#SLOE: People's Basketball Sim League

Balls O'Hard:
Good morning everyone and welcome to the preseason presser. Last season we were swept by the Hawks which made no sense, but it happened. We're going to leave that in the past and focus on the future. We have entered the era of Simmons, Grimaldi and Fultz in their primes. Circled by Mero, Cox, Durbin, Little and Ayton. Those are the 7 guys who will receive the majority of our minutes and we expect that group toi be extremely special. What i like most about all these guys is they can play both sides of the ball. They're going to be a dyanmic group and they will be ferocious. As of now this is what the starting lineup will look like:

C: Ayton
PF: Simmons
SF: Grimaldi
SG: Fultz
PG: Mero

Balls O'Hard:
In terms of expectations, i would fully expect us to be in the top 5 on offense and defense and be one of the better squads in the league. We have some ctaching up to do to keep up with the East and the elite of the West. It looks like the Atlantic will be the cream of the crop again, with the Celtics returning to form from last year and us adding a new team with the Raptors. The Nets will also bring a handful of talent into the season and no one should sleep on them.

Balls O'Hard:
In terms of the East, i think the Hawks and the Pistons are the teams to beat. They both boast elite level talent that have almost fully matured. We're excited to get a shot at them. With that being said. I'll open up to questions.

GWR: We've heard a lot of chirping out of Toronto that their eyes are on the Atlantic crown. How viable a contender do you think they'll be to you?

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: You've been close to a championship every year for a while now. How many more years are left on this build's window?

Chet Ubetcha:

Do you feel that you have a complete roster or do you feel like there still might be a bench position you need to shore up/roster move to be made to put your team over the top and have you winning the championship?

You've picked up some new responsibilities as commissioner. What impact will this have on your performance as a GM?

JNR wrote: Tue Oct 02, 2018 10:52 am GWR: We've heard a lot of chirping out of Toronto that their eyes are on the Atlantic crown. How viable a contender do you think they'll be to you?

I think they'll be much improved honestly. They made some aggressive moves and we always love GMs that are willing to bet on themselves. But we've also heard chirping for the past 2 seasons and we saw what happened. The Rapts have a great future ahead of them and im excited to see if that future turns into the present this year.

garbageman wrote: Tue Oct 02, 2018 11:24 am Sham Smith, Bulls.com: You've been close to a championship every year for a while now. How many more years are left on this build's window?

Its the beauty of this build. We can do this for 5-7 more seasons. We have had a wide open window.

AngryBanana wrote: Tue Oct 02, 2018 11:39 am Chet Ubetcha:

Do you feel that you have a complete roster or do you feel like there still might be a bench position you need to shore up/roster move to be made to put your team over the top and have you winning the championship?

I think we have to upgrade the 1 or the 5 if we're going to win this thing. We're going to be aggressive in doing that.

false9 wrote: Tue Oct 02, 2018 11:44 am You've picked up some new responsibilities as commissioner. What impact will this have on your performance as a GM?

Thats a great question. With being commish you get a wealth of knowledge by the sheer amount of bitch work you have to do for the league. You have the pulse on everything. Unfortunately, with that work, you don't have the time to sit there and analyze everything and negotiate at length to get the deals and analytics rights.

Would you rather face playoff AD, or a more complete team such as the Celtics in the playoffs if it came down to it?

Curious that you leave the Knicks and Bucks off your "teams to beat" list. Did you only include the Hawks because you couldn't beat them last season?

NOLa. wrote:Would you rather face playoff AD, or a more complete team such as the Celtics in the playoffs if it came down to it?

Both. This is the wonderful east where if you get a 1 seed you could play ad, the celts or the hawks. You have to like competition to be out here trying to win it. I want to play the best because to be the best you gotta beat the best.

IamQuailman wrote:Curious that you leave the Knicks and Bucks off your "teams to beat" list. Did you only include the Hawks because you couldn't beat them last season?

No I included them because they have a great squad returning. One that took us down last year. Why wouldn’t I ?

With your acquisition of Love, are you the clear favorite in the East? With his speed seemingly deteriorating, will we see him exclusively at center or will he flex to power forward as well?

How long until Nassir Little becomes a part of the rotation?

What can you comment on the rumors that you’ve wagered $1000 with an unnamed Western Conference GM that you’d best the 71-win Hawks record?

If you had to pick one, what is the most important single attribute or skill of any lone player on your team?

logpmess wrote:With your acquisition of Love, are you the clear favorite in the East? With his speed seemingly deteriorating, will we see him exclusively at center or will he flex to power forward as well?

You know .. I’ve always thought favorites and people assumed to win it was kind of pointless. You either win it or you don’t. I think our chances to win went up with a guy like love though. It’s why we paid such a heavy toll.

WigNosy wrote:How long until Nassir Little becomes a part of the rotation?

Time is now. He’s going to have to get all the backup 2/3 minutes with how thin we are now. We’re excited for him to show what he’s got.

TheSyndicate wrote:What can you comment on the rumors that you’ve wagered $1000 with an unnamed Western Conference GM that you’d best the 71-win Hawks record?

I don’t think we will beat the all time record. That was a fantastic team a year after they ate everyone’s soul after winning it all. There’s a lot that went into play to that record. Better team chemistry and maybe overall talent.

Random Reporter: With Kevin Love now in the fold, how are you planning to utilize Simmons and Ayton? Is there any worry that adding a career one-man army could disrupt team chemistry and overall performance by taking shots away from the likes of Grimaldi and Fultz?

Xist2Inspire wrote: Wed Oct 03, 2018 1:02 pm Random Reporter: With Kevin Love now in the fold, how are you planning to utilize Simmons and Ayton? Is there any worry that adding a career one-man army could disrupt team chemistry and overall performance by taking shots away from the likes of Grimaldi and Fultz?

Not really concerned, Love has a complete game and can be the man or can also just play the game. I don't expect him to crack our top 3 scorers.