2000 Off-Season Grades

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Craig
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2000 Off-Season Grades

Post by Craig »

Boston Celtics
Key Additions: LaPhonso Ellis, Dennis Scott, Hedo Turkoglu, Carlos Rogers
Key Losses: Roy Rogers, Derek Fisher, Charles Barkley
Coming off another rough year in Boston, the Celts fell to a disappointing 6th in the lottery (because of course), where they selected project wing Hedo Turkoglu. This was a pretty weak draft filled with projects and Hedo definitely falls into that category. He has shown some early growth in training camp but still has a long way to go. Later, fresh off finally ridding themselves of the Charles Barkley contract, Boston decided they wanted to immediately make a splash in free agency to start a push toward the playoffs. They brought in two high profile veterans in LaPhonso Ellis and Dennis Scott, who give them instant credibility at the SG/SF positions, though the end of that Ellis contract might start to get hairy (sound familiar?). They also retained Jerry Stackhouse on another bloated 1-year contract, continuing to hope that he’ll turn into the star he was pegged to be as a prospect, but that ship is looking like it has sailed. They snagged a couple of cheap frontcourt options to try to round out the rotation and didn’t lose anyone super important to their rotation but will be looking at improvement from Mike Bibby and/or future moves to become a legitimate playoff team.
Grade: B

Miami Heat
Key Additions: Theo Ratliff, Etan Thomas
Key Losses: Rashard Griffith, Jermaine O’Neal
The Heat came into the off-season with a whole lot of salary commitments and roster spots spoken for, so there wasn’t much flexibility to do a whole lot. Rashard Griffith and Jermaine O’Neal were frontcourt depth casualties of their salary constraints and had to be let go. Fortunately, the improving young bigs Vladimir Stepania and Chris Andersen will likely make it so that they don’t miss those guys too much. Miami made their big move during this past season, swapping Penny Hardaway for Jason Kidd, so they will be looking to see how this new look shakes out over the course of a full season. I expect them to be a tough out in the playoffs again. Overall, they didn’t really make any notable moves but remain a good team.
Grade: C

New Jersey Nets
Key Additions: Alvin Williams, Rodney Rogers
Key Losses: Erik Meek, Bob Sura
The Nets are another team who made few waves this off-season. All of their major rotation pieces remain on the roster and they will be looking for continued development of Scott Pollard and Derek Anderson to boost their ceiling. Next to nothing to write home about here, besides a couple of decent leftover free agent pickups. They’ll be one of the better squads in the (L)Eastern Conference again this year.
Grade: C

New York Knicks
Key Additions: Mitch Richmond, Todd Day, Carson Tornopsky
Key Losses: Sean Elliot, Mitchell Jordan, Lucious Harris
The Knicks had the odd predicament of going into the off-season with one player under contract taking up almost half their salary cap and no draft picks. Most importantly, they were able to bring back stud PG Steve Nash on a long-term max contract, taking care of their biggest (scariest) piece of business. They did, unfortunately, lose Sean Elliot to the Rockets, who they had just paid a draft pick for. With their modest amount of cap space, they were able to bring in veteran SG Mitch Richmond on a solid 1-year deal as a decent recovery. Then things started to get a bit dicey with the hard cap after signing some cheap big men, Todd Day for the MLE, and a re-signed Lucious Harris for a number that was probably unnecessarily high. They ended up in a bit of a bind being right against the hard cap with only 9 players. They were able to route Harris (along with an ’03 1st) to Orlando to snag Carson Tornopsky and some depth pieces to fill out their roster. They still have some work to do to balance out their roster, but Nash, Richmond, Day, and Tornopsky will be raining down 3s in bunches and be hard to stop. All told, I like the Richmond and Day signings but the Harris one caused some hurt and cost a draft pick, so I don’t know that it was all roses here.
Grade: C+

