With the playoffs over and the Lakers once again champions of the basketball world, it's time to begin the offseason. Who will switch teams, and who will select the stars of the future?
Player Retirements
The headliners for retirements this year were John Stockton, Hakeem Olajuwon, Terry Porter, Patrick Ewing and Chris Mullin. Ewing, Olajuwon and Stockton would all be inducted into the 2001 Hall of Fame.
Draft Lottery
The city of Los Angeles continued to score big, as the Clippers leap-frogged the Pelicans and stole the number one pick. New Orleans had to settle for the second pick, while the worst team in the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers, fell all the way to pick number four.
2001 NBA Draft
Here is a summary of the lottery picks, plus any real life players that were picked later in the draft:
(Henry's Note- there are a couple of big names missing from each historic draft class, as I'm guessing 2k couldn't get the rights to those players. Though it sucks to have those guys left behind, it does continue to rewrite NBA history, so I'm mostly fine with it)
1. C Pau Gasol, Los Angeles Clippers
2. PG Tony Parker, New Orleans Pelicans
3. SG Jason Richardson, New Jersey Nets
4. PF Zach Randolph, Cleveland Cavaliers
5. C Cole Schultz, Atlanta Hawks(generated player)
6. C Tyson Chandler, Vancouver Grizzlies
7. SF Toni Petrovic, Chicago Bulls(generated player)
8. SF Richard Jefferson, Houston Rockets
9. SG Daryl Forbes, Detroit Pistons(generated player)
10. PF, Lamond Faulk, Indiana Pacers(generated player)
11. PG Sarunas Vugrinec, Washington Wizards(generated player)
12. C Steven Hunter, Sacramento Kings(generated player)
13. SF Jayden Stafford, Phoenix Suns(generated player)
14. SF Joe Johnson, Dallas Mavericks
15. PG Colin Braun, New York Knicks(generated player)
17. SF Shane Battier, Denver Nuggets
47. SF Gerald Wallace, Milwaukee Bucks
49. C Brendan Haywood, Toronto Raptors
58. C Jason Collins, Philadelphia 76ers
Free Agency
And now, let's take a look at the biggest names to switch teams in free agency(Henry's Note- players rated 80 overall or higher):
SG Michael Finley, Toronto Raptors, 3 years, 80 million dollars
SG Derek Anderson, Seattle SuperSonics, 3 years, 63 million dollars
SG Doug Christie, Los Angeles Clippers, 3 years, 55 million dollars
SF Sean Elliott, Philadelphia 76ers, 3 years, 44 million dollars
SG Aaron McKie, Chicago Bulls, 3 years, 46 million dollars
C Dikembe Mutombo, Minnesota Timberwolves, 2 years, 40 million dollars
PF Joe Smith, Los Angeles Lakers, 3 years, 46 million dollars
C Shawn Bradley, Philadelphia 76ers, 3 years, 33 million dollars
C Arvydas Sabonis, Philadelphia 76ers, 2 years, 20 million dollars
PG Rod Strickland, Philadelphia 76ers, 2 years, 19 million dollars
SF Ruben Patterson, Chicago Bulls, 3 years, 40 million dollars
SG Bryant Smith, Cleveland Cavaliers, 3 years, 33 million dollars
PG Robert Pack, Utah Jazz, 3 years, 33 million dollars
SG Alvin Williams, Dallas Mavericks, 3 years, 37 million dollars
PG Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Detroit Pistons, 3 years 31 million dollars
PG Jacque Vaughn, Washington Wizard, 3 years, 38 million dollars
The Raptors spent big to land Michael Finley, but the 76ers were the story of free agency, splashing a serious amount of cash after their first round elimination. They lost Mutombo and McKie, and replaced them with Elliott, Bradley and Sabonis. Can this new look team get redemption for last year's defeat?
Way Too Early Predictions
Taking a look at the NBA.com power rankings, there are definitely some interesting things I want to mention. Interestingly, the Magic are second, with a mostly mediocre core around Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill. The new look 76ers are third, while teams that missed on the playoffs like Houston and New Jersey are predicted to rebound. The Clippers are ranked highly, as their team now features Doug Christie, Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol. Christie's loss hurts Toronto who are in the middle of the pack, the Jazz are in the lower third of the league with a 39 year old Karl Malone, whilst the Cavaliers and weirdly, the Warriors, round out the standings. It'll be interesting to see how these power rankings stack up next year.
This was a long post, but hopefully you enjoyed as I went as in depth as possible to let you everything that's happening in this alternate history. The New Millennium continues, as the Lakers will look to three peat. Can Shaq and Kobe win another ring?
