Given how Thursday’s NBA Draft turned out, I’m going to go ahead and announce my intentions to climb aboard the New Orleans Hornets bandwagon (or garbage truck, given their record last year).
I’ve been looking for an NBA team to root for since Charles Barkley left the Phoenix Suns in 1996. I actually quit watching the NBA altogether up until a couple seasons ago, when the return to high-scoring, athletic games made it much more entertaining than the decade of ugly, slowdown basketball. And given that both Anthony Davis and Darius Miller got drafted to return to the Big Easy, I figure that’s as good a team as any to support.
Since I’m a bit of a video game nerd, I’m now excited about the release of [I]NBA 2K13[/I] this fall, and I’m also excited about stacking the roster to consist of former UK players only. But that got me thinking, is it possible to do as much in real life? Given the many rules regarding NBA trades and signings, I channeled my inner Bill Simmons and hit up the [URL=”http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine”]NBA Trade Machine[/URL] on ESPN.com. Here is a list of other sites I used to get my info:
[URL=”http://hoopshype.com/salaries.htm”]Team/player salaries[/URL]
[URL=”http://www.forbes.com/sites/aliciajessop/2012/06/28/the-structure-of-nba-rookie-contracts/”]2012 rookie contract structure[/URL]
[URL=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_salary_cap#NBA_salary_cap_history”]NBA salary cap info[/URL]
Before I get ahead of myself, here’s a list of current NBA Cats, including the 2012 draft picks:
Nazr Mohammed, Oklahoma City
Jamaal Magloire, Toronto
Tayshaun Prince, Detroit
Keith Bogans, Brooklyn*
Kelenna Azubuike, Cleveland
Chuck Hayes, Sacramento
Rajon Rondo, Boston
Jodie Meeks, Philadelphia*
DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento
Patrick Patterson, Houston
Eric Bledsoe, Los Angeles Clippers
John Wall, Washington
Daniel Orton, Orlando
Enes Kanter, Utah
Brandon Knight, Detroit
Josh Harrellson, New York
DeAndre Liggins, Orlando*
Anthony Davis, New Orleans*
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Charlotte*
Terrence Jones, Houston*
Marquis Teague, Chicago*
Doron Lamb, Milwaukee*
Darius Miller, New Orleans*
(*currently unsigned)
Now, here is the New Orleans Hornets roster:
[TABLE=”width: 600″]
[TR]
[TD=”class: cBTop, bgcolor: #191C61, colspan: 3″][TABLE=”width: 100%”]
[TR]
[TD=”class: cBTop, align: left”][COLOR=#FFFFFF]Hornets Roster[/COLOR]
[/TD]
[TD=”class: cBTop, align: right”][/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD=”class: cBSide”][/TD]
[TD=”class: cBComp, width: 100%, align: left”][TABLE=”class: gSGTable”]
[TR]
[TD=”class: bar gSGSectionTitle, bgcolor: #0099D8, colspan: 8″] 2012-13 Roster[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR=”class: gSGSectionColumnHeadings, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]
[TD][B]NUM[/B][/TD]
[TD=”width: 160, align: left”][B]PLAYER[/B][/TD]
[TD=”width: 40, align: left”][B]POS[/B][/TD]
[TD=”width: 40, align: left”][B]HT[/B][/TD]
[TD=”width: 40, align: left”][B]WT[/B][/TD]
[TD=”width: 65, align: left”][B]DOB[/B][/TD]
[TD=”width: 215, align: left”][B]Prior to NBA/Home Country[/B][/TD]
[TD=”width: 30, align: left”][B]YRS[/B][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]0[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”][URL=”http://www.nba.com/playerfile/al-farouq_aminu/index.html?nav=page”]Al-Farouq Aminu[/URL][/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]F[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]6-9[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]215[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]09/21/1990[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”] Wake Forest / USA[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven, align: center”]2[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]15[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”][URL=”http://www.nba.com/playerfile/gustavo_ayon/index.html?nav=page”]Gustavo Ayon[/URL][/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]F-C[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]6-10[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]250[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]04/01/1985[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”] Baloncesto Fuenlabrada / Mexico[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center”]1[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]8[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”][URL=”http://www.nba.com/playerfile/marco_belinelli/index.html?nav=page”]Marco Belinelli[/URL] (FA)[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]G[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]6-5[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]195[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]03/25/1986[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”] Fortitudo Bologna / Italy[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven, align: center”]5[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”][/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”][URL=”http://www.nba.com/playerfile/anthony_davis/index.html?nav=page”]Anthony Davis[/URL][/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]F-C[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]6-10[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]220[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]03/11/1993[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”] Kentucky / USA[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center”]R[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]11[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”][URL=”http://www.nba.com/playerfile/jerome_dyson/index.html?nav=page”]Jerome Dyson[/URL][/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]G[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]6-3[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]180[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]05/01/1987[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”] Connecticut / USA[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven, align: center”]1[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]10[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”][URL=”http://www.nba.com/playerfile/eric_gordon/index.html?nav=page”]Eric Gordon[/URL] (FA)[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]G[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]6-3[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]215[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]12/25/1988[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”] Indiana / USA[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center”]4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]4[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”][URL=”http://www.nba.com/playerfile/xavier_henry/index.html?nav=page”]Xavier