do it. They still have a strong team with assets that they can move for points (although not a lot of GMs are going to bite at paying Phil "40 Million" Millburn in a few years), they took on a league responsibility, and there are still plenty of points to be had. I think it's easily doable, and the stakes are high enough where if they can't, they lose Ayton. Now, it's just a matter of how they can get out of tax jail without losing any players or assets that they don't have to lose.
Vancouver Grizzlies
The Grizzlies are also in a bad tax spot, however, their bank is almost certainly not as clear as the Celtics as to how accurate it is. The unpaid tax bills amount to about 516 points, and it looks like they've amassed about a third of that, but it also looks like they haven't updated their points bank for a couple seasons. So that's one resolution: hire an accountant. Other than that, I hope Louie makes a commitment to keep being himself in 2025. The way he's navigated the Grizzlies through this tax fiasco has them playing a slightly different game than the rest of the league, and that game has been pretty fun to watch as a side-story for the past several seasons.
Phoenix Suns
GMessi welcomed Kevin Love back with open arms because the Suns just can't quit KL, baby. During a season where it seemed like the Suns were finally willing to reset to move on past the Love era, an easy schedule where they played the Los Angeles Clippers about 30 times in their first two sims gave Phoenix some more hope. While they have hope, they still don't have the one thing that I've never seen the Suns have--a true point guard to help run that offense, unless of course you count Ricky Rubio's orange corpse. If they've got Lavar Ball (and a promising PF in Thomas Knecht) on their roster, here's to having a better than average UFA next year for Phoenix where they land a nice supporting cast.
Washington Wizards
The Wizards roster page looks pretty grim, but their record is 18-11 with some high profile wins. I don't know how they do it, but it's happening, and it's happening with $64 million spent on three above-average point guards / undersized-by-necessity SGs. With only one of their picks in the next three seasons, the Wizards probably have more work if they want to rebuild than they do if they want to compete. However, they're going to need to start wheeling and dealing to get some true focal points on this team. The problem is that a lot of the pieces they have are ideal for teams that are pushing to compete, so it might be hard to get better win-now players in return. They might have to flip their greens for assets that they bundle together to flip for centerpieces. For this to work, xist might have to say "No more Mr. Nice Guy" in trades. I heard the Suns might need a PG, tho, so there's a start.
Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets are always a head scratcher to me. Ed puts together teams that look great on his roster page, and then playoff time comes and the Nets aren't making the noise we expect them to make. I'm not sure if it's team fit or gameplan or even anything Ed's doing in particular except maybe being in the wrong conference at the wrong time, but there's really not much anyone can do about that except push for realignment. Gotta start somewhere though in a tangible sense, and what sticks out to me is that the Nets are turning the ball over like crazy with a point guard who can pass and handle the ball incredibly well. If the Nets can get those turnover numbers down via a new offensive gameplan, maybe things will fall into place, especially after that Marcus Smart trade, which should be helpful for the team.
Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks under letsplayhorse have been a constant middling team in the Western Conference. Not an active online user, their GM probably isn't going to be doing statistical analysis on the whole league...instead opting to dabble in PBSL only in the confines of what's on his team (ironically, he has the post-graduate statistical expertise to understand all the real mathematical gobbledygook in Todd's articles better than anyone else in the league). What he really needs to do is set his life priorities straight, get Skype, and get his head in the goddamn game. Stop DVRing Fresh Prince of Bel Air episodes, smoke a pack of Spirit yellows, and figure out the mathematics behind winning a championship already.
Detroit Pistons
Their obvious goal should be to retain Anthony Davis in the offseason, but as the only team able to offer him a supermax, that shouldn't be so hard. Their other goal, which is also obvious, is to surround him with a team that can win them another championship because if the hands down best player in the game retires with only one ring, he's not getting my HOF vote.
Denver Nuggets
The powerhouse of the West. I'm not going to say that they should set their resolution to winning a championship, but Ryan should at least have a strong goal of finishing 2nd in GMOY voting.
