It's Been 50 Seasons of This Wiz S***.

[Xist2Inspire]

For the first decade, I was just happy to be here. It was incredible to me that I was even asked to join, as I'd wandered into HornetsReport by pure chance, and outside of articles, I wasn't particularly outgoing, on both the forum and in the old league. Obviously, I had no idea what I was doing, which led me to experience the entire spectrum of success...and failure. In that decade, I made terrible trades, built teams with great talent but terrible chemistry, went on a crazy Finals run, and posted the single worst record I've ever had. Not bad for a GM getting his feet wet.

The second decade was the single most demoralizing thing I'd ever experienced. I'd built a team from the ground up, created perhaps the single most unique team ever in sim league, ended up with a Top 3-5 player in his prime...and I couldn't get past the 2nd Round. TC tore the squad apart. An ill-advised draft choice proved to be my personal version of Bowie-to-Portland. And at the end of it all, I had to trade my franchise player because it was clear that there was no way I could put the pieces around him to win before he aged out. I entered the decade confident that I was figuring it out, I left the decade disillusioned and feeling like a failure that didn't have what it took to be a winning GM.

The third decade was a bit of a blur. Despite being quite bitter at the start, I quickly developed a new philosophy that not only led to a 57-win team, my favorite squad in Wizards history, but became the mantra that all my teams are built on: We play defense, we all play a role, and we have a strong 8-man rotation. What we didn't have was a bona-fide superstar, and thus we still couldn't get past the second round.

The fourth decade was where I finally gave up. I figured that I was never going to become a perennial contender or even a one-hour wonder with a lucky Finals run, and that was fine. Just because I wasn't going to win didn't mean that I couldn't have fun. I thought back to what I had really enjoyed about seasons past - scouting for hidden gems, designing gameplans, creating wild matchups, coming up with a team focus and acquiring talent to fit that, etc. - and decided that I was just going to do that, and when I felt good enough about myself as a GM, I'd quit, and leave this chapter of my life behind forever. And this was very close to being my last decade in #SLOE, as after a long-awaited return to the Finals, I finally felt that I'd proven that I was indeed a good GM, even if I did lose that series. So why didn't I walk away? Simple: I'd started enjoying things again.

That brings us to the fifth decade. And I'm proud to say that the fun hasn't stopped yet. 9 seasons in, and I've made it to at least the Conference Finals 6 out of those 9 seasons. People actually say I'm one of the best GMs now. The newer GMs even treat me like I'm some kind of friendly old samurai or something. AB and Greeple said they're always watching out for the Wizards and are a little wary about sharing a division with me. Can you imagine that? They're talking about me the same way I talk about Wig and Balls. That's wild. And oh, I didn't even mention that I finally did it. I'm now one of the 49 champions in SLOE.

So, for season 50, I decided to do something that I haven't done, like, ever...go all-in. And as of now, it's not all it's cracked up to be. I don't know how you ultra-competitive GMs do it time and time again, the season hasn't even started and my nerves are already scrambled. See, the thing about me that nobody knows unless I tell them is that I'm insanely competitive. Like, maybe Top 5 in the league. But, I'm not confrontational. I ultimately don't care if you win, I just hate losing that much. I'm usually able to strangle my anger and irritation at my plans failing and cool down to make the shrewder moves I've become known for. Well...this time I didn't. I was majorly tilted over my failed attempts to trade Kidd and Cucone, to the point where instead of waiting for the first domino to fall and seeing what opportunities appeared afterwards, or sucking it up and taking whatever deal was offered to get done what I needed to get done, league opinion be damned, I said "To hell with this, F it, I'm coming for the league's throat. If anybody has a problem with it, or think it's dumb, then they should've told other GMs to send me better offers or do it themselves."

Much thanks to Nick for indulging my mad fantasies, it's been too long since we've come together for a deal, but man, even after mapping out exactly how I'm going to raise the points to get out of this mess, I'm still shaking my head at how unwise a move this was. But it is what it is, and right now our goal is 60 wins and a Finals appearance. If at any point before the trade deadline it looks like we're not going to meet that goal, heads will roll their way right out of DC, specifically Franklin, Kidd, and Cucone's. Cassel and Lady Liberty are our future, and will have to carry the team for the next two seasons as we restock the cupboard after laying the cabinets bare to get Franklin. Hopefully Dixon, Daily, and McGovern help speed that process along, but then again, it's not like we'll have much else to do besides watch them grow, right?

