Another Funk Rebuild

It’s only been a couple of months since Funk Coalition’s latest rebuild. If you’re counting, that’s three major rebuilds in about three seasons, starting with the pre-draft acquisition of Rajon Rondo in 2012. Apparently, building a winning team around Rondo is difficult. Very difficult.

With their lone 2015 win coming against fellow undefeated Fob Stars, GM Jon saw the need to reshape their roster yet again. High draft picks Dante Exum and Marcus Smart had yet to see much return and a roster full of guards weren’t able to rank well in any of the traditional guard categories. In fact, Funk’s team is last or near last in FT%, 3PT, and PTS. So, with a pair of trades, Jon went all in on guards who can’t shoot, while trading away all of his top scorers and essentially punting PTS. Will it work? Hard to say, but this roster suddenly got a lot more cohesive in its flaws.

• ID#47: Funk Coalition trade Al Jefferson, Amare Stoudemire, 2016 RD2 to Jedi Knights for Michael Carter-Williams and DeAndre Jordan
• ID#48: Funk Coalition trade Derrick Rose to Silent Crows for Ricky Rubio

With the additions of Michael Carter-Williams and Ricky Rubio, Funk should now have the AST and STL to surround Rondo in the backcourt. None of the three guards can shoot for percentage or range, but that’s alright I guess. Who needs to space the floor anyway!? Also, all three possess awful FT% for professional basketball players, highlighted by Rondo’s 31.6 FT% this season. What Rondo, MCW, and Rubio can do is post near triple doubles, providing Funk with a plethora of AST/REB/STL.

The new-look frontcourt will now feature the twin defensive towers of Andre Drummond and DeAndre Jordan, who's averaging 9.5 PTS, 13.4 REB, 2.4 BLK, 1.0 STL, and 70.7 FG%. They’re essentially the same player, with high FG%, awful FT%, outstanding REB/BLK, and quick hands for bigs. Also, neither can be expected to average more than about ten points per game, especially with Drummond slumping in an expected breakout year. Josh Smith is still the third big here, and he has brought awful percentages but a nice smattering of REB, AST, and a combined 3.0 STL/BLK. Basically, Funk has decided to torpedo every category they were bad at and double down on all the counting stats.

It’s hard to say if this strategy is better than the last (failing) one, but Funk now has the a team that sort of makes sense on paper. Also, let’s not overlook the snazzy pickup of Dennis Schroder, aka the German Rondo. Since this SlamNation trade last week, Rondo has found himself moved to the Mavericks, which means that the heart and soul of Funk isn’t even a Celtic anymore. Argggh!

Note: At the end of the day, Funk moved Dwight Howard, Tony Parker, a 2015 RD2 (Jose Calderon) for Ricky Rubio and Marcus Smart. Worth it? Considering Dwight is having a great year and the still perfect piece alongside Rondo and this team build? Also, Funk says good bye to Al, again!

For Jedi Knights, this was their second big trade in a season that has seen them step up their activity. (Although, they still rank last in “moves,” and haven’t made any FA pickups yet.) Losing last year’s Rookie of the Year will be tough, but MCW’s awful FG% was weighing this team down. The top two Jedi picks from the 2013 draft, Carter-Williams and Jimmy Butler, are now both gone.

Al Jefferson has been slow to become the 20-10 machine he’s always been, but his sterling percentages and offensive output fits in very nicely with Jedi's recent focus on increased offense. Losing DeAndre Jordan’s defensive stats hurt, but this team wasn’t beating anyone on the boards or protecting the rim anyway.

And Amare Stoudemire returns to the fold, two years after being acquired for a number of picks — the result was Stoudemire for 2013 Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and 2014 John Henson. Jefferson, Stoudemire, and a suddenly enticing Mason Plumlee will anchor the new look frontline while balancing out Deron Williams, Monta Ellis, and the wing combo of Chandler Parsons, Wes Matthews, and Arron Afflalo. There’s still a lot of work to be done to make the 2-8 Jedi Knights competitive, but at least the effort is showing. Now to work that free agent wire Lum!

Defending champ Silent Crows hit a quick “yes” to the Rose for Rubio swap, exchanging a still injured Rubio for Rose’s offensive output. Rose has been in and out of the lineup but two months into the season, he’s getting steadier and steadier, averaging 19.4 PTS, 5.0 AST, 1.5 3PT, on 45.7 FG%. If Rose continues his successful comeback from injury, Lucas could have just added another piece to his title defense while jettisoning an equally risky injured player in Rubio.

Currently the Crows are 5-3 and ranked second in FG%, REB, and PTS, with their only bad category being STLs. They are well positioned to be a top team again, even as Carmelo Anthony and Blake Griffin have yet to hit their full stride. Silent Crow's 2015 draft yielded key rotation pieces in Joe Johnson, Patrick Beverly, Tyson Chandler, Danny Green, and even free agent pickup Marreese Speights. That's preeeeetty impressive.

Let the mega-trade season begin! Who's next?

The Force Awakens

After vowing to better manage his team this season, Lum has made good on his promise, throwing his team into 2015's first blockbuster. With a roster full of interesting parts, it was high time GM Lum started to shape his pieces into a cohesive unit. Toward that end, Lum moved rising star Jimmy Butler and the still injured David Lee to Sour Snails in exchange for Monta Ellis and Wesley Matthews. That immediately upgrades the offense, as Ellis and Matthews combine to average 37.3 PTS. The new backcourt will give this second-to-last ranked offense an infusion, and give greatly improve their 3PT shooting to the tune of 3.9 3PT per game.

The new look Jedi will have a bounce back Deron Williams, a returned from injury Michael Carter-Williams, plus Ellis and Mathews on board. Not to mention there’s Arron Afflalo and Chandler Parsons for the swing positions. The frontcourt seems to be a bit soft with Thaddeus Young playing power forward next to DeAndre Jordan, but it’s not like David Lee was providing anything this season. We like the new run-and-gun Jedi, and well, let’s see if they can pick up a few extra wins this year!

As for Sour Snails, this is their third move of the season, after shipping off extra keepers Tyreke Evans and Trevor Ariza for draft picks — both of whom are having excellent seasons. We already knew that this backcourt was crowded with talent, and consolidating Ellis and Matthews into an up and coming All-Star like Jimmy Butler is exactly the type of move Trieu has consistently executed. Butler has taken over the main offensive duties in Chicago and is averaging 21.0 PTS, 5.7 REB, 1.5 STL, and 48.7 FG% in a long awaited breakout year. He’s not a 3PT threat, but the top ranked Snails hardly need anything in that category. And when David Lee comes back, he’ll add additional scoring, and most importantly, rebounding to help out DeMarcus Cousins. Lee should be an upgrade, or at least a nice complement, to Taj Gibson and Ed Davis. All in all, a trade that looks like a winner for both sides!

• ID#47: Jedi Knights trade Jimmy Butler and David Lee to Fob Stars for Monta Ellis and Wesley Matthews.