Sydney King's Off-Season Review | Season Preview

[New York]

Sydney Kings



Opening Thoughts
The Sydney Kings General Manager asked me to look at their off-season and and I was happy to review what they've done and preview what they could potentially do for this upcoming year. Much like the New York Knicks (Read Their Review/Preview Here) the Sydney Kings are coming off of their most successful season in franchise history. They had what was unquestionably their best offensive season averaging 118.4 PPG (previous highest being 113 PPG) while remaining a top 5 team defensively. Bringing in Kareem Abdul Jabbar added to the strong core that they had in place and helped them win 67 game which made them only 5th team to hit that total (Beermen, Towers, Harlem, Bulls being the others). Drexler and KAJ were definitely their top two players but one of the biggest stories and factors for them having as much success as they did was the coming out party of fan favorite, Larry Johnson. He took a huge step going from a 12 PPG efficient bench option to a 21 PPG scorer on even better efficiency. Their talent allowed them to make make an extremely deep playoff run despite being on the road in every series besides their finals matchup with the Warriors. Making your fourth conference finals appearance and second ABCA Finals appearance in 14 seasons is nothing to scoff at but i'm sure the Sydney Kings General Manager heads into season 15 wanting to take things a step further and grab their first ABCA Championship. First they had to deal with the off-season though? Would they shake up their starting lineup some? Were they comfortable giving the 32 year old Kareem Abdul-Jabbar an extension? Could they improve on their already solid bench? Would their 7th man, Clark Kellog return or would he look for a starting job elsewhere? Let's get started and find out. 

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Off-Season Transactions (Re-signings, Additions, Subtractions)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Re-signed for $61,425,000 over 3 years ($40,425,000 over 2 + TO)
- It took some time for Kareem Abdul Jabbar to fit in after being traded to the team mid season and while he isn't the same player as he was in his prime his value can not be overstated. There was no better replacement for the Kings in place and with 2 guaranteed years, Kareem's contract is short enough that it won't interfere with the re-signings of guys like Aguirre and McGrady. It will be interesting to see how the team works around this contract if Frank Johnson and Larry Johnson both test Free Agency. But looking at the on court aspect of this re-signing the Kings have a guy in place that'll definitely give them at lat 20 PPG - 9 RPG - 3 BPG on great efficiency and the PPG is probably an undersell now that Drexler is gone. All in all I like this signing for them. 

Jay Humphries: Re-signed for $12,138,750 over 2 years
- Jay Humphries was a big contributor in the post-season for the Kings even if his numbers don't show it. He started 20 of the 27 games due to Frank Johnson going down with injury early. He can slide into a 6th man role and a starting role for this team and rumor has it that with Clyde Drexler gone he will have to step into the starting 2-guard role. Those are big shoes to fill because Drexler was his teams #1 contributor in the regular season and second biggest contributor in the post season behind Larry Johnson. But I think he is definitely starter worthy and that makes his 2 year deal a nice signing although I would've like to see him get 3 years at a slightly cheaper per year value. 

Clyde Drexler: Traded to Toronto (part of McGrady package)
- Sydney's best scorer last year was Larry Johnson, best rebounder was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, best passer Frank Johnson, best shooter was Mark Aguirre but Sydney's best all around contributor was Clyde Drexler. They will have to find a new player to fill that role because with Drex moved to Toronto and McGrady not ready to be a go to guy, it's currently vacant. Humphries will likely take his place in the starting lineup and as we saw in Seattle he can give you a little of everything but not to the level of Drex. I believe the Kings GM realizes that this was a 1 step back to potentially take 2 steps forward in the future type of move and i'm fine with that. McGrady will be a star if he pans out but that will be key and if they can't find someone to at least come close to Drex's all around production it may be hard be as good as they were last year. Luckily though all the teams they had to go through in the post season last year decided to also get younger so they may not have to be as good as they were last year. 

Brian Grant: Traded to Toronto (part of McGrady package) then to ALBA
- I liked Brian Grant as a depth piece and was surprised he was included in the McGrady package. Not that including him made the deal bad for Sydney but I thought he was a nice fit for their bench with a solid upside and Drexler + maybe a smaller piece for a raw McGrady seemed like it would've made more sense. 

