Post by styro on Feb 5, 2011 15:48:05 GMT -5
Team Age Breakdown
These are the teams listed in order, from youngest to oldest. I will be grading teams based on their ability to win now (present) and their future outlook, good or bad.
Average Age: 24.3 years old
Key Players: Demar Derozan 26, Dan Davis 20, Ryan Harrow 23,
The Present: They are by far the worst team in the league and they might even be the worst team ever in league history. They have yet to get a win, 4 sims into the season. They just acquired one of the best scorers in the league and they still can't manage to win a game which is pretty shocking. They have some nice pieces and should add some more with their tanking pick. They picked a direction and they're doing a great job with it. Grade: F
The Future: Their future looks good, but at the moment it doesn't look great. It probably will once their done with the tanking stage cause they seem to be a doing a great job so far. They have their perimeter for the future seemingly taken care of so look for them to draft some bigs in the next few years, or possibly trade for one. Regardless, they have a wing player they know they can count on for the next 7 or so years to go along with a great young Point Guard. Their future looks solid Grade: B+
Average Age: 24.3 years old
Key Players: Dwight Stone 21, Nicholas Batum 26, Tony Mitchell 23
The Present: Another tanking team in the East this year. They probably won't compete with the Knicks for the worst record but they should be bad nonetheless. They have two good Small Forwards and not much else right now so there record isn't a surprise. Their core players are considerably young so it doesn't make sense for them to try and win anyways. Grade: C-
The Future: Their future looks decent. They are probably lacking that one true elite caliber prospect at the moment but don't be surpsied if Dwight Stone emerges as one. Nicholas Batum is also pretty young and it looks like he'll still be performing at a high level when Celtics are done rebuilding. Tony Mitchell will be the x-factor, if he can become a stud alongside dwight and Batum to go long with some prospects celtics should acquire, this team should be set. Their future looks good, they have the nuggets pick also.Grade: B
Average Age: 25.3 years old
Key Players: Terrence Ross 23
The Present: The Pacers looked like they were going to be in a horrible spot this year. The previous GM Mops went over the HC and it didn't look like he was going to get under before the HC penalty would come into effect and they didn't have their pick. Luckily spence took over and even though this team has nothing of value on their team other than a 23 year old Ross whose numbers seem a bit inflated, at least now they have their pick. This team should continue to fall down the standings as the season progresses.Grade: D
The Future: They don't have much to look forward to other than their own picks. Ideally, you'd like to have a rebuilding piece before you start to tank. I mean, Terrence Ross looks decent, but he seems like a career role player to me, but I could be wrong. Luckily, this a a freebie for Biggie so having 4 of his own picks to tank should give him a decent future, but you never know, he could also draft a couple busts along the way also. They have nothing but tanking to look forward to.Grade: D
Average Age: 25.5 years old
Key Players: Perry Jones 24, Fab Melo 23, Andre Drummond 20, Jrue Holiday 25
The Present: They just recently decided to do a mini-rebuild, but it's probably unlikely that they'll lose enough games to get themselves a legit stud in the draft. They might not even fall out of the playoffs. They're trying to lose as many games as possible, but it's hard when you have one of the best player in the game in Perry Jones. It'll be interesting to see whether Play's tank job will be successful enough.Grade: B-
The Future: Their future looks great. They have themselves a 30 ppg scorer for the next 10 years seemingly to go along with a nice young PG in Jrue Holiday. The development of Andre Drummond will be huge for the future of this team. If he turns into the stud we all project him to be, he should be the sidekick Perry Jones needs in order for this team to compete. The party pooper of the bunch seems to be Fab Melo. At the moment, he looks like a bust, but maybe he's one of those late bloomers. If he is, the Bulls should be scary. Grade: A-
Average Age: 25.6 years old
Key Players: Jordan Price 20, James Harden 26, Rajon Rondo 29
The Present: Nothing but teams trying to tank thus far. They have some decent young talent but not enough to win any considerable amount of games. They're probably going to have to start losing games at a faster rate though if they want to get a sick pick. Trading one of these guys would make sense at this point. Rondo doesn't seem to fit with whatever future the Wizards plan to build and they have 3 big contracts that it seems they would be better off moving at this point to make a bigger commitment to losing. Grade: C-
The Future: Well, at least Jordan Price looks like he might be pretty good. His stats might be inflated, but i'm sure if the Wizards made a big commitment towards developing him, he could be a legit stud on a good team. Harden and Rondo probably won't be around for too much longer. Harden is mediocre and he's making a lot of money the next few years. The same could be said for Marvin Williams and Rajon Rondo. The future of this team is uncertain, they have the contracts of a team trying to compete but the talent of a tanking team, weird.Grade: C
