I am once again putting on my general manager hat and attempting to evaluate all 30 teams in the NBA once their seasons have concluded and giving my opinion on what they should do next. This will include any potential coaching changes, trades, free agency, and draft prospects. To start I will start with the bottom five teams in the Eastern Conference.
Chicago Bulls
Head Coach: Billy Donovan
While Donovan has certainly been an upgrade from Jim Boylen, he still falls short in the grand scheme of things. As a guy who watched a lot of Thunder basketball, he usually lets the star players do their thing and that’s really his only positive quality. Player development, finding roles for non-star players, and being able to counter a scheme that gives him trouble have always been his shortcomings. That’s why in his first season where he didn’t have any All-NBA players–still having two lower-level All-Stars–they are likely missing the play-in. Which definitely seems like underachieving to me. Still, it is unlikely they are going to fire him after one season. But going forward people will have to factor in Donovan’s limitation whenever Chicago makes a move.
Building Blocks: Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic
While the initial pairing seemed to have false started due to LaVine being put into COVID protocols that forced him to miss 11 games during a crucial part of the season, you can’t tell me that there isn’t potential with these guys. Are the two building blocks going to win you a championship? Probably not. However, this team hasn’t won a playoff series since 2015 and has only made it past the second round once since Michael Jordan was on the team. So, any amount of success is welcomed at this point for the Bulls. Are these guys good enough to win a playoff series with the right team around them? I believe they are. Can they actually build a good enough team around LaVine and Vucevic to actually accomplish that? Your guess is as good as mine.
What They Need To Do
They need to reshape the team into something more veteran-oriented in order to build a playoff team. They have roughly $80 million in cap holds with players I don’t expect them to bring back. Guys such as Lauri Markkanen, Cristiano Felicio, Daniel Theis, Denzel Valentine, and Garrett Temple. They also have Thaddeus Young and Tomas Satoranksy with non-guaranteed contracts as well as Ryan Arcidiacono having a club option. Al-Farouq Aminu is also in the final year of his deal, making it very easy to move him if they chose to do so.
As far as guys who are on the roster but can be moved I would probably try to move everyone except Young. So, at this point, you have six players on the team, a little over $36 million in cap space, and only a 5.7% chance they get a top-four pick in the draft–otherwise it goes to Orlando in the Vucevic trade. Where do you go?
First, you go after a veteran Point Guard. It is important to develop Coby White, but part of that process is seeing how it’s done and having done it in a manner that wins games. Probably the one we would all like to see is Derrick Rose making a return to Chicago. He certainly won’t cost a whole lot and is still good enough to provide good offense off the bench.
Next, I look for a starting Power Forward. Keeping Young on the bench is probably the best choice as he won’t take away from Vucevic or LaVine. He also seems better suited to play with Rose in this hypothetical. They could go either direction as far as offensive or defensive slanted Power Forward. If they want offense they can bring back Bobby Portis or perhaps John Collins. If they want defense, they could trade for Robert Covington, as I suspect he will be on the block.
After that, it’s about rounding out the bench. If they can do that, they put themselves in a position to be a Top-8 team in the East.
Toronto Raptors
Head Coach: Nick Nurse
Obviously, Nick Nurse was not the problem with what happened this season. They lost a huge part of their frontcourt in Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol. Lowry missed 26 games. VanVleet missed 20 games. Siakam missed 16 games. Anunoby missed 29 games. Everything that made them a playoff team either left or missed significant time. If they can put a semi-competitive team together, Nurse will take them to the playoffs.
Building Blocks: Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet
These guys are the future of the team. They are both inked in until the conclusion of the 2023-2024 season. Both made huge impacts on their way to the team’s first championship. They were also one win away from making it back to the Eastern Conference Finals. If they can remain relatively healthy and the team can retool themselves, they will have an excellent chance at returning to the post-season.
What They Need To Do
First, they need to figure out what to do with Kyle Lowry. The most likely scenario seems to be a sign-and-trade. If that is the case, then getting it done as quickly as possible so that you can focus on building the team with the money you now have from clearing him from the books. They roughly have $58 million in cap holds. Of those names, I would bring back Gary Trent Jr and Khem Birch. Trent has shown a lot of flashes and at 22, he fits the timeline with the corps group. Birch will be serviceable depth.
Next, you have a lot of players who do not have guaranteed money. Players such as Aron Baynes, Rodney Hood, Chris Boucher, and others. At the very least I would get rid of Hood and Baynes, but I would also ditch Boucher as well. With that money off the books, they will roughly have $34 million in cap space.
With that, you can go out and get a quality starting center. The free-agent pool of centers is not very appealing, but there are some quality centers that could be on the trading block. Guys like Al Horford, Steven Adams, and Myles Turner. Seeing as Horford is the most expensive one at $27 million in 2022–and that will drop to $14 million in 2023–as well as Adams and Turner being around the $17 million range, they will have enough to make a trade for one of those guys, resign Trent and Birch without coming close to the luxury tax.
