Post by Tigertecz on Jan 26, 2010 13:18:40 GMT -5
Welcome to the third UOSLR Tiger’s Den. The Den returns to the familiar format of seeing what GM’s have up their sleeves for their own team, and move on to league-wide related questions. And as usual there are a few questions that’ll cause some debate while the final question is meant to be a random as hell one that’s thrown in there to lighten up the article a bit more.
Thanks go out to Broph, Marty, Krup, Play, Styro and Tmaczdaddy for replying with their answers. Everyone gave some good insight into their thoughts and hopefully others will enjoy reading about them! I’ve added in my own comments in response to answers given too.
Without further ado, here it is![/i][/color]
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1) How do you feel about the state of your team at the moment?
Brophdog88[/i]
I love the state of my team, I have everything I think I need to win a title, but I still think I may need one or two more years for Al Jeff to fully develop. Luol is very promising, and if he develops well I will have my starting SF when Honey expires. Hodge is looking like he could be a good 1-3 backup, he has a B defense at all three positions, and had a very nice TC. Stevenson makes for an excellent Point Guard, and obviously Vince Carter is an amazing scorer, and plays a bit better than his defensive rating suggests. I really don’t think I can contend for a title this year, but I am fine with that. My team is set up for the future, and the present, but I don’t see getting past all of the East contenders and then beating the west’s best. Al Jeff is still a bit inefficient from the field, but his blocks might help me, and I am a dominant rebounding team, with three starters averaging 9.7 rebounds or more.
tmaczdady
Right now, I'm just trying to build around Deron Williams and this high draft pick I will have in the upcoming draft. Then maybe sign some nice FA's down the road, and we'll be ready. Still got a long ways to go still to compete, but we're getting there. Not sure if I want Gasol to be part of my plans. If he asks for a non-max contract then I would love to build around him and Deron.
Styro
I'm very optimistic about my team. I have Josh Howard, Larry Hughes, and Rudy Gay locked up past this year. Along with the young core, i've found a way to free up enough cap to go after a star in the offseason. I'm not happy the way the season has turned out so far, but the last sim gave me a little bit of hope. My plan was to get as high a pick as i possibly could, so being in the middle of the pack isn't sitting well with me right now. I'm coming off a 3-7 sim though, so hopefully it's a sign of things to come. I Definitely plan on being a factor in the playoff race next year.
Krup
The Milwaukee Bucks are as strong as ever. In the offseason I knew it was imperative that changes needed to be made in order to have the continued success of the franchise in addition to our ambition of winning a championship this season. Jerald Honeycutt was a player I sought after for years and it stinks I only got to keep him for a short time in addition to knowing the Kevin Martin is and will be even more of a special player in the future but adding a guy like Ronnie Fields is awesome. He is a proven winner who can do it all on both ends of the floor. I'm a huge fan of versatility and he offers me exactly that. After making that trade I knew I was still a little thin in terms of depth in case of an injury or just purely foul trouble in one game so I overpaid a bit to get the services of Jay Williams who I was trying to acquire since he was in Seattle. I also got another shot blocker in Cisse who has quietly built up a little reputation for being a very good defender. I think its championship or bust in beer town.
Marty
I actually thought I was going to be competitive this season so being the 2nd or 3rd worst team in the league is disappointing, though I can’t say I’m surprised. I have no frontcourt presence at all but I’m in a fairly good situation.
My two franchise players Dajuan Wagner and Tony Parker are both 23 and under, signed to long term deals and both have plenty of Its and RCs left to boost their stats which bewilders me as to why previous GMs never spent any time building these guys up. Tack on the fact that both are signed to long term deals makes my future look really good.
Play
I love my team at the moment. MIllsap is a monster, Okafor is great on the defensive end and Harris is on his way to becoming one of the best PG's in the league. Next TC is very crucial for us. If my big 3 have good TC's we could become a contender out West. My only weakness would have to be at the SF/SG positions. I need to add a scorer at either one of those positions. I hope we can grab 40 this season but with the West having a great off season its looking tough.
2) What does the future hold for your team? What's your plan for the next 3-5 seasons?
Brophdog88[/i]
Hopefully a title. I am happy with how my team sits now for the future, it is really strong. Luol looks like he will be a solid starter, and with Al Jeff, Vince and Deshawn, I don’t need anymore than that. As I said before I like how Hodge looks as a backup. I don’t necessarily being a good starter, but off the bench I think he will be solid. I will need to find a backup in the post, and I could really use some steals, cause I am very poor at creating turnovers. I don’t see many steals coming from the players I have currently, and that could very well be a problem. Luol is getting 1 a game in 25.2 minutes, so maybe he can develop that portion of his game. Best of all is I have extra picks still. I sent two picks to the Rockets and one to the Nuggets, but, I have my picks from 2009 on, which makes it so I have options come then.
tmaczdady:
In the near future, I don't see much but losses. It'll be a couple more years until we are ready to compete. I want to rebuild this year and next, and then hopefully I will be ready to compete for a championship.
Styro
I feel like my future is bright. Even though Chris Bosh hasn't exactly developed the way I and everyone else thought he would, i still like the other players I've surrounded him with. Larry Hughes is my oldest core player, at only 26, so there's nowhere to go but up. I might have to make some moves in the off-season though with my contract year quickly approaching, so i wouldn't be surprised if many of my current core players are somewhere else by the end of the off-season. Unfortunately, I can't sit on this team for much longer.
Krup
The future plans for the Milwaukee Bucks is win, win, and win some more. We're all about keeping the dynasty in place and if that means retooling then so be it but rebuild isn't in our vocabulary. I don't know when my next draft pick is, seriously I don't. Laugh it up! I'm aging slightly but we should remain very competitive for the next few seasons but that hard cap will ultimately be our demise. I'm hoping to have some modest last chance offers before free agency. Please!
Marty
To add to the comments above, having all my picks helps. I am heading for a top 5 pick this season to add to Wagner and Tony Parker. I think David Lee at this point seems like a bust but again, with ITs and RCs I think I can build him up into a solid 4 or even 5. I have multiple future picks from the Jazz and the Knicks as well as some cap space coming up in the offseason. I am in no danger of being in my CY so I think after this season I can look at competing. I have plenty of pieces to trade away to build up my team as well.
Play[/i]
My team is very young and I feel next year barring a horrible TC we could compete. My plan for the next 3-5 seasons would have to be going for a title. I'll be the the first to admit that so far I've sucked in this version of UOSL. But with the great talent on my roster we should be in the thick of things going forward.
3) If you could swap teams with any other in the league, which would you take and why?
Brophdog88[/i]
I would have to say the Los Angeles Lakers. Lebron looks amazing, and I love Chauncey, since I was the one that traded him to him. I am not the biggest fan of Jermaine O’Neal, he underperforms offensively, and Alonzo is getting up there in age, but Lebron looks to be the soon to be best player in the league. Rip Hamilton is a stud, plain and simple, quite underrated, and Chauncey is an excellent Point Guard. They have some depth issues, but its not terrible, and not unsolvable. Really LeBron is the reason to want that team though, he is amazing now, a bit underperforming, but he is still developing.
tmaczdady
I would definietly go with the New Jersey Nets. I mean, right now they are 31-14, but some of there players have yet to reach their prime. SCARY. That's a team that will compete for a championship next 5 years+ if everything goes according to plan. I don't know how broph did it, but getting Jefferson/Deng/Diop/Carter/Honey/Stevenson was something that won't be done again in a while.
Styro
I think I'd probably want to swap with the Kings. I hate having, ready-made teams so Kings provide me with the type of challenge I look forward too. I'm attracted to teams who suck, but have nice young players and that's exactly what the Kings have. I'd love the opportunity to have Dajuan and Tony on my team in addition to a top 5 pick. It would also give me a little more time before I reached my contract year, so the situation is almost ideal.
Krup
Well in terms of swapping with another team thats pretty hard to say because there are some awesome teams out there and there is definitely a great amount of interestingly built teams as well. I love the Lakers and what they've done with their franchise. They've ultimately built a model team that is well balanced and solid 1-5 offensively and defensively. I also like the Grizzlies a lot because the future is bright there even though I wasn't too excited when he parted ways with AK and J-Smith. However if I could swap with one team I'd pull a Bill Parcells and take a broken down franchise and build from the ground up. Ironically the most depressing team out there resides in Seattle. I'd like to bring some sunshine there. So yea Sonics it is.
Marty
I wouldn’t swap my team for a single team in the league. I think I have the brightest future out of anyone here outside of the Lakers and the Grizzlies.
Play[/i]
I would take the Lakers. They have no weakness and LeBron is going to be a monster.
Tigertecz: Lakers are the majority pick here and I can’t disagree. I think LeBron is the obvious attraction but you can’t look past the fact they have a bunch of other very talented players who are in their prime right now and playing some great ball. Next to the Lakers I like the look of New Jersey too. Both have franchise players and great talented vets surrounding them. Surprised the Grizzlies didn’t get more love too.[/i][/color]
4) The Raptors are in a bit of pickle. They currently sit rock bottom in the East, yet have superstar power in the form of Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki and Grant Hill. Stephon Marbury ain't no slouch neither. What's going wrong with Toronto?
Brophdog88[/i]
Depth and the lack of a 5th starter. That team is very very shallow, and I have never been a fan of KG, he always has underperformed compared to his ratings. He looks like he should be an amazing player, but in reality, scoring wise he has always been very inefficient. He jacks up a ton of shots but misses them. Steph is overpaid, and ok as a PG but not really a good starter, his TO’s are high and assists only solid. They play defense below their ratings and offense well below as well. FG% wise they are piss poor, as well as defensively, cause they are getting killed by other teams depth. Get one of KG or Dirk in foul trouble and its game over.
tmaczdady
To be honest, I'm not really sure. It could be that they lack the firepower off the bench. It could be the pace of the offense. It doesn't look like they have one problem that will fix it all, seems like a mix of things. I've never seen a team with the talent they have (Dirk/KG/Hill/Marbury) suck so bad. Weird.
Styro
That's a tough one. It seems they have all the talent necessary to compete in the East especially with some of the East playoff teams being below .500, but for some reason they've only managed to muster 18 wins. The GM has tried almost every dc imaginable and none seem to work. He just reached his contract year last year, so 4 years remaining before his contract is up, could have a lot to do with it. It's hard to tank with that kind of firepower but i wouldn't put it past the Raptors GM, to tank. Trading some of those big contracts for rebuilding pieces might seem like a better option though. It's a luxury to have all that trade value even if you are playing poorly, the GM has a lot of flexibility as far as trading goes.
Krup
I think Saga has really struggled to identify his team's strengths and really try to formulate a game plan and sticking with it. It's really tough to decide whether your DC has worked or hasn't worked within 5 days (not even 5 games). I also think a lot has to do with playing guys out of their natural positions. Grant Hill isn't a SG, I know this because he played in Milwaukee for most of his career. He's also past his prime and isn't a true #1 or even #2 option. He also has two the game's best step out big men in KG and Dirk yet he hasn't tried outside focus once this season. Slow up the tempo to get better looking shots for your option guys and run outside. Troy Murphy fell into his lap and fits his scheme perfectly. Run KG, Dirk, Hill, RJ, and Marbury with Murph backing up 3,4,5. If all else fails get creative and run super slow with Hill at PG. What do you have to lose?
