#SLOE: People's Basketball Sim League

I finally understand the pains of TC. Moving on...

I'm hoping my Lakers are like the Lebron James second-era Cavs: dancing around the top but never quite making it...except once. I would love for this year to be that once. But looking across the league I see some vet GMs making that very difficult for us, GMs who have been rebuilding (and still succeeding), GMs who may be done rebuilding, or who have the luxury to stop building. I'm looking at the Midwest Monsters, garbageman's Bulls and quailman's Bucks. Both made excellent plays to nab the seemingly last remaining purple current players from the tax doomed Raptors, on top of already good squads. For the Bucks, Rodriquez is already making a splash putting up league topping stats in the preseason. And for the Bulls? Well, Boban may have finally had a difficult enough TC for RJ to step in and take league MVP.

Not to overlook De'Aaron Fox though, on a surging Pacers squad, either, and rounding out the new teams at the top is the Pelicans (though I would say the Pelicans surge began last season).

So while the last few seasons had kept my eyes on the Kings, Clippers, Thunder and Raptors, only the Clippers and I remain still gunning for that top spot. The Clippers major offseason play nabbed a still top-notch BDJ, and the Lakers swapped an already dangerous front court of David Leiker and Ernie Acuna for an unstoppable duo of Pete Maravich and Jerry West. Saying goodbye to Leiker still hangs heavy on my heart, and while West’s TC didn’t do much to help that situation, I think we may be rounded out enough to stand up to any of these aforementioned teams for a real play at the top spot. Bulter and Lopez, young but now very experienced from the last two playoff runs, look to lead this new team of vets on the same mission for gold. West has tasted it several times over and would like one more title to share with other top (but ringless) players Pistol Pete and Sabonis before sunsetting his PBSL career.

While I would love to compare this squad to the team that went seven games with the eventual league champs, the Kings, we’re really brand new. Not even consistent SF backup Woodrow Atwater has remained in the picture. Wanderlei, so crucial to our success, did not make sense to follow into UFA for us, as our cap situation is dire and most salary fanagling had to occur pre-UFA. So, what kind of ball can we expect from this new team? If preseason was any indication, I expect our regular season to hit below the desired mark, but a true championship desire to emerge in the offseason. Pacers? Bucks? Probably see you there.

Who’s got questions??

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: Post-TC, do you still make the West trade?

Do you think this past off-season will be considered a pivotal moment for your franchise, for better or for worse?

Delmar Lopez looks to have taken the leap in the preseason. Are you confident this is an accurate representation of the type of regular season he'll have?

garbageman wrote: Mon May 25, 2020 2:41 pm Sham Smith, Bulls.com: Post-TC, do you still make the West trade?

No. Losing Wanderlei, I wanted to ensnare a quality big. Domantas was what looked interesting to me, and West justified losing a big piece to acquire him. But post-TC, I def have buyers' remorse here. There are other bigs. Alas.

IamQuailman wrote: Mon May 25, 2020 2:43 pm Do you think this past off-season will be considered a pivotal moment for your franchise, for better or for worse?

We changed course big time in trading Leiker, who I thought would be my Jerry West, so to speak (even if he never went purple). These moves laid a foundation to go all in, though, which ultimately released my long term plans with Leiker.

false9 wrote: Mon May 25, 2020 2:57 pm Delmar Lopez looks to have taken the leap in the preseason. Are you confident this is an accurate representation of the type of regular season he'll have?

This is the start of the kind of Delmar we've been waiting for. I'm hoping this max contract shows our confidence in him and his future, and that he's growing in the right direction. These are the kinds of numbers we had hoped to see last season, though, so we hope this is the way he intends to play well into the playoffs this year.

Random Reporter: Ultimately, what quality does your team possess that you hope/feel will put you over the top of your Alpha Conference rivals and back into the Finals?

I'm still figuring it out! I feel this squad is so new, but I feel we're balanced in all areas. Where one player has a weakness, another has a strength. Will it be enough? I'm not sure, but I'm hoping for the best. I think our strength is a tough and in shape starting 5 that can score everywhere.