Post by StayMe7o on Oct 9, 2019 22:44:19 GMT
1. How is everybody doing this fine evening? Lets dive right in, how is your season going? Up to your expectations, exceeding or not meeting them?
Cedi - It is a meh season. Team is ok but nothing special. Nobody trades and I can't tank so just stuck waiting for FA to make more moves or the draft/youth to develop more. If we win 50+ I guess expectations were met.
Donny - Good! I'm happy with what we're doing. The rebuild has been going well. I'm surprised at how well certain players have played (Naulls and Kojis being two absolutely fantastic pieces), but other than that, pretty much met them.
Nate - This season has been a weird one for sure. The divide between tanking teams and contending teams is still pretty wide, so the trade market is tough. Too many teams looking for picks, but not the mediocre picks, BUT the teams with the GOOD picks are also rebuilding, so its basically just a big stalemate. Everyone who has win now talent is handcuffed into being in the playoffs unless they just give away their talent for free, which is sweet if you are just trying to coast, which it feels like everyone is now that we're into fantasy football season. Its been a slow year for me personally, but my team is basically a lock to make the playoffs and get knocked out in the first or second round. Should be fun!
JR - Im doing great! Sorry for the late post boys, but was waiting on more. Its going just like I expected one piece away from legit being a contender,maybe ill get lucky.
UCFinFan - Definitely meeting my expectations. I thought we might take a small step back after losing Drazen and then moving Belov, but Barnett has really stepped up this season. Record wise I won't be as good as last season, but my team stats are better. The team has a real chance to beat the team FG% record. I really like my 8 man rotation and then the rest of the roster is filled out by rookie contract guys.
UCFinFan - Definitely meeting my expectations. I thought we might take a small step back after losing Drazen and then moving Belov, but Barnett has really stepped up this season. Record wise I won't be as good as last season, but my team stats are better. The team has a real chance to beat the team FG% record. I really like my 8 man rotation and then the rest of the roster is filled out by rookie contract guys.
2. With that being said any surprises around the league thus far for you? Maybe a player performing better or worse than expected or a team?
Cedi - Haven't really paid attention to other teams but the CPU Bulls actually making a playoff push is a surprise. They make terrible moves but somehow have improved. Would love to see them go on a run and make it at least once!
Donny - I'm very surprised at how good the Nets are. I feel like their bigs aren't exactly superstars, but he's got an insane roster outside of his bigs, so I guess it shouldn't be too shocking. I'm just surprised at how far ahead he is.
Nate - Well I've been most impressed with BJ Boston's development this year. He took a big jump ratings wise, and hes proven he's ready for a bigger role by taking a big jump statistically. I don't think he's playoff ready yet though, so I might break our Paul Walther for the playoffs and see if he can go bananas again. Overall though, since most pre-season rankings had me way outside of the playoffs, we're doing pretty well.
JR - Very surprised how well Dior is playing at SG. Edwards is a beast but turns it over too much to start so tried something and it actually worked out.
UCFinFan - The Knicks are a surprise team to me. I thought they'd be in 5-6 range in the East and about 50 wins. They are on 60+ win pace and playing really well. Looking at their team, Gola, Ausbie and Sale have really stepped up to give them a good pieces behind Brody/Twyman/Qu. Good job by the Knicks this season.
UCFinFan - The Knicks are a surprise team to me. I thought they'd be in 5-6 range in the East and about 50 wins. They are on 60+ win pace and playing really well. Looking at their team, Gola, Ausbie and Sale have really stepped up to give them a good pieces behind Brody/Twyman/Qu. Good job by the Knicks this season.
3. This last draft looked solid at the beginning of the draft how do you think these rookies have fared so far? Anything that jumps out to you from this draft class?
Cedi - Nobody jumps out. With most rookies you need to see how they look after a few years of camps and this class is no different. My own rookies have been pretty meh but in a few seasons they should be useful.
Donny - The rookies have looked pretty mediocre for this year to start with, with the best rookie and likely ROTY having almost 5 turnovers per game. I'm waiting to see the pre-drafts before the upcoming draft class comes up, but the top end guys who will potentially come out over the next few years are super exciting. With guys like Walt and Monroe on the way, things look good for re-building teams.
Nate - I mean most of the top picks are buried in the depth chart or on unmanned teams so its looking fairly stale outside of Dave Bing out in Golden State. He's ballin out, and if it weren't for the G-League call ups like Cleo Hill, he would have a decent shot at ROTY. Otherwise, the top 10 players ratings all seem decent enough, so Im sure they will grow up quickly enough. There just aren't any superstars out of the gate just yet.
JR - Well i think I will side with Nate on this one. The top draft picks rarely preform well enough to be considered for an award because of the G-League, but Bing looks legit.
