Season in Review - All the rest....

Our 9^th place theme team from Cali just couldn’t keep up with the pace. Having Giannis and Jokic is an amazing combo but the surrounding foreigners (and Timelord) just didn’t measure up. The team’s big guns stayed relatively healthy with 8 players appearing in more than 60 games for Cali. I always love a good theme team effort. I think Cali could have done more and taken a few more late season risks. Did we really need to see Chimezie Metu for 42 games? Bjelica for 30 games when he averaged 6 and 4? Anyways, while I don’t think Cali will go the theme team route next season, I do know that he has the Timelord as a fantastic keeper for next season. Who the 2^nd keeper will be is up for debate still. Duarte for $6? What about Jokic for $84? Hachimura? Bojan? There are a few options for Cali to choose between.

 

10^th place Arctic should have been better if they could have stayed healthy. AD only managed 38 games. Kyrie only saw 28 games. Imagine this squad with a healthy AD, Kyrie, KAT, Maxey, Herro, Russell, Kuzma, Green, and on and on. I think they could have pushed for the top 8 quite easily. While Tyler Herro is likely to win the 6^th man of the year – Haliburton on this squad would have been really nice. Acquiring Maxey from Brussels was a great move for the squad and now creates maybe the hardest keeper decision for any JBL team (along with the Kok). Arctic has just 2 spots and will have to choose between Kyrie, Maxey, Herro, and Jalen Green. Some might say Kuzma or OffNight Mitchell should get a look too. Good luck to Arctic trying to figure that dilemma out.  

 

Juan de Fuca was rolling along. Pushing for a top 4 spot and then the injuries began to hit. It all started with losing Michael Porter Jr and Collin Sexton just 9 and 11 games into the year. Myles Turner only played 42 games for Juan. John Collins went down. Steph Curry went down. Hardaway Jr gone. LeVert down. The list goes on. Only prized rookie Franz Wagner stayed healthy (he played 79 games for Juan). Simons and Portis were pleasant surprises but there were just too many injuries on this roster to be able to compete. Juan will have to decide on who their 2 keepers will be. Simons, Wagner, and Portis appear to be the top options. Add in 11 ping pong balls and maybe another high end rookie and Juan should be right back into the mix.

 

Vancouver held onto 12^th despite a late season swoon. The Commish will be checking in on this squad in advance of the 22/23 season. Their last Free Agent signing was Jan 24^th – so almost 3 months ago. They made the least amount of moves in the JBL. Not a single trade. It’s time to ask if they want to continue in their JBL efforts with our list of potential owners waiting in the wings. The squad had some talent, as all JBL teams do, but there wasn’t enough of anything to ever compete this season. Cade Cunningham is the prized piece for next season. I’m not sure there is a 2^nd great keeper option. But, first, we need to know if they will be back as they appear to have lost interest. Which is fine. Let some others have a chance in the JBL.

 

Bellingham almost pulled off the miracle to grab the 12^th spot (and the 2^nd keeper). Instead, it looks like it will just Kawhi coming back for the Ham ‘n’ Eggers. Still love this team name - https://www.yourdictionary.com/ham-and-egger.  This team never really got off the ground this year as they took a chance on acquiring Dame Lillard (and Kawhi) and of course Dame shut it down pretty quickly. Did you know that Saddiq Bey was one of very few NBA players to suit up for all 82 games. Sabonis and Allen only suited up for 59 and 56 games respectively so that also was a big challenge. Maybe my favourite pickup was Malik Monk. He averaged 15ppg while shooting 48/40 in Bellingham. The good thing for Ham is the 13 lottery balls and Kawhi. That should be a very good starting duo for next season.

 

Norfolk was destined for 14^th about halfway through our Auction. Again, I give Norfolk credit for trying to the bitter end. I also admire his attempt to follow French’s draft strategy in attempt to replicate French’s success. The problem was he didn’t have all the top end players that French did when he began to look for bargains. I don’t need to repeat myself on what happened in Norfolk this season. I think the Doctor will want to forget it and move on. With 14 lottery balls he will have a really good shot and getting the #1 overall rookie pick. With this year’s draft class, it looks like there are a few gems out there so any top pick might be good.

 

Up next, my first look at some offseason Power Rankings of JBL teams. This will be based off projected keepers (and assuming they will be/stay healthy), potential rookie pick, JBL history and acumen, and some gut feelings. Stay tuned.