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

[Deuce2223]

SEMI-FINAL RESULTS

Denver survived the upset beating Houston in Game 5 to take the series and advance to the Finals to face Seattle. Jokic just missed out on a Triple Double with 20 pts 9 rebs and 14 asts in the win. For the playoffs Jokic is averaging 22.1 PPG, 10.0 RPG and 9.7 APG, well hitting 48% from 3PT.

Philly beat the #1 Hawks in Game 5 to pull off the upset. Tyler Herro was the hero as he scored 28 pts on 6/9 from deep. In the playoffs Herro is actually leading the 76er's with a 23.9 PPG well Embiid is averaging 22.1 PPG and T. Maxey is averaging 19.7 PPG

Cleveland took Game 5 (119-110) to end the Boston Celtics season. Lebron James is playing and for the playoffs is averaging 23.0 PPG, 9.9 RPG and 9.0 APG, well Donovon Mitchell is leading the team with a 28.6 PPG well connecting on 42% from 3PT after hitting 49% during the regular season.

[Deuce2223]

SONICS WIN THE WEST!!

For the 1st time since 1996, the Seattle Sonics are your Western Conference Champs and have a chance to bring a NBA Championship Title back to Seattle something the Franchise hasn't seen since 1979.

Injuries to Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum were thought to sink the ship for the Sonics but Seattle has gotten huge play from youngsters Jordan Hawkins, Dyson Daniels as well as big games from Brandon Ingram and Jarrett Allen along the way.

Here is a look at the recap from their series with Denver.

GAME 1 SEATTLE WINS (110-107)

A huge 2nd Quarter (33-21) gave the Sonics a (58-47) lead at the half. Denver battled back to cut the lead to 5 going into the 4th, but with the game tied at 107 with 21 seconds on the clock, Brandon Ingram found Trey Murphy in the corner for the game winning 3.

Ingram finished with a team high 23 points well Murphy added 16 points on 4/11 from 3PT. John Wall continues to play well starting at PG and finished with 13 points and 8 assists, well Jarrett Allen finished with a double double of 12 pts and 10 rebs.

Nikola Jokic had a triple double in the loss with 21 pts 15 rebs and 11 ast.

GAME 2 SEATTLE WINS (114-100)

Denver runs out of steam in the 4th as the Sonics Defense goes wild holding the Nuggets to just 18 points, as Denver hits just 15/55 (27%) from 3PT.

Jovic had 29 pts and 8 rebs in the loss, shooting 11/21 FG and 4/11 3PT. Rookie DJ Wagner added 14 pts well Jamal Murray had 11 pts and 11 ast.

For Seattle it was Ingram leading the way again with 22 point, well John Wall had 16 pts and 6 ast.

The Sonics got huge production from 2 reserves who havn't seen alot of action this season. Harry Bennett averaged just 2.8 PPG during the regular season in 5.2 MPG, but scored 11 points tonight in 11 minutes of action and Rookie PG Tyrese Proctor who also only averaged 2.4 PPG had a solid game with 11 pts 4 rebs and 6 ast well playing 19 minutes.

GAME 3 SEATTLE WINS (136-127)

Denver lead by 5 points entering the 4th, but Seattle went 10 deep getting huge games from the bench as they outscore the Nuggets (42-28) in the 4th to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the series.

The Joker had his 2nd Triple Double of the series with 37 points 11 rebounds and 12 assists, well Murray added a Double Double of 27 points 10 assists well hitting a impressive 7/10 from 3PT and veteran Bojan Bogdanovic added 21 points hitting 4/7 from 3PT.

For Seattle it was a huge game from the 2nd Unit. Trey Murphy led the team with 22 points starting at PF, but it was Dyson Daniels (21 pts 5 reb 5 ast 3/3 3PT), Jordan Hawkins (18 pts 5 reb 5 ast 4/6 3PT) and Tyrese Proctor (12 pts 4 3 reb 4 ast) who all came up huge.

