#SLOE: People's Basketball Sim League

Darkness. The projector whirs. Light plays on the screen, but it’s just that. Light. After a few moments, the lights come back on and The JNR stands in front of the podium.

The JNR: I tried to put together a season highlight package, but there weren’t any highlights to put.

Everyone in the crowd laughs at JNR’s misery.

The JNR: I’m being facetious, partly. In fact, last season The Clippers posted their single best season in terms of wins. First winning season, and several accomplishments to be proud of. Reggie making an All League team, winning the All Star MVP, as well as Greg winning 6MOY.

But at the end of the day, the conference was too strong and 45 wins weren’t enough to crack the top 7. And since we made signings to bring in so much talent, the season was a failure. But that’s okay, because it was a learning experience.

What did we learn? Well, we learned that Reggie is the truth. And we signed him to a max deal to reflect that truth. We also learned that our defense wasn’t good enough to be where we wanted it to be. That’s why, after the dust settled in free agency, we traded James Edwards for Dave Corzine and Mike Bratz. We loved James for his contributions to this team; indeed, he was the second best player on our team at least one if not two of our four seasons here.

But going forward, we have the offense we need. The real struggle has been stopping people, and both Corzine and Bratz are quality defenders. So going into the season, we are going to value balance and depth over everything else.

The West is still very tough. Playoffs are not guaranteed. But if I can keep my mind focused and find the right way to utilize this talent, I think we can be a dangerous team. Disregarding whatever random lineup we have for preseason, our plans are to trot out a starting 5 of

Corzine
Mitchell
Higgins
Blackman
Theus

With Ballard, Whitehead, and Bratz providing valuable minutes off the bench. I’m excited to see how the season goes.

Any questions?

I was surprised to see Edwards go, actually, as he always put up decent numbers. Was it just his lack of defensive prowess, sitting average at best? Or was anything else happening behind the scenes?

The JNR: It was strictly his defense and rebounding. He was a great locker room presence and a good scorer. But when you have as much talent as we have had in this era and fail to make the playoffs, chances are necessary.

Steve Duin, the Oregonian…

Last year was a breakout year for Mitchell and Theus. Who do you think will be this season’s breakout star for the Clippers?

The JNR: If we’re as successful as we want to be, I think the answer has to be Rolando Blackman. He is the dimension we need to continue our offensive assault. And if he can improve on the defensive end, it can take pressure off of the rest of the team.

Theus looks primed to have another great season, what can the fans expect for him this season?

The JNR: I think if you asked him he’d say success for him isn’t in stats but in a playoff berth. He’s going to do everything he can to make that a reality for us.

What makes for a disappointing season this year? You've talked a lot about how difficult your division is. What would have to happen for you to call this season a failure? Not winning division? 1st round bounce?