What teams will make an impact in the offseason?

Offseason has arrived and we are headed for an exciting draft and free agency period. There are a lot of interesting players available, and probably very few teams with money to make big offers. Meanwhile, the league discusses some changes to help small market teams. So we are ready to study how every team is prepared for the offseason.The salary cap and money available is an estimation, until league HQ calls the exact amount.

 

TIER 1: WE CAN OFFER THE MAX

 

  1. MIAMI XTREME (13 players under contract after draft, salary room 47.8 M): GM Brent Bangerter has a great chance to improve this team with two top 10 picks and money to sign a pair of stars. Part of that money could be used in resigning Jesus Morell, but we know Mr Bangerter can go any unusual direction, and he won’t have a lot of competition to sign max players.
    UPDATE: After a pair of big trades, Miami loses almost all its cap room. Of course getting Jervan Timmons and Lamerand contracts is huge and probably Miami could not have signed those players by themselves. NEW CAP ROOM 7.8 M
  2. SHANGHAI PANDAS (8 players under contract after draft, salary room 28,2 M): The Pandas need to resign Timoteo Gangotena without overpaying, once they do it, they should have enough money yo go after a power forward, as they really lack some scoring punch from the zone. But they need to keep an eye on depth, they could easily find themselves with three or four minimum contracts to complete the roster.
  3. LOS ANGELES GARGOYLES (10 players under contract, salary room 22,1 M): LA needs help all around the court. At this point the only keeper is the young stud Tyrre Dudley, so any player accepting a max offer will be welcomed. Being one of the worst teams does not help, and they will need to overpay to collect some talent.
  4. ATLANTA BLOODS (9 players under contract, salary room 19,7 M): All that cap room could end in nothing at all, as they should resign Valentin Muntean. If somehow they could find a way to sign a center with their cap space before comiting to Muntean, the offseason would be perfect
  5. CAPETOWN ZULUS (13 players under contract, salary room 18,5 M): The Zulus have the money to make a big move, but they need to decide if Comas Neetar at 32 is in their long term plans. At this point in his career, Neetar could be a decent player for a team running for the championship. If the Zulus decide to end the relationship, we can see them looking for a center, any center.
  6. GABON GIANTS (6 players under contract, salary room 29,5 M): All of the sudden, Gabon has a lot of cap room. They traded away Guilhem Lamerand to Miami clearing over 17 million. Can they sign a top free agent with all this cap? The answer is yes and no, and it depends on the timing. GM Drapeau needs to re-sign Duggons, Kurz and maybe Owusu, with the first two asking for max deals. If they wait, we could see a top free agent signing in Gabon. But we can’t forget how close they would be to the max budget, especially paying over 8 millions to their staff.
  7. PARIS HONEY BEES  (10 players under contract, salary room 15,5 M): Major offseason for Paris. First, they sent perennial all-WBA point guard Jervan Timmons to Miami for some picks and some cap relief, creating a window to navigate through the free agency. Anyway, like Gabon, GM Arceo has some unfinished issues at home.Fulgencio Lourdes, Klemens Eberle, Hilton Fulton and Heinrich Stoebener await new contracts, and keeping all of them under the budget could be a huge task.

 

TIER 2. WE HAVE SOME MONEY TO MAKE IT INTERESTING

 

  1. CANCUN OUTLAWS (8 players under contract, salary room 13,0 M): The only marquee player to resign is Kenny Lobo, they need to decide if he’s in the future of the team, and Cancun has 3 great talents at the guards. Maybe with how raw some of the top players are, they should consider investing in some veteran help. Ira Turman is an option to be traded for some help at the forwards with such a friendly contract.
  2. CINCINATTI HITMEN (14 players under contract, salary room 13.0 M) With an already full roster and lacks of talent all around, Cincinnati will go after the best player available, regardless of position, at least the should
  3. EDMONTON ESKIMOS (10 players under contract, salary room 7,9 M): Not enough money to make an impact, the Eskimos are too talented to win less than 30 games again. The onlñy priority should be resigning Brenden Avery and Kip Toney. If they manage to keep them, Edmonton can be happy. Adding Guy Piayet helps, of course, as they should win around 50 games. The bad news is that they only have 13 million remaining in their budget, so a sacrifice should be made.
  4. MILAN MAYHEM (14 players under contract, salary room 7,8 M): It will be a really quiet offseason for Milan with that money. Resigning Silvino Eufrazio and Lakar Everidge should be the priority, although we have heard that Everidge is a candidate for some contenders
  5. COLORADO PIONEERS (11 players under contract, salary room 7,6 M): GM Hameleers has already made his move. He converted veteran star Tony Henderson into a bunch of young promising players and just in a morning he went from a team led by two players with more than 31 years to 5 players under 26. If the team improves its record, we are talking about a candidate for GM of the season. Watch out for some movement with Darond Lyons involved.

