Expansion Draft Game

[jonathanlambert33]

Took this from another board, thought it was a great idea:


So I thought up a game for those wannabe GM's out there. It's based on the 2004 Expansion Draft when the Bobcats joined the league.

So imagine you are the brand new GM of a brand new NBA franchise - the Hometown Hoop-Heroes, or whatever - and your first order of business is assembling your team.

The NBA has given you the No. 4 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft as a starting point. And they are holding a league wide Expansion Draft for you to fill out the rest of your roster.

Here are the rules:

• Every NBA team is allowed to protect 8 of their players currently under contract.
• The remaining unprotected players are all fair game for you to select.
• However, you can only select one player from each franchise. No more.
• When you select a player you will pick up their existing contract (details will be provided).
• You must select 11 players in the expansion draft.

Below is the list of protected and unprotected players for each team:

Atlanta Hawks
Protected - Al Horford, Jeff Teague, Paul Millsap, Kyle Korver, Lou Williams, DeMarre Carrol, Dennis Shroeder, John Jenkins.

Unprotected -
Elton Brand - $4 mil, 1 year
Cartier Martin - $1 mil, 1 year
Mike Scott - $800k, 1 year
Gustavo Ayon, $1.5 mil, 1 year
Pero Antic - $1.2 mil, 2 years
Shelvin Mack - $1 mil, 1 year

Boston Celtics
Protected - Rajon Rondo, Jeff Green, Avery Bradley, Jarred Sullinger, Kelly Olynyk, Vitor Faverini, Courtney Lee, Jordan Crawford

Unprotected -
Gerald Wallace - $10 mil, 3 years
Brandon Bass - $6.8 mil, 2 years
Kris Humphries - $12 mil, 1 year
Marhson Brooks - $1.3 mil, 1 year
Keith Bogans - $5 mil, 1 year
Phil Pressey - $500, 1 year

Brooklyn Nets
Protected - Brook Lopez, Deron Williams, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnet, Andray Blatche, Andrei Kirilenko, Jason Terry, Mason Plumlee

Unprotected -
Joe Johnson - $23 mil, 3 years
Shaun Livingston - $1.2 mil, 1 year
Alan Anderson - $1 mil, 1 year
Reggie Evans - $1.7 mil, 2 years
Mirza Teletovic - $3.3 mil, 2 years
Tornike Shengalia - 800k, 1 year

Charlotte Bobcats
Protected - Kemba Walker, Al Jefferson, Gerald Henderson, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Cody Zeller, Jeff Taylor, Bismack Biyombo, Ramon Sessions

Unprotected -
Ben Gordon - $13 mil, 1 year
Josh McRoberts - $2.7 mil, 2 years
Brendan Haywood - $2 mil, 2 years
Jannero Pargo - $1.4 mil, 1 year
Anthony Tolliver - $1 mil, 1 year
Jeff Adrien - $1 mil, 1 year

Chicago Bulls
Protected - Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer, Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson, Kirk Hinrich, Mike Dunleavy

Unprotected -
Nazr Mohammad - $1.3 mil, 1 year
Tony Snell - $1.5 mil, 2 years
Mike James - $1.4 mil, 1 year
Marquis Teague - $1.1 mil, 2 years
Erik Murphy - $500k, 1 year

Cleveland Cavaliers
Protected - Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters, Andrew Bynum, Anderson Varejao, Tristian Thompson, Jarrett Jack, Anthony Bennet, Tyler Zeller

Unprotected -
Sergey Karasev - $1.5 mil, 2 years
Earl Clark - $4.2 mil, 2 years
Alonzo Gee - $3.2 mil, 1 year
CJ Miles - $2.2 mil, 1 year
Henry Sims - $800k, 1 year
Matthew Dellavedova - $500k, 1 year

Dallas Mavericks
Protected - Dirk Nowitzki, Monta Ellis, Jose Calderon, Vince Carter, Shawn Marion, Brandan Wright, Samuel Dalembert, DeJuan Blair

