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Divisional Preview
Central
2021
Atlanta Hawks
GM: NC =)
2018-19: 33-49
2019-20: 39-43
2020-21*: 44-38
Look for the Hawks to earn a 5th-8th seed this year. The East is looking rather strong across the board, but the Hawks have been collecting talent for over two seasons now and they want to get back into the competitive scene. Off-season additions DeMar DeRozan and Jabari Parker look to aid the Hawks young foundation of Luka Doncic and John Collins in making the playoffs for the first time in their careers. DeMar and Jabari both bring along with them veteran playoff experience, something the Hawks are hoping proves necessary. This will be the first time we will witness previous lottery pick, SF Cam Reddish, playing a full season. Expect him to make a consistent impact as a 3&D player. The Hawks are certainly set at C and PG with John Collins and Luka Doncic, respectively. Cam Reddish will likely hold the SF position for a few seasons. NC may look to package assets such as DeMar DeRozan, Brandon Clarke, Trendon Watford, Carsen Edwards, and draft picks for upgrades at the PF and SG position. For the meanwhile though, DeRozan is a great fit in Atlanta. Let's see how he meshes with the others because he may have found his retirement home.
Current Starters:
C John Collins
PF Brandon Clarke
SF Cam Reddish
SG DeMar DeRozan
PG Luka Doncic
Looking Ahead:
Atlanta is in possession of their 2021 1st rounder, but not their 2022 1st rounder, nor their 2024 1st rounder. In 2022 the Hawks are in possession of the Oklahoma City Thunder 1st rounder. This 2022 Thunder pick is trade-able, since the Hawks possess their 21/23 picks. Look for NC to trade this pick and upgrade one of PF/SF/SG. He may be content with Brandon Clarke and Cam Reddish and waiting on them to develop, but in a few short seasons this roster is going to be among the most expensive. It may be wise to pony up for upgrades now and compete. NC still has a few more seasons until Collins and Doncice even hit their primes though, so really the Hawks timeline for competing is only beginning.
Charlotte Hornets
GM: BrackAttack
2018-19: 48-34
2019-20: 57-25
2020-21*: 50-32
If there's one thing you can count on Brack doing, it's making trades until he's at least somewhat content. Expect the Hornets to make a number of moves as the season gets underway. Brack's abundance of moves has alotted him one of the NBA's deepest rosters from 1-5, and All-Stars Blake Griffin and Kemba Walker still play well above their ratings. They don't really have a superstar, but that doesn't mean you can count them out. They match up nicely at every position and their rotations are enormously flexible. Hell, they are able to run Blake Griffin as a super sub at three positions. This flexibility and match-up ability makes the Hornets a fearsome playoff force, so no matter how well they perform in the regular season, keep an eye out for this team in the playoffs. Brack is currently near the hardcap and doesn't possess any expiring contracts, but don't expect this to limit him from shaking things up quite a bit before the trade deadline.
Current Starters:
C Willie Cauley-Stein
PF Kevin Love
SF Danillo Gallinari
SG Fred VanVleet
PG Kemba Walker
6 Blake Griffin
Looking Ahead:
Charlotte possesses their 2021 and 2022 1st round draft picks, but not their 23 nor their 25. This limits Brack's ability to make moves to upgrade a position. He's quite deep enough as it is, so his trade packages may seek to combine players and depth rather than combine future picks. Brack has no interest in tanking so do not go to him with tanking offers, but he may be a great place to downgrade a starter into multiple role players.
Chicago Bulls
GM: Ebbs
2018-19: 22-60
2019-20: 32-50
2020-21*: 62-20
Between 2018-19 and 2019-20 the Chicago Bulls added enough talent to their roster to add 10 wins to their win total. In this most recent off-season of 2020, the Chicago Bulls bolstered their roster so tremendously that we can expect the Bulls to earn themselves the 1st or 2nd seed in the East behind 60+ wins. Fans of the 2018-19 Chicago Bulls may remember watching starting SG Ryan Arcidiacono struggle to make lay-ups. Well, those fans who stuck behind Chicago can get ready to cheer on as James Harden takes the East by storm. Previous league-leading scorer, SG James Harden, joins a young Chicago roster that is hungry for the playoffs. RJ Barret and Wendell Carter Jr. have developed significantly and the additions of Harden by trade and Horford/Osman by Free Agency have put this Chicago team in a strong position. Chicago could use an upgrade off the bench at the 1 and 2, but elsewhere they look pretty stacked. Expect Ebbs to experiment with his depth chart as the season progresses but don't expect much trade action from the Bulls.
