#SLOE: People's Basketball Sim League

No video package today. Instead, GM The JNR walks up to the podium and reads from a stack of index cards.

The JNR: For years, the Wolves have been an offensive team. A team known for putting the ball in the basket. A team not known for defense. And most importantly, a team that performs well in the regular season and fizzles in the playoffs. There is no doubt in my mind that our offensive identity and postseason struggles are related.

To that end, we've crafted a new vision. We traded Boozer to the Cavaliers for a defensive specialist, and we freed up cap space to sign Tim Duncan. This allows Bosh to defend power forwards, which he is better at.

Training camp went mostly as expected. We saw losses to our veterans, although Tim Duncan fared better than we feared. The big surprise was Kyle Lowry, who had a great camp. When we traded Carlos, it showed Kyle that he was now expected to be the second option on offense. I think he really embraced that challenge and is dedicated to have a great season.

Our tentative starting lineup is as follows:

Duncan
Bosh
Deng
Thornton
Lowry

With Kapono, Butler, and Webber as our main bench options. Speaking of Webber, we are amazingly pleased that we were able to bring the franchise's first star back in his final years. He and Chris Bosh have already spent time picking each other's brain, and I think Webber will allow Bosh to become an even greater player.

We will now open the floor to questions.

Take us through your thought process of trading Boozer. Reports are you you felt your team was losing the bigger talent but gaining depth to focus on improving your defense. Any truth to these rumors?

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NOLa. wrote:Take us through your thought process of trading Boozer. Reports are you you felt your team was losing the bigger talent but gaining depth to focus on improving your defense. Any truth to these rumors?

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That's pretty much exactly right. We know that Boozer is a dynamic talent. But with two power forwards on our team, we felt our defense suffered, and when we saw the chance to put a defender at small forward and get space to find a center in free agency, we jumped at it.

Random Reporter: How pleased are you with the improvement of combo guard Marcus Thornton this offseason?

We are happy with his progress. Last season we split time between him and Marcus Banks, and I think that became a decision we really regretted over the course of the year. We made no attempt to bring back Banks because we want the two guard position to belong completely to Marcus now. We love his ability to shoot and his energy.

How confident do you feel that you will be able to see Duncan finally get that elusive ring?

Do you feel like this could be your best team on paper? How do you compare this team with the old days of CWebb/Hill/Robot?

Also, how hard was it to really move a guy like Boozer despite getting a good return and do you feel like your rapport with the league allows you to get fair deals for very good players like Boozer?

WigNosy wrote:How confident do you feel that you will be able to see Duncan finally get that elusive ring?

Clearly some people think my team is better than I do. I do think we can vie for a top playoff spot, but I want to see some real results before we claim my defensive focus a success. I want to see us maintain the energy we had in preseason. If we can, anything can happen.

78# wrote:Do you feel like this could be your best team on paper? How do you compare this team with the old days of CWebb/Hill/Robot?

Also, how hard was it to really move a guy like Boozer despite getting a good return and do you feel like your rapport with the league allows you to get fair deals for very good players like Boozer?

I'd say this team is in the upper echelon of prior Timberwolves teams. I don't think it can beat the Vlade/Webber frontcourt that landed us a division title and best record in the league. But I do think the team could be one of our better ones.

The second question is tough to say. I would classify myself as a friendly person, and I do try to maintain good relationships with our other fine GMs in the league. Do I think it helps in trades? Perhaps, although I'm still not sure we weren't fleeced in the Boozer trade. It was a trade made for fit, so I took back less than what I thought was fair. All in all, though, our good relationship with most of the league does make for mostly drama free trade discussions, which I do appreciate.

One more question. What the Frye is wrong with Marcus Banks? He has very good ratings so why can't it translate on the floor?

78# wrote:One more question. What the Frye is wrong with Marcus Banks? He has very good ratings so why can't it translate on the floor?

We were never quite able to figure that out. Perhaps his lack of height is a factor when playing shooting guard, or perhaps the issue is mental. Regardless, he seems like a volume scorer so if Houston surrounds him with tough minded defensive options they may fare well. We wish him and the Rockets the best of luck in that endeavor.

With practically your whole team expiring, what are your tentative plans for next year? Are you nervous about having to rely so much on free agency to put together a team?

kucoach7 wrote:With practically your whole team expiring, what are your tentative plans for next year? Are you nervous about having to rely so much on free agency to put together a team?

That's the best part. I can do anything. If this team looks like it can contend for a few more years, I go deep into my pockets to ensure the core of Lowry, Bosh, Deng and Thornton stay together. I accept the player option on Timmy and find some minimums to fill it out.

Or, if it all goes poorly, I can start over from scratch. To me there's no problem, just options of varying appeal.