30-Team Control MyLeague - dc22

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Hornets Waive Johnny O'Bryant, Sign Jason Thompson

Charlotte Hornets have waived Johnny O'Bryant in order to make roster space for Jason Thompson. Thompson has signed a 1-year 980k deal with the Hornets. In his debut in Charlotte, Thompson recorded 9 points and 10 rebounds, as the Hornets lost to the Pacers 124-104.

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Mavs off to a Great Start

Before the season kicked-off, no basketball fan really believed that the Mavericks have what it take to compete with the teams such as the Warriors and the Spurs. Still, 10 games into the season and the Mavericks (8-2) are currently sitting 3rd in the west. Nowitzki and the likes of Farrell and (Seth) Curry played their part, but the man behind it all is Harrison Barnes, who's averaging 20.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.

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NBA Conference Standings - December 1, 2016

Eastern Conference


Eastern Conference POTM - LeBron James


Western Conference


Western Conference POTM - Russell Westbrook

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Pelicans Sign Jarrett Jack

Following a terrible start in their 16-17 season, New Orleans Pelicans decided to add more depth to their backcourt by signing Jarrett Jack to one year, $2 million deal. Jack spent 15-16 NBA season with Brooklyn Nets, where he averaged 12.8 points, 7.4 assists, and 4.3 rebounds in 32 games.

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NBA to Expand in 2018

NBA commissioner Adam Silver held a press conference today, during which he stated that the Nation Basketball League is going to expand by 2 teams in 2018.

I'm happy to announce that by the end of the next NBA season, we're going to expand by 2 new teams. We're currently holding meetings with the cities that might be the home to the new teams. New franchises will be able to choose their players in an expansion draft which is going to take place once 17-18 season is over.

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Since I’m around a month into the season, it may be the right time to take a closer look at every NBA team and see what directions they’ll be heading in the next couple of seasons.

Cavs (10-6)
Last year’s champions are well-prepared for this season. With acquisitions of Deron Williams and Derrick Williams, they don’t have any major holes in the team. They’re lacking a good C but we all know how their wages are and why they can’t afford one. In November, their biggest problem was the SG spot, J.R and Shumpert didn’t really perform well, while Korver was tired all the time. It’s unlikely they’ll be making any major changes this season. Depending on their playoff performance, I’ll decide whether they’ll make changes in the offseason.

Warriors (13-5)
Another team we know absolutely all about. I expected them not to lose that much in the first 18 games but most of the games they’ve lost were pretty tight and they had a shot at winning. I think they’ll play even better from now on and there’s hardly going to be reasons to make any big changes.

Rockets (14-4)
The Rockets are the team that performed the best during the first month of the season. Harden is averaging 30.1 points, 9.1 assists, and 8.4 rebounds per game which is pretty great. Sam Dekker was out for quite a few games but it didn’t really seem to upset the Rockets. If they keep playing like this, I believe they’ll be a decent matchup for the Warriors once we reach playoffs.

Clippers (15-4)
Clippers have also been playing very well during November and they’re currently sitting in the no.1 spot in the western conference. None of their players except Mbah a Moute were injured, so there was nothing to disturb the Clippers. I want necessarily have CP3 sign elsewhere as he did in real life, but that’s something I’ll think about more once the end of the season comes close.

Spurs (13-6)
There’s no really much I can say about Spurs right now. They’re playing well and I expect them to finish close to the position they held IRL. No injuries and no need to make any changes up to now.

Mavericks (12-6)
Now, this the team that surprised me the most. Usually, when I play MyLeague, they happen to be one of the worst teams in the league. In fact, I saw them finish with the worst record in the league. However, they’ve been playing very very good and right now, they’re in a playoff spot. If they manage to keep playing like that, I can some of the Free Agents being interested in signing with the Mavs in the 2017 offseason. Also, more teams could become interested in trading for Curry and Ferrell.

Bulls (11-6)
Currently sitting at no.1 in the east. I think they’re also playing a bit better than I expected. They played pretty well even when Rondo was injured and Payne or MCW had to start. I guess they won’t have to rebuild as they did IRL.

Celtics (11-7)
2nd in the east right now, they’ve been playing just like it expected from them. They’re one of the biggest threats in the east and I guess reaching playoffs won’t be too difficult for them. Olynyk missed a couple of games, but besides that, they had no injury problems. I believe they’ll aim at attracting a star player in the offseason, just like they did IRL.

Raptors (11-7)
With the same score as the Celtics, the team from Toronto is quite close to the top of the Eastern Conference. With, no injury problems and DeMar DeRozan averaging 32.5 points per game, it’s obvious why they are there. I yet have no idea what their plans for the offseason are.

Pacers (10-9)
With Paul George’s contract expiring in 2018, the Pacers will have a lot to think about. If he leaves, I guess I’ll have to have them rebuild or try to attract someone in free agency. Also, if they do trade him before that, I guess it will be something similar to the trade they actually made with the Thunder, but maybe with another team. They’ve been playing all right in November and I guess they’ll be in Playoffs but I just don’t see them being a big threat to the Cavs.

