(NBA 2K23) Changing the Landscape of the NBA.

[Deuce2223]

14 teams will have a chance at this year's #1 pick in the 2024 Draft. Oklahoma City, San Antonio and Portland have the best chances a 14% each with the Spurs having a 12.5% chance via the Charlotte Hornets pick followed by the Indiana Pacers at 10.5% and the Utah Jazz at 9%.

Oklahoma City also has another lottery pick via Denver holding a 6% chance along with the Toronto Raptors and Portland (via New York). Well the Knicks lose one pick to Portland, they still have a chance 3% chance and a 2% chance via Detroit and Dallas and will at the very least pick twice in the Top-14.

Utah (#12 via Las Vegas), the Rockets and Seattle (via Milawaukee) hold a 1% chance.

A BAD BOUNCE!!

Some times the ping balls bounce your way and sometimes they don't. For the Oklahoma City Thunder the worst scenario happened as the Denver Nuggets pick bounces into a Top-3 giving Denver the ability to retain their pick as they will pick #2.

The biggest winners. Well that would be the San Antonio Spurs who for the 2nd time in a row will be picking #1. Last year they picked Victory Wembanyama who went on to not only win the NBA ROY Award but also the Defensive POY.

A LOOK AT THE ENTIRE 1ST ROUND ORDER

#1 Spurs
#2 Nuggets
#3 Pistons
#4 Wizards
#5 Trail Blazers
#6 Hornets
#7 Pacers
#8 Jazz
#9 Raptors
#10 Trail Blazers via NY
#11 Knicks via Dallas
#12 Jazz via Las Vegas
#13 Rockets
#14 Sonics via Bucks
#15 Magic
#16 Nets
#17 Kings
#18 Sonics via Lakers
#19 Thunder
#20 Magic via Bulls
#21 Nets via Suns
#22 Warriors
#23 Grizzlies
#24 Rockets via Clippers
#25 Lakers via Sonics
#26 Pacers via Celtics
#27 Thunder via Miami
#28 Pacers via Cav's
#29 Jazz via 76er's
#30 Hawks.

[Deuce2223]

MOCK DRAFT HAS COLLILER #1

The DX Draft Express has released their most up to date Mock Draft as teams have finished their NBA Draft Combine. Here is a look at the projected Top-10

Reports are the Spurs were deciding between USC PG Isiah Collier and Kentucky PG DJ Wagner and right now it appears that Collier is going to be the pick.

Reports out of Denver has the Nuggets looking to the future with Jamal Murray potentially leaving and will most like pick whatever PG the Spurs pass on..

Detroit becomes the big winner here as they will grab Kentucky SF Justin Edwards who many thought could be this year's #1 pick.

Washington is then left with the biggest question. Do they take 19 yr old 7'1 Alex Sarr from France, 19 yr old 7'3 Adama Mara from Spain or a more established player like PF Grant Nelson from North Dakota State or Kyle Fiipowski from Duke. DX thinks it will be Sarr.

Portland with Sarr off the board, the experts think Portland will role the dice with Mara at #5

Charlotte could be the big winner as they look to pair High Schooler Matt Buzelis with last year's pick Brandon Miller and PG. LaMelo Ball. The 6'11 SG/SF was the MVP the G league playing for the Ignite in 2023.

Indiana keeps things rolling taking 19 yr old Zachary Risarcher from France at #7, with the Utah Jazz grabbing SG Stephon Castleton out of UConn at #8

Toronto's roster has alot of question marks and they start by filling 1 of them at PG with Kentucky's Robert Dillingham.

That brings us back to Portland for their 2nd pick in the Top-10 and the Trail Blazer grab 6'8 SF Ron Holland from Texas.

[Bambino89]

Just Finished Reading.. I'm So Inspired.. I'm going to start one soon. Storyline amazing.

B.I is one of my favorite players, want to see him grow

[Deuce2223]

Quote: Originally Posted by Bambino89

Just Finished Reading.. I'm So Inspired.. I'm going to start one soon. Storyline amazing. B.I is one of my favorite players, want to see him grow

I appreciate it. I like B.I.as well. I ended up simming most of Season 1 because I sorta wanted to get the franchise moved to Seattle before I start playing more games, but he is fun to play with. I really think he is going to be the face of the franchise. Zion's health issues make me think he is probably going to be hitting the road, but we will see.

