#SLOE: People's Basketball Sim League

Hello everyone and welcome in to the #FillYoPouch Presser.

First, we’ll start with last season. It was not good. We had playoff aspirations in mind and even though we got off to a good start, we were 18-14 at one point and sitting at 6th place in the standings, but then we fell flat on our faces. I wish I had the answers but I don’t. Our offense was fantastic at the start, we were top 5 in points for a big chunk of the season, and finished 8th. Our defense is unfortunately still terrible. Hopefully, with this latest TC, we can see some improvement there and be able to stop teams from scoring at will. But irregardless of that, we just need to figure out how to win more games. I want to see this team finally hit that 40 win mark and become a playoff contending team.

This offseason was a quiet one for us. We mainly focused on improving the people we have on the team. We didn't have a first round pick and we didn't have much cap space to make a big splash in FA. We did get rid of Kofi's contract and we wish him the best of luck this season. Hopefully, we start seeing this team head down the winning direction. We are still looking to make some moves this season so hopefully something comes up to make us better sooner rather than later. We're really gonna be looking to see how Longar and Pizzaro handle a more expanded role this season. Dick just keeps getting better and we are really excited to see if he steps up and shows he can be a top center in this league. Lee, Ramos, and Markham are all solid core starters so there really isn't much of a reason this team can't be successful this season

As I said before, I'm really hoping this team can finally make the push to becoming a playoff team. We had a decent preseason and we need to build off of that. If we can improve our defense (even though I've said it every season) then we can start seeing this team compete with the top teams in this league, except the Pistons. We also need to make sure we win the games that we are favored in. We had too many games last season where it looked like we should have won and then we just didn't perform to our standards for some reason. That needs to not happen. We also have to eliminate those long losing streaks. We didn't do it early on and we looked great and then it came up in the middle of the season.

Thank you all for coming to my Presser and I will now open it up to any questions you may have

What's the ceiling for the Pelicans as currently constructed?

I noticed this year there wasn't a food order. Is this a sign of tightening up and having a no nonsense policy coming from the front office? Do you think this new mindset will help improve the teams performance?

Which position is the biggest concern for you as you move into the regular season?

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Sham Smith, Bulls.com: For the past couple seasons, you have been the chairman of Pick 'Em. Is there anything you've been able to take away from the results of the Pick 'Ems that you've been able to apply to your depth chart and gameplanning strategies?

Eazy P wrote:What's the ceiling for the Pelicans as currently constructed?

I truly believe the ceiling is a team that can make a solid playoff run. We should be very close to being a playoff contender and maybe even surprise some teams in the first round. Our starters should be more than capable to handle the pressure. It’s all gonna come down to coaching and gameplanning


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Jedihero wrote:I noticed this year there wasn't a food order. Is this a sign of tightening up and having a no nonsense policy coming from the front office? Do you think this new mindset will help improve the teams performance?

We’ve had to make some changes. I came in with a fun attitude and that hasn’t worked yet so we are looking to tighten up and see if that helps this team make that push to becoming better. I apologize we don’t have the chicky chicky parm parm this year but if we see some improvement, I promise that you all will be able to benefit/celebrate with us


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MexicanMamba wrote:Which position is the biggest concern for you as you move into the regular season?

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I would say our biggest concern is PG. We have plenty of experienced veteran starters and bench players at all other positions. We’re hoping Homer can take a step forward this season and really show he can become an elite PG. But after that, there’s not much depth for that position, at least on paper. We believe these guys are ready though and we’re excited to see them perform on the court


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garbageman wrote:Sham Smith, Bulls.com: For the past couple seasons, you have been the chairman of Pick 'Em. Is there anything you've been able to take away from the results of the Pick 'Ems that you've been able to apply to your depth chart and gameplanning strategies?

Honestly, not really. I never really look at the Pick’ems for any kind of guidance. I treat it as a fun little side game. But maybe I should start looking into it. Maybe there are some little secrets in the Pick’ems that I never picked up on before


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David Blaine - Florida Sun Review

I know you are in the same division as our Magic, but how are you currently balance building for the future while remaining competitive in the present?

NY_Magic_Garrett wrote:David Blaine - Florida Sun Review

I know you are in the same division as our Magic, but how are you currently balance building for the future while remaining competitive in the present?

Patience. That’s how. This is my 5th season and I’ve only had one season that I felt like we started to put it together. It’s been a slow process but really putting faith in my young guys seems like it’s starting to pay off. Just gotta continue to develop the young guys and trust the process


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