Unprotected -
Devin Harris - $1.2 mil, 1 year
Jae Crowder - $800k, 1 year
Shane Larkin - $1.6 mil, 2 years
Ricky Ledo - $750k, 2 years
Bernard James - $800k, 1 year
Wayne Ellington - $2.5 mil, 2 years

Denver Nuggets
Protected - Ty Lawson, Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried, Wilson Chandler, JJ Hickson, Timofey Mozgov, Jordan Hamilton, Javale McGee

Unprotected -
Andre Miller - $4.8 mil, 2 years
Randy Foye - $3 mil, 2 years
Nate Robinson - $2 mil, 1 year
Anthony Randolph - $1.8 mil, 2 years
Evan Fournier - $1.4 mil, 2 years
Darrell Arthur - $3.2 mil, 1 year

Detroit Pistons
Protected - Greg Monroe, Andre Drummond, Josh Smith, Brandon Jennings, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Will Bynum, Rodney Stuckey, Kyle Singler

Unprotected -
Chauncey Billups - $2.5 mil, 2 years
Jonas Jerebko - $4.5 mil, 1 year
Charlie Villanueva - $8.6 mil, 1 year
Luigi Datome - $1.75 mil, 2 years
Tony Mitchell - $500k, 2 years
Peyton Siva - $500k, 2 years

Golden State Warriors
Protected - Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, David Lee, Andrew Bogut, Andre Iguodala, Harrison Barnes, Marreese Speights, Draymond Green

Unprotected -
Toney Douglas - $1.6 mil, 1 year
Jermaine O'Neal - $2 mil, 1 year
Kent Bazemore - $800k, 1 year
Nemanja Nedovic - $1 mil, 2 years
Ognjen Kuzmic - $500k, 2 years
Festus Ezeli - $1.1 mil, 2 years

Houston Rockets
Protected - James Harden, Dwight Howard, Chandler Parsons, Jeremy Lin, Patrick Beverley, Omer Asik, Omri Casspi, Terrance Jones

Unprotected -
Francisco Garcia - $1.3 mil, 1 year
Ronnie Brewer - $1.2 mil, 1 year
Donatas Motiejunas - $1.4 mil, 2 years
Greg Smith - $800k, 1 year
Aaron Brooks - $1 mil, 1 year

Indiana Pacers
Protected - Paul George, Roy Hibbert, Lance Stephenson, George Hill, David West, Luis Scola, CJ Watson, Ian Mahinmi

Unprotected -
Orlando Johnson - $800k, 1 year
Chris Copeland - $3 mil, 2 years
Rasual Butler - $1.4 mil, 1 year
Solomon Hill - $1.3 mil, 2 year
Donald Sloan - $800k, 1 year

LA Clippers
Protected - Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Jamal Crawford, JJ Reddick, Jared Dudley, Darren Collison, Matt Barnes

Unprotected -
Antawn Jamison - $1.4 mil, 1 year
Byron Mullens - $1 mil, 1 year
Reggie Bullock - $1.1 mil, 2 years
Willie Green - $1.4 mil, 1 year
Ryan Hollins - $1.2 mil, 1 year

LA Lakers
Protected - Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Jodie Meeks, Nick Young, Jordan Hill, Xavier Henry, Steve Blake, Wesley Johnson

Unprotected -
Steve Nash - $9.5 mil, 2 years
Jordan Farmar - $1.1 mil, 1 year
Chris Kaman - $3.2 mil, 1 year
Shawne Williams - $1 mil, 1 year
Ryan Kelly - $500k, 1 year
Robert Sacre - $800k, 2 years

Memphis Grizzlies
Protected - Marc Gasol, Mike Conley, Zach Randolph, Tony Allen, Mike Miller, Quincy Pondexter, Kosta Koufos, Jerryd Bayless

Unprotected -
Ed Davis - $3.1 mil, 1 year
Tayshaun Prince - $7.5 mil, 2 years
Nick Calathes - $500k, 1 year
Jon Leuer - $900k, 2 years
Jamaal Franklin - $700k, 2 years

Miami Heat
Protected - LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Ray Allen, Mario Chalmers, Chris Anderson, Michael Beasley, Noris Cole

