Six on Six Season 49 Edition
Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 3:24 pm
Hello everyone, and welcome to another addition of Six on Six, with your moderator AngryBanana. I know it’s called five on five usually, but I had six people say yes to doing this suddenly and I also had to make a new question up when one of the prediction questions were answered before I could get this out, thanks False9. We have another great panel here for you today answering questions that popped into my head that I thought “Hey, let’s see what the GMs of PBSL think about this?” On the panel for this round of questions are K100 of the Philadelphia 76ers, The JNR of the Timberwolves, Mexican Mamba of the Los Angeles Clippers, Xist2Inspire of the Washington Wizards, NickMalone of the New Orleans Pelicans, and IamQuailman of the Milwaukee Bucks. I was going to go ahead and award points as well to the panel, however their answers are long enough as it is so I award them no six on six points and may God have mercy on their soul.
1. The Magic have one win on the season as of these questions going out, who do you think will Magic next beat and why? (Writers Note: This question was asked before the Magic had already secured three wins on the season… don’t blame me, blame the GM who waited until today to get me the answers.)
K100: Looks like the Magic got game 2 already, so let's take a quick look at the schedule and see when win #3 is going to come. Now that the Magic have started their fire sale, I think the next few weeks are going to be rough for false9 and the Mickey Mouse Club. But I see a win coming up right at the end of January, against the Mavs. Book it, January 30, 2039 - Orlando over Dallas.
The JNR: Don’t pay me for my answers, pay me for word count. The obvious answer here is the Hawks, and I’m the most obvious GM in the league, so I’m going with them. Two times they play in Friday’s sim, and even though they’re both on the road, it’s still the Hawks, and if you look closely the one team they’ve already beaten is – can you guess? – THE HAWKS. Do I have to say The Hawks one more time? Fine. I’ll say it. The Hawks.
Mamba: Obviously 1-13 is abysmal, however, when looking closer at their schedule I am seeing that they are a team that is rarely getting blown out. Tex Harrison and Ronnie Reynolds seem to be giving teams fits, even in losing efforts. They’ve lost 4 games by one possession and 6 total by a single digit margin. They do have a tough, road-heavy sim tonight and then not a lot of cupcakes in Monday’s sim, but I believe that there is a very good possibility that they can their 2nd win tonight. Though both games are on the road, I am leaning towards giving them 1 of the 2 against the Atlanta Hawks, whom they have already beaten on the road for their only victory of the season. In that win, Tex Harrison went off for 34 points and Reynolds chipped in with another 23. In another game (which they narrowly lost) against the Hawks, it was Reynolds who put up 36 but Tex struggled with 11. I look for both guys to get going in at least one of these Hawks rematches to pull one out and I am going to say it is by double figures, to go bold!
X: I know that they just lost to them on the road earlier, but I'm giving the Magic a puncher's chance at home against the Heat on 12/16. As for why? Well, being at home should be enough to give them a boost, and they're fairly even in talent, if not experience. After that, there's a lot of road games coming up for them, so if they don't beat the Heat (lol), they might not win again for a while. Maybe vs. the Jazz on 12/23?
Nick: With the Magic figuring out this season isn’t cutting it, they’re figuring out the next course of action and who to build around should be developing Tex and Ronnie Reynolds. Sending expendable talent to teams that are more set for win-now modes should be the course of action for any team that doesn’t have the goal of making the post season. By Day 60, you can get a sense of who’s making the post season and who has a goal of running the tank. Only deterrence of that could be a detrimental injury to a key figure and then you figure out a way to work around it. The Magic are just getting a head start to make those points and kudos to them for figuring it out now before it’s too late.
Quail: So I'm going to just go with the Sim 5 who the Magic will beat next since I'm the reason this five on five is being held up so long.. I'm really sorry to everyone!!! I'm just going to pick the first crappy team they play. Oh look, the Kings are the first up on the docket. Yeah, Magic gonna get MAGIC WIN NUMBER FOUR.
2. With Horns and Fangs talking some about Max contracts and them becoming harder to move/ not as worth giving out. Are there any players that are currently not on a full max, that you think is worth the contract?
K100: Good question, AB. Apart from the obvious rookie contracts that will earn max offers in the coming seasons, I tried to take a peak at the team pages and found two contracts that I think are bargains, relatively speaking. There might be some recency bias, but the first is Paul Cassel on the Wizards. Xist was able to secure him in RFA with a no-contest bid of $125M/4. I think this contract was a steal given most bigs have fetched northwards of $30M+ easily in the past few RFA classes. I know blocks are Cassel's weakness right now but I see him as a walking double-double for the foreseeable future. Nice contract Xist. The second is Ronnie Reynolds on the Orlando Magic. Given the recent TC boost, Reynolds will see a max offer after next season but right now he is the kind of swiss-army knife many GMs would love to have in their arsenal. He is an outstanding athlete with As/Bs littered across his potentials and someone that will be fun to watch as he continues to develop. The contract is a steal now, but Ronnie will be paid soon enough.
The JNR: You know what’s fun? As of right now, the top 10 scorers in the league are all on max contracts. The max honestly has become the only move in RFA. There are a handful of guys making about 20m who are good players, like Corey Brooks and Grayson Allen. That or some rookie deals, which is the kind of obvious answer.
Mamba: When we say MAX, do we just mean that are not making the maximum amount of money that they were eligible for at the time of their last extension? Or the MAX, as in, $50+ million dollars? If it is the latter, there are probably several guys that we could point to in that instance. Hell, the Raptors might have 3 of them alone in Dangerfield, Turney, Laredo (all of which will eventually be $50mil players, I imagine). But all of those guys received the max they were allowed to receive at the moment of their contracts. So, if we are only talking about people who never got any version of a max contract (and are not still on a rookie contract) then that pool becomes much smaller. Actually, it might be non-existent. At least in terms of their production being so dominant that they absolutely deserve and earn every dollar of a max contract. To individual teams, perhaps a player holds more value than they are currently being paid. For instance, I would have been comfortable paying both Terry Sterner and Marcel McAlister the max they could be paid in RFA, but I was fortunate to get them at a slight discount. I bet Xist would say the same about Cassell this past off-season. In general, though, I think the GMs in this league know who deserves the money, so I don’t think we see deserving guys get underpaid much, we just see undeserving players get overpaid.