After that, it is about finding what weak link is left and drafting that with their draft pick. They have roughly an 8.5% chance of getting a top 4 pick.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Head Coach: J. B. Bickerstaff
I am indifferent about Bickerstaff. He hasn’t had a fair shot, taking over Houston as an interim. Then taking over Memphis when they were a project and now it’s the same thing with Cleveland. However, I have seen coaches take bad teams and at least make them semi-competitive. Nevertheless, I don’t suspect they plan on making any changes. So, he will do for now.
Building Blocks: Collin Sexton or Darius Garland (not both)
This will largely depend on where they end up in the draft. If they happen to win the lottery (they currently have an 11.5% chance of that happening) and they are in a position to get Cade Cunningham, then I would suspect they will try to move Sexton as he is more of a Shooting Guard. If they land anywhere else I would suspect they want to move Garland. The reason being is because even though there may be other talented shooting guards I really wouldn’t think they have a higher ceiling than Sexton. And unless Cunningham is available I am taking Sexton over Garland as Sexton is the better of the two and it is pretty clear they don’t mesh well with one another. While in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t really matter because neither seems like the type of player who can be the best player on a playoff team, the Cavs are still preventing themselves from ever finding out as both players seem to limit each other.
What They Need To Do
First, they need to get rid of Kevin Love. Trade him or buy him out. Either way, he needs to be off the roster. He’s wasting cap space for younger players they need to resign and they are wasting whatever he has left in the tank to play basketball. Let him go to a contender and give themselves some breathing room in terms of cap space.
Next, re-sign Jarrett Allen. I have seen rumblings about a 5 year/$100 million deal for Allen. While that is too expensive for my taste I do understand that Cleveland has never been a popular destination for free agents so they should try to keep whatever young talent they have.
Lastly, in addition to trading/buyout Kevin Love and trading Garland (preferably), I would also look to be trading Larry Nance Jr. The real goal is to commit to a certain corps. If that were me, it would be Sexton, Allen, and whoever they get in the lottery. Let the veterans have a chance to play for a contender and maximize Garland’s value now while he’s still relatively attractive.
Orlando Magic
Head Coach: N/A
In an unexpected but understandable turn of events, the Magic and Steve Clifford had parted ways. For Clifford, it seems to be that he doesn’t want to be around for a rebuild with the Magic after making them a playoff team for the previous two seasons. I was hoping he would stay and see this thing through. Mainly because a lot of the players on the roster fit his mold. Alas, the Magic will be looking for their new head coach.
Building Blocks: Markelle Fultz, Jonathan Isaac
You may have forgotten the first two guys due to injury but the Magic have shown their commitment to these guys as they have extended both of them within the last year. Both also suffered an ACL injury that ended their seasons. When healthy Isaac is one league’s most versatile defenders and Fultz has looked better after every year since he was acquired. I also add Carter Jr because he also fits the mold of defense and effort and has a lot of promise. They clearly saw something as he was part of the Vucevic trade.
What They Need To Do
Much like the Cavs a lot of what they need to do is move on from some of their veterans and commit to the young corps. Guys like Gary Harris, Terrance Ross, and Michael Carter-Williams should be on the block, as well as Mo Bamba, and commit to Carter Jr as the team’s long-term Center. This will give the Magic roughly $44 million back in cap space. Giving them roughly $60 million in cap space.
With that money, they give themselves a lot of flexibility. One thing they should do is invest in a young player who has been tossed away. The player I would refer to is Justice Winslow. Only 25, Winslow has shown a lot of promise defensively, but merely just got pushed out in a crowded room in Memphis, which has a plethora of young talent. Give him a shot to be the starting Small Forward in a lineup that has other young defensive studs like Isaac and Carter and you will have a formidable young group.
Even after that, there will still be plenty of money leftover. Just give it away to some lucky veteran shooting guard who is ok with wasting a year or two for a nice payday. DeMar DeRozan? Tim Hardaway Jr?
Finally, there is the draft. The Magic haven’t been lucky enough to acquire the first pick since they got Dwight Howard, but this is as good of a chance as ever. They have a 14% chance (tied for the best odds) and Cade Cunningham fills the only position the Magic don’t have a young prospect in. They also have a 94.3% chance of acquiring the Bull’s first-round pick in the Vucevic trade. In that scenario, just take the best available
Detroit Pistons
Head Coach: Dwane Casey
Look, the Pistons are going nowhere for the foreseeable future. They won’t get a better coach than Casey. So, if he wants to be in Detroit, then let him be in Detroit. He is definitely a good coach. If they manage to build a competitive team then there’s no need to scramble to find a good coach.
Building Blocks: N/A
They had a lot of young guys play a lot of minutes. While the production has been nice, they didn’t get to be one of the worst teams in the league for having young players who actually helped win games. Grant is their best player and he’s generally suited for being the third scoring option and the second or third-best defensive player on a playoff-caliber team. He’s merely there to get a nice payday and Detroit will eventually ship him off to a contender where they get some nice juicy draft picks. If they win the lottery–having a 14% chance at doing so–then they will certainly have a building block. We will see who they draft if they don’t get the first pick before determining if they have a legit building block.
What They Need To Do
At this point, it is all about development. Let the young guys sink or swim. Let Grant get his numbers to elevate his trade value. And just hope they get the first pick. There really isn’t much to off of and aside from Grant, there’s no veteran who has any real value.