Clark Kellog: Signed with Kings for $42,700,000 over 4 year ($31,350,000 over 3 + TO)
- Kellogg's day's were numbered in Sydney the second he was traded there. I don't think the Kings saw him as a starter over Larry Johnson or Aguirre and he can't play Center so he was always an add on bench piece to help them in their playoff run. Kellogg had interesting skills so it was all but guaranteed he'd get a hefty raise in the off-season so i'm not surprised to see him elsewhere. I do like Kellogg and think he could be a starter but I think it was a smart move for the Kings to let him walk because they have much more important free agents coming up over the next two years and Kellogg was destined to be a bench piece as long as he was on this team. 

Ron Lee: Currently a Free Agent
- Was bench fodder for the team when Frank Johnson went down. With Johnson healthy and Damon Stoudemire drafted there was no reason for this guy to be on the team anymore. 

Donyell Marshall: Traded to REAL Madrid for Alvan Adams
- Solid potential to be a bench/5th starter type of guy down the line but this team is trying to win now so getting a guy like Alvan Adams makes more sense for what they are trying to do. 

Willis Reed: Signed with Knicks for 1,428,000 over 1 year
- Believe it or not I think Reed is one of the guys that this team will miss most off their bench. He would've been their fourth big and while Bradley will fill that role similar to how he filled it on the Knicks last year I don't think he'll be as effective as Reed could've been despite having age on his side. 

Alvan Adams: Acquired from REAL via trade
- No stranger to being a reserve for the Kings, Alvan Adams makes his return after being traded to Buenos Aires last season. The cost was Donyell Marshall and scraps basically and while I think Donyell Marshall will be a good player his ceiling appears to be around what Alvan Adams already is. So I give Sydney a thumbs up for getting a more ready now 3rd big because it was definitely a need after losing Kellogg and Reed in free agency. 
 
Shawn Bradley: Signed for $774,000 over 1 year
- As I mentioned above I think he'll be their fourth big and he can be counted on for about 5-7 PPG | 4-5 RPG | 1 BPG in about 15-20 MPG. He may not even get that many minutes but he was a solid signing after Reed went to America and Kellogg got paid. Pairing him with a strong PSD and rebounder is ideal and Adams can likely fit that role next to him.  

Clemon Johnson: Signed for $1,100,000 over 1 year
- Clemon is I assume the 5th big man on this rotation who can potentially step in and give this team something if Shawn Bradley doesn't pan out. Nothing spectacular but a solid depth signing for the minimum. 
 
Earl Manigault: Signed for $1,428,000 over 1 year
- GOAT takes the place of Ron Lee as the insurance guard. Still capable of being a small time contributor at 35 if someone gets hit with an injury you can count on GOAT to provide a steady 10 MPG for them. 

Tracy McGrady: Acquired from Toronto via trade
- The biggest off-season transaction for this team was the exchange of Drexler for McGrady. T-Mac is super athletic but still has a long way to go to be the type of player the Kings need him to be. Like I mentioned above that'll hurt them in the short term and with guys like Kareem on your roster you are trying to be as good as you can be right away. But I like the player that McGrady could eventually become and at 19 years old he makes this team a lot younger than the 27 year old Drexler did. He'll slot into the 6th man role for them for now and the Kings hope he grows from there to either be their cornerstone or a player with a high enough value that they can flip him for a cornerstone. 

Marcelo Nicola: Signed for $2,250,000 over 3 years ($1,440,000 over 2 + TO)
- Didn't get giving this guy multiple years but it's a minimum contract so it doesn't really matter. Not expecting him to play at all for this team. 

Off-Season Review

So now that we looked back at this team's off-season moves individually, what did we think of this team's off-season as a whole? Much like a few Eurasian teams I see this team as one that took a step back overall in the short term with the hopes of getting better in the future. I gave the Knicks a B+ for an off-season where I felt they improved so i'll give the Kings a B- or B for their's. Now to clarify just in terms of talent I have to go B- because basically this was the movement:

Clyde Drexler -> Tracy McGrady (downgrade short term)

Clark Kellogg -> Alvan Adams (wash looking a last years per 36 stats)

Rodney McCray -> Damon Stoudemire (upgrade for guard off the bench even though both are on the team)

Willis Reed -> Shawn Bradley (downgrade for fourth big)

Also wished they would've kept Brian Grant even if it's not a big loss. 

