#SLOE: People's Basketball Sim League

Hello, friends. It's that time again.



As always, we'll start with a look back at last season before we look ahead.

We stumbled out of the gates last season. Having title expectations and then seeing team playing .500 basketball at the All-Star break was disheartening. With some slight tweaks, we were able to turn it around and close out strong with a 50 win season. We put up a fight against a superior Pacers team, but lost in 7 games. The foolhardy title aspirations lead to another postseason failure.

There were a lot of questions heading into the offseason. Do I bring back an aging Boban and run it back? What if I lose Schumann? Should I blow it all up? Restricted free agency was the turning point. We brought back Richard Hunt. After signing Ronnie Reynolds to an offer sheet, we quickly worked out a deal with PaulyP to send Bronny James in a sign and trade. We didn’t want to send Boban a sizeable contract at his age, so he departed for greener pastures in OKC. In a matter of weeks, the last members of the core four were gone.

So what does this mean for this season? I honestly don’t know. The power poll has us right in the middle of the pack overall and 4th in the Division. I’d like to push for the 7th seed. I’m expecting more production from Schumann, Reynolds, and Hunt. We’ve got decent bigs at the PF and C spots. If this group comes out slowly, I won’t be shy from making moves to sell off.

With that, I’ll open the floor to your questions.

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: With Bronny to Indiana Boban off to a hefty contract in OKC, this is the beginning of a new era for the Magic. What was the greatest highlight and biggest regret over the Boban era-Magic?

garbageman wrote: Sun Aug 30, 2020 2:39 pm Sham Smith, Bulls.com: With Bronny to Indiana Boban off to a hefty contract in OKC, this is the beginning of a new era for the Magic. What was the greatest highlight and biggest regret over the Boban era-Magic?

The 75-7 season closing with a matchup against you in the Finals was probably my favorite. All hail the reverse steak bet.

My biggest regret would have to be blowing it up too early- that Edmunds 3 was a real dagger. I probably could have run it back for 2 seasons in retrospect.

What was the thought process of sending Bronnie James to Pacers in exchange for Reynolds when the core group of Schu and Hunt look ready to compete?

NOLa. wrote: Sun Aug 30, 2020 3:46 pm What was the thought process of sending Bronnie James to Pacers in exchange for Reynolds when the core group of Schu and Hunt look ready to compete?

I felt like moving Bronny helped to extend the window a bit more. I would have been compelled to send Boban a larger contract had I held onto Bronny. I was a bit reticent in having those two about to fall off the TC cliff. With Reynolds, the window resets a bit and I have some payroll/asset flexibility.

Chet Youbetcha, Dimmadome News: Now that Bronny is no longer apart of the team. How would you rate his time in Orlando? Did he meet your expectations?


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AngryBanana wrote: Sun Aug 30, 2020 6:26 pm Chet Youbetcha, Dimmadome News: Now that Bronny is no longer apart of the team. How would you rate his time in Orlando? Did he meet your expectations?


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I suppose I was underwhelmed, but I don't know if that is fair. In the seasons where it was up to him to shoulder the load, he never got higher than 24 ppg, but that could have been due to a bad gameplan on my part. He was a big part of the group that made three straight finals, so I'll change my answer to satisfied.

With your newly acquired pieces, do you envision a spot for a guy like Ernest Long on your roster?

GWR: Does Joshua Schumann feel any pressure to step up and be the next great player in Orlando?

IS Schumann the guy? Can you deal with all the residual slime?

IamQuailman wrote: Mon Aug 31, 2020 1:00 pm With your newly acquired pieces, do you envision a spot for a guy like Ernest Long on your roster?

A guy like him, sure. We could use a big. But Ernest Long? The salaries don't add up- I think you've got slime in your calculator.

JNR wrote: Mon Aug 31, 2020 1:00 pm GWR: Does Joshua Schumann feel any pressure to step up and be the next great player in Orlando?

Admittedly, last season was a disappointment. Let's see some work from him and get him above 20 ppg, then we can start talking about him potentially being great player.

TheSyndicate wrote: Mon Aug 31, 2020 1:18 pm IS Schumann the guy? Can you deal with all the residual slime?

Form is temporary, slime is permanent. Maybe he's more of a second, slime covered, banana.