End of the season grades: Part 1.

[eddy_zamora]

Before turning our full attention to the playoffs next sim, let’s hand out regular-season grades for all 29 teams. Preseason grades, to whom they apply, are included for comparison’s sake.

Philadelphia 76ers- Preseason grade: B+ | Final grade: A-
Although they put their future on hold by trading away their 1st round draft picks until 1992, this doesn’t seem to currently affect this very strong Sixers squad. With Jerome Kersey and Terry Cummings leading the charge of this veteran group, the Sixers fought their way to the #1 seed in the extremely talented and deep Eastern Conference. Although they’ve dropped a game or two to the 8th seeded Atlanta Hawks, they are HUGE contenders for the title and possibly the favorites to win it all barring an upset in the early rounds.

Milwaukee Bucks- Preseason grade: B+ | Final grade: A-
Riding the same boat as Philadelphia, Milwaukee currently sits with a pretty favorable 4th playoff seed, although they are not facing an easy opponent in the Bulls. It may be bothersome that they do not own any picks from 1990-1992, but this is a relatively older team who may have some favorable contracts coming off the books in the next few years, which could cause them to make some noise in free agency in years to come. Although they ended the season on shaky ground that caused them to drop a bit, they are still a strong team who is one of the favorites to take the title with a healthy squad.

Washington Bullets- Preseason grade: B- | Final grade: A+
The Bullets have 7 1st rounders in the next 3 years. I don’t care what team you are, any season you acquire that many 1sts and still keep Reggie Lewis, you’ve done a damn good job. With the Admiral coming out this year, and talent spewing from the next 2 draft classes, the Bullets have set themselves up to make some noise and possibly win a few titles in the coming years. Oh, and they’re going to have a ton of cap space too. Watch out East, there is a champion building on the horizon.

Chicago Bulls- Preseason grade: C+ | Final grade: C+
The Bulls did what everyone thought they would this year, they won enough games to gain good seeding in the playoffs, and did it by gliding on the aging knees of their dynamic veteran center, Moses Malone. They made little effort to surround Malone with much talent behind Buck Williams, and their lack of depth may be their undoing in the latter stages of the playoffs if they advance past this 1st round, where they face a very talented and deeper Bucks squad. They do, however, own all their picks and are certainly set for the future even if they win right now.

Cleveland Cavaliers- Preseason grade: B | Final grade: A
They have the bare minimum of talent and 5 1st round picks in the next 3 years. Like the Bullets, the Cavs have also set themselves up to be a contender in the future. Couple all those picks with the immense amount of cap space they have, it’ll be hard to argue that they didn’t do a good job with what they had to work with.

Boston Celtics- Preseason grade: C+ | Final grade: A
When you acquire pieces like John Stockton, Benoit Benjamin, and Derrick McKey, all while not only keeping but acquiring more 1st rounders to play with in the next 3 years, you have a masterfully set up team. This Celtics team deserves credit for committing themselves to the future and to the development of his younger prospects. As a team on the rise with a solid lottery pick in this deep draft class, expect this team to go far in the playoff race in a few years from now.

Los Angeles Clippers- Preseason grades: N/A | Final grade: C-
Don’t be fooled by their 8th seed, this Clipper team could’ve been a much better team. Key word: could have. They are not set up for the future nor to win now, barely making it into these playoffs by the skin of their teeth. Instead of moving Tom Chambers for younger prospects and picks, or surrounding him with a good supporting squad, they did neither and ended up in the no-man’s land known as being a team that barely makes the playoffs and gets swept, and has a late pick. Chambers is at his peak and may be coming down in the next couple of seasons, so the league will see in which directions the Clippers will go.

Vancouver Grizzlies- Preseason grade: N/A | Final grade: B+
Lead by Reggie Miller and Jack Sikma, this Grizzlies squad is as talented as any in the NBA. While they have no selections in the next 2 years, they have a relatively young roster that already locked up the 2nd seed in the somewhat weak Western Conference. It should go without saying, this squad should be good for years to come, and is a favorite to win the title this year.