Marty
The Raptors just lack a good GM to be honest. Saga was extremely lucky last season to benefit from a numerous amount of tanking teams, he was extremely reluctant to trade his youth for most of last season and almost missed the CY because of it. He seems extremely reluctant to trade at all. Marbury is the most overrated player in the game for his contract. Grant Hill is a shadow of his former self and Dirk and KG are just going to waste on that team. He needs to be more proactive with his trading.
Play
Going over Saga's DC, It's obvious he needs to get Garnett more involved in the offense...I have no clue why he's a 3rd option on the Raptors.
Tigertecz: I still don’t understand how that team is doing so poorly with the talent they have available. Sure, Marbury’s not a superstar, but KG, Dirk and Hill really are up there, so I can’t see how they haven’t put more wins together. With RJ on board maybe the situation will change, but personally I don’t think he’s all that much of a game changer. Still not hit his peak yet. Whoever has the Raptors pick must be happy anyway.[/i][/color]
5) Following on from question 4, if you were the Raptors GM right now, what would you do with the team?
Brophdog88[/i]
There are two ways to go really, blow it up, I am sure he could get his picks back for both of them, or do exactly what he did and find a fifth starter, and some bench help. R-Jeff should be solid as a fifth starter, and funnily enough, Toronto sits only 4.5 games back of the eighth spot in the playoffs, and that is an eight seed I am sure nobody would want to face. Kg has field goal percentage issues, but with how far extend out Toronto is pick wise, I think he is going to have to look at FA to help him. He’ll have R-Jeff for a few more years, and an MLE and some other solid depth and he should be good to go. At least hanging on til he has his own picks. He did what he had to do to make his Contract year, so now he just has to survive to do a proper rebuild, where his number one overall doesn’t take five years to figure shit out. I think though I would have played Dirk at SF and Kg at PF, and switched those around some. KG has sexy ratings, but he isn’t a Center, just doesn’t have the skills really.
tmaczdady
N/A
Styro
As i mentioned before, there are a lot of ways he can go. He has the pieces to acquire rebuilding pieces and the assets, mainly his pick, to acquire one more star and make a run next year. If i were him, i'd probably do the ladder. Other than Grant Hill, all his core players are under the age of 30, so it doesn't necessarily make a whole lot of sense to completely blow it up. He has everyone locked up past this year so going for it all next year doesn't seem like a bad option. You can't knock him either way, I'm sure he'll do well either way.
Krup
I think I sort of answered that question already but I'll dive into it further. If I'm Saga I keep giving it a go if not I'd start selling some pieces to try and retool. Marbury must carry some value somewhere and in my opinion he's a bit overrated so I'd deal him while he has some value. In addition to trying to part ways with Grant Hill. He should have talked to Boston while he was still in his contract year before he skipped town.
Marty
I covered this question for the most part with #4 but I guess adding to that. He needs to add a good 1, Marbury shoots a horrible percentage and just won’t cut it. Not having a true 5 hurts as well. What I don’t understand is why he doesn’t run with KG at the 5, Dirk at the 4, Hill at the 3, Marbury at the 2, and running with Boykins at the 1. He doesn’t experiment with his DC enough. There are a lot of cheap options at PG available that he can easily trade for with expirings but again he’s the DJ of UOSLR(ironically both are GMs of the Toronto Raptors) both like to sit on their teams and just build up through youth but in this case he has no youth. Does he need to blow up his team? Probably not he doesn’t have any of his own picks, and the team that does is a horrible GM as well and doesn’t have anything remotely close of value to offer so adding depth to an otherwise good team is the only option if only he would bother doing so.
Play
I would go with a lineup of Murphy/KG/Dirk/Hill/Marbury for now with Jefferson coming off the bench. If he wanted to trade someone...I would try to move KG/Dirk for a legit SG and move Hill back to SF.
Tigertecz: I thought people would’ve read ahead with this question lol and split their answers up a little more. My bad for the question I suppose. But anyway, me personally, I would move RJ for a more established star and make a push for 8th seeds. Nobody would want to face this team in the first round and with a Playoff Spot going for less than .500 out East for a change, I can’t see it being out of reach. KG has always had nice ratings but always underachieved (Blazers are a prime example), so I’d also consider moving him, but not sure what his trade value is like. Wouldn’t move Dirk at all, and I have a soft spot for Starbury so would keep him on board lol… not that anyone else would want him anyway.[/i][/color]
6) The Boston Celtics GM recently quit while in his contract year. What do you think about this and if he hadn't quit, would he have survived anyway? Why/why not?
Brophdog88[/i]
He wasn’t going to survive, I killed that team with J-Rich….He told me quite some time ago, like November or something that he was probably going to step down when his child comes, I think in March if I recall correctly, but he really wanted to go out on a high note. Obviously he realized that he was done after the J-Rich trade failed, and had been pretty shitty and figured he would go out then since Kru called him out. He went out pretty shitty really, probably should of hung around and tried, but really this was his second time in his tenure in the Cy, and he never had a winning record in his time here…made the playoffs once and that took MJ, and he barely made it in, of course he beat me in the first round, but whatever. He might have been able to make something happen with his picks and Hinrich and Iggy, but in reality, he was going to have a tough time catching up. I honestly thought Jason Richardson’s struggles were just a result of me having two dominant scorers, but J-Rich has turned out not to be the same player as he was the last two years. Boozer was a nice FA pickup, but in reality, he is still a 20-10 player with poorer FG%’s, and not enough to get it done this year. Could K-Mart turn the team around when he comes back? Maybe, but both his PG’s were very turnover prone, and one of them went to me in the J-Rich deal, which makes it kinda tough to say he was gonna get it together, as Hinrich has played like shit this season turning the ball over a lot, scoring very poorly and turning the ball over. Play must be salivating at the thought of having that pick though, not to mention his own. What killed Boston though was letting go Zhi Zhi Wang, as a second round pick, you have to keep those second rounders around, especially if they go early. Worst case they end up terrible, and they fill your roster very cheaply…but best case you have a Wang or Preira, and the worst case isn’t bad enough to give up a shot at the best case. In reality although the way he went out wasn’t necessarily pretty, it was probably best overall for the league. As ashes said if 100 posts is a chore, you probably shouldn’t be here.
tmaczdady
I don't really mind his decision. It's probably better for the league that the Celtics have a better GM. If he had stayed, I think there's no way he gets to 40 wins. IMO, trading for J-Rich was an awful deal for them. Deng will win you just as many games as Jrich. That deal also hurts the next GM of the Celtics.
Styro
I think it's a cowardly move. He made some moves during the off-season and early in the season in order to try and make his team better, but once he realized his team was still in poor shape, he decided to leave. I think if he would have left earlier in the year, a gm could have turned that team around and made the playoffs this year, considering the last playoff spot is being held by a team well under .500. Change is needed for that team and i doubt the previous Celtics GM would have been able to fulfill his contract to be honest. He made too many desperation moves and basically left the future gm without any picks. A new gm is needed in order for the Celtics to make any type of noise in the future.
Krup
I swear I'm not reading ahead on these questions. Great timing. He was obviously going to get canned. I wish I was on ESPN right now and could have a nifty little graph pop up from behind me with LakersGM's history as a GM. He was probably the worst GM ever in the history of UOSLR. Yes, even worse than Marty. I know we all didn't think that was possible but it was. He did run into terrible luck as the Beast they call the East was so dominant in this league for so long (mostly in the central holla!). It's no excuse though if he was bad for that long he should have pulled in some pretty good talent and built something formidable.
Marty
Look at his record, no. Took to long to make any moves, should have been making moves before the start of the season. To many of these guys in their CY want to wait until TC to trade away their youth which is stupid. So what you trade away a rookie who blows up in TC, he wasn’t going to help you beat the CY anyways. I think if you’re good, it’s impossible to be in the CY in this league. You have essentially 4 seasons to win 40 or make playoffs before your in your CY, if you can’t do that you shouldn’t be in this league anyways.
Play[/i]
I told Ashes to fire him a month ago. He would have not survived the contract year because he sucks. He really had no interest in UOSLR.
Tigertecz: I agree with the consensus here. It was a shady move and I can’t see how he’d stay afloat in his contract year anyway. He never really established his team and always failed to impress. J-Rich won’t help the team either and I think after he realized this it was too late and he just backed out. Tango sucka, imo.[/i][/color]
7) If you had to fire someone right now, who would it be? Name and shame them then tell us why!
Brophdog88[/i]
Hmm..Fire one Gm right now. Well I am going to have to say DB…but just for his sake, he is correct the Knicks are cursed, and I would like to see him on a team that doesn’t roll over and die when put under pressure. He has made some good moves, but things haven’t worked out for whatever reason. Marion left him,T-Mac died, its just odd. If I had to choose a GM seriously to be fired, well I can’t think of one, so I would have to go DB with a mercy firing
tmaczdady
I think it'd be between marty and mops. I can't even remember the last time those two GM's seriously competed for a championship. Not saying I'm MUCH better, but those two GM's just have never been able to compete for a ship. I think the Kings and Nuggets are two of the worst teams in league history thanks to them.
Styro
I would have said Celtics, but he was just fired, so hmmm...That's a tough one. I'd have to say Jeb. Not sure if it's so much his fault, or chippers, but that team looks like it's in bad shape. They lost Shareef to free agency and they haven't really made moves one way or the other. They seem stuck in mediocrity with a bunch of 30 year old players. It seems like a rebuild is necessary and i'm surprised he hasn't utilized the fact he has 4 years left on his contract. Nash can easily leave this summer and that's just going to make him worse. Might as well start trading some of these players before they're de-valued or leave. He doesn't have his picks for the next two years so getting those for some of his older players is something he should start looking into. I don't see him lasting long if he remains stagnant.
Krup
I'd probably fire Zyme. He took over a Blazers team who was on the verge of being a "contender" and he made some questionable moves to "go for it" and then tore it down faster than baghdad. In the process he left himself without his own draft pick and his cap situation isn't in sync with his rebuilding process. Take into consideration he isn't ready to compete next season yet he has to resign both Nene and Navarro which should come at no discount. Assuming that Spreewell doesn't hang it up then he leaves himself with no cap space to be a player in the market with. He should have dealt both for future picks, his own pick, or players on rookie deals longer than 3 seasons. He hasn't been nearly proactive enough to right the ship in Portland and it isn't going to be any easier now that the power has shifted to the west to make it a very top heavy conference.
Marty
I dunno there’s a handful of people that are absolutely atrocious. There are those GMs that constantly sit on bad teams and then there are those GMs that go from rebuilding, to “contending”, to rebuilding in the SAME season.
Play
Mops, he had the chance to have a core of Butler, Stevenson, and Ridnour and he fucked that up. Also, Mops offers the most retarded trades in the league and he always end up getting butt fucked in the end.
8) There are lots of good teams in the league right now, with an apparent shift in the balance of power over to the West. Who will take it all this season and who will they beat in the finals?