Henry[/URL][/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]G[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]6-6[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]220[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]03/15/1991[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”] Kansas / USA[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven, align: center”]2[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]2[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”][URL=”http://www.nba.com/playerfile/jarrett_jack/index.html?nav=page”]Jarrett Jack[/URL][/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]G[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]6-3[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]197[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]10/28/1983[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”] Georgia Tech / USA[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center”]7[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]35[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”][URL=”http://www.nba.com/playerfile/chris_kaman/index.html?nav=page”]Chris Kaman[/URL] (FA)[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]C-F[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]7-0[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]265[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]04/28/1982[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”] Central Michigan / USA[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven, align: center”]9[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]24[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”][URL=”http://www.nba.com/playerfile/carl_landry/index.html?nav=page”]Carl Landry[/URL] (FA)[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]F[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]6-9[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]248[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]09/19/1983[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”] Purdue / USA[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center”]5[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”][/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”][URL=”http://www.nba.com/playerfile/rashard_lewis/index.html?nav=page”]Rashard Lewis[/URL][/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]F[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]6-10[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]230[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]08/08/1979[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”] Alief Elsik HS (TX) / USA[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven, align: center”]14[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”][/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”][URL=”http://www.nba.com/playerfile/darius_miller/index.html?nav=page”]Darius Miller[/URL][/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]F[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]6-8[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]235[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]03/21/1990[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”] Kentucky / USA[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center”]R[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”][/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”][URL=”http://www.nba.com/playerfile/austin_rivers/index.html?nav=page”]Austin Rivers[/URL][/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]G[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]6-4[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]200[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]08/01/1992[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”] Duke / USA[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven, align: center”]R[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]14[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”][URL=”http://www.nba.com/playerfile/jason_smith/index.html?nav=page”]Jason Smith[/URL][/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]F-C[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]7-0[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]240[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]03/02/1986[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”] Colorado State / USA[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center”]4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]42[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”][URL=”http://www.nba.com/playerfile/lance_thomas/index.html?nav=page”]Lance Thomas[/URL][/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]F[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]6-8[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]225[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]04/24/1988[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”] Duke / USA[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven, align: center”]1[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]21[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”][URL=”http://www.nba.com/playerfile/greivis_vasquez/index.html?nav=page”]Greivis Vasquez[/URL][/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]G[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]6-6[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]211[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”]01/16/1987[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC”] Maryland / Venezuela[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowOdd, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center”]2[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]31[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”][URL=”http://www.nba.com/playerfile/darryl_watkins/index.html?nav=page”]Darryl Watkins[/URL][/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]C[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]6-11[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]258[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”]11/08/1984[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven”] Syracuse / USA[/TD]
[TD=”class: gSGRowEven, align: center”]2[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
Not nearly enough Kentucky players on there, in my opinion. So, I let the Trade Machine work its magic, and here’s what I came up with [URL=”http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=6s53dy6″]after my first trade[/URL]. Remember, this doesn’t mean a particular team would do it, it just means the trade works under the collective bargaining agreement:
It sends Lewis and Smith to the Pistons, Jack and Henry to the Kings, and Corey Maggette from the Pistons to the Celtics. The Hornets get Rondo, Prince, Knight, Cousins, and Hayes. I can see the Pistons and Kings doing this in real life, but I don’t think there’s any way the Celtics give up Rondo for Corey Maggette.
