You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

[trekfan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

2018 OFFSEASON NEWS

Retirements:







Rule Changes:



Tate's Take

The NBA finally got with the times and abolished the age rule in the summer of 2018 -- about *ucking time. Too many kids were going to school just to get to the league ... with the age minimum rule lowered to 18 (and with the exception in place that if you graduated high school, you were automatically eligible), the league had taken a big step forward.

Coaching Changes:

Coaches Fired

Jason Kidd (MIL)
Jeff Hoaancek (NYK)
Earl Watson (PHX)
Dwayne Casey (TOR)

Coaches Hired

Dwayne Casey (MIL)
Jason Kidd (NYK)
Nate McMillian (PHX)
Jerry Stackhouse(TOR)
Paul Pierce — Assistant (BOS)
Dirk Nowitzki — Assistant (DAL)

Hot Seat 2018-19

Mike Malone (DEN) - Gets a pass due to Millsap injury in 2017-18
Terry Stotts (POR) - On notice
Frank Vogel (ORL) - Team needs to see more wins or else
Steve Clifford (CHA) - Needs to make playoffs again
Stan Van Gundy (DET) - Needs to make playoffs again

Draft Lottery Results:




Tate's Take

God, the Lakers lucked out that summer -- they just barely got the 5th overall pick, which meant they kept it. The Bucks, unexpectedly, were in the driver's seat for the draft -- would they keep the pick? Would they trade it away? The clock was ticking on the Greek Freak's contract, he had three years left and Milwaukee was feeling the pressure to make him a constant force in the playoffs.

Gramps was sure the Bucks would trade the pick away.

"They ain't got anyone at the top of that draft board they're in love with, I guarantee it; they need help, boy. We just won 50 games with a roster that wasn't nearly as talented as theirs."

Gramps was right, but damn if that didn't hurt some. Our roster wasn't as talented, true, but certainly we weren't that poor. Still, Milwaukee had a tough call to make -- the top prospects in the draft were guards or centers, neither position they really needed.

Someone was going to come calling for that pick of theirs.

[Jogo]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

Wow, lots of surprises!

How did the Bucks end up in the lottery?
Better yet: how on earth did they end up getting that nr 1 pick?!

I could see them going after a talented big man, and have him rotate w/ Thon Maker. That could make them one of the best young teams out East for years to come.

If they do flip the pick, it would have to be for a big time player that puts them in prime position to win now.


Surprised to see the Wizards come out of the East and the Rockets almost sweeping the West!

This means KD is going to sign with the Rockets this summer?! :o

[trekfan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

Wow, lots of surprises!

How did the Bucks end up in the lottery?
Better yet: how on earth did they end up getting that nr 1 pick?!

I could see them going after a talented big man, and have him rotate w/ Thon Maker. That could make them one of the best young teams out East for years to come.

If they do flip the pick, it would have to be for a big time player that puts them in prime position to win now.


Surprised to see the Wizards come out of the East and the Rockets almost sweeping the West!

This means KD is going to sign with the Rockets this summer?! :o

The Bucks had a BAADDDDD year. They completely fell apart early in the season due to injuries to bench guys and they couldn't recover. Thusly, Jason Kidd was fired and replaced (the coach is always the first to go). His rotations all year were questionable ... but landing in New York seems to be a good fit for him. Porzingis is making noise about wanting a contract extension there, so that's good.

The Bucks really leapt up HIGH in the lottery, a huge development that punished much worse teams (like the Hawks). What they do -- and whom they do it with -- will be an intriguing storyline on top of the already "Will they keep Jabari Parker or let him walk?" free agency stuff.

KD is definitely not signing with the Rockets, but the Warriors disappointment will be something to watch for next summer -- the breakup of 2019 is what everyone is waiting for an another non-title year might do it.

And, yes, the Wizards coming out of the East was bonkers -- it took Game 7s in all three of their East series to get there, but they did. They're landlocked into cap hell thanks to past summers, but might be able to swing a few deals depending on the rest of the league.

The draft is up next, as well as some trades, and preparations for free agency -- lots of fun stuff ahead.

