5 on 5: Open Mailbag Edition!
Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2018 11:00 pm
It's the start of a new season, which means, it's time for a 5 on 5! I'm your host, false9. Joining me in this discussion are five individuals who I can say are easily top 30 active GMs today:
-no(Duren)la
-Darth "more like dearth of points" Vegito
-Iamquailman, one of the finest producers of quail eggs I know
-The JNR, defending champ and GMOY of our HEARTS*
-Wombataholic, definitely not the alter ego of Tani
This time we're doing something a little different. We took some questions from GMs around the league and some of mine to close. In a blatant ripoff of Around the Horn, I'm going to award points for each question and declare a winner at the end. What does the winner get? PRIZE REVEALED AT THE END
Let's start out with Gar Bageman out in Chicago. Gar writes:
1- We all know that Anthony Davis is the best player in the game. Who are your #2-#5? What's the most important piece of advice you would give to the newbies?
Nola: Andrew Wiggins, Jeffrey Duren, James Gebhart, and Tyler Ulis. It was a toss up between Ulis and Simmons, tough choice.
Most important piece of advice I could give is to be patient and get as many points as you can. It seems small, but generating enough points to pay for trainings and tax is what separates teams these days. The rookies as we all know come in raw, and trainings help bring them up to speed.
Don’t make big trades that doesn’t mesh with your goals. If you’re a losing team, trading for one player won’t make you a contender, you will be slightly less of losing team before.
Darth: 2. Wiggins, 3. Gebhart, 4. Antetokounmpo, 5. Erik Haynes/Gary Harris
Be humble. Some have stumbled on this bit already.
Quail: Best Players Currently... #2 is easily Wiggins. #3... I'm gonna say a shocker.. Tyler Ulis. #4 is Markelle Fultz. #5 is Snek Duren. I love 2way players and these are some of the best in the league.
My biggest piece of advice for newbie GMs is to not be afraid to be active and reach out to GMs. Write articles, embrace your team, make up history for them, engage in trade talks, talk trash, ask questions to your buddy GMs. The league is as awesome and fun as you want to make it.
JNR: Top 5 Players: 1. Anthony Davis 2. Andrew Wiggins 3. Jeffrey Duren 4. Nikola Jokic 5. Kevin Love.
As for advice, find someone you trust and run EVERYTHING by them at first. There are so many nuances that you may be missing a key part of what makes a good trade good and a bad trade bad.
Womb: I like to refer to this as MVP - Non-Anthony Davis Division.
2. Andrew Wiggins - Best player on the reigning champion.
3. DeSean Hawkins - Carried the Magic last year almost singlehandedly.
4. Nokola Jokic - Best center in the game and a great passer too.
5. Daniel Randle - I've got a soft spot for players that do a bit of everything.
Be patient and learn how the league works. Don't feel like you must make trades/big signings in your first season. Missing out on a player in free agency or a trade isn't fun, but taking on a long-term, high-dollar contract will hurt you for seasons to come.
False9: Good stuff. I'd probably round off the rest of the top five with some combo of Jokic, Wiggins, Duren, and Juicy James. I agree with everyone's advice but I'd throw in the caveat of not burning yourself out activity wise- I nearly did so trying to max my media points every season. BALANCE, people.
That being said, JNR gets a point here for suggesting having a sim-mentor. It's always good to bounce ideas off other people.
Our next question comes from new Thunder GM angrybanana. Angry writes:
2- Being that I recently became a GM of a team with next to no points. Can you give some advice for acquiring points, what is a healthy amount to try to hold, and some best uses for the points once you have them?
Nola: Get a node, input all your DCs and bids, do the pressers at a minimum, and do the pick ems. It’s almost hilarious how many points people get for pick ems and no one does it. They usually take 5 minutes to do at the most. Your DC and picks may take 10 minutes of the 48 hours between sims or more during the weekend break. Trade unwanted players or picks during the draft for points.
As far as how many? I like the idea of earning more than you spend, but spend generously. Some teams stockpile points, whereas others spend all available points. I can usually keep a balance of 50-100 in any given season and plan my salary spending way ahead of time. Spend points on trainings.
