#SLOE: People's Basketball Sim League

Last year there was a video production. This year, however, there’s just a dusty press conference room. Two banners hang above the podium:
After a few moments, GM The JNR walks into the room. He stops and looks up at the banners, then smiles.

The JNR: TWO TIME! TWO TIME!

He settles in front of the podium.

The JNR: Thank you for coming. Last year was a remarkable year. We got further than we ever have before. We won our first division title in Minnesota Timberwolves history. We had the best record in the PBSL by a significant margin. I have no shame in saying that last year, we were the best team in the league.

But that doesn’t win you rings.

He sighs heavily.

The JNR: We were unceremoniously swept by the champion Warriors. No matter how good our team was, it was hard to stop one dominant player. He’s the best player in basketball history for a reason, and we found out that reason very clearly.

So what now? What does the General Manager of the Year do?

Well, in this case, he makes an ambitious move that doesn’t work out.

He shakes his head.



The JNR: Robot Pack. Our leader, our first draft pick, our dear friend. He was a big part of this team, and we wanted him to remain, but we wanted to go big. So we offered him less money and tried to get a big name free agent to join us. It didn’t work, and Robot felt insulted. So he went to a division rival.
I wish Robot all the best in his career with Dallas, and I hope he can match the success he found here as a two-time all star, three-time league leader in steals, and part of the best goddamn team in the league last year.

Moving on from Robot will be hard. But we will not go on empty handed. After a terrible first round of free agency, we stepped it up big time in the second and third rounds. We were able to bring in Mookie Blaylock, Mark Jackson, Sherman Douglas, Tim Legler, and we brought back our good friend Doug Overton, who played remarkably well as a starter last year. Add in the depth we made with signings such as Charles Barkley, Greg Foster, and Kevin Edwards, and our team is probably deeper than it ever has been.

This is not last year’s team, a team that can win on pure talent. We don’t have a starting lineup that makes opponents quiver in fear anymore. And the West seemingly got stronger by the day this offseason. But with the depth we have as well as All-PBSL players Grant Hill and Chris Webber, we have a team that is still capable of making noise. We have the experience now of getting one step further in our quest. And I think with the right moves and gameplan, we can continue on our fantastic journey.

We’ll open up the floor for questions now.

Golden State's proven to be a thorn in your side for a while now. With Pack now gone, how well do you think you match up against them? Also, with all the player movement this offseason, who do you see as the biggest threats to your division title?

The JNR: Thanks for the question. It's hard to tell how to match up with them. We brought them to 7 games twice with a weaker team, but we lost with home court and a superior team. So for now I'm not going to worry about them. I'll worry about them in the playoffs.

As for the division, the Jazz, Grizzlies, and Mavs are all much improved teams. I think any of those teams could easily win the division. However, I think we stand a pretty good chance as well.

Jack Markson from the Golden Take. After winning the Midwest and GMOY, is there anything left to do besides win a ring? Barring injuries, will a season without a ring this year be considered a failure?

With Vlade Divac starting to slow down and Grant Hill not adding anything significant to his game this off-season, do you worry your squad has already peaked in terms of team success?

Nick Melon; Charlotte Observer: You guys added a fair amount of veterans during the free agency period. Do you think the land of 1,000 lakes will revitalize their careers in Minnesota and be extra bodies for when CWebb and Grant aren't having their best nights respectively?

Bowtothebill23 wrote:Jack Markson from the Golden Take. After winning the Midwest and GMOY, is there anything left to do besides win a ring? Barring injuries, will a season without a ring this year be considered a failure?

That's the goal, but it's hard to know if it will be a reality. We trust our players and our coaching staff, but the competition is so stiff that anything can happen. We don't want to say "championship or bust" because that leaves too much of a chance for busting. We don't want that.

WigNosy wrote:With Vlade Divac starting to slow down and Grant Hill not adding anything significant to his game this off-season, do you worry your squad has already peaked in terms of team success?

Probably, yeah.

NickMalone77 wrote:Nick Melon; Charlotte Observer: You guys added a fair amount of veterans during the free agency period. Do you think the land of 1,000 lakes will revitalize their careers in Minnesota and be extra bodies for when CWebb and Grant aren't having their best nights respectively?

We like what we saw in Doug's training camp, and we think Mookie will be able to help our post-Pack transition era. As for the rest of the guys, they're there for brief spells and not much more.

Chris Webber is probably the best match for Shawn Kemp in the league. Is this the year he'll be able to overtake Kemp as the best player in the league? If not, when?

Even though Pack got his payday, rumor is he's a little bitter the Timberwolves didn't offer him a max contract after such a great run last year. Are you worried Pack is on a mission to exact revenge and lead the Mavericks to the division crown and beyond?

kucoach7 wrote:Chris Webber is probably the best match for Shawn Kemp in the league. Is this the year he'll be able to overtake Kemp as the best player in the league? If not, when?

With other great players like Kevin Garnett coming up, we need to accept the fact that Chris Webber is a great player, but he'll never be the best player. That's okay, though, because he's more than capable of leading a team to a championship, and that's all we care about.

fearthebrow wrote:Even though Pack got his payday, rumor is he's a little bitter the Timberwolves didn't offer him a max contract after such a great run last year. Are you worried Pack is on a mission to exact revenge and lead the Mavericks to the division crown and beyond?

Like I said, we love Robot, but we felt the max was too much for a player who had his worst year. If he's on a mission to exact revenge, that has nothing to do with our team and what we are trying to do.

Nick Jackleson, LA Times. Is Chris Webber a Timberwolf for life, or would you ever consider dealing him?

Aside from Webber and Hill, just about every other significant player is over 30 and on a short term deal. Would it be safe to say this is a stopgap year? A chance to reevaluate where your franchise is and where it's going?

ballsohard wrote:Nick Jackleson, LA Times. Is Chris Webber a Timberwolf for life, or would you ever consider dealing him?

Chris Webber has gotten this team to places it never would have been otherwise. I never want to rule out any possibilities, but we want Chris to retire a Timberwolf.

Conroy wrote:Aside from Webber and Hill, just about every other significant player is over 30 and on a short term deal. Would it be safe to say this is a stopgap year? A chance to reevaluate where your franchise is and where it's going?

I think that's safe to say. Webber and Hill are our team's core, but the other players play an important role as well. We wouldn't have survived last year without Doug Overton stepping up.

All the same, we will have cap flexibility in the next few seasons, and we are definitely always on the lookout for another young player to propel us to the top.