Early 2014 Off-Season Look: Building the 2014-15 roster
By Dante Nelson
Feb 24, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Michael Carter-Williams (1) during the first quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Wells Fargo Center. The Bucks defeated the Sixers 130-110. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Remember that project I had us do earlier this week? Well, here’s my take.
Go back to the original post for the rules and whatever. Let’s look at my team for the 2014-15 season.
Players from the current team: Michael Carter-Williams, Thad Young, Nerlens Noel, Tony Wroten, James Anderson, and Henry Sims. That’s six guys right there. At the end, I’ll explain my motives.
Now, for the draft. As I said, focusing on only the two very possible lottery picks. I decided to use a mock draft to help me. For the Sixers’ first pick, which would be number two overall, I went with Jabari Parker. As for the apparent 10th pick, I went with what the mock draft went with and took Gary Harris
Now, that brings us to eight players. So, we’ll need at least five guys in free agency and/or trade. Again, this is all a dream. We’re having some fun with wishful thinking. Before we get started, let’s look at the depth chart:
PG: Michael-Carter-Williams, Tony Wroten
SG: James Anderson, Gary Harris
SF: Jabari Parker
PF: Thad Young
C: Nerlens Noel, Henry Sims
Okay, so we’ll need some help with forwards. I would like a 5th guard as well. We need at least five players, but we can always go full roster. Let’s go:
- Greg Monroe
Okay, now I made a trade. Remember, we’re just messing around. Using the Trade Machine, this deal worked:
Arnett Moultrie to Denver Nuggets for Kenneth Faried.
I know, never in a million years. I’m pretty sure Thad will be traded at some point. Why not get a younger energy guy in Faried? I made another trade: Clippers get Jason Richardson for Jared Dudley, Clippers also get Alex Shved from the Timberwolves for Matt Barnes from the Clippers.
Okay, let’s review the chart:
PG: MCW, Wroten
SG: Anderson, Harris
SF: Parker, Dudley
PF: Thad, Monroe, Faried
C: Noel, Sims
Hm, still need some guys. I would rather get a true PG to back up MCW. And we’ll trade Thad for a few assets. Let’s go:
I went and traded Thad for a couple of players. Those players are Luke Ridnour and Bismack Biyombo. This way, I get a veteran PG to teach MCW a few things while getting a big guy who could be special, but if not, the Sixers aren’t dead with a bad contract. In real life, you already know the Sixers are getting some sort of first round pick for Thad. I have 12 players. Let’s make a signing.
- Dante Cunningham
I won’t lie. His name is the only reason why. However, I run a blog called Dante Ball which covers players named Dante in the basketball and football world. I’m obsessive like that. Anyway, Dante has actually done fairly well with the T-Wolves big men injury problems. Here’s a guy that knows how to step up when needed. He could be useful. Just saying.
So, the final look:
PG: MCW, Ridnour, Wroten
SG: Anderson, Harris
SF: Parker, Dudley
PF: Monroe, Faried, Cunningham
C: Noel, Biyombo, Sims
I like it. What I tried to do was to grab my core (MCW, Noel, Parker) and surround them with a nice cast. Some of them will grow along with the core. Others are veterans that will give some key guidance. You see I got somebody for MCW and Parker. Perhaps Cunningham could mentor Noel in a way. Above all, I wanted to keep this team young and let them grow. I’m going for the Spurs look. they had a core of three guys who dominated for now over a decade.
No, Parker may not impact this team like Duncan did. And, really, the Spurs already had a star on the team which helped with early dominance in Duncan’s career. Still, I think this young team can get it together. As time goes on, more veterans will be willing to come on board and we’ll really have that Spurs look. The Thunder haven’t won a championship yet but here’s another team that stuck with their young talent. They focused on surrounding this you duo with the right pieces while letting it all come together, making some tweaks along the way.
That’s not the only way to build a winner. Hit me in the comments. What’s your team? I’m going to provide links now to let you know what helped me build mine.
Draft Express: 2014 Mock Draft