Darth: Activity. Activity. Activity. No better way than to be uber-active. We pay for activity and participation. As far as what's a healthy amount to hold, I'll put it like this. They say cap space never made a shot, well points have never dunked on Buddy Hield and EVERYONE has dunked on Buddy. Don't keep points unless you need them for the tax. Otherwise spend them on training your players, but only players who you know will be around for some time.
Quail: If you stay active and participate in a sim season (submit DCs, vote on awards, write articles) there is no reason you can't easily make around 45-50pts a season. Other ways to get points: sell your cap space for points near trade deadline (people rather pay someone than pay the tax man), sim vegas (who doesn't like legalized sim betting). Once you get points, they are great to use for player trainings (to enhance your young prospects current ratings OR potential ratings).
JNR: One word: activity. You get points for voting on end of year awards, points for submitting every DC, points for nominating a hall of famer, points for assuming league positions, points for writing articles. Team performance is almost secondary if you throw yourself into the league.
Womb: Some great ways to pick up points are to write articles and volunteer for league positions.
The healthy amount of points to hold depends on where you are in the team life cycle. If you've got a young team with a low cap number, spend those points on building up your young players. If you've got a veteran team and you're trying to keep the window open for a few more seasons, bank the points for luxury tax. I'd say plan the number of points you're planning to hold based on where you think your team will be in a few seasons.
Best uses for points: Training young players, paying luxury tax, and using them to round out trades. In that order.
false9: The answer of the day appears to be activity. You could probably use your points wisely across your most valuable pieces or do something crazy. But yeah, always keep a few in your back pocket- just like real life, it's good to have an emergency fund.
Point goes to TANI for suggesting TV- IT'S GREAT AND YOU'RE A FOOL IF YOU DON'T USE IT.
Let's move onto our friend lmessi...
3- What is the reactions to TC for each persons team and also across the league as a whole?
Which team that missed the playoffs last year is most likely to be a surprise in the playoffs, and do they have a chance to push to win it all?
nola: I haven’t been doing the sad clown posting for no reason. Training camp went pretty poorly for me. Of course the old guys got hit, but my first round pick having a negative camp just makes me roll my eyes over how predictable that is. I’ll admit I’m not the only one hurt by TC, looks like others got hurt too. Watch out for the Raptors, they may come in 3rd in their division after averaging 28 games in 7 seasons.
Darth: Not going thru each team but honestly TC isn't all that bad. Just a bunch of feeble bitches whining. I believe only four teams had negative TCs this season. FOUR! Out of 30. TC isn't that bad, we just have a bunch of KDish GMs in this league.
I would have to say the Raptors, but I don't believe it's really a surprise. They made a great win now move in trading for Giannis. It was exactly what Sound was supposed to do at this point. He accumulated young talent for a number of years and that's all fine but you can't pay them all. There's always a window that is there before all the rookie deals come off the books where you should grab some vets and go for it. He did just that and grabbed one of the most talented guys int he league. Giannis affects every aspect of the game and will make that team pretty scary come playoff time. He is in a stacked division and conference, so I don't see him winning it all this year but NO ONE will want to see him in the playoffs. Don't be shocked if the Raptors pull off a few upsets come playoff time.
Quail: My team in TC for the most part improved in currents. Rubio (as expected) took some age-related hits, but is more than capable of being a starting PG in the league. Pulley's potential was slammed but insured. It was slammed so hard though that it knocked some key current ratings down too...
Overall, TC was TC... had some surprise Purple Potential dudes arise and some untimely deaths (RIP J.R. Johnson... BURY ME INSIDE THAT LOUIS STORE). I think the Raptors take the league into the Playoffs... but they wont really get past the 1st (or 2nd) round.
JNR: My team had an expected and unexciting TC. It was interesting to see the gained purples across the league. I think the Pelicans can make the playoffs in Nick’s final year, but don’t see them doing much more than that.
womb: I don't remember a TC where so many guys died.