Orlando Magic
Key Additions: Stromile Swift, Lucious Harris
Key Losses: Eric Montross, Carson Tornopsky, Pat Garrity
The Magic started the off-season with another top 10 draft pick and selected project big man Stromile Swift. He has definitely shown some skill development, but as with most of this draft, it will be a while before we see the finished product. They have a lot of young players under contract so were relatively quiet in free agency, bringing back Jason Sasser and Cadillac Anderson on modest deals for salary ballast in trades. Recently, they made what I think was a decent piece of business in obtaining an ’03 1st from New York for swapping Carson Tornopsky for Lucious Harris. I think the on-court value there is not much of a drop-off so getting a pick in what looks to be a good draft is solid. This is an important year for a few of their young players (Tim Thomas, Ron Mercer, Bobby Jackson) so it will be interesting to watch how it works out.
Grade: B


Philadelphia 76ers
Key Additions: Elden Campbell, John Amaechi, Jermaine O’Neal, Derek Fisher
Key Losses: Marlon Maxey, Shawnelle Scott, Dwayne Morton, Harold Miner, Eddie Jones
The Sixers had a pretty active off-season. They decided to capitalize on their cap space early with a few teams having hard cap issues. Their first move was swapping Shawnelle Scott for Elden Campbell, which seems just like a low-cost upgrade for their defense; a win I think. Unfortunately, I thought using $6.5mil to take on John Amaechi from Chicago was a bad idea from the get-go, as he’s just…not very useful. I understand taking the ‘bird in the hand’ over gambling in free agency but this is not the bird I’d want. The opportunity cost elephant in the room for cap space teams is Dikembe Mutombo being dumped from Sacramento for two picks, but it seems like that was kind of a last-minute development so I’m not holding that against most folks. Free agency yielded them a gamble on young Jermaine O’Neal, which unfortunately doesn’t seem to be a great gamble yet, but there’s still time. Gone are Marlon Maxey, Harold Miner, and Dwayne Morton in favor of the aforementioned bigs, Corey Benjamin, and Derek Fisher. Fisher might be the swing piece here; if he’s steady, there’s enough talent to keep them in the playoff hunt. Overall, a lot of solid moves (Longley/Reid on good deals) with one questionable one (Amaechi) and some not insignificant losses from the rotation.
Grade: B-

Toronto Raptors
Key Additions: Damon Bailey, Kevin Duckworth, Soumaila Samake
Key Losses: Felton Spencer, Alvin Williams, Ervin Johnson, Adam Keefe
The Raps were another team with some major salary constraints in the off-season, so they had to be creative to fill out the roster. Unfortunately, I’m not sure they did too well. They really only had room for Minimums and maybe the LLE but decided on the corpse of Kevin Duckworth at the most expensive minimum contract possible. Additionally, while Damon Bailey on the LLE is solid value in a vacuum, using that LLE to sign a backup PG behind former MVP Kenny Smith doesn’t seem like a good use of limited resources either. There was never going to be anything done that looked too great, but I thought there were much better realistic options to try to find one or two guys that could be worthy of a rotation spot on a good team. As it is, their star power should still keep them near the top of the East.
Grade: D+

Atlanta Hawks
Key Additions: Ruben Patterson, Rex Chapman
Key Losses: Roshown McLeod
Not a lot of turnover in Atlanta, which is to be expected, I suppose. They made an unlikely run to the Eastern Conference Finals and almost took down the Raptors, but their Cinderalla run ultimately fell a bit short. They did not have a 1st round pick or cap space for the off-season, so decided to use their MLE on project wing Ruben Patterson, which was an OK gamble I think, but not looking like it’s going to yield anything special as of yet. There are no major additions/losses to last year’s rotation, so the continued development of their frontcourt should keep them in the playoff race once again.
Grade: C

