If You Could Be An NBA GM...

(My hypothetical lineup)

Starters

24 32:30:00 Chris Paul (Noh) G $13,655,268

29 28:00:00 Mike Miller (Was) G $9,750,000 

24 30:10:00 Dwight Howard (Orl) C $15,133,800

27 34:30:00 Gerald Wallace (Cha) F $9,075,000

23 31:30:00 Al Horford (Atl) F $4,307,640

Bench

20 25:00:00 DeJuan Blair (Sa) $850,000

20 18:00:00 James Harden (Was) 4,004,160

22 18:00:00 Ty Lawson (Den) 1,438,680

27 25:00:00 Anderson Varejao (Cle) 6,300,000

Average roster age, 24 years; total payroll, $64,514,548; cap room, -$6,814,548.

Rules of the Game

Naturally, the salary cap was exceeded, though I managed to remain several million dollars shy of the tax threshold (set at $69,920,000 this year). Of course, as one can see, this is only a nine-man roster. Under the minimum league-wide roster agreement,

"...all NBA teams shall, in the aggregate, employ an average of no less than fourteen (14) players per team ."

However, the league also stipulates that any NBA team may have a minimum of eight (8) players on their bench for all regular season games.

My nine, clearly exceed the NBA minimum (8).

So, who would your starting five be? And who would you have coming off your bench? Assign minutes and explain your choices (why you made them? Etc...).

Take exceptions into consideration. For example, Howard, Paul, and Wallace (who was re-drafted by Charlotte) have all been with their clubs for more than three years. The three qualify as Bird Free Agents.

In essence, this exception allows you to exceed the salary cap, in order to re-sign your own free agents at up to the maximum salary, without fearing a hefty penalty.

You will be penalized however, if you happen to exceed the cap by large amounts (more specifically, the tax threshold).

Explaining My Picks    

...and minutes assigned.

Inexplicably, all my starters are on the floor fewer minutes than they're generally accustomed to (except for Mike Miller). But when looking at the productivity level of these players on a per-minute basis, it's no real surprise.

For one, this is an extremely dominant rebounding team. Looking at their 2008-09 statistics, the backcourt tandem of Paul and Miller would manage about 4.6 and 5.7 rebounds per game (in the allotted time frame I've given them). It would be relatively the same as saying that Paul and Miller averaged approximately 6.9 and 9.8 rebounds per 48 minutes, respectively.

Also, despite the reduction in playing time, Paul has never had such a high level of efficient players to contend with. Assists, being a naturally crude statistic, are entirely based on the recipient of a pass scoring. When players don't knock down shots, this severely hurts the passer's productivity.

In this case, Paul can continue doing what he does best, draw attention to himself and pass out of the defense. Can you imagine how much Horford and Howard would make team's pay for double/triple-teaming Paul?

And even if team's chose to double/triple-team Howard instead, Paul, Horford, and Wallace would equally make them pay. It's honestly a win-win situation.

Pros

Chris Paul should have an easier time scoring and assisting on plays. Howard can focus more on rebounding and blocking shots (his ball-handling should improve as well, as Paul will pick and choose the appropriate time to set him up).

Wallace can get back to his dominant 2005-06 form, doing what he did best, forcing turnovers. And DeJuan Blair's playing time will increase (as should his productivity).

Cons

Some of the players lose valuable minutes, which may have an adverse affect on their relation vis-a-vis the coaching staff. There's nothing like tension in a locker room to derail a team's chemistry.

Miller at Shooting Guard?

Choosing Miller at shooting guard and Wallace at small forward is largely due to financial constraints, but also due to the fact that Paul needs to dominate the ball in order to be effective (as do most point guards).

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, for example, are two athletes that similarly dominate the ball. Taking the ball out of his hands would certainly reduce Chris Paul's effectiveness and when you've got the best player in the league, you certainly don't want to reduce his output.

Besides, Miller is a very efficient shooting guard, having put up career averages of 46.3 percent from the field and 40.3 percent from three-point range (his percentage from beyond the arc isn't at all misleading either, as he's attempted 4.5 three-point shots per game, for his career).