I think the Raptors are ready to make a return to the playoffs, but they won't make a big push until next season.
false9: My TC was pretty good (shout out to JJ, RIP Predrag). League wide though...woof. But y'know, that's the game- I think we all have learned to begrudgingly deal with it. I'm on board with everyone else- it's gonna be a long Raptors run.
The point here goes to darth, strictly for the use of FEEBLE.
Now it's time for some questions from yours truly-
4-I'm forcing you to take one of the franchises from the new GMs. Which one do you take and what do you do this season?
nola: I’d take over the Thunder. I like the PG they just drafted and they have other assets that I would try to flip for future assets down the road. I’m not a fan of most of the guys the previous GM had before, but the new GM is starting to put together a team that has a pulse, which is awesome. I think over time the Thunder have a true building block to start a franchise with, which I’m not sure the others have currently.
Darth: Obviously, the Knicks is the easiest to take over. It's plug and play. Find a random guy...boom playoffs. But I like a challenge so I would have to say the Warriors. They have mostly older guys and an aging roster. In this league it's not very easy to flip old guys. So that franchise would be a nice challenge to play with. This season I would probably work on getting the most value possible for the old geezers. Probably future draft picks that have some chance of turning into decent picks. That team isn't winning anything so it's best to pack it in and grab a high draft pick. The trade he made already for Bolton was a solid deal for him and a good start.
Quail: Thunder. I'm selling off all the FAs that I signed in the offseason as soon as Dec 15 hits and tanking away ONE MORE YEAR. Build up a point bank worth bragging about and invest in my young players and really develop a solid core.
JNR: I’m taking the Thunder. Redshirt Maravich, trade anyone talented over 30, and try to acquire future assets. Maravich will be a star but you need other young talent around him, so play for the future.
Womb: I'd take the Thunder or Clippers. As Tani will tell you, when I signed up for the league I had hoped to take the Bobcats in order to have a blank slate and no expectations to win in the short term. Instead I got the Pistons and Anthony Davis.
false9: I'd agree on the Thunder- PISTOL PETE. But the Clippers and Dubs are intriguing as Chad pointed out- clean slates let you go in any direction. In all the situations, I would churn churn CHURN for points and assets. It all adds up.
The point goes to Darth for being SPICY. TALK THAT TALK
5- We've gone over what you'd tell the new GMs. I'm flipping the script- since we're all veterans, what's something you've picked up from a GM that came after you?
nola: I like this one because it’s something I rarely tried before until I saw false doing it for his Magic team: flat contracts. Others did it before and he wasn’t the first, but I forget which season it was that I noticed Andy was acquiring guys in flat contracts and I liked it a lot. I don’t get them a lot, but it worked for Erik Haynes this RFA and will save me several million down the road. It doesn’t seem like much, but if that helps me stay out of tax or gets me in a lower tax bracket, it pays for itself. Also much easier to move.
Darth: This is a difficult one. When you're the best GM out there it's rare that you ever learn anything from others. But I'd have to say that I always learn a great deal from articles that Kucoach and Garbageman write with their stats, charts, and pie graphs. Usually pretty interesting stuff, and every now and then I can apply it to game plans.
Quail: I'm not trying to kiss up to the moderator here for extra points (can I do that though?)... but some of the "newer" veteran GMs like Andy (false) and Josh (garbageman) really brought some creative ideas that made sim league pickems resurgent and just sim league media as a whole way livelier. Thanks guys!!
JNR: I learned so much from Josh. Not only has his analytical mind picked things up that I missed, but he and Andy’s enthusiasm for the league caused me to re-invest myself in it. Both of them jumped in with both feet first and that sort of interest re-kindled my own.
womb: I've learned that the turnaround time for a rebuild is much quicker than I would have expected with a combination of shrewd trades and free agent signings.
false9: Personally, anytime a newbie shows up and is enthusiastic and engaged, it reinvigorates me- it's good to see other people having fun with our silly, fake basketball.
Your blatant ass-kissery won't pay off here, Doug. I'm giving the point here to JNR for also feeling ENTHUSIASM.
Alright, so the leaderboard has JNR at 2, Darth at 2, and Tani at one. For reasons unknown, I am declaring DARTH the winner. Your prize?
THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY FIVE "5 on 5" points! Unfortunately, they don't convert to SLOE points.
Alright, you've heard from these guys, what does everyone think?
-no(Duren)la
-Darth "more like dearth of points" Vegito
-Iamquailman, one of the finest producers of quail eggs I know
-The JNR, defending champ and GMOY of our HEARTS*
-Wombataholic, definitely not the alter ego of Tani
This time we're doing something a little different. We took some questions from GMs around the league and some of mine to close. In a blatant ripoff of Around the Horn, I'm going to award points for each question and declare a winner at the end. What does the winner get? PRIZE REVEALED AT THE END
Let's start out with Gar Bageman out in Chicago. Gar writes:
1- We all know that Anthony Davis is the best player in the game. Who are your #2-#5? What's the most important piece of advice you would give to the newbies?
Nola: Andrew Wiggins, Jeffrey Duren, James Gebhart, and Tyler Ulis. It was a toss up between Ulis and Simmons, tough choice.
Most important piece of advice I could give is to be patient and get as many points as you can. It seems small, but generating enough points to pay for trainings and tax is what separates teams these days. The rookies as we all know come in raw, and trainings help bring them up to speed.
Don’t make big trades that doesn’t mesh with your goals. If you’re a losing team, trading for one player won’t make you a contender, you will be slightly less of losing team before.
Darth: 2. Wiggins, 3. Gebhart, 4. Antetokounmpo, 5. Erik Haynes/Gary Harris
Be humble. Some have stumbled on this bit already.
Quail: Best Players Currently... #2 is easily Wiggins. #3... I'm gonna say a shocker.. Tyler Ulis. #4 is Markelle Fultz. #5 is Snek Duren. I love 2way players and these are some of the best in the league.
My biggest piece of advice for newbie GMs is to not be afraid to be active and reach out to GMs. Write articles, embrace your team, make up history for them, engage in trade talks, talk trash, ask questions to your buddy GMs. The league is as awesome and fun as you want to make it.
JNR: Top 5 Players: 1. Anthony Davis 2. Andrew Wiggins 3. Jeffrey Duren 4. Nikola Jokic 5. Kevin Love.
As for advice, find someone you trust and run EVERYTHING by them at first. There are so many nuances that you may be missing a key part of what makes a good trade good and a bad trade bad.
Womb: I like to refer to this as MVP - Non-Anthony Davis Division.
2. Andrew Wiggins - Best player on the reigning champion.
3. DeSean Hawkins - Carried the Magic last year almost singlehandedly.
4. Nokola Jokic - Best center in the game and a great passer too.
5. Daniel Randle - I've got a soft spot for players that do a bit of everything.
Be patient and learn how the league works. Don't feel like you must make trades/big signings in your first season. Missing out on a player in free agency or a trade isn't fun, but taking on a long-term, high-dollar contract will hurt you for seasons to come.
False9: Good stuff. I'd probably round off the rest of the top five with some combo of Jokic, Wiggins, Duren, and Juicy James. I agree with everyone's advice but I'd throw in the caveat of not burning yourself out activity wise- I nearly did so trying to max my media points every season. BALANCE, people.
That being said, JNR gets a point here for suggesting having a sim-mentor. It's always good to bounce ideas off other people.
Our next question comes from new Thunder GM angrybanana. Angry writes:
2- Being that I recently became a GM of a team with next to no points. Can you give some advice for acquiring points, what is a healthy amount to try to hold, and some best uses for the points once you have them?
Nola: Get a node, input all your DCs and bids, do the pressers at a minimum, and do the pick ems. It’s almost hilarious how many points people get for pick ems and no one does it. They usually take 5 minutes to do at the most. Your DC and picks may take 10 minutes of the 48 hours between sims or more during the weekend break. Trade unwanted players or picks during the draft for points.
As far as how many? I like the idea of earning more than you spend, but spend generously. Some teams stockpile points, whereas others spend all available points. I can usually keep a balance of 50-100 in any given season and plan my salary spending way ahead of time. Spend points on trainings.
