2032 - Season Preview 5 on 5!

[TheSyndicate]

Hi, Everyone! Welcome to the 'Next time, we're just doing a damn podcast' (I mean Season Preview) 5 on 5!

Your lovely respondents are:
KeepIt100 - 76ers
NOLa. - Kings
AngryBanana - Thunder (and apparently title favorite #spoileralert)
IAMQuailman - Bucks
NickMalone - Pelicans

I am TheSyndicate, GM of the Nuggets, and your friendly host. This is kind of like Who's Line is it Anyway? except, the points DO matter. After each answer, I'll award a winner, and a few words on why/my thoughts. Hope you all enjoy!



1. Since we just wrapped up TC, essentially the off-season is coming to a quick end. Gimme a winner and a loser from the off-season and why.

KeepIt100: Winner - Phoenix. Low-hanging fruit? Absolutely. But let's recap. Landing the #1 pick in contraction, Jordan Johnson - check. Draft lottery breaking their way - check (Overall #2) and check (Overall #3). Having the best +/- score in all of training camp, including the 2 highest individual scores (checkmate). Listen folks, the Suns are the dynasty that is about to completely take over PBSL. Their future is BRIGHT. Loser - LA Clippers. Hate to kick a guy when he is down, but talk about a Valentine's Day Massacre. It took a lot of balls to swing for the fences, so I give Mamba credit for being aggressive, but sometimes it blows up right in your face. Boban Marjanovic becomes a blue/blue who will be laughing all the way to the bank at the tune of at least $160M. Additionally, Joffrey Bartheon is owed $60M guaranteed over the next 3 years and got demoted to green/green. Maybe Mamba can orchestrate his own Purple Wedding and kill King Joffrey this offseason and Garbageman will look the other way?

NOLa.: My loser is easy to pick and that’s the Miami Heat, only because the GM was not on during the offseason and lost Grayson Allen without a competing bid. The only good thing that happened for them was picking up Michael Morley due to auto-pick who I think will be an excellent scorer one day, but other than that the team is showing the signs of inactivity. For my winner I want to go with the Thunder. Getting Jackson to pair with Pete is such a great move for them and probably my favorite move of the offseason for any team and I think it gives them the best trio of PG-SG-SF in the league. The Thunder didn’t have to make many moves besides that to shake up the league but they have a solid lineup and depth.

AngryBanana: Winner- False9. Most would look at someone who lost in the finals and then gets rid of there whole core as a failure. However, with the magic, I feel like it’s less of a failure and more of a retooling. Originally, everyone thought the magic were on the wrong side of the Boban deal. All it took was one TC to suddenly make the Clippers low key think twice about their trade. False is the modern day Wig. It’s his world, and we are just living in it. The biggest loser, while I can make all sorts of jokes about the Knicks and their failures, to me it has to be the Heat. They had the ability to resign Grayson Allen in addition to build on their roster and did neither. They did not even put any bids in that I know of, lost their best player and effectively now have to start from square one. They are not the recently deactivated Celtics yet, but are well on their way.

IAmQuailman: With the infusion of talent via draft AND contraction draft as well as the fewer teams in the free agency pool with cap space, lots of teams were able to build up fill their teams with tons of new bodies and talent. However, there was only one team that struck gold in the lotto twice in one offseason... the Suns. Thanks to both the drafts, the Suns have 3 blue purple players 24 and under and a 19 year old green blue player. There team is stacked and should dominate for years to come.

Loser... well I think the big losers are tax teams looking to shed cap. Only 2 teams have space... and they are both rudderless ships without a captain. Teams in the cap pretty much will need to do some creative maneuvering to make some things happen if they are looking to shed some tax debt.

NickMalone: Winner for the off season for me is tough to decide between the two LA teams. Both the Lakers and Clippers made significant changes to bolster and improve their clubs in a major way. While Boban cost the Clippers JJJ, they also added a formidable floor general in King Joffrey from the Nets in a salary dump. He still sees the court at an extremely high rate and that two man game should win the Clippers a ton of games next year ahead when they're getting to play with competent wings like Colby and Garvin. On the Lakers, adding Acuna and Wanderlai should do wonders as well while Delmar continues his steady ascent.