X: I actually don't think there's any. I feel like we're in a fairly good place, where everyone currently on a max deal either deserves it or has fair justification. Terry Sterner is pretty much the only guy I can think of who has an argument for deserving a full max right now
Nick: After playing this game for X amount of seasons and years, if there’s one thing I’ve come to know is that any player at any contract is able to be moved. The variance of the price of moving that player or contract depends but that max contract you give out, you have a 4-5 year timer to build yourself and your team into a winner. By the time that talent turns into their 30’s, they aren’t seeing that kind of value and money again anytime soon. That’s why you better make sure the investment you put into that player, you can bank on making the playoffs, maybe an all star game or two and then figuring out what piece fits best next to that cost. That’s why Jordan Johnson and Ben Franklin are supremely good players. You can have those players on your squad but you have to now build a TEAM that fits best next to them. That’s not going to shrink their usage. There’s only one basketball and you have to find what fits best with your team. Guys given specific roles that fit best that will get the rebound, won’t turn the ball over, create the defense that’ll turn your offense up to the next level. Most are trying to win a championship or try to navigate their team the best way possible.
Quail: I have been relatively out of touch on the league as a whole, so it's hard to remember or recall who is on what contract these days. I can say for certain that not a single one of the players on the Knicks is worth a max. That's for sure, not that James would give them $50 million per year. He's cracked the code after all. But, off the top of my head, there are two players on my team that have played above their pay grade, and they are Roderick Pastor and John Blakemore, who recently got a TC boost. On an open market, I think they could fetch a max right now. Blakemore has all the attributes of a point guard you want on your team... but I think those attributes are heightened by the fact that he's only on a $13 million per year contract right now for this season and next. Pastor is an All-Star in the making.. let's see if the fans believe the same.
3. In an attempt to get more involvement from the GMs during the slow monotonous regular season, I have recently brought back both Sim Vegas and Sim Pick em. Do you find that these type of side activities for PBSL encourages you to be more involved through the whole season? Do you think there are other types of side activates that could be added to help promote more involvement from GMs?
K100: Yeah, I think it was a good idea to bring back some of these side games because it is a good opportunity to get points. I am terrible at this kind of stuff and never win but it's all random anyways so why not give it a shot. If there was some way to have a Streak for the Ca$h game like they play on ESPN fantasy where you try to build the longest streak every sim from prop bets and give a point bonus for the season long streak that would be fun. If there is any interest out there in SLOE world, maybe I will design something next season.
The JNR: Me personally? Not at all. Since I can’t sim league at work anymore, things like that only become one more thing I can’t dedicate my whole attention to. If I only have a limited amount of time to spend on sim league, then it’s going to be spent adjusting my DC and figuring out what the hell is going wrong this season. Extra curriculars are for GMs without kids. I’m not sure what other side bar things would generate activity. Maybe actual one on one bets? Betting points with another GM over who will win more games that sim sounds fun and makes my gambling heart go pitter patter.
Mamba: I have done Sim Vegas a couple of times, but admittedly stopped because I never have points to throw to the side because I am always moving them in trades. I have enjoyed the Pick Em starting back up however. I think these types of things are fun additions, however I am guessing that they do not much sway the more veteran GMs around who aren’t as fresh faced and wide-eyed still. Part of what attracted me to Sim league in the first place was the opportunity to interact as part of the team building. I always appreciate hobbies (and jobs) with a good sense of community as it just makes it more fun and engaging for me.
I had not put much thought into other ideas that I would try to add until I read this question but let me try to piece an idea together, even if not fully fleshed out yet:
Some type of fantasy basketball game that tied into sim league performances. Perhaps not the drafting of full teams, since that would take a ton of stat tracking but even if it were just a starting 5. Create a point system, track it, and pit people against each other. Could even do a “money league” where interested teams put in a certain point total and the winner of the league takes it all or just the winner and runner-up getting a small pot at the end even without a buy-in.
X: As somebody who doesn't really gamble (and is bad at it when I do), simple pick 'ems work for me. The buy-in for Sim Vegas just doesn't feel like a smart investment of my points. As a matter of fact, why not break up the Vegas questions and spread them throughout the season? Like we'll have basic "who wins the division" questions and such before the season, then All-Star questions in the middle, and Season Awards questions at the end. Then instead of the buy-in being a fairly hefty 3 points up front for an all-or-nothing guessing game at the beginning of the season, it could be 1 or 2 points spread throughout the season to encourage continuously paying attention to what's going on as the season progresses.
Nick: I’ve always been a big proponent of enhancing the experience for Sim in general. Utilizing these activities along with the meme thread I feel like gets you a greater insight and a greater way to familiarize yourself with the league as a whole. The more involved you are, the easier I think it is join in on the forum itself and get to know the people behind the GM roles. We aren’t all just sharks looking to take advantages of noobs. Some or most of us now have families of our own which isn’t how we were when the inception of this league started. It makes trading with people easier and puts more of an interest in the league. If you have the time to do it, I highly suggest partaking in activities like this.
Quail: This reboot of early format pick ems is great. It's very low effort but pulls more engagement than we've seen in recent seasons. I think its a great call back to some of the early years where pick-ems were a highlight of sim calls. Andy and Josh both really brought some outstanding and thought provoking creativity to their pick ems when they ran as coordinators respectively, but there is something about a simple pick em that can just garner some attention and interaction on the forums.
4. There are two teams with new GMs this season, the Cavs and the Trailblazers. They both have that franchise player in Brandon Boston Jr., and Lugentz Dort. I know we had the option of giving up our teams in the offseason for one of these two teams. If you were to take one of these two teams, which one would you take and why?