LA Lakers
After stewards gave the Lakers a promising future, Tray came back to get some wins, but ultimately, not make much noise. I haven't seen too much activity from Tray (other than a late RFA match that happened after the buzzer), and he hasn't even taken any bad 76ers contracts, so maybe it's time for Tray to take another little simcation and let Scott and some stewards flip his core for some promising young upstarts.
LA Clippers
He peeked his head in during the off-season to draft a guy and rename him (as well as match on Emmitt McNiel), but he’s the quietest of the new crop of GMs. I think a good resolution for theHollywoodClipShow is to show more of a presence. He doesn’t need to get in the Skype Chat or go crazy making memes, but more presence would likely lead to more success.
Sacramento Kings
Sure, Tani was down in the dumps over Duren, but it doesn't really matter when you're the Kings. Tani's resolution this year should be the same as it is every year in perpetuity: win the Pacific Division. With a four-strong core of Mitchell, Hield, Pulley, and Haynes, all locked into long term commitments, it's time for Tani to let his broken heart heal and forget Jeffrey Duren ever existed.
Miami Heat
With Devin Booker and World B. Free, the Heat have a super-potent backcourt combo. They're sitting at .500 right now and prepared to make some waves, but next season is where they should really hope to cash in. Whether it's Long Anderson after a strong training camp or someone from outside, the Heat should try to find a stronger supporting cast. Daniel West and Aubrey Broomfield are ok, but they can do better, and that's what they should commit to this offseason.
Charlotte Bobcats
The GM of the Charlotte Bobcats needs to be a little more assertive with his feelings.
Portland Trailblazers
Helmed by one of PBSL's greatest statistical minds, the Portland Trailblazers look like they'll have an incredible team in a year or two, and it's surprising to me that they're off to such a rocky start this year. At 12-18, the Trailblazers don't crack the upper half of the rankings in any specific category for differential. That tells me that despite a great young roster, the team doesn't really have an identity. Once Joseph Reading and Frank Jackson are a little further along, the team should be playoff bound based on talent alone, but if they're 12-18 this year, kucoach should be spending 2025 trying to figure out how to get his star players to work together a little better. For all their talent, they're defensive pushovers, and they're also missing grittiness on the boards. It's an enviable position to be in, but they're going to have to do some trust falls and whatnot to get everyone on the same page.
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers have been brutally good for a long time now, and it seems like their perennial hopefuls (and a rational bet) to win the whole dang thing. However, there's one thing that I believe has been killing them in the playoffs, and that's their foul ratings. The Bulls faced off against them a couple times, and as an opposing GM, my strategy was always to go after the guys who are going to get in foul trouble. Other teams have tried to exploit that as well. Right now, they're 26th in the league in terms of fewest fouls committed, and that's after trading Ayton--a huge liability--to the Celtics. Ben Simmons is also prone to fouling, but his talents are so rare, it's understandable that his fouling is forgivable. However, he's averaging 4.2 fouls per game. In a contract year, balls is going to have to decide whether spending the coin on foul training is worth it. If he's re-upping Simmons' contract, I think there's no other choice.
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz barely escaped the tax reaper, but they still sold off all of their assets and then put together a semi-competitive looking team that isn't really all that competitive. Digi needs to look back to the past and realize what got him to two finals...balls out tanking. This half-assed Paul George / Rudy Gobert / Kevin Whittaker on oversized contracts bit has got to stop, and Gary's got to embrace the methodology that landed him the likes of Joseph Kight and Juicy James. If he can, do it, Gary should get all the talent off of his roster in exchange for whatever points or picks he can get his hands on so that in 4 years, he's got enough points to RFA his next franchise player and rack up another tax bill for Doug to help him calculate his way out of.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Even sim-Cleveland is so boring that everyone forgets the Cavs are a team. They've got a lot of nice young players, but the one thing I'd really love to see them do is to give up on Dirk Hardpeck and his oversized contract. Hardpeck looks like a great scorer because, well, he is, but part of that is also because he's the only option on the Cavs and has been for ages. They need to stop overvaluing him, stop overpaying him, and deal him if they can.