Unprotected -
Shane Battier - $3.3 mil, 1 year
Greg Oden - $900k, 1 year
Rashard Lewis - $1.4 mil, 1 year
Udonis Haslem - $4.5 mil, 2 years
James Jones - $1.5 mil, 1 year
Joel Anthony - $3.8 mil, 2 years


Milwaukee Bucks
Protected - OJ Mayo, John Henson, Larry Sanders, Ersan Ilyasova, Kris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nate Wolters, Brandan Knight,

Unprotected -
Caron Butler - $8 mil, 1 year
Gary Neal - $3.2 mil, 2 years
Zaza Pachulia - $5.2 mil, 3 years
Ekpe Edoh - $4.5 mil, 1 year
Luke Ridnour - $4.3 mil, 1 year
Miroslav Raduljica - $500k, 1 year



Minnesota T-Wolves
Protected - Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio, Kevin Martin, Nikola Pekovic, Corey Brewer, Derrick Williams, JJ Barea, Shabazz Muhammad

Unprotected -
Chase Budinger - $5 mil, 3 years
Alexey Schved - $3.1 mil, 2 years
Gorgui Dieng - $1.4 mil, 2 years
Dante Cunningham - $2.2 mil, 1 year
Ronny Turiaf - $1.6 mil, 2 years
Robbie Hummel - $500k, 1 year


New Orleans Pelicans

Protected - Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday, Eric Gordon, Tyreke Evans, Ryan Anderson, Jason Smith, Al Farouq Aminu, Austin Rivers

Unprotected -
Anthony Morrow - $1 mil, 1 year
Brian Roberts - $800k, 1 year
Louis Amundson - $1 mil, 1 year
Jeff Withey - $700k, 2 years
Greg Steimsma - $2.7 mil, 1 year
Arinze Onuaku - $500k, 1 year

New York Knicks
Protected - Carmelo Anthony, JR Smith, Tyson Chandler, Andrea Bargnani, Raymond Felton, Iman Shumpert, Tim Hardaway Jr, Meta World Peace

Unprotected -
Amare Stoudamire - $22 mil, 2 years
Pablo Prigioni - $1.6 mil, 3 years
Kenyon Martin - $1.4 mil, 1 year
Beno Udrih - $1.3 mil, 1 year
Cole Aldrich - $900k, 1 year

Oklahoma City Thunder
Protected - Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, Jeremy Lamb, Steven Adams, Reggie Jackson, Thabo Sefolosha, Perry Jones

Unprotected -
Kendick Perkins - $8.75 mil, 2 years
Derrick Fisher - $1.4 mil, 1 year
Nick Collison - $2.3 mil, 2 years
Hasheem Thabeet - $1.2 mil, 1 year
Ryan Gomes - $1.2 mil, 1 year
Andre Robertson - $800k, 2 years

Orlando Magic
Protected - Victor Oladipo, Aaron Afflalo, Nikola Vucevic, Andrew Nicholson, Mo Harkless, Jameer Nelson, Tobias Harris, Glen Davis

Unprotected -
Hedo Turkoglu - $12 mil, 1 year
Jason Maxiell - $2.5 mil, 1 year
Kyle O'Quinn - $800k, 1 year
Solomon Jones - $1.1 mil, 1 year
Ronnie Price - $1.2 mil, 1 year
Doron Lamb - $800k, 1 year

Philidelphia 76ers
Protected - Michael Carter Williams, Evan Turner, Spencer Hawes, Thaddeus Young, Nerlens Noel, Tony Wroten, James Anderson, Darius Morris

Unprotected -
Lavoy Allen - $3.1 mil, 1 year
Brandon Davies - $500k, 1 year
Hollis Thompson - $500k, 1 year
Daniel Orton - $900k, 1 year
Arnett Moultrie - $1.1 mil, 2 years
Kwame Brown - $3 mil, 1 year

Phoenix Suns
Protected - Eric Bledsoe, Goran Gragic, Gerald Green, Markeiff Morris, Marcus Morris, Alex Len, Miles Plumlee, PJ Tucker