Brandon Ingram (17 pts 6 reb 6 ast) and Jarrett Allen (16 pts 8 reb) also scored in double digits.

GAME 4 SEATTLE WINS (127-124)

Another 4th Quarter comeback by the Sonics breaks out the brooms as they sweep the Nuggets in 4 games in this Best of 7 series. Denver led by 6 at the half and held onto that lead going into the 4th, but Seattle got some huge points from Herb Jones down the stretch.

Jarrett Allen's double double of 28 points and 12 rebounds led Seattle, well Brandon Ingram added 21 points and a team high 8 assists, but it was Herb Jones who came into the game averaging just 8 PPG in the playoff who came up big scoring 19 points (13 in the 4th) hitting 3/5 3PT that sparked the victory.

The Joker had a season low 12 points in the loss, but still almost averaged a Triple double adding 8 rebounds and 9 assists. Jamal Murray also had a off night scoring just 11 points on 5/13 FG 1/4 3PT.

[Deuce2223]

PHILLY WINS THE EAST

The Big story in the East was Lebron James returning to Cleveland in what many thought would be his final season playing with his son Bronny James in a quest to lead the Cav's to a 2nd NBA Title.

Instead it is the 76er's who are heading back to the NBA Finals for a 2nd straight year who will face Seattle for a chance at the Title, something they havn't done since 1983.

The Series went all 7 games. Cleveland took games 1,3 and 6 to force Game 7. The Cav's outscored the 76er's (27-18) in the 3rd Quarter to take a 6 point lead into the 4th but Joel Embiid scored the final 6 points for Philly including the game winner in a (108-107) victory.

[Deuce2223]

SONICS WIN CHIP!!!!!

Seattle makes history in it's first year back in Seattle after moving from New Orleans the previous season (Sorry Pelican fans). The Sonics got a huge boost to their roster as the team's leading scorer Zion Williamson returns from his injury to join the team for the Finals.

Williamson who averaged 23.6 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 3.7 APG during the regular season comes in to lead the way for the Sonics and is named the Finals MVP as he averages 27.2 PPG, 7.0 RPG and 4.0 APG well shooting 74% FG leading the Sonics to a Championship in just 5 games.

Seattle won the first 3 games of the series, but Philly pulled off the win in Game 4, before Seattle put it away in Game 5

[Deuce2223]

WHATS NEXT??

Coming off a NBA Championship is a exciting time, but for Seattle there are alot of questions still to be answered for the next chapter in this Franchise's story.

Head Coach Willie Green is in the final year of his contract and hasn't been offered a extension yet. Does GM Ryan Derozan bring back Green after helping guide the Sonics to a championship, or will Green use this to capitalize on a longer term and bigger payday then Seattle wants to spend.

Winning a NBA title comes at a cost and for the Seattle Franchise it costs the team a 83 million dollar loss, with the team currently operating at 34 million over the Luxury Tax.

This leads to big questions in regards to the roster, as several high priced veterans who didn't perform in the playoffs might need to be moved at the expense of resigning some key reserves who showed they are ready for bigger roles.

CJ McCollum went into the season looking for a extension saying he wanted to finish his career in Seattle. But McCollum saw a dip in his production this season averaging just 15.5 PPG and that's not good for a guy making over 30 million per year.

Reports are Seattle is shopping McCollum before the draft in hopes of freeing up some cap space and playing time for a group of younger players.

Herb Jones signed a extension after 2 solid years in New Orleans averaging 14 million per year for the next 3 years. At 26 yrs old Jones still has the chance to prove he could be a great 2 way player. But so far Jones has averaged just 8.4 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.2 APG and 1.5 SPG over 3 seasons and saw those #'s dip in the playoffs (7.6 PPG, well shooting just 25% from 3PT).