K100: In terms of competing in the next 3-4 seasons, give me the Portland Trailblazers easily. Dort is shaping up to be the next De'Aaron Fox and once he hits his potentials will have the kind of gamebreaker ability to singlehandedly carry a squad to the playoffs. If I were the Blazers GM, I'd get on the phone this offseason and start dealing your other assets for win-now pieces immediately. Patton and Snead carry value so I'd try to maximize Dort's window as long as possible. IF you take too long to build, I could see him becoming unhappy like what happened to the Phoenix studs and after this RFA supermax is over, Dort could walk out the door for greener pastures. I dont want to knock the Cavs though. It will be a much slower build because outside of BBJ their cupboard is empty of assets. But BBJ is the perfect player for a new GM to work with because he is a dynamic, scoring wing. He will need more foul training, but offensively the sky is the limit with this guy. The Cavs are also in a fortunate situation because they will have a TON of cap space entering next season coupled with a likely top-3 pick. Knowing jlmarines, I can sense he is itching to compete now so if he spends big this offseason he can fill the talent gap quickly but finding a PG has to be his #1 priority whether in the draft or in free agency this upcoming offseason. The Cavs need a floor general to create space for BBJ to do his thing on the offensive end. I am excited to see how both teams approach their builds and hope they have fun doing so because apart from winning a championship, the early stages of building around a budding superstar can be the best part of SLOE because the possibilities are endless.
The JNR: Another obvious answer: the Blazers. Not only is Dort the better player than Boston Jr., he plays the more in-demand position in the league and has more fun young talent around him. The Cavaliers situation isn’t a bad one by any means, but I went on record on H&F saying that I don’t think Boston Jr is actually a purple level player. Plus the young talent isn’t as prevalent there. Give me Portland.
Mamba: If I remember correctly, it was not the Blazers and Cavs that we were going to have the opportunity to take over, but expansion teams (Warriors, Celtics, etc.) that were legit starting over from scratch, IF we have reason to expand next season. That said, if the question is between the Blazers and the Cavs, I would easily take the Blazers and the reason is the one that I am going to guess everyone else will say : Dort. We are talking about a 23-year-old Point Guard, on a fresh 5-year contract, who legitimately has no weaknesses in his game (unless you count a C potential in steals for now, a weakness). He has never averaged less than 14.2 points per game and is currently sitting at 26 points, 9.9 assists on high shooting percentages. Once his handles go up (or are trained), those turnovers will drop significantly as well. Because of Dort, the Blazers are one good free agency period (and maybe a savvy trade or 2) away from competing immediately. Even better, they have a couple of blue pot rookie contracts to use to trade for players if they choose (and to get rid of that Pugh contract). It is all set-up for them to succeed quickly with the right leadership and I trust Ryan to quickly get their new ownership up to speed and being a thorn in everyone’s side soon.
X: I'm actually going to go with the Cavs here. Dort is amazing and I like him way more than Boston Jr., but there's a lot of contracts on the Blazers that force you to wait a season before doing anything substantial in free agency to make the team your own. The Cavs can cut almost 80 million off of their salary at the end of this season, which means you'll immediately have options for salary dumps, adding another young player to team with BBJ via RFA, smart signings in UFA, etc. There's just so much more you can do right away with Cleveland as opposed to being in a bit of a holding pattern with Portland.
Nick: I would say the Blazers. Boston looks like a nice piece but Dort looks like a Top 5 player in the league kind of ability and given his position in the league, point guard duties is one of the more important positions in the game. Blazers also have decent enough vets they could package to get more points and build around Dort as well. The Cavs have a team that could potentially make the playoffs as constructed as a 7th seed but if I’m rebuilding, I want the team with an irreplaceable player like Dort.
Quail: I would've taken the Trailblazers and Dort. I like BBJ, but Dort is a mini-Tracey McGrady. A better version of Tyler Ulis (one of the inaugural fake players). It may require some creativity to put talent around him, but you have a few seasons to figure that out. He's the better option to build around IMO talent-wise. The ONLY reason I would've taken BBJ and the Cavs over Dort would be the fact that BBJ is still on his rookie deal and you can quickly and more easily add talent around that than a instant max Dort got during RFA.
5. While this was also asked in Horns and Fangs, I think it is worth asking to everyone here since they are neither Horns or Fangs (even though we enjoyed your input guys #ArticleOfTheYear.) There is a lot of hype for next season having new divisions and conferences. Which teams would you like to be in the same division and/or conference as and why? Which ones would you like to avoid if any as well?
K100: In terms of division, it would be fun for me to faceoff against the Cleveland Cavs (jlmarines) and the Oklahoma City Thunder (AB) for the next decade. They are my friends outside of SLOE and since my team is already better than theirs it would be fun to beat them for a couple more seasons in the early 2040s before their squads hit their stride and shoot past me when I enter my rebuild. The three of us talk pretty much everyday anyways outside of sim league so to mix in a little division rivalry would just add to the fun. I dont have any preference to round out the division, but hopefully an active GM, which is pretty much anyone at this point so that is a good thing. In terms of the conference, I think more of the same, I just want GMs who are trying to build a winner. I dont really care who because outside of AB and jlmarines everybody else is pretty much just another guy to me anyways. I guess it would be fun to square up against a strong backcourt with my Big 3 is entering their prime so anyone who has that come on down to my conference. I dont think there is anyone I would avoid. But just for the sake of answering, I'll say the Knicks. They are getting ready to wreck the league so playing them 2x a season is more than enough. Plus, I had the privilege of playing em for a whole decade. Let it be someone else's turn.
The JNR: EXCUSE ME, SIR, I AM ABSOLUTELY A HORN AND/OR FANG. But you’re going to give me extra points for saying what I already said on the podcast? Nice! I want to be in a division with Chad again. Back in the day, when Chad had the better team and I was still getting my feet wet, he beat me in the playoffs and routinely kicked my ass in the division. I’d love to get another shot at him now. I’d also like to be in a division with Tani, because he’s hilarious. And finally, I’ve never been in a division with Ed or Doug, so it’d be fun to mix it up with them.
Mamba: Josh and I recently brought this topic up in conversation and what I said to him was, while I am looking forward to re-alignment, it is simply to get a fresh start and not because I am hoping to get matched up with anyone. Though, while it is not a main focus of mine, I can still admit that there are some GMs that would be fun to get to tangle with a bit more than I usually do. First up would be my crosstown “rivals”, Greeps and the Lakers. No beef or anything but I would just have fun playing that up in articles and stuff, plus Jon and I get along and its always a good chat whenever we dive into sim stuff. Ed and Carlos would also be fun. On top of the fact that they are also two guys that I chat with fairly often, they both have built or are in the middle of building power teams and I would not mind seeing how I could do going up against that. Even when he doesn’t care as much, and is in tax jail, Scott has bite to him so that would probably be some fun as well. I have enjoyed seeing how hard he has attacked getting out of his tax situation (and how hard he went all-in to try getting a title before that) so, another challenging one that would make me have to work. Finally, put me, Ryan and Chad in one division just so the Lakers fans can kill each other, royal rumble style.
