97/98 Season Preview
(I'm going to do this without spoilers, let me know if it's a problem for those of you reading it on mobile)
We're starting to fill up the league with Cafites a bit! We still have a few to go (and as many more as want to sign up), but we're already in our first season with two on the same team. This is the last season of the rookie contracts of our initial four players, so a lot can happen between this season and next. I doubt anyone will get traded, given how cheap they are right now, but from next season on all bets are off on that score.
Let's start with the official
NBA Power Rankings at the beginning of the season.
Unsurprisingly most are still on bad teams, which is how those teams managed to draft them in the first place. The only ones in the top half are Salt Bailly at the Bucks, and Dan at the 76ers. Dr. Dwayne as well as the super(?)-duo of Solius and The Cat are on truly bad teams. On the one hand that's bad for the "success" part of the equation, but it also means they have good chances at getting good draft picks again. Barring good trades, none of our players are likely to be on teams that will see much success. It's not too big a deal given that the oldest Cafites are still 20, which is younger than most of the
next draft class.
Let's take a look at the players and their teams.
@Solius &
@The Cat on the Seattle Supersonics
Not the worst team around, but close. Still, they have a very solid player in Gary Payton in addition to our younglings, as well as a lot of roster spots and salary cap space to fill. I'll try to pay attention to any moves they make. I wouldn't get my hopes up though, as it's very likely they're trying to be bad to get another high draft pick. The Cat seems to hate it there already, while Solius is just mildly unhappy. Both are in the starting lineup, though, so that's cool.
@Stobzilla on the Vancouver Grizzlies
An
okay team, but not getting any better (except for a young Allen Iverson and hopefully the even younger Stobzilla himself). Stobzilla doesn't seem very happy to be there.
@altodevil on the Cleveland Cavaliers
altodevil continues to improve. Is there a difference between 0 inside scoring and 3 inside scoring? I guess we'll find out, as last season altodevil was happy to take only 3 or 4 shots per game. He made the playoffs doing it, but I wouldn't be so sure about this season. He's hitched to a rather old, declining bunch, with no salary space to work with.
@Dan and the Philadelphia 76ers
Dan also got better, by a fairly decent amount. He actually had a decent time in the playoffs last season, and considering his team also largely improved, he might just be able to hope for a repeat of that experience. The core of his team is relatively young, so it'll be interesting to see how the next few years pan out. If he stays that is; his contract expires after this season.
@Dr. Dwayne and the New York Knicks
The bad news is that Dr. Dwayne is on easily the worst team in the league, and a team which has precisely no salary cap to spare. The team is also declining. The good news is that Dr. Dwayne himself actually improved, particularly in the vital Basketball IQ stats. He's not in the starting lineup, but he'll probably play more and better than last season. His contract also expires, though if the Knicks really are as bad as they look he might just stay and find another talented friend after the next draft.
@hobbers and the Portland Trailblazers
hobbers took quite a leap this pre-season. He improved everywhere, and significantly so in some areas. His potential rating is a ludicrous 89, but if he gets anywhere near 80 he should be happy. Portland have a lot of flexibility in both salary and roster spots, so it's possible they'll try to make something happen. Either way hobbers has a couple of years left on his contract.
@oneniltothearsenal and the Charlotte Hornets
Like hobbers, oneniltothearsenal took a great leap his abilities between last season and this. He even improved his 3-point shooting by 6. To 6. He's not in the starting line-up, but that's because he somehow finds himself on a team where every single player over 51 rating is a Forward like himself. I expect he'll play quite a lot regardless, unless he's managed by a complete idiot. Which he might be. At least his contract expires after the season, so he can take his talents somewhere else if he needs to, thank you very much.
Finally we have
@Salt Bailly and the Milwaukee Bucks.
Salt Bailly took a very slight step backwards in rating, though he increased in some vital skills so it's hard to gauge the actual effect of it. He's on a pretty young, decently good team, so I wouldn't be surprised if he decides to stay after his contract runs out this season. They're over the salary cap, but they could potentially make something happen through trades even so.