Charlotte Hornets
Key Additions: Joel Przybilla, Donnell Harvey, DeShawn Stevenson, Desmond Mason
Key Losses: Lorenzen Wright, Thomas Hamilton
Charlotte is continuing their rebuild, prioritizing young players. They had two late lottery picks, where they selected DeShawn Stevenson (#10) and Donnell Harvey (#13). As with most of this draft, it will take some time to see how these guys develop, but as of now I’d say these were pretty average selections. They received a couple of later selections (Desmond Mason, Joel Przybilla) from the Rockets in a trade, who look pretty solid actually. They were able to snag these guys in return for a bargain of a free agency signing in Loy Vaught, who slipped through the cracks with the Spurs not prioritizing re-signing him, so he had to settle for the MLE. The Hornets were able to flip him for two decent rookies and a future 1st, which is nice. They did lose Lorenzen Wright in free agency to Cleveland. I agree with not wanting to pay him big money, but if that were the case, it might’ve been better to move him at the deadline so as to not lose him for nothing. Lastly, not sure I liked re-signing Ilgauskas on a long-term extension. It’s not a ton of money, but Big Z is looking like an LLE-level big so that’s just salary that doesn’t need to be tied up. Overall, they capitalized on a great FA signing and did a decent job adding young talent to their stable while they wait one more season for significant cap space.
Grade: B

Chicago Bulls
Key Additions: Chris Mihm, Sasha Danilovic, Michael Finley
Key Losses: John Amaechi, Larry Johnson, Billy Owens, Sarunas Jasikevicius, Eric Murdock
The Bulls made a couple of decent trades during the off-season, getting off John Amaechi’s bad contract for free (win) and swapping the expiring contract of Larry Johnson for Sasha Danilovic. This swap is not changing anyone’s life but offers a useful bench player to the Bulls where Johnson has become quite marginalized. They drafted a stretch 5 in Chris Mihm at #12, which I’m not a huge fan of. Unless he becomes a defensive stalwart, I’m just not into this type of big man. Unfortunately, they didn’t have much cap space or bird rights on Sarunas Jasikevicius, so they ended up losing him in free agency, but this sometimes happens with 2nd round picks who start to show upside. Losing Owens to a Minimum offer makes me wish they had moved him for a 2nd or something sometime in the last like 5 seasons, but oh well. Overall, I liked their two trades as low upside moves on the margins but don’t really like the draft pick.
Grade: C+

Cleveland Cavaliers
Key Additions: Kenyon Martin, Lorenzen Wright, Michael Stewart
Key Losses: Mikki Moore, Ruben Patterson
The Cavs went into the off-season with the #1 pick and a good chunk of cap space to play with. With the #1 pick, they went with Kenyon Martin, who was probably the safest pick based on the little information known about prospects at the time and the overall weak draft class. He showed some growth and he still has a lot of potential to capitalize on. In free agency, they presumably made their case to the star young players available (Nash, Marbury, Lauderdale, etc.) but ultimately ended up with a consolation prize in Lorenzen Wright after those guys chose to sign elsewhere. I’m not a huge Wright fan but he has some tools and may be able to fetch some assets in a trade. Even after that contract, the team goes into the season with $10mil in cap space. Not much else going on here, just internal growth and another campaign for a high lottery pick. The #1 pick was defensible at the time, and they didn’t do anything too destructive, especially if they can flip Wright.
Grade: B-

Detroit Pistons
Key Additions: Keyon Dooling, Billy Owens, Rashard Griffith, Eric Murdock
Key Losses: Danny Manning, Mookie Blaylock, Travis Knight, Terry Mills
The off-season started off pretty rough in the Motor City with the sudden retirement of star big man Danny Manning at just 33 years old. Coming off a 50-win season, that hurts a bit. They did end up with a top 10 pick from the Lakers, which they used to select project (see a theme here?) PG Keyon Dooling. He’s shown some promising growth and seems like a good pick, but again will take a lot of time. They signed a few depth options around the margins with Owens, Griffith, Miner, Murdock, and Lynch. With no Manning around, they might struggle to score a bit, but I think they have enough depth to be in the playoff race again. They did reasonably well while not having much to work with.
Grade: B-