Unprotected -
Emeka Okafor - $14.5 mil, 1 year
Channing Frye - $6.4 mil, 2 years
Archie Goodwin - $1.1 mil, 2 years
Ishameal Smith - $1 mil, 1 year
Dionte Christmas - $500k, 1 year
Viacheslav Kravtsov - $1.5 mil, 1 year

Portland Trailblazers
Protected - LaMarcus Aldridge, Damian Lillard, Nicolas Batum, Wesley Matthews, Robin Lopez, Thomas Robinson, Mo Williams, CJ McCollum

Unprotected -
Joel Freeland - $3 mil, 2 years
Meyers Leonard - $2.2 mil, 2 years
Dorrell Wright - $3 mil, 2 years
Earl Watson - $1.4 mil, 1 year
Victor Claver - $1.3 mil, 2 years
Allen Crabbe - $800k, 3 years

Sacramento Kings
Protected - DeMarcus Cousins, Isaiah Thomas, Greivis Vasquez, Ben McLemore, Jason Thompson, Patrick Patterson, Marcus Thornton, Carl Landry

Unprotected -
Jimmer Fredette - $2.5 mil, 1 year
Travis Outlaw - $3 mil, 2 years
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute - $4.6 mil, 2 years
John Salmons - $7.5 mil, 1 year
Chuck Hayes - $5.8 mil, 2 years
Hamady N'Diaye - $900k, 1 year

San Antonio Spurs
Protected - Tony Parker, Kawhi Leonard, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Danny Green, Boris Diaw, Tiago Splitter, Marco Bellineli

Unprotected -
Matt Bonner - $4 mil, 1 year
Patrick Mills - $1.1 mil, 1 year
Nando De Colo - $1.5 mil, 1 year
Coy Joseph - $1.5 mil, 2 years
Jeff Ayres - $1.7 mil, 2 years
Aron Baynes - $800k, 1 year

Toronto Raptors
Protected - DeMar DeRozan, Jonas Valancuinas, Rudy Gay, Kyle Lowry, Terrance Ross, Amir Johnson, Tyler Hansborough, Landry Fields

Unprotected -



D.J Augustin - $1.2 mil, 1 year
Quincy Acy - $800k, 1 year
Dwight Buyucks - $700k, 1 year
Aaron Gray - $2.6 mil, 1 year
Austin Daye - $950k, 1 year
Steve Novac - $3.6 mil, 3 years


Utah Jazz
Protected - Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter, Alec Burks, Trey Burke, Marvin Williams, Brandon Rush, Rudy Gobert

Unprotected -
Richard Jefferson - $11 mil, 1 year
Andris Biedrins - $9 mil, 1 year
John Lucas - $1.6 mil, 2 years
Mike Harris - $900k, 1 year

Washington Wizards
Protected - John Wall, Bradley Beal, Otto Porter, Nene, Marcin Gortat, Trevor Ariza, Martell Webster, Jan Vesely

Unprotected -

Al Harrington - $1.4 mil, 1 year
Trevor Booker - $2.3 mil, 1 year
Kevin Seraphin - $2.7 mil, 1 year
Eric Maynor - $2 mil, 2 years
Glen Rice - $500k, 1 year


As I mentioned earlier, you also have the fourth pick in the 2014 draft which will be your 12th and final player. So please also include which player you will select from the likely prospects (check out NBADraft.net or Draftexpress.com if you aren't sure). However, using my crystal ball I have seen that the top 3 picks are Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle and Jabari Parker - thus they are unavailable.

If you have a problem with the players I have protected/unprotected from your team, let me know. Happy to change up the lists. I did a quick job but tried to factor in talent, salary, age, etc.