One more thing, we're bringing back the good 'ol 8-player rotation full-time this season. Cassel, Franklin, Kidd, Daniels, Reddish, Cucone, May, Liberty. 50 seasons, huh... let's finish it with a bang.

[garbageman]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: In the past few drafts, you've traded up to grab PG prospects far ahead of their projections. Kendall Liberty panned out, but the depressingly pseudonymed Ali Assad looks like dead weight in New Orleans. This season, you traded for three mid first round picks. Can you talk a bit about what you look for in a mid-first prospect?

[Xist2Inspire]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: In the past few drafts, you've traded up to grab PG prospects far ahead of their projections. Kendall Liberty panned out, but the depressingly pseudonymed Ali Assad looks like dead weight in New Orleans. This season, you traded for three mid first round picks. Can you talk a bit about what you look for in a mid-first prospect?

Wow, great question. With mid-firsts I tend to look for projects with upside who also might be able to (or already can) fill an immediate need. It's basically in-between what someone at the top is looking for (immediate young help) and what someone in the late teens and twenties is looking for (a longshot with a chance to be a role player). With Kendall, I needed a strong backup PG, as Roebuck wasn't planning out as hoped, and I'd already foolishly traded Sanchez. With Ali, I needed a new backup PG for the inevitable switch from Cucone to Kendall, and his skillset also translated well to the potential small-ball, motion-heavy offense I had originally planned to move towards. And in both cases, I noted the growing dissatisfaction with the number of PGs in the league, and drafted both with the intention of not only making sure that I wouldn't be one of those dissatisfied, but would also be one of the prime candidates for those looking to acquire one.

For this draft, after committing myself to cap hell after trading for Franklin, I knew that I had to make moves to acquire talent that were under contract long enough for me to pay off my bill. With that in mind, I reached out to acquire more picks. I also looked to draft players that could fill an immediate role after this season ended. My original plan was to draft Charles Hintz and Frank Daily to serve as wing replacements, but after looking through the available talent and thinking about what I would need to have moving forward, I decided to draft Mason Dixon in order to have another post presence to help Cassel out and perhaps move him back to his natural position at the 4 later on. That left Hintz and Daily (with David McCafferty as a dark horse), and ultimately Daily won out because of his higher defensive potential and younger age. Since it would be a while before I'd have the points available to train if necessary, I wanted my picks to be as young as possible so that they would still have a few developing years left to train in after I escaped the tax. McGovern was a meme pick. He's from DC, his last name is McGovern...the story writes itself. I like his potential, he reminds me of Sanchez, but honestly, I should've drafted Hintz.

[K-100]

You mentioned how some of your new division rivals are wary of seeing you for the next 10 seasons, but who do you think poses a threat in the division to the Wizards this season as you go all-in or in the future when Liberty/Cassel reach their prime?

[Xist2Inspire]

You mentioned how some of your new division rivals are wary of seeing you for the next 10 seasons, but who do you think poses a threat in the division to the Wizards this season as you go all-in or in the future when Liberty/Cassel reach their prime?

As far as the division goes, I'm worried about the Lakers, Nets, and Thunder. And for the Conference, I'm terrified of the Clippers and wary of the 76ers and Pacers. I'm primarily worried about teams that are deeper and more well-rounded than my roster. But to be perfectly honest, right now, the biggest threat I'm worried about are the Bulls. I'm gunning for a title, which means that even beating the threats within the division/conference means nothing if I get whomped by the winner from the opposing Conference. In my mind the Bulls are the clear favorite to win the Alpha, and are thus the team I'm most worried about.

Moving forward, everyone's a threat in my mind. Even though I'll still have Cassel and Liberty, I'll be way, way behind everyone else in terms of both talent and flexibility. It'll be a major uphill battle to keep from being at the bottom of the conference for the next two seasons after this one.

[NOLa.]

You've been on an incredible 50+ win season streak but sooner or later something has to give, right? Or do you feel you will be able to keep this up another 12 seasons?

[Xist2Inspire]

You've been on an incredible 50+ win season streak but sooner or later something has to give, right? Or do you feel you will be able to keep this up another 12 seasons?

Nah, the streak's almost certainly dead after this season.