Brophdog88[/i]
I think that this year it’s the Bucks that are gonna take it all. The East still has some pretty big power, and while the Grizzlies are amazing, they still have a weakness at the PG position, and there are some very good Point Guards out there. Now, I would say odds on favorite is them, but I still like the way the Bucks look, and the way they match up. Its going to take amazing guards to get past them, and Fields, Iverson, Allen is pretty damn nice. Not to mention I feel as though there may be a challenge from within the conference in Los Angeles and the Warriors. I would never put it past Preira to take a team to the finals, and I actually think he will take GSW to the finals, but I think the magic stops against a solid Bucks team top to bottom. I have an issue with the Bucks backup PG, Jay Williams starting at PG last year was the reason the Supersonics started off 1-9 or whatever it was, but maybe off the bench he can perform better.
tmaczdady
I think that the real two teams to consider in the west are the warriors and the grizzlies. I don't see any other team in the west giving that much competition in the playoffs(unless of injuries). I think that Priera and Sjax will be too much to handle for the Grizz and that they will go to the finals. Ew the east. What happened? I gotta say I like the Nets in the east. They have tough competition against Magic/Bucks, but their talent level is hard to beat. So Warriors vs Nets in the finals. Warriors will win in 4 or 5. Just don't think the East can compete with the West. Give the Nets a another year or so and they would win this matchup.
Styro
The Magic look like they might have the best team overall at the moment. Statistically they look like the favorites to win it all, but i would be surprised if the Warriors managed to win it. They have the biggest difference maker in the league in Etienne Preira, so playing them in the playoffs is very dangerous. They are probably the last team you want to see 'cause of Preira. Preira helps form the best 1-2 combo in the league along with Stephen Jackson, that might be all they need to make a deep run in the playoffs. It's going to be tough, but they are my early favorites at the moment.
Krup
LOL I keep leading into the next question. Well done Tiger. I do think that there has been a slight power shift into the West. The Lakers, Grizzlies, and Warriors are all elite team who have championship potential. I'd hate to be a 4-8 seed in that conference. Right after that the T-Wolves and Suns are no slouches either and the Clippers if they were more active in building up their franchise they could be very lethal too with Arenas and Ming. The East is still very strong though. The Knicks are the sleeper team there while the Magic, Bucks, Nets, and Heat round off a solid group of contenders. The east is still probably deeper in terms of lotto team talent. The Pistons, Raptors, and Hawks are all very talented yet struggling teams.
Marty
It’s going to be the Grizzlies vs. Nets in the Finals. Grizzlies win.
Play
Grizzlies will beat the Bucks in the finals. My dark-horse would be the Nets. I love what Broph has done in New Jersey.
Tigertecz: I think we’re due for a West powerhouse to take it, and I can’t see anyone taking out the Warriors in 7 games unless S-Jax and Preira are injured. Those two are just too good. The only team I see coming close to beating them would be the Grizzlies though, as it’ll be interesting to see how Chandler and Mihm will face up to Wang and Duncan… I’d be tempted to play Preira as a big, but we’ll see. S-Jax should be too much for Wade imo. In the East I’m going to go with the very balanced Magic to make it to the Finals. Not that much love for them at the moment, but their record doesn’t lie. I think the Nets are a season or two away from that status for now, and the Bucks will run the Magic close. Miami’s doing well right now but are punching above their weight imo. Basically… GSW over Orlando in the final.[/i][/color]
9) Lots of teams have won a ring and have that one * while the Hornets have two. The Bulls were the first team to get 3. Which team do you think will be the next to get 3 and why?
Brophdog88[/i]
Well, as I said I think the Bucks pick up number two this year, Spencer is in a rebuilding stage, so I think that puts him out of the equation, leaving it to two teams, cause I think the Grizz are in great position to pick up two very soon. I would have to say that the Grizz are more likely to win two than anybody else so it would have to be them. Even if the Bucks win this year, he has some contract issues coming up, and the Grizz are still young and promising with a sick set of posts. I would bet he wins two very soon, before Kru does and Spencer comes back.
tmaczdady
I like the Grizzlies. They already have a 'ship, and I thin they should get another withing 3 years or so. And porbably another down the road. They always seem to be competiting all the time. They rebuild for one year, than compete for 6. Then they do it again. Props to csdude
Styro
Considering the Warriors have the two best players in the game, i'm going to have to side with them. Hornets have a one ship lead on them right now, but i have them as my favorites this year, so they should be tied if my prediction holds up. Golden State should compete for the next 2-3 years at least. Etienne looks like he has another 4-5 good years left in him and Stephen Jackson might have another 8-10 years. Warriors are going to be hard to beat with that tandem for the years to come and i wouldn't be surprised if they win back to back the next few years.
Krup
Well if I can keep this team together I think I have a very good shot at winning this year which would put me 1 closer to three. However I'm not sure if I will be able to do that. I'd have to say the Grizzlies have the best shot at running off a few in a row because their talent is much younger. Wang, Duncan, Wade is an awesome trio which can last for quite a few years. I also think the Lakers will inevitably run off a few titles of their own with King James.
Marty
I think the best team suited to get to three championships right now are the Grizzlies, they’ll get their second championship this season and may very well repeat next year for there 3rd.
Play
Grizzlies will be the next team with 3. Wang and TD are getting up there in age but Dwade is still developing and should help carry the load even more next season when they are going for number 3.
Tigertecz: I think it’ll be the Warriors actually, although wouldn’t count out the Grizzlies. Preira and S-Jax should carry them to deep playoff runs in the next 3-5 years imo, and I think they’ll win two more rings to get them to 3.[/i][/color]
10) Who is the most under-rated player in the league right now and what makes you pick him?
Brophdog88[/i]
Most underrated player in the league hmm? Well, I am going to assume you mean underappreciated, and I think Rashard Lewis. He is putting up amazing numbers, and is playing at SG, not PF or SF, the most natural positions for him so it would seem. Shards outside skills and rebounding make him an amazing player. Now people are beginning to see how good he is, so the underrated tag is quickly coming off, but I still think he goes unnoticed and would if Jah didn’t talk about him. I would like to see Jah play him at PF though, just to see how he performs.
tmaczdady
I'd like to say Gasol, but I rather not mention my team/players.
I'd have to go with Luke Ridnour. He's putting up All-Star stats right now, and it seems like nobody's noticing. Reminds me a lot of when I had Steve Nash. Very similar players in similar situations. He's still only 24 and has more room to grow which is scary. I'm sure he will get more notice if he was on a competitive team (sorry mops)
Styro
I'm biased, so i'm going to have to go with Josh Howard on this one. He gets me 21 and 7 game in and game out. His stats aren't really inflated due to lack of talent and he's only in his 3rd year. He's no Dwayne Wade or Lebron James, but i think he often gets overlooked among those drafted in the '03 draft. An honorable mention to Dorell Wright also. He's getting 17 and 7 in his 2nd year out of high school. He was picked late in the draft as a project, but he was more ready than we thought. I'm glad i picked, not so glad i traded it. Kid has a bright future.
Krup
There are so many underrated guys in this league its so hard to choose one. Recently I got a PM from Outlawz bitching about BBS and saying how he wanted back in this league but wanted Will to do the draft files. Nothing against Will but Ashes has made way better files than him. I was in NBN and here and I love this league so much more. I could give you an All-Underrated team 1st, 2nd, and 3rd team....actually I think I'm going to write that up as an article. Stay tuned!
Marty
I dunno hard to say, but I guess Tony Parker. Never gets talked about as a top 10 PG in the league but he’s only 23 and puts up solid number.
Play
Very tough question but I'm going to have to go with Jameer Nelson. Nelson is having a monster season and he actually makes Mike look like a good GM.
Tigertecz: I think a lot of players are underrated, namely the vets. I mean, you can’t ignore the likes of Donyell Marshall and Allan Houston of the Magic who are getting the job done. I’m going with the latter (H2O) who to be honest would just receive offers of expiring and a pick at best, if he were shopped around.[/i][/color]
11) Which recent draftee has surprised you the most and how?
Brophdog88[/i]
I would have to say Andre Igoudala. He had a piss poor TC last time around, and didn’t improve at all while losing in his defense. I really thought he was going to be a stud, but it just hasn’t happened, now its obviously not over for him, but we will know here soon. For a guy who’s notes said “-You should expect Iguodala to lead a team offensively, defensively, and maybe in assists. He's got superstar written all over him.” he hasn’t exactly been a bestseller. On the other sied of the coin, Paul Millsap has been pretty damned amazing. I liked him based on his draft notes, he went a bit earlier than I thought he would, but I didn’t think it was a bad pick at all, although undersized he looked like he could be very nice, however, I didn’t expect him to bee as good as he is now. He is an excellent scorer and rebounded already. Also worth a mention, Travis Outlaw, who at one point was averaging 1.5 blocks and 1.1 steals or something to that effect….as a Portland fan the though of Trout with no scoring and defense is just kinda funny to me.
tmaczdady
Well, I think the obvious pick here is Chris Bosh. I'm sure no one expected Bosh to have only improved in 2 categories and have a drop in scouted potential to a "C". It looked like he was the player full of upside going into the draft, but has turned out be a dud so far. He had "star" written all over him, more like "role player" now. Tough break for the Cavs.
Styro
Dorell Wright has been the biggest surprise. I don't think anyone thought he would have this big an impact this soon. A 19 year old with limitless potential. He turned out to be a top 7-10 talent. There have been a lot of players doing well from the past few drafts, but most of them were expected to do great things coming in. The only player whose been as surprising as Wright, has been Telfair. Wolves Gm was criticized for taking him over Tj Ford, but as it turns out, he might have picked the best PG in the draft period. Two big steals from last year's draft, should continue to have a big impact in the years to come.
Krup
There have been so many surprises from booms to busts, late bloomers, and funky rating great simmers. Thats what makes this league so great. It's fun to watch the developments of so many guys on so many different teams. The league has so many interesting players who have a unique set of skills that are valuable to many different teams. Not every big man is strong inside, bad outside, strong defender and rebounder. We have some inside, some outside, some both with no defense, some who can defend but not rebound, etc. There are so many pieces to many different puzzles. One comparison I always like to do is the career paths of Tyson Chandler and Dajuan Wagner because Aar made such a big stink when I drafted Wagner for him. It certainly has worked our for Aar but damn Wagner is pretty damn good too. It would have been so awesome to see him and Arenas in the same backcourt together. Sigh.
Marty
I guess Okafor he puts up really nice numbers.
Play
Sebastian Telfair. I never thought he would turnout the way he has so far. I talked shit about the pick after Trunks selected him. Telfair will probably go down as one of the best players in league history. His first 2 TC's have been huge.
Tigertecz: I regret not taking Telfair for Preira. To be honest I he skipped my radar and I didn’t notice his improvements in TC etc. I don’t think he’ll end up being a complete dominant impact player at his best, but he’ll certainly be battling for All League Teams. That said, Michael Redd has surprised me the most.