[Deuce2223]

2024 NBA DRAFT RESULTS

SPURS TAKE COLLIER #1

For the 2nd year in a row the San Antonio Spurs picked #1 and after taking their "BIG" last year they add what many feel was the best pure PG of this year's draft in USC's Isiah Collier (79 Ovr). Collier led the NCAA in assists last season with 13.1 APG.

DRAFTEXPRESS PICKS TOP-10 100%

The DraftXpress Mock draft was a perfect 10/10 with their projected picks this year. After Collier went #1, The Denver Nuggets took PG DJ Wagner (78 Ovr) with the #2 pick. Many think the Nuggets could have a hard time resigning Jamal Murray next summer and Wagner is seen as a insurance policy if he doesnt'.

Detroit was the real winner of this draft as they land 6'7 SF Justin Edwards (77 Ovr) who many felt like was probably the most worthy #1 pick.

Washington is rolling the dice with 7'1 Alex Sarr (76 Ovr). The Frenchman is just 19 yrs old but has a pedigree of NBA in his family with both his Father having his Father play in the NBA as well as his older Brother.

Portland grabs 7'3 Aday Mara (78 Ovr) with their first pick in the Top-10 at #5. With last year's trade of J. Nuric, Mara is expected to instantly join the Blazers young core in the starting lineup with Scoot Henderson and Shannon Sharpe.

If Detroit wasn't the big winner, then most think its' Charlotte, with the Hornets taking 6'11 SG/SF Matt Buzellis (78 Ovr). Most NBA scouts believe Buzellis has the highest potential ceiling of any player in this year's draft.

Indiana was a wildcard. The Mock had them taking 19 yr old Frenchman Zachary Risarcher (78 Ovr), but then reports surfaced they were thinking of switching to former Texas/G Ignite SF Ron Holland but when the draft card was turned in it was Risarcher name.

Utah added UConn's Stephon Castle (77 Ovr) at #8 and Toronto took the 3rd PG of the draft taking Wagner's teammate Robert Dillingham (74 Ovr) from Kentucky.

That brought up Portland with their 2nd pick in the Top-10 and the Trail Blazers went with SF Ron Holland (78 Ovr). The 6'8 Holland is expected to push 2023 #7 pick Shaedon Sharpe for the Trail Blazers starting SF spot with the loser most likely settling into the 6th man role.

SONICS TAKE A BIG CHANCE AT #14!!

GM Ryan Derozan was a busy man on draft night. The Sonics had both the #14 pick and the #18 pick in the 1st round, and after a trade of backup PG Howie Carney to Oklahoma City, Seattle also landed the #1 pick of the 2nd Round picking #31.

With Carney gone, Derozan went into the draft with 2 major needs. A backup Center and a backup PG and he landed both in the 1st Round.

18 yr old Aaron Bradshaw (76 ovr) was projected as a possible Top-10 pick after the 2023 draft but a broken foot saw his playing time limited at Kentucky and his draft stock plummeted with many thinking he could even drop out of the 1st Round all together, but Derozan shocked everyone when he Adam Silver announced Bradshaw at #14.

Reports are that Seattle originally was wanting to land 6'11 PF/C Kyle Filipowski (76 Ovr) but Utah grabbed him at #12.

Derozan

Quote:

"Honestly we had Bradshaw originally slated to be our pick at #18. We knew Portland was taking Holland at #10 and but we we were unsure what NY, Utah and Houston would do. After the Knicks took Riley Kulig (75 Ovr) and Utah took Kyle, Houston grabbed Mack MgBako (76 Ovr), and that left Aaaron as our highest rated player on our board"

With Bradshaw filling need #1, Derozan went to working filling need #2 with pick #18.

Orlando snagged PG Juan Nunez (74 Ovr) at #15 and the Nets shocked everyone with the drafting of Bronny James (75 Ovr) at #16, taking 2 more PG's off the board and 5 in the Top-16.

Sacramento went with the oldest player selected in the 1st Round as they take 22 yr old PF Grant Nelson (73 Ovr) from North Dakota State at #17.

SEATTLE TAKES GLOVE 2.0 AT #18

The Sonics land who they hope will become "The Glove 2.0" with the selection of 6'5 PG Tyrese Proctor (76 Ovr) with their 2nd pick in the 1st Round. Proctor explored the idea of joining the 2023 Draft after his Freshman year at Duke but Scouts suggest a return to Duke to work on a part of his game that many felt would make him a Lottery pick and Proctor took it to heart as he become one of the best defensive PG in the nation.

