#SLOE: People's Basketball Sim League

A blast from the past and a cheers to former Hawks GM and commissioner WigNosy. With a sudden need for training points I found myself needing to write an article and I thought "Why not resurrect this once staple offseason article that everyone enjoyed?" Some GMs remember these articles, but for the newer guys this was just a consistent article that GM WigNosy would write up each offseason and was really just an article to give his hot takes and opinions on unapologetically. This was one of my favorite articles on one of the more exciting times of the season for GMs as trades are now legal to be made and tomorrow's superstars are being drafted as we speak.

The clock has officially started and the first pick was already made. Hopefully I have time to do these timely.

ACTION: The Kings select SG Killian Hayes with the #1 overall pick.

REACTION: I'm biased I won't hide it. When the draft preview was uploaded with the new draft class I was underwhelmed with the talent pool and felt I really needed a top 3 pick to get someone I actually wanted. On top of that list of players I wanted was Killian Hayes, the SG with a great outside shot and passing ability with C's everywhere else. I don't think Hayes will be a tier 1 type of player, along with the other guys in this draft class pre-training camp, but the plan here is to play him at PG and train him up to be a foundational piece of the rebuild Sacramento Kings. After last season's results anyone with a pulse will be an improvement for the team. It will be interesting to see what happens later in the future since no position other than PG and SG is filled currently, but Killian can be a good one for seasons to come.

ACTION: The Wolves trade the #2 pick, Peter Harker, and 10 points to the Nets for Luka Doncic.

REACTION: The first trade of the offseason is a big one that involves a huge name. Luka Doncic goes back to the Wolves fully developed and ready to lead this team of young prospects into the playoff race. He only spent two seasons away from the Wolves but Luka has realized his potential and has made the All Star Team in both of those seasons for the first time in his career. Rasberry finally has someone to pass the ball to that can reliably score and I see OG and Mitchell having good training camps to get them more ready for the season to compete.

For the Nets this came as a slight surprise for me but I think RPF had to take a swing for a top pick now while Luka is in his prime. This may signal the Nets are tearing it down to build around Hector, Wesson, and Waters. Curious who the Nets are eyeing at #2. Getting Harker is nice and while he may not be a guy to build around, he seems like a player who can fill in as a 6th man. What a way to kick off the new trade season.

ACTION: The Net select Fang Shuo with the #2 overall pick.

REACTION: I was up and down on this prospect when I looked at him as a potential pick. 6'7 SF with good scoring potential and good athleticism. What I like most about Fang is his 3P potential and his age. He turned 18 in February and will have plenty of time to grow into the player the Nets need him to be. A running theme here with these picks is no one looks special, and Fang fits the prototype SF build that each class seems to have. However, his scoring ability will be important and the Nets can train up his weaker areas like defense. Are the Nets going rebuild now? If so this isn't a bad piece to start with, but I don't think he's a player you build around.

ACTION: Nuggets send David Leiker and James Barton to the Heat for Marcel McAlister #6 pick and 3 points.

REACTION: Whoa, the 2nd trade of the offseason sees yet another big name on the move for a draft pick. Leiker has become one of the better PGs in the league and is still relatively young, so it’s a little shocking seeing him moved for the 6th pick in a weak draft. However the Nuggets have been attempting to rebuild for some seasons now and look to have finally pulled the trigger, and Marcel is a intriguing prospect. Curious to see who they end up getting and will wait until then go give a full reaction. Like this move for the Heat and I wonder what their plans are for the offseason now. Pairing Hughes with Leiker will be fun, but is it enough for a playoff push?


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ACTION: 76ers send the 3rd pick to the Blazers for Winfred Phelps and the 4th, 26th and 28th picks.

REACTION: The 76ers like the others put their pick on the block and the Blazers made their move and traded up one spot to secure the guy they want. Per rumors there was a lot of teams looking to obtain the 3rd pick so some teams see someone who is a must have. 76ers load up on more picks and are in a great position. They already have multiple great young prospects and doesn't really need more, and instead may be looking to package these assets for an upgrade to pair with Wiseman.

ACTION: The Portland Trailblazers select Justin Patton with the 3rd overall pick.

REACTION: This was the other guy I really liked in this draft and who I debated on selecting in place of Hayes. The Trailblazers are able to get a guy to build around Luguentz Dort and this pairing spells trouble for the Omega conference. Patton is a 6'10 SF with an array of skills and reminds me of a knockoff version of James Wiseman: a tall wing who can score, rebound, and defend with decent athleticism. He has some weaknesses with the most notable being his stamina and poor steals/blocking potential. With added strength trainings Patton can be a SF/PF/C option due to his skill set and gives the Trailblazers a versatile player they can build on.

ACTION: The 76ers send the #4 pick to the Nuggets for the 6th and 23rd pick plus 3 points.

