S82 Town Hall 1

[Mike Lowry]

Describe the 81-82 offseason:
What was exciting?
What was unexpected?
Where is the league headed?
What is changed forever?

Rules: 1 point if you give thoughtful answers, which I will award after the timer ends for responses. The timer ends for responses at the moment the corresponding week's Sim is run.

Note: Use approximately 5 sentences as your bare minimum for 1 point. If you write 3 long, complex sentences, you'll still get a point. If you write 5, 3 word sentences, you will not get a point. Don't @ me.

Due: Due by the deadline for sim 2
Acknowledging late post

[NY_Magic_Garrett]

What was exciting? - Well most of my answers will certainly center around Buck Williams this offseason. Fielding the offers and working the deal was probably the small bit of excitement I can pull from these last few weeks

What was unexpected? - Personally the contracts given out in FA were very unexpected to me, but I am just a wee lad GM. Lessons learned. The Robert Parish trade was expected but the final landing spot was not. That 2 headed monster in GS is going to be fun to watch this year

Where is the league headed?: It feels like the league is in a great place. Engagement and spirits are high, tons of new talent on the horizon. The future seems bright!

What is changed forever?: Hard to say, dont know much about the past, but it sounds like these upcoming drafts are unchartered territory for everyone. We are currently writing NPBSL history books.

Good luck gentlemen

[WigNosy]

Describe the 81-82 offseason:
What was exciting?

I think the amount of wheeling and dealing was exciting. We heard on the OnlyCommissioners pod the phrase "player movement is the lifeblood of the league" and I think it's true - when you're engaged in trade talks, you get to be excited about the different ways your team can go. When all you're doing is "waiting around for the next sim" things can get boring.

What was unexpected?

The Celtics moving off Bernard King. I thought the Cheeks/King combo was a really solid one that would be the foundation for more than just one season.
The Knicks trading Buck Williams and not Doctor J. Then again, I guess it goes to show when you open yourself up for trade talks, you never know where they'll lead.

Where is the league headed?

I think the league is headed toward disappointment. Teams that are trying to tank for the '84 draft will find out there are more teams trying to tank than there are supernova-level stars available. And teams NOT trying to tank are finding out that the arms race is ridiculous (look at the Warriors).

What is changed forever?

The notion of "do not try to tank if you don't have your own pick."

[greepleairport]

Describe the 81-82 offseason:
What was exciting?
What was unexpected?
Where is the league headed?
What is changed forever?

Obviously, my exciting offseason started with Robert Parish and ended with a tremendous 1st round of UFA. We are now a talented team rolling deep through to the end of our bench. Absolute bosses have joined us in the Bay.

Most unexpected was the Knicks moving off of Buck Williams. I have Buck pegged as one of the toughest challenges for Moses Malone. With the Bullets current roster construction, I could see this move taking them out of the East and into the finals.

The league is headed to the 1984 season. Everything between now and then has already started becoming an afterthought for some squads. This is the year the league will change forever. Hopefully between now and then we can snag a title while everyone else is sleeping!

[logpmess]

Describe the 81-82 offseason:
What was exciting?
Not being around for most of the offseason, I didn't have much to be excited about. I preloaded some lists with draft picks and an attempt at first round free agents. I was happy to get Kenny Higgs in FA, who although y/g, he has a good point guard potential.

What was unexpected?
Less unexpected is the offloading of players. With the '84 draft looming, people were expected to move players. The surprise with this is the top contenders now offloading some players. The Bucks were in the finals and are looking for future assets. And the Knicks were built for another run now, but they traded away Buck Williams

Where is the league headed?
Tank-a-thon is in full force. It's not necessarily a bad thing. It will be a tank for the 84 draft and then there is a lull in deep drafts, so people won't be tanking for too long.

What is changed forever?
Everyone being under the cap. With UFA having a decent talent pool and UFA starting in the next couple of seasons, the luxury tax is going to be around forever and it could be argued that it is needed in order to be able to compete.

[Darth Vegito]

What was exciting?
Watching rosters reshape in real time was like flipping through league-wide chess moves. The draft added a flood of young talent, and a few aggressive teams made big pushes to close the gap on Denver’s throne. There’s a sense that anyone could rise — or fall — with one move.

What was unexpected?
The sheer volume of trades and shakeups across playoff teams was wild. A couple rebuilding squads suddenly look competitive, while some contenders made surprisingly conservative moves. The league is more unpredictable than ever — and that’s dangerous for the unprepared.

Where is the league headed?
We’re in a transition era. Young stars are rising, aging vets are clinging to relevance, and every GM knows the next 3-4 sims could define their franchise’s future. The league is deeper, more balanced, and absolutely primed for chaos.

