Southeast

Miami Heat

Approx Cap Situation: $83,000,000 (~$19,000,000 under)

GM Points: 61

Record: -13

Picks: #24 – Kyle Kuzma, #56 – Alec Peters

Key Players Returning:

·     Monta Ellis $10, 763,500
Dwight Powell $8,375,000
DJ Augustin $7,250,000
Trey Burke, Timofey Mozgov, Channing Frye, Mike Dunleavy
Acquired: Lance Thomas, Maurice Ndour       

 

Unrestricted Free Agents:

PJ Tucker, Luke Babbitt, Devin Harris

Restricted Free Agents:

Trey Burke

Rumours:

The Heat have a new GM, an aging team and their 2018 1^st is owed to Charlotte unless it finishes in the top 3. I’d say a fairly clear rumour would be that the GM has every intention to steer any player who is pulling his weight to a new team and watch them fall down the standings to claim a top 3 pick and hopefully some youth with upside along the way so that the 2019 1^st that would then become the Hornets pick is not as good as the top 3 pick they just used. Is it old and producing? It’s yours!

Targets:

Rudy Gay is gone already as he was not coming back and they targeted big men in the draft. Trey Burke has not lived up to anything close to his original draft hype, but he might be worth a cheap bring back when your only other PG bench option is Devin Harris. PJ Tucker you would think is gone and really the Heat could stand to get better pretty much at every position, so they’re going to need to plan out a careful strategy to land a couple of decent Free Agents with some upside, without breaking the GM Point budget. Maybe some middle tier guys.

Overview:

Each season I think to myself Miami may have a tough time next year and each year they manage to scrape together a powerhouse team of veteran ballers. With no 2016 1^st or 2017 1^st and limited GM Miami’s assets are getting a little thin, can GM Proid scrape together another contender? I can’t doubt him because he keeps putting out a worthy team full of geriat…, I mean solid veterans.

Possible Line-up

·         PG – DJ Augustin

·         SG – Monta Ellis

·         SF – Lance Thomas

·         PF – Kyle Kuzma

·         C – Dwight Powell

·         6^th Man – Mike Dunleavy

 

 

Orlando Magic

Approx Cap Situation $100,000,000 (~$2,000,000 under)

GM Points: 17

Record: -8

Picks: #9 – Lauri Markkanen, #26 – Tony Bradley, #29 – Derrick White, #54 – Sterling Brown

Key Players Returning:

·        Danny Green $ 10,000,000

·        Ed Davis $ 6,666,667

·        Pascal Siakam $ 1,196,040

Malachi Richardson, Noah Vonleh, Kyle Singler
Acquired: Jonas Valanciunas, Goran Dragic, Wesley Matthews, Tony Snell, Jeremy Lamb

Unrestricted Free Agents:

Nil

Restricted Free Agents:

Tony Snell

Rumours:

After pretty much trading out his entire roster prior to and immediately after the draft, the Magic are surely done with the downgrading. Their roster took a massive hit, without really any need for it, so anything is still possible I guess. Danny Green was on the outer before the break, he’s probably set to be shipped out after.

Targets:

Well they won’t have much cash to spend, if any in free agency. They will get a full MLE to play with, but who knows where that will get them against the teams with better records that will also have that same cash. They have few GM points and a full roster. Targets you’d suggest would be limited.

Overview:

The roster while it is downgraded severely from when GM Javi took over, and again just recently, is not in terrible shape. That said, it would seem to be a lottery team still. They basically have one shot at the big time and that would be the Dragic/Matthews backcourt catching fire nightly as their rookies won’t offer much as rookies and their frontcourt while solid has made a living being solid and that’s about it during the respective players tenures in the league.

Possible Line-up

·         PG – Goran Dragic

·         SG – Wesley Matthews

·         SF – Danny Green

·         PF – Ed Davis

·         C – Jonas Valanciuns

·         6^th Man – Jeremy Lamb

 

Atlanta Hawks

Approx Cap Situation $ 92,000,000 (~$10,000,000 under)

GM Points: 94

Record: -15

Picks: #1 – Markelle Fultz, #15 – Justin Patton, #18 – Justin Jackson

Key Players Returning:

·     Greg Monroe $ 17,145,838

·      Tristan Thompson $ 15,330,435

·      Justice Winslow $ 2,593,440

      Jrue Holiday $ TBD

Gerald Henderson, Sam Dekker, Denzel Valentine, Malik Beasley, DeAndre Bembry, Alexis Ajinca

Unrestricted Free Agents:

Jrue Holiday, Justin Holiday, Raymond Felton

Restricted Free Agents:

Nil

Rumours:

Jrue Holiday would seem to be the centre of the universe in Atlanta this summer with his Unrestricted Free Agency perhaps being key. Rumour has it, the Hawks might be willing to let him ride in a S&T if the right offer comes along so they can turn the team over to #1 draft selection Markelle Fultz from the get go. Greg Monroe, who surprisingly opted into his contract is also likely to be a hot name through the season as he tries to prove himself for another big contract. Finally, is Justice Winslow on the outer with the drafting of Justin Jackson?

Targets:

With Monroe opting in, the Hawks actually look pretty set across the board. Their glaring hole right now is the PG spot, after Gerald Henderson put up a productive season to hold the SG spot, but if they resign Jrue Holiday and if Fultz comes fkying out of the gate, the wings will quickly come under fire. Maybe chasing a Danny Green on the cheap, or a good locker room presence vet like Kyle Korver could serve them well while the kid wings get up to speed.

