Fun with Contraction!!

In a recent pre-game interview LeBron James defended his decision to create a super team, as well as lamented about how 80’s basketball was better with multiple all-stars on the same teams. A reporter pointed out that there were only 24 teams then, and LeBron caused a slight controversy when he said that’s the reason why it was better. So my question is, would the league really be better? If we cut 6 teams and went back to only 24 teams, what would the rest of the league look like? I say let’s play this one out and have a mock draft to spread the contracted players around the rest of the league.


So say goodbye to Memphis, Sacramento, Indiana, Minnesota, New Orleans, and Atlanta. Why them? Because they all have low attendance, and they aren’t the Sixers. I mean if I were to remove the Sixers in this fantasy, then in that fantasy I wouldn’t be blogging in the first place and the whole website would fade off the internet like Marty McFly’s family photo.

I debated on whether to use a lottery, but I settled on simply going by current records worst to first. Each team will get one pick, and then we’ll have to realign the divisions a bit at the end. And Cleveland is on the clock.

1. Cleveland Cavaliers:

My first plan was to allow the Cavs to trade out of this spot, because my feeling is that Chris Paul wouldn’t be happy in Cleveland, and we would be watching ‘The Decision 2’ in two years time. However, to open that can of worms right now would make this writing nearly impossible, since I literally just spent an hour trying figure the best trade to send Paul elsewhere and get Cleveland the appropriate assets in return before deciding no trades allowed. (I’m so not kidding, I considered a deal where Iggy, Jrue, and the 8th pick in this draft get traded from Philly; Harris, Favors, and the third pick from NJ; and a package from Golden State built around Steph Curry; among other deals) So, the options if you are the fake Cavs are to draft Paul and either trade him later or convince him to resign, or they could go in another direction with the pick. So let‘s turn it over to the pretend Cavs GM…

The Cleveland Cavaliers select Rudy Gay

The Cavs have a glaring hole at SF, and Gay is young, playing fantastic, and under contract for the next five seasons. He fills the current shortcomings of this roster, and as a poor man’s LeBron he would boost this team to somewhere in between the best in the east (As they were with LeBron) and the worst in the East (As they are without him). Let’s say they now become a 45-50 win team. They also are a lot more interesting, maybe LeBron was onto something, then again more interesting is one thing, but being a legit contender is another.

2. Washington Wizards:

How is it possible that Chris Paul doesn’t get picked top 2? With John Wall in place the Wiz don’t need Paul, but they do need everything else, however. It makes the most sense to get young cheap talent for now and add pieces when they develop. So my Wiz board was started as a choice between Tyreke Evans, DeMarcus Cousins, OJ Mayo, Roy Hibbert, Kevin Love, and Michael Beasley. The final decision came down to the pair of Wolves, in the short term Kevin Love is a better fit next to Lewis, but I think Beasley has the chance to be a league leader in scoring, especially playing next to John Wall. So to the fake GM….

The Washington Wizards select Michael Beasley

This move gives the Wizards a one-two punch that could make them a force in the east for years to come, in a few years. The Wizards also would be added to the list of teams I’d like to see live now.

3. New Jersey Nets:

The Nets are in a uniq--- We pick Chris Paul! We pick Chris Paul! Somebody tell Melo we got Chris Paul! Who can say sign and trade?!? See you Devin, see you Favors, Hellllllooooooo Melllllllloooooooo!!!---

So the Nets add a Hall of Fame talent, and make themselves very attractive to Carmelo. This would give the Nets a legit threesome that could compete with Miami and push them in a 7 game series. The Nets are more interesting, and certainly a must see ticket when the come to the Wells Fargo Center.

4. LA Clippers:

The Clippers have a young, exciting roster and two of the lottery picks in the upcoming draft. So I guess they should just add the best player available.

The Clippers select Danny Granger.

This team would be crazy stacked at this point, they can start Davis, Gordon, Granger, Griffin, and Kaman. Plus they’d have Aminu, Bledsoe, and Foye off the bench. If they could grab a quality big man with those picks or via a trade and the Clippers would be a real contender as soon as Griffin learns how to win. I considered having them choose Cousins as an heir to Kaman, but listening to recent comments it seems like Cousins wants to be the ’go-to guy’ in big spots and I wouldn’t risk this roster falling apart over a power struggle.

5. Detroit Pistons
6. Toronto Raptors

What do you get for the team that needs everything? Seriously, the Pistons blow goats. If I were a Detroit fan I don’t know how I could maintain interest in this team. They have half of the salary cap for the next 3 years tied up in Ben Gordon, Rip Hamilton, and Charlie Villanueva. Toronto, the next to pick, are just as bad. In fact, I would have just contracted these two teams if not for the fact that Canadians are weird and keep going to Raptor games, and that Detroit is a storied franchise with multiple titles. I guess its nice that you can pick whoever and it fits.

The Detroit Pistons select DeMarcus Cousins.
The Toronto Raptors select Tyreke Evans.