[trekfan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

2018 OFFSEASON NEWS II

Pre-Draft Trades:







Tate's Take

The Suns sold low on Bledsoe, but what choice did they have? They had bypassed trading him the summer before and *ucked it all up. They sent Bledsoe to the Cavs and their 12th overall pick (courtesy of Miami) to ensure they got their guy, but the price was steep -- Bledsoe made it plain he wouldn't re-sign with any other team besides the Cavs. That's what happens when LeBron commits to the team (which he did by opting in to his contract and opening a dialogue for an extension). LeBron was committed to Cleveland and running the show.

The next trade was the Bucks ... our division rivals and a team that had utterly failed the season before. Milwaukee had gotten the 1st overall pick and many thought they'd be dealing that, but lo and behold, the Bucks turned left when we expected them to turn right -- they traded Middleton to the 76ers for Holmes (inked to a kind extension) and announced they had renounced their right to Jabari Parker. It was huge news, but not unexpected considering Parker's injury history ... Milwaukee just wasn't comfortable committing 20 plus million bucks a year to him and so they said adios -- they committed to taking the best player in the draft, a PG, and announced they'd move Brogdon over to SG, a more natural position for him with his size.

And the Lakers struck, finally -- everyone knew they were going to be active, but no one was sure who ... turns out, it was Marc Gasol. It was rumored that Paul George was all but certain to sign up there once free agency hit (spoiler: totally true, he ended up there ... good riddance), but the Lakers needed a second star to help him out. Brook Lopez was nice, but not that guy -- Gasol, though, was a natural fit (and had opted in to his final year, which meant he was there for two seasons). Considering the fact his brother had spent so many years in LA, the Lakers were going back to an old-playbook, but one that had worked before. They bought out Deng (paying him only 5M), renounced their rights on Lopez and KCP, and were positioned firmly to get their guy. The Grizzles were definitely going for the full rebuild, but armed with the 2nd and 5th overall picks, they were going for the accelerated route.

The Draft:






Tate's Take

Charlie Hart was the first overall pick and he was legit as legit got. The kid was a shooter, a no-nonsense scorer, and someone the Bucks definitely needed to help spread the floor. With a lineup of Hart, Brogdon, the Greek Freak, Holmes, and Maker, Milwaukee had a starting five that could attack from anywhere.

The Grizzles got a kid from Nigeria named Lawal, but he was a fierce competitor. He could shoot, too, played heady defense, and had a decently high ceiling -- a shooter Memphis had never had, he'd be an instant upgrade over anyone at the SG spot.

The Bulls, with the 3rd overall pick, did a very Bulls thing and took a PF despite the fact they had their previous year's draft pick at that spot and Bobby Portis too. It was a move that made the entire NBA groan, but Chicago loved Ruffin and absolutely believed he had a place on their roster.

The Hawks were rewarded for their horrible year by taking, arguably, the best center in the draft in Montgomery. He was a defensive stud and an ace rebounder, and the Hawks were sure he'd play very well off Schroder, Prince, and Collins. The ATL was a like a diet, off-brand version of the Spurs and the fans were desperate for anything good.

At 5, the Grizzlies got their big man of the present and future, Graves -- he was like Montgomery, except a bit more injury prone and a bit tougher around the rim. Memphis was banking on this draft -- top-heavy as hell as you can see -- to build their franchise up for years to come. It was in their best interest to suck for the next season anyway as their draft pick wasn't theirs unless they were really bad.

Dallas was left with taking the best player available, and that was Lawrence, and underrated PF who could shoot a little and move a little. Was he a Dirk replacement? Hell no, but the kid had potential and could contribute right away, two things Rick Carilse needed.

And then there was the Suns ... Phoenix had traded Bledose to take a kid named Strawberry. The Suns fans were livid -- that was the big plan? But the Suns front office stood firm, knowing that they were building for the long-term ... say, three years from then. Strawberry would have time to ripen (see what I did there?) on the bench as the Suns lost.

Way down in the draft order was us -- and, true to Pacer form, we took a guy we wanted to develop in Julio Cheaney (Julio was like, 1/8th Spanish, but looked white as hell). He was a stretch four and one the front office liked ... he wouldn't contribute right away, but Gramps believed the kid had a chip on his shoulder.

"We could use more guys like that," he told me at the draft party.

After the draft, the NBA announced one more trade -- Carmelo was on the move again!



