#SLOE: People's Basketball Sim League

Welcome everyone to another great year of PBSL, let's take some time to review what was done in the past and look towards the future. As was the general theme of last season, I did not have much of a direction in my sim life. It showed through the season too. We had some really bad sims to start out the year and I felt like I was at one point going to be a top 3 pick before the lotto. After messing with my roster to see how different plans would work, I noticed that my tanking was actually winning games, so I decided to flip the switch and go for the final playoff spot. After some trade talks with various teams, I landed longtime OKC fan favorite Pistol Pete with the player drafted by us a year after in Clifton Cage from the Lakers, I then traded for Hallie hoping the three would be the spark plug we needed. They were good moves, just too little too late.

Going into the offseason, I wanted to finally get on track with pairing Wade and Oturu with another player who was younger and would be around for a while, basically cement the next core building blocks. The draft came around and I had my opportunity to do this, I traded up to pick three to get Maker, who I think will be an outstanding player, once he gets some TC and points pumped into him, he will even get some quality minutes this year. I then felt so good about my front court at the time between Oturu, Urqhart and Maker that I pulled a deal with the Knicks to move Bulter for Brooks Jackson who I see as a great combo guard to go next to Wade for the next few years. While he is not the top end Bulter is currently, I think he fits this teams fit long term. I then piggybacked that trade with acquiring Leonard from LAC for my 1 this year thinking I have a pretty good shot at the playoffs with the starting roster I built.

I felt very confident in my team heading into UFA, the main goal of UFA was to have more than the MLE in order to retain Kerry Powell long term and then throw vet mins out hoping some players bite. We were able to bring back Powell, and had the bonus of getting Pete and Cage back. We stayed quiet on rd2 and rd3, where we probably could have gotten some value but felt confident in the roster we built. TC came and it was a little harsher on my team than I expected. Maker had an outstanding camp, making great progress, and Oturu had some decent development as well. However, the negatives hurt. Urqhart took a major hit to his scoring, Fife went from a project to a bonafide waver wire player, and Wade had just an ok TC when I was expecting/hoping he would make another jump. You gotta take the good with the bad though.

Anyways, looking back on the presser last year and my negative, wishy washy approach to everything and comparing it to where I feel my team is now, I do think we have a better identity. As great as Bulter was, a true snub of All-star game and All PBSL nods, he was always a complimentary piece and held my team in a weird limbo area for the price I was paying him. Now I have a younger team, with players who will hopefully develop at the same time and get me not only to the playoffs this year, but make me a contender for the next few years. As far as starting lineups go, your guess is as good as mine... Plan to see a lot of Wade, Hallie, Leonard, Oturu, and Powell with a lesser degree of Maker (depending on his impact) and Jackson. Anywhos, the floor is yours!

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: While there are some decent shooters on the team, the Thunder lack a player with an A-level jump shot or three point shot. How do you plan to work your offense to mitigate the lack of lights out shooting?

Do you have any plans on training Maker in defense? Everything else looks great on him but his glaring weakness is fixable.


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Which teams in your division do you think will finish above you in the standings?

garbageman wrote: Sat Dec 12, 2020 12:30 am Sham Smith, Bulls.com: While there are some decent shooters on the team, the Thunder lack a player with an A-level jump shot or three point shot. How do you plan to work your offense to mitigate the lack of lights out shooting?

Short answer, who needs to jump, amirite??? But in all honesty, I do not think I was paying that close of attention when I was going through my off-season and deal making. I think it will just require some good game planning on my part to try to mask their deficiencies. At least I have consistency across the board, and can probably still trade or pick up a player who is a shooter or two, if needed, as the season goes along.

NOLa. wrote: Sat Dec 12, 2020 6:03 am Do you have any plans on training Maker in defense? Everything else looks great on him but his glaring weakness is fixable.


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PSD will be trained in this round of paid training, in addition to his JPS and his quickness. I am super pumped about Maker, and think he could be a really good player and I plan on developing him a lot over the next year or two. He had a really good training camp, where he was the highest grossing player and had no negatives that I saw from Josh's excel sheet. So with the hope that he has another good TC next year, I am hoping to get him to a position to where he is not a net negative on defense in a few years and can be an all around star for this team.