Oh, and as for anyone I want to avoid? The Suns. I just want people are, at least, minimally active and engaged.
X: I miss being in a conference with Nick, and I feel that JNR and I are similar personalities that often come to wildly different conclusions, so those would be my top two choices to share a division with. Given that I'm teetering on the verge of a rebuild, I'd prefer to avoid teams that are further along in that path than I am, such as the Kings and Spurs. And rather selfishly, I also wouldn't mind a cupcake division. At first, I shared a conference (then division) with Wig himself, as well as sharing a division with Conroy during the Celtics' reign, and a conference with Quail, Balls, and F'n Soundwave (yes I am still bitter about all the times you took me out in the playoffs, Sound). The first time we realigned, I was in a division with Quail and Sound (again!) during Fox's early years and the Bjorn/RJ combo, and I also shared a conference with False9 during Boban's reign of terror. Then after contraction I ended up in the Johnson Division, which has become notorious (or legendary, depends on how you see it) for being extremely competitive and difficult. I'd appreciate a chance to live in relative peace for a change.
Nick: I’ve been vocal about this and even if I finish in last place, I’ve always wanted to share a division with the Nets and Wizards. If I could, I’d like to share a division again with the Spurs and Thunder. I feel like it’d be a fun battle every time we face and I feel like those teams and GMs I get along with the best in the league even if we don’t trade with each other as actively as we used to.
Quail: I want the Kings in my Division. All shit talking aside, I love going at it with Tani in sim-league. It's fun, and we enjoy getting under each other's skin with petty insults and jokes and salt humor and shitty contracts. lol It's all in good fun and love, and we know how to walk the tight rope without falling over into "over-the-line" territory for each other. As for avoiding, I want to avoid Josh at all costs He's always got the best team (or in the running) and I'd hate to have to face him in the playoffs prior to making the finals... assuming I can ever get out of the first round.
BONUS: So I had a R/showerthoughts of if you had to play Pick/Trade/Oppose of the three players which would it be and why? So the guidelines of it are this, you have to assign one of the choices to each player based on the stats and production that player had from that year (ignoring contract implications it might play on your team, this is purely based on talent and production.) The categories are described as the following 1. Pick – This player you get to have on your team for the full year. 2. Trade: You will have to trade this player to another team within your conference (you can take into account things like what type of return you would expect to get to make it the most beneficial to you.) and 3. Oppose – in this situation you would have to oppose this player in the Finals on the team that they were on that year at full strength.
K100: This would not be R/showerthoughts AB, it would be R/AskSLOE. Just saying. This one was actually easy for me. I would pick David Leiker, trade De'Aaron Fox, and oppose Quintin Kidd. David Leiker has been one of my favorites for a long time because of how versatile he can be on offense both as a scorer and facilitator. It is a shame he never turned purple (that pesky D in 3PS is the culprit in my humble opinion, but in my short time here in SLOE I'd consider him the best non-purple in the league. I'd trade Fox because I think you can be as greedy as you want in assets because your asking price would be justified. There is no need to waste words on Fox, he was, is, and will be incredible. 1st ballot unanimous Hall of Famer. And finally, Mr. Kidd would be my choice for an opponent. I really like his versatility on the defensive end so it would be fun to try and figure out where the opposing GM would scheme him in a hypothetical Finals matchup.
The JNR: I'm going to start by saying I actually hate this question. Not because it isn't creative -- it's very creative. But the reason I hate it is because I want all of them on my team. Seriously, all three would be gangbusters on my team. And yes, probably all of the other teams too, but I'm not the GM of the other teams. I decided not to give this much thought and just jumped right in.
Pick: David Leiker. He's a three tool player at the most important position in the league.
Trade: Quintin Kidd. This is strictly contract based. He'll be able to get me some good assets in a way that Fox will not.
Oppose: DeAaron Fox. I can take Doug in a playoff series.
Mamba: Pick- Fox.Since we're pretending this is a perfect world, Fox would be healthy the entire season. If so, I feel like he impacts a team the most of these 3 players and sandwiching him between Sterner, McAlister on the wing would probably be a helluva upgrade on all levels for me.
Trade- Leiker. Simple. Point Guards are in demand and Leiker is one of the best ones and his contract means whoever is dealing for him gets control of him for a few seasons meaning more value back from me.
Oppose- Kidd.I love Kidd, but at their peaks he's not as good as Fox and he likely doesn't get as much in return as Leiker. So, unfortunately that means I gotta try overcoming him and I would not feel great trying to do it!
X: Pick - De'Aaron Fox. I don't feel like I should have to explain myself too much here, but I for damn sure don't want to face a healthy Fox at any time, let alone the Finals. Trade - Quintin Kidd. Yeah, I know what you're thinking, but I'm 99% sure that he's the most valuable trade chip between the 3 guys, and will likely get me exactly what I want in a trade, plus some. Oppose - David Leiker. No knock on Leiker, but that Suns squad was a top-heavy, no-depth mess. I like my chances with them as opposed to having to face a healthy Fox or an elite defensive Wizards squad.
Nick: F = Quintin Kidd. The production he brings, I know I’m a contender with him on my squad and can build around him.
M = David Leiker. An unsung hero on those Heat and Suns teams. Point guard position is the one position I value the most in the game. He’s an instant threat and going to have a BDJ type career even if he doesn’t have the same contract.
K = Fox. That contract. Nope.