San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs made some incredible moves over the offseason, including bringing in Josh Hart and Juicy James for excellent deals in their favor. The one move I didn't like? Paying Buddy Pedraza that Dirk Hardpeck money. Pedraza took a hit in training camp, and he's just going to keep getting older and less effective. They're really good right now, but he's moving the opposite way as the rest of the young team. If at all possible, they need to dump Pedraza, get under the tax for the 2025-2026 campaign, and really go balls to the wall in that offseason to resign Gebhardt and Jones when they really want to dip into the tax.
Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are entering the 2nd year of tax status, and they're just now finding success that should guarantee them a playoff berth. However, Bjorn Ironside's RFA hits at the end of this year, and D'Angelo Russell's contract is also expiring. To keep this core together, they're going to have to really commit to plunking down a ludicrous amount of points next season. Their resolution? Find a way to not do that. It might take trying to split up Antetekounmpo's contract into several role players, but like the Jazz build that almost got them a couple rings, the gameplan to tank your way into a bunch of rookies who are all on similar windows talent-wise in their 2nd contracts looks like it's a strategy that comes with high risk and rare rings.
Chicago Bulls
Since their success in the 2020 campaign, the Bulls seem to have taken a step back due in part to the media circus around having the league's most handsome GM. However, there is nothing they can do about this.
Oklahoma City Thunder
It’s nice to see someone helming the Thunder after years of neglect, and so far, they’ve been way more successful than the low bar set by the previous GM’s disappearance. Right now they’re at a pace to slightly outdo their win total last year. I’d like to see them beat that mark. I know it’s kind of antithetical to tank for some teams, but especially when you’re new, I think trying with a bad team helps you learn a lot about the game a lot faster than winning with a good team that you started out with.
New Orleans Pelicans
They’re in the playoff picture through four sims, and after 5 consecutive seasons with no playoff appearances, you better believe the Pelicans should resolve to make the playoffs. Nick’s too seasoned a GM to miss out again, but we won’t know for sure until the All-Star Break whether he’s one trade away from dropping out of the playoff race or winning his division.
Indiana Pacers
The Pacers are so financially responsible that the prospect of paying a perfectly good player in Marcus Smart $20 million dollars (with only this season guaranteed) bothered them so much that they gave someone what will almost certainly be a lotto pick to take his contract without even bothering to see if they could have gotten something in return for Marcus Smart while keeping their pick (spoiler alert, they could have). I’d like to see the Pacers go over the tax at least once to put together a team they really think has a shot, but barring that happening, the Pacers should resolve to not trade a lotto pick ever again.
New York Knicks
The Knicks need to resolve to reset their tax status, sure, but they also need to stop throwing 10 points at every bench player proposed to them. That Chet contracts going to be hard to move, so any opportunity to move him from here on out is probably an opportunity they should take. The alternative could end up being more costly. And just because you have a ring doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t still run these terrible trade offers by someone more experienced with point and player value.
Golden State Warriors
Don’t listen to the haters. As one of the proponents of a free market for tanking, I commend your creativity in approach to the game. It’s something not a lot of new guys would think of as a way to approach the game. I’d like to see you try breaking the game with your gameplan if you were approached about breaking the game with your starters. You can learn just as much about the game by trying out what doesn’t work as trying out what does. Your resolution is to land a higher draft pick than the Bobcats.
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks have not missed the playoffs for 17 straight seasons. That’s all well and good, but maybe try shaking things up by having a bad team one year? Resolve to try new things!
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves have DeSean Hawkins on the block, and their resolution better to be to get a really phenomenal return for him, because if it’s not as good as my day 60 offer you refused, by god, I’m naming my next lotto pick after your kid, and I’m going to spite regression train him to a red/red player.
Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks should not be content until they have all 14 lotto picks next draft. Anything less than that would be an embarrassing failure for Quail.
Houston Rockets
And finally, we have the Houston Rockets. In true last but not least fashion, I’d like to see 78 pledge ahead far into the future by resolving to never let Al Horford die. I want him blue at 40. I want him blue at 50. It’ll take a lot of points and possibly, a lot of politicking point discounts in training / retraining for players over 40. I just know that the day we have a g/g Horford will be a day when our banners should hang at half-mast.