IamQuailman wrote: Sat Dec 12, 2020 10:38 am Which teams in your division do you think will finish above you in the standings?

I could see it shaking out something like this (obviously optimistic towards my team)
1.Bulls
2.Thunder
3.Clippers
4.Jazz
5.Rockets
6.Suns
7.Blazers

Bulls will win the division unless something catastrophic happens, like an injury to Ridley or Hunt. After that, I am hoping that my roster is strong enough to not only get second in the conference, and hopefully present trouble to Josh, but also secure a playoff spot. The Clippers will always find a way to compete and have a decent roster for our division and conference already before anymore tinkering he will undoubtedly do. The Jazz also made some good moves this off-season, but I wonder if he will try to move Bronny James or another older piece for points. The Rockets appear to be in a rebuilding situation where they have mostly younger players, and their only two players with B/B are both Centers. The Suns are the Suns, where they are feast or famine with their players, having more Orange players than any other color. Then the Blazers have a new GM and are firmly rebuilding.

I think 2-5 could change depending on how things go. I also might be one of the few GMs who see my team as a true playoff contender, but I do feel confident that our team is built to play well this year and finally get me my back to the playoffs for the first time in a few years. I hope we surprise the hell out of a few GMs this year that are not taking us seriously.

Having moved on from Bulter, your team is poised to play "small ball." Who do you run at the five spot?

Are you a fan of the new OKC run-and-gun offense you saw in the preseason? Or do you prefer a less chaotic game script?

greepleairport wrote: Sat Dec 12, 2020 9:01 pm Having moved on from Bulter, your team is poised to play "small ball." Who do you run at the five spot?

Right now I plan on throwing Oturu out at the 5, that was always my long term goal. From early returns, he might not be poised to take that role yet however, and a move might need to be made.

K-100 wrote: Sun Dec 13, 2020 7:13 am Are you a fan of the new OKC run-and-gun offense you saw in the preseason? Or do you prefer a less chaotic game script?

It was cool too see the team be a top 5 scoring team of the pre-season. It should be fun to tinker with since I have so many offensive weapons on this team. I think this team will be playing a fast style of play on both sides that will make it rough on any team we play.

Justin Bieber, Teremana.com: The Thunder have missed the playoffs 4 straight years. Rumors has it, Thunder fans are losing their patience. Thunder fans would like to see the similar approach the Cavs are taking. Do you think you need to change your strategy and officially declare a rebuilding year?

jlmarines wrote: Sun Dec 13, 2020 3:55 pm Justin Bieber, Teremana.com: The Thunder have missed the playoffs 4 straight years. Rumors has it, Thunder fans are losing their patience. Thunder fans would like to see the similar approach the Cavs are taking. Do you think you need to change your strategy and officially declare a rebuilding year?

I think if I was in the Alpha conference, I would probably feel like it is more likely I will miss the playoffs, and say its a rebuilding year still. However, the Omega in whole is a weaker conference, and I feel we finally have the parts to compete for a playoff spot, and even potentially win round if it goes my way.

I think both the fans, as well as the players, are ready to get out of the rebuilding process and move forward towards the playoffs.

Random Reporter: What kind of production are you hoping to see from Ronald Haile in a contract year? Do you see letting him and Leonard walk and focusing on Wade/Jackson/Maker if this season doesn't go as well as you hope?

Xist2Inspire wrote: Mon Dec 14, 2020 3:20 am Random Reporter: What kind of production are you hoping to see from Ronald Haile in a contract year? Do you see letting him and Leonard walk and focusing on Wade/Jackson/Maker if this season doesn't go as well as you hope?

For the first part, I like Hallie, and he willl be our starting Shooting Guard going into the season. He does everything pretty good, so having a steady hand like him I think will go a long way in helping this team on both ends of the court. He plays better defense and shoots a better three ball than Jackson, which I think will also be more beneficial to keeping him in our starting lineup.

For the second part, I think Leonard will be back next year no matter what since we have him on an option. The only way I see him moving is through a trade. With Hallie, that will get a little stickier. That will entirely depend on how our season goes. I am still not in a place to fully commit to him past this year yet.