Wiz Presser. Yup.

[Xist2Inspire]

Sup. No .gifs or videos today, I need to save my energy for the meme thread.

Last season went fairly well, though I'm a bit bummed that my high-PER rotation underperformed so badly that I had to make a move for an aging Giannis at the deadline just to secure the 8th seed. We got bounced by the Magic in the 1st round, and flaming out yet again in the playoffs sucked big-time. However, I will say that it was hella great to play against False9. We both love to try out unconventional plans for the hell of it, so it was a blast doing crazy stuff like starting backups trying to outfox one another. Thanks man, that was fun.

Now onto the offseason. During last season's press conference, I said this in regards to my moves last offseason:

With luck, this strategy will either see us contend for our first title in the near future, or it will set us up with an excellent core group of talent.

So yeah, this offseason is what I was talking about back then. I filled my team with expirings to match my own expirings and team/player options in order to have a ton of cap space in one of the best Free Agent markets in recent memory. I'd already laid out my targets beforehand, and outside of "re-sign JR and Starr," my only real goal was to snag whoever I could get. And luckily for me, everything worked out exactly as planned. I was able to bring James Shaffer over from the Kings in RFA, leaving just enough cap space for Daimon Williams and Phil Brooks to come on board before JR took our deal. But instead of just accepting my good fortune, I overthought things. I took one look at my projected tax bill and started worrying, so much so that when I was sent an offer for Victor Newman, I accepted it. I regretted it almost immediately, because Kingston and Robison then decided to come back on team-friendly deals, meaning that though my projected bill would've still been higher than I was comfortable with, it wasn't going to be the franchise-destroying anchor weighing us down with debt that I believed. I honestly feel terrible about the trade, and feel that I've turned us from a legitimate title contender to merely just another "good" team, all for the sake of saving a few sim bucks. This isn't this first time I've done this - not re-signing Shaq and Stoudemire after a decent playoff run stands out - but I'd thought I'd have learned by now.

Despite that huge setback, I still feel pretty good about what I've done. With the signing of Daimon Williams and the re-signings of JR, Kingston, and Robison, we have the talent to compete now. With the improvement of Marshall Starr and the additions of Shaffer and Brooks, we now have a legitimate young core ready to take us into the future. Though I didn't pull it off to the degree I'd envisioned, I did exactly what I set out to do starting last season. Now it's time to let the players play. Any questions?

[false9]

Thanks for the kind words!

What do you think of your new division? Are you confident you'll be on top at the end of the season?

[JNR]

GWR: How do you envision the three great guards playing together in the starting lineup? Are you going to make one a super sub or have a small lineup?

[Xist2Inspire]

Thanks for the kind words!

What do you think of your new division? Are you confident you'll be on top at the end of the season?

You know, it's weird. Back in the old Atlantic division, Conroy was king, and we were all competing amongst ourselves. I managed to seize control when he was down, but that didn't last very long. Balls came in towards the end, and you know the kind of rep he has. Then we were moved to the Southeast, and Wig was there, so all of us operated under his shadow. This time around, there's really no overbearing presence around. It's just me, Quail, and Wave as far as longtime GMs go, and we're all pretty random in terms of where our plans and teams are at any given moment. There's not any legit beef between us as far as I know (though Wave has personally kicked me out of the playoffs too many damn times), so I'm expecting a pretty chill time. And Digi brings the perfect amount of crazy to keep things fun.

As for how we stack up, I'm confident that I'll be able to hang with the Bucks and Raptors, but I don't quite think we have what it takes to dominate the division and comfortably stay on top. The Raptors have a thin roster but the two best players in the division. The Bucks are just stuffed with talent. This will be a challenge, but we definitely have a fair shot at a division crown our first time out.

[Xist2Inspire]

GWR: How do you envision the three great guards playing together in the starting lineup? Are you going to make one a super sub or have a small lineup?

It was actually easier to figure out than you'd think. Daimon's moving to the 3 because he won't get torched as bad in the post as Phil, Phil's starting at the 2 for extra scoring purposes, JR's the PG because duh, and Shaffer's coming off the bench because his passing and defensive abilities make him a perfect combo guard off the bench.

[garbageman]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: You have a lot of talent jammed in the backcourt. How do you plan on splitting those minutes between JR, Shaffer, Dion Williams, and Phil Brooks?

[Xist2Inspire]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: You have a lot of talent jammed in the backcourt. How do you plan on splitting those minutes between JR, Shaffer, Dion Williams, and Phil Brooks?

It was actually easier to figure out than you'd think. Daimon's moving to the 3 because he won't get torched as bad in the post as Phil, Phil's starting at the 2 for extra scoring purposes, JR's the PG because duh, and Shaffer's coming off the bench because his passing and defensive abilities make him a perfect combo guard off the bench.

[digiskunk]

Last year proved that J.R. Johnson is still very much growing as a prospect. Despite averaging only 12.3ppg, he achieved a career high in assists per game at 10.6. Given your current roster, what kind of numbers do you expect J.R. to put up next season?