Michael Redd SG 25 6'6'' 215 C+ A C C+ C B
How the fuck does that get 27.8ppg, 7.0rpg, 5.0apg, 1.3spg and only 1.2tpg in this league? I mean, I can see that being the case in BBS where the ratings are low, but here? Where there are so many other talented players? I’m not saying this league has inflated ratings at all, I think they’re spot on, but I just don’t get how Redd does it. It’s fucked up lol.[/i][/color]
12) What type of players would you like to see in upcoming drafts? (As in what sort of player as opposed to who, by name. For example, at the moment 9 of the 10 top scorers in the league by PPG are wings, with the other being Wang Zhi Zhi. Meanwhile, to crack the top ten in RPG, you need more than 11.8rpg. Do we need fewer SG/SF scorers? Do we need more scoring bigs? Etc, etc)
Brophdog88[/i]
I think we are seeing fewer SG/SF scorers, but unless a guard or wing scores 16 a game he really isn’t going to command high value even with great defense. We are entering the period of scoring guards and wings in the NBA, not surprising that UOSLR has the same feel. There are not many dominant scoring bigs really, and we have fallen right on the line. I think we really have a full compliment of players. We went through the Ewing, Hakeem, Robinson, Malone days, and Shaq of course, but now we are swinging to the wing oriented period. There are some solid defensive Centers, but really what we may be missing are the steals. Not too many people can steal the ball at a high rate, even the guys with the high defensive ratings. Only nine players are above two steals a game right now, and all of them are among the elite or falling from elite categories. So maybe the guys who can be solid starters but defensively get steals like the numerous block specialists we have.
tmaczdady
I think the league is pretty balanced. There are still a good amount of scoring bigs. Although there are a lot of rebounders in this league, I must say. It's rare to see a big with B- C C A- C B ratings.
Styro
I think we need more balanced bigs in my opinion. The last couple drafts, it seems like we've had defensive monsters with no offense or vice versa. Solid ratings overall for a big would be a breath of fresh air. There's a plethora of scoring wings. It's hard to find a team without a wing whose not averaging at least 20 ppg, if not two of them. Bigs on the other hand are hard to find. Dwight Howard looks like the next great big, but besides him, there haven't been many bigs who've played big roles on both the defensive and offensive side of the ball.
Krup
I always thought Shannon Brown was so awesome in college. I was really disapointed in his career thinking he had Mateen Cleaves disease. He bounced around so much in his career and he's only 24 in real life and has seemed to found a home with the Lakers. He's a phenomenal athlete who makes plays that some guys just can't. I'd be curious to see him as well as a couple of other guys from that draft class and how do they fair? Craig Smith is another one of my favorite players from that class. I remember my freshman year of college I was talking trash to him and Jared Dudley when they were on BC and both of them were jarring right back at me. I was shocked and they were nasty too. They shit all over us. I respect that.
Marty
What type of players would like to see come into the league? I think the drafts are fine as are. As for what type of player I would like to see on my team? Someone in the mold of an Okafor or Jefferson.
Play
Ashes should create a few bigs with very good offense but horrible defensive ratings. Also, it would be nice to have a very good passing big men in the league. Players that I'm looking forward too are Kevin Durant,
Chris Paul. Derrick Rose, and OJ Mayo. I can't wait until we get to the fake players/Kids...Ashes will be able to make some very creative players when we get to that stage in UOSLR.
Tigertecz: As I kinda pointed out in the question, I think we need lower rebounding a bit, and more scorers who aren’t wings. Also, I think in general the turnover rate is quite low. I mean, the worst offender is Joe Johnson at the moment with 3.3tpg, and the top ten is rounded out with 2.7tpg from Carmelo Anthony. I’m surprised nobody turns it over up into the 4tpg sort of level, but then, I’m not necessarily saying bring more turnover whores into the league lol, just think players like Preira and S-Jax are so dominant without any turnover issues, yet maybe future superstars should have some weaknesses. Minor thing really… I’m kinda ranting lol.[/i][/color]
13) If you had no players on your team right now, but had your choice of anyone in the league, who would be the first player you'd choose and why?
Brophdog88[/i]
One Player, to build a player, in a franchise Draft. Gotta be Lebron, due to his overall talent and his potential for getting better. If you told me I had to win this season, I would select preira, but for what he can bring to a team for the next 15 years, well, LeBron is the choice plain and simple. He may play a position where you can find solid players more easily than PF’s/C’s but, he has the ability to play three or four positions effectively (PG may be a bit tough with the turnovers), and could very well be the best player in the league for a long time. In any case he will be the most complete.
tmaczdady
LeBron. Because he already has MVP type ratings, and is playing like an all-star at the age of 21? Something like that. Imagine what he'll be like when he gets to his prime! He could lead a team to contention by himself.
Styro
I'd probably take Lebron James. If age wasn't being considered, i'd take Etienne. Lebron's peak might be greater than anyone we've seen though. He can literally do it all if you needed him too and the best part is, he hasn't even reached his potential yet. He's given the Lakers 2+ good years and he still has 15 more to go, at least. I don't see another player with a peak window as big or as great as his. If i were starting a franchise from scratch, he'd be the guy I'd want.
Krup
I love Ray Allen he's my baby. I'd take him over anyone else in the league. I have a real soft for shooters and Allen is just that. I've turned him into more than that though and its been so fun to watch him develop into a top 10 scorer in the league. Yes he is better than Kobe. Say something Broph, I dare you! Ray Allen > Kobe Bryant. I win!
Marty
Lebron James, young and dominant. Simple.
Play
I'm taking Telfair...FBB seems to favor point guard and he's one of the leagues best at 20 years old. His assist to turnover ratio is also insane.
Tigertecz: I’m a LeBron fan so I’m going with him too![/i][/color]
14) Would you change anything in the league right now? If so, what, and if not, why?
Brophdog88[/i]
Really honestly…..I am sure that if I had longer I could come up with something, but I just can’t find it. I don’t see anything that I would like changed, and I have had things I thought about, but I don’t recall any of them right now, which means they obviously weren’t that important. I mean, tanking maybe, but even that ashes has cracked down on. I think maybe possibly even a bit to harsh. Teams like the Warriors being told that they aren’t signing the best players is a bit pointless, its obvious he is trying to win, so its not like he is intentionally trying to tank, but on the other side of the coin then where would ashes draw the line? If you are in the lotto you can’t but if not you can? Cause there are some teams looking to do poorly in the playoffs, and some teams not looking to do poorly out. I think maybe DC tanking should be given a harsh penalty with a first warning over PM, then draft slotting in the event it is seen again, but even then we really don’t see repeat offenders. It happens once and then not again. I know that I tanked somewhat when I was losing, I knew Bryant Reeves would probably help me win, but in order to be competitive it is a must to play slightly worse than you want to. Now I came up with a Bullshit excuse about my defense, and how I was trying to play my best defenders, but in reality, I knew that Reeves was going to score and fix my issues. Ashes called me on it, and try as I may tio argue, it was the correct call to play him. I think leeway should be given to play young players. I mean, it does happen all the time in the NBA, so I would give teams the ability to play less talented players (not sucky, just first round picks, or decent looking seconds) over a slightly better vet if it comes to it, but at this point I am splitting hairs, tanking is tough to deal with overall, we need to police ourselves for the most part, just keep it logical and it will be fine.
tmaczdady
Nothing.
Styro
I don't think I'd change anything. Everything seems like it's under control. Inflation is regulated without compromising the ability to have great players. The camp system works perfect 'cause the Draft Files still look good. The only thing I somewhat have a problem with is the absence of a league schedule. It would be nice to have a schedule so that there aren't people wondering when's the next sim or begging for a sim. It's not a big concern though, Ashes is a busy man and it's hard to make one when you have other things to tend to. Besides that, everything else is perfect.
Krup
Yes I'd try and get some new GMs in here because a lot of the new guys aren't active enough for my liking. It's been so damn long since someone has written an article or contributed anything to the league. Most of these guys are just going through the motions and that isn't enough when you're trying to rebuild a franchise. Some of the better GMs in the league can afford to be a little passive because they've built something up already but these new guys are too laxed for their current state. They pick up or get out.
Marty
It’s fine as is. I hate that ashes had been hit and miss with activity but he seems to be on regular schedule again. I understand we all have a life and we’re busy but don’t say your going to sim at a certain day or time when you know you probably won’t sim. If it were once or twice whatever but the past month or two he would say he’d sim a certain day and didn’t and it happened quite a few times. Again, we’re all busy here it’s understandable but at the same time I just hate when people say they’ll do something and then they don’t do it and AGAIN he’s gotten better.
Play[/i]
I wouldn't change a thing about the league at the moment...Ashes is in the zone...Simming has been faster lately and sims are everyday..I love Ashes right now. I just wish more GM's would post in the OT section of the boards.
Tigertecz: I’m loving the league at the moment and think Ashes is doing a stellar job as usual. Would love to see some more articles written though and in general more banter around with off-topic kinda stuff too. This way the community isn’t solely based on the sims themselves, and more about everyone in it. It’ll take pressure off the league too for when Ashes can’t sim for a bit, for whatever reason.[/i][/color]
15) OK, so you've made it on to "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" and have to pick 3 of your fellow UOSLR GMs to be your "phone a friend". Who would you choose and why?
Brophdog88[/i]
You know they got rid of that lifeline…at least in the American version (dunno if there is still a British version) I wouldn’t count on a Brit, would have to be somebody always around, who wouldn’t ask me for a lot of money if they got it right, and since I am on the American version, I don’t want any issues with weird English/British mixups. Damn, I really dunno, Saga could offer cool rhymes when he answered, marty could tell me to stfu over and over, and Play could bitch and moan about how slow I am reading the questions, and how stupid the question was and how he could do better than me before hopefully caving in and giving the right answer half a second before time is up. Hell, if I am stuck I think I would be better off just walking away.
tmaczdady:
I would choose:
csdude, broph, and probably you tiger.
Most those guys usually use logic when they speak, which makes me think they have some intelligence and would have more knowledge of the questions on the show.
I would definitely not choose marty or play.
If I asked marty a question, I would get "stfu" for an answer. If I asked play a question, he wouldn't use logic. So there you go.
Styro
My 3 guys would be:DBW- very intelligent dude. I haven't known him for that long but I'm in a couple leagues with him and I've noticed this guy is pretty smart. We aren't sim league buddies or nothing, but his intelligence is very apparent so i don't think id trust anyone else with answering a question of that caliber.
HeatFlash - I've known him for a while already. We've been in 3-4 leagues together and i know him more than anyone else in this league, so i wouldn't trust a stranger to answer a question over him. He's pretty smart to go along with the familiarity i have with him, so he'd be one of the first people I'd call.
Ducky - A lot like DBW, i don't know him a whole lot but i know him more than most of the guys on here so i wouldn't mind calling him. A College boy doesn't seem like a bad person to call in this situation so why not. Doesn't hurt that he's smarter than most people i know through sim leagues.
Krup
1. Broph- the guy is always on top of his shit. He does his research and never posts unless he's sure he's right.
2. Marty- the guy can google and he's always around. He might not know the answer but he'd sure as hell find some info on it really fast.
3. Spencer- I just want to find out if he's really a human or a robot. Then I'd hang up on him for banning me from BBS for life. Seriously though he's a smart guy and he's from the bay area and he's a bartender I'm sure he meets and gets a lot of neat tidbits from an eclectic group of people.
Marty
JAH- because he seems to know a lot of dumb shit that no one normal really cares about
Tiger – in case I need some international knowledge
Ashes – cuz he seems to know his shit
Play
If the question is about sexual harassment I'll call Krup because he has experience in that subject.
Marty, because besides being a douche to several GM's he seems very knowledgeable about a lot of things.
Brophdog88, I feel Brophdog is one of the most intelligent GM's on the board.