But that is all the short term thinking, I give them a B+ (maybe even A-) for what they did in the long term. There was an extremely high chance that they wouldn't be able to keep Drexler, KAJ, Aguirre, L. Johnson, and F. Johnson together beyond this year. Clearing that cap situation up somewhat and getting a prospect at the level of T-Mac is a win for the future. They still have some work to do in that department but they will still be competitive while being on the right track financially. So if I give them a B+ for the future and a B- for the win now portion, I'd say they average out to a B overall. 

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Questions Heading Into Season

1. Can they fill the void left by Clyde Drexler with Jay Humphries, Tracy McGrady, and Damon Stoudemire? 

2. What type of contribution will Tracy McGrady provide? Can he give them Worthy numbers off the strength of his athleticism? 

3. Will Kareem Abdul-Jabbar show signs of aging this year or will he continue to be an all-star level player. 

4. Can Larry Johnson step up even further and become the clear #1 option rather than a 1A to Aguirre and KAJ's 1B & 1C respectively?

5. With the team's most valuable bench player moving into the starting lineup, and their 2nd and 3rd most valuable bench players moving to new teams, how will the King's bench mob perform this year? 

6. Last year the Kings, Beermen, and Warriors were the only teams to finish in the top 5 of Defensive Efficiency and Offensive Efficiency, can the Kings remain in that group without arguably their best defender? 

6. Will Frank Johnson and Larry Johnson offer to re-sign in season? 

7. If Johnson & Johnson decide to test the Free Agency market will the Kings be forced to trade one of them? 

8. Can Damon Stoudemire make a run at Rookie of the Year? 

8. Can the team improve their offensive rebounding which was among the bottom 3 in the league?

9. Can the Kings build on the 67 wins and try for a new win record or are they destined for a step back?
 
10. Can the team make their 5th conference finals appearance and if so can they get their 3rd conference finals title and 1st ABCA title? 

Final Season Thoughts

- This team should be among the elite in Eurasia but being among the league's elite is still up in the air. But with Larry Johnson, Mark Aguirre, Frank Johnson and of course Kareem Abdul Jabbar leading the way they have a good shot to be there at the end of things again because I expect three of those four to be in the conversation for the all-star game. Beermen is still in the conversation too despite giving up one of their top 3 players for a rookie so I think that'll be a division race to watch but the Kings should have the edge due to depth despite not having a Stockton caliber player.  I believe that along with the hyped BC Zalgiris, Mahram, and the previously mentioned Beermen they will be fighting it out for the #1 seed with them having the edge over those other teams. The Tracy McGrady storyline should be an interesting one to watch because he should be in the 6th man of the year and rookie of the year conversation throughout. 

To answer one of the questions I posed earlier, I'd put this team's worst case scenario at around 50 wins with about 62-65 being their max for this year. So a small step back but as long as the season doesn't go to crap randomly they will still be a legit conference finals team. However getting to the finals may be as far as it can go for right now because I see the Warriors giving them more trouble in the finals without Drexler but you never know. Despite an expected step back this is not a time that will be taken lightly, a tough matchup for pretty matchup any team they will face. 

[Brazil]

Damn awesome write up NY!

[Toronto]

Nice write up! Sydney is still the best team on paper, in my opinion.

Would love a Raptors write up

[Sydney]

This is awesome, thank you for putting this together. While I loved Drex and what he brought to the game, I am really curious to see what starting Humphries does at SG as he will help spread the floor and allow for KAJ/LJ to dominate more so inside. He is also a better ball handler and that should also help with some T/O. I think Frank has also taken a step forward and will now get a chance to be a bigger contributor.

Tmac is the ultimate wildcard but his solid TC makes me even more confident in him being a decent 6th man, however, Bowen may get some additional minutes with his elite defense.

