Lakers (Delmar) 2035-36 Preseason Press Conference

[greepleairport]

Another trip to the finals for greeple and another loss. Embarrassing this time, too. Though my dreams of an LA vs LA final were realized, I did not want to get swept. But I did. Congrats again to you and your Clippers, Mamba. Whereas the Clippers have a few pieces in place for their rebuild, in Sterner, Nnaji and Harris, I have a superstar who's ready to step to make his leap.

Named most improved player last season, Delmar Lopez might earn that award again. While my team may not have a top notch squad, greeple has assembled a team that will finally give Delmar his platform to do his thing. And boy is he ready! Having arguably the best TC in the league, Delmar is still a ways away from hitting his full potential, but he is fully starting to realize it. Fully developed, Delmar's skillset would allow him to swing anywhere from the 2-5 spots (1 if you nasty), but he will most likely remain the most effective at the 3, which I expect he'll fill most of this year. PBSL saw a lot of great wing players move from the 3 to 2 or 4 last season, like Cobb to PF and Quintin Kidd to SG, not to mention the Bucks rearranging of Schumann and Rodriquez. That could be in Delmar's future, too, but we'll see how things play out.

Seeing how I'm building this season more around Delmar's success more than the team's, getting out of the tax man's gaze, there isn't much else to discuss. I expect Delmar to threaten everywhere offensively, and he may come up with a few steals and blocks now that he's getting a better (helping and expensive) handle on his tendency to foul out of games. We're happy to have Richard Kowalczyk around, protecting the rim and possibly hitting some 3's (whaaat?), Darwin Novotny passing to Delmar or hit the 3 himself, and Pete holding down other SG's defensively. Not sure how I'll fill the 2 as Bender died more than I would have liked during TC, so I'll be experimenting here the most this year. Radke could be good; Vidal did great for us last season and looks even better this year... we'll see.

Now who's got the first question?

[Eazy P]

What are your goals this season? Playoffs Lotto?

[garbageman]

After one season with Jerry West, you traded him away again.

While you did make it to the Finals, in hindsight, do you make that Jerry West trade again?

[Keepit100]

Do you see any promising talent from your rookie contract pool to join Delmar in your next team build? Or do you think next season's RFA/UFA is where you can do your damage so the Thunder dont enjoy your 2037 1st rounder too much?

[greepleairport]

What are your goals this season? Playoffs Lotto?

My only goal this season is to let Delmar flourish. I'm not putting much focus on making the playoffs or getting a decent lotto spot. But I would be happy with either.

[greepleairport]

After one season with Jerry West, you traded him away again.

While you did make it to the Finals, in hindsight, do you make that Jerry West trade again?

No. It was shortsighted, but I also don't regret it. I would have preferred to trade Pete this year instead of Jerry, if I were to only trade one or the other to get under the tax, but here we are. Pete will be an excellent supporting cast for Delmar's best season yet.

[greepleairport]

Do you see any promising talent from your rookie contract pool to join Delmar in your next team build? Or do you think next season's RFA/UFA is where you can do your damage so the Thunder dont enjoy your 2037 1st rounder too much?

My rookie contracts are Tracy Sullivan and Major Clark, so no, I don't have any promising talent and am not holding my breath for a great pick next season. I do expect to make decent gains through next season's free agency, though. Maybe even a Syndicate-like free agency if I'm so lucky...

[MexicanMamba]

Have you completed moving all of your Laker gear into the Staples Center basement?

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[greepleairport]

Have you completed moving all of your Laker gear into the Staples Center basement?

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[AngryBanana]

Chet Youbetcha, Dimmadome News:

With back to back finals appearances, have you learned anything particular from those season as far as game planning that you plan on using in the future?


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[greepleairport]

Chet Youbetcha, Dimmadome News:

With back to back finals appearances, have you learned anything particular from those season as far as game planning that you plan on using in the future?


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I almost had back to back finals, but the Kings took me out in between, to clarify, but I learned a lot, yes, not sure where to start.

Perhaps with impulsivity. Though I’d been looking at West for literally three seasons, I wasn’t ready to give up Leiker until Sabonis sweetened the deal and allowed me to release Sherrill. I ultimately instantly did not care for Sabonis and miss Leiker to this day. Leiker gave BDJ fits when I met the Kings in the conference finals, so if I kept him I would have had an advantage there, but conversely may not have gotten that far without West. All things considered, I would not do that deal over, even though I do not regret the move now.

When you say game planning I think the literal usage of help defense, 3pt usage, full court press etc., and I think I’ve learned to use that relative to my team’s strengths. More philosophically, however, building your team is the true game planning, which I’m still learning every season. With the right team, evidenced by the raptors in my first finals trip, you can simply hit recommend and the rest is history.


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[Xist2Inspire]

Random Reporter: With the goal this season seemingly not being to compete, but to see just how good Delmar can be, can we expect a mass exodus of non-Delmar talent if the team gets off to a mediocre start?

[greepleairport]

Random Reporter: With the goal this season seemingly not being to compete, but to see just how good Delmar can be, can we expect a mass exodus of non-Delmar talent if the team gets off to a mediocre start?

Not necessarily. While I understand the point of tanking, I’m not ready to implement it. We’ll see what happens. Pete had a better than expected preseason so who knows? Maybe this will keep me competitive.


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