Darth: Activity. Activity. Activity. No better way than to be uber-active. We pay for activity and participation. As far as what's a healthy amount to hold, I'll put it like this. They say cap space never made a shot, well points have never dunked on Buddy Hield and EVERYONE has dunked on Buddy. Don't keep points unless you need them for the tax. Otherwise spend them on training your players, but only players who you know will be around for some time.
Quail: If you stay active and participate in a sim season (submit DCs, vote on awards, write articles) there is no reason you can't easily make around 45-50pts a season. Other ways to get points: sell your cap space for points near trade deadline (people rather pay someone than pay the tax man), sim vegas (who doesn't like legalized sim betting). Once you get points, they are great to use for player trainings (to enhance your young prospects current ratings OR potential ratings).
JNR: One word: activity. You get points for voting on end of year awards, points for submitting every DC, points for nominating a hall of famer, points for assuming league positions, points for writing articles. Team performance is almost secondary if you throw yourself into the league.
Womb: Some great ways to pick up points are to write articles and volunteer for league positions.
The healthy amount of points to hold depends on where you are in the team life cycle. If you've got a young team with a low cap number, spend those points on building up your young players. If you've got a veteran team and you're trying to keep the window open for a few more seasons, bank the points for luxury tax. I'd say plan the number of points you're planning to hold based on where you think your team will be in a few seasons.
Best uses for points: Training young players, paying luxury tax, and using them to round out trades. In that order.
false9: The answer of the day appears to be activity. You could probably use your points wisely across your most valuable pieces or do something crazy. But yeah, always keep a few in your back pocket- just like real life, it's good to have an emergency fund.
Point goes to TANI for suggesting TV- IT'S GREAT AND YOU'RE A FOOL IF YOU DON'T USE IT.
Let's move onto our friend lmessi...
3- What is the reactions to TC for each persons team and also across the league as a whole?
Which team that missed the playoffs last year is most likely to be a surprise in the playoffs, and do they have a chance to push to win it all?
nola: I haven’t been doing the sad clown posting for no reason. Training camp went pretty poorly for me. Of course the old guys got hit, but my first round pick having a negative camp just makes me roll my eyes over how predictable that is. I’ll admit I’m not the only one hurt by TC, looks like others got hurt too. Watch out for the Raptors, they may come in 3rd in their division after averaging 28 games in 7 seasons.
Darth: Not going thru each team but honestly TC isn't all that bad. Just a bunch of feeble bitches whining. I believe only four teams had negative TCs this season. FOUR! Out of 30. TC isn't that bad, we just have a bunch of KDish GMs in this league.
I would have to say the Raptors, but I don't believe it's really a surprise. They made a great win now move in trading for Giannis. It was exactly what Sound was supposed to do at this point. He accumulated young talent for a number of years and that's all fine but you can't pay them all. There's always a window that is there before all the rookie deals come off the books where you should grab some vets and go for it. He did just that and grabbed one of the most talented guys int he league. Giannis affects every aspect of the game and will make that team pretty scary come playoff time. He is in a stacked division and conference, so I don't see him winning it all this year but NO ONE will want to see him in the playoffs. Don't be shocked if the Raptors pull off a few upsets come playoff time.
Quail: My team in TC for the most part improved in currents. Rubio (as expected) took some age-related hits, but is more than capable of being a starting PG in the league. Pulley's potential was slammed but insured. It was slammed so hard though that it knocked some key current ratings down too...
Overall, TC was TC... had some surprise Purple Potential dudes arise and some untimely deaths (RIP J.R. Johnson... BURY ME INSIDE THAT LOUIS STORE). I think the Raptors take the league into the Playoffs... but they wont really get past the 1st (or 2nd) round.JNR: My team had an expected and unexciting TC. It was interesting to see the gained purples across the league. I think the Pelicans can make the playoffs in Nick’s final year, but don’t see them doing much more than that.
womb: I don't remember a TC where so many guys died.
I think the Raptors are ready to make a return to the playoffs, but they won't make a big push until next season.
false9: My TC was pretty good (shout out to JJ, RIP Predrag). League wide though...woof. But y'know, that's the game- I think we all have learned to begrudgingly deal with it. I'm on board with everyone else- it's gonna be a long Raptors run.