Derozan

Quote:

"What I love about Tyrese is he is honest. Because of his size, Duke was playing Tyrese as a 2 guard and he wasn't giving his best effort and he was honest about it even admitting he was taking plays off on "D". Duke moved him back to PG and his #'s got better and you could see he made shutting down his opponent a bigger priority of his game. We are excited to see him continue to grow here in Seattle and envision him in the lineup with CJ at times playing PG with CJ moving over to the #2"

A LOOK AT THE REST OF ROUND 1

#19 Oklahoma City- SF M. Ajinca (73)
#20 Orlando- SG Rey Santos (74)
#21 Brooklyn- C Kelan Ware (74)
#22 Golden State- PG R. Beachem (72)
#23 Memphis- SF Dillion Mitchell (74)
#24 Houston- C D. Cline (74)
#25 L.A. Lakers- PG J. Vaden (73)
#26 Indiana- PF O Biliew (71)
#27 Oklahoma City- C Z. Ivanyi (72)
#28 Indiana- PG A. Morris (72)
#29 Utah- SF K. Walter (73)
#30 Atlanta- C D. Holmes (73)

THE RETURN OF REIGN CITY??

With the 1st Pick of the 2nd Round, Seattle grabbed what could be Part 2 of a return of "Reign City" in Seattle, with the selection of Michigan State PF/C Xavier Booker (73 Ovr). Booker known for some highlight dunks in his time at Michigan State and as a McDonald's All-American.

Derozan

Quote:

"Booker was our #1 target. We actually had him on our boards right behind Bradshaw #2 Big. Trading Howie was a tough pill to swallow but with Tyrese on as our new backup and future PG, we knew we had a 10 man rotation we were happy with and being able to land someone with X's talent and a guy who could step in and give us quality minutes at PF/C is huge"

SONICS GRAB SHARPSHOOTER IN 2ND ROUND!![/u]

Has GM Ryan Derozan just landed CJ McCollum 2.0? With the #14 pick of the 2nd Round and #44 Overall, Seattle landed a 4th Rookie in the 2024 draft with the selection of Syracuse SG JJ Starling (72).

Derozan

Quote:

"We love JJ. The kid is a pure scorer and honestly reminds me a little of CJ McCollum when he first came into league. If he want's a bigger role moving foward, he will need to add some defensive skills, but as a pure shooter off the bench, I think he has the ability to take on a role next season as a guy who can come in and knock down a shot or 2"

OTHER NOTEWORTY 2ND ROUND PICKS

Boston- PG K. Carlisle (71)
San Antonio- PF T. Braziel (72)
Charlotte- SF A. Traore (70)
Sacramento SF M. Cook (71)
Miami- SF KJ Evans (73)
LA Clippers PF B. Klask (73)
Detroit PF B. Miller (72)
Brooklyn PG M. Williams (70)
Sacramento SF B. Buycks (72)
Milwaukee- SG S. Middleton (71)

[Deuce2223]

Free Agency kicked off with mass signings and mass exodus's.

The Lakers brought back Lebron James on what appears to be his final season with a 1 yr deal asl well as PG D'Angelo Russell (3 yrs) Taurean Prince (1 yr) and added former Laker Alex Caruso (2 yr) but they lost a major piece to their playoff roster as Anthony Davis departs.

The Bulls are the winners of the Davis sweepstakes giving A.D. a 4 yr deal worth over 200 million as they lose Demar DeRozan to the Pacers on a 3 yr deal worth 118 mil. Chicago picked up Tobias Harris last season in a deal with Philly and are bringing him back on a 3 yr deal worth 51 million as well as resigned Center Isiah Hartenstein who they also acquired in a deal bringing him back for 2 more years.

The 76er's cleared alot of money off last year's roster in order to sign PG Tyrese Maxey to a "Max" contract but never got it done instead bringing him back on a 1 yr deal worth 7.5 million.

Cleveland won the Centeral with their new roster and brought back both former Pelican/Sonics in PG Kira Lewis and Jonas Valanciunas.. They also added veteran PG Mike Conley on a 1 yr deal worth 6.7 mil.

Boston added SG Victor Oladipo on a 2 yr deal to help backup JB.