What is changed forever?
I don't think dynasties will be a thing for some time — depth, balance, and coaching flexibility are the new currency. With parity at an all-time high and the cap tightening its grip, smart asset management isn’t just nice to have — it’s more important than ever!

[IamQuailman]

What was exciting?
Just a league overhaul in terms of teams in and out of the hunt. The negotiations, the anxiousness for a sim, the wondering if the deal will get completed... hadn't felt those feelings in a long time. It was pretty fun. Personally, I'm excited about the new look Bucks and that we have truly begun a new era in Milwaukee. I don't think it's a bad thing; yes we were in the Finals... but the ceiling had been reached, and mentally the idea of a fresh start excited the shiet outta me.

What was unexpected?
Doing a podcast for the league. I hadn't really done any meaningful media since the last league, and hadn't really been expecting to with everything going on. But then Darth poked me about the idea for a podcast, and it kinda just grew from there. Oh yea, and the Buck Williams trade going to anyone except me.

Where is the league headed?
A lopsided League. The West is an absolute slog. Great for competition, but the East is really hurting as a result of it. Whether or not this is a long time change is still up in the air with the drafts coming up as well as big time players from the creation draft coming off of those initial deals over the next two off-seasons... bird rights can only protect so much.

What is changed forever?
My feelings for @NY_Magic_Garrett. hehe grrrr

[Jedihero]

Exciting: I feel like in general there is just a buzz around the league. Outside of the league, the new discord is really helping keep people active and engaged. Inside the league I felt like there was a lot of wheeling and dealing and people trying to get a team together to push this season.

Unexpected: Literally everyone in the West conference getting good talent to try and compete with me lol.

Heading: I think this will be a fun year with probably some heartbreak. Seems like a few teams really went for it but unfortunately, not everyone can make the playoffs. Then on the other hand there are a couple teams already blowing up and rebuilding from the ground so interested to see when those teams start pushing.

Changed: My life, because now I will forever be remembered as an NPBSL League Champion.

[Mike Lowry]

I myself thought it was very exciting.
I know a bunch of teams were looking forward to 84, but it kind of created an earth shattering that caught me by surprise.
Especially in conjunction with the UFA that followed.
Seemed like people that were intent on tanking just sat it out, and teams that thought they would capitalize from over paying for players are going to get stuck in the wind.
I just don't see that many teams looking to really compete, and the few of us that are, don't have assets to net the players available.
Bear market for sure.
I think valuations on player impact is shifted.
Because I agree that 84 is nowhere near as deep as our septic tank.
It is going to be a grueling dive for the bottom.
And some teams will have to come up for air after throwing their prior build down the drain.
That will be interesting.

[BigDaddyd8720]

What was exciting?
All the moves the GMs made. Seeing virtually everybody in the West make some kind of move(s) to make their team better. As wide open as the East is, the West is also pretty open too.

What was unexpected?
The Bucks blowing up their team. I found it very interesting that after making it the finals they decided to trade away every starter from that team

Where is the league headed?
I think the league is headed to where the West will dominate for the next few seasons. Even if the Eastern teams start getting pieces in draft/FA, they may be a few seasons away from being able to take back over.


What is changed forever?
Nothing is changed forever. But I think this may be the season that really sparks GMs to want to make more moves in the future. We saw so many teams trade away/gain players all for what they think is for the better of their team. I really think this is the season that truly sets this league on the path of being really fun for everyone again

[Xist2Inspire]

What was exciting?

The sheer number of trades and rapid resetting of rosters. It was just fun to watch and keep track of.

What was unexpected?

I was surprised to see the variation in contracts given out in UFA. It wasn't a major class, but I was surprised to see that the majority of GMs wanted to move away from the "max-or-min" market of the previous league, and elected to take a more measured approach to contracts. I don't expect it to continue once better talent enters the UFA pool, but it was nice to see nonetheless.

Where is the league headed?

In the short-term, we're going to see a ton of tanking. Teams are not going to have much patience for underperforming rosters, Sim 3 shifts are going to become much more common. In the long term, once GMs realize that fewer teams = better odds of drafting quality talent at the end of the lotto/middle of the draft, we'll see more and more teams try not to prematurely ruin good things. GMs will gradually become more and more okay with making playoff pushes, especially in years with deep upcoming draft classes.

What is changed forever?

The easy-going feeling of the first two seasons. We're seeing more and more recognizable players enter the league, current players are maturing and emerging, and teams/GMs are starting to settle in and pinpoint what they want to do/where they're planning on going. Things are going to be a bit more serious from this point forward.

[Mike Lowry]

@NY_Magic_Garrett
@WigNosy
@greepleairport
@logpmess
@Darth Vegito
@IamQuailman
@Jedihero
@Mike Lowry
@BigDaddyd8720
@Xist2Inspire

+1 point