Power Rankings 7/15: Into the Great Wide Open

A lengthy off-season has finally concluded, and there are now two more teams in the league. In this edition of the Power Rankings, the Koality Times grades each team's off-season, while providing a sneak peek at what we can expect from them this season. I'm Cyclops Inc., and this is the Koality Times' Power Rankings. 1. Chicago Blues Last Year's Finish: Champions

Notable Additions: Sergio Fric, Rajah Rose, John Rodriguez

Notable Departures: Collin Randall

Grade: A-. The Blues did not do a whole lot to improve their roster, but they didn't really need to. The most important task for them this off-season was re-signing all three pieces of their core in Zoulou, Yensid and Jaga C, and they did so successfully. With those three on the roster plus Aaron Fiedelak, they are sure to contend for a title once again. They get dinged to an A- because of their blackballing of Jason Garcia and acquisition of a number of unproven guards.

2. San Diego Surf Last Year's Finish: N/A

Notable Additions: The Entire Team Notable Departures: N/A

Grade: A. The Surf have positioned themselves to contend for years to come thanks to shrewd picks in the expansion draft, and may have gotten the best player in the amateur draft in Joey Bas. I would have liked them to have added a couple extra players in free agency, and they whiffed hard there, but they boast arguably the most well-rounded starting line-up in the league and can be expected to contend for the West's crown right off the bat. 3. Portland Roses Last Year's Finish: Finals Appearance

Notable Additions: Justin Taylor, Mikey Williams, Sage Jackson, Jay Da God

Notable Departures: Thomas Shoffner

Grade: B. The Roses gambled big on Jordan Frazier and Vun Brunson by choosing to protect them instead of Thomas Shoffner despite their expiring contracts, and it paid off, as both re-upped on lucrative deals for two and three years each. Shoffner, however, was immediately scooped up by the Surf, and is set to play a starring role on the team most likely to compete with the Roses for the West's crown-- and, coincidentally, the team the Roses meet to start the season. Elsewhere in the off-season, the Roses added much needed depth via the draft and free agency, most notably Justin Taylor, a lob-catching forward set to fill the forward spot left vacant by Shoffner. The depth will help, but the Roses are a raw team now missing one of its key pieces from last year. Time will tell how able they are to contend.

4. Boston Charms

Last Year's Finish: Conference Finals

Notable Additions: Marcus Nobles, Clement Hamel, Noel Stoner, Syndor Drago

Notable Departures: Maxwell Goodson, Hanamichi Sakuragi

Grade: B-. It was always going to be a challenge to return all three pieces of the Big Three when all three were up for contract, but the Charms performed admirably by bringing back arguably the two most important pieces in Anthony Bridges and Just Jaos. Those two alone are probably enough to make the Charms contenders for the East's crown once again, but the Charms added some important pieces to the line-up as well, including the veteran guard Marcus Nobles and rookie forwards Clement Hamel and Noel Stoner. To me, however, sharpshooter Syndor Drago will be key to their success, as Jaos and Bridges cannot be expected to shoulder all of the offensive load for the duration of the season. I was not a huge fan of the Hamel pick, but it adds depth, something the Charms now boast arguably the most of in the league.

5. Houston Cosmos

Last Year's Finish: 3rd in West

Notable Additions: Maxwell Goodson, Pierre Brodeur, The Captain, Gozie Nwosu

Notable Departures: Piotr Vesely, Nathan Tucker

Grade: B+. The Cosmos, as always, remain an enigma. Gifted with boatloads of cap space and no expiring free agents, they were one of the teams best equipped for free agency, and they capitalized on the opportunity, acquiring the #1 available free agent in Maxwell Goodson. Goodson, however, was a curious addition, as they had already drafted surefire future superstar Pierre Brodeur at his center position. Perhaps Brodeur will instead slot in at the four, replacing the departed Piotr Vesely, who was often described as the soul of the team and will be sorely missed. That honor, however, seems more likely to go to Gozie Nwosu, their second round selection who looks like a potential steal. Will the Cosmos contend? True to their inscrutable nature, it is impossible to say. All that can be said for sure is that they look more primed to do so than last season-- at least on paper, that is.