Atlanta Hawks- Preseason grade: D | Final grade: C
Although Atlanta currently resides at the 8th seed in the East and is battling through adversity against the 76ers, they were far from having a good season. With a consistently absent GM and fueled only by the brute wrecking ball known as Karl Malone, the Hawks were a piece or two separated from being actual contenders from the title, taking little to no effort to surround Malone with pieces to win. They seem destined for the NBA dead-zone as a team who isn’t bad enough for high lottery pick, but not talented enough to advance past the 1st or 2nd round.

Miami Heat- Preseason grade: B | Final grade: B+
Miami managed to keep all their picks, and after participating in a midseason trade for their turnover-prone PG in Alvin Robertson, the Heat look exponentially better than before, adding the electric PG Gary Grant and the jack-of-all-trade in goggles Kurt Rambis. They fought tooth and nail to lock up the 6th seed in this very strong Eastern Conference playoff race. Chris Mullin willing his team to a title this year, and although they’re playing one of the best team in the East in the Hornets, don’t count out this talented squad yet.

Charlotte Hornets- Preseason grade: A- | Final grade: B-
It’s never easy to get Patrick Ewing and Domnique Wilkins on the same team, as was pointed out in an earlier article, but getting Hakeem Olajuwon AND Mark Price to play with ‘Nique? That’s crazy. Although they sacrificed Ewing and pretty much their future plus all their depth, the Hornets are extreme favorites to win the title this year, and for a few to come, seeing as their oldest starter is the 29 year-old shot blocking machine Larry Nance. However, their lack of depth may come back to be their Achilles heel.

Utah Jazz- Preseason grade: N/A | Final grade: C+
Not really sure what Utah was trying to accomplish this year. They were not tanking nor are they have the contenders for the title. With Clyde Drexler leading the charge the Jazz seemed destined for mediocrity from the beginning. They did however manage to keep all their first round picks in the next few years and acquire a few more from other teams, but unless they choose a path on which to go on, those picks may go to waste.

Sacramento Kings- Preseason grade: N/A | Final grade: B+
The Kings have 5 first round picks in the next three years, including three in this year's extremely stacked draft class featuring the Admiral and Arvydas Sabonis. The only thing I take away from them, however, is the fact that they have no absolutely no young pieces to build around at this moment, although that could change very quickly with this upcoming draft.
New York Knicks- Preseason grade: B | Final grade: A-
With 5 1st round draft choices in the next 3 years including the option to swap 1st round picks in 1991 and 1993, and a team stacked with the talented Ken Norman and rookie phenom Hershey Hawkins, the Knicks have set themselves to be competitive in the Eastern Conference as soon as next year. Not to mention that they have quite a bit of cap space to work with in this interesting free agent class.

Los Angeles Lakers- Preseason grade: N/A | Final grade: C+
This an extremely talented Lakers squad, with talent at every facet of their starting lineup. They are aging, however. This problem grows exponentially when you see that they traded 2 1st rounders during the years when their players may start declining. Focusing on this year though, they are heavy favorites to get to the Finals in the otherwise weak Western Conference.

Orlando Magic- Preseason grade: A- | Final grade: B+
A very young Magic squad that is loaded with talent, they must be doing something right, right? Yes, but that doesn't dismiss the fact that they traded 2 of their own picks, which sends their future into uncertainty. This could be an interesting team in the future.

Dallas Mavericks- Preseason grade: N/A | Final grade: B
With Armen Gilliam and Steve Kerr leading the charge for this young Maverick squad, they get a neutral grade because they stayed pat but kept their picks and successfully tanked. For that I commend them, and it’s only a positive they do have players to build around.

New Jersey Nets- Preseason grade: C | Final grade: B+
With 3 1 round picks in the next 2 years, this Nets could make up for the fact that they traded their 1992 1st. They have arguably the best pure PG in the game in Isaiah Thomas and their fantastic rookie C Rik Smits. Look for this team to be present during the playoff race in the next few years.

Denver Nuggets- Preseason grade: N/A | Final grade: A-
It’s a little surprising that a team with the best PG in the NBA and the arguably best shooter would have a “meh” record like the Nuggets do, but this is a team that should definitely not be taken lightly in these playoffs. Their electric backcourt is going to be appearing in these playoffs for years to come, that is if Dale Ellis is resigned to the team.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stay tuned for the rest of the end of the year grades.

[lukeyrid13]

Very nice article. I can't wait to read part 2. I think I'd have to agree with pretty much all of these grades.

