Seriously procrastinating at work this morning, so I thought I'd open up this wavelength for unsolicited comments, parades and accusations...

1. Great Lakes - David Robinson

What a world! shine set himself up nicely last offseason for a roll of the dice this offseason. The Pirates jettisoned some salary to go with Bird's big injury year, and as a result were historically terrible. Bird comes back strong for one more year, and the Admiral starts out strong (his rookie campaign is the first of 7 great-to-amazing consecutive seasons). Great Lakes doesn't have much else, but those two guys plus 10 nondescript guys from the YMCA should at least make the playoffs. I suspect the Pirates will have enough warm bodies in the paint to be okay with rebounds, but I do seriously wonder where their assists will come from. Michael Cooper is a shell of his former self and Brad Davis is long gone. Cooper, Dunn, and Rickey Green altogether are good for an uninspiring 3400 minutes at PG. Bird will need to do it all for this team, but it wouldn't surprise me to see the Pirates go deep into the playoffs.

2. Beavadillo Disciples - Shawn Kemp

A big drop from Robinson but the obvious choice, especially given team needs. Kemp will be a very solid player in this league where defense actually counts for something and high-volume fouling isn't quite as deadly as it usually is. His rebounds per minute is the most attractive feature, but he'll also score some and block some shots. Unfortunately he doesn't really start to become a force until about 92-93, and the Disciples are set to get quite a bit better this season since several players improve or even hit their career best. It wouldn't surprise me to see all3 pull off a trade still - either to move Kemp for current value or to dismantle a bit in order to aim for the future. In either case, this was the right selection.

Late addition: And here comes that trade, but not the kind I expected! Adding Laimbeer and King should put the Disciples in the playoffs. I doubt they're true contenders this next season, but they should easily be a top 10 team, with plenty of minutes, low turnovers, and just enough rebounds. Lots of fouls, but I'm not sure that really is a big deal in this league until playoff time. The Disciples are deep, too - they should have two 6th man of the year candidates (Hornacek and Schrempf?), and still a bright future ahead of them with Kemp maturing on the bench.

3. Da Memphis Mafia - Vlade Divac

I really wasn't feeling this pick at first, figuring that any of the three guys that ended up being selected next were more obvious (and in two cases more sim-friendly) options. When I looked more closely at Vlade's stats, though, I realized he's a fairly decent rebounder for a progressive league of this sort - not a board monster, but potentially a cog in a respectable team rebounding effort. Obviously gives you some assists from the center position also, can play PF, and is at least a decent defender. Definitely the Mafia need a big man, and will have the minutes this season to make a run at the playoffs. I suspect they'll be mainly a finesse scoring team that fouls a lot and gets shoved around on the boards some, but they'll surprise a lot of teams. Divac needs company on the glass for the Mafia to go deep in the playoffs.

4. Halifax Windjammers - Glen Rice

Rice is definitely a top 5 pick in this draft, and will be a nice foil for Pippen on the wings in the seasons to come. He won't do much this season (at least not efficiently), but that's just as well since the Windjammers don't have enough minutes or rebounding to get them out of rebuilding mode anytime soon. My guess is Halifax is looking at a couple more seasons of strengthening the frontcourt, since Smits isn't much on the boards (his numbers are basically what you want from your SF) and he's their only legitimate big guy who'll be around more than a couple seasons. Too bad Mark Price's prime isn't going toward a better cause. Still, like I said, Pippen and Rice is a very nice combo to build around.

5. SoLanCo Barnstormers - Tim Hardaway

The UTEP Two-Step is a really nice addition here. Hardaway was arguably the BPA (although Blaylock has a string of sim-popular seasons and I could've argued for him here instead). He'll do pretty well as a rookie and will get better fast; he'll be a stat-monster his early Golden State years. Ewing is really entering his prime this year, and the Barnstormers are surprisingly deep. The chief question is roster balance. Assuming Hardaway is a keeper, should Mark Jackson or McMillan be used as the centerpiece in a trade to get Ewing some help up front? Right now the Barnstormers probably have more assists than they'll need for a while, and are a bunch of rebounds away from looking like a contender.

6. Oklahoma City Cyclone - Mookie Blaylock

Definitely BPA here for Mookie. He'll do well in this league with his defense, steals, and mad perimeter bombing. He and Reggie Miller aren't a great fit together without a SF who brings a lot of assists, since Mookie + Reggie alone = a pretty pass-poor backcourt most seasons. Still, this was the right pick for a team on the way up. The Cyclone have the depth and firepower to cause some trouble this season. They're poised to score a lot of points, although they're light on rebounds (this is kind of a minutes-light year for Oakley) and they're definitely short on assists (Mookie only plays 15 mpg). Oklahoma City may flirt with the playoffs, but are a couple pieces and some seasoning away from anything like contending status.

Posted a comment in the classified forum.

7. Sacramento River Rats - Clifford Robinson

I understand this pick but I don't love it. Robinson doesn't do anything particularly well in this sim. He's an above average defender at times, and gives you some threes later in his career, but he's not a difference-maker. Basically what he's good for in a progressive league is long-term depth. He can play 2-3 positions, depending on the season, and his career lasts for a thousand years. This means he can be a helpful, consistent part of the rotation for a franchise that expects to rejigger on the fly and stay in playoff contention year after year. Cliffy is glue, doesn't do anything wonderful or terrible once his career gets going. Sacramento looks to be headed back to the playoffs, with plenty of minutes and also scoring now that Purvis comes back with a somewhat better season. I might have looked to trade this pick for a better rebounder with a shorter career ahead of him - but again, I see the point.

8. Homer City Slapnuts - Nick Anderson

Now this pick I really like, not because Nick fills areas of greatest need but because he's just a really useful piece to have around in this version of the sim. He has a few seasons (down the road) of 100+ 3PM, has at least average efficiency over time, and doesn't make many mistakes. The Slapnuts are clearly still rebounding - short on minutes, very short on rebounds (this is a low-minute season for Cadillac), and needing a lead scorer or two to emerge from somewhere. Still, excellent building blocks in Porter and Rodman, and Nick Anderson is a very sensible addition. A lot needs to happen over the next couple of offseasons, though, to take advantage of most of Rodman's prime and at least some of Porter's.

I see at least 14 decent rotation players on the board. No gigantic surprises so far, although Hardaway and Blaylock could / should each have gone a couple slots earlier based on sheer sim value.

Do we get trade analysis too?

Of course! But this isn't just meant to be my stream-of-conscious, unsolicited rambling. Others should add their own.

All right, I'll give my two cents on my crappy team.

Rice was the best fit for me and you're right on the money with my donut team. Smits is ok but I'm gonna have to play Pippen at PF a lot I think over the next few years. I think I might be able to make a run at the playoffs this year but next year Price and David Wingate are hurt, Smits regresses and Paul Mokeski can only play so many minutes. I'm scared of OKC in my division and unless I luck out next year with Payton, I'm gonna be permanently in 2nd (at best) for the next 10 years.

9. Ha Noi Tru Bat Gioi -Sean Elliott

Elliott makes sense for this team since Drexler will soon start to slowly slide out of his impressive prime and the team needs more scoring anyway. Given Ha Noi's need for decent big men there is one player still on the board that might have made even more sense here, but Elliott is sensible. The main challenge I see for this team, really, is the staggered peaks of key players over the years. Drexler, Willis and Strickland are all generally useful and good contributors year in and year out for the next several seasons, but their best seasons all come at different times making it difficult to spot a "crescendo" year where this team really pushes for a title.