GM Ryne Derozan

Quote:

"We love CJ and Herbie both, but the reality is we got guy's in Jordan Hawkins (13.7 PPG) and Dyson Daniels (9.3 PPG) who proved in the playoffs they are ready for more minutes and a bigger role in our team moving forward. We also have 2-Top 10 picks in the upcoming draft which will give us more young talent that is going to help lead this Franchise to more Championships down the road"

Well McCollum and Jones appear to be on the trading block, Derozan will also have his hands full working on extensions to bring back Trey Murphy, Jordan Hawkins and Dyson Daniels as well as deciding if the team will try and retain PG John Wall.

[Deuce2223]

SUN'S GET #1!!!

The Ping Balls bounced pretty much like everyone expected until it came to the final 5,as the balls bounce in the favor of the Sun's giving Phoenix the 1st Overall pick, something they havn't done since taking D. Ayton #1 in 2018.

Seattle still manages to snag 2 Top-4 picks as they will pick #2 (Lakers pick) and #4 (Bucks) pick with the Oklahoma City Thunder picking #3 (Clippers pick).

Oklahoma City will have 5 picks in the 1st Round with 4 of them coming in the Top-15 (they also pick #6, #12 and #15) as well as #24. With a already young and loaded roster, many wonder if the Thunder will try and package those picks for a MVP caliber type player.

Seattle currently is slated to have the #30 pick int the draft as well as their 2 Top-4 selections.

Here is a look at the rest of the 1st Round.

Orlando-#5
Sacramento-#7
Chicago-#8
Houston (via Brooklyn)-#9
San Antonio (via Charlotte)-#10
Portland-#11
Indiana-#13
La Vegas-#14
New York (via Detroit)-#16
San Antonio-#17
Memphis (via Golden State)-#18
Miami-#19
Dallas-#20
Memphis-#21
New York-#22
San Antonio (via Toronto)-#23
Cleveland-#25
Chicago (via Philly) #26
Boston-#27
Milwaukee (via OKC) #28
Atlanta-#29

[Deuce2223]

SONICS MAKE MOVES!!

A NEW SIDELINE GENERAL

Willie Green is out but Seattle makes a huge move in bringing back former Sonic Gary Payton to coach the team. The Glove spent 13 seasons in Seattle after being picked #2 Overall in the 1990 draft and is considered to be one of the greatest Sonics and NBA PG's in history.

GM Ryan Derozan

Quote:

"We are excited to bring Gary back to Seattle and to have him lead this Franchise into our next chapter. He show cased his coaching abilities in the BIG 3 as well as Lincoln University and we couldn't think of a better fit for our club moving forward"

Reports are Seattle made a run at Denver HC Mike Malone before he resigned with Denver and interviewed Clippers HC Tyronn Lue and talked to former PG and Assistant HC Sam Cassel who is returning to Boston.

DEROZAN MOVES MCCOLLUM/JONES/WALL

Ryan Derozan was a busy man once the lottery selections were announced and now the Sonics have added another Top-10 pick in this year's upcoming draft.

First Derozan shipped out CJ McCollum to Dallas along with this year's #30 pick Overall for a trio of 1st Round picks in (2025,2026 and 2027, I gave teams the ability to trade back to back year's of picks when setting up the Franchise. Dallas is currently undecided on whether or not they are bring back 33 yr old Kyrie Irving giving the Mav's another solid scorer to pair up with Luka in the Dallas backcourt.

Derozan then shipped out Herb Jones and John Wall along with a 2025 1st Round pick (swamp with Las Vegas) for SF Dillion Brooks and the Rockets #9 Overall pick (from Brooklyn) in this year's draft.

Wall returns to Houston where he averaged 20.6 PPG in the 20-21 season and will have a chance to mentor Amen Thompson the Rockets #4 pick in the 2023 draft.

Jones is expected to move to SF with Jaylen Green already established at SG, taking Brooks starting role

Brooks however didn't stick around long as Seattle had a deal in place to send him to Boston along with a 2nd Round pick in this years draft for a 2027 1st Round pick.