UCFinFan - I thought this draft class was super weak from the beginning. Bing was interesting and has played OK for a rookie, but overall this draft class remains very blah. A couple of these guys can obviously still develop, but I'm not expecting this draft class to have a very lasting impact on the NBN. Would be surprised if more than 1 random guy ever made an All NBN team.
UCFinFan - I thought this draft class was super weak from the beginning. Bing was interesting and has played OK for a rookie, but overall this draft class remains very blah. A couple of these guys can obviously still develop, but I'm not expecting this draft class to have a very lasting impact on the NBN. Would be surprised if more than 1 random guy ever made an All NBN team.
4. This next draft class can be loaded, who would you like to be in this draft if you had a say? Why?
Cedi - Draft class was already announced but I don't really care what names are in it. Have no idea how any will look ratings wise yet so until then I can't judge any of them. It has a few big names which is nice but I can't tank and all my picks suck so don't really care much about it.
Donny - I'd love to see a big draft with guys like Frazier, Monroe, and other guys from that ERA in this/next draft. Sack up the draft and things will get exciting, especially with all of the rebuilding teams we have in the league right now.
Nate - I would probably be most drawn to Rick Barry at a quick glance, pre scouting. He seems to have a solid rating baseline in the right areas for an impact player at that position, assuming his defense can be camped up over the first few years. He just seems like a prototype combo wing that can score from anywhere and handle the ball, so it would be an easy enough transition to build a roster around him.
JR - Im just glad none of the former knicks were in this draft class, I would love to pair one of them with Willis Reed if not both. I love Walt's potential of being a lockdown defender and low turnover guy so hopefully he comes in when I can nab him.
UCFinFan - The draft class has already been announced. It's fun to see Rick Barry and Wes Unseld get the nod and join Paul Silas. Should be a pretty good class at the top, but I think the 2 biggest names (maybe 3rd outside of Rick Barry) were Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe. This draft class could have been legendary if all 5 of them came out, but also nice to see that next year's could be really good as well. Walt Frazier should be a really fun player in this league.
UCFinFan - The draft class has already been announced. It's fun to see Rick Barry and Wes Unseld get the nod and join Paul Silas. Should be a pretty good class at the top, but I think the 2 biggest names (maybe 3rd outside of Rick Barry) were Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe. This draft class could have been legendary if all 5 of them came out, but also nice to see that next year's could be really good as well. Walt Frazier should be a really fun player in this league.
5. Pick one player from this file to start your team with, who would it be? Why?
Cedi - Jerry West. Duh. He is a cheat code that never should have been created. Not much else needs to be said.
Donny - Jerry West. Easily the most dominant player in the league and one of the most dominant players since I've been in the league. The guy is averaging FORTY points this season. It's INSANE.
Nate - It really has to be Jerry West honestly. I would take Cousy if I could go back to his rookie year and draft him with the lifetime 10 mil contract if that is an option, but moving forward, West just has the draft notes and overall game to make him a lock for this... I would probably trade my entire team to the Hornets for him and start from scratch if that were on the table.
JR - Well like everybody else said Jerry West is by far the best player so why not take him and start above the res of the league? Dude is crazy good and will be for a very long time.
UCFinFan - If you are talking file as in the NBN, it would still be Jerry West. He's still only 25yo and there is a good chance he goes down as the best scorer in NBN history.
UCFinFan - If you are talking file as in the NBN, it would still be Jerry West. He's still only 25yo and there is a good chance he goes down as the best scorer in NBN history.
6. Now give me your favorite for each conference to go to the Finals? Then name a dark horse and why for each question.
Cedi - Nets and Grizzlies. Think they met last year? I don't remember. They both have complete teams that play both ends of the court. The Nets are the favorites of course with their 20 point differential.
Donny - Hornets-Grizz would be my pick. I think Jerry's too good to stop and the Grizzlies are the most dominant entity in the East. Dark horses? I'll take the Celtics and Sonics. I think both of these teams are built how championship teams are supposed to be built and there's a lot of potential for these teams to do big things if they get the right matchup.
Nate - I think its time for the classic Cavs vs Griz finals matchup. The Cavs are good and keep getting better, as Jcog is doing his thing and quietly building a juggernaut in the shadows, waiting to take that #1 seed permanently. And the Griz out west have just had a lock on things for the last few years. I would say the next top contenders would be the Nets and Rockets who will give them a run for their money in the conference finals. My Dark Horse will be the Hornets, once again solely because of Jerry West's influence on his team in big games. Plus he loves to eat Cousy's lunch when they square up.