Indiana Pacers
Key Additions: Jeff McInnis, Speedy Claxton
Key Losses: Todd Day, Eurelijus Zukauskas
The Pacers did not make much of a splash this off-season, looking to the development of young stars Kevin Garnett and Allen Iverson for growth. At #27 in the draft, they were able to pick up a decent backup PG in Speedy Claxton, but they weren’t able to get a lot done in free agency. Bringing back Shawn Kemp on a cheap deal was nice, but not finding any takers for their MLE and losing two major rotation pieces from last year’s team (Day, Zukauskas) to other teams on cheap deals is a major blow. If Mike James or Jeff McInnis show that they’re ready to be positive contributors at PG, they’ll likely be ok, but they’ll miss those guys, nonetheless.
Grade: C-

Milwaukee Bucks
Key Additions: Anfernee Hardaway, Mookie Blaylock, Dikembe Mutombo, Isaiah Rider
Key Losses: Sasha Danilovic, Peja Stojakovic, Sean Higgins, Mark Alarie
The Bucks were very active this year, pivoting from a rebuild to a team looking to make noise in one short turnaround. I’m not 100% sure they got all the way to ‘contender’ status, but they will definitely be a solid team this season. Their biggest move was for long-coveted Penny Hardaway in a trade with Sacramento for a significant package. On talent alone it was probably a worthwhile deal for Milwaukee but Hardaway is really tough to build around so it remains to be seen whether it will work out when adding in context. Picking up Isaiah Rider for some less than impressive prospects was a solid move, and they paid a late 1st to shore up their frontcourt with Dikembe Mutombo. Between he and Shawn Bradley, it will be tough for teams to score inside. They still have some work to do at the SF spot and have no depth, but this team will be much improved and still have a few assets to move if they desire.
Grade: B

Washington Bullets
Key Additions: Jamal Crawford
Key Losses: Mitch Richmond, Anthony Avent
The Bullets had a rough go last season and compounded it by selling low on star PG Kenny Anderson and falling even harder in the standings. They ended up jumping in the lottery and selecting high upside guard Jamal Crawford, but it will be quite a while before they see the fruits of that selection. They also lost Mitch Richmond and Anthony Avent in free agency without really adding anyone of note. Without a lot of room against the hard cap or roster spots available, they were pretty limited, but losing two starters without replacing them hurts. Those guys are replaceable, but it didn’t really happen. Trying not to include the in-season moves, which were much more impactful, but the off-season wasn’t super great either, though much less impactful long-term.
Grade: C-


Dallas Mavericks
Key Additions: Charles Barkley, Sean Higgins, Cory Alexander
Key Losses: LaPhonso Ellis, Serge Zwikker
The Mavs took a major hit in losing LaPhonso Ellis to Boston in free agency. He brought a unique element to this team that will definitely be missed. Long term, they may be happy to not have that contract on their books, though, as it is quite a hefty one. There are some young players waiting in the wings like Nazr Mohammed, James Posey, and Larry Hughes that may be able to step up in his absence. They also signed some solid veterans in Charles Barkley and Sean Higgins to man the SF/PF spots. Also, as an annual tradition, they had a late draft pick (Eduardo Najera) who is showing nice signs of development. You would definitely rather have Ellis than not, but the Mavs have some remaining pieces and a few new additions that will help them remain relevant with Jim Jackson running the show.
Grade: C+

Denver Nuggets
Key Additions: Darius Miles
Key Losses: Corey Benjamin
The Nuggets were pretty hamstrung this off-season with 14 of 15 roster spots spoken for before the draft. Luckily, they had that one spot to make their lottery selection (#7) and chose high school phenom Darius Miles. He has a long way to go but has some raw tools to suggest it may not be a bad pick. Otherwise, they had to let go of starting SG Corey Benjamin, who was showing major signs of potential but seems to have regressed after seeing his development in Philly. Not much to evaluate here, even the draft pick will take a long time.
Grade: C