Quail: 1) Pick - Fox. Because why the fox not?! He's my guy and I can't quit him even if his body gives out on me in April every-Fryeing-year. 2) Trade - Kidd. He's not a guy I'd want to face in the Finals. His versatility and skill set would be a nightmare. I'll just play him in the reg season a few times and pray that he matches up somewhere else in the bracket for the playoffs before we would ever possibly meet. 3) Oppose - Leiker. I think he's a defensive stud for sure. But he's also one of the biggest flawed guards in the league when it comes to shooting. He is a complete liability and non-factor from deep. That is something that I think you could easily take advantage of, especially with the squad I have where we shoot 3s ad nauseum. Depending on his roster, I don't think he'd be able to help contribute to keeping up with the 3dashians.
1. The Magic have one win on the season as of these questions going out, who do you think will Magic next beat and why? (Writers Note: This question was asked before the Magic had already secured three wins on the season… don’t blame me, blame the GM who waited until today to get me the answers.)
K100: Looks like the Magic got game 2 already, so let's take a quick look at the schedule and see when win #3 is going to come. Now that the Magic have started their fire sale, I think the next few weeks are going to be rough for false9 and the Mickey Mouse Club. But I see a win coming up right at the end of January, against the Mavs. Book it, January 30, 2039 - Orlando over Dallas.
The JNR: Don’t pay me for my answers, pay me for word count. The obvious answer here is the Hawks, and I’m the most obvious GM in the league, so I’m going with them. Two times they play in Friday’s sim, and even though they’re both on the road, it’s still the Hawks, and if you look closely the one team they’ve already beaten is – can you guess? – THE HAWKS. Do I have to say The Hawks one more time? Fine. I’ll say it. The Hawks.
Mamba: Obviously 1-13 is abysmal, however, when looking closer at their schedule I am seeing that they are a team that is rarely getting blown out. Tex Harrison and Ronnie Reynolds seem to be giving teams fits, even in losing efforts. They’ve lost 4 games by one possession and 6 total by a single digit margin. They do have a tough, road-heavy sim tonight and then not a lot of cupcakes in Monday’s sim, but I believe that there is a very good possibility that they can their 2nd win tonight. Though both games are on the road, I am leaning towards giving them 1 of the 2 against the Atlanta Hawks, whom they have already beaten on the road for their only victory of the season. In that win, Tex Harrison went off for 34 points and Reynolds chipped in with another 23. In another game (which they narrowly lost) against the Hawks, it was Reynolds who put up 36 but Tex struggled with 11. I look for both guys to get going in at least one of these Hawks rematches to pull one out and I am going to say it is by double figures, to go bold!
X: I know that they just lost to them on the road earlier, but I'm giving the Magic a puncher's chance at home against the Heat on 12/16. As for why? Well, being at home should be enough to give them a boost, and they're fairly even in talent, if not experience. After that, there's a lot of road games coming up for them, so if they don't beat the Heat (lol), they might not win again for a while. Maybe vs. the Jazz on 12/23?
Nick: With the Magic figuring out this season isn’t cutting it, they’re figuring out the next course of action and who to build around should be developing Tex and Ronnie Reynolds. Sending expendable talent to teams that are more set for win-now modes should be the course of action for any team that doesn’t have the goal of making the post season. By Day 60, you can get a sense of who’s making the post season and who has a goal of running the tank. Only deterrence of that could be a detrimental injury to a key figure and then you figure out a way to work around it. The Magic are just getting a head start to make those points and kudos to them for figuring it out now before it’s too late.
Quail: So I'm going to just go with the Sim 5 who the Magic will beat next since I'm the reason this five on five is being held up so long.. I'm really sorry to everyone!!! I'm just going to pick the first crappy team they play. Oh look, the Kings are the first up on the docket. Yeah, Magic gonna get MAGIC WIN NUMBER FOUR.
2. With Horns and Fangs talking some about Max contracts and them becoming harder to move/ not as worth giving out. Are there any players that are currently not on a full max, that you think is worth the contract?
K100: Good question, AB. Apart from the obvious rookie contracts that will earn max offers in the coming seasons, I tried to take a peak at the team pages and found two contracts that I think are bargains, relatively speaking. There might be some recency bias, but the first is Paul Cassel on the Wizards. Xist was able to secure him in RFA with a no-contest bid of $125M/4. I think this contract was a steal given most bigs have fetched northwards of $30M+ easily in the past few RFA classes. I know blocks are Cassel's weakness right now but I see him as a walking double-double for the foreseeable future. Nice contract Xist. The second is Ronnie Reynolds on the Orlando Magic. Given the recent TC boost, Reynolds will see a max offer after next season but right now he is the kind of swiss-army knife many GMs would love to have in their arsenal. He is an outstanding athlete with As/Bs littered across his potentials and someone that will be fun to watch as he continues to develop. The contract is a steal now, but Ronnie will be paid soon enough.
The JNR: You know what’s fun? As of right now, the top 10 scorers in the league are all on max contracts. The max honestly has become the only move in RFA. There are a handful of guys making about 20m who are good players, like Corey Brooks and Grayson Allen. That or some rookie deals, which is the kind of obvious answer.
Mamba: When we say MAX, do we just mean that are not making the maximum amount of money that they were eligible for at the time of their last extension? Or the MAX, as in, $50+ million dollars? If it is the latter, there are probably several guys that we could point to in that instance. Hell, the Raptors might have 3 of them alone in Dangerfield, Turney, Laredo (all of which will eventually be $50mil players, I imagine). But all of those guys received the max they were allowed to receive at the moment of their contracts. So, if we are only talking about people who never got any version of a max contract (and are not still on a rookie contract) then that pool becomes much smaller. Actually, it might be non-existent. At least in terms of their production being so dominant that they absolutely deserve and earn every dollar of a max contract. To individual teams, perhaps a player holds more value than they are currently being paid. For instance, I would have been comfortable paying both Terry Sterner and Marcel McAlister the max they could be paid in RFA, but I was fortunate to get them at a slight discount. I bet Xist would say the same about Cassell this past off-season. In general, though, I think the GMs in this league know who deserves the money, so I don’t think we see deserving guys get underpaid much, we just see undeserving players get overpaid.