REACTION: The 76ers continue to churn out picks for his pick and the Nuggets continue to climb up the draft position. I'm wondering if the 76ers are planning on using their amassed collection of late 1sts for a late lottery pick? If not I'm not sure how I feel about taking on so many picks if they are unable to trade them away. The draft pool is weak and in those positions you are really hoping for TC to make someone decent over selecting someone like Justin Patton or these other PFs. Another option is the 76ers really like one player in particular and feel confident he will be there at the 6th spot. For the Nuggets it's time to see what they were ultimately able to flip for Leiker.

ACTION: The Nuggets select Danny Campbell with the 4th overall pick.

REACTION: Danny Campbell to me player you get if you take Damion McNary's offense and combine him with Kenneth Faried's athleticism. He's a 6'8 undersized PF with A's in INS, DRB, PSD, and BLK like McNary (except McNary had an A in ORB, not DRB) but possesses the strength and jump as Faried. This isn't a bad pickup by the Nuggets and if Danny was just a couple inches taller he may have been selected in the top 3. Was funny to see that his college award list is extensive already. He was the #1 rated player in his class and went on to be 1st Team All American, Freshman All American, 1st Team All Conference, and Conference Player of the Year. If he can translate those achievements over to this game the Nuggets will have a good one on their hands. My biggest question: is the addition of Danny and Marcel worth the trade of Leiker?

ACTION: The Knicks select Steven Woodhouse with the #5 pick.

REACTION: First that rename isn't going to stick, I didn't even watch the show and recognized the name. This was a solid pick for the Knicks for who was available. Woodhouse is a decent player that has a unique ability that is uncommon for a center: he has a B in passing. We've seen a player like this before in Karl-Anthony Towns on the Celtics some years back. KAT was a undersized PF though but with potentials that were solid across the board. Woodhouse doesn't quite posses the level of passing KAT had but I can see Woodhouse averaging 4 assists per game if he can hit his potential. Solid pick, but for a team in debt like the Knicks I wonder if it would be better to trade youth and picks for win now pieces to begin hitting the tax debt. Winning games is the 2nd easiest way to earn points, with the 1st being an active GM and getting the free points for just existing. Woodhouse is so raw that he will not be ready to help the Knicks win until he is on his 2nd contract, and if the Knicks can't pay their bills by RFA they risk losing Woodhouse for nothing. I believe Woodhouse will not be a Knick by that time so let's see what Varga is able to pull together.

ACTION: 76ers trade the 6th pick to the Magic for the 7th pick and 2 points.

REACTION: lol

ACTION: The Magic select Zeke Nnaji with the 6th pick.

REACTION: Nnaji could definitely stand to use some stamina training as he was winded when walking up the podium to shake the commissioners hand. We are getting to the point of the draft where the blue players are questionably blue. Nnaji looks decent enough but I don't see anything that stands out other than being a typical PF the college draft spits out every year. A in INS scoring and PSD, okay at rebounds, and strong. One good thing is he is tall enough to play at C if needed and with a couple of good training camps he may be a serviceable player, especially if he is able to grow in rebounding where he's weak at.

Expect the next 20 or so picks to be a decline in each because the shallow talent pull is starting to reveal itself.

ACTION: The 76ers select Daniel Oturu with the 7th pick.

REACTION: Honestly my reaction is FINALLY the 76ers have made their pick. I'm curious to know if Oturu is the guy they wanted all this time and that's why they were comfortable trading down as much as they did. Oturu is very similar to Nnaji except he's not as tall, a bit slower, and has better jump and stamina. Will this player fit with the current 76ers players? He may be ready for playing time this season if he has just a decent camp, but the 76ers already have about 7 players on rookie deals currently and are on pace to add about 5 more after the draft is over if they make all their picks. This isn't sustainable as RFA and luxury tax will pick this current team apart. However, keepit100 has plenty of time to shape the team into a team he wants. Wiseman is the star, and the rest can be packaged for upgrades if needed. Of all the teams that can be a dark horse to win it all, I think the 76ers are the most dangerous if they decide to go all in and begin trading some of these youth players for veteran pieces.

ACTION: The Cavaliers select Brandon Boston Jr. with the 8th pick.

REACTION: I was wondering when Brandon would be off the board and think the Cavs swiped up a pretty good player for where he was picked. Athletic SF with balanced scoring and decent potentials elsewhere. It doesn't look like Brandon does anything elite but he does a little bit of everything well. If the Cavs invest in him he could be a player on the verge of being a star. The only downside I see with Brandon currently is he will start the season at the age of 21 so you lose a good few years of development, and for someone his age you would hope he would be more ready to play like Oturu. Solid pickup for the Cavs here, I thought he was going to be taken around the 4th-5th pick personally.

ACTION: Wizards trade pick #18, Lawrence Brunette, and 10 points to the Hawks for pick #9.

REACTION: As is always with a trade with GM LoCo, points are at a premium and the Hawks were able to snatch up the full 10 and a pick later in the draft for the 9th pick. Currently with the players remaining no one really stands out at this point so trading for the 10 points is definitely the reasonable and fiscally responsible approach for LoCo. Wizards are able to jump up and select possibly the last blue potential player left on the board or perhaps a a green potential player that can help win now. We'll see later if LoCo is able to flip the 18th pick for points.

