NSL Insider - Nels' Power Rankings! by Nenjabin, updated on Thursday, June 20 2019, 01:15 am EST
Power Rankings #1 Post Mini Season, Pre Rookie Draft
The NBA has officially crowned a champion and the league in 2019-20 is
already looking dramatically different following horrific injuries that
will likely end the season before it begins for both
Kevin Durant
and Klay Thompson. These two superstars were both first rounders in the NSL
inaugural draft,
Kevin Durant
going 8th overall to Toronto (Jesse Dunn) and Klay to Denver
pick 28 (Digga). The offseason is set to be one of the most exciting in
recent history with significant player movement and a top heavy draft
featuring potential “generational talent” Zion Williamson. How will the
rest of the league see the draft and what moves will be made prior to the
BDL rookie draft next fortnight?
Power Rankings #1 has been firmly influenced by the results of the
mini-season, recent trades that have shaped contending rosters and has
glimpses of “what-if” potential rankings based on who could break out in
the NBA in 2019-20. As a new GM (technically a returning GM), I’ve acquired
very little intel about current GMs, therefore managerial flaws will not be
a deciding factor upon where a team is placed.
The mini-season saw a number of GM’s with strong awareness of the 2K engine
achieve great success. None more-so than the Dallas Mavs who were almost
crowned champs with
Alex Len
and
Andrew Wiggins
. Could they ever be starting members of a championship calibre team in the
NBA? Who knows? One thing I do know is, heart is clearly not a rating in
the 2K engine. Portland managed to edge them out in the final, led by MVP
Harden and a stable of two-way talents. With such a showing from both teams
it’s impossible not to have them at the pointy end of the Power Rankings
and they will be amongst the “Contenders.” Considering all of this, let the
speculation begin as we crown the pre-draft, post mini-season power ranking
king.
Contenders
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Defending Mini-Season champ, wordsmith, competitive beast
and owns the reigning MVP
James Harden
. What more needs to be said? J-Mac will always be looking
to make ripples in the league and shake up his roster to
make it the best it can be. He will be in the mix, it’s
that simple.
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A Blockbuster trade brought Kevin Love to join what looks
like an All-Star Team’s Bench line-up. Incredible win-now
team featuring Lowry, Jimmy Buckets,
Landry Shamet
, Boogie Cousins and
Kevin Love
. Did I mention he somehow managed to sneak pick 9 in the
rookie draft too? Danger.
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An athletic roster with all the key skills to equal
“winning.” How good can
Trae Young
be in his sophomore season? Does he keep up his late season
run where he appeared to be a contender for ROTY or does he
hit the Sophomore Slump? Another question mark is on
Kristaps Porzingis. How will he translate in Dallas? Will
the unicorn numbers come through and will he stay healthy?
I personally love his fit there and see good things on the
horizon for this Mavs team. Don’t forget about pick 11 in
this draft, who do they take?
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“Pushup” Pete Kingston has gone all in on the BIG Point
Guard
Ben Simmons
. Will he break 2k and develop a jump shot? Another sneaky
member of this solid, long line-up is Jonathon Isaac. He
came home strong towards the end of 2019 and will look to
go to the next level in 2019-20. Pete is a computer nerd
and will certainly make the 1s and 0s work in his favour
with a well-rounded and young roster.
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Assets, assets, assets. The Bulls look to have drafted
incredibly well with a team loaded with talent. His front
court has more stars than Orion’s Belt… Will they opt to
keep them together or trade to upgrade the wing position?
Another talented team that has a quality pick in the draft
and a superstar ready to prove himself in the NBA… Anthony
Davis. Love this roster.
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Pray for Klemm. If he can keep his current roster together
for more than the first week of the season, he may be able
to give Lebron that elusive last ring before he rides off
into the sunset. Is Ibaka the missing piece? Can Lebron at
the Point be stopped? Will Lebron still be in Sacramento by
the time the season starts? All we can do is pray.
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Sh Sheed has built a talented roster with a delicious
pairing of two versatile and athletic stars, Kyrie Irving
and
Blake Griffin
. Kyrie looks like he will make the move to Brooklyn this
offseason where he will want to headline a young team. Will
his ratings raise with opportunity? This roster has
accumulated some nice upside players in BAM, Gallo and
Dinwiddie (hopefully Kyrie doesn’t impact his role). He
will look to add talent as he approaches the draft with
pick 10.
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RISING STARS
The Rising Stars bracket features teams that could go deep. There might
even be a champion in here but a few things will need to go in their
favour. They’re well positioned at this point of the season.
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Ben has assembled a nice roster led by CP3 and defensive
duo Gobert and Siakam. Should Kawhi leave Toronto (I think
he will), Siakam could turn into a superstar and propel
this organisation into the upper rankings.
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An athletic roster with two stars in Derozan and Embiid.
Derozan is a handful in 2K and can score at will. He will
affect winning in a big way. What can
Dennis Smith
add to his game in 2019-20 to raise this team?
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New Gm, has mixed proven vets with up and coming prospects.
Team headlined by PG13 should be dangerous if an
appropriate strategy is discovered. Can
Jaylen Brown
go to the next level in 2019-20?
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A promising roster with a number of starters entering their
prime or still young.