X: I actually don't think there's any. I feel like we're in a fairly good place, where everyone currently on a max deal either deserves it or has fair justification. Terry Sterner is pretty much the only guy I can think of who has an argument for deserving a full max right now
Nick: After playing this game for X amount of seasons and years, if there’s one thing I’ve come to know is that any player at any contract is able to be moved. The variance of the price of moving that player or contract depends but that max contract you give out, you have a 4-5 year timer to build yourself and your team into a winner. By the time that talent turns into their 30’s, they aren’t seeing that kind of value and money again anytime soon. That’s why you better make sure the investment you put into that player, you can bank on making the playoffs, maybe an all star game or two and then figuring out what piece fits best next to that cost. That’s why Jordan Johnson and Ben Franklin are supremely good players. You can have those players on your squad but you have to now build a TEAM that fits best next to them. That’s not going to shrink their usage. There’s only one basketball and you have to find what fits best with your team. Guys given specific roles that fit best that will get the rebound, won’t turn the ball over, create the defense that’ll turn your offense up to the next level. Most are trying to win a championship or try to navigate their team the best way possible.
Quail: I have been relatively out of touch on the league as a whole, so it's hard to remember or recall who is on what contract these days. I can say for certain that not a single one of the players on the Knicks is worth a max. That's for sure, not that James would give them $50 million per year. He's cracked the code after all. But, off the top of my head, there are two players on my team that have played above their pay grade, and they are Roderick Pastor and John Blakemore, who recently got a TC boost. On an open market, I think they could fetch a max right now. Blakemore has all the attributes of a point guard you want on your team... but I think those attributes are heightened by the fact that he's only on a $13 million per year contract right now for this season and next. Pastor is an All-Star in the making.. let's see if the fans believe the same.
3. In an attempt to get more involvement from the GMs during the slow monotonous regular season, I have recently brought back both Sim Vegas and Sim Pick em. Do you find that these type of side activities for PBSL encourages you to be more involved through the whole season? Do you think there are other types of side activates that could be added to help promote more involvement from GMs?
K100: Yeah, I think it was a good idea to bring back some of these side games because it is a good opportunity to get points. I am terrible at this kind of stuff and never win but it's all random anyways so why not give it a shot. If there was some way to have a Streak for the Ca$h game like they play on ESPN fantasy where you try to build the longest streak every sim from prop bets and give a point bonus for the season long streak that would be fun. If there is any interest out there in SLOE world, maybe I will design something next season.
The JNR: Me personally? Not at all. Since I can’t sim league at work anymore, things like that only become one more thing I can’t dedicate my whole attention to. If I only have a limited amount of time to spend on sim league, then it’s going to be spent adjusting my DC and figuring out what the hell is going wrong this season. Extra curriculars are for GMs without kids. I’m not sure what other side bar things would generate activity. Maybe actual one on one bets? Betting points with another GM over who will win more games that sim sounds fun and makes my gambling heart go pitter patter.
Mamba: I have done Sim Vegas a couple of times, but admittedly stopped because I never have points to throw to the side because I am always moving them in trades. I have enjoyed the Pick Em starting back up however. I think these types of things are fun additions, however I am guessing that they do not much sway the more veteran GMs around who aren’t as fresh faced and wide-eyed still. Part of what attracted me to Sim league in the first place was the opportunity to interact as part of the team building. I always appreciate hobbies (and jobs) with a good sense of community as it just makes it more fun and engaging for me.
I had not put much thought into other ideas that I would try to add until I read this question but let me try to piece an idea together, even if not fully fleshed out yet:
Some type of fantasy basketball game that tied into sim league performances. Perhaps not the drafting of full teams, since that would take a ton of stat tracking but even if it were just a starting 5. Create a point system, track it, and pit people against each other. Could even do a “money league” where interested teams put in a certain point total and the winner of the league takes it all or just the winner and runner-up getting a small pot at the end even without a buy-in.
X: As somebody who doesn't really gamble (and is bad at it when I do), simple pick 'ems work for me. The buy-in for Sim Vegas just doesn't feel like a smart investment of my points. As a matter of fact, why not break up the Vegas questions and spread them throughout the season? Like we'll have basic "who wins the division" questions and such before the season, then All-Star questions in the middle, and Season Awards questions at the end. Then instead of the buy-in being a fairly hefty 3 points up front for an all-or-nothing guessing game at the beginning of the season, it could be 1 or 2 points spread throughout the season to encourage continuously paying attention to what's going on as the season progresses.
Nick: I’ve always been a big proponent of enhancing the experience for Sim in general. Utilizing these activities along with the meme thread I feel like gets you a greater insight and a greater way to familiarize yourself with the league as a whole. The more involved you are, the easier I think it is join in on the forum itself and get to know the people behind the GM roles. We aren’t all just sharks looking to take advantages of noobs. Some or most of us now have families of our own which isn’t how we were when the inception of this league started. It makes trading with people easier and puts more of an interest in the league. If you have the time to do it, I highly suggest partaking in activities like this.
Quail: This reboot of early format pick ems is great. It's very low effort but pulls more engagement than we've seen in recent seasons. I think its a great call back to some of the early years where pick-ems were a highlight of sim calls. Andy and Josh both really brought some outstanding and thought provoking creativity to their pick ems when they ran as coordinators respectively, but there is something about a simple pick em that can just garner some attention and interaction on the forums.
4. There are two teams with new GMs this season, the Cavs and the Trailblazers. They both have that franchise player in Brandon Boston Jr., and Lugentz Dort. I know we had the option of giving up our teams in the offseason for one of these two teams. If you were to take one of these two teams, which one would you take and why?
K100: In terms of competing in the next 3-4 seasons, give me the Portland Trailblazers easily. Dort is shaping up to be the next De'Aaron Fox and once he hits his potentials will have the kind of gamebreaker ability to singlehandedly carry a squad to the playoffs. If I were the Blazers GM, I'd get on the phone this offseason and start dealing your other assets for win-now pieces immediately. Patton and Snead carry value so I'd try to maximize Dort's window as long as possible. IF you take too long to build, I could see him becoming unhappy like what happened to the Phoenix studs and after this RFA supermax is over, Dort could walk out the door for greener pastures. I dont want to knock the Cavs though. It will be a much slower build because outside of BBJ their cupboard is empty of assets. But BBJ is the perfect player for a new GM to work with because he is a dynamic, scoring wing. He will need more foul training, but offensively the sky is the limit with this guy. The Cavs are also in a fortunate situation because they will have a TON of cap space entering next season coupled with a likely top-3 pick. Knowing jlmarines, I can sense he is itching to compete now so if he spends big this offseason he can fill the talent gap quickly but finding a PG has to be his #1 priority whether in the draft or in free agency this upcoming offseason. The Cavs need a floor general to create space for BBJ to do his thing on the offensive end. I am excited to see how both teams approach their builds and hope they have fun doing so because apart from winning a championship, the early stages of building around a budding superstar can be the best part of SLOE because the possibilities are endless.
