Cloud’s Starting Position Tiers

[Cloud]

These are my notes I put together prior to the team selection draft. None of these situations are ranked, simply tiered. “Neutral pick sitch” = They have all their own 1st round picks and don’t own anyone else’s.

Tier 1:

Orlando Magic:

• 21 year old Dwight Howard who looks like a top 5-10 player on file
• Rashard and Hedo both 28 and both look like good wings
• Not much in the backcourt
• Decent spot financially, under apron 1 and have about $15M coming off the books
• Have control of their picks; definitely in a spot with expirings and picks to make a splash for a guard
• Owe Miami a right to swap (top 14 protected)

Seattle SuperSonics:

• Rookie KD who looks exactly as good as Michael Redd or Danny Granger off the rip
• Expiring 8M 35 year old Kurt Thomas looks solid and can be flipped to get under Apron 1 and get something younger in return from a contender
• Wally Szcerbiak 2 years big money but could be a nice expiring match next year
• Own the Suns picks outright in 2008 and 2010
• Own all of their own picks
• Rookie Jeff Green if he has potential could be solid
• Random guys like Ridnour and Collison combine for just shy of max money together but they are playable role guys
• Banking on rookie KD and Jeff Green + your own picks + the suns picks to create your own path

Cleveland Cavaliers:

• 22 Year old LeBron who’s elite and under contract for 4 years and
• Big Z looks solid
• Larry Hughes contract very questionable
• Depth is very mediocre outside LeBron, Big Z and maybe Gooden
• Neutral pick sitch
• Not much financial flexibility and over apron 1 slightly

Denver Nuggets:

• Roster is excellent
• 23 year old Melo who looks like a superstar
• Allen Iverson still has juice
• Camby appears elite at C
• Nene looks very good
• Kenyon looks fun but expensive
• JR Smith at 22 looks fun AND cheap
• Najera, Atkins and Carter solid role players who
• Way over Apron 2; immediate moves to cut major money required
• Neutral pick sitch
• Built to win now and have a nice future (move is probably sell off Camby and or AI and build around Melo)

Utah Jazz:

• May be the most flexible team overall
• 23 year old Deron for cheap at 2 more years who looks very good, Millsap at 22 dirt cheap for 2 more years
• 25 year old Boozer, 28 Okur, 26 AK47 and they all look pretty solid overall
• Own the Knicks 1sts top 23 and 22 protected in 08 and 09 but definitely get to collect outright in 2010 if not (likely juicy)
• Slightly over soft cap but still way under apron 1, setup pretty well financially
• Could be frisky and make playoffs as a 4-7 seed or could sell and build up around the youth (good spot to build win rating for FA and develop youth - 2 timelines)
• Korver and Brewer look solid as role guys

Los Angeles Lakers:

• Kobe arguably best player on file and he’s 29 and signed for 4 years
• Just a hair under the 2nd apron
• Odom making good money but looks decent not great
• Bynum is 19 but hasn’t popped yet but could have pot
• Not a lot on the roster
• Random Luke Walton 6 year deal which looks very meh
• Neutral pick sitch
• Not financially flexible to start but year 2 Kwame’s 9.7M off books and Odom becomes big expiring, Ariza and Mihm also become expirings making up 5.6M so there’s flexibility to bring in another star

Phoenix Suns:

• At the top of Apron 2 so financial moves need to be made first albeit a small move would suffice as only over by about ~3M and some change
• Own the Hawks 2008 1st outright (and the Hawks look pretty bad)
• Owe their own 1st to Seattle in 08 and 10 (picks should be late though)
• 24 year old Amare locked and loaded for 4 years, and he looks nice
• 29 year old Marion looks great, signed for 2 max years big money
• Nash looks elite offensively and is 33, could remain elite for his final 3 years under contract which is slightly less than a max
• Grant Hill on a minimum, he’s 35, but he looks like an awesome starting caliber 2 way guy
• Raja 2 way vet role player and Barbosa young scoring bucket off the bench, Marcus Banks also could be solid
• Diaw potentially bad long money $9M per for 5 years and
• Team built to win now and has upside moving forward post Nash and Hill

Tier 2:


Detroit Pistons:

• Built to win now
• Sheed, Rip, Billups, Tayshaun, McDyess and Theo all look solid
• Maxiell and Afflalo look ok too for young guys
• Over HC but under the first Apron
• Not much financial flexibility but the team is set already
• Neutral pick situation
• Legit 3ish year title window