LeBron was in full GM mode and he had shipped off Love to OKC to play with Westbrook. The trade, actually, was pretty even; Love was younger but worse on defense than Melo. Cleveland got rid of Shumpert, got back a young SF/PF combo forward. Love opted in to final year, which meant he was in OKC for two seasons and was playing with former college teammate Westbrook.

LeBron and Melo were finally going to team-up and Wade had already agreed to cheapo deal to sign back there, so Cleveland had *most* of the Banana Boat crew. CP3 wasn't coming -- he had extended his contract with the Rockets during the season and had won a title, he was exactly where he wanted to be -- but the heralds of the 2003 draft class were all in one place.

It was pretty cool to see ... and it was going to be a *itch to defend on the court.

[georgiafan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

I like what the lakers did getting Gasol and pg13 and intresting cavs trade

[Jogo]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

Ouch, painfully low sell for the Suns ... Giving up Bledsoe AND an extra 1st rounder (for a ******* Strawberry?! )


Decent move for the Bucks, though I feel like they just got worse unless they plan on pursuing a big name in free agency, which I assume they will ... (Cousins, maybe ...? )
Don't like the Sixers giving up that pick though. Makes little sense for them imo. Perhaps they should go after Parker in FA now. Another young, talented and injury prone player fits their process lol!


Weird move for the Lakers, even though they got PG13 (which is big time!). I feel like they would have been wayyy better off keeping that pick and draft a future star center, than taking on that old, monster contract from Gasol. But hey, it's Hollywood I guess ...!


Love the idea of the banana boat reuniting. I think that's everyone's fantasy really (I will just go ahead and ignore the "Melo is better on defense than Love" remark there )

[TimmsSports]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

Really enjoying these off-season posts! Can't wait to see where everyone ends up.

[trekfan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

I like what the lakers did getting Gasol and pg13 and intresting cavs trade

Thanks! Really was hard to figure out what move the Lakers would make ... they definitely were ready to get out of the draft cellar this offseason; no way they could have landed PG13 (admittedly, he had to change his number) without committing to winning.

Ouch, painfully low sell for the Suns ... Giving up Bledsoe AND an extra 1st rounder (for a ******* Strawberry?! )


Decent move for the Bucks, though I feel like they just got worse unless they plan on pursuing a big name in free agency, which I assume they will ... (Cousins, maybe ...? )
Don't like the Sixers giving up that pick though. Makes little sense for them imo. Perhaps they should go after Parker in FA now. Another young, talented and injury prone player fits their process lol!


Weird move for the Lakers, even though they got PG13 (which is big time!). I feel like they would have been wayyy better off keeping that pick and draft a future star center, than taking on that old, monster contract from Gasol. But hey, it's Hollywood I guess ...!


Love the idea of the banana boat reuniting. I think that's everyone's fantasy really (I will just go ahead and ignore the "Melo is better on defense than Love" remark there )

Yeah, the Suns sold low and didn't get much back -- honestly, they really tanked Bledsoe's value and as an expiring contract, a soon to be FA, he had all the leverage. Bledsoe said Cleveland and LeBron, and the Suns said, "*sigh* Okay." That front office is bound to be fired in 2-3 seasons if they don't show some progress -- Bender, Chriss, Jackson, Booker, Ulis -- these guys are the core, and the Suns need at least 3 of them to hit big (Booker already has, so just two more left).

For the Bucks, the trade was more about flexibility in the long-term. Parker's injury woes make him a questionable guy to invest that kind of money in and Milwaukee needs to be a force in the playoffs to keep the Greek Freak happy; I see the Bucks with one more big move up their sleeve, but I don't know if it's via the trade market or free agency. I think their team is really going to benefit from having their new rookie run the show, and Holmes isn't trash (he's rated like, a 77 without chemistry) and has room to grow and is on a very cost effective deal. I think Milwaukee made out fine here. Philly sent the pick along as a sweetener, but really, they didn't need yet ANOTHER young player on their roster -- the 76ers are done accumulating draft picks, they're in "compete for playoffs" mode after their great showing the last season.