In the short term, I probably failed as a GM in resigning Kellogg. While he would have been a bench piece, he was still young enough and would have some value to a team that I would have been able to flip him for some other asset. Due to this, I probably would have graded my short term as a C or C+ but long-term I believe you're close.

As you mentioned, Johnson & Johnson are potential FA and then next season Aguirre is in the same boat, so I think acquiring a player of Tmacs age & contract flexibility, gives me the ability to compete now and in the future. If I kept Drex, both he & Aguirre would have been expiring next year and if he didn't resign, his value would have taken a huge hit. I think I capitalized on his value and received a player who looks like he would have been a top 2 pick in this most recent draft. I still don't know why I included Brian Grant though, I'm just going to chalk that up to Toronto catching me at 8am while I was on a lot of medicine.

Once again, great stuff as always and thank you for taking the time to put together an extremely well thought and informative piece on my team.

[New York]

May 24, 2015 15:37:18 GMT -6 Sydney said:

This is awesome, thank you for putting this together. While I loved Drex and what he brought to the game, I am really curious to see what starting Humphries does at SG as he will help spread the floor and allow for KAJ/LJ to dominate more so inside. He is also a better ball handler and that should also help with some T/O. I think Frank has also taken a step forward and will now get a chance to be a bigger contributor.

Tmac is the ultimate wildcard but his solid TC makes me even more confident in him being a decent 6th man, however, Bowen may get some additional minutes with his elite defense.

In the short term, I probably failed as a GM in resigning Kellogg. While he would have been a bench piece, he was still young enough and would have some value to a team that I would have been able to flip him for some other asset. Due to this, I probably would have graded my short term as a C or C+ but long-term I believe you're close.

As you mentioned, Johnson & Johnson are potential FA and then next season Aguirre is in the same boat, so I think acquiring a player of Tmacs age & contract flexibility, gives me the ability to compete now and in the future. If I kept Drex, both he & Aguirre would have been expiring next year and if he didn't resign, his value would have taken a huge hit. I think I capitalized on his value and received a player who looks like he would have been a top 2 pick in this most recent draft. I still don't know why I included Brian Grant though, I'm just going to chalk that up to Toronto catching me at 8am while I was on a lot of medicine.

Once again, great stuff as always and thank you for taking the time to put together an extremely well thought and informative piece on my team.

Thanks for the in depth response. I really do appreciate this type of reply on any of my articles I put time into. It was fun to write and I have to agree with Toronto that you're #1 in Eurasia right now. 

As for Kellogg, I know he was your 7th man but that's as far as he would've went on your team with Aguirre and LJ there so I didn't want to knock your grade down because he would've been an expensive bench signing and with your starting lineup it made sense to let him go and grab a guy like Adams to provide nearly the same numbers (per 36) but keep your flexibility financially. 

Again thanks for the in depth response. 

[New York]

May 24, 2015 15:29:04 GMT -6 Toronto said:

Nice write up! Sydney is still the best team on paper, in my opinion.

Would love a Raptors write up

Thanks and I agree, I think Sydney is still the team to beat in Eurasia with the amount of talent he has with or without Drex. 

And as for a Toronto write up, consider it done. 

[New York]

May 24, 2015 15:15:00 GMT -6 Brazil said:

Damn awesome write up NY!

Thanks man. Glad you enjoyed it. 

[Toronto]

Sydney I'm going to send u an offer everyday at 8 am

[Sydney]

May 24, 2015 15:53:46 GMT -6 Toronto said:

Sydney I'm going to send u an offer everyday at 8 am

My throat infection is gone so you won't be finding any such deals again, my friend.

[San Miguel]

Wow, what a review. I don't think a GM would go so in depth with a team review of their own team.

I like the moves that Sydney made in the off season. I think they probably will go down a bit in total talent with the loss of Drexler for maybe a season while TMac develops but these kinds of moves have to be made from time to time. The team is still very formidable and now they've somewhat tweaked for the future as well with a young rising star in McGrady who could be very dangerous.

Great job again New York.

San Miguel

[San Francisco]

200 PP

Nicely done

[San Francisco]

pp credited