#SLOE: People's Basketball Sim League

No deadline moves so far, so this still tracks:
Who is prepared to make a run on the back half of the season?
Which teams really need to make a move in the next hours to avoid an unfortunate outcome?
Who should stand pat, knowing they don't have real action at winning a title, but finding success in building direction?

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: Deadline for Sim 8

Mike Lowry wrote: Tue Feb 10, 2026 10:25 pm No deadline moves so far, so this still tracks:
Who is prepared o make a run on the back half of the season?
Which teams really need to make a move in the next hours to avoid an unfortunate outcome?
Who should stand pat, knowing they don't have real action at winning a title, but finding success in building direction?

I assume "making a run" isn't directed at known powerhouses like the Bucks, Spurs, etc. but instead a team that could go on a heater and make a move up the standings. To me, that's the Suns... they had two all-stars (StocktonToMalone), they watched the Lakers trade away Magic, the Clippers trade away Theus, the Sonics over the last couple of years give away Sampson and Wilkins, and now the Warriors are trying to trade away Natt. The Trailblazers haven't thrown in the towel yet, but the rest of the division is rebuilding, which means now is a golden time for the Suns to rise... but to do so they have to upgrade massively over Trent Tucker at starting SF or Mark Jackson playing out of position at SG. I was excited to see Jackson and Stockton together as a two-point guard system, but it just hasn't worked. The Suns have nearly $2 million in cap space, and now is the time to cash that in. They may be waiting to see if they can get a younger prospect, but all the guys on the block are old dudes, and they're just going to have to roll with that. If I were the Suns, I'd be trying to pry Natt from the Warriors for points... the Warriors want to make the move to get out of the tax and Natt would be a massive upgrade over Tucker... and it would also downgrade the Warriors' roster so you could leapfrog them without giving up much of anything. Alternatively they could try getting some talent away from the Nuggets, who are similarly facing luxury tax bills and could probably be convinced to trade away older (but still quality) players without needing much in return.

The team that needs to stand pat is the Rockets; they might want to cash in a future asset for win-now depth - especially if they can get young depth that will improve without much attention - but their squad is pushing the Spurs already, don't mess with it.

Who is prepared to make a run on the back half of the season?
I think the Hawks are ready to make a run for the #1 seed. They do have a bunch of away games coming up but they end the season with a lot of home games while the Celtics have to play on the road. And being only 1.5 games behind the Bucks shouldn't be too difficult for them to make up.

Which teams really need to make a move in the next hours to avoid an unfortunate outcome?
I think the Warriors need to make a move if they really want to compete this postseason. They have a good starting lineup but their depth is a bit on the weaker end and could hurt them in the long run.

Who should stand pat, knowing they don't have real action at winning a title, but finding success in building direction?
The Supersonics need to stay the course. Don't trade any of your young players. Shouldn't be long before they can maybe find their way back into the playoffs

I waited long enough for some good moves to be made.
Not trying to cherry pick, but my availability worked out that way.
I think the Celtics rightfully made some moves by picking up Mo Cheeks and the 88 Mavs pick, which they actually used to secure Mo.
I don't really love the move because they paid a high price for a backup point guard and sent out a starting wing. I don't see Porter or Cheeks playing well at shooting guard, and this might be a step backwards. Sly Williams is better suited to play forward than guard, so this didn't address their attempt to improve at the two spot.
I have like them to win the East from the beginning, but I thought it would be a good idea to create some separation from the Hawks and Bucks while taking pieces off the board for them to load up with.
I also felt like the Mavs should definitely make a move.
They are in striking distance talent wise, and had the luxury of trading depth for star power.
Adding Paxson AND Moncrief certainly check that box, and this becomes my answer for who makes a run.
I think they match up well against the Spurs and Blazers. They could very well make the finals and win it all.
Though the Spurs and Bucks have good records, I think they are better off using the pieces they have. The Bucks more than the Spurs have young talent that they could get good returns for on the peripheral. Guys that are valuable but obviously not blocks in the longer build, like Danny Young. But there was no need for either of these teams to be desperate because they have deep cores that are young.
On the other hand, the Hawks really needed to land a body for Darwin Cook.
By trading mid twenty year old stars for thirty year old stars, they really tightened their window for winning, and needed to be proactive about reenforcing their rotation.
The most obvious options were to land Calvin Natt or get into the Denver trade for Cartwright or Valentine or both and pay the juice.
Now let's see how it all plays out.

Who is prepared to make a run on the back half of the season?
Dallas Mavericks are now all-in. The team finally freed Moncrief/Paxson from Cleveland and now those guys will not have to be the alpha dogs anymore.

Which teams really need to make a move in the next hours to avoid an unfortunate outcome?
The Hawks seem to have fallen asleep at the wheel. They need to keep up with the arms race in the East otherwise they will be an early exit in the playoffs despite their gaudy regular season success.

Who should stand pat, knowing they don't have real action at winning a title, but finding success in building direction?
Cleveland Cavaliers. They have their future backcourt set now with Webb and Adams. They are the new short Kings of the Eastern Conference.

Who is prepared to make a run on the back half of the season?
Celtics & Bucks are both gearing up for a run in the playoffs, with the Bucks acquisition of Alton Lister & the Celtics gett Mo Cheeks & Sly Williams (at the expense of Lewis Lloyd). This will be an interesting finish to the season to see if any of these moves make a big difference. Lloyd's absence will be one to watch.

Which teams really need to make a move in the next hours to avoid an unfortunate outcome?
It's tough to say who NEEDS to make a move, but with the expansion draft coming up, it would behoove @digiskunk to trade for a very small contract that he can make available in the expansion draft in the offseason... othterwise, he will have to lose one of his blue potential players.

Who should stand pat, knowing they don't have real action at winning a title, but finding success in building direction?
I don't really know how to answer this but i think there are a few teams tha tcould benefit from standing pat... like the Nets, Spurs, Warriors. I like their team builds; sure they could try to improve but unless its a freebie improvement... it could come at the expense of depth/strength at another position.