[Xist2Inspire]

Last year proved that J.R. Johnson is still very much growing as a prospect. Despite averaging only 12.3ppg, he achieved a career high in assists per game at 10.6. Given your current roster, what kind of numbers do you expect J.R. to put up next season?

We actually don't give a crap if JR grows into a top scorer or not, that's why we've gathered scorers around him. When you're as good at handling the rock as he is, that's all we want him to do. We just want the ball in his hands as much as possible, whether he shoots or passes is up to him. We're expecting a slight drop in PPG because of Daimon and Phil, but we think JR could not only set a new career high in assists, but lead the league in APG this season.

[Darth Vegito]

How do you go about analyzing trade offers before accepting or declining? Is it usually mostly a gutcall? And how much does the severity of the taxes play a part in keeping together a team that you can call a "contender"?

We would also like to say that we in Charlotte hope very much so that the trade works out for both parties, it does pain us to see another respected GM as yourself regret a trade we completed. Good Luck this season!!!

[Xist2Inspire]

How do you go about analyzing trade offers before accepting or declining? Is it usually mostly a gutcall? And how much does the severity of the taxes play a part in keeping together a team that you can call a "contender"?

We would also like to say that we in Charlotte hope very much so that the trade works out for both parties, it does pain us to see another respected GM as yourself regret a trade we completed. Good Luck this season!!!

Gutcalls rarely come into play unless the offer is a solid 50/50 deal with fairly equal risk/reward, which believe it or not, we don't get too offen. The majority of the deals we get that are turned down are good ones that either don't fit our plans, or involve a player who we aren't looking to move at this time. Taxes also rarely factor in, as we're usually not a franchise that goes up against the cap often.

The tax does factor into my one big weakness when it comes to keeping a "contender" together, as well as building one...I don't like short-term success. Sustainability is very important to me, and unless I can almost guarantee a title win within the timeframe I'm racking up a huge tax bill, I'd rather play it safe and do the best I can, rather than shoot for the moon and spend the future in purgatory as a result of reckless spending. I also tend to end up with teams filled with fringe All-Stars rather than legit All-League talent, so point generation has consistently been an issue for me, especially when I'm not in a heavy writing mood.

And it's no problem man, that's just the way #SLOE goes at times.

[Darth Vegito]

How do you go about analyzing trade offers before accepting or declining? Is it usually mostly a gutcall? And how much does the severity of the taxes play a part in keeping together a team that you can call a "contender"?

We would also like to say that we in Charlotte hope very much so that the trade works out for both parties, it does pain us to see another respected GM as yourself regret a trade we completed. Good Luck this season!!!

Gutcalls rarely come into play unless the offer is a solid 50/50 deal with fairly equal risk/reward, which believe it or not, we don't get too offen. The majority of the deals we get that are turned down are good ones that either don't fit our plans, or involve a player who we aren't looking to move at this time. Taxes also rarely factor in, as we're usually not a franchise that goes up against the cap often.

The tax does factor into my one big weakness when it comes to keeping a "contender" together, as well as building one...I don't like short-term success. Sustainability is very important to me, and unless I can almost guarantee a title win within the timeframe I'm racking up a huge tax bill, I'd rather play it safe and do the best I can, rather than shoot for the moon and spend the future in purgatory as a result of reckless spending. I also tend to end up with teams filled with fringe All-Stars rather than legit All-League talent, so point generation has consistently been an issue for me, especially when I'm not in a heavy writing mood.

And it's no problem man, that's just the way #SLOE goes at times.

Ooooh this leads to a great follow-up I was talking to JNR about. Do you think you need a superstar in this league to win a chip? Like a top guy scoring close to 30 a game. Because I tend to lean that you do need that guy.

[Xist2Inspire]

Ooooh this leads to a great follow-up I was talking to JNR about. Do you think you need a superstar in this league to win a chip? Like a top guy scoring close to 30 a game. Because I tend to lean that you do need that guy.

Nah, I never bought into that, mostly because I had a 30 ppg guy, and we never got past the 2nd Round. Also, Anthony Davis and Andrew Wiggins have 1 ring each. I think teambuilding and gameplanning are far more important to winning a title than finding/lucking into a stud and sticking whatever talent you can find around him. If you can get the right talent together/figure out the right gameplan, you can win a title. That's what I believe.

[WigNosy]

Do you worry that having wings that are more concerned about scoring than defense - Phil Brooks and Damion Williams, I'm looking at you - limits the ceiling on this team?

[Xist2Inspire]

Do you worry that having wings that are more concerned about scoring than defense - Phil Brooks and Damion Williams, I'm looking at you - limits the ceiling on this team?

Not really, because if the other team dares trying to invade the paint after blowing by those two, Kingston and Robison will be more than happy to stop them. In all seriousness though, we were actually more efficient defensively than offensively last season. This team appears to be an improvement overall, so even if there is a ceiling, it's higher than it was last time. I can't ask for more than that without making more moves to further improve.