11. ATL, Evan
- 2020: 44-97-3 (28)
- 2019: 72-112-5 (24)
- aODE: 18 / 20 / 29
The accepted way to return to respectability seems to be bottoming out and then rebuilding. But what if you never were respectable in the first place? Under old ownership, ATL had a 0.394 winning percentage and barely had the pretense of trying to compete.
ATL will have the upcoming no. 5 and no.16 picks in a deep draft to further bolster their talent base, and boy does this team need it. Aside from franchise cornerstone Trae Young, there isn’t another bonafide keeper on the roster. (We have to wonder why 2020 RD1.4 Onyeka Okongwu was traded away so fast?) Last year’s leading scorers were: Young, Marvin Bagley, Luguentz Dort, Darius Bazley, Donte DiVencenzo, and Ignas Brazdeikis. That’s, um, not great. ATL is however, very young and purposely so.
The good news is that if ATL’s third-worst 339 Games Played were adjusted to 475, they would have been halfway decent on offense and defense. They had a shot at being competitive in scoring, while exhibiting strengths in passing the ball and working the boards.
It’s going to take some heavy lifting for Young to make this team a postseason threat. Our suspicion is that ATL will tank some more seasons while acquiring assets but Young could tire of losing and demand accountability from management soon. For now, let’s see what GM Evan can do to build out a competitive foundation for the future.
12. CHA, Joe
- 2020: 67-76-1 (19)
- 2019: 93-93-3 (15)
- aODE: 5 / 26 / 21
Arriving midway thorough the 2020 campaign, CHA Joe was a newcomer to our league and stayed mostly quiet while absorbing the ins and outs of RDA madness. Having inherited a playoff team that went 0.500 in 2019, our third Joe took a mostly wait and see approach to assess the scene.
However, come January, CHA struck, making their lone deal of the season by acquiring Zach LaVine and Josh Richardson in exchange for Garland and PJ Washington. The trade signaled that CHA could be in line for bigger moves this year, as the twenty-six year old LaVine is just entering his prime and well placed to start taking a franchise to greater heights.
Of course, acquiring LaVine meant there was still an overload of guard types on this roster — including 2020 RD1.16 Tyrese Maxey — and a huge imbalance between bigs and smalls. In fact, there are no bigs here, as CHA features someone named Tony Bradley as their lone center. With adjusted ODE splits that are top-five in PTS, 3PT, and FT% — plus top-nine in AST — there is a huge drop off to rebounds, steals, and blocks, which all ranked bottom-six in the league. (Can a team consistently win like that? Prognosticators would argue “no,” but it sure would be fun to see a team go for super small ball!)
What can CHA do to find some frontcourt talent? Unfortunately it probably won’t be through the upcoming draft, as this year’s first-rounder was moved out under previous ownership for Alec Burks — along with a future second. In his first full season at the helm, GM Joe will have to really work the phones to balance his roster. Having a core of Mitchell, Booker, and LaVine is a great foundation for any franchise though, so we can expect upward mobility from this revitalized organization.
13. MIA, Kevin & Jason
- 2020: 41-103-0 (29)
- 2019: 66-123-0 (27)
- aODE: 30 / 28 / 5
As the second-worst overall regular season team, MIA has only been nominally competitive through two seasons. The one star they had, Kyrie Irving, was shipped out a year and a half ago when it was clear MIA was cemented near the bottom of the standings. That left Brandon Clarke, DeAndre’ Bembry, or Jarrett Culver as the “franchise” player heading into 2020 and well, MIA wasn’t trying to win that hard last season, as evidenced by their league-low 322 Games Played mark.
So the MIA playbook for the next season is to keep tanking, keep collecting picks, and look to develop their young talent through good culture and organizational stability. Is it sad for MIA fans to suffer all this losing? Of course it is, but they can find solace in the beachy weather and beauty while waiting for their team to improve.
Fun fact: MIA is the only team with no category ties yet! How long can this streak keep going?
14. ORL, Jim & Jason
- 2020: 56-86-2 (22)
- 2019: 85-102-3 (17)
- aODE: 27 / 3 / 8
When are you too good to tank? That’s the question ORL faces as they enter their third season. In year one, ORL was just outside playoff positioning and right on the precipice of respectability. However, with three first-rounders coming up, they were also trying to rebuild at the same time. Those 2020 picks were Deni Avdija (RD1.9), Devin Vassell (1.14), and Precious Achiuwa (1.27). As one of the two RDA big ball teams, ORL is perpetually dominant in three or four categories, which makes it hard for them to actually reach the standings cellar.
For now, ORL is at a bit of crossroads as they continue collecting assets. The huge 2019 trade for Jonathan Isaac will finally show its return this season, adding to the many bigs on this roster. And boy is it a boatload! Isaac, Clint Capela, Nic Claxton, Richuan Holmes, Robert Williams, Thomas Bryant, and Moses Brown are all here, with nary a point guard in sight. That collection resulted in near league low stats in PTS, AST, FT% and 3PT, while being dominant in FG%, REB, and STL. On the surface, ORL was also pretty good in the turnovers department, but adjusted out to 475 GP — ORL only played 355 GP last season, fourth-worst — their TOS shot up to only an eighth-best ranking.
The emergence of Jaylen Brown as a franchise type wing could sway ORL management to take a look at a different build, as Brown plus some perimeter types could balance out the roster to something more conventional. Aside from Brown, there’s only Terence Davis as an outside threat — Avdija was traded away for two first-rounders and Vassell isn’t really a shooter. With Isaac returning though, punting threes could be a waste of one of his signature talents.
For now, ORL is floundering near the bottom of the standings. However the future is bright as they have a bounty of draft picks coming in, and that could mean getting into the postseason picture rather quickly even if they don’t abandon their quirky style play.
15. WAS, Jay
- 2020: 93-49-2 (4)
- 2019: 113-74-2 (9)
- aODE: 10 / 13 / 21
The reigning two-time Southeast division champs were one win away from the first RDA Finals, but got upset by MIL in the third round — after taking care of business versus MEM and NOP. As one of the most consistently winning regular season teams — they have the fourth-best combined regular season record — WAS is a top contender for any future titles.
Some of WAS’s success can be attributed to volume, as they had a whopping 545 Games Played, good for sixth in the league. Even adjusted for ODE though, WAS had no real weak points, as they were either average or slightly above average in all eight positive cats, minus turnovers. It’s no wonder WAS won so many games.
Heading into last year’s playoffs, GM Jay felt close enough to a championship run that they traded away twenty-five year old Cameron Johnson for thirty-two year old Nicolas Batum and then sent their 2020 RD1.22 selection, Aaron Nesmith (and a future-first), to CLE for Dillon Brooks, who was in the middle of a breakout season himself down in Memphis. Unfortunately those moves didn’t result in a title, we loved the aggressive win-now philosophy.
While WAS isn’t known for making lots of trades, the few they have made have all been to tinker around the edges, as befitting their patient ethos. WAS is also one of the rare top contenders with most their draft picks left — they are only lacking a first-rounder in the upcoming draft but own everything else otherwise. What we’re saying is that there is plenty of room for WAS to make some big moves to become title favorites. It’ll be exciting to see if WAS can get even more aggressive in pursuing a ring!