Last time on The New Millennium, despite the worst record of any team to make the playoffs, the Denver Nuggets made a miraculous run, eventually knocking off the Nets to win another title. But now, the offseason is upon us and changes are coming.
Player Retirements
Biding farewell to the NBA this year were the likes of Shaquille O'Neal, Juwan Howard, Jason Kidd and Shareef Abdur-Rahim. Shaq would later be inducted into the Hall of Fame, though Kidd would not, a sign of how much this series has changed the timeline.
Draft Lottery
We've seen how often teams can fall in the lottery, and the Utah Jazz suffered that fate this year, falling to fourth despite the best odds. The Miami Heat would steal the first pick with only the sixth best odds, followed by the Raptors, Suns, Jazz and the SuperSonics.
2010 NBA Draft
1. C DeMarcus Cousins, Miami Heat(Cousins teams up with D-Rose in Miami)
2. SF Paul George, Toronto Raptors(Is Vince Carter done in Toronto?)
3. PG John Wall, Phoenix Suns
4. C Ekpe Udoh, Utah Jazz(Utah, what are you doing? They have Darko too)
5. PF Phillip Elliott, Seattle SuperSonics
6. C Hassan Whiteside, New York Knicks
7. PF Joe Wooden, Houston Rockets
8. SG Avery Bradley, San Antonio Spurs
9. SF Evan Turner, Vancouver Grizzlies
10. PG Eric Bledsoe, Seattle SuperSonics(Another steal for Seattle after DeRozan last year)
11. SF Javier Sanchez, Orlando Magic
12. SF Gordon Hayward, Portland Trail Blazers(Portland is loaded with great wing players)
13. PG Derrick Frank, Milwaukee Bucks
14. SF Antonis Alexandris, Boston Celtics
15. C Greg Monroe, Minnesota Timberwolves
16. PF Derrick Favors, Detroit Pistons(Really solid pick here)
17. C Ed Davis, Portland Trail Blazers
18. PF Trevor Booker, Toronto Raptors
22. SG Lance Stephenson, Indiana Pacers(Some things are just meant to be)
23. SF Wesley Johnson, New Orleans Pelicans
26. PF Al-Farooq Aminu, Charlotte Hornets(Good pick for a team that was already good)
39. PF Patrick Patterson, Detroit Pistons
42. SF Quincy Pondexter, Boston Celtics
45. SG Jordan Crawford, Sacramento Kings
48. C Cole Aldrich, Houston Rockets
57. PF Luke Babbitt, Charlotte Hornets
60. PF Nemanja Bjelica, Chicago Bulls
Free Agency
Here are the players that switched teams in free agency:
PG Keyon Dooling(86 OVR), Charlotte Hornets, 4 years, 61 million dollars
PG Dorell Moncrief(85 OVR), Los Angeles Lakers, 4 years, 54 million dollars
PG Andre Miller(85 OVR), Indiana Pacers, 2 years, 24 million dollars
SF Bojan Bogdanovic(85 OVR), Detroit Pistons, 4 years, 54 million dollars
SG Bernard Phelps(85 OVR), Phoenix Suns, 4 years, 46 million dollars
SF Hedo Turkoglu(84 OVR), Milwaukee Bucks, 3 years, 30 million dollars
C Stanley Rider(84 OVR), Los Angeles Lakers, 4 years, 50 million dollars
SG Patrick Hamilton(84 OVR), Toronto Raptors, 3 years, 28 million dollars
C Omer Asik(83 OVR), Vancouver Grizzlies, 3 years, 36 million dollars
SF Shane Battier(83 OVR), Vancouver Grizzlies, 3 years, 27 million dollars
C Kenneth Levingston(83 OVR), Charlotte Hornets, 3 years, 30 million dollars
PF Ryan Anderson(82 OVR), New Orleans Pelicans, 3 years, 32 million dollars
Way Too Early Predictions
The Hornets were shockingly good last year, and just added Dooling and Levingston in free agency, as well as drafting Aminu. They should be a contender, and if I was to go out on a limb, I think the Miami Heat could be a playoff team next year. The team of Rose and Cousins could be very, very good. And I think it's high time the Lakers won another championship, as they finally have a great point guard in Moncrief to complement Kobe Bryant and Joe Johnson.
2011 Draft Preview
Kawhi Leonard may have been a late pick in real life, but he won't be in this world, as all teams now see his franchise potential. This class is just filled with big names, also including Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Kemba Walker, Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris and Nikola Vucevic. If ever there was a time to start trading for draft picks, now is that time.
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