Losers? Probably the Heat and Pistons for being asleep at the wheel. At least they have cap space for adding terrible contracts if they were active but maybe they're next on the chopping block.

Host Comments and Question awards: Seems like the Messi bros got a lot of play in this question (including Garrett's old team the Clippers #deepcuts). I don't disagree with anyone, in particular, but did like that the Clippers were called out as both winners AND losers, and I'm not sure how that even happens. Giving the win to KeepIt100 because he got answers back to me first.

2. What's one under-the-radar move that is going to have the biggest impact this season?

K100: Bucks trading up from #22 to #15 to draft PG John Rainbolt. I loved Rainbolt as a prospect from this draft class because he is an athletic freak of nature who has a knack for dishing dimes left and right. Rest assured, this is D'Aaron Fox's team but when he needs a breather, Rainbolt is going to be a fun change-of-pace guard who will keep the ship steady in Milwaukee.

NOLa.: Bucks signing Joshua Schumann is a move no one talked about due to other veteran free agents moving around and Boban/Jackson being traded, but I think the Schumann signing was the 2nd best move for a team this season. He’s just starting to become a good starter after a great training camp, but the 23 SF has the potential to be dangerous with PG Fox on the Bucks. I’m hoping Doug trains him in athleticism across the board as that is the only weakness he has.

AngryBanana: Im tempted to say Boban to the Clippers, but I had a feeling that even before he went B/B that he was not going to be able to perform at a max level for the duration of that pick, im also very interested in what the 6ers will do now that they do not have Azibuke. Personally though, I’m hoping it’s JJ to the Thunder. I was fortunate enough to be able to get him for what will amount to cap space/ easier prices to off-load for the Magic in addition to one of my first round picks. From my end, it also allows me to have an outstanding player to go along with Pete, becoming easily the best player he has played with. I’m hoping the addition of JJ allows all of my other players to play better, get a few individuals awards maybe, get an additional 10-15 wins, and ultimately a championship.

IAmQuailman: Horns & Fangs made its debut this offseason, but not in its typical podcast form. It was in the shape of a trade. Big names Sabonis and Edmunds swapped teams, but Jame Hector could end up the best player out of this deal. Boosted in training camp, Jame is entering the 3rd year of his rookie deal and garbage man has yet another valuable young player at his disposal.

NickMalone: Nobody else will probably bring this up but of the vet mins to be resigned, the Spurs always seem to get the most out of the players they bring in, which is a testament to his skill at judging talent all these years but I'm gonna say Eugene Melson. Eugene was a significant contributor to the Spurs success last season and put up great #'s after having his first full season as a starter.

Host Comments and Question awards: NOLa. gets this point. Totally agree. Quail with the steal of the offseason. Quail's answer is a close second place, Jame Hector is a stud in the making. Also, AngryBanana gets a negative win for saying the Boban trade was 'under the radar'. Maybe he has a broken radar.

3. Here's a light one, the 12 vs 16 team playoffs has been discussed at length this offseason. Without re-litigating that here, what's one out-of-the-box idea to improve the league?

K100: I'll probably get some hate mail for this one, but with season 50 just around the corner - restart the league at 1990 and let's play with real players again. Modestine Degrimonpon makes me cringe every single time I see it flash across a box score. Maybe I'm just a purist?

NOLa.: I think the drafting of real-life players would bring back some excitement for the league. When we ran out of draft classes and decided to go the College route, the idea was new and exciting, and I loved it. Looking back, I still like the College draft and the players we get out of the classes are unique, but there’s been consistent chat about how some GMs wish the players in sim league were reflective of real life players, and more importantly, their skills, size, and potentials reflect the player. I’m glad the weird names are no longer an issue, because while no one is saying they wouldn’t play this game if they couldn’t name players after off-the-wall names, there are others that say the weird names deteriorate their enjoyment of the league. My hope is one day the league entertains the idea of drafting based on historical classes again.