Current Starters:
C Mo Bamba
PF Wendell Carter Jr.
SF Lauri Markkanen
SG James Harden
PG R.J. Barrett
Looking Ahead:
Chicago remains in possession of their 2021 1st round draft pick, but their 2022 is owed to the Detroit Pistons. Chicago also owes their 2024 1st rounder to Orlando, and their 2026 first rounder to Houston. This means the Chicago Bulls cannot legally trade any draft picks until 2028. This puts their trade capacity in a bind, but that shouldn't matter for this Bulls team. Draft picks aren't the only assets in the league and they possess many non-draft-pick assets. Ebbs may create a package for an upgrade or spend GM Cash for depth, but this roster as it stands should compete among the very best.
Cleveland Cavaliers
GM: Hokeyrules
2018-19: 25-57
2019-20: 26-56
2020-21*: 20-62
Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, I don't think things are going to be looking up anytime soon. Their two main promising prospects, Collin Sexton and Miles Bridges, both showed abysmal efforts during training camp and many expect them to regress during the 2020-21 season. Their two most recent draft picks, Jaxson Hayes and Isaiah Mobley, also can't be expected to contribute significantly as of yet. This puts the Cavaliers among the worst teams in the league. At least those with similarly expected wins have players that are bound to develop. At this point it seems as if the Cavaliers roster is comprised of underachieving bums who can be expected to soon exit the league. Recent Free Agency additions, C Jahlil Okafor and PF Derrick Favors can be expected to boost this Cavalier roster towards some wins. The Cavaliers would be wise to trade them and continue to shoot for that future hall of fame draftee. They can't expect to build around Isaiah Mobley.
Current Starters:
C Jahlil Okafor
PF Derrick Favors
SF Miles Bridges
SG Talen Horton-Tucker
PG Collin Sexton
Looking Ahead:
Fortunately for the Cleveland Cavaliers, they do remain in possession of all of their first-round draft picks. Additionally, the Cleveland Cavaliers are also owed the Milwaukee Bucks 2022 1st rounder. This bodes well for their future, as currently, it looks very bleak. The Cavaliers are under new management, a young guy, new to the league. Expect him to make a few more learning mistakes before he hits his stride. Once he starts hitting with these draft picks we can expect the Cavaliers to bounce back strong. But for now, they should be a free mark in the win column.
Detroit Pistons
GM: Panic!
2018-19: 23-59
2019-20: 12-70
2020-21*: 20-62
Detroit! Tank City! Wow. Tremendous efforts on Panic!'s part to participate in the top 5 of the NBA Draft in consecutive years. Expect him to do so again this year, and perhaps another year after that. It worked out well for him in 2019, as the 2020 NBA Draft netted him a player who appears to be a star in the making. PG Tyrese Maxey stunned in CPU Preseason, dropping nearly 30 points per game. Behind his 30 points per game Maxey also averaged 8.6 assists and 2.3 steals. Expect Panic! to covet and adore Maxey as he's only 18 years of age. If Panic! can continue to successfully tank, collect GM Cash and future draft picks via cutbacks, and draft a few more all-stars around Maxey, the Pistons will eventually be a top-seed. Panic! will have to do better than his 33% hit-rate on draft picks though, seeing as his other picks, PG Coby White and SF Josh Green, haven't exactly hit.
Current Starters:
C RFA
PF RFA
SF Josh Green
SG RFA
PG Tyrese Maxey
Looking Ahead:
The future in Detroit is very similar to the future in Cleveland. The Pistons remain in possession of all of their future first-round picks, as well as 2023 and 2025 first rounders from the Toronto Raptors. This is obviously ideally for Panic!, as he's not quite sure when he'll stop tanking. A couple hits on studs like Maxey will put the Pistons in a great place. But until then... we wait.