Overview:

The post Chris Paul era has begun and the team looks sound. GM Frahm had some tough calls in his first year but he’s come out the other end smiling. An A grade draft will help do that to any GM, particularly when you beat the odds to land the #1 pick, but surprises like Greg Monroe opting in means they only need to chase Jrue Holiday in free agency now which is a much nicer equation. The team could turn some heads if it gels, and if Frahm’s rookie year was anything to go by, they very well could as he had them in a playoff spot for a number of weeks early before injuries and the eventual admission of defeat gave way to their demise, and has given rise to hope for the new season.

Possible Line-up

·         PG – Markelle Fultz/Jrue Holiday

·         SG – Gerald Henderson

·         SF – Sam Dekker

·         PF – Tristan Thompson

·         C – Greg Monroe

·         6^th Man – Justice Winslow

 

Charlotte Hornets

Approx Cap Situation $85,000,000 (~$17,000,000 under)

GM Points: 47

Record: -6

Picks: #13 – Harry Giles, #35 – Frank Jackson, #38 – Ike Anigbogu, #41 – Anzejs Pasecniks, #46 – Mathias Lessort

Key Players Returning:

·        Kristaps Porzingis $ 4,317,720

·        Brandon Ingram $ 5,281,680

·        Myles Turner $ 2,463,840

         Elfrid Payton $ 2,613,600

Jamal Murray, Dejounte Murray, Evan Turner, Gary Harris, Trevor Booker, Mario Hezonja, Thon Maker
Acquired: JJ Redick

Unrestricted Free Agents:

JJ Redick, Matt Barnes

Restricted Free Agents:

Christian Wood, Willie Reed

Rumours:

One of the youngest, longest, upsidest (yeah it’s a word now!) teams going around and rumour has it they’ll be looking to shift Evan Turner over the break. JJ Redick is likely going to be owed about what Turner is making, and Turner is probably the lesser needed guy…but then again, both are pretty unneeded on a roster of this make-up. Maybe they look to drop both of them and try for a free agent splash? Barnes and Wood are likely gone, Reed is a decision based on what he decides he’s worth and after that you just decide to stash your last couple picks or not.

Targets:

Cap space might be plenty if they let Redick walk, or it might be limited if they don’t. Who do you target when you also have to accommodate 3+ rookies as well? I think targets are likely to be just retaining and maintaining the guys they already have as the improvement from within should be enough.

Overview:

With a full roster and possible full cap heading to free agency, the improvement from within to the likes of Zinga, Inga, Maker, Turner and Payt…a, should be enough to project this team into a playoff spot that they nearly grabbed this past season anyway. Giles and Anigbogu sure up the big man rotation if they’re healthy and really, the roster is brimming with untapped potential. Tap that keg Charlotte.

Possible Line-up

·         PG – Elfrid Payton

·         SG – Gary Harris

·         SF – Brandon Ingram

·         PF – Kristaps Porzingis

·         C – Myles Turner

·         6^th Man – Jamal Murray

 

Washington Wizards

Approx Cap Situation $100,000,000 (~$2,000,000 under)

GM Points: 45

Record: -3

Picks: #42 – Frank Mason, #49 – Dillon Brooks

Key Players Returning:

·        Klay Thompson $ 16,663,575

·        Julius Randle $ 3,267,120

·        Jamal Crawford $ 13,253,012

Ishmael Smith, Joe Johnson, Andre Roberson

Unrestricted Free Agents:

Roy Hibbert, Kris Humphries, Tiago Splitter, Leandro Barbosa, Bismack Biyombo, Brandon Bass

Restricted Free Agents:

Andre Roberson, Cristiano Felicio, Gary Payton

Rumours:

The Wizards really want to part ways with restricted free agents Andre Roberson and Cristiano Felicio, despite them each being the best players on the tea at their respective positions at this time. They have a wad of UFAs, all of which are going to be hard to retain, especially Bismack Biyombo without some fancy salary renouncing, which you would expect to occur when you need a starting C bad enough that you are starting Felicio.

Targets:

You got a guy on the scrap heap? He’s a Washington target. However Darko managed to get his cobbled together roster into the post season last year despite it having a sub 500 record, so you have to give the guy some credit. He won’t have much to spend in cash or points, so look for the guys that no one else wants as they have little or no upside to be the Wizards targets to fill out a roster that only has 6 guys and 2 possible rookies contracted at this time.

Overview:

The Wizards are building around Klay, but they don’t really have building pieces around Klay. They scraped into the playoffs last season, but the roster is getting worse…potentially waaaayyyy worse, and they hold only 2 pieces of legitimate value to other teams. They don’t even own their pick! They’d be best to look at trading out the big names for multiple assets back, but then maybe they can coble together another scrap team to challenge for that last roster spot and foil the dreams of the team who owns their possibly valuable pick.

Possible Line-up

·         PG – Ishmael Smith

·         SG – Klay Thompson

·         SF – Joe Johnson

·         PF Julius Randle

·         C – Bismack Biyombo

·         6^th Man – Jamal Crawford

 

 

Ladder Predictor 2017

Realistically you’d think this division only has a hope of producing one playoff team and you’d think the Hornets would be them. The Hawks could give it a shake if they gel and see the same growth the Hornets are a near lock to see, but the Hornets run deeper. The Wizards take 3^rd here…but that’s probably saying more about the Magic than anything as the Heat are the default 5^th given they desperately want to finish in the bottom 3 in the league. Why the Wiz above the Magic you ask? Well the Wiz will be trying to land any sort of vet piece that can produce with a few vets they already have, while the Magic are what you see is what you get.

1.      Charlotte Hornets

2.      Atlanta Hawks

3.      Washington Wizards

4.      Orlando Magic

5.      Miami Heat