#SLOE: People's Basketball Sim League

Coming off of two championship seasons, S51 was supposed to be a gap year for the Chicago Bulls that would ease into a tax reset year in season 52. We'd sent Cristiano Felicio, Miguel Thomas, and Chris Ridley to other teams, and it was no secret that Burt Gibson and Richard Hunt were on the trade block with goals to unload them this offseason.

Both Burt and Richard played their tails off in S52, leading the Bulls to a Conference Finals appearance against the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs. We gave them their toughest test in the playoffs and figured that strong years for both players would generate a decent amount of interest in the offseason.

I don't know what it was. Perhaps it was the mantra of weak GMs to avoid trading with successful GMs, or the overgeneralization and undernuancing of an old analysis that shorthands a specific age as universally undesirable. Or perhaps GMs were apprehensive to make the first big swing in the offseason. Likely it was a number of things, but fortunately for us, the market's unwillingness to cash in to compete left us considering another direction.

Despite the implications of another year in the repeater tax, when we heard Delmar Lopez was going to be available on the trade market, we knew that we had the gap roster to make a strong offer, and since other teams seemed to be holding onto their young players tightly, we figured that it made more sense to throw everything we could to bring Delmar back to Illinois and compete for our 6th championship.

Richard and Burt were on board to bring in an even stronger player for the opportunity to earn some more hardware, and once the trade was made, we were able to bring in some former Bulls (Silky Johnson), some of Delmar's former Lakers teammates (Justin Todd and Jere Ratliff), and some folks who have done a little bit of both (Bronny James, Glen Sabo).

We're thrilled to have Delmar in a Bulls jersey--thrilled to see him playing every day, knowing what he can do on the court--pretty much anything he wants. Around him, we've got a very versatile team with roleplayers we can plug and play around Delmar, Richard, and Burt. We're ready to get this season started, so ask us your questions so we can get out of here, suit up, and play.

Last season, the Magic took you to the limits and the Spurs won a championship. Both of these squads should be a problem once again, but do you see any darkhorse candidates in Alpha that your Delmar-ful Bulls need to be keeping an eye on?

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MexicanMamba wrote: Sat May 29, 2021 6:15 pm Last season, the Magic took you to the limits and the Spurs won a championship. Both of these squads should be a problem once again, but do you see any darkhorse candidates in Alpha that your Delmar-ful Bulls need to be keeping an eye on?

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The Bucks started gearing up in the offseason with trades for Dangerfield, Hector, and Wolfgang, and they wouldn't have done so if they were content to stop there. We expect them to make other moves, but there's nothing they--or anyone--can do that really discourages us. The Kings are still a strong team with Killian Hayes looking extremely good, but beyond him and Jonathan Lewis, they're a lot more depleted than last season.

I guess in short, a lot of teams got stronger, and Alpha is looking a lot more competitive, but the strongest teams last season look to have held pat at best, and the teams that made the biggest strides still have a ways to go. We feel like we're the team to beat, and teams that don't keep their eye on the entire league are rarely ever the teams to beat.

Appearing to be one of if not the clear favorites for the title this year, how do you snap Delmar’s luck of being on that exact same team that looks ridiculously good and falling down too early in the playoffs anyway?


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greepleairport wrote: Sat May 29, 2021 7:08 pm Appearing to be one of if not the clear favorites for the title this year, how do you snap Delmar’s luck of being on that exact same team that looks ridiculously good and falling down too early in the playoffs anyway?


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We have a pretty solid track record of putting together teams that look like early favorites and taking them all the way. Of course, that doesn't happen every time, but my job as a GM is to put together the strongest team possible, not put together an underdog team that gets lucky.

Random Reporter: Do you feel that this team, as-is, can win the title? If not, then what position or need will you look to improve via trade this season?

Delmar was at the PF spot for the preseason. Will he stay there or do you see him at SG?

Xist2Inspire wrote: Mon May 31, 2021 11:08 am Random Reporter: Do you feel that this team, as-is, can win the title? If not, then what position or need will you look to improve via trade this season?

I feel like we can win a title as is, but that won't stop us from trying to improve. Our three locks in the starting lineup are Delmar, Burt, and Richard Hunt. Hunt's obviously going to command that PG position, but Delmar and Burt can fit into a multitude of spots. If we have a chance to improve at Center, I'd have to say that's where we'd look if the right deal came along, however, we're interested to see if Gerald Pilkington and Justin Todd can cover the hard hat lunchpail needs in the post since scoring won't be an issue.

false9 wrote: Mon May 31, 2021 11:53 am Delmar was at the PF spot for the preseason. Will he stay there or do you see him at SG?

We'll keep him in the frontcourt for now. He's a strong rebounder who can block, and we have plenty of other players who we feel could play SG that wouldn't be as effective in the 4 spot.

Do you feel like you were ever close to dealing Gibson/Hunt? Or was it crickets all offseason before the Delmar deal?

K-100 wrote: Mon May 31, 2021 1:07 pm Do you feel like you were ever close to dealing Gibson/Hunt? Or was it crickets all offseason before the Delmar deal?

No, not at all. We got a couple offers for Hunt, but neither one of them was strong enough to move Hunt without moving Gibson as well. With Caruso and Folse on the roster, we weren't necessarily looking for a future centerpiece, just productive young roleplayers and open cap space to reset and sign some long term players to support the young dudes as they grew into their potentials over the next few seasons.

Chet Youbetcha, Dimmadome News: Hypothetically, do you think you could have beaten the Thunder last season if you made the Finals?

How many wins do you think your team can get you this season? I think you have a 60 plus win squad

AngryBanana wrote: Mon May 31, 2021 2:28 pm Chet Youbetcha, Dimmadome News: Hypothetically, do you think you could have beaten the Thunder last season if you made the Finals?

It could've gone either way. At that level, most series can. They would've been a tough matchup for sure, but as a what-if, it's not really something I've put much thought into.

Eazy P wrote: Mon May 31, 2021 2:42 pm How many wins do you think your team can get you this season? I think you have a 60 plus win squad

69...nice