Damian Lillard
is a monster and
Steven Adams
will anchor down the paint. Success will be closely linked
to the rise of
Aaron Gordon
. Will he finally break out?
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Took me ages to figure out who was actually on this fucking
roster because he has not updated it. I think he has
Giannis and Dray and pick 3. That’s pretty tasty. If it
wasn’t so hard to figure out who is on this roster they’d
probably be higher.
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A nice roster with two franchise players.
Kemba Walker
could see his ratings climb should he remain a hornet, what
happens if he joins Lebron and Davis in La La land?
Drummond is a hippo. Will gobble boards for days and keep
sneakily getting better. What is the next step for Hart and
Zubac?
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Interesting young core with two genuine talls; Vucevic and
Nurkic.
Devin Booker
and
Lonzo Ball
should continue their growth and add to their 2k ratings in
the coming season. I like the long-term look of this team.
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Stephen Curry
and Buddy Hield, Splash Brothers #2. Aldridge is a tall
talent adding to the well-roundedness of this roster. Depth
might be a problem at the wing but there’s a lot of time
until tip off.
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KAT will look to take his team to the promise land as he’s
back by a bunch of underrated youngsters. Delon Wright is
an interesting prospect. What is his role on a youthful
Memphis squad next year?
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Led by a nice young pairing of Russell and Capella, this
squad seems to have a nice mix of offense and defense.
Ingram will step into a larger role in New Orleans and
could prove to be a steal from draft night. This roster
passes the eye test but is a little shallow as you look
down the roster spots.
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A mixture of win-now talent and youth movement. Fox and
Markkanen are the young cornerstones of this franchise with
complementary vets such as
Khris Middleton
and
Gordon Hayward
. I’m excited to see what they can pull off with picks 8
and 20 in the upcoming draft.
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<
They have
Kawhi Leonard
. After that things get a bit wishy-washy. But they have
Kawhi Leonard
.
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TWEENERS
The ‘Tweeners section feature potential playoff, potential rebuild teams
that seem a little without direction at this point. With some smart
management they could climb into the playoff race.
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A nice young duo of JJJ, Beal and Smart. These three seem
to complement each other’s skills as well. JJJ’s
development will be important here as Beal should continue
to produce in a big 2019-20 season without Wall.
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Spud has drafted some interesting pieces around Bagley and
Dipo. How will they fit? How will free agency playout for
Rozier? Will Dipo return to full strength? Who do they take
at pick 7?
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Cleveland have a really underrated young core. Brogdon,
Covington and Green are some of the most overlooked wings
in the competition. Their franchise centrepiece
Nikola Jokic
is a delight to watch and he will have to pull all the
stops to carry this side to the playoffs unless they can
find a slashing type to attack the basket.
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I feel like there’s a couple of players missing on this
roster. I can see Westbrook and Jonas Val. I’m pretty sure
they have
Tobias Harris
as well. Depth may be a problem here but the top end looks
promising.
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EYES TO THE FUTURE
These teams will be approaching the season with eyes on adding to their
youthful core and there’s certainly some talent amongst the projected
cellar dwellers.
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A young core built around Ayton. TJ Warren is an underrated
young guy but the rest of the roster doesn’t spark
excitement. A few moves may be required?
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The Suns have gone all in on
Donovan Mitchell
and this year’s draft, after making some big moves via
trade to accommodate Ja Morant (probably) with pick 2. I
wonder if Fultz ever returns and what to expect of him?
Very guard heavy.
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Some savvy vets in this line-up including Millsap and
Dragic who will be playing for a contract. Though he is not
an offensive juggernaught,
Myles Turner
made a case for DPOY this year. He will be relied upon
heavily as the Thompsonless Nuggets fight it out through
the regular season to give try to give him another playoff
appearance.
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Kevin Durant is down, I repeat,
Kevin Durant
is down! It’s a shocking block just days before the
conclusion of the season. Arguably the best player in the
league is gone with an Achilles. What’s the next step for
Jesse? Does he trade off his assets and take up meth for a
few years or fight through it, on the back of gritty guard
C.J McCollum and rebound inhaler Sabonis. Feel for you
Jesse xx
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Nic loves youth. His favourite band is youth group, his
shoes are a youth size 4 and he is very immature. Therefore
when the opportunity to steal ROY
Luka Doncic
off the draft board came along, he simply barred up,
thought about it for a few hours, watched some highlights,
jerked off, cleaned up, ate a sandwich, slept for 8 hours
and selected him with pick 4. I’m jealous as many other GMs
around the league are. Nic has cleverly surrounded Luka
with a stable of upside youths and will be erect for the
next decade as he strategically adds to it through the
draft.
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Toby has said it out loud, “I have fallen in love with this
draft.” Is it a love affair worth pursuing or will it
quickly become complicated for the strapping bachelor.
Looking to add a third piece to make
Jayson Tatum
and
John Collins
a Menage a trois.
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ZIOOOOON! The future has arrived for the bucks as they add
a potential perennial superstar in Zion Williamson. Will he
live up to pick 6 in the draft? Joining 2K stud Lach LeVine
and future star Shai Gilgeos-Alexander, a year or two down
the bottom would make this franchise a dynasty in the
making.
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That concludes the super early power rankings. I hope you’re not too
offended and please add to the discussion as we approach the rookie draft.
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Archive
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