AngryBanana: An interesting idea (that I’m pretty sure is impossible to integrate) would be to allow voting for who the all stars are instead of the game auto choosing. I’ve noticed, and could be very wrong, a trend where the all-stars,all league and other game simulated titles are often chosen based largely on who the highest scorers on. So allowing the league to choose even if it’s the reserves for the ASG would be an interesting idea to get players who might be playing well that are not the top scorers in the league.

IAmQuailman: Im not going to lie; my motivation levels and levels of care have been on the decline the last few seasons. After making my cruise control announcement, I’ve spoken with some of the guys and was convinced to stick around for a little longer. So my take is coming from one that I’ve long thought about and could make the league more interesting... presenting we don’t let current ratings go over 100, even if potential ratings behind the scenes are over 100. We should let these go over 100 again. Let the superstars be that, and let others who have an elite skill set have that.

NickMalone: With all the talk of playoff changes and lotto changes due to contraction, one change to the league that I think could be successful would be to open up a points reward system for teams that operate below the tax line and still manage to keep their books mostly clean. Teams over the tax would pay the tax and the teams below the tax would be able to take in the redistribution of points after clearing a certain win total threshold or some level of activity to incentive teams to compete and be active while managing to keep a hold of all their business ventures in check.

Host Comments and Question awards: YAS YAS YAS to all of these. PLEASE GUYS, USE THE SUGGESTION BOX, I'M IN! I like elements of all of these ideas, and I highly encourage my compatriots to put them out there for discussion.

4. With the re-alignment, we have new conferences, new divisions. Rank the divisions toughest to easiest. And if you could switch your team to the other conference, would you?

K100: Toughest would be Kemp with Johnson a very close 2nd, then Mourning and the easiest is by far Hardaway. I think it will actually be more interesting to see between Detroit and Miami who gets to 65 losses first in the Hardaway Division. For the 2nd question, no actually. Apart from the Magic, the 76ers are facing teams relatively close to Philly so I like the mostly old-school Atlantic Division vibes the Mourning Division has now.

NOLa.: From toughest to weakest in my opinion: Kemp Division; Hardaway Division; Mourning Division; Johnson Division. The Kemp Division currently has the reigning champions, the Clippers and Thunder who took on the Magic’s legendary players, and down the road the Phoenix Suns who have a crazy group of SFs that could potentially be dangerous. Hardaway Division I was close to putting as the toughest because of the Timberwolves and Raptors, who have extraordinary tax bills coming up but look to be going all in on this open season, but the Heat and Pistons bring them down for me. Mourning Division looks conversationally fund with Andy, Doug, James and Ed together. I think the Knicks could realistically win this division but there are a lot of good teams here. Only the Cavs look a good bit below-par compared to everyone else. The Johnson division I think looks the weakest, but that’s because my team is in it. Kings and Hawks will be near the bottom, I’m not certain if the Lakers are there just yet (they may need one more good TC next season then they’ll be potential favorites), Nuggets are aging, Pauly and the Pacers have an assortment of good talent I just want to see how they start, and the Wizards will probably run away with the division with their wings.

AngryBanana: I’ll answer the last part first. Yes, a thousand times yes. I know I should be all about competition, but damn. I want to win my division by about 6 games and not have to look in my rear view mirror. That’s not happening in the Kemp division with the bulls, clippers, Trailblazers and out of nowhere the suns who are all quality teams. As far as rank goes I’d say
1. Kemp - detailed above
2. Johnson - Denver, Spurs and Wizards are all quality teams that can easily make a solid run in the post season. The kings I can also see playing very well this year.
3. Mourning - This was a tough call. The Knicks are in this conference and could have easily pushed them to the bottom of the pile. However the Magic, 76ers, Nets, and Bucks are all run by very active GMs ( even though the Bucks “claim” to be on cruise).
4. Hardaway- While the there are a few active teams in this division. My problem is one: the Pels got hit HARD in training camp. Two: the other half of the division are run by either teams on cruise or others that seem to still struggle at getting a fully competitive roster. I think the Raptors have the easiest path to a division crown unfortunately.