Houston Rockets
Key Additions: Sean Elliot, Thomas Hamilton, Loy Vaught, Jayson Williams
Key Losses: Kerry Kittles, Byron Irvin, Greg Foster
The Rockets made a splash in free agency in stealing Sean Elliot away from the Knicks to instantly upgrade their SG spot next to Chris Webber. They followed that up by using a couple of good mid-late round picks they made to parlay into the criminally underpaid Loy Vaught in a deal with Charlotte. They have very good looking incumbent young players in Robert Traylor, Jason Williams, and Steve Francis to go along with these new additions, so they’re looking like they’ll take a nice step up the standings this year. Thomas Hamilton is a really solid LLE signing, but a high-level center would probably bring things together nicely. Really good off-season here.
Grade: A-

Minnesota Timberwolves
Key Additions: Glenn Robinson, Mike Miller
Key Losses: Michael Stewart, Derrick Coleman, God Shammgod
The Wolves suffered through a long season and ended up with the #5 pick in the draft, where they selected SF Mike Miller. I sound like a broken record, but so far he looks promising yet it will be a long time before we see whether he was the right pick. Additionally, they used their cap space to absorb the enigmatic Glenn Robinson, who looks to have something to prove after being salary dumped, tearing it up in preseason for 32ppg. At this point, he might be able to be turned into a solid package of assets from a team looking to win. Otherwise, the Wolves stuck with their strategy of surrounding their rotation-level players with scrubs so they can have a tank-tastic season while holding out for value trades.
Grade: B


Phoenix Suns
Key Additions: Aaron McKie, Eurelijus Zukauskas, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf
Key Losses: Kendall Gill, Chris Mills, Dale Davis
Coming off back-to-back titles, the Suns front office was angered by Kendall Gill not falling in line like Chris Gatling and offering a discount to return, resulting in low-ball free agency offers and him leaving for the bright lights of LA. The Suns then used their MLE to find a replacement in Aaron McKie. McKie does not have the offensive dynamism that Gill had but is an even better defender and fits in with the team’s defensive identity. Additionally, they were able to use some minor assets to build their depth in trading for the return of starting PG Michael Hawkins and solid big man Eurelijus Zukauskas. Otherwise, there were some changes toward the end of the bench, and they’ll return with a strong lineup as a title contender. Overall, losing Gill is not great and the replacement is average, while the depth additions were solid.
Grade: C+

San Antonio Spurs
Key Additions: Michael Redd, Predrag Drobnjak, Matt Harpring
Key Losses: Loy Vaught, Shammond Williams, Isaiah Rider
The Spurs went into the draft with pick #4 and selected sharpshooting guard Michael Redd. As with the rest of the class, he will take some time but is showing signs of potential, so can’t knock the pick. In free agency, it looks like they fished for some big names but came up short. Instead, they took on Predrag Drobnjak for space and signed/traded Zukauskas and Hawkins for Matt Harpring and a 2nd. These aren’t exactly high impact moves but aren’t terrible if there are no other options. Unfortunately, it seems like the Mutombo salary dump was an option that was turned down and they also let Loy Vaught leave for nothing as well. Mutombo was dumped with 2 picks and then traded for 1, while Vaught netted two good-looking rookies and a 1st. These are a pretty high opportunity cost, but they went for the high reward and ended up paying for the high risk. They’ll be riding their young guys toward a top pick again.
Grade: D+