Average Age: 25.7 years old
Key Players: Joakim Noah 30, Eddy Curry 32, Rashad McCants 31, Brandon Jennings 26
The Present: Finally, a team that's trying to win. They have a solid team mainly consisting of good veterans to go along with Brandon Jennings. They probably won't be competing for a title or nothing, but they should lock themselves into a top 4 seed with the recent acquisition of Rashad McCants. I wouldn't be surprised to see this team advance a couple rounds in the playoffs. It looks like they could use some depth though. Their starting five is pretty good but there's not much behind them, if anything. If they add some cheap depth, maybe they could catch the Bobcats. I view them as a solid second round team at this point.Grade: B
The Future: This is a team mainly built for the present and to try and now. As expected from a win now team, there's not much to look forward to in the future and I'm sure at this point, their gm isn't even thinking about the future. Brandon Jennings seems like a great piece moving forward, but it looks like he won't be surrounded by much once Curry, Noah and McCants start hitting the decline. Brandon Jennings is the only piece they have for the future. Grade: B-
Average Age: 25.7 years old
Key Players: Anthony Randolph 26, Shannon Brown 29, Ricky Rubio 26
The Present: The Bobcats are one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. They probably don't have the best talent, but they just seem to have a number of solid pieces that fit well together. It looked like the Z-bo deal might make them a little worse, but they have played better since the deal. It helps when you have one of the most efficient Point Guards in the league steering the ship. They have two sick defensive bigs and a great Point Guard to go alone with two solid wing players. That seems like a great way to win games. Grade: B+
The Future: It looks like the Bobcats will be good for a while. They have no one over 30 and their biggest worry might just be resigning some of these guys. Their oldest starter is only 29 and they have a sick young Point Guard in his prime. I think they'll be able to perform at this level for the next 5-7 years. It looks like all their players are finished products though. so don't look for them to improve much from within. Regardless, this team should be solid for the years to come. Grade: B
Average Age: 25.8 years old
Key Players: Kevin Love 25, Nene 33,
The Present: They're definitely not a playoff team, but their GM doesn't seem to be proactive enough to choose a direction. He's stuck in mediocrity and they have Nene at 33 who would be better off helping a team trying to compete now. They have a nice young player in Kevin Love, but other than the two mentioned, they don't have anything. They'd be better off trading their good player and just undergo a full tank job, but Tiger doesn't really make a lot of trades. He probably should have committed to a rebuild last season when he traded Gerald Wallace. Grade: C-
The Future: It sucks. there's no other way to put it. They aren't good enough to make playoffs and they aren't bad enough to secure themselves a stud Rookie next season. Unless they make some trades, this team could be in mediocrity for a while. They have Kevin Love whose still young and solid but at this rate, it will just be him and a bunch of mediocre prospects taken late in the lotto. Trading Nene would go a long ways to improving this teams future. They'll get worse and maybe they'll get some decent rebuilding piece in return. They need to pick a direction and commit to it. Grade: C
Average Age: 25.9 years old
Key Players: Andrew Bogut 30, Blake Griffin 26, Tyler Honeycutt 25, Tyreke Evans 26, Quentin Derrick 22
The Present: They got off to a horrible start to begin the season, but they've bounced back the last couple sims. They have the potential to make the playoffs and make some noise but it has yet to be seen. The recent acquisition of Honeycutt should go a long ways and it seems like the Hawks are committed to maximizing his development. They're still considerably young, so maybe this isn't their year. They have 5 players capable of putting up 20 points on any given day and a sixth man who averages double digits in points. This team looks pretty solid, probably a lock for a playoff spot.Grade: B
The Future: Their future looks great, but it could easily look better. Their four best players are all 26 and under and three of them are still on their rookie contracts in Blackmon, Honeycutt and Derrick. Unfortunately, Quentin Derrick is all but gone once his rookie contract is up since he wasn't extended so the future doesn't look as bright as it probably should have been. Hawks dropped the ball on that one. If they can resign Honeycutt, this team still should be solid for the years to come. Grade: B+
Average Age: 25.9 years old
Key Players: Enes Kanter 23, Chris Bosh 31, Derrick Rose 26, Maalik Wayns 24
The Present: They are a borderline playoff/lotto team at this point but they have some sick pieces at the moment. They have one of the best point Guards in Derrick Rose to go along with some pretty solid young talent but this team isn't ready to win yet. Maybe if they sacrifice some of their young talent for win now players, they could make the playoffs, but losing as many games as possible seems to be the best option at this point. Chris Bosh should probably be traded though, i don't know why they acquired him. He's been on the decline for years now and the trend has continued this year. They're probably a lotto team regardless though. Grade: C+