Player Retirements
The headliners for retirements this year were John Stockton, Hakeem Olajuwon, Terry Porter, Patrick Ewing and Chris Mullin. Ewing, Olajuwon and Stockton would all be inducted into the 2001 Hall of Fame.
Draft Lottery
The city of Los Angeles continued to score big, as the Clippers leap-frogged the Pelicans and stole the number one pick. New Orleans had to settle for the second pick, while the worst team in the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers, fell all the way to pick number four.
2001 NBA Draft
Here is a summary of the lottery picks, plus any real life players that were picked later in the draft:
(Henry's Note- there are a couple of big names missing from each historic draft class, as I'm guessing 2k couldn't get the rights to those players. Though it sucks to have those guys left behind, it does continue to rewrite NBA history, so I'm mostly fine with it)
1. C Pau Gasol, Los Angeles Clippers
2. PG Tony Parker, New Orleans Pelicans
3. SG Jason Richardson, New Jersey Nets
4. PF Zach Randolph, Cleveland Cavaliers
5. C Cole Schultz, Atlanta Hawks(generated player)
6. C Tyson Chandler, Vancouver Grizzlies
7. SF Toni Petrovic, Chicago Bulls(generated player)
8. SF Richard Jefferson, Houston Rockets
9. SG Daryl Forbes, Detroit Pistons(generated player)
10. PF, Lamond Faulk, Indiana Pacers(generated player)
11. PG Sarunas Vugrinec, Washington Wizards(generated player)
12. C Steven Hunter, Sacramento Kings(generated player)
13. SF Jayden Stafford, Phoenix Suns(generated player)
14. SF Joe Johnson, Dallas Mavericks
15. PG Colin Braun, New York Knicks(generated player)
17. SF Shane Battier, Denver Nuggets
47. SF Gerald Wallace, Milwaukee Bucks
49. C Brendan Haywood, Toronto Raptors
58. C Jason Collins, Philadelphia 76ers
Free Agency
And now, let's take a look at the biggest names to switch teams in free agency(Henry's Note- players rated 80 overall or higher):
SG Michael Finley, Toronto Raptors, 3 years, 80 million dollars
SG Derek Anderson, Seattle SuperSonics, 3 years, 63 million dollars
SG Doug Christie, Los Angeles Clippers, 3 years, 55 million dollars
SF Sean Elliott, Philadelphia 76ers, 3 years, 44 million dollars
SG Aaron McKie, Chicago Bulls, 3 years, 46 million dollars
C Dikembe Mutombo, Minnesota Timberwolves, 2 years, 40 million dollars
PF Joe Smith, Los Angeles Lakers, 3 years, 46 million dollars
C Shawn Bradley, Philadelphia 76ers, 3 years, 33 million dollars
C Arvydas Sabonis, Philadelphia 76ers, 2 years, 20 million dollars
PG Rod Strickland, Philadelphia 76ers, 2 years, 19 million dollars
SF Ruben Patterson, Chicago Bulls, 3 years, 40 million dollars
SG Bryant Smith, Cleveland Cavaliers, 3 years, 33 million dollars
PG Robert Pack, Utah Jazz, 3 years, 33 million dollars
SG Alvin Williams, Dallas Mavericks, 3 years, 37 million dollars
PG Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Detroit Pistons, 3 years 31 million dollars
PG Jacque Vaughn, Washington Wizard, 3 years, 38 million dollars
The Raptors spent big to land Michael Finley, but the 76ers were the story of free agency, splashing a serious amount of cash after their first round elimination. They lost Mutombo and McKie, and replaced them with Elliott, Bradley and Sabonis. Can this new look team get redemption for last year's defeat?
Way Too Early Predictions
Taking a look at the NBA.com power rankings, there are definitely some interesting things I want to mention. Interestingly, the Magic are second, with a mostly mediocre core around Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill. The new look 76ers are third, while teams that missed on the playoffs like Houston and New Jersey are predicted to rebound. The Clippers are ranked highly, as their team now features Doug Christie, Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol. Christie's loss hurts Toronto who are in the middle of the pack, the Jazz are in the lower third of the league with a 39 year old Karl Malone, whilst the Cavaliers and weirdly, the Warriors, round out the standings. It'll be interesting to see how these power rankings stack up next year.
This was a long post, but hopefully you enjoyed as I went as in depth as possible to let you everything that's happening in this alternate history. The New Millennium continues, as the Lakers will look to three peat. Can Shaq and Kobe win another ring?
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