Tigertecz: Man, I expected more funny answers for this question and fewer serious ones lol. Can you imagine calling some of these guys? “Marty, Krup is here at the million dollar question, I’ll pass you over to him now and you’ll have 30 seconds to answer”… “OK Marty, the question is…” “stfu *click*”. Lol. If you called me I’d probably get my iAmSam application out and take the piss lol.[/i][/color]
Thanks go out to Broph, Marty, Krup, Play, Styro and Tmaczdaddy for replying with their answers. Everyone gave some good insight into their thoughts and hopefully others will enjoy reading about them! I’ve added in my own comments in response to answers given too.
Without further ado, here it is![/i][/color]
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1) How do you feel about the state of your team at the moment?
Brophdog88[/i]
I love the state of my team, I have everything I think I need to win a title, but I still think I may need one or two more years for Al Jeff to fully develop. Luol is very promising, and if he develops well I will have my starting SF when Honey expires. Hodge is looking like he could be a good 1-3 backup, he has a B defense at all three positions, and had a very nice TC. Stevenson makes for an excellent Point Guard, and obviously Vince Carter is an amazing scorer, and plays a bit better than his defensive rating suggests. I really don’t think I can contend for a title this year, but I am fine with that. My team is set up for the future, and the present, but I don’t see getting past all of the East contenders and then beating the west’s best. Al Jeff is still a bit inefficient from the field, but his blocks might help me, and I am a dominant rebounding team, with three starters averaging 9.7 rebounds or more.
tmaczdady
Right now, I'm just trying to build around Deron Williams and this high draft pick I will have in the upcoming draft. Then maybe sign some nice FA's down the road, and we'll be ready. Still got a long ways to go still to compete, but we're getting there. Not sure if I want Gasol to be part of my plans. If he asks for a non-max contract then I would love to build around him and Deron.
Styro
I'm very optimistic about my team. I have Josh Howard, Larry Hughes, and Rudy Gay locked up past this year. Along with the young core, i've found a way to free up enough cap to go after a star in the offseason. I'm not happy the way the season has turned out so far, but the last sim gave me a little bit of hope. My plan was to get as high a pick as i possibly could, so being in the middle of the pack isn't sitting well with me right now. I'm coming off a 3-7 sim though, so hopefully it's a sign of things to come. I Definitely plan on being a factor in the playoff race next year.
Krup
The Milwaukee Bucks are as strong as ever. In the offseason I knew it was imperative that changes needed to be made in order to have the continued success of the franchise in addition to our ambition of winning a championship this season. Jerald Honeycutt was a player I sought after for years and it stinks I only got to keep him for a short time in addition to knowing the Kevin Martin is and will be even more of a special player in the future but adding a guy like Ronnie Fields is awesome. He is a proven winner who can do it all on both ends of the floor. I'm a huge fan of versatility and he offers me exactly that. After making that trade I knew I was still a little thin in terms of depth in case of an injury or just purely foul trouble in one game so I overpaid a bit to get the services of Jay Williams who I was trying to acquire since he was in Seattle. I also got another shot blocker in Cisse who has quietly built up a little reputation for being a very good defender. I think its championship or bust in beer town.
Marty
I actually thought I was going to be competitive this season so being the 2nd or 3rd worst team in the league is disappointing, though I can’t say I’m surprised. I have no frontcourt presence at all but I’m in a fairly good situation.
My two franchise players Dajuan Wagner and Tony Parker are both 23 and under, signed to long term deals and both have plenty of Its and RCs left to boost their stats which bewilders me as to why previous GMs never spent any time building these guys up. Tack on the fact that both are signed to long term deals makes my future look really good.
Play
I love my team at the moment. MIllsap is a monster, Okafor is great on the defensive end and Harris is on his way to becoming one of the best PG's in the league. Next TC is very crucial for us. If my big 3 have good TC's we could become a contender out West. My only weakness would have to be at the SF/SG positions. I need to add a scorer at either one of those positions. I hope we can grab 40 this season but with the West having a great off season its looking tough.
2) What does the future hold for your team? What's your plan for the next 3-5 seasons?
Brophdog88[/i]
Hopefully a title. I am happy with how my team sits now for the future, it is really strong. Luol looks like he will be a solid starter, and with Al Jeff, Vince and Deshawn, I don’t need anymore than that. As I said before I like how Hodge looks as a backup. I don’t necessarily being a good starter, but off the bench I think he will be solid. I will need to find a backup in the post, and I could really use some steals, cause I am very poor at creating turnovers. I don’t see many steals coming from the players I have currently, and that could very well be a problem. Luol is getting 1 a game in 25.2 minutes, so maybe he can develop that portion of his game. Best of all is I have extra picks still. I sent two picks to the Rockets and one to the Nuggets, but, I have my picks from 2009 on, which makes it so I have options come then.
tmaczdady:
In the near future, I don't see much but losses. It'll be a couple more years until we are ready to compete. I want to rebuild this year and next, and then hopefully I will be ready to compete for a championship.
Styro
I feel like my future is bright. Even though Chris Bosh hasn't exactly developed the way I and everyone else thought he would, i still like the other players I've surrounded him with. Larry Hughes is my oldest core player, at only 26, so there's nowhere to go but up. I might have to make some moves in the off-season though with my contract year quickly approaching, so i wouldn't be surprised if many of my current core players are somewhere else by the end of the off-season. Unfortunately, I can't sit on this team for much longer.
Krup
The future plans for the Milwaukee Bucks is win, win, and win some more. We're all about keeping the dynasty in place and if that means retooling then so be it but rebuild isn't in our vocabulary. I don't know when my next draft pick is, seriously I don't. Laugh it up! I'm aging slightly but we should remain very competitive for the next few seasons but that hard cap will ultimately be our demise. I'm hoping to have some modest last chance offers before free agency. Please!
Marty
To add to the comments above, having all my picks helps. I am heading for a top 5 pick this season to add to Wagner and Tony Parker. I think David Lee at this point seems like a bust but again, with ITs and RCs I think I can build him up into a solid 4 or even 5. I have multiple future picks from the Jazz and the Knicks as well as some cap space coming up in the offseason. I am in no danger of being in my CY so I think after this season I can look at competing. I have plenty of pieces to trade away to build up my team as well.
Play[/i]
My team is very young and I feel next year barring a horrible TC we could compete. My plan for the next 3-5 seasons would have to be going for a title. I'll be the the first to admit that so far I've sucked in this version of UOSL. But with the great talent on my roster we should be in the thick of things going forward.
3) If you could swap teams with any other in the league, which would you take and why?
Brophdog88[/i]
I would have to say the Los Angeles Lakers. Lebron looks amazing, and I love Chauncey, since I was the one that traded him to him. I am not the biggest fan of Jermaine O’Neal, he underperforms offensively, and Alonzo is getting up there in age, but Lebron looks to be the soon to be best player in the league. Rip Hamilton is a stud, plain and simple, quite underrated, and Chauncey is an excellent Point Guard. They have some depth issues, but its not terrible, and not unsolvable. Really LeBron is the reason to want that team though, he is amazing now, a bit underperforming, but he is still developing.
tmaczdady
I would definietly go with the New Jersey Nets. I mean, right now they are 31-14, but some of there players have yet to reach their prime. SCARY. That's a team that will compete for a championship next 5 years+ if everything goes according to plan. I don't know how broph did it, but getting Jefferson/Deng/Diop/Carter/Honey/Stevenson was something that won't be done again in a while.
Styro
I think I'd probably want to swap with the Kings. I hate having, ready-made teams so Kings provide me with the type of challenge I look forward too. I'm attracted to teams who suck, but have nice young players and that's exactly what the Kings have. I'd love the opportunity to have Dajuan and Tony on my team in addition to a top 5 pick. It would also give me a little more time before I reached my contract year, so the situation is almost ideal.
Krup
Well in terms of swapping with another team thats pretty hard to say because there are some awesome teams out there and there is definitely a great amount of interestingly built teams as well. I love the Lakers and what they've done with their franchise. They've ultimately built a model team that is well balanced and solid 1-5 offensively and defensively. I also like the Grizzlies a lot because the future is bright there even though I wasn't too excited when he parted ways with AK and J-Smith. However if I could swap with one team I'd pull a Bill Parcells and take a broken down franchise and build from the ground up. Ironically the most depressing team out there resides in Seattle. I'd like to bring some sunshine there. So yea Sonics it is.
Marty
I wouldn’t swap my team for a single team in the league. I think I have the brightest future out of anyone here outside of the Lakers and the Grizzlies.
Play[/i]
I would take the Lakers. They have no weakness and LeBron is going to be a monster.
Tigertecz: Lakers are the majority pick here and I can’t disagree. I think LeBron is the obvious attraction but you can’t look past the fact they have a bunch of other very talented players who are in their prime right now and playing some great ball. Next to the Lakers I like the look of New Jersey too. Both have franchise players and great talented vets surrounding them. Surprised the Grizzlies didn’t get more love too.[/i][/color]
4) The Raptors are in a bit of pickle. They currently sit rock bottom in the East, yet have superstar power in the form of Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki and Grant Hill. Stephon Marbury ain't no slouch neither. What's going wrong with Toronto?
Brophdog88[/i]
Depth and the lack of a 5th starter. That team is very very shallow, and I have never been a fan of KG, he always has underperformed compared to his ratings. He looks like he should be an amazing player, but in reality, scoring wise he has always been very inefficient. He jacks up a ton of shots but misses them. Steph is overpaid, and ok as a PG but not really a good starter, his TO’s are high and assists only solid. They play defense below their ratings and offense well below as well. FG% wise they are piss poor, as well as defensively, cause they are getting killed by other teams depth. Get one of KG or Dirk in foul trouble and its game over.
tmaczdady
To be honest, I'm not really sure. It could be that they lack the firepower off the bench. It could be the pace of the offense. It doesn't look like they have one problem that will fix it all, seems like a mix of things. I've never seen a team with the talent they have (Dirk/KG/Hill/Marbury) suck so bad. Weird.
Styro
That's a tough one. It seems they have all the talent necessary to compete in the East especially with some of the East playoff teams being below .500, but for some reason they've only managed to muster 18 wins. The GM has tried almost every dc imaginable and none seem to work. He just reached his contract year last year, so 4 years remaining before his contract is up, could have a lot to do with it. It's hard to tank with that kind of firepower but i wouldn't put it past the Raptors GM, to tank. Trading some of those big contracts for rebuilding pieces might seem like a better option though. It's a luxury to have all that trade value even if you are playing poorly, the GM has a lot of flexibility as far as trading goes.
Krup
I think Saga has really struggled to identify his team's strengths and really try to formulate a game plan and sticking with it. It's really tough to decide whether your DC has worked or hasn't worked within 5 days (not even 5 games). I also think a lot has to do with playing guys out of their natural positions. Grant Hill isn't a SG, I know this because he played in Milwaukee for most of his career. He's also past his prime and isn't a true #1 or even #2 option. He also has two the game's best step out big men in KG and Dirk yet he hasn't tried outside focus once this season. Slow up the tempo to get better looking shots for your option guys and run outside. Troy Murphy fell into his lap and fits his scheme perfectly. Run KG, Dirk, Hill, RJ, and Marbury with Murph backing up 3,4,5. If all else fails get creative and run super slow with Hill at PG. What do you have to lose?