Timberwolves (10-8)
The Thunder and the Trail Blazers had a bad start of the season, and the team from Minnesota manage to make the most of it. They’re currently in a playoff spot and if the two abovementioned teams don’t start playing better, we might just get to watch Timberwolves even once the regular season is over.

Hawks (10-9)
Even though Schroeder missed a couple of games, the Hawks are playing OK and they’re in a playoff spot. I’ll see how they do in the next couple of months and decide on their offseason moves accordingly.

Grizzlies (11-8)
I think they had Conley out for a couple of games but they’re doing all right. That Parsons deal made it quite difficult for the Grizzlies and we’ll have to wait and see how their season will go.

Nets (8-9)
I really expected them to be garbage but they started pretty good. They even had the record of 4-0 when the season kicked off. They’re on a 4 games losing streak right now so I guess we’re now looking at the real Nets. Without their pick in the draft and no stars except Lopez, they’ll probably look to sign anyone they can in the offseason. They might also be a perfect place for some other teams to dump some large contracts.

Bucks (8-8)
They are indeed one of the teams that’s most likely going to finish right in the middle of the Eastern conference. They’ve been playing OK and they’ll have to fight for the playoffs. I see them pushing to sign a few more players who could improve Giannis’s game.

Jazz (9-10)
It’s going to be quite interesting to see who’ll manage to win a spot in playoffs once the regular season is over. And the Jazz are one of the teams that will be aiming at that. Still, their biggest questions are whether they’ll be able to keep Hayward in the offseason and what they’re going to do if he decides to sign elsewhere.

Nuggets (10-8)
Just like Jazz, they’ll be fighting for those few playoff spots in the west. If Oklahoma and Portland start playing better, I hardly see them in the playoffs. But you never know what can happen. Also, I guess they’ll be building around Jokic from now on.

Kings (9-10)
Kings are another surprise of the season. Since they started the season without Boogie, I believed they’ll be one of the worst, if not the worst team in the west. However, Buddy Hield is having a great season, and right now, he’s the favorite to win the rookie of the year award. He’s averaging 17 points per game and he has won the rookie of the month (west) award. Not yet sure what will happen with Rudy Gay and his contract.

Thunder (10-10)
Even though Westbrook is having a great season as he’s averaging triple-double, the Thunder haven’t really meet the expectations. Right now, they’re not in a playoff spot and they’ll have to play much better in the future. I think they really need a better SF than McDermott.

Wizards (8-9)
It just seems Wizards win a couple of games in a row. They win one and they lose one, and that’s how it’s been going on ever since the season kicked off. I did expect them to play a bit better.

Trail Blazers (8-12)
The Trail Blazers currently have worse score than the Kings and that should tell you all about their performance this season. They’ve lost twice to the Mavs I believe, and all the “big” had no trouble beating them. They’ll have to think about making some changes if this keeps going on.

76ers (8-11)
We all know that “the process” is taking place in Philadelphia. However, they’ll have to shift at aiming at the playoffs sometime soon. Also, Embiid won the rookie of the month award (east).

Knicks (6-12)
Just like IRL, the Knicks haven’t been playing that good this season. Noah has been terrible and I don’t know how they’ll manage to start playing better with him in the team. If they keep playing this bad, Melo might just decide to waive his no trade clause.

Magic (8-10)
Not too good and not too bad. I think Magic are yet to decide where they’re going and what they’re aiming for in the future.

Hornets (7-12)
The Hornets were the first team to make a change to their team this season. Marvin Williams was tired all the time and I though Jason Thompson is a much better solution at PF than Johnny O’Bryant. And even though he’s been playing all right, Hornets managed to record 12 losses since the start of the season.

Pistons (6-14)
With a 6-game losing streak, at the moment the Pistons are one of the worst team in the league. I hope they’ll start playing better sometime soon.

Pelicans (5-14)
With Boogie and Davis from the very start of the season, I thought the Pelicans will be playoff contenders. Still, they’re the biggest disappointment of the season and hopefully signing Jack will help them a bit. As mentioned in one of the previous posts, Pondexter is out for 4-6 months with a neck injury. If they keep playing like this, I don’t see Cousins staying in New Orleans once his contract expires.

Suns (5-14)
The beginning of the season wasn’t that good for the Suns. Hopefully, with players like Booker and Chriss, they’ll be better in the future.

Lakers (5-15)
Terrible start for the Lakers. D’Angelo Russell has been playing well but they just can’t win. We’ll have to wait and see how they’ll try to improve their game.

Heat (5-13)
Another disappointment. I saw Heat be last in the East a lot of times in MyLeague but I didn’t expect them to be there now when I manage their minutes. Still, they’re very last in East and I guess they’ll have to start rebuilding soon. I’m not yet sure what that means for players like Whiteside and Waiters.

Expansion Teams
As mentioned earlier, I want to expend the league in two seasons time. I’m not sure which teams I’ll go for. Supersonics return is always an option and even though about bringing back the Bobcats. But I’m not really sure what would be the right location for them, I know I’d like them to be in the east. So, Bronx Bobcats? Maybe Montreal Bobcats? Something else? Or should I go for a completely unique team? Any help about this would be appreciated.