S72 Town Hall #8 Better Business

[Mike Lowry]

Which was the best decision by a GM regarding competing this year?
Who do you think pushed in at the right time, in the right way?
Who cleared their tax at the right time?
Who is set up nice for the future?

Rules: 1 point if you give thoughtful answers, which I will award after the timer ends for responses. The timer ends for responses at the moment the corresponding week's Sim is run.

Note: Use approximately 5 sentences as your bare minimum for 1 point. If you write 3 long, complex sentences, you'll still get a point. If you write 5, 3 word sentences, you will not get a point. Don't @ me.

Due: Sim 8 deadline.

[pennpanther1]

Which was the best decision by a GM regarding competing this year?
Garbageman trading for Sion James

Who do you think pushed in at the right time, in the right way?
Garbageman trading for Dominitrix Johnson. The Bulls took an injured Booger Smith and transformed him into a superstar.

Who cleared their tax at the right time?
Dallas Mavericks

Who is set up nice for the future?
Dallas Mavericks. They reset their tax and will be able to keep A'ja Wilson during RFA. They have a scary Big 3 with Angel Reese, Booger Smith, and A'ja Wilson.

[Black Superman]

Which was the best decision by a GM regarding competing this year?
I think the best decision goes to the bulls. Simply put, out of all the competing teams. They are the only one that wasn't competing last year. Suns,Celtics, Warriors, and Heat were all in the thick of it last year. All 4 of the above teams have made great moves this season and actually I think all 4 have made multiple moves. However we were all invested in the push that started last season. The bulls however, made the decision to compete with the rest of us. I think we all smell blood in the water and are choosing to hunt the pistons. We'll see if this blood is from the pistons actually bleeding out or if it's just bait.

Who do you think pushed in at the right time, in the right way? The answer would also be the Bulls seeing as how they come into the season with no prior tax situation. However, because that's the reasoning I'm using, the answer has to be the Suns. My Suns are pushing with a newly built core and in the first year of a tax bill. Every position 1-5 works very perfectly for this team. The team has superstars and elite role players.

Who cleared their tax at the right time? The Mavs and wizards were very smart to pull out of the hunt. Both had tax bills that were nearly impossible to pay. The wizards reached the end of their team's life competing at a high level. Especially with them coming off a sweep vs the Pistons. And the Mavs are still struggling to build a cohesive unit. They traded A SF for a SF who makes more money which is still confusing and does not flow with the example I gave when I said be willing to lose trades. But hey, they still figured out a way to get under the tax so it is what it is.

Who is set up nice for the future? I still think the pels and grizzlies are primed for future runs. I do think the grizz will eventually need to flip a wing and the pels will need to gain one. I do think you can win in this league with role players at the 5. But not sure you can win without really good to great wing players. Pizza and Longer are gonna make a fantastic back court but they're both on the shorter side and are probably locked into the 1&2 positions. But they have time to figure out the wing thing, when it comes time to actually pushing.

[Black Superman]

Which was the best decision by a GM regarding competing this year?
Garbageman trading for Sion James

Who do you think pushed in at the right time, in the right way?
Garbageman trading for Dominitrix Johnson. The Bulls took an injured Booger Smith and transformed him into a superstar.

Who cleared their tax at the right time?
Dallas Mavericks

Who is set up nice for the future?
Dallas Mavericks. They reset their tax and will be able to keep A'ja Wilson during RFA. They have a scary Big 3 with Angel Reese, Booger Smith, and A'ja Wilson.

Lol more scary than Reese A'ja and DJ?......

[garbageman]

Which was the best decision by a GM regarding competing this year?
Any team that made a serious push is a good decision in my book. There are now more teams that could stand up to the Pistons than it seems there have been the last three seasons. Suns and Warriors I think were just putting the finishing touches on team's they've done a good job building over the last several seasons, but I think the Celtics are really flying under the radar as a team that made a huge push, getting SVG, Isaac, Hub, and Amen Thompson all in the same season. Heat are an honorable mention because I love the Xue move for them, although I don't know how many points they've got to cover their bill.

Who do you think pushed in at the right time, in the right way?
Same answer as the last question basically.

Who cleared their tax at the right time?
Mavs did, as they're the only ones who really needed to besides the Pistons, but the Pistons weren't a middling team. There are some teams that should still clear the tax in my opinion. The Jazz should definitely get under.

Who is set up nice for the future?
Grizzlies, Pelicans, and Mavs.

The Grizzlies and Pelicans are in the same situation. They've got rising stars that are going to be an incredible team soon and are approaching the beginning of their competitive windows. Pelicans are in a super weak division, but still seeing them succeed in it is a great sign for the future.

[Jedihero]

Celtics GM is making good moves through trades. Had one earlier this year for Isaac, and just made one at the deadline for Amen Thompson.
Regardless of how the season plays out, I myself needed to clear my tax after a few season of high bills, so now just playing around and seeing what I can do with the restart I had last season.
Pelicans are setup nicely to make a few seasons of pushes, he will have to shell out big for Dick next RFA, but under tax this season and has Longar, PIzarro, and Lee as really nice pieces.

[K-100]

Which was the best decision by a GM regarding competing this year?
The Pistons decision to let it ride. Despite constant pressure all offseason to sell the team amidst astronomical tax bills the Pistons held and are in the driver's seat for another title. Their decision to run it back even motivated a handful of teams to join the fray and try to take them down which is always good for the league. Sometimes doing nothing is everything.