On paper, that pick looked more valuable than Gasol, but the draft was really top-heavy; after pick 6, things got dicey for a lot of teams. Sure, Graves would have been good in a few years, but Gasol is good right now and will likely be just as effective as Graves in four years team -- Pau Gasol is still going strong out in SA, so I fully believe that Marc Gasol will perform well into his late 30s. Also, the Lakers already have Zubac sitting there as the backup C (he's rated a 77 right now) and he's only 21, so he's clearly the future of that spot. I didn't think the Lakers needed another high draft pick, they needed to get back to being LA's team of choice -- a lineup of Ball, Clarkson, PG13, Nance/Kuzma, and Gasol is frightening to face.

Really enjoying these off-season posts! Can't wait to see where everyone ends up.

Thanks! The offseason is fun. We still have a number of questions to answer ....

Where will Isiah Thomas go? Cleveland doesn't need him with Bledsoe and he had an underwhelming year coming off injury.

What about Brook Lopez? No longer a Laker and won't be anymore.

Is Jabari Parker really damaged goods?

Stay tuned for those answers and more as we approach the weekend.

[georgiafan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

I am excited to see more offseason moves and how the FA shakes out.

Are you handling the FA signings are let the CPU do them or a mix of both?

[trekfan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

I am excited to see more offseason moves and how the FA shakes out.

Are you handling the FA signings are let the CPU do them or a mix of both?

Oh, it's ALL me. I haven't let the CPU do free agency signings in easily 7 years ... it's been pretty poor. 30 team control is how I've run things since 2K11 and that won't be changing.

The AI just does a very poor job of knowing where its organization is (rebuilding/playoff hopefuls/contenders), knowing the players motivations, taking fit into account, taking personal history between players and coaches into account (you'd never see Dwight Howard play for Pringles in Houston), and taking projected leaps from prospects into account.

I run all teams and plot out all things -- I did some messing around in a test file for free agency to see how things worked (cap holds are an interesting wrinkle but one I wish I could disable, its too much CBA in my life, lol) and understand how to run things now.

[Jogo]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

Yeah, the Suns sold low and didn't get much back -- honestly, they really tanked Bledsoe's value and as an expiring contract, a soon to be FA, he had all the leverage. Bledsoe said Cleveland and LeBron, and the Suns said, "*sigh* Okay." That front office is bound to be fired in 2-3 seasons if they don't show some progress -- Bender, Chriss, Jackson, Booker, Ulis -- these guys are the core, and the Suns need at least 3 of them to hit big (Booker already has, so just two more left).

Perhaps the Suns should just sell, start over and move to say ... Las Vegas ...?

[trekfan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

Perhaps the Suns should just sell, start over and move to say ... Las Vegas ...?

Oh, I'm sure the Phoenix fans would LOOOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVEEEEEE to see Sarver sell.

I don't think my NBA will let them relocate, though.

[trekfan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

2018 OFFSEASON NEWS III

Free Agency Highlights:

Trades



Tate's Take

We traded the Manimal -- the guy who worked his *ss off every game, didn't take a play off, and was a leader in our locker room. Faried did so much that didn't show on the stat sheet, but he was a glue guy through and through.

I was furious. I found Gramps in his office at the Pacers' training facility, marched in there and asked him point blank what the hell was going on.

"We won fifty *ucking games with him and you trade him?!"

I was hot under the collar -- remember, I was still only 19 (soon to be 20 in a few months) and my temper sometimes got the best of me.

Gramps was less than amused.

"Sit you *ss down, boy, and take a breather," he ordered me, his tone full of warning.

I had a couple decades and a few inches on him, but I sat down anyway. I was stupid, but not suicidal. Gramps might have been in his 60s, but he was in good shape -- he took his health extra seriously considering all the death that had visited our family.

He tossed me a stick of gum and I popped that sucker into my mouth and chewed liked my life depended on it.

"Now, listen up: I know you liked Kenneth a lot. He will be missed for all the dirty work he did, but I didn't exile him to Siberia! Is he rotting in Orlando? Sitting around in Atlanta? We sent him to at team that can use him, and that's good -- he'll be part of winning there, might even get a title." Gramps offered me only a smirk. "Assuming he doesn't lose to us anyway."

"Lose? To us? In the Finals?"

"We nearly made the second round, boy. Nearly got there ... we just needed a little more. We're on our way, but we have a harder path than I, McHale, or Rosas expected."

It suddenly occurred to me why he had made the trade. "Something someone else did upset the 2019 plan, huh?"