Utah Jazz
Key Additions: Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Derrick Coleman
Key Losses: Priest Lauderdale, Aaron McKie
The Jazz went into free agency with big man Priest Lauderdale testing the waters, and unfortunately, he opted for the big market in LA. Additionally, Aaron McKie, who was a big part of the rotation until being supplanted by Gary Collier, also left town for a different desert market. With their newfound cap space, the Jazz took a gamble on Shareef Abdur-Rahim to double down on the oversized, inside-focused attack. SAR has still yet to show the type of growth teams were hoping for coming out, but it seems like he’ll be a solid contributor. The Jazz also snagged some post depth with Derrick Coleman and brough back LeRon Ellis and Gary Collier on value contracts. Losing Priest definitely hurts but they’ll be a competitive team night in and night out.
Grade: C

Golden State Warriors
Key Additions: Larry Johnson, Kerry Kittles, Sarunas Jasikevicius
Key Losses: Michael Jordan, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Cedric Ceballos, Rafer Alston
The Warriors have been doing a good job of accumulating draft assets since committing to a rebuild. This was on full display in taking the ‘bird-in-hand’ route to free agency by picking up two 1st round picks to absorb Dikembe Mutombo and subsequently flip him to Milwaukee for an additional pick. Very nice use of assets there. They also took a low-risk gamble on Sarunas Jaskivicius for the MLE to see what kind of player they could get, which was a solid piece of business for a team just looking to add young talent at low cost. They drafted project PG Mateen Cleaves at the end of the lottery, which again is a TBD on the value of that pick. Nothing crazy going on here, but good asset management while they build up a talent base awaiting new ownership.
Grade: B+


Los Angeles Clippers
Key Additions: Paul Pierce, Bryant Reeves, Jarrett Wedge, Eddie Jones
Key Losses: Kenny Anderson, Hersey Hawkins, Brooks Thompson
The Clippers seemed like they might have a quiet off-season when preseason rolled around, but alas, it would not be this reality if they did not make a major splash. They moved star PG Kenny Anderson to the Sonics for up-and-coming SF Paul Pierce, Jarrett Wedge, and Bryant Reeves. Anderson is undoubtedly the best player in the deal but it would seem that Pierce is the most valuable trade asset, so the Clips made out well here. They also signed the well-traveled Eddie Jones to an MLE contract, only for him to blow up in Training Camp, resulting in the team having 4 high quality wings that could be moved to upgrade elsewhere. They don’t seem to be quite done yet (are they ever?), but as of now they’ve done well for themselves with an asset accumulation goal.
Grade: B+

Los Angeles Lakers
Key Additions: Priest Lauderdale, Kendall Gill, Greg Foster, Morris Peterson
Key Losses: Dennis Scott, Jayson Williams, Yinka Dare
The Lake Show dipped deep into their pockets and stole away Priest Lauderdale from Utah and Kendall Gill from Phoenix, flexing their big market muscles. It seems like they tried to get a little too cute with putting Dennis Scott on the back burner (who left for Boston), but Gill is a perfectly adequate replacement. After bringing in this external help, they brought back Clarence Weatherspoon and Derrick Phelps on 1-year deals to roll out a very potent lineup this upcoming season. Jamaal Magloire also looks like a solid pick at #17 in the draft. Their ceiling will likely be determined by the development of young Elton Brand, but they will be a competitive team regardless.
Grade: A-

Portland Trailblazers
Key Additions: Shawnelle Scott, Casey Shaw, Dwayne Morton, Cedric Ceballos
Key Losses: Elden Campbell, Chris Washburn, Dion Glover
The Blazers had some hard cap concerns this off-season and had to sacrifice Elden Campbell in a deal that brought back Shawnelle Scott from Philly. This is a downgrade but one that can be manageable with the brilliance of Alonzo Mourning next to him in the lineup. They were pretty limited after that, but were able to bring in Dwayne Morton, Cedric Ceballos, and Casey Shaw to help round out their depth. They’ll be a really good team with Kobe Bryant determining how far they can truly go.
Grade: C+

