First up, to start us off we have wombataholic!
Second, we have JNR!
Just recently defeating me when he was down 3-1, your Western Conference Champion digiskunk!
Up next we have ballsohard!
And finally, false9!
1. Two rounds have been completed these playoffs, and the Conference Finals are underway. What was the most shocking result for a series in your opinion? Which series was the most entertaining for you (if you were in the playoffs, don’t pick one that you were in)?
Wombataholic: Most shocking result: Kings over Warriors 4-1. I thought the Kings were always going to win the series, but I thought it would go 7 games because Paul George and Gordon Hayward would create matchup problems for the Kings. Most entertaining: Sixers/Hawks. Watching Wig and BallSoHard tinkering with their lineups and trying to create mismatches was great.
JNR: The most shocking result was also the most entertaining one, and that was Jazz/Nuggets. The Jazz are a great young team, so it isn't incredibly surprising that they beat the Nuggets. However, the series was about a team of established stars with an experienced, championship-caliber GM taking on a young team run by a GM who is still fairly new. I expected Ryan to be able to take the series, especially with Durant and Giannis in the mix. However, the Jazz rode an absolutely electric Juicy James Gebhart to the Conference Finals. Great series, entertaining and surprising.
Digiskunk: I think the most shocking result was, without a doubt, my own Utah Jazz coming back and advancing in the playoffs for the first time during my tenure as GM. After several terrible seasons, we finally had a decent season last year going 40-42, but this season, we really turned it up a notch. During the first two rounds, we lost some very important players to injury, but despite that, we were able to remain competitive and advance. That shocked me more than anything — the fact that we were able to beat incredibly talented teams such as the Suns and Nuggets without our best player.
Ballsohard I thought the Jazz without Kight upsetting the Nuggets was one of the major upsets I’ve seen in some time. The Nuggets like the Bulls weren’t meant to do one thing, win a ring. To watch the Jazz overcome an injury to one of , if not their best player and win that series was impressive.
False9: Nuggets/Jazz was the most shocking to me. Both teams are very talented, but I thought Ryan would have the edge due to his history of savvy gameplan. Particularly, with Kight out for game 7 and home court, I thought it was over. Well, it was over- for the Nuggets. Give credit to Gary- he's built a deep talented team we'll have to deal with for some time. Personally, Bulls/Pistons was the most entertaining. I've been on the Bulls bandwagon all season. It's always fun to me to see if the most OP player I've seen in my GM tenure can overcome an entire team. Seeing it pushed to seven games was surprising and of course anytime it goes to seven, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.
2. Which potential Finals series would you most enjoy seeing out of the 4 potential matchups possible? Which series do you think is likely, and who do you have it winning it all?
Wombataholic: I'd like to see Bulls/Jazz because I think the teams match up well against each other, but I think we'll see Bulls vs Kings in the finals with Bulls winning in 5 games.
JNR: I really want to see Jazz/Bulls. All respect to Tani and Scott, who are great GMs and better guys. But it's always exciting to see new blood in the finals, and so Gary and Josh representing would be a lot of fun. I think Bulls/Kings is more likely, even with the injury to Irving, and if it comes down to those two I think Bulls take it. This team (partly Raby assembled) is so strong that I think they'll be too much to overcome.
Digiskunk: I definitely think we'll be seeing the Bulls face the Kings this year. The Kings are facing an injured (albeit inspired) Jazz team, and if they can beat them (which should be easy), then they're in. As for the Bulls, I think they're everybody's favorite to win it all. And if they aren't, then you're wrong and stupid.
Ballsohard Want to see-
I think selfishly , 76ers and Kings. We’d get to see a lot of trash talk and two pretty evenly matched teams.
Most likely-
Bulls vs Jazz
I’m reverse cursing for Tani here. I think the Irving injury and the Kight return is going to make things really tough on the Kings. The Bulls are just rolling right now. They just beat the second best team in the league in 7 games and are up 2-0. The odds are in their favor.
Winning it all: Bulls
They’re just the class of the sim league this year. They have no weak points and I think even with an injury they’re favorites.
False9: I'd like to see Bulls/Jazz. It's fun to see new blood and a new first time champ, but barring the blowing of two 3-1 leads, it looks like we're heading towards Bulls/Kings. I'm going Bulls in 7, giving Josh his first title and Tani the title of...Susan Lucci? Meryl Streep? Whatever, you guys aren't here for washed pop culture references.
3. We got a few suggestions pop up that hit some push-back or issues with how to implement. Injuries in the playoffs seem to be a common theme lately that has killed excitement, allowing purple potential players to be trained in personal fouls, and allowing All NBA Team players to train if they don’t make the All Star Game. Without bashing the ideas, what are your quick thoughts on these suggestions? Are you a fan of any of the suggestions?
Wombataholic: I like keeping injuries on because it forces GMs to adapt as the season goes along. Injuries keep the game interesting and add an element of randomness to the game.
Given that players entering the league are coming in raw and taking multiple years to develop, I like kucoach's suggestion to allow training players until their current color is green, including foul training.
As far as being able to train all-league players that didn't make the all-star team in the current season goes, I'm ok with it as long as there's a minimum game participation percentage as Doug suggested, say 90%.
JNR: No way should we get rid of injuries in the playoffs, and that's coming from a playoff injury victim several times over. I don't see the problem with training potential purple in fouls, or with allowing the All NBA players to train if they lost a step the next year (though I don't think it will be utilized as much). I think rules should be made because of a real need, something that would benefit the league if the change was made, and I don't think any of these suggestions really do that.
Digiskunk: First off, Injuries are a natural part of the game, and it's important that players get injured, otherwise this league will quickly become unrealistic. Just look at the NBA — teams lose important players all the time. Quit yer bitchin' and start strategizin'!