Gramps nodded. "We had the cap space all ready for next summer, but who we wanted isn't there now. Love and Gasol both opted in and both would have been ideal to play with our roster ... but we have another plan."

"We do?"

Oh yes, we did. We waived Lauvergne, and that gave us the space we needed to go after our big fish. Recall that Jabari Parker had been renounced by the Bucks due to concerns about his knees (and his contract demands tying up their cap space for years). Milwaukee was desperate for a playoff berth and they needed more than one to convince the Greek Freak that his current home should be his new home in three seasons.

We had our medics check out Parker and they found him to be in solid shape -- if we kept him from playing over 33 a night, they were very confident he could avoid injury.

Parker had a few suitors out there -- the Mavericks were really interested, in him, so were the Nets, and there was talk that the Bulls might bid on him with all their cap space too. But Parker was adamant that didn't want to leave the Midwest, so out went the Mavs and Nets. Chicago was a strong suitor, but the Bulls were really bad and didn't look like they would be winners if he signed there.

We won the bidding war for him -- we were close enough to his home in Chicago that he could visit anytime, but far enough away that he had his space. Parker was a competitor on the court, he had an intense focus there, but off it the man was a kind hearted fellow -- he really was a bit of a humanitarian as I came to learn.

I was happy he was my teammate.

Notable Signings

Paul George to the Lakers (he took #11)

Boogie Cousins back to NOLA

Isiah Thomas to DEN

KCP to Knicks

Gary Harris to Hawks

Randle , Noel, Seth Curry to Mavs

Mirotic to Bucks

Collison, Monroe to Bulls on 1yr deals

Aldridge, Gay to Spurs; trade for Faried

Nets buy out Carroll for $5M; Brook Lopez, JJ Redick to Nets

Kanter to Suns

Alan Williams, Dante Exum, Rodney Hood to Jazz


Tate's Take

It was a busy offseason in the league -- lots of movement, which was the norm now. The biggest signings that summer, in my view, were Julius Randle to the Mavs (a chance to really prove his worth), the return of Brook Lopez to the Nets (a feel-good story for everyone: Lopez really missed Brooklyn and they missed him), Reddick to the Nets (he lived in Brooklyn, so a great move by the Nets), George to the Lakers (confirming what people had known for years and making OKC's trade for him a win for us), and the Knicks getting KCP to pair with KP -- good value for them.

Isiah Thomas to Denver made sense, as Isiah played for Mike Malone back when they were both in Sacramento. Would Isiah be enough to get Denver into the playoffs? Malone was praying that was the case.

As for us, we only added Jabari -- everyone else stayed the same and I was really looking forward to seeing how we played together. At every position, we had someone who could shoot from deep ... we had a starting five that was a true five-out offense. The question was, could we be effective enough on both ends of the floor?



Rest of the League




We weren't paying attention to the draft at all -- but you better believe the really bad teams in the league were. The 2019 draft class had one, shining, top-end talent that was franchise-altering good:



The bad teams were drooling over the talent level of the 7'2", 300 pound modern day stretch-five. Fuller was a beast on every level. The early favorites to get him were the Bulls (of course), the Grizzlies, The Kings (and the Celtics had their pick -- the rest of the NBA was desperate for Boston NOT to get this guy), the Magic (just bad enough to get in the running), the Suns (plenty of young talent, but no one ready to be an All-Star, though Booker was close), and the Hawks (but Atlanta had horrible luck).

The rest of the lottery was filled with plenty of solid players who could develop into something more, but Fuller was the only instant star.

There were plot lines aplenty heading into the 2018-19 season.

[trekfan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I am SOOOO happy to have Jabari Parker back on a team I run. Back in 2K13, in my "The Gold Standard" story (after I took over the Lakers), I drafted Parker and absolutely fell in love with him. I am personally quite annoyed at how forgotten he is on the Bucks team ... admittedly, his injury history makes it easy to forget about him, but he's a really good player and massively underrrated.

I feel/hope Parker will be a huge addition to my team.

If you have any questions about where certain players have gone, let me know and I'll let you know. As always, thanks for the comments, the likes, and the follows, they're much appreciated.

[georgiafan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

Let’s hope Parker can stay healthy.... he will make a fun duo down low it’s turner.

Fuller is gonna be a stud