[Phenom]

Nice.

[dthomas=ddixon]

Really good write-up, especially the A you gave the Celts

[pudgejeff]

Very nice article. I can't wait to read part 2. I think I'd have to agree with pretty much all of these grades.

Just wanted to point out, although the Magic traded away their '91 and '92 1sts, they have acquired 7 1sts to replace them, including 2 in '91 and up to 3 in '92.

[pudgejeff]

Appreciate the write ups though Eddy, these are the kind of things that really make these leagues fun.

[eddy_zamora]

Very nice article. I can't wait to read part 2. I think I'd have to agree with pretty much all of these grades.

Just wanted to point out, although the Magic traded away their '91 and '92 1sts, they have acquired 7 1sts to replace them, including 2 in '91 and up to 3 in '92.

Oh my bad, I tried to research as much as I could.

[pudgejeff]

Very nice article. I can't wait to read part 2. I think I'd have to agree with pretty much all of these grades.

Just wanted to point out, although the Magic traded away their '91 and '92 1sts, they have acquired 7 1sts to replace them, including 2 in '91 and up to 3 in '92.

Oh my bad, I tried to research as much as I could.

Oh for sure, you did a great job!

[UOducksTK1]

Solid stuff, thanks for writing.

I think my A grade is a little gracious, but I'll take it anyway!

[Marzeial]

I'm not consistently inactive, I checked the forum on a daily basis. I just didn't make any moves this year. Just trying to get my feet wet.

Finished in the playoffs and somehow wound up with the second worst grade. Go me!

[UOducksTK1]

I'm not consistently inactive, I checked the forum on a daily basis. I just didn't make any moves this year. Just trying to get my feet wet.

Finished in the playoffs and somehow wound up with the second worst grade. Go me!

To be fair though, starting with the #6 pick in the fantasy draft should mean your around the 6th best team in the league. You have some solid young guys, but not much else. I just hope you don't get stuck in mediocre-land with a guy like Malone. But nothing wrong with being patient either! I'd rather have a newer GM take his time and not be forced into bad deals, then to try to make some noise and screw things up.

[FlDuckFan]

I'm not consistently inactive, I checked the forum on a daily basis. I just didn't make any moves this year. Just trying to get my feet wet.

Finished in the playoffs and somehow wound up with the second worst grade. Go me!

To be fair though, starting with the #6 pick in the fantasy draft should mean your around the 6th best team in the league. You have some solid young guys, but not much else. I just hope you don't get stuck in mediocre-land with a guy like Malone. But nothing wrong with being patient either! I'd rather have a newer GM take his time and not be forced into bad deals, then to try to make some noise and screw things up.

Cough.. Twolves cough... lol

[UOducksTK1]

I'm not consistently inactive, I checked the forum on a daily basis. I just didn't make any moves this year. Just trying to get my feet wet.

Finished in the playoffs and somehow wound up with the second worst grade. Go me!

To be fair though, starting with the #6 pick in the fantasy draft should mean your around the 6th best team in the league. You have some solid young guys, but not much else. I just hope you don't get stuck in mediocre-land with a guy like Malone. But nothing wrong with being patient either! I'd rather have a newer GM take his time and not be forced into bad deals, then to try to make some noise and screw things up.

Cough.. Twolves cough... lol

Ha, not necessarily aimed at you. I like your idea to make a run for it, but trading firsts far into the future is something I'd be very hesitant about.

But hey maybe it'll still pay off, we'll see.

[FlDuckFan]

I'm not consistently inactive, I checked the forum on a daily basis. I just didn't make any moves this year. Just trying to get my feet wet.

Finished in the playoffs and somehow wound up with the second worst grade. Go me!

To be fair though, starting with the #6 pick in the fantasy draft should mean your around the 6th best team in the league. You have some solid young guys, but not much else. I just hope you don't get stuck in mediocre-land with a guy like Malone. But nothing wrong with being patient either! I'd rather have a newer GM take his time and not be forced into bad deals, then to try to make some noise and screw things up.

Cough.. Twolves cough... lol

Ha, not necessarily aimed at you. I like your idea to make a run for it, but trading firsts far into the future is something I'd be very hesitant about.

But hey maybe it'll still pay off, we'll see.

I was just joking around, We'll see what happens.