The point here goes to darth, strictly for the use of FEEBLE.
Now it's time for some questions from yours truly-
4-I'm forcing you to take one of the franchises from the new GMs. Which one do you take and what do you do this season?
nola: I’d take over the Thunder. I like the PG they just drafted and they have other assets that I would try to flip for future assets down the road. I’m not a fan of most of the guys the previous GM had before, but the new GM is starting to put together a team that has a pulse, which is awesome. I think over time the Thunder have a true building block to start a franchise with, which I’m not sure the others have currently.
Darth: Obviously, the Knicks is the easiest to take over. It's plug and play. Find a random guy...boom playoffs. But I like a challenge so I would have to say the Warriors. They have mostly older guys and an aging roster. In this league it's not very easy to flip old guys. So that franchise would be a nice challenge to play with. This season I would probably work on getting the most value possible for the old geezers. Probably future draft picks that have some chance of turning into decent picks. That team isn't winning anything so it's best to pack it in and grab a high draft pick. The trade he made already for Bolton was a solid deal for him and a good start.
Quail: Thunder. I'm selling off all the FAs that I signed in the offseason as soon as Dec 15 hits and tanking away ONE MORE YEAR. Build up a point bank worth bragging about and invest in my young players and really develop a solid core.
JNR: I’m taking the Thunder. Redshirt Maravich, trade anyone talented over 30, and try to acquire future assets. Maravich will be a star but you need other young talent around him, so play for the future.
Womb: I'd take the Thunder or Clippers. As Tani will tell you, when I signed up for the league I had hoped to take the Bobcats in order to have a blank slate and no expectations to win in the short term. Instead I got the Pistons and Anthony Davis.
false9: I'd agree on the Thunder- PISTOL PETE. But the Clippers and Dubs are intriguing as Chad pointed out- clean slates let you go in any direction. In all the situations, I would churn churn CHURN for points and assets. It all adds up.
The point goes to Darth for being SPICY. TALK THAT TALK
5- We've gone over what you'd tell the new GMs. I'm flipping the script- since we're all veterans, what's something you've picked up from a GM that came after you?
nola: I like this one because it’s something I rarely tried before until I saw false doing it for his Magic team: flat contracts. Others did it before and he wasn’t the first, but I forget which season it was that I noticed Andy was acquiring guys in flat contracts and I liked it a lot. I don’t get them a lot, but it worked for Erik Haynes this RFA and will save me several million down the road. It doesn’t seem like much, but if that helps me stay out of tax or gets me in a lower tax bracket, it pays for itself. Also much easier to move.
Darth: This is a difficult one. When you're the best GM out there it's rare that you ever learn anything from others. But I'd have to say that I always learn a great deal from articles that Kucoach and Garbageman write with their stats, charts, and pie graphs. Usually pretty interesting stuff, and every now and then I can apply it to game plans.
Quail: I'm not trying to kiss up to the moderator here for extra points (can I do that though?)... but some of the "newer" veteran GMs like Andy (false) and Josh (garbageman) really brought some creative ideas that made sim league pickems resurgent and just sim league media as a whole way livelier. Thanks guys!!
JNR: I learned so much from Josh. Not only has his analytical mind picked things up that I missed, but he and Andy’s enthusiasm for the league caused me to re-invest myself in it. Both of them jumped in with both feet first and that sort of interest re-kindled my own.
womb: I've learned that the turnaround time for a rebuild is much quicker than I would have expected with a combination of shrewd trades and free agent signings.
false9: Personally, anytime a newbie shows up and is enthusiastic and engaged, it reinvigorates me- it's good to see other people having fun with our silly, fake basketball.
Your blatant ass-kissery won't pay off here, Doug. I'm giving the point here to JNR for also feeling ENTHUSIASM.
Alright, so the leaderboard has JNR at 2, Darth at 2, and Tani at one. For reasons unknown, I am declaring DARTH the winner. Your prize?
THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY FIVE "5 on 5" points! Unfortunately, they don't convert to SLOE points.
Alright, you've heard from these guys, what does everyone think?