The JNR: Another obvious answer: the Blazers. Not only is Dort the better player than Boston Jr., he plays the more in-demand position in the league and has more fun young talent around him. The Cavaliers situation isn’t a bad one by any means, but I went on record on H&F saying that I don’t think Boston Jr is actually a purple level player. Plus the young talent isn’t as prevalent there. Give me Portland.
Mamba: If I remember correctly, it was not the Blazers and Cavs that we were going to have the opportunity to take over, but expansion teams (Warriors, Celtics, etc.) that were legit starting over from scratch, IF we have reason to expand next season. That said, if the question is between the Blazers and the Cavs, I would easily take the Blazers and the reason is the one that I am going to guess everyone else will say : Dort. We are talking about a 23-year-old Point Guard, on a fresh 5-year contract, who legitimately has no weaknesses in his game (unless you count a C potential in steals for now, a weakness). He has never averaged less than 14.2 points per game and is currently sitting at 26 points, 9.9 assists on high shooting percentages. Once his handles go up (or are trained), those turnovers will drop significantly as well. Because of Dort, the Blazers are one good free agency period (and maybe a savvy trade or 2) away from competing immediately. Even better, they have a couple of blue pot rookie contracts to use to trade for players if they choose (and to get rid of that Pugh contract). It is all set-up for them to succeed quickly with the right leadership and I trust Ryan to quickly get their new ownership up to speed and being a thorn in everyone’s side soon.
X: I'm actually going to go with the Cavs here. Dort is amazing and I like him way more than Boston Jr., but there's a lot of contracts on the Blazers that force you to wait a season before doing anything substantial in free agency to make the team your own. The Cavs can cut almost 80 million off of their salary at the end of this season, which means you'll immediately have options for salary dumps, adding another young player to team with BBJ via RFA, smart signings in UFA, etc. There's just so much more you can do right away with Cleveland as opposed to being in a bit of a holding pattern with Portland.
Nick: I would say the Blazers. Boston looks like a nice piece but Dort looks like a Top 5 player in the league kind of ability and given his position in the league, point guard duties is one of the more important positions in the game. Blazers also have decent enough vets they could package to get more points and build around Dort as well. The Cavs have a team that could potentially make the playoffs as constructed as a 7th seed but if I’m rebuilding, I want the team with an irreplaceable player like Dort.
Quail: I would've taken the Trailblazers and Dort. I like BBJ, but Dort is a mini-Tracey McGrady. A better version of Tyler Ulis (one of the inaugural fake players). It may require some creativity to put talent around him, but you have a few seasons to figure that out. He's the better option to build around IMO talent-wise. The ONLY reason I would've taken BBJ and the Cavs over Dort would be the fact that BBJ is still on his rookie deal and you can quickly and more easily add talent around that than a instant max Dort got during RFA.
5. While this was also asked in Horns and Fangs, I think it is worth asking to everyone here since they are neither Horns or Fangs (even though we enjoyed your input guys #ArticleOfTheYear.) There is a lot of hype for next season having new divisions and conferences. Which teams would you like to be in the same division and/or conference as and why? Which ones would you like to avoid if any as well?
K100: In terms of division, it would be fun for me to faceoff against the Cleveland Cavs (jlmarines) and the Oklahoma City Thunder (AB) for the next decade. They are my friends outside of SLOE and since my team is already better than theirs it would be fun to beat them for a couple more seasons in the early 2040s before their squads hit their stride and shoot past me when I enter my rebuild. The three of us talk pretty much everyday anyways outside of sim league so to mix in a little division rivalry would just add to the fun. I dont have any preference to round out the division, but hopefully an active GM, which is pretty much anyone at this point so that is a good thing. In terms of the conference, I think more of the same, I just want GMs who are trying to build a winner. I dont really care who because outside of AB and jlmarines everybody else is pretty much just another guy to me anyways. I guess it would be fun to square up against a strong backcourt with my Big 3 is entering their prime so anyone who has that come on down to my conference. I dont think there is anyone I would avoid. But just for the sake of answering, I'll say the Knicks. They are getting ready to wreck the league so playing them 2x a season is more than enough. Plus, I had the privilege of playing em for a whole decade. Let it be someone else's turn.
The JNR: EXCUSE ME, SIR, I AM ABSOLUTELY A HORN AND/OR FANG. But you’re going to give me extra points for saying what I already said on the podcast? Nice! I want to be in a division with Chad again. Back in the day, when Chad had the better team and I was still getting my feet wet, he beat me in the playoffs and routinely kicked my ass in the division. I’d love to get another shot at him now. I’d also like to be in a division with Tani, because he’s hilarious. And finally, I’ve never been in a division with Ed or Doug, so it’d be fun to mix it up with them.
Mamba: Josh and I recently brought this topic up in conversation and what I said to him was, while I am looking forward to re-alignment, it is simply to get a fresh start and not because I am hoping to get matched up with anyone. Though, while it is not a main focus of mine, I can still admit that there are some GMs that would be fun to get to tangle with a bit more than I usually do. First up would be my crosstown “rivals”, Greeps and the Lakers. No beef or anything but I would just have fun playing that up in articles and stuff, plus Jon and I get along and its always a good chat whenever we dive into sim stuff. Ed and Carlos would also be fun. On top of the fact that they are also two guys that I chat with fairly often, they both have built or are in the middle of building power teams and I would not mind seeing how I could do going up against that. Even when he doesn’t care as much, and is in tax jail, Scott has bite to him so that would probably be some fun as well. I have enjoyed seeing how hard he has attacked getting out of his tax situation (and how hard he went all-in to try getting a title before that) so, another challenging one that would make me have to work. Finally, put me, Ryan and Chad in one division just so the Lakers fans can kill each other, royal rumble style.
