VanMemphis Grizzlies
Philadelphia 76ers
How "open teams" are run on an interim basis:
Goals - these are the guiding principles of Stewardship
G1) To prevent unnecessary loss of value to the team . . . loss of a valuable RFA, unnecessary tax, failing to use cap space for points or acquire value talent in the short term so a new owner will be attracted to the team and be able to start his career sooner than later.
G2) To get active owners more of a chance to grow as owners and see the league from another perspective
G3) To not interfere with the power balance of the League in a large way
Rules - these are the hard and fast rules of Stewardship
R1) Each team without an owner have 3 custodians: the commissioner, and 1 GM from each conference. Those 3 make all decisions for the team, like signing free agents. All decisions must be unanimous (except as set forth in Rule #3 for UFA bids, Rule #6 for draft picks, and Rule #7 for meeting deadlines below).
R2) Trade offers for a team under stewardship are sent to the Commissioner. The commissioner acts as first point of review; if he deems a trade acceptable, he brings the trade offer before all of the stewards, who must unanimously agree to the trade. Other teams may send trade offers unsolicited or the stewards may elect to announce a team is trying to move an asset (e.g., moving an expiring veteran for a rebuild package). Stewards may make counter offers if they see fit provided all three stewards agree.
R3) No transactions are permitted between a stewarded team and a team controlled by one of the stewards (i.e., no trades are permitted).
- Stewards may not submit RFA bids from their own teams targeting players on a team for which they are a steward. Likewise, stewarded teams may not target an RFA if the incumbent team belongs to one of the stewards. (This ensures no possibility of a sign-and-trade.)
- Stewards may submit UFA bids from their own teams targeting players whose last team played for is a team for which they are a steward. Likewise, stewarded teams may target a UFA if the last team played for is controlled by a steward. A steward must recuse himself from discussion of bids to be submitted on players for which he is the "incumbent owner" - in this case, the unanimous vote of the other two stewards allows a bid to be submitted. Stewards must submit their own UFA bids before discussing bids for teams they have stewardship for. (UFA players, while they may have Bird Rights, are in theory "free for all" so signing them is not considered a transaction between teams)
R5) The DC and GP for a stewarded team is always recommended unless the stewards unanimously agree to a different DC. If the stewards are using "Recommended" the button will be "re-clicked" prior to every sim to allow the team to account for injury. A team under steward control is always considered to have submitted all DCs for the purposes of DC participation points.
R6) In the case of making draft selections for a stewarded team, at least 2 of the 3 stewards must agree on the player to be selected (i.e., the pick need not be unanimous) as the tight time window for making a pick may not allow for sufficient time to come to an agreement.
R7) In cases where a deadline for response must be met (e.g., submitting Free Agency bids, responding to trade offers by the trade deadline, etc.), a 2/3 vote of stewards is sufficient to act or, if neither steward comments by the deadline, the commissioner is empowered to act alone in order to beat the deadline.
In the event that insufficient stewards step forward to help with an open team, the league commissioner shall have power to act in the stead of any needed steward.