The Future: Let's see, they have: Derrick Rose Maalik Wayns, Enes Kanter, and Sean O'mara. They have some great young pieces but Kanter is going to have to perform up to his ratings or lumley is going to have to invest in him if they want to maximize their future potential. Sean O'Mara looks like a stud in the making. Pairing him with Derrick Rose and Maalik should lead to some decent success for them in the future. I love the young core they have. Grade: A-
Average Age: 26.4 years old
Key Players: Jereme Richmond 23
The Present: They just finished shipping out all their good assets in order to tank. They're in the playoff chase right now, but they'll probably free fall down the standings as the season progresses. They don't really have anyone good on their roster. They have some nice looking players, but nothing elite. Broph usually maximizes the development of his players so i wouldn't be surprised if Jereme turns into a star eventually. For now, this team is probably a mid-lotto team. We'll see if they're able to lose at a rate that allows them to get a sick pick. Grade: C
The Future: The future looks ehhh. I mean they have Richmond who looks good, and kuran who looks decent but they don't really have a sick prospect at the moment. Maybe they'll get one via the draft or Jereme will emerge into a stud. They probably sold short on some of the studs they had and it kind of shows on their roster right now. Broph is the gm though, so the franchise should be in good hands. Grade: C+
Average Age: 26.6 years old
Key Players: Andrew Wiggins 20, Darko Milicic 30, Terrico White 25, Dwyane Wade 33
The Present: The Raptors are a legit playoff team at the moment and they look like a solid 2nd round type team. They have a solid blend of veterans and young guys although Wiggins was kind of disappointing in his first TC. They're getting a little old with their best players though so their window could close shut in the next couple season before they're forced to rebuild. Grade: B
The Future: Wiggins was dubbed as a sure first star at the time of the draft but he has failed to impress. We saw guys from his draft blow up this past training camp so Wiggins kind of fell behind but he still has time to turn into a star. Dwyane Wade and Darko probably won't be around for too much longer so it looks like it's just Wiggins and Terrico. Their future looks decent. Grade: B-
Average Age: 28.4 years old
Key Players: Chris Singleton 25, Josh Selby 23, Scottie Reynolds 28, Sergio Rodriguez 29
The Present: The Magic have some firepower offensively but it looks like their defensive ineptitude might cost them any chance at doing much this season. They made a great acquisition for the present and future in Josh Selby but they're still missing that interior presence, both offensively and defensively so it'll be interesting to see if Manas doesn't try and acquire a big with one of those perimeter players. It's going to be interesting to see the lineup they put out there once Sergio comes back from his injury also. They'll probably make the playoffs and have the potential to make some noise once they get there. Grade: B+
The Future: I love the acquisition of Selby, he's already producing great numbers and he's still only 23. He has a good 10 years left in him and the Magic should be the benefactors of his production for the majority of that time. It doesn't look like they have anyone alongside him to develop, but Scottie and Sergio are still young enough to keep this team good for a few years. Grade: B
Average Age: 28.9 years old
Key Players: Marc Gasol 30, Al Jefferson 30, Chris Paul 30
The Present: It looks like we have a mini-Bryan on our hands here. His team probably isn't as mediocre as their record indicates but you'd think they'd have to trade these older guys while they still hold great value. He doesn't seem to like drafting prospects though so he'll probably stick with this team until they start declining. Don't get me wrong, they're a real good team, but they are probably no longer championship contenders. Grade: B+
The Future: There really is no future for this team. They have no one under 30 who could possibly play a key role on any good team anytime soon. They have no prospects and they don't like to tank so there future is in question. Luckily, they probably won't have to worry about it for another three to four years. All there key players are right at 30. At the moment, they have no future, but that's the price you pay when you're trying to win now. Grade: C
Average Age: 29.9 years old
Key Players: Dwight Howard 29, Lebron James 30, Kevin Durant 27
The Present: They have a bunch of big names and they're the best team in the Eastern Conference right now. It doesn't look like anyone will be challenging them in the Atlantic for a top 2 seed either so they're probably the favorite to make it out of the East. Even though Dwight and Durant have been pretty good throughout their careers, they haven't lived up to the lofty expectations put on them when they were younger. Despite his age, Lebron is still a top 5 player in this league and don't be surprised if he leads them to the finals. They look great right now. Grade: A
The Future: Like most win now teams, the Heat don't really have a future at this point. Durant is probably their youngest, most productive player but he's shown he's nothing more than a 2nd or 3rd option on a great team. Lebron won't be around for the next decade, nor will Dwight so they'll probably rebuild within the next 3-5 years if not earlier. Their trying to win so the future isn't a big concern. Grade: C+