Oh, and as for anyone I want to avoid? The Suns. I just want people are, at least, minimally active and engaged.
X: I miss being in a conference with Nick, and I feel that JNR and I are similar personalities that often come to wildly different conclusions, so those would be my top two choices to share a division with. Given that I'm teetering on the verge of a rebuild, I'd prefer to avoid teams that are further along in that path than I am, such as the Kings and Spurs. And rather selfishly, I also wouldn't mind a cupcake division. At first, I shared a conference (then division) with Wig himself, as well as sharing a division with Conroy during the Celtics' reign, and a conference with Quail, Balls, and F'n Soundwave (yes I am still bitter about all the times you took me out in the playoffs, Sound). The first time we realigned, I was in a division with Quail and Sound (again!) during Fox's early years and the Bjorn/RJ combo, and I also shared a conference with False9 during Boban's reign of terror. Then after contraction I ended up in the Johnson Division, which has become notorious (or legendary, depends on how you see it) for being extremely competitive and difficult. I'd appreciate a chance to live in relative peace for a change.
Nick: I’ve been vocal about this and even if I finish in last place, I’ve always wanted to share a division with the Nets and Wizards. If I could, I’d like to share a division again with the Spurs and Thunder. I feel like it’d be a fun battle every time we face and I feel like those teams and GMs I get along with the best in the league even if we don’t trade with each other as actively as we used to.
Quail: I want the Kings in my Division. All shit talking aside, I love going at it with Tani in sim-league. It's fun, and we enjoy getting under each other's skin with petty insults and jokes and salt humor and shitty contracts. lol It's all in good fun and love, and we know how to walk the tight rope without falling over into "over-the-line" territory for each other. As for avoiding, I want to avoid Josh at all costs He's always got the best team (or in the running) and I'd hate to have to face him in the playoffs prior to making the finals... assuming I can ever get out of the first round.
BONUS: So I had a R/showerthoughts of if you had to play Pick/Trade/Oppose of the three players which would it be and why? So the guidelines of it are this, you have to assign one of the choices to each player based on the stats and production that player had from that year (ignoring contract implications it might play on your team, this is purely based on talent and production.) The categories are described as the following 1. Pick – This player you get to have on your team for the full year. 2. Trade: You will have to trade this player to another team within your conference (you can take into account things like what type of return you would expect to get to make it the most beneficial to you.) and 3. Oppose – in this situation you would have to oppose this player in the Finals on the team that they were on that year at full strength.
K100: This would not be R/showerthoughts AB, it would be R/AskSLOE. Just saying. This one was actually easy for me. I would pick David Leiker, trade De'Aaron Fox, and oppose Quintin Kidd. David Leiker has been one of my favorites for a long time because of how versatile he can be on offense both as a scorer and facilitator. It is a shame he never turned purple (that pesky D in 3PS is the culprit in my humble opinion, but in my short time here in SLOE I'd consider him the best non-purple in the league. I'd trade Fox because I think you can be as greedy as you want in assets because your asking price would be justified. There is no need to waste words on Fox, he was, is, and will be incredible. 1st ballot unanimous Hall of Famer. And finally, Mr. Kidd would be my choice for an opponent. I really like his versatility on the defensive end so it would be fun to try and figure out where the opposing GM would scheme him in a hypothetical Finals matchup.
The JNR: I'm going to start by saying I actually hate this question. Not because it isn't creative -- it's very creative. But the reason I hate it is because I want all of them on my team. Seriously, all three would be gangbusters on my team. And yes, probably all of the other teams too, but I'm not the GM of the other teams. I decided not to give this much thought and just jumped right in.
Pick: David Leiker. He's a three tool player at the most important position in the league.
Trade: Quintin Kidd. This is strictly contract based. He'll be able to get me some good assets in a way that Fox will not.
Oppose: DeAaron Fox. I can take Doug in a playoff series.
Mamba: Pick- Fox.Since we're pretending this is a perfect world, Fox would be healthy the entire season. If so, I feel like he impacts a team the most of these 3 players and sandwiching him between Sterner, McAlister on the wing would probably be a helluva upgrade on all levels for me.
Trade- Leiker. Simple. Point Guards are in demand and Leiker is one of the best ones and his contract means whoever is dealing for him gets control of him for a few seasons meaning more value back from me.
Oppose- Kidd.I love Kidd, but at their peaks he's not as good as Fox and he likely doesn't get as much in return as Leiker. So, unfortunately that means I gotta try overcoming him and I would not feel great trying to do it!
X: Pick - De'Aaron Fox. I don't feel like I should have to explain myself too much here, but I for damn sure don't want to face a healthy Fox at any time, let alone the Finals. Trade - Quintin Kidd. Yeah, I know what you're thinking, but I'm 99% sure that he's the most valuable trade chip between the 3 guys, and will likely get me exactly what I want in a trade, plus some. Oppose - David Leiker. No knock on Leiker, but that Suns squad was a top-heavy, no-depth mess. I like my chances with them as opposed to having to face a healthy Fox or an elite defensive Wizards squad.
Nick: F = Quintin Kidd. The production he brings, I know I’m a contender with him on my squad and can build around him.
M = David Leiker. An unsung hero on those Heat and Suns teams. Point guard position is the one position I value the most in the game. He’s an instant threat and going to have a BDJ type career even if he doesn’t have the same contract.
K = Fox. That contract. Nope.
Quail: 1) Pick - Fox. Because why the fox not?! He's my guy and I can't quit him even if his body gives out on me in April every-Fryeing-year. 2) Trade - Kidd. He's not a guy I'd want to face in the Finals. His versatility and skill set would be a nightmare. I'll just play him in the reg season a few times and pray that he matches up somewhere else in the bracket for the playoffs before we would ever possibly meet. 3) Oppose - Leiker. I think he's a defensive stud for sure. But he's also one of the biggest flawed guards in the league when it comes to shooting. He is a complete liability and non-factor from deep. That is something that I think you could easily take advantage of, especially with the squad I have where we shoot 3s ad nauseum. Depending on his roster, I don't think he'd be able to help contribute to keeping up with the 3dashians.