Post your fully assembled team below... Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

 

[CameronCrazy06]

Well put together. I have a couple of complaints about the list of protected players, I'll just put them in bullets:
 
- I don't get the logic of Brooklyn not protecting Joe Johnson; they're clearly in win-now mode.
- I think Chicago would protect either Tony Snell or Marquis Teague (more likely Snell) over Boozer who they are already seem to be trying to get rid of (amnesty?). In an expansion situation, a guy like Snell or Teague is FAR more likely to get drafted than Boozer because the expansion team is going to try to find cheap talent with the potential to grow rather than a large salary guy like Carlos, thus the Bulls would be more likely to dangle Carlos and protect their younger guys in hopes that the expansion team bites.
- Protecting almost-37-year-old Vince Carter expiring contract over Shane Larkin (18th overall draft pick) doesn't make much sense.
- I feel like the Pistons list probably also has flaws to it but I'll leave that for the actual Pistons' fans on here to decide, as they'd know better than I would.
- Definitely can't see the Heat leaving Udonis Haslem unprotected; I'd switch him with Birdman or Beasley.
- The Bucks are high on Gary Neal, he wouldn't go unprotected. Hard to say who to switch him with though.
- I'd switch Darius Morris with Arnett Moultrie (a first round pick) for the 76ers.
- Don't think the Blazers would want to part with Leonard that easily, I'd switch him with Mo Williams who is expendable when McCollum becomes healthy.
 
Also should point out that expansion teams have a smaller salary cap than the other teams for a few years, I think it's something like 2/3rds of it.

 

[Giantmetfan07]

PG: Pablo Priggioni - NYK
SG: Joe Johnson - BKN
SF: Luc Richard Mbah a Moute - SAC
PF:  Donatas Motiejunas - HOU
C: Emeka Okafor - PHX
 
Pick: C Joel Embiid
BN:  Gary Neal - SG - MIL
BN: Marshon Brooks - SG - BOS
BN: Shane Battier - SF - MIA
BN: Chauncey Billups - PG - DET
BN: Al Harrington - PF - WAS
BN: Nazr Mohammed - C - CHI
 
My team probably sucks, lol. 

 

[bosoxlover12]

G Joe Johnson
F Snell
G Neal
F/C Collison
F Bass
C Dieng
G Larkin
G Bazemore
F Ed Davis
C Motiejunas
G Marcus Smart


C: Collison
PF: Bass
SF: Snell
SG: Johnson
PG: Smart

 

[jonathanlambert33]

I think I would go for a blend of young talent that could possibly be developed, and a couple veterans.

PG: Robinson/Farmar/Teague
SG: Brooks/Karasov
SF: Budinger/Mbah a Moute
PF: Davis/Bass/Motiejunas
C: Pachulia/Leonard

And for the draft I would pick Dante Exum.

 

[bosoxlover12]

I think I would go for a blend of young talent that could possibly be developed, and a couple veterans.

PG: Robinson/Farmar/Teague
SG: Brooks/Karasov
SF: Budinger/Mbah a Moute
PF: Davis/Bass/Motiejunas
C: Pachulia/Leonard

And for the draft I would pick Dante Exum.

Aaron Brooks plays with Motiejunas, Marshon plays with Bass. You gotta fix something

 

[Mexi]

Pg. Jordan Farmar/Corey Joseph
Sg. Evan Fournier/Kent Bazemore/Glen Rice
Sf. Jae Crowder/Anthony Morrow
Pf. Jeff Adrien/Reggie Evans
C. Ekpe Udoh/Gorgui Dieng

Draft Exum

 

[bosoxlover12]

Adrien!!

 

[elcheato]

C: Channing Frye
PF: Al Harrington
SF: CJ Miles
SG: Evan Fournier
PG: Shaun Livingston
 
Bench:
PG: Nando De Colo
SF: Reggie Bullock
C: Miroslav Raduljica
SG: Archie Goodwin
SG: Dionte Christmas
PF/C: Kyle O'Quinn
 
Draft Joel Embiid

 

[Pugz]

shaun livingston
nate robinson
gerald wallace
ed davis
emeka okafor

steve nash
elton brand
dorrel wright
nick collison
devin harris
earl clark

marcus smart

 

[pels123]

Pg: Nate robinson/ Steve nash
Sg: Ben Gordon/ Sergey Karasev
Sf: Caron Butler/ Luc Richard Mbah A Moute
Pf: Al Harrington/ Donatas Montiejunas
C: Emeka Okafor/ Nick Collison
 
Pick- Dante Exum