 

TIER 3. EXCEPTION LAND

 

  1. BOSTON MASSACRE (8 players under contract, Mid and low level exceptions): Quentin has to resign Claude Weidner, is that easy? I’m sure he will receive some interest from the few teams capable of offering some max money. If they solve this situation, the Massacre should look for some help at the center, Jarrod Roe can’t take all the load inside
  2. NEW YORK FIRESTORM (14 players under contract, Mid and low level exceptions) Once the draft is over, New York will have 14 players in the roster, and obviously they will try to re-sign Evan Bobbins. With a full roster, they are ready to play free safety  to add some veteran talent, especially a power forward.
  3. LONDON DISCO  (14 players under contract, Mid and low level exceptions): We can bet that GM David Morfeld will use his exceptions to add some talent here. This is the year where London has to show Bennet Da gama that they are committed to win it all. If London refuses to improve, Da Gama could walk at the end of the season, and that could be a brutal hit. Given that Da Gama and Lonnie Jordan can play in every position, they will sign the best player available and take care of them.
  4. LAS VEGAS GAMBLERS  (10 players under contract, Mid and low level exceptions): The gambles are in a very bad situation, less than 40 wins, a top player starting to decline and no money to add talent. A player like Clement Trentesols should command a huge interest around the league to collect some picks and young talent, but at this point, don’t expect a big signing.
  5. ALBACETE BURNING HELL(6 players under contract, mid and low level exception): Albacete made its move too. They have paid a steep price to trade for the player they coveted in Tony Henderson. Now, it’s time to extend Heinrich Rarich contract and maybe get some depth at the small forward with those exceptions.
  6. BROOKLYN RAGE (11 players under contract, mid and low level exceptions): We are at year 35 of Miles and bailey era, and GM Reynoso is committed to extract even the last drop of juice from them. As every offseason, we can expect Brooklyn to sign 17 free agents to complete its “old three”
  7. BARCELONA COUNTS (11 players under contract, mid and low level exceptions): It’s not a fact that they can use the full mid level exception. First of all they need to resign Carlito Carmona and Primo Bujega with 24 million remaining in their budget. Any money the can save from there can be dedicated to the exceptions
  8. CALIFORNIA FIGHTING COCKS (6 players under contract, mid and low level exception): 6 players making 111 million, truth to be said. They have 14 million to sign 9 players, after using the exceptions, only minimum players will be added. They are rumored to be shopping Kurt Beck for some youth or cap relief.

 

TIER 4: DAMN, NOT EVEN THE MID LEVEL?

  1. ARIZONA DRAGONS (12 players under contract, 5,4 M under the cap): Once they re-sign Toussaint Leclerc, the free agency is over for the Dragon. Nothing to be sad about, as they are improving every year , but still a very quiet offseason for them
  2. TORONTO DINOS (9 players under contract, 4,1 M under the cap): Sometimes, being over the cap is better than staying slightly under it, and no better example than the Dinos situation. They should make a trade to put them over the cap and use the exceptions.
  3. FRANKFURT FURY: (10 players under contract, 3,7 M under the cap): They need to retain Fola Obiniyo and Jason Donovan. Lose them and you are screwed. You can use the Dinos advice here, make a damn trade and get an exception!!!

 

TIER 5: LADYS AND GENTELMEN, THE BRAD BANGERTER EXPERIENCE

  1. SALT LAKE CITY FANATICS (12 players under contract, EXCEED THE BUDGET): When you don’t care about your team and call others out for your struggles, bad things happen. At this point, a very talented player like JuJu Wambaugh and Leonard Sedelmeier are not allowed to resign because SLC can’t add new salaries. The situation is that bad. Expect the new interim GM to try to move some contract to start clearing all this mess.
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