[URL=”http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=6mk9qlm”]Trade 2[/URL]:
This sends Thomas to the Knicks, Ayon to the Rockets, and Vasquez to the Clippers. The Hornets get Harrellson, Patterson, and Bledsoe.
[URL=”http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=76lcx88″]Trade 3[/URL]:
Watkins goes to the Bucks (and I’ll throw in a 2014 2nd-round pick to make it a bit more legit) and Rivers goes to the Bobcats (with a 2013 1st-round pick), while Aminu goes to the Jazz. The Hornets get Lamb, MKG, and Kanter. Even though Lamb, MKG, and Rivers are currently unsigned, the values are pretty close for the pieces involved.
That leaves Gordon, Kaman, Belinelli, Dyson, and Landry as leftover non-UK players, and all 5 are free agents. I let Belinelli, Dyson, and Landry walk. I do a sign-and-trade with Gordon (due to make $5.1 million in 2012), and hopefully find a team to give up a 2013 1st-rounder in return. I do the same with Kaman ($12.2 million in 2012) and hope I can get a 2nd-rounder. Obviously, it depends on a particular team’s cap space. This gets back the draft picks given up in the MKG and Lamb trades.
Speaking of the salary cap, the 2011-2012 NBA salary cap was around $58 million, so the 2012-2013 cap should be fairly close to that.
Here’s what we now have as the Hornets roster. Projected 2012 salaries are in parentheses:
Brandon Knight ($2.7M)
Rajon Rondo ($11M)
Eric Bledsoe ($1.7M)
Jodie Meeks ($800K)
Doron Lamb ($800K, this is an estimation based on the rookie wage scale)
Keith Bogans ($700K)
Darius Miller ($800K, this is an estimation based on the rookie wage scale)
DeAndre Liggins ($470K)
Tayshaun Prince ($6.7M)
MKG ($3.8M)
Chuck Hayes ($5.5M)
Patrick Patterson ($2M)
Josh Harrellson ($770K)
Anthony Davis ($4.3M)
Enes Kanter ($4.4M)
DeMarcus Cousins ($3.9M)
That’s a team salary of $50.3M, which should be well under the cap for the season.
So we have 16 UK guys, and what I think is a balanced roster. Here’s a projected starting 5:
Rondo
Meeks
Prince
Davis
Cousins
Off the bench, you have:
Knight
Lamb
MKG
Patterson
Kanter
That still gives us Bledsoe, Bogans, Miller, Liggins, Hayes, and Harrellson on the bench. The thing is, NBA rosters are limited to 15 total, and 13 active at any given time. In that case, I’m going to drop Hayes, as much as I hate to. Harrellson and either Bogans or Bledsoe would be inactive at a given time, depending on a particular night’s matchup.
Not only is this a pure UK team, it’s a really good UK team. You can go big, small, physical, finesse, you name it. You have leadership (Rondo, Davis, Prince), outside shooting (Meeks, Lamb, Bogans), you have rebounding (Cousins, Kanter, Davis), you have ball-handling (Knight, Rondo, Bledsoe), you have defense (Rondo, Prince, Liggins, MKG, Davis). Last but not least, you have depth. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to see this happen, which is why I’m now really looking forward to getting [I]NBA 2K13[/I].
That is a young team that can win it all, and I’m giddy at the prospect of it. Thoughts?