Dallas Mavericks:

• Prime Dirk at 29
• Jet, Josh Howard, Dampier and Stack all good supporting cast vets
• Young Devin Harris (could be good or bad with that extension kicking in next year)
• Team built to win now
• Neutral pick sitch
• Over apron 1, Harris extension puts them over apron 2 next year

Boston Celtics:

• Big 3 + Rondo and… James Posey?
• Over 2nd apron so first move is financial reduction
• Owes pick to MIN (08 top 3 protected, 09 top 2, 10 top 2, 2011 top 2, 2012 outright if not conveyed)
• Kind of lame if you pick this but donkey is a Celtics fan so

New Orleans Hornets:

• CP3 is 22 and looks like a machine
• Peja is a sniper on a file with few snipers
• Tyson Chandler looks good, only 25
• David West and Birdman also good adjacent and under 30
• Not a ton of cap flexibility, locked in to this core (probably not a positive)
• Neutral pick situation

San Antonio Spurs:

• Way over Apron 2, so similar to Denver this team requires immediate salary cut moves
• Prime Duncan looks elite at 31, but how long does he last?
• Manu, Parker and Finley look solid but Finley is old and expiring at 17M so relief coming financially after this year regardless
• Built to win now but roster seems like it won’t have quite enough to do so

Houston Rockets:

• 27 and 28 year old Yao and T-Mac, both look very good but maybe not elite, one TC from looking even mid perhaps!
• Not much else going on here, just random role players
• Neutral pick sitch
• Not in a bad spot financially
• Definition of middle road but with great marketing upside

Portland Trailblazers:

• Financial flexibility, 5.1M soft cap to start
• Eating some bad money on LaFrentz for 2 years but big money off the books after
• Oden is a 19 year old rookie, looks okay base wise nothing crazy, banking on pot here
• 22 year old LMA looks very questionable
• 23 year old Brandon Roy looks like a nice combo guard who could grow into a star
• 23 year old Jarrett Jack also looks promising as a spark plug scorer
• 20 year old Martell Webster is here too, plus handles and good defender. Let’s get weird?
• Pryzbilla looks like a solid big could probably fetch a first for him to help the rebuild
• Neutral pick sitch
• Good spot if you think the young trio of big names have potential but you’re definitely tanking and hoping to have a nice young nucleus to start here

Miami Heat:

• Over apron 1
• 25 year old Wade
• Ancient Shaq, Zo and Penny
• Worthless Udonis and Blount contracts making decent money
• Own a right to swap with Orlando top 14 protected in 2008. Good chance that conveys, so 2 picks in the first draft which looks cool + D Wade? Maybe let’s party?

Tier 3:

Washington Wizards:

• Gilbert, Caron and Jamison is a very nice trio. Gilbert only 25 and looks great… however he is expiring so there goes your flexibility
• Jamison has a quirky 5 year contract where it declines 6M after year 1 then gradually increases back up to 14.2M by year 5 when he’s 35 (prob bad business on the back end but extremely sweet year 2 if he’s good year 1)
• Not a ton of young talent or depth that looks interesting
• Frontcourt is pretty barren after Jamison
• Some essentially dead money in songaila, blatche and haywood
• Under apron 1 but not flexible and will be in trouble after Gilbert gets paid
• Own the grizzlies pick top 19 protected in 08, top 16 in 09, top 14 in 10, 11 and 12, top 13 in 13, turns to a 2nd in 13 if not conveyed (could be kinda fun)

New Jersey Nets:

• Vince and RJeff make for one of the better wing combos in their primes
• Kidd is old and expensive, more of a defender and passing player
• Next to nothing in the frontcourt
• Under the first apron but not a ton of flexibility
• Do have control of their picks, and only their picks
• Feels like a forgettable team that needs to blow it up

Los Angeles Clippers:

• 28 year old Brand, 25 year oldKaman make for one of the better frontcourts in the game
• Brand is also expiring big money
• Maggette is 27 and solidish but also an expiring decent chunk of money
• Own the Wolves 1st top 10 protected until 2012
• Own all of their own picks
• About as close to a blank slate to start with and make it your own if you want to rebuild to start
• Good tank spot without big financial commitments and you can sell off Kaman and Brand for stuff. Def not mad at this spot.