Sacramento Kings
Key Additions: Peja Stojakovic, Felton Spencer, Quentin Richardson, Johnny Taylor
Key Losses: Dikembe Mutombo, Anfernee Hardaway, Todd Lichti
Re-signing Stephon Marbury in free agency was priority #1 through 8 in Sacramento, it would seem, so they dumped Dikembe Mutombo with two 1st round picks to ensure they were far enough under the hard cap to do so. Luckily, they were able to retain Starbury, ensuring it wasn’t catastrophic. Separately, they made another big splash in trading Anfernee Hardaway to Milwaukee for Peja Stojakovic, Quentin Richardson, and two 1st round picks. This was a pretty big gamble on Q that I’m not a huge fan of but Stojakovic fits their vision well and draft equity is always a plus. I tend to think that Penny might’ve fetched more from somewhere else but that’s only speculation. The Kings also signed Felton Spencer to the MLE as a solid replacement for Mutombo in the frontcourt. Johnny Taylor and Anthony Avent were also added to round out the depth on the roster, which again looks to be trying to run opponents out of the gym with pace and 3s.
Grade: C+

Seattle Supersonics
Key Additions: Kenny Anderson, Chris Carrawell, Toni Kukoc
Key Losses: Paul Pierce, Bryant Reeves, Jarrett Wedge, Rex Chapman
The Sonics are coming off an improvement last season and decided to accelerate their timeline by cashing in for one of the better PGs in the league in Kenny Anderson. Anderson is a phenomenal talent but moving Paul Pierce, who is one of the more valuable pieces in the league, for him without guaranteeing that they’d be title contenders is a tough look. Anderson and Wes Person will rain 3s from all over the court, but I think it was too early to be moving a prospect like Pierce for a 30-year-old Anderson. They will be asking a lot of Scott Padgett in Pierce’s stead. They might be better for this season but I’d be surprised if they got home court in the 1st round of the playoffs.
Grade: C-

Vancouver Grizzlies
Key Additions: Marlon Maxey, DerMarr Johnson, Eric Mobley, Todd LIchti
Key Losses: Glenn Robinson, Theo Ratliff
The Grizz started the off-season by dumping Glenn Robinson to Minnesota to get some breathing room against the hard cap. Robinson is now doing his best to make them regret that decision, but it was tough to see that coming. They picked up DerMarr Johnson and Marcus Fizer late in the draft, who look like solid picks. In free agency, they brought in bargain vets Marlon Maxey and Todd Lichti and found a way to get big man depth by paying a 2nd for Eric Mobley, which was a solid way to address a definite need. The Grizz will remain a good team in the West, but Dirk Nowitzki is the swing piece to determine how good.
Grade: C+
Last edited by Craig on Sun Dec 25, 2022 11:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 2000 Off-Season Grades

Post by JB »

I had two offers for Penny, realistically. Ray Allen or the offer I took. I think what I took was better value. Ray > Peja, but QRich was the second pick and I got 2 first rounders. We'll see how the Bucks do. In the second year if they lose Mutombo, could have some issues.

Penny had to go. 18 ppg with 4 turnovers was unplayable as far as I was concerned from the SG slot. I couldn't get the number down unless I changed to a slower pace or different focus. Which is something I refuse to do. Peja might move to SG, right now he is at SF. We'll see how it goes.
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lukeyrid13
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Re: 2000 Off-Season Grades

Post by lukeyrid13 »

Great summary all around and fair assessments for all teams IMO.

Definite +5
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Re: 2000 Off-Season Grades

Post by Goose! »

Think all teams that had cap didn't want miss out on the potential chance of signing Nash/Marbury so I don't regret not going with the Mutombo deal that JB offered (also wish Warriors didn't bail him out, would've loved the chaos :lol: ). But I do regret not signing Vaught, only 1 team was interested in him last season, and only offered a couple of 2nds from what I remember, so I didn't think he would sell for a lot and didn't bother putting a bid in...new season means new opportunities arise.

