Gonna take a stab at some pre-season power rankings. It's too hard to do a straight rankings with new teams and offseason transfers so I'm going to group teams by tiers, and I am fully aware that half of these will look terrible in a month or two.
League Favorite: Alaska Alphas
I consistently predicted Alaska to do well last season and they just kept letting me down... For Nick's sake, let's hope they break that trend this season. They kept their team together after the salary increases of their 3 trainees and are in a true make-or-break season. Those 3 guards spearhead a strong team that is complemented with good rotation players in the frontcourt. After Rhino's promoted and Finisher sold off, Alaska rises to the top by default
Circle of Contenders: Kirkwood Hawks, ExplosiveBubbleWrap, BU Terriers
The line of differentiation between this tier and the next one is thin and I think will look very different by the end of the season. I feel good about Kirkwood here having the 2nd highest salary in the league and making the semi-finals last season. EBW is coming up from D3 so I have less of a feel for them but already has one of the higher salary teams. BU sold off one of their top players but still have a very good top 4. We will see if that's is a legacy pick or if they are still strong without Cardenas
Playoff Posse: LA Lions, Mill City Thunder, Puff Puff Pass, NY Chunks, Serene Wolves
Most of these teams have stayed the same from last season but expect better results as the league weakens around them. I thought Puff Puff Pass was much better than their record last year, especially after adding a new SG late in the season. I expect them and NY Chunks to bounce back from being in relegation series to be in the thick of the Big 8 playoff fight. Serene Wolves is my sleeper pick, they are one of the lowest salary teams but have some very salary-efficient SFs and some young trainees who may provide some punch later in the season.
Fight to Stay Up: NY Nugs, EDH Wolves, White Mambas, Finisher23, 10inch Vertical
This group has some hard to predict teams, a few could easily jump up a tier with a TL splurge. NY Nugs and Finisher23 were the two best teams last season in the Great 8 but both have sold off. Finisher is hoping the new GE tweaks favor a heliocentric offense led by Bucetta, but they don't have much depth behind him. NY Nugs has their top 2 players on the TL. We will see if they sell, and if they do, will Coach Nuggets choose to rebuild or reload... EDH was my rival in D3 2 seasons ago, I'm glad to see they made it up. They had a very good D3 team but I think they'll need to buy some reinforcements to compete up here.
Relegation Station: Goggily Dolls, Forza Jazz
Looks like both of these teams are packing it in and focusing on training this season. If that stays true, it means there are 5 teams in the Great 8 that will stay up and won't have to worry about an injury tanking their relegation series.