6. Los Angeles Stars

Last Year's Finish: Conference Finals

Notable Additions: Julius Carter, Tone Show, Collin Adams, Kyron Hickman Notable Departures: Adam Driver, Timothy Lynch, Jasper Calandra IV

Grade: C+. It's clearly all about Polan Stronk for the Stars, who have made clear he is the future of the franchise. That said, they have made some interesting decisions in their attempts to construct a championship caliber team around him. They spent a lot of money on defense-first forward Julius Carter to replace the departed Timothy Lynch, and they let Jasper Calandra IV walk, replacing him with Kyron Hickman, a curious decision. They added more quality depth to a team that desperately needed it, as highlighted by their blowout loss to Portland last year, but they are still thin at the guard spot and look at least a year away from true contention, particularly considering the stacked nature of the west.

7. St. Louis Archers

Last Year's Finish: N/A

Notable Additions: The entire team

Notable Departures: Jasper Calandra IV

Grade: C. The off-season was a mixed bag for the nascent Archers franchise, who made some really solid picks in the expansion draft as well as the amateur draft, then saw one of those expansion picks walk over a contract dispute, and whiffed on every free agent they were in contention for. Even so, they boast one of the most solid line-ups in the league, and are dark horse contenders for the East's crown. They lack depth, however, and their thin bench may put a ceiling on the team.

8. San Francisco Quakes

Last Year's Finish: 4th in West

Notable Additions: Darth Jor-El, Dizzy Michaels, Lamarcus Howard, Harry Mason

Notable Departures: Tyrone Jackson, Marcus Nobles, A J, Thomas Barnes

Grade: A-. I really like what the Quakes did with their off-season for the most part. They entirely pushed the reset button, ridding themselves of multiple aging veterans, and replaced them with fresh young faces, most prominently Darth Jor-El, who is far and away the best player in the rookie class and has Hall of Fame potential. I would have liked to see them trade either Percy Snow or Samuel James or both, as those two will keep them afloat this year, but they are clearly not contenders and look primed for another top pick. In a few years, though, watch out for the Quakes. This team has arguably the brightest future in the league.

9. New York Empire

Last Year's Finish: 3rd in East

Notable Additions: Jasper Calandra IV, Jon Rahm, Fred Fredericks, Jesus James

Notable Departures: Scottie Thompson, Ben Allen

Grade: C-. And you may ask yourself, well, how did I get here? That's what the Empire are probably doing right about now. They lost two of their best four players over the off-season after bizarrely not protecting them during the expansion draft, drafted two renditions of the same sharpshooting guard in Jon Rahm and Fred Fredericks, re-signed a mediocre player to the largest deal in league history and then added yet another sharpshooting playmaker in Jasper Calandra IV, all while entirely not addressing the forward position. Does anyone have the faintest idea what they are doing? Do they even know? The Empire are in a state of flux, and they could be anywhere from great to meh. Cedric Hardwicke being on the roster guarantees at least 10 wins, but who can say beyond that.

10. Miami Tides

Last Year's Finish: 4th in East

Notable Additions: Jason Garcia, Zach Vega, Lamarr Chambers, Brieuc Massicad

Notable Departures: Eddie Dale, Julius Carter, G.P. Wood

Grade: D+.It is set to be a long, long season in South Beach. They rid themselves of disgruntled star Eddie Dale via the expansion draft, meaning they got nothing in return for a perennial MVP and DPOY candidate. They let Cacio Way walk, but he came crawling back after receiving no other offers. They added some exciting young pieces, but Lamarr Chambers was a baffling pick at #2 and it will likely come back to haunt them that they did not select Joey Bas or any of a number of other players. Miami is set to be the worst team in the league by a wide margin, but it still has some exciting young pieces. They will be fun to watch at times, but can't be expected to win more than 10 games.