Detroit gets the slight head case Cousins as the bad ass leader of the new bad boys, and I think he’d become a hugely popular player with the Detroit crowds. Especially after he beats up Kevin Garnett for talking smack to Charlie Villanueva again.
Evans meanwhile makes Toronto an interesting team, his scoring might even carry them to the playoffs, where an inevitable sweep by the Heat awaits. You could do worse than a Calderon-Evans backcourt, plus Bargnani, Ed Davis, and DeRozan are nice pieces, it would definitely be a step in the right direction. I considered Love for Detroit, but felt Cousins has a better chance to be the best player a title team, something I don’t think anyone think Love can become. I also considered Joe Johnson for Toronto, but figured why spend $20mil for a B+ player when $4mil gets you a B- with potential to be an A.


7. Charlotte Bobcats
8. Philadelphia 76ers

They both are borderline playoff teams, but they both kind of suck and have no real long term hopes with their current rosters. They both also have no big men, the list of centers on these two squads is kind of a pathetic group. Tony Battie, Spencer Hawes, Marreese Speights, Kwame Brown, DeSanga Diop, and Nazr Mohammed. There isn’t a solid starter in the bunch, so both teams are going to add a center.

The Charlotte Bobcats select Kevin Love.
The Philadelphia 76ers select Roy Hibbert.

Wait, what? But you just said the Bobcats need a center! What gives? Well, the Bobcats need somebody to crash the boards, and the team was built around defense. Love fits with them because the rest of the team can cover his flaws on D, meanwhile, Love can thrive snatching rebounds, which is something the Bobcats struggle with. For the Sixers, the pick was between Hibbert and Josh Smith. The Sixers would fill their glaring void at center, and if Turner develops they would be able to put a quality player at every position. They also would take Atlanta’s place as the best team in the east that has no chance at winning an NBA title.

9. Golden State Warriors

The warriors play up tempo, and they aim to run you out of the building every single night. There’s only one real choice here.

The Warriors pick Josh Smith.

The Warrior are now running with Lee and Smith up front, and Curry with Ellis in the back. They might score 120 points every game, and allow about 140 points a night.

10. Milwaukee Bucks

This is where I start to pick up the pace.

The Milwaukee Bucks select Joe Johnson.

A good wing to go with the 3 or 4 half-assed ones they are currently running out there. Only 4 years more on that Salmons contract. Still, Johnson/Jennings/Maggette/ Bogut is a nice base.

11. Phoenix Suns

The Phoenix Suns select Ricky Rubio.

Steve Nash ain’t gonna play forever, and there couldn’t possibly be a better tutor for the young Spaniard.

12. Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets select Al Horford

Yao Ming ain’t gonna play forever, or ever again, so its time we grab a replacement.

13. Portland Trailblazers

The Portland Trailblazers select Marc Gasol.

Greg Oden ain’t gonna play -you get the idea… Although, I wanted to give them OJ Mayo, so a third guy could join the fight to control the offense. At least Mayo could do it from either position.

14. New York Knicks

The New York Knicks select OJ Mayo

The Knicks are running a high-tempo offense, and Mayo should thrive in it.

15. The Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets select Wesley Johnson

Who knows where this roster is going, a young SF to fill Carmelo’s pending void seems to make sense.

16. The Orlando Magic

The Orlando Magic select Zach Randolph.

Orlando’s cap is already blown out, and they need frontcourt depth. Zach is expensive, but he’s a beast down low. I think he really make this team scary.

17. Oklahoma City Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder select Emeka Okafor

A solid defensive center gives the thunder the last piece needed to be a contender.

18. The Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz select Jamal Crawford.

The only natural SG on the Jazz’ roster is Raja Bell. WTF? Another guard seems in order.

19. Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers select Darren Collison

I considered Ariza making a triumphant return here, but the Lakers get minutes at the SF position from Artest, Odom, and Kobe/Brown in smaller sets. A good young point could be huge.

20. Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls select Trevor Ariza

Ariza gives the Bulls a playoff-tested, athletic wing who can shoot. A nice fit for a playoff run.

21. Miami Heat

The Miami Heat select Sam Dalembert

The Heat need big men, I considered Jason Thompson, but Sammy is a superior defensive player. The Heat don’t need better offense, just somebody who can swat a few shots.

22. Dallas Mavericks
23. Boston Celtics
24. San Antonio Spurs

Dallas selects Omri Casspi
Boston selects Xavier Henry
San Antonio selects Carl Landry

Dallas needs a SF with Butler hurt and expiring.
Boston picks up somebody to stash on the bench, and maybe a player who can one day can replace Ray Allen
San Antonio gets a nice young big to add to the rotation with Duncan and company.


In Conclusion

So, if the league actually contracted would the game be better? I think it would make every team have somebody to build around, somebody to push them to the next level, or somebody to make them deeper. It would reduce the number of games you just can't get into, like those road trips where the Sixers hit Detroit, Indiana, and Toronto in a week. The problem that is revealed here is that although many of the teams become more interesting, not many of them move into the category of true contender.
If the league wants to keep the fans more entertained, perhaps they should find a way to make quick turn-arounds easier for struggling franchises. In fact, instead of contracting franchises, maybe each franchise should be able to contract one contract. The thing that holds teams back in this league is that a single bad decision can cost your team five seasons. So if your a fan and you know there isn't any way to improve your team until a giant deal expires, why would you follow them day-in, day-out? A team has to be growing, emerging, or contending to be interesting to casual fans. While contraction would certainly bring in fans short-term, I think you must fix the process of building and changing a team in order to keep those fans interested once you land them.