Indiana Pacers
GM: BeatsHaveADream
2018-19: 54-28
2019-20: 55-27
2020-21*: 56-26
The Indiana Pacers won 54 in 2018, 55 in 2019, and they'll win 56 in 2020. They lost C Hassan Whiteside in Free Agency, but it shouldn't set them back too much. They have strong starters at 4 of the 5 positions and starter flexibility to boot. Their big man can swap positions up front, Oladipo can play anywhere from 1 to 3, Klay from 1 to 3, etc. This will allow the Pacers to matchup nicely come playoffs, but until then this roster is also built to win regular season games. They've got tremendous shooters and a deep roster. They are lacking a strong third big man with the loss of Whiteside, but I expect Beats will cook something up to fill that hole. Beats loves to experiment with his depth charts so we will likely see quite a few looks from the Pacers until he is content. Keep an eye out for him on the trade market as he is in possession of some decent role players on solid contracts (Hardaway, Bogdanovic).
Current Starters:
C Myles Turner
PF Domantas Sabonis
SF Malik Beasley
SG Klay Thompson
PG Victor Oladipo
Looking Ahead:
The Indiana Pacers do not own their 2023 or 2025 1st round picks. They also owe the Minnesota Timberwolves a right to swap 1st rounders in 2026. This limits Beats ability to make moves to bolster his starters. As stated before, he can package a few role players for an upgrade perhaps. Otherwise the Pacers may find it best to keep the depth. Well lined-up depth in a good playoff depth chart can wreak havoc. It's also crucial in the instance of major injuries. Beats has a few options, all of them positive so long as he has players such as Dipo, Klay, Sabonis, and Turner on his roster.
Milwaukee Bucks
GM: Username
2018-19: 59-23
2019-20: 56-26
2020-21*: 49-33
As you may have heard, the East is tough. It was tough last year when the Milwaukee Bucks had Lebron James. It's even tougher this year, and the Bucks lost Lebron to retirement. This put GM Username in a bind. He no longer possessed the rights to the bulk of his draft picks, and his roster was falling apart. Thus far he's attempted to piece it back together. He doesn't need an absolute ton surrounding Giannis to win, so he will continue to do so. But once it comes playoffs the Bucks will show that they cannot hang with the big dogs any longer. With Bledsoe's decline in training camp and Kristaps Porzingis' inability to consistently score, the Milwaukee Bucks lack everything leading up to and including a 2nd option. Giannis Antetokounmpo, 1st option. Everything that follows, incredibly lackluster. It wouldn't be wise to trade Giannis, so expect Username to sit on him. The Bucks can try and improve their roster using GM Cash, but they lack the necessary assets to really piece together a contender.
Current Starters:
C Richuan Holmes
PF Kristaps Porzingis
SF Giannis Antetokounmpo
SG Tyreke Evans
PG Tremont Waters
Looking Ahead:
As previously mentioned, the Milwaukee Bucks do not own the rights to many of their future picks. Cleveland will receive their 2022 1st. Dallas their 2024. Houston their 2026. They owe the Spurs the right to swap in 2021 and 2025. This leaves the Bucks with 1 draft pick over a 5 year span. It will be hard to build around Giannis through the draft without draft picks. Expect Username to suck some people off to get his picks back, or something. I'm really not quite sure what he's going to do.
Toronto Raptors
GM: Donkey
2018-19: 61-21
2019-20: 58-24
2020-21*: 60-22
The 2018 NBA Champions came back hard in 2019 and nearly put up another 60 win season. They ultimately fell short of 60 and their regression proved significant in the playoffs. The 2019 Toronto Raptors were an NBA Playoff early exit, quite upsetting following the championship season. Donkey made sure to retain all significant contributors and the Toronto Raptors trained hard in training camp, with key players such as C Andre Drummond showing improvement in key areas. Expect Donkey to continue to tweak his depth chart, he's certainly got the star power to fuel another title run. The Raptors would benefit from an upgrade at point guard. A true facilitator such as Lonzo Ball might actually work well with such strong scorers as Kawhi and Durant.
Current Starters:
C Andre Drummond
PF Aaron Gordon
SF Kevin Durant
SG Kawhi Leonard
PG Reggie Jackson
Looking Ahead:
The Toronto Raptors either owe their first rounders outright or owe the right to swap, up until the year 2026. So for the next 5 seasons the Toronto Raptors will be without a top-20 first round addition, assuming no trades. Kevin Durant is 32, he'll be 38 the next year the Raptors have a 1st. This trio of superstars can compete for titles for few more seasons, but how much longer? How long before Kevin Durant begins to regress? These are questions the Raptors will address as they face a future without firsts.