ACTION: The Wizards select Kendall Liberty with the 9th pick.

REACTION: Like this pick a lot for the Wizards. The team is talented and they really need players who can contribute minutes for another playoff push. In Liberty they get a guy who can come in and right away be the backup PG for a cheap 4 year deal. Liberty is a balanced PG and woke shorter than his other Wizards teammates he makes up for this with athleticism. For what X1st paid for this pick I think the return is quite nice. Right now I keep Liberty’s projection as a 6th man unless TC blesses him or someone invests in him.


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ACTION: The Sun select Bradley Connell and Eloy Griffin with the 10th and 11th pick.

REACTION: These two selections by the Suns were unfortunately autopicked. Messi 2.0 updated his block putting the two picks up for sale potentially, so hopefully these two players were someone they either feel comfortable selecting or feel they can trade them for whatever the team may need (points or future pick?) Connell had a few GMs immediately call him a "fake blue" which may be a little deserved. To highlight his positives, he can potentially be a creative scorer with his A in INS and great athleticism. Only issue is everywhere else is lacking. The team is filled with wings so I'm not sure if Connell has a spot with the team looking down the road. The other pick Eloy Griffin is the center we see every year in the college draft file: 7 foot center with good defense that has an A in ORB but a D in DRB. He's a young and a long-term project that will need time to develop. Not bad pieces to have after being autoselected.

ACTION: Magic send the #12 pick to the Nuggets for 10 points.

REACTION: Well it's official, these picks are now only worth points with the 12th going for the full 10. There will be a rush to sell these picks and if too many hit the block at once the price in points starts to decrease.

ACTION: The Nuggets select Ken Quackenbush with the 12th pick.

REACTION: A young wing with really good athleticism and a shot with no other redeeming qualities. I think his offensive production will make up for his lack of defense or rebounding but I don't see him being a starter logging full minutes if he isn't balanced out. A role off the bench could be useful for some teams that are looking to focus primarily on offense. Seems like the type of player the Nuggets will flip for someone else that fits the direction they want to go.

ACTION: The Jazz autoselect John Rubio with the 13th pick.

REACTION: Another autoselection. Hopefully Gary doesn't think this is a reincarnate of Ricky Rubio because this guy won't be dropping double digit assists at any point in his career. Rubio is one of those interesting college generated players in that he can be an okay scorer and really excels at grabbing defensive rebounds, but is slightly slow for his position.

ACTION: The Rockets select Armando Gilkey with the 14th pick.

REACTION: A young wing with really good athleticism and a shot with no other redeeming qualities. I think his offensive production will make up for his lack of defense or rebounding but I don't see him being a starter logging full minutes if he isn't balanced out. A role off the bench could be useful for some teams that are looking to focus primarily on offense. Seems like the type of player the Rockets will not flip for someone else that fits the direction they want to go.

ACTION: Thunder trade the 15th pick to the Bucks for 8 points.

REACTION: The price continues to drop for picks and GMs in the back-half of the draft order are panicking. I think Doug made this trade just so I'd talk about the Bucks.

ACTION: The Bucks select Ron McGee with the 15th pick.

REACTION: This was a good pickup by the Bucks. At this point in the draft you're just hoping to select someone that may be a contributor one day with the added hope that maybe TC boosts this guy and he becomes a future starter. Ron McGee fits this description perfectly. He's not going to be a good scorer, passer, or rebounder, but he already has the defensive skills to be a serviceable backup today pre-TC. He also has 94 JMP rating which may have been the highest in this draft class. Unfortunately, you wish he was a bit quicker and had more potential in INS with that JMP rating. If TC can bless this guy then he can be a very good player with training. Currently he's a backup player that can perform now. For the Bucks who are in the race for the championship this is a win.

ACTION: The Nets select Titus Edmonson with the 16th pick of the draft.

REACTION: Can't believe we're only on the 16th pick for these writeups. I'm starting to see why it was such a pain for Wig to keep this up for the later part of the 1st round. Titus is another interesting prospect due to his potentials being average across the board. He will do almost everything okay-ish except for rebounds where he will be weak. Only problem is he's a 6'5 SG with 64 quickness. That needs to be improved on if he gets minutes later in his career. I'm also certain he's foul prone. Looking at his college averages he played 14.8mpg and averaged 2.8 personal fouls, so he doesn't take ish from anyone apparently. Not sure if this is a player RPF will want to spend points on training as he already has Fang Shuo, but it could be a worthwhile investment to bump his quickness up some if he is part of the Nets long-term plans.

ACTION: The Mavs select Roosevelt Hodges with the 17th pick of the draft.

REACTION: We're really getting to the point scraping the bottom of the barrel. Another 6'5 SG with low quickness and okay at shooting. It will take a while for this guy to develop as he's very raw so we'll check in on this guy 4 years from now and see if he's any decent.