Secondly, I think it's a great idea to allow GMs to train their purple-potential players' foul ratings. Why the hell not?
Aaand lastly, I have no real opinion on the last one. Just being honest!
Ballsohard Injuries - I think a lot of us play simulation basketball for it to be a simulation of real life. And real life includes injuries. Do they suck? Yep. Do I feel bad when teams get them? Yep. Do I want them removed ? No way. It’s another factor at showing your general management prowess.
Training -
I’m iffy on this. All league guys and purple guys really don’t need an extension on their primes and frankly don’t need help with covering up their flaws. They’re great as is , in fact one of the top 15 guys in the league. I’d rather see the leagues points spent building the “middle class”. I think the “middle class” helps bridge the gap and doesn’t make this game a game of , who’s star is bigger ... nawhatimean?
However I am a fan on allowing training on guys who don’t make the all star game but there’s defiantly some grey area as you can miss an asg due to injury and not the season you’re having.
False9: I'm against removing injuries- even if they suck, they're a part of the game and add to the complexity of being a GM.
I support training purples that haven't hit green yet. The curious case of Julio De La Rosa has been a hot topic, and we've seen a couple articles detailing how long it would take to reach his potential. If you've got the points, sure spend em.
I'm also ok with All-NBA guys getting trained. I think the idea was to boost players back if they get hit, but there have been certain issues brought up (such as injury loopholes). This probably warrants more discussion amongst the league. I'M LOOKING AT YOU, GM WHO PROBABLY ISN'T READING THIS ANYWAY.
4. Let’s change gears. This draft class coming up looks stacked, and the overall depth of being able to get a decent player outside of the lottery is amazing. Out of the college draft classes we’ve had, does this group top all the others?
Wombataholic: It's definitely the deepest draft in a while, topped off by Stephen Norsworthy who will be a good player in about 2 years and a great player the year after that. I do have some concerns about the conditioning of the players at the top of the draft. Of the 18 blue/green potential players, 8 have stamina of less than 50. Another 3, including Norsworthy, are under 60.
JNR: I don't know, I haven't looked because I gave up a top 5 pick. Ask someone else.
Digiskunk: This draft class is definitely incredible. Are you kidding me? We have 1 purple, 6 blues, and 11 greens. This draft class seems to have a lot of depth, so teams who struggled last season will definitely be able to pick up a star player. But I don't think this is the best draft class we've ever had. I think we'll see better in the future, to be honest. Don't ask why — that's just how I feel about the matter.
Ballsohard I think you mention it in the next question, but the draft class that’s becoming RFAs now really is one of the better classes. It’s hard to really say this is going to be better , but it’s looking that way.
I’m going to use this platform to talk about something I’ve come to appreciate with the college drafts. Due to the length it takes to grow your player we now get to step into the shoes of real teams on having to manage winning now or will this young 18 yr be worth it ... and I think that’s pretty awesome!
False9: This group is pretty impressive (and there are no midgets). But potential is one thing- talk to me after a few TCs. Things can always swing rapidly- who knew we'd be talking about Buddy Pedraza way back when? Or that Kenneth Williams would be lost to the sands of time? It's up to the GMs to make something out of the draft clay.
5. Kevin Love is on the block. Kevin Durant, Otto Porter, Rudy Gobert, Giannis will hit UFA. Joseph Kight, Karl Anthony Towns, DiAngelo Russell, DeSean Hawkins, Ronald Small and Marklle Fultz are RFAs. Between the draft class and the free agency periods, there’s a lot of talent that can potentially move. How excited are you? Also, what’s the chance that Kevin Love is traded by the end of the offseason?
Wombataholic: I'm very excited to see what happens, but I don't think there will be a lot of movement of RFAs or UFAs. The RFA class is one of the better ones in recent memory, even if it's debatable whether KAT is a guy you build your team around. The UFA class is ok. I don't see a lot of the tippy top UFA's changing teams. I could see Otto Porter being moved in a sign and trade by the Bulls.
With Kevin Love the question teams have to ask themselves is whether giving up assets for a 1 year, $45 million rental and probable tax bill gives you a shot at the title. I think someone talks himself into making the trade.
JNR: This should be one of the most exciting offseasons in recent memory. I'm certainly excited, mostly because I've been done with this season for what feels like months now. I think any of those players can completely turn a season around for most teams. There will be a lot of teams with cap space as well, which makes potential trades exciting. As for Love? I'll let you know as soon as I finish crafting this PM to Messi
Digiskunk: I'm super duper excited for this offseason considering the amount of talent that's about to hit the free agent market. We should be seeing a lot of player movement during this offseason, and if the Suns were smart, I think they would trade Kevin Love by the end of the offseason considering it'll be the last year of his contract. But the real question is: Will anybody have the balls to trade for a player with a contract that huge? And the answer is: Yes, yes, absolutely.
Ballsohard I think th offseason is the most fun time regardless. The RFAs will probably all be getting maxes so that’s not that exciting but we’re getting to see the opportunity for some 26-29 year olds switching teams to swing the balance. There’s always one team that just goes all in which I love watching.
Kevin Love is probably a 30 percent chance to be moved. I think gmessi is a pretty shrewd and is not a new GM that will be traped. A 45 m deal isn’t the easiest to move. I highly doubt he accept a 28 yr old and sending 10 points to get rid of him.
False9: Forget RFA- Seeing a bunch of teams match is a snoozer. UFA is different though- instant contenders will be built, and someone will definitely rage about a signing. Also, we're not talking about a potential JOKIC OPT OUT enough. JOKER'S WILD!
Lock it in- I GUARANTEE Love will be moved or you'll get your money back that you paid to read this.