Brooks never found his footing in Houston after averaging 18.4 PPG in 21-22 for the Grizzlies, Brooks averaged 8.5 PPG for the Rockets this pas 2 seasons, but is expected to be a key reserve off the bench for Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.

RELOADING STARTS NOW

With the trades of McCollum, Jones and Wall, the Sonics have just 6 players signed to contracts in the upcoming season with Christian Braun, Jordan Hawkins and Dyson Daniels all on team options which we are told is a given all 3 will be extended. giving Seattle 9 players under contract, with Trey Murphy the only key player that Derozan still needs to resign.

Right now the roster looks like this going into the draft.

PG-Tyrese Proctor (78 Ovr) Last year's #18 Overall Pick
SG- Jordan Hawkins (78 Ovr) the #14 pick in 2023
SF-Brandon Ingram (89 Ovr), Dyson Daniels (81 Ovr)- #8 pick in 2022, and Christian Braun (78 Ovr) #21 pick in 2022 brought in via trade with Denver.
PF-Zion Williamson (94 Ovr) and Trey Murphy (83 Ovr) #17 pick in 2021
C-Jarrett Allen (85 Ovr) brought over in trade with Cleveland, and Aaron Bradshaw (77 Ovr) #14 pick in last year's draft.

**SF/PF Harry Bennett (75 Ovr) has a player option and could resign, He is a 28 yr old undrafted out of Iowa State.

[Deuce2223]

NBA DRAFT

In the days leading up to the draft, the main story wasn't on what player was going to go #1 but was on whether or not Oklahoma City and Seattle would keep all their 1st round picks or package them for a star player.

The Thunder already loaded with a young roster of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace, Osumane Dieng, Melvin Ajinca where the #1 seed in the West last year and now with 5 more 1st Round picks, the Thunder at some point are going to have to resign all the young talent to keep them in OKC.

Sonics GM Ryan Derozan

Quote:

"I feel for OKC, they have done a amazing job of stockpiling 1st Round picks over the past couple years, but they are already facing cap issues this year in hopes of keeping Giddey and it's just going to keep getting worse for those guy's as those rookies come off their 1st contract. They can't afford to keep everyone"

Seattle the defending NBA Champions, opened up a big hole in their starting lineup with the trade of PG CJ McCollum to Dallas and another staring spot is up for grabs as they deal Herb Jones to Houston opening up the door for either a combination of Jordan Hawkins and Dyson Daniels to start at SG or a potential rookie from this year's draft.

At the end of the day it was Seattle who made a huge move well OCK is going to continue to stockpile their roster.

SEATTLE TRADES 6 1ST ROUND PICKS TO INDIANA

GM Ryne Derozan used his recently acquired cap space and stockpile of 1st round picks to add a 3rd Mega Star to his lineup. Derozan knew he wanted a young PG who could replace McCollum and run the team with Zion and B.I. for the next 5-6 years and new HC Gary "The Glove" Payton has his man.

Seattle dealt the #2 and #4 Overall Picks in this year's draft as well as 4 future 1st (Mav's 2025, Cav's 2026, Cav's 2027 and Celtics 2027) to the Pacers for PG Tyrese Haliburton.

Haliburton originally picked #12 in the 2020 draft by Sacramento is on to his 3rd team in 5 years. Haliburton became expendable for the Kings after they decided De'Arron Fox was their PG of the future and was flipped for Domantas Sabonis who has gone on to become a All-Star caliber player for the Kings.

Haliburton has blossomed into a star as well averging 19.5 PPG and 9.2 APG his first year in Indiana and then upping those #s last year averaging 24.0 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 11.9 APG, 2.0 SPG well shooting 46% from 3PT>

Payton "At the end of the day, I knew who I wanted on this team and Dez got it done. It's a trade people will talk about for year's to come. Was (6) 1st Round's to much or to little. I personally hope Hali makes people say it wasn't enough. I know for a fact he never wanted to leave Sacramento and I know he has played with a chip on his shoulder ever since.. I also know he felt like he should've been picked higher then #12 in that draft

SUNS TAKE IAN JACKSON #1

Phoenix's lost last season when PG/SG Devon Booker was lost for the season with a torn ACL. The Sun's lookng for some depth then traded Bradley Beal to Utah for a package of Jordan Clarkston and John Collins, but with Durant in his final years and Booker's future a ?, the Suns went with who they felt was the best player in the draft.