Who do you think pushed in at the right time, in the right way?
I really like what the Heat did at the deadline. They added a pair of 2-way talents in Huo and Murphy III without selling the farm. While this may not be the soundest financial strategy long-term, the Heat are no strangers to tax jail, so it is refreshing to see a GM just say Frye it and go for gold. You cannot win if you do not try.

Who cleared their tax at the right time?
The Mavs are an obvious winner here, so I'll also add the Cavs, Pacers, and Wizards for their earlier moves. Nice job to all of them for seeing the writing on the wall and deciding to reset.

Who is set up nice for the future?
The Bobcats' platoon strategy in the frontcourt is in full swing and now they shift focus to the backcourt by acquiring Bud Rivera at the deadline. They have three upcoming RFAs this offseason so how they handle the negotiations will set the table as to whether this team can make the jump from pretender to contender.

[BigDaddyd8720]

Who do you think pushed at the right time?
The Bulls. They added a lot of good pieces this offseason and during the season. They are playing well and seemed to be poised to give the Pisstons a run for their money in the playoffs, if they make it to the finals.

Who cleared their tax at the right time?
Clearly the Mavs. They were in a rough spot with their salary cap and made a big trade to help out with it while also still being able to be in a spot to compete for the playoffs and possibly make a run.

Who is set up for the future?
I want to say my Pelicans but I will go with the Nets and Timberwolves. The nets are obviously closer than the wolves but the nets have built their team to be ready to compete for years to come. The Wolves are still young and learning but those young players should be primed to make a run in a few seasons

[Mike Lowry]

Which was the best decision by a GM regarding competing this year?
I think the best decision was by the Memphis Grizzlies.
They have some amazing talent developing over there and the been signing and trading quality complimentary pieces the last few seasons.
I think it could have been easy for them to reach for contention by making some moves, but this UFA they didn't make off as well.
They are going to start handing out some big contracts soon, so they may have wanted to add support pieces first, but their stars won't be ready for a while, and going to the tax too early can ruin a build.

Who do you think pushed in at the right time, in the right way?
I like what the Suns did this season.
The move for Mac has had the biggest impact on moving a team into contention of any this season.
And especially considering that they had to be willing to send out Xue to land him.
That move had balls.

Who cleared their tax at the right time?
I already mentioned the Grizzlies, but the Wizards and Pacers made some moves that got solid returns and allowed them to reset.
I know the league is commenting on the Mavs getting under, but I think their move was too late, and they paid severely.

Who is set up nice for the future?
Pels, Grizz, Mavs, Warriors, Celtics, Bulls, Suns - Man, it got competitive Real Fast

[greepleairport]

Which was the best decision by a GM regarding competing this year?
I like that the Nets held tight. Earlier in the season I wrote about getting out of the tax because their core is young, but you know what? For a team construction like this that flew under everyone's radar to have this level of success, I'm very impressed. I wouldn't be surprised if Cook flew out of Brooklyn before the deadline, but if not, they're having a perfectly good year to head into the tax. Well done.

Who do you think pushed in at the right time, in the right way?
It's hard to ignore the Bulls grabbing Dom, but I think that deal doesn't happen without grabbing Sion first. I think this current gen of GMs doesn't know 78# too well, but he's always been a willing and reasonable trade partner. It might be tough to get him in the room to negotiate, but the Bulls did that at just the right time to pick up the league's objectively #2 best player. They paid a premium for a premium player, and it laid the groundwork to pick up more talent like Justin Amos and Gradey Dick. Without these moves, the Dom trade doesn't become the grand slam deal that it was.

Who cleared their tax at the right time?
Mavericks, obviously. After Funk broke his leg, the Mavs season was over anyway.

Who is set up nice for the future?
Nets. They flew under my radar and are super young, and only getting better. They might have to consolidate talent or pay a hefty fee to insure all these young players, but that's not a bad problem to have. Also, for the Pelicans, putting together a big 3 like Dick Bender, Longar Longar and Homer Pizarro looks real nice a few seasons from now, and they still have Tony Lee and Dwain Ramos helping in big ways now.

[NY_Magic_Garrett]

Which was the best decision by a GM regarding competing this year?
- Garbageman getting Dom John for sure. Am I picking this because I was involved in this? Yes, of course I am. I also don't understand the implications of other peoples trades yet, but after being tapped into this one, I think I could potentially have a hand in taking down the Pistons sooo..

Who do you think pushed in at the right time, in the right way?
- The new Magic GM, no question. I mean he dove into a 3 team deal like a moth to a light. No fear. Really farmed an impress amount of points, the right way, with no experience. Impressive stuff. Do I know any of this to be true? Nope, but I feel it.

Who cleared their tax at the right time?
- The Mavs, without a doubt. I honestly dont know if they even cleared the tax, but I know I helped get them close and I am on the clock here. So I am going with all the things I had a hand in. Can you tell? Not sorry.

Who is set up nice for the future?
- MAGIC BABY. Bank is looking nice, 3 1st in the next 2 years, open cap going into their new GMs first FA process. How will he handle it? No one knows. He doesnt know, but there has already been small flashes of greatness and if you haven't seen it then you are not watching.

Thanks for reading. Hope I get a point.