+5
Last edited by Goose! on Wed Dec 21, 2022 9:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
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the goat
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Re: 2000 Off-Season Grades

Post by the goat »

Good summary of the offseason, but I've still got a few moves to make...

Also I just want to reiterate that I still don't like the Sonics trading away PP so prematurely. :lol:
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Re: 2000 Off-Season Grades

Post by Cellar-door »

Yeah, in retrospect maybe I should trade Wright, but I was seeing what he asked for, he didn't even ask for anything, then in FA, it came down to me and 1 team with cap space left, I bid what I thought was reasonable (aveage around 8M a year), but he went to the only other team who realistically could have paid him more.
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Re: 2000 Off-Season Grades

Post by Craig »

Goose! wrote:Think all teams that had cap didn't want miss out on the potential chance of signing Nash/Marbury so I don't regret going with the Mutombo deal that JB offered (also wish Warriors didn't bail him out, would've loved the chaos :lol: ). But I do regret not signing Vaught, only 1 team was interested in him last season, and only offered a couple of 2nds from what I remember, so I didn't think he would sell for a lot and didn't bother putting a bid in...new season means new opportunities arise.

+5
You took the gamble knowing you could come away with nothing cause the upside was there, thats your prerogative. If it works out, you look like a genius. If not, it doesnt look as good, no worries. But yeah shoulda re-signed Vaught :lol:
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Re: 2000 Off-Season Grades

Post by jibbajabba614 »

JB wrote:I had two offers for Penny, realistically. Ray Allen or the offer I took. I think what I took was better value. Ray > Peja, but QRich was the second pick and I got 2 first rounders. We'll see how the Bucks do. In the second year if they lose Mutombo, could have some issues.

Penny had to go. 18 ppg with 4 turnovers was unplayable as far as I was concerned from the SG slot. I couldn't get the number down unless I changed to a slower pace or different focus. Which is something I refuse to do. Peja might move to SG, right now he is at SF. We'll see how it goes.
With QRich, I think Kings would have still made deal but asked for an extra 1st post TC. But at the end of the day, I would have probably stuck to rebuilding. At 23, if Peja hits that A, he could easily reach the A+ grade that Jim Jackson got. JJ kept his potential. Back to QRich, yes he dropped to a B scouted potential but his actual potential could be an A still. He got +2 in TC so if I was a betting man, the potential is still A. And that’s where the notes help GM’s get a better idea of the prospect.

Yeah I put in protections because I could always try to tank and keep my pick if he gets the lotto first this year. Originally planned on Mookie/Penny backcourt and Deke/Bradley front court. Riders defense made him a perfect fit.

I try to think 3 steps ahead when I make first deal.

Also I miss Craig’s tough rankings

Ps it was the Kings trying to offer his bird rights to Starbury is what started our talks. I had to clear about 10 mill salary wise and probably could have gotten him for Peja and #2 if he didn’t lose his 2 firsts. Which is what got the deal started
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pistolpetejr
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Re: 2000 Off-Season Grades

Post by pistolpetejr »

Good stuff.

Yeah I shopped KA around and this was the best offer, so I took it. Happy with it so far. It helped me get Kobe! :D
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jibbajabba614
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Re: 2000 Off-Season Grades

Post by jibbajabba614 »

pistolpetejr wrote:Good stuff.

Yeah I shopped KA around and this was the best offer, so I took it. Happy with it so far. It helped me get Kobe! :D
KA and Ray Allen for Kobe, Big Country and Murray.

Honestly pretty even to me, if not a decline. Good moves by all parties though. Future wise
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Craig
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Re: 2000 Off-Season Grades

Post by Craig »

Paul Pierce
3pt shot
Jump shot
Inside scoring
Defensive rebounding
Strength
Quickness
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Oregon Ownage
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Re: 2000 Off-Season Grades

Post by Oregon Ownage »

Craig wrote:Paul Pierce
3pt shot
Done
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