Ian Jackson (82 Ovr), the 6'6 SF from Duke. Scouts predict Jackson to be a future All-Star in the league, but is also a player who can come in and make a impact for the Suns Day 1.

INDIANA REBUILDS

The Pacers take Dylan Harper (79 Ovr) as replacement for Haliburton. The 6'4 PG out of Rutgers was the best PG in the draft and is expected to challenge 3rd year PG Andrew Nembhard (79 Ovr) for the starting job. Nembhard a former 2nd round pick from Gonzaga has averaged 10.1 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 4.3 APG and shot 33% from 3PT in his first 2 years with the Pacers.


With the 4th pick in the draft, the Pacers selected SF Cody Williams (78 Ovr) from Colorado. Williams led the NCAA in scoring last season averaging over 32 PPG. He will face off against Indiana's 1st round pick last season (France's Zachary Risacher 77 Ovr) for the starting SF job. Risacher averaged 5.5 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.4 APG, and 1.2 SPG last season.

Indiana also owned the #13 pick in the draft and selected Center Dennis Evans (72 Ovr) from Minnesota. The 7'1 Evans was considered to be the #2 Center in this year's draft.

OKLAHOMA CITY ADD'S MORE DEPTH

The Thunder stood pat and took Baris Baga'Yoko (80 Ovr) at #3. The 6'10 PF/C is just 19 yrs old and was considered the best Big Man in the draft. Many expect Baga'Yoko to take the starting job a PF next season.

Oklahoma then took 6'8 Forward Nassir Cunningham (79 Ovr) from Missouri wit the #6 pick, then grabbed SG Carter Knox (75 Ovr) from Kentucky with the #12 pick, PG Ade Holloway (75 Ovr) at #15, Listed at 6'0 from Auburn Holloway was considred the #2 rated PG in the draft. OKC then added 6'5 SG VJ Miller (72 Ovr) from Kansas at #24

SEATTLE LANDS FUTURE STAR AT #9

Seattle traded away the #2 and #4 Pick as well as their #30 pick in this year's draft but still managed to keep the #9 pick via the Rockets/Nets and came away with a player most Mock Drafts had as a Top-5 talent and some even thought a potential #1.

PG/SG 6'4 Tre Johnson (82 Ovr) from Texas was rated as the #2 SG in the class and the #4 Overall prospect by Draft Xpress. NBA.Com had Johnson rated #5 Overall.

GM Ryan Derozan "

Quote:

What we love about Johnson is that our scouts basically came back and said the kid is CJ McCollum. Obviously we know well what kind of career CJ has had so far in this league and we believe Tre can be a guy who came come in and push Jordan and Dyson for the starting SG job this season and at worse is a key player off our bench"

OTHER NOTEWORTHY PICKS

Orlando took 6'6 SG/SF Isiah Elohim from Kentucky (78 Ovr) #5. The Magic will also get 6'4 SG Rey Santos-78 Ovr (last year's #20 Overall pick) joining the team as well

Chicago took Texas Asa Newell (77 Ovr) at #8. The 6'9 Newell was considered to be the #1 PF in this year's class. The Bull's also drafted Illinois State PG Zach Clark (73 Ovr) at #24

San Antonio took 6'8 Serbia SG Nikola Durisic (77 Ovr) at #10 and 6'8 PF Demitrus Dong (74 Ovr) from Turkey at #23. Dong will have 1 more year to play over seas before joining the team.

Las Vegas took 6'8 SF Trent Flowers (77 Ovr) from Georgia State at #14.

Portland took 6'2 SG David Castillo (72 Ovr) from Oklahoma State at #11