Marty
The Raptors just lack a good GM to be honest. Saga was extremely lucky last season to benefit from a numerous amount of tanking teams, he was extremely reluctant to trade his youth for most of last season and almost missed the CY because of it. He seems extremely reluctant to trade at all. Marbury is the most overrated player in the game for his contract. Grant Hill is a shadow of his former self and Dirk and KG are just going to waste on that team. He needs to be more proactive with his trading.
Play
Going over Saga's DC, It's obvious he needs to get Garnett more involved in the offense...I have no clue why he's a 3rd option on the Raptors.
Tigertecz: I still don’t understand how that team is doing so poorly with the talent they have available. Sure, Marbury’s not a superstar, but KG, Dirk and Hill really are up there, so I can’t see how they haven’t put more wins together. With RJ on board maybe the situation will change, but personally I don’t think he’s all that much of a game changer. Still not hit his peak yet. Whoever has the Raptors pick must be happy anyway.[/i][/color]
5) Following on from question 4, if you were the Raptors GM right now, what would you do with the team?
Brophdog88[/i]
There are two ways to go really, blow it up, I am sure he could get his picks back for both of them, or do exactly what he did and find a fifth starter, and some bench help. R-Jeff should be solid as a fifth starter, and funnily enough, Toronto sits only 4.5 games back of the eighth spot in the playoffs, and that is an eight seed I am sure nobody would want to face. Kg has field goal percentage issues, but with how far extend out Toronto is pick wise, I think he is going to have to look at FA to help him. He’ll have R-Jeff for a few more years, and an MLE and some other solid depth and he should be good to go. At least hanging on til he has his own picks. He did what he had to do to make his Contract year, so now he just has to survive to do a proper rebuild, where his number one overall doesn’t take five years to figure shit out. I think though I would have played Dirk at SF and Kg at PF, and switched those around some. KG has sexy ratings, but he isn’t a Center, just doesn’t have the skills really.
tmaczdady
N/A
Styro
As i mentioned before, there are a lot of ways he can go. He has the pieces to acquire rebuilding pieces and the assets, mainly his pick, to acquire one more star and make a run next year. If i were him, i'd probably do the ladder. Other than Grant Hill, all his core players are under the age of 30, so it doesn't necessarily make a whole lot of sense to completely blow it up. He has everyone locked up past this year so going for it all next year doesn't seem like a bad option. You can't knock him either way, I'm sure he'll do well either way.
Krup
I think I sort of answered that question already but I'll dive into it further. If I'm Saga I keep giving it a go if not I'd start selling some pieces to try and retool. Marbury must carry some value somewhere and in my opinion he's a bit overrated so I'd deal him while he has some value. In addition to trying to part ways with Grant Hill. He should have talked to Boston while he was still in his contract year before he skipped town.
Marty
I covered this question for the most part with #4 but I guess adding to that. He needs to add a good 1, Marbury shoots a horrible percentage and just won’t cut it. Not having a true 5 hurts as well. What I don’t understand is why he doesn’t run with KG at the 5, Dirk at the 4, Hill at the 3, Marbury at the 2, and running with Boykins at the 1. He doesn’t experiment with his DC enough. There are a lot of cheap options at PG available that he can easily trade for with expirings but again he’s the DJ of UOSLR(ironically both are GMs of the Toronto Raptors) both like to sit on their teams and just build up through youth but in this case he has no youth. Does he need to blow up his team? Probably not he doesn’t have any of his own picks, and the team that does is a horrible GM as well and doesn’t have anything remotely close of value to offer so adding depth to an otherwise good team is the only option if only he would bother doing so.
Play
I would go with a lineup of Murphy/KG/Dirk/Hill/Marbury for now with Jefferson coming off the bench. If he wanted to trade someone...I would try to move KG/Dirk for a legit SG and move Hill back to SF.
Tigertecz: I thought people would’ve read ahead with this question lol and split their answers up a little more. My bad for the question I suppose. But anyway, me personally, I would move RJ for a more established star and make a push for 8th seeds. Nobody would want to face this team in the first round and with a Playoff Spot going for less than .500 out East for a change, I can’t see it being out of reach. KG has always had nice ratings but always underachieved (Blazers are a prime example), so I’d also consider moving him, but not sure what his trade value is like. Wouldn’t move Dirk at all, and I have a soft spot for Starbury so would keep him on board lol… not that anyone else would want him anyway.[/i][/color]
6) The Boston Celtics GM recently quit while in his contract year. What do you think about this and if he hadn't quit, would he have survived anyway? Why/why not?
Brophdog88[/i]
He wasn’t going to survive, I killed that team with J-Rich….He told me quite some time ago, like November or something that he was probably going to step down when his child comes, I think in March if I recall correctly, but he really wanted to go out on a high note. Obviously he realized that he was done after the J-Rich trade failed, and had been pretty shitty and figured he would go out then since Kru called him out. He went out pretty shitty really, probably should of hung around and tried, but really this was his second time in his tenure in the Cy, and he never had a winning record in his time here…made the playoffs once and that took MJ, and he barely made it in, of course he beat me in the first round, but whatever. He might have been able to make something happen with his picks and Hinrich and Iggy, but in reality, he was going to have a tough time catching up. I honestly thought Jason Richardson’s struggles were just a result of me having two dominant scorers, but J-Rich has turned out not to be the same player as he was the last two years. Boozer was a nice FA pickup, but in reality, he is still a 20-10 player with poorer FG%’s, and not enough to get it done this year. Could K-Mart turn the team around when he comes back? Maybe, but both his PG’s were very turnover prone, and one of them went to me in the J-Rich deal, which makes it kinda tough to say he was gonna get it together, as Hinrich has played like shit this season turning the ball over a lot, scoring very poorly and turning the ball over. Play must be salivating at the thought of having that pick though, not to mention his own. What killed Boston though was letting go Zhi Zhi Wang, as a second round pick, you have to keep those second rounders around, especially if they go early. Worst case they end up terrible, and they fill your roster very cheaply…but best case you have a Wang or Preira, and the worst case isn’t bad enough to give up a shot at the best case. In reality although the way he went out wasn’t necessarily pretty, it was probably best overall for the league. As ashes said if 100 posts is a chore, you probably shouldn’t be here.
tmaczdady
I don't really mind his decision. It's probably better for the league that the Celtics have a better GM. If he had stayed, I think there's no way he gets to 40 wins. IMO, trading for J-Rich was an awful deal for them. Deng will win you just as many games as Jrich. That deal also hurts the next GM of the Celtics.
Styro
I think it's a cowardly move. He made some moves during the off-season and early in the season in order to try and make his team better, but once he realized his team was still in poor shape, he decided to leave. I think if he would have left earlier in the year, a gm could have turned that team around and made the playoffs this year, considering the last playoff spot is being held by a team well under .500. Change is needed for that team and i doubt the previous Celtics GM would have been able to fulfill his contract to be honest. He made too many desperation moves and basically left the future gm without any picks. A new gm is needed in order for the Celtics to make any type of noise in the future.
Krup
I swear I'm not reading ahead on these questions. Great timing. He was obviously going to get canned. I wish I was on ESPN right now and could have a nifty little graph pop up from behind me with LakersGM's history as a GM. He was probably the worst GM ever in the history of UOSLR. Yes, even worse than Marty. I know we all didn't think that was possible but it was. He did run into terrible luck as the Beast they call the East was so dominant in this league for so long (mostly in the central holla!). It's no excuse though if he was bad for that long he should have pulled in some pretty good talent and built something formidable.
Marty
Look at his record, no. Took to long to make any moves, should have been making moves before the start of the season. To many of these guys in their CY want to wait until TC to trade away their youth which is stupid. So what you trade away a rookie who blows up in TC, he wasn’t going to help you beat the CY anyways. I think if you’re good, it’s impossible to be in the CY in this league. You have essentially 4 seasons to win 40 or make playoffs before your in your CY, if you can’t do that you shouldn’t be in this league anyways.
Play[/i]
I told Ashes to fire him a month ago. He would have not survived the contract year because he sucks. He really had no interest in UOSLR.
Tigertecz: I agree with the consensus here. It was a shady move and I can’t see how he’d stay afloat in his contract year anyway. He never really established his team and always failed to impress. J-Rich won’t help the team either and I think after he realized this it was too late and he just backed out. Tango sucka, imo.[/i][/color]
7) If you had to fire someone right now, who would it be? Name and shame them then tell us why!
Brophdog88[/i]
Hmm..Fire one Gm right now. Well I am going to have to say DB…but just for his sake, he is correct the Knicks are cursed, and I would like to see him on a team that doesn’t roll over and die when put under pressure. He has made some good moves, but things haven’t worked out for whatever reason. Marion left him,T-Mac died, its just odd. If I had to choose a GM seriously to be fired, well I can’t think of one, so I would have to go DB with a mercy firing
tmaczdady
I think it'd be between marty and mops. I can't even remember the last time those two GM's seriously competed for a championship. Not saying I'm MUCH better, but those two GM's just have never been able to compete for a ship. I think the Kings and Nuggets are two of the worst teams in league history thanks to them.
Styro
I would have said Celtics, but he was just fired, so hmmm...That's a tough one. I'd have to say Jeb. Not sure if it's so much his fault, or chippers, but that team looks like it's in bad shape. They lost Shareef to free agency and they haven't really made moves one way or the other. They seem stuck in mediocrity with a bunch of 30 year old players. It seems like a rebuild is necessary and i'm surprised he hasn't utilized the fact he has 4 years left on his contract. Nash can easily leave this summer and that's just going to make him worse. Might as well start trading some of these players before they're de-valued or leave. He doesn't have his picks for the next two years so getting those for some of his older players is something he should start looking into. I don't see him lasting long if he remains stagnant.
Krup
I'd probably fire Zyme. He took over a Blazers team who was on the verge of being a "contender" and he made some questionable moves to "go for it" and then tore it down faster than baghdad. In the process he left himself without his own draft pick and his cap situation isn't in sync with his rebuilding process. Take into consideration he isn't ready to compete next season yet he has to resign both Nene and Navarro which should come at no discount. Assuming that Spreewell doesn't hang it up then he leaves himself with no cap space to be a player in the market with. He should have dealt both for future picks, his own pick, or players on rookie deals longer than 3 seasons. He hasn't been nearly proactive enough to right the ship in Portland and it isn't going to be any easier now that the power has shifted to the west to make it a very top heavy conference.
Marty
I dunno there’s a handful of people that are absolutely atrocious. There are those GMs that constantly sit on bad teams and then there are those GMs that go from rebuilding, to “contending”, to rebuilding in the SAME season.
Play
Mops, he had the chance to have a core of Butler, Stevenson, and Ridnour and he fucked that up. Also, Mops offers the most retarded trades in the league and he always end up getting butt fucked in the end.
8) There are lots of good teams in the league right now, with an apparent shift in the balance of power over to the West. Who will take it all this season and who will they beat in the finals?
