Showing posts with label Collaboration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Collaboration. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

What would a modern NBA Expansion Team look like?

In 2004, the Charlotte Bobcats became the first NBA expansion team in almost 10 years, when the NBA opened its doors to Canada with the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies.  Since then, there has been mixed talk on whether the NBA should ever expand again, or if in fact, it should contract.  

Just for fun, I thought it would be cool to see what an expansion team might look like in today's NBA, a team that would be starting in the NBA for the 2011-12 season.  I've contacted team bloggers to act as their team's General Manager, and decide who they should/should not protect from the Expansion team, which shall henceforth be called the Centralia Hagfish (Copyright Mark Deeks, ShamSports.com).

First off, the rules.  I'll be trying to focus on the basic rules the NBA used when the Bobcats came into the league:

  • The Hagfish must select a minimum of 14 players who are under contract or are restricted free agents for the 2011-12 season.
  • The Hagfish may select no more than one player from each team.
  • The Hagfish can only select players that are unprotected by their team.
  • Each of the 30 NBA teams may protect a maximum of 8 players on its roster who are under contract or are restricted free agents at the conclusion of the 2010-11 season.
  • Each of the 30 NBA teams must designate at least one player on its roster to be eligible for selection by the Hagfish, even if the team does not have 8 players under contract or as restricted free agents for the 2011-12 season.
  • All players under contract selected by the Hagfish will be immediately placed on the Hagfish roster.
  • Any eligible restricted free agent selected by the Hagfish shall immediately become an unrestricted free agent.
  • Unrestricted Free Agents are not eligible to be protected or selected.
  • The Hagfish can engage in pre-Expansion Draft trades involving draft picks and players in which Centralia agrees to select or not select certain unprotected players in return.  (Note: This is the hardest part of this exercise to simulate.  For example, in the Bobcats expansion draft, they were given the 4th pick, and traded that to the Los Angeles Clippers for the 2nd pick, on the condition that the Bobcats would select Predrag Drobnjak)
  • The Hagfish can select players in the Expansion draft without regards to the Salary Cap.
  • When the Hagfish select a restricted free agent, they can use the same exceptions (Bird, Early Bird, Non-Bird) that their previous team would've been able to use.  They don't, however, have the right to match offers as the player(s) have become unrestricted free agents due to their selection in the expansion draft.
  • If a team over the salary cap loses a player that was under contract for the 2011-12 season, they will get a trade exception.
  • The Hagfish will not participate in the NBA lottery and will be given the 4th pick in the first and second rounds of the 2011 NBA Draft.
  • A team will not be permitted to re-acquire a player it lost in the Expansion draft for one year, unless the player is waived and not claimed by any other team.
So now that we know the rules, lets take a look at who the Hagfish can and can't pick after the jump.