Minnesota Timberwolves:

• Young Al Jeff looks good but he’s expiring..
• 2008 1st is owed to the clippers (top 10 protected, and rolls over under the same conditions until 2012 where it conveys outright, so this is a tank or trade to relinquish protections situation, and idk why the clippers would relinquish tbh, at least initially)
• Owns bostons first (08 top 3 protected, 09 top 2, 10 top 2, 2011 top 2, 2012 outright if not conveyed, so enjoy the late 1st in 08)
• Lots of cap space (will sign J-Rich or G-Force prob, for better or for worse)
• Eating bad money on Jaric, Walker, Madsen

Memphis Grizzlies:

• Owed pick to Wizards but lotto protected and beyond until 2013 (tanking for a couple years at least is the move here probably)
• 27 and 21 year old Pau and Rudy Gay who both look nice, could score a great haul on both if necessary
• 2nd year Kyle Lowry looks quite nice
• Mike Miller good role player
• Rookie Mike Conley looks ok if he has pot
• Financially solid spot, Pau only one making big money
• 2.6M in soft cap some worthless deals to Darko and Swift and Cardinal eating up a decent chunk over $17M per total

Golden State Warriors:

• Peak vibes team
• Way more fun than good
• Baron, SJax, Barnes, Al Harrington all look solid but not great
• 34 year old Cwebb on a minimum could prob net you a late pick from an contender due to his financial flexibility and apparent skillset
• Neutral pick sitch
• Baron expiring so lots of cap flexibility after year 1, 2.6M in soft cap to start

Sacramento Kings:

• Not a lot going on here
• Neutral pick sitch
• Metta World Peace looks very nice as a 2 way wing in his prime, and he’s on a reasonable deal for 2 years
• Kevin Martin is a young scorer who got a big extension that kicks in next season
• Random fringe role players like John Salmons, Shareef, Mikki are all paid solid money to contribute what appears to be very little
• Frontcourt sucks, guards also suck
• Brad Miller could be okay as a role big but he’s paid like a star
• Moderate financial flexibility with a tiny bit of soft cap
• This team is literally pointless why did someone ever concoct this grouping of players

Tier 4:

Philadelphia 76ers:

• Roster SUCKS
• Has cap space (if you want G-Force or J-Rich congrats you got one of them)
• Doesn’t owe any picks, but also doesn’t own added picks
• You do have young Iggy but I don’t even know if you want young Iggy

New York Knicks:

• Majorly over apron 2
• Owe their 1st to Utah in 08 (top 23 protected, top 22 protected in 09, outright in 2010 if not conveyed)
• Don’t even have a 2nd in 08, only pick they have for certain is Chicago’s 2nd in 09 for the first 2 years technically
• Zbo, Marbury, Lee and Crawford look solid
• Curry makes a ton of money for virtually no reason
• Isiah Thomas was a WILD boy for this. He feels like he would’ve been at the Diddy freak offs too, I’d actually bet on that.

Atlanta Hawks:

• Nate
• Don’t own their 2008 1st (Suns)
• Just generally speaking, no
• ISO Joe though

Chicago Bulls:

• Bad and not fun
• Ben Wallace good and expensive
• Ben Gordon might be a solid scorer but set to get a new contract so meh
• Neutral pick sitch except for 09 2nd swap with Knicks
• No financial flexibility, and for no reason too (fuck Jerry Reinsdorf)
• Nocioni and Hinrich make a lot of money and don’t look very good
• The vibes are bad I see why they rigged the Rose lotto
• Why did you neuter Luol Deng

Indiana Pacers:

• Granger is 24 and looks solid but not great
• Team mostly looks like a group of role players who would be nice depth for contenders, so maybe a leverage play to boost a contender is in store
• Somehow over the 1st apron???
• Neutral pick sitch
• Some bad, long money here
• Main question here is just why? So much why? Also how?

Milwaukee Bucks:

• Young Bogut who looks eh
• Michael Redd is Danny Grangers twin but older and more expensive (way more)
• Neutral pick sitch
• Over soft cap but under apron 1 (again how?)
• Bad money on Bobby Simmons and Dan Gadzuric. Like bad, bad.
• Just boring in general but you could do worse I guess. Not much, but technically worse.

Toronto Raptors:

• Similar to pacers and bucks just boring
• Neutral pick sitch
• Not much financial flexibility
• Some bad long money on mediocre role players
• Young Bargs who looks mid
• Bosh is here but he doesn’t rebound just looks okay
• Feels like it’s destined for Hokey, and I’m here for that

[G9.]

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