Brophdog88[/i]
I think that this year it’s the Bucks that are gonna take it all. The East still has some pretty big power, and while the Grizzlies are amazing, they still have a weakness at the PG position, and there are some very good Point Guards out there. Now, I would say odds on favorite is them, but I still like the way the Bucks look, and the way they match up. Its going to take amazing guards to get past them, and Fields, Iverson, Allen is pretty damn nice. Not to mention I feel as though there may be a challenge from within the conference in Los Angeles and the Warriors. I would never put it past Preira to take a team to the finals, and I actually think he will take GSW to the finals, but I think the magic stops against a solid Bucks team top to bottom. I have an issue with the Bucks backup PG, Jay Williams starting at PG last year was the reason the Supersonics started off 1-9 or whatever it was, but maybe off the bench he can perform better.
tmaczdady
I think that the real two teams to consider in the west are the warriors and the grizzlies. I don't see any other team in the west giving that much competition in the playoffs(unless of injuries). I think that Priera and Sjax will be too much to handle for the Grizz and that they will go to the finals. Ew the east. What happened? I gotta say I like the Nets in the east. They have tough competition against Magic/Bucks, but their talent level is hard to beat. So Warriors vs Nets in the finals. Warriors will win in 4 or 5. Just don't think the East can compete with the West. Give the Nets a another year or so and they would win this matchup.
Styro
The Magic look like they might have the best team overall at the moment. Statistically they look like the favorites to win it all, but i would be surprised if the Warriors managed to win it. They have the biggest difference maker in the league in Etienne Preira, so playing them in the playoffs is very dangerous. They are probably the last team you want to see 'cause of Preira. Preira helps form the best 1-2 combo in the league along with Stephen Jackson, that might be all they need to make a deep run in the playoffs. It's going to be tough, but they are my early favorites at the moment.
Krup
LOL I keep leading into the next question. Well done Tiger. I do think that there has been a slight power shift into the West. The Lakers, Grizzlies, and Warriors are all elite team who have championship potential. I'd hate to be a 4-8 seed in that conference. Right after that the T-Wolves and Suns are no slouches either and the Clippers if they were more active in building up their franchise they could be very lethal too with Arenas and Ming. The East is still very strong though. The Knicks are the sleeper team there while the Magic, Bucks, Nets, and Heat round off a solid group of contenders. The east is still probably deeper in terms of lotto team talent. The Pistons, Raptors, and Hawks are all very talented yet struggling teams.
Marty
It’s going to be the Grizzlies vs. Nets in the Finals. Grizzlies win.
Play
Grizzlies will beat the Bucks in the finals. My dark-horse would be the Nets. I love what Broph has done in New Jersey.
Tigertecz: I think we’re due for a West powerhouse to take it, and I can’t see anyone taking out the Warriors in 7 games unless S-Jax and Preira are injured. Those two are just too good. The only team I see coming close to beating them would be the Grizzlies though, as it’ll be interesting to see how Chandler and Mihm will face up to Wang and Duncan… I’d be tempted to play Preira as a big, but we’ll see. S-Jax should be too much for Wade imo. In the East I’m going to go with the very balanced Magic to make it to the Finals. Not that much love for them at the moment, but their record doesn’t lie. I think the Nets are a season or two away from that status for now, and the Bucks will run the Magic close. Miami’s doing well right now but are punching above their weight imo. Basically… GSW over Orlando in the final.[/i][/color]
9) Lots of teams have won a ring and have that one * while the Hornets have two. The Bulls were the first team to get 3. Which team do you think will be the next to get 3 and why?
Brophdog88[/i]
Well, as I said I think the Bucks pick up number two this year, Spencer is in a rebuilding stage, so I think that puts him out of the equation, leaving it to two teams, cause I think the Grizz are in great position to pick up two very soon. I would have to say that the Grizz are more likely to win two than anybody else so it would have to be them. Even if the Bucks win this year, he has some contract issues coming up, and the Grizz are still young and promising with a sick set of posts. I would bet he wins two very soon, before Kru does and Spencer comes back.
tmaczdady
I like the Grizzlies. They already have a 'ship, and I thin they should get another withing 3 years or so. And porbably another down the road. They always seem to be competiting all the time. They rebuild for one year, than compete for 6. Then they do it again. Props to csdude
Styro
Considering the Warriors have the two best players in the game, i'm going to have to side with them. Hornets have a one ship lead on them right now, but i have them as my favorites this year, so they should be tied if my prediction holds up. Golden State should compete for the next 2-3 years at least. Etienne looks like he has another 4-5 good years left in him and Stephen Jackson might have another 8-10 years. Warriors are going to be hard to beat with that tandem for the years to come and i wouldn't be surprised if they win back to back the next few years.
Krup
Well if I can keep this team together I think I have a very good shot at winning this year which would put me 1 closer to three. However I'm not sure if I will be able to do that. I'd have to say the Grizzlies have the best shot at running off a few in a row because their talent is much younger. Wang, Duncan, Wade is an awesome trio which can last for quite a few years. I also think the Lakers will inevitably run off a few titles of their own with King James.
Marty
I think the best team suited to get to three championships right now are the Grizzlies, they’ll get their second championship this season and may very well repeat next year for there 3rd.
Play
Grizzlies will be the next team with 3. Wang and TD are getting up there in age but Dwade is still developing and should help carry the load even more next season when they are going for number 3.
Tigertecz: I think it’ll be the Warriors actually, although wouldn’t count out the Grizzlies. Preira and S-Jax should carry them to deep playoff runs in the next 3-5 years imo, and I think they’ll win two more rings to get them to 3.[/i][/color]
10) Who is the most under-rated player in the league right now and what makes you pick him?
Brophdog88[/i]
Most underrated player in the league hmm? Well, I am going to assume you mean underappreciated, and I think Rashard Lewis. He is putting up amazing numbers, and is playing at SG, not PF or SF, the most natural positions for him so it would seem. Shards outside skills and rebounding make him an amazing player. Now people are beginning to see how good he is, so the underrated tag is quickly coming off, but I still think he goes unnoticed and would if Jah didn’t talk about him. I would like to see Jah play him at PF though, just to see how he performs.
tmaczdady
I'd like to say Gasol, but I rather not mention my team/players.
I'd have to go with Luke Ridnour. He's putting up All-Star stats right now, and it seems like nobody's noticing. Reminds me a lot of when I had Steve Nash. Very similar players in similar situations. He's still only 24 and has more room to grow which is scary. I'm sure he will get more notice if he was on a competitive team (sorry mops)
Styro
I'm biased, so i'm going to have to go with Josh Howard on this one. He gets me 21 and 7 game in and game out. His stats aren't really inflated due to lack of talent and he's only in his 3rd year. He's no Dwayne Wade or Lebron James, but i think he often gets overlooked among those drafted in the '03 draft. An honorable mention to Dorell Wright also. He's getting 17 and 7 in his 2nd year out of high school. He was picked late in the draft as a project, but he was more ready than we thought. I'm glad i picked, not so glad i traded it. Kid has a bright future.
Krup
There are so many underrated guys in this league its so hard to choose one. Recently I got a PM from Outlawz bitching about BBS and saying how he wanted back in this league but wanted Will to do the draft files. Nothing against Will but Ashes has made way better files than him. I was in NBN and here and I love this league so much more. I could give you an All-Underrated team 1st, 2nd, and 3rd team....actually I think I'm going to write that up as an article. Stay tuned!
Marty
I dunno hard to say, but I guess Tony Parker. Never gets talked about as a top 10 PG in the league but he’s only 23 and puts up solid number.
Play
Very tough question but I'm going to have to go with Jameer Nelson. Nelson is having a monster season and he actually makes Mike look like a good GM.
Tigertecz: I think a lot of players are underrated, namely the vets. I mean, you can’t ignore the likes of Donyell Marshall and Allan Houston of the Magic who are getting the job done. I’m going with the latter (H2O) who to be honest would just receive offers of expiring and a pick at best, if he were shopped around.[/i][/color]
11) Which recent draftee has surprised you the most and how?
Brophdog88[/i]
I would have to say Andre Igoudala. He had a piss poor TC last time around, and didn’t improve at all while losing in his defense. I really thought he was going to be a stud, but it just hasn’t happened, now its obviously not over for him, but we will know here soon. For a guy who’s notes said “-You should expect Iguodala to lead a team offensively, defensively, and maybe in assists. He's got superstar written all over him.” he hasn’t exactly been a bestseller. On the other sied of the coin, Paul Millsap has been pretty damned amazing. I liked him based on his draft notes, he went a bit earlier than I thought he would, but I didn’t think it was a bad pick at all, although undersized he looked like he could be very nice, however, I didn’t expect him to bee as good as he is now. He is an excellent scorer and rebounded already. Also worth a mention, Travis Outlaw, who at one point was averaging 1.5 blocks and 1.1 steals or something to that effect….as a Portland fan the though of Trout with no scoring and defense is just kinda funny to me.
tmaczdady
Well, I think the obvious pick here is Chris Bosh. I'm sure no one expected Bosh to have only improved in 2 categories and have a drop in scouted potential to a "C". It looked like he was the player full of upside going into the draft, but has turned out be a dud so far. He had "star" written all over him, more like "role player" now. Tough break for the Cavs.
Styro
Dorell Wright has been the biggest surprise. I don't think anyone thought he would have this big an impact this soon. A 19 year old with limitless potential. He turned out to be a top 7-10 talent. There have been a lot of players doing well from the past few drafts, but most of them were expected to do great things coming in. The only player whose been as surprising as Wright, has been Telfair. Wolves Gm was criticized for taking him over Tj Ford, but as it turns out, he might have picked the best PG in the draft period. Two big steals from last year's draft, should continue to have a big impact in the years to come.
Krup
There have been so many surprises from booms to busts, late bloomers, and funky rating great simmers. Thats what makes this league so great. It's fun to watch the developments of so many guys on so many different teams. The league has so many interesting players who have a unique set of skills that are valuable to many different teams. Not every big man is strong inside, bad outside, strong defender and rebounder. We have some inside, some outside, some both with no defense, some who can defend but not rebound, etc. There are so many pieces to many different puzzles. One comparison I always like to do is the career paths of Tyson Chandler and Dajuan Wagner because Aar made such a big stink when I drafted Wagner for him. It certainly has worked our for Aar but damn Wagner is pretty damn good too. It would have been so awesome to see him and Arenas in the same backcourt together. Sigh.
Marty
I guess Okafor he puts up really nice numbers.
Play
Sebastian Telfair. I never thought he would turnout the way he has so far. I talked shit about the pick after Trunks selected him. Telfair will probably go down as one of the best players in league history. His first 2 TC's have been huge.
Tigertecz: I regret not taking Telfair for Preira. To be honest I he skipped my radar and I didn’t notice his improvements in TC etc. I don’t think he’ll end up being a complete dominant impact player at his best, but he’ll certainly be battling for All League Teams. That said, Michael Redd has surprised me the most.
Michael Redd SG 25 6'6'' 215 C+ A C C+ C B
How the fuck does that get 27.8ppg, 7.0rpg, 5.0apg, 1.3spg and only 1.2tpg in this league? I mean, I can see that being the case in BBS where the ratings are low, but here? Where there are so many other talented players? I’m not saying this league has inflated ratings at all, I think they’re spot on, but I just don’t get how Redd does it. It’s fucked up lol.[/i][/color]
12) What type of players would you like to see in upcoming drafts? (As in what sort of player as opposed to who, by name. For example, at the moment 9 of the 10 top scorers in the league by PPG are wings, with the other being Wang Zhi Zhi. Meanwhile, to crack the top ten in RPG, you need more than 11.8rpg. Do we need fewer SG/SF scorers? Do we need more scoring bigs? Etc, etc)
Brophdog88[/i]
I think we are seeing fewer SG/SF scorers, but unless a guard or wing scores 16 a game he really isn’t going to command high value even with great defense. We are entering the period of scoring guards and wings in the NBA, not surprising that UOSLR has the same feel. There are not many dominant scoring bigs really, and we have fallen right on the line. I think we really have a full compliment of players. We went through the Ewing, Hakeem, Robinson, Malone days, and Shaq of course, but now we are swinging to the wing oriented period. There are some solid defensive Centers, but really what we may be missing are the steals. Not too many people can steal the ball at a high rate, even the guys with the high defensive ratings. Only nine players are above two steals a game right now, and all of them are among the elite or falling from elite categories. So maybe the guys who can be solid starters but defensively get steals like the numerous block specialists we have.
tmaczdady
I think the league is pretty balanced. There are still a good amount of scoring bigs. Although there are a lot of rebounders in this league, I must say. It's rare to see a big with B- C C A- C B ratings.