The L.A. Clipperes resigned both James Harden (4 yr 198 mil) and Kawhi Leonard (4 yr 183 mil) but lost Paul George to the Raptors (more on that later).

The Grizzlies are bringing back SG De'Anthony Melton on a 2 yr 22 million dollar deal after Melton spent last season in Philly

Atlanta added some depth at PF signing PF Saddiq Bey 1 yr 7.5 million and Oneyeka Okongwu (3 yr 90 mil).

The Jazz signed former Bull Lonzo Ball (1 yr 21 mil) to see if he heathy and ready to compete with C. Sexton for the PG job.

New York is bringing back Center Christian Wood on 1 yr 15 million dollar deal after Wood joined them last year on a 1 yr deal.

The Magic are looking to make a run at something better then a 8 seed landing veteran PG Jrue Holiday (3 yr 104 mil) as well as former Knick SG I. Quickley (3 yr 64 Mil) and PF Partrick Williams (1 yr 22 mil)

The Mavericks signed SG Buddy Held on a 1 yr deal after Held turned down the same deal by Seattle.

Brooklyn resigned N. Claxton (4 yr 125 mil) as well as PG S. Dinwiddie (3 yr 56 mil) and added veteran SG B. Bogdanovic (3 yr 19 mil).

Indiana went all in on PF DeMar DeRozan on a 3 yr 118 mil. With alot of youth on the team, DeRozan and Myles Turner will be asked to be key leaders.

Detroit resigned former Top pick James Wiseman to a 3 yr 81 million dolar deal and signed veteran SG Alec Burks to a 3 yr 12 million dollar deal.

The Toronto Raptors not only landed SG Paul George (4 yr 184 mil) but also landed PF Miles Bridges (1 yr 22 mil) both are expected to be instant replacements in the Raptor starting lineup. Toronto also resigned Center Precious Achiuwa to a 3 yr 49 million.

San Antonio added some vet's to go with their young roster adding SF Gordon Hayward (1 yr 7.5 mil) and SG OG Anunboy 3 yr (81 mil) as well as resigned backup Center Zach Collins (3 yr 46 mil)

Golden State is keeping the Splash Bro's together as they bring back Klay Thompson on a 4 yr 151 mil deal and also added veteran Mason Plumlee in the post. (1 yr 6.7 mil).

The Wizards are adding former Raptor PF Pascal Siakam (4 yr 160 Mil) to join top pick Alex Sarr down low as well as veteran PF Robert Covington to give the 2nd unit some leader ship (2 yr 6.5 mil)

[Deuce2223]

SONICS FILL OUT ROSTER

GM Ryan Derozan finalized his 2024-2025 roster with a pair of trades and a veteran Free Agent signing.

Last season Derozan made a move to bring in PF Jalen Johnson (78 Ovr) from Atlanta, and Johnson played well averaging over 6.3 PPG and 4.3 RPG for the Sonics but with the drafting of A. Bradshaw and X. Booker as well as the resigning of Trey Murphy, Derozan felt it would be best to give Johnson a chance at more minutes early on another team and Charlotte delivered trading a 2025 1st Round pick for the former 1st round pick Johnson is projected to be the Hornets starting PF at the start of the year.

Next Derozan traded Trent Franklin (77 Ovr) to the Utah Jazz for a 1st Round Swap via Minnesota and a 2027 1st Round pick via Cleveland.

Franklin averaged 6.4 PPG last season off the bench for the Sonics and led the team in 3pt% shooting over 44% (59/139).

Derozan

Quote:

"To be completely honest, we just pull Trent out on feelers to see what he might bring and Utah came back with the best offer"

With the trade, the Sonics now own potentially (3) 1st Round picks in the next 4 drafts..

COUSINS RETURNS!

Last season Derozan made a run at signing veteran "BIG" DeMarcus Cousins (76 Ovr) but Boogey went to Cleveland where he was active for all 82 games averaging 7.5 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 1.4 APG well shooting 39%.

The 33 yr old spent part of the 2016-2017 season in New Orleans and spent all of 2017-2018 averaging 25.2 PPG, 12.9 RPG, 5.4 APG, 1.6 SPG, and 1.6 BPG.

Derozan "We are excited to have Boogey join us for the season. We believe he still has alot to offer and and can join CJ as a veteran presence on this team and be a mentor to alot of young players we have."