IAmQuailman: Johnson, Hardaway, Mourning, and then Kemp. That’s ranked least difficult to most difficult. I’d stay where my ass is at. No Bulls, Raptors, or Suns to deal with.

NickMalone: Toughest is probably the Kemp division. You've got 3 elite teams pitted against each other almost on a nightly basis plus the Suns on a soon to be arrival. Each division has certain weaknesses but probably the weakest one is the one I'm involved in with the Hardaway division. TC took a lot out of certain teams but containing 2 top lotto teams like the Heat and Pistons will make it awfully easy for the likes of the Raptors, TWolves, and Pelicans to pick up wins on a nightly basis. I wouldn't make any changes otherwise division or conference for at least a 5 year period... Just to see how things go and progress and the league picks up a pattern of familiarity again.

Host Comments and Question awards: Everyone said the Kemp division first, and I might agree, but it's close with the Johnson. Banana and KI100 both said that, but 100 already has a point, so Banana gets the win!

5. Going back the last 12 seasons or so, we've had a lot of long-time GM and repeat winners (Magic/Bulls/Bucks all winning twice, long-time GMs of the Spurs/T-Wolves, and the Nuggets squeaking by three times). With more new-blood GMs with talent than ever before, will youth or experience take it home? Basically, who you got?

K100: The Thunder, Lakers, and Clippers all made significant waves this offseason and the Suns are a dangerous team looming in the next couple of years but in 2032 who is going to win the championship? The Toronto Raptors - so experience trumps youth this year and Soundwave is going to win his 2nd title.

NOLa.: AngryBanana has been part of the league for a while now so I’m not going to call him new blood, but I think his team for me is the favorite to win it all so we’ll get a new-blood champion. MexicanMamba is a newer GM who I think has a shot at winning due to picking up Boban. If there was a repeat winning GM vet to be picked I’d say the Bulls, Josh has restructured the team but they still look great. Basically I think someone from the Kemp Division is going to win this thing.

AngryBanana: Thunder over Bucks in 6

IAmQuailman: I see the Thunder being the biggest win now threat amongst the newer GMs, but the Lakers are very much so up and coming.

NickMalone: I'll say the finals is FINALLY Thunder vs. Wizards. Lofty expectations but Pistol Pete and AB finally gets his first Title. I'll be rooting for them to make it this year.

Host Comments and Question awards: So errybody loves the Thunder except KeepIt100 who is giving the Raptors some love. I also think the Raptors will rep us old-timey GMs well and will be deadly in the playoffs. So KeepIt100 gets the win here too.

Overall, your 5 on 5 winner? Anyone reading this...you're welcome!

[MexicanMamba]

Good read! Needed it today as I sit here waiting for my car to finish up in the shop.

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[IamQuailman]

AngryBanana: Thunder over Bucks in 6

@AngryBanana YOU CHEEKY BASTARD

[AngryBanana]

AngryBanana: Thunder over Bucks in 6

[mention]AngryBanana[/mention] YOU CHEEKY BASTARD

I wouldn’t want it any other way!


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[AngryBanana]

reading my under the reader pick makes no sense...


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[NOLa.]

My boy AB picked the two biggest moves as his under the radar moves hahahaha

[false9]

It’s so over the radar it went back under the radar

[IamQuailman]

It’s so over the radar it went back under the radar

Jeremy Bearimy of radars

[false9]

K100- 426 words= 2 points
Nola- 697 words= 3 points
AB- 648 words= 3 points
NIck- 488 words= 2 points
Quail- 381 words= 2 points
Syndicate- 493 words- 2 + 1 for compiling=3 points