Styro
I think we need more balanced bigs in my opinion. The last couple drafts, it seems like we've had defensive monsters with no offense or vice versa. Solid ratings overall for a big would be a breath of fresh air. There's a plethora of scoring wings. It's hard to find a team without a wing whose not averaging at least 20 ppg, if not two of them. Bigs on the other hand are hard to find. Dwight Howard looks like the next great big, but besides him, there haven't been many bigs who've played big roles on both the defensive and offensive side of the ball.
Krup
I always thought Shannon Brown was so awesome in college. I was really disapointed in his career thinking he had Mateen Cleaves disease. He bounced around so much in his career and he's only 24 in real life and has seemed to found a home with the Lakers. He's a phenomenal athlete who makes plays that some guys just can't. I'd be curious to see him as well as a couple of other guys from that draft class and how do they fair? Craig Smith is another one of my favorite players from that class. I remember my freshman year of college I was talking trash to him and Jared Dudley when they were on BC and both of them were jarring right back at me. I was shocked and they were nasty too. They shit all over us. I respect that.
Marty
What type of players would like to see come into the league? I think the drafts are fine as are. As for what type of player I would like to see on my team? Someone in the mold of an Okafor or Jefferson.
Play
Ashes should create a few bigs with very good offense but horrible defensive ratings. Also, it would be nice to have a very good passing big men in the league. Players that I'm looking forward too are Kevin Durant,
Chris Paul. Derrick Rose, and OJ Mayo. I can't wait until we get to the fake players/Kids...Ashes will be able to make some very creative players when we get to that stage in UOSLR.
Tigertecz: As I kinda pointed out in the question, I think we need lower rebounding a bit, and more scorers who aren’t wings. Also, I think in general the turnover rate is quite low. I mean, the worst offender is Joe Johnson at the moment with 3.3tpg, and the top ten is rounded out with 2.7tpg from Carmelo Anthony. I’m surprised nobody turns it over up into the 4tpg sort of level, but then, I’m not necessarily saying bring more turnover whores into the league lol, just think players like Preira and S-Jax are so dominant without any turnover issues, yet maybe future superstars should have some weaknesses. Minor thing really… I’m kinda ranting lol.[/i][/color]
13) If you had no players on your team right now, but had your choice of anyone in the league, who would be the first player you'd choose and why?
Brophdog88[/i]
One Player, to build a player, in a franchise Draft. Gotta be Lebron, due to his overall talent and his potential for getting better. If you told me I had to win this season, I would select preira, but for what he can bring to a team for the next 15 years, well, LeBron is the choice plain and simple. He may play a position where you can find solid players more easily than PF’s/C’s but, he has the ability to play three or four positions effectively (PG may be a bit tough with the turnovers), and could very well be the best player in the league for a long time. In any case he will be the most complete.
tmaczdady
LeBron. Because he already has MVP type ratings, and is playing like an all-star at the age of 21? Something like that. Imagine what he'll be like when he gets to his prime! He could lead a team to contention by himself.
Styro
I'd probably take Lebron James. If age wasn't being considered, i'd take Etienne. Lebron's peak might be greater than anyone we've seen though. He can literally do it all if you needed him too and the best part is, he hasn't even reached his potential yet. He's given the Lakers 2+ good years and he still has 15 more to go, at least. I don't see another player with a peak window as big or as great as his. If i were starting a franchise from scratch, he'd be the guy I'd want.
Krup
I love Ray Allen he's my baby. I'd take him over anyone else in the league. I have a real soft for shooters and Allen is just that. I've turned him into more than that though and its been so fun to watch him develop into a top 10 scorer in the league. Yes he is better than Kobe. Say something Broph, I dare you! Ray Allen > Kobe Bryant. I win!
Marty
Lebron James, young and dominant. Simple.
Play
I'm taking Telfair...FBB seems to favor point guard and he's one of the leagues best at 20 years old. His assist to turnover ratio is also insane.
Tigertecz: I’m a LeBron fan so I’m going with him too![/i][/color]
14) Would you change anything in the league right now? If so, what, and if not, why?
Brophdog88[/i]
Really honestly…..I am sure that if I had longer I could come up with something, but I just can’t find it. I don’t see anything that I would like changed, and I have had things I thought about, but I don’t recall any of them right now, which means they obviously weren’t that important. I mean, tanking maybe, but even that ashes has cracked down on. I think maybe possibly even a bit to harsh. Teams like the Warriors being told that they aren’t signing the best players is a bit pointless, its obvious he is trying to win, so its not like he is intentionally trying to tank, but on the other side of the coin then where would ashes draw the line? If you are in the lotto you can’t but if not you can? Cause there are some teams looking to do poorly in the playoffs, and some teams not looking to do poorly out. I think maybe DC tanking should be given a harsh penalty with a first warning over PM, then draft slotting in the event it is seen again, but even then we really don’t see repeat offenders. It happens once and then not again. I know that I tanked somewhat when I was losing, I knew Bryant Reeves would probably help me win, but in order to be competitive it is a must to play slightly worse than you want to. Now I came up with a Bullshit excuse about my defense, and how I was trying to play my best defenders, but in reality, I knew that Reeves was going to score and fix my issues. Ashes called me on it, and try as I may tio argue, it was the correct call to play him. I think leeway should be given to play young players. I mean, it does happen all the time in the NBA, so I would give teams the ability to play less talented players (not sucky, just first round picks, or decent looking seconds) over a slightly better vet if it comes to it, but at this point I am splitting hairs, tanking is tough to deal with overall, we need to police ourselves for the most part, just keep it logical and it will be fine.
tmaczdady
Nothing.
Styro
I don't think I'd change anything. Everything seems like it's under control. Inflation is regulated without compromising the ability to have great players. The camp system works perfect 'cause the Draft Files still look good. The only thing I somewhat have a problem with is the absence of a league schedule. It would be nice to have a schedule so that there aren't people wondering when's the next sim or begging for a sim. It's not a big concern though, Ashes is a busy man and it's hard to make one when you have other things to tend to. Besides that, everything else is perfect.
Krup
Yes I'd try and get some new GMs in here because a lot of the new guys aren't active enough for my liking. It's been so damn long since someone has written an article or contributed anything to the league. Most of these guys are just going through the motions and that isn't enough when you're trying to rebuild a franchise. Some of the better GMs in the league can afford to be a little passive because they've built something up already but these new guys are too laxed for their current state. They pick up or get out.
Marty
It’s fine as is. I hate that ashes had been hit and miss with activity but he seems to be on regular schedule again. I understand we all have a life and we’re busy but don’t say your going to sim at a certain day or time when you know you probably won’t sim. If it were once or twice whatever but the past month or two he would say he’d sim a certain day and didn’t and it happened quite a few times. Again, we’re all busy here it’s understandable but at the same time I just hate when people say they’ll do something and then they don’t do it and AGAIN he’s gotten better.
Play[/i]
I wouldn't change a thing about the league at the moment...Ashes is in the zone...Simming has been faster lately and sims are everyday..I love Ashes right now. I just wish more GM's would post in the OT section of the boards.
Tigertecz: I’m loving the league at the moment and think Ashes is doing a stellar job as usual. Would love to see some more articles written though and in general more banter around with off-topic kinda stuff too. This way the community isn’t solely based on the sims themselves, and more about everyone in it. It’ll take pressure off the league too for when Ashes can’t sim for a bit, for whatever reason.[/i][/color]
15) OK, so you've made it on to "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" and have to pick 3 of your fellow UOSLR GMs to be your "phone a friend". Who would you choose and why?
Brophdog88[/i]
You know they got rid of that lifeline…at least in the American version (dunno if there is still a British version) I wouldn’t count on a Brit, would have to be somebody always around, who wouldn’t ask me for a lot of money if they got it right, and since I am on the American version, I don’t want any issues with weird English/British mixups. Damn, I really dunno, Saga could offer cool rhymes when he answered, marty could tell me to stfu over and over, and Play could bitch and moan about how slow I am reading the questions, and how stupid the question was and how he could do better than me before hopefully caving in and giving the right answer half a second before time is up. Hell, if I am stuck I think I would be better off just walking away.
tmaczdady:
I would choose:
csdude, broph, and probably you tiger.
Most those guys usually use logic when they speak, which makes me think they have some intelligence and would have more knowledge of the questions on the show.
I would definitely not choose marty or play.
If I asked marty a question, I would get "stfu" for an answer. If I asked play a question, he wouldn't use logic. So there you go.
Styro
My 3 guys would be:DBW- very intelligent dude. I haven't known him for that long but I'm in a couple leagues with him and I've noticed this guy is pretty smart. We aren't sim league buddies or nothing, but his intelligence is very apparent so i don't think id trust anyone else with answering a question of that caliber.
HeatFlash - I've known him for a while already. We've been in 3-4 leagues together and i know him more than anyone else in this league, so i wouldn't trust a stranger to answer a question over him. He's pretty smart to go along with the familiarity i have with him, so he'd be one of the first people I'd call.
Ducky - A lot like DBW, i don't know him a whole lot but i know him more than most of the guys on here so i wouldn't mind calling him. A College boy doesn't seem like a bad person to call in this situation so why not. Doesn't hurt that he's smarter than most people i know through sim leagues.
Krup
1. Broph- the guy is always on top of his shit. He does his research and never posts unless he's sure he's right.
2. Marty- the guy can google and he's always around. He might not know the answer but he'd sure as hell find some info on it really fast.
3. Spencer- I just want to find out if he's really a human or a robot. Then I'd hang up on him for banning me from BBS for life. Seriously though he's a smart guy and he's from the bay area and he's a bartender I'm sure he meets and gets a lot of neat tidbits from an eclectic group of people.
Marty
JAH- because he seems to know a lot of dumb shit that no one normal really cares about
Tiger – in case I need some international knowledge
Ashes – cuz he seems to know his shit
Play
If the question is about sexual harassment I'll call Krup because he has experience in that subject.
Marty, because besides being a douche to several GM's he seems very knowledgeable about a lot of things.
Brophdog88, I feel Brophdog is one of the most intelligent GM's on the board.
Tigertecz: Man, I expected more funny answers for this question and fewer serious ones lol. Can you imagine calling some of these guys? “Marty, Krup is here at the million dollar question, I’ll pass you over to him now and you’ll have 30 seconds to answer”… “OK Marty, the question is…” “stfu *click*”. Lol. If you called me I’d probably get my iAmSam application out and take the piss lol.[/i][/color]