YOUR 2024-2025 ROSTER

STARTERS

PG CJ McCollum (82 Ovr)
"Last season averaged 19.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 5.6 APG shooting 46% from 3pt"

SG Herb Jones (80 Ovr)
"Last season averaged 7.4 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 2.3 APG, and 1.5 SPG"

SF Brandon Ingram (88 Ovr)
"Last season averaged 17.9 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 5.0 APG shooting 43% from 3pt"

PF Zion Williamson (94 Ovr)
"Last season led the team with a 20.5 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 3.4 APG well shooting 66% FG."

C- Jarrett Allen (84 Ovr)
"Last season averaged 14. PPG, 10.1 RPG 1.7 SPG and 1.7 BPG well shooting 66% FG"

THE BENCH

PG- Tyrese Proctor (76 Ovr)
The #18 pick in this year's Draft, Proctor could push Herb Jones out of the starting lineup at times with CJ moving over to the 2 guard"

SG- Jordan Hawkins (76 Ovr)
"The #14 pick in the 2023 Draft, averaged 4.8 PPG well hitting 36% from 3p last season"

SF- Dyson Daniels (80 Ovr)
The #8 Pick in the 2022 Draft averaged 7.6 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 3.9 APG well shooting just 27% from 3pt"

PF- Trey Murphy (82 Ovr)
"The #21 Overall pick of the 2021 Draft, Murphy took on the 6th man role last season and made 8 starts in 82 games. He averaged 10.7 PPG, 3.2 RPG well shooting 42% from 3pt"

C- DeMarcus Cousins (76 Ovr)
"See above #'s"

C- Aaron Bradshaw (76 Ovr)
The #14 pick in the 2023 draft, Bradshaw has 2 season to backup Allen before potentially taking over the starting spot"

PF- Xavier Booker (72 Ovr)
"The 1st Pick of the 2nd Round in the 2023 Draft could Zion's backup next season if the Sonics can't afford to resign Trey Murphy or he could also be Zion's future replacement if the Sonics decide to move on from their injury plagued star"

C- Mouhamed Gueye (70 Ovr)
The #9 pick in the 2nd Round in 2022 out of Washington State, Gueye was acquired last season as depth piece. Now he gets to return to the state where he played college ball"

SG- JJ Starling (72 Ovr)
"The #14 pick of the 2nd Round of the 2023 draft out of Notre Dame, Starling is a sharpshooter who could be a potential replacement for 33 yr old CJ McCollum in 2 years"

**Starling and Gueye will both start out assigned to the Sonics "G League" roster.

[Deuce2223]

SONICS WIN 3 OUT OF 4!!

QUICK START

Seattle opened the season winning 3 out of 4 games in the Month of October including a season opening win over Denver (136-100). Their lone loss was on the road in the Las Vegas vs the Hustlers in a 3pt loss (130-127) before returning home for a (131-120) win over the Jazz and then a (120-118) win over San Antonio on the road.

Seattle will kickoff November with a rematch with the Spurs back at home.

SONICS OVER LUXURY TAX

GM Ryan Derozan has assembled a great roster that is capable and probably playoff bound, but Seattle is currently over the Luxury Tax with 176.85 million producing -44.71 million in Salary Cap room and are 16.27 million over the Lux Tax.

Currently of the Top-10 players i the rotation, only Trey Murphy is scheduled for F.A. next season but Murphy is a guy that Derozan and the Sonics want to keep around. Currently Murphy is on a 1 yr deal with 5.10 Mil, but he is expected to command closer to 25 million next season leaving many to think that means Derozan is going to have to consider either trading CJ McCollum or make up his mind on whether or not Zion Williamson is really the face of the franchise.

ZION BOOSTING TRADE VALUE OR PROVING HE IS THE FRANCHISE GUY?

So far Zion has started all 4 games and is leading the Sonics in MPG (31.5) PPG (29.8), RPG (9.7) BPG (1.0) well shooting a team best 73% FG and is 2nd on team averaging 5.5 APG.

THE PRICE OF LEADERSHIP

CJ McCollum is the veteran of the team at 33 yrs old an is currently on a contract paying him 33 Million per year for the next 2 years.

Well McCollum is putting up solid #'s (20.2 PPG, 6.3 APG and making 4.2 3PT per game (63%), one has to wonder if the Pelicans could survive playing Proctor at PG and moving Dyson Daniels or Jordan Hawkins into the starting lineup sooner then later.