Sir Charles in Charge
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NBA Offseason Wrap Up, Part 2: A Wild LeBron-less Eastern Conference

By Daniel Schmahl

BOSTON, MA - JANUARY 3: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Kyrie Irving #11 of the Boston Celtics look on during the second half at TD Garden on January 3, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - JANUARY 3: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Kyrie Irving #11 of the Boston Celtics look on during the second half at TD Garden on January 3, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 03: Kristaps Porzingis #6 of the New York Knicks reacts after a dunk in the fourth quarter against the Phoenix Suns at Madison Square Garden on November 3, 2017 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 03: Kristaps Porzingis #6 of the New York Knicks reacts after a dunk in the fourth quarter against the Phoenix Suns at Madison Square Garden on November 3, 2017 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) / 
TIER 5: WE DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON

Magic, Knicks, Hawks

There are a lot of reasons why the ’19 Magic, Knicks, and Hawks won’t be very good basketball teams. Most of those reasons have to do with who makes the personnel decisions. As I mentioned in the Nets segment, I am surprised all 30 teams don’t go all in on investing in an A+ front office.

Over the last decade, the growth of basketball analytics has made it a lot easier for front offices to identify talent and get the most out of it. They have also made contract negotiations, scouting, and injury prevention a hell of a lot easier. There is enough advanced data out there from enough different vendors for every team to use as some sort of baseline for success. In 2018, there is no such thing as a basketball theory.

Everything can be explained by analytics and everything can at least somewhat be represented by an absolute value. There has never been this many useful tools to assist in running a successful NBA team, all the more imperative why a great front office should be at the forefront of every franchise.

With the exception of the Cavs (who had LeBron), three of the final four teams from last year have exceptional front offices. The Warriors are famous for coining the light-years ahead phrase. And while Houston has let Mike D’Antoni revolutionize Moreyball, Danny Ainge has set his team up for the next decade through a plethora of savvy trades. Front offices matter a lot. You need the right people in place to properly utilize analytics and modern technology to the advantage of the franchise. If not, it could get caught in basketball’s version of a Stone Age.

In some way shape or form, that’s what has happened to these three teams. You can describe each of them as train wrecks. I don’t believe any of them are anywhere close to 100% confident in the direction of their franchise. In the Knicks case, another five years of bottom feeding might send Stephen A. Smith into cardiac arrest.

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