JR - Nets and Grizzlies will probably make the finals. We will see the playoffs is a crap shoot, hornets and cavs have a chance to dethrone the Nets. In thw western conference I can only see maybe the Nuggets or Rockets to come close, but the Grizz are the best by far in this conference.
UCFinFan - A dark horse in the East would be the Wizards. They are very good defensively and rebounding. For the West I'd say the Nuggets then. Talent wise I still think they are very good, but have fallen to 5th in the West.
UCFinFan - A dark horse in the East would be the Wizards. They are very good defensively and rebounding. For the West I'd say the Nuggets then. Talent wise I still think they are very good, but have fallen to 5th in the West.
7. The Nets have to be the favorite to win it all, any team you think can stop them in either conference?
Cedi - Jerry West might be able to beat them but that is probably it. A dominant team with a 20 point differential and they have to worry about a one man team. Another more balanced team may push them and with FBB you never know if it may be in an upset mood but they are probably too good to be beaten.
Donny - The Hornets can stop them, as mentioned before, thanks to Jerry being absolutely insane. I think the Hornets could use a big trade at the deadline, but other than that, I really do think they could make noise and knock off the Nets.
Nate - I think the Cavs have the best shot to dethrone the Nets from their reign in the East. They have slowly gotten better every year and keep adding solid depth pieces and somethings gotta give. I dont know if they have the high end firepower to compete with the Cousy Belov Schmidt trio, but they have a really good team and it should be a solid series.
JR - Like I said before I believe that the Cavs or Hornets have the best chance at beating the elite Nets. Lets hope its a good playoffs and something out of the ordinary happens.
UCFinFan - The Hornets are my main fear just because of the way that West owns Cousy. I don't think the Hornets roster outside of West is all that great and there's probably better overall rosters, but anytime the other team has the best player in the series, its always scary.
UCFinFan - The Hornets are my main fear just because of the way that West owns Cousy. I don't think the Hornets roster outside of West is all that great and there's probably better overall rosters, but anytime the other team has the best player in the series, its always scary.
8. What is your philosophy when building teams in FBB. It seems this league has many different styles.
Cedi - Run very fast outside. Have bigs that block shots. Have wings that score and rebound if possible. It is a very simple game and this is really the only way to play it successfully without a prime Shaq type big. Even then you still want scorers around him. Other styles are wrong.
Donny - Outside shooting, outside shooting, and more outside shooting. A lot of people in this league are much more focused on blocks for their bigs, whereas I'd like a healthy mix of blocks and ability to stretch the floor a bit.
Nate - I like to stay a bit fluid and take the path that makes sense based off the given circumstances overall, but in general I emphasize specific skillsets for each position and try to acquire players who's talents fit together like a puzzle to cover all of the bases. Point guard needs to be a top 3 player in the league, Shooting guard needs to be a scoring machine with high steals, small forward needs to be a great scorer, rebounder and defender, and the bigs just need to be able to score efficiently and rebound/STOCK at an elite level. Then I like to have a high octane scorer or two off the bench to spot start and fill in during injuries or foul trouble games, while my backup bigs just smash and block. Otherwise, I love building through the draft and then making trades when something arrises. BUT in general I just do whatever I feel like. Its a game.
JR - I like scorers at the wing a low turnover guy at PG and if I can not get an elite big that can score and defend, Ill take bigs that block shots and rebound. The bench can be a little thin but need a guy who can score off the bench.
UCFinFan - I really don't have a specific style. I just try to acquire the best players at the best possible value and then make it work from there. I have really utilized the G-League and allows me to supplement my high priced veterans with cheap salaries. Barnett, Dawkins, Williams, Egan, Bevo are all G-League call-ups. Barnett turned into an all-star and Bevo might one day. But Egan/Bevo have provided really solid cheap backups this season.
UCFinFan - I really don't have a specific style. I just try to acquire the best players at the best possible value and then make it work from there. I have really utilized the G-League and allows me to supplement my high priced veterans with cheap salaries. Barnett, Dawkins, Williams, Egan, Bevo are all G-League call-ups. Barnett turned into an all-star and Bevo might one day. But Egan/Bevo have provided really solid cheap backups this season.
9. Do you feel it easy to make trades here in this league or is it hard to find a deal that helps your team?
Cedi - There aren't many GMs interested in trading. You look at guys like the Heat GM who just draft and send FA bids and do nothing else. Why even bother joining a league? I had a few day span when I was selling off for scraps where I made a bunch of trades but other than that it is near impossible to find a trade that will actually help my team.
Donny - I over-value my players so it's a bit more difficult for me to find a good deal. I understand completely that that's mostly on me and my un-willingness to part on key pieces for less than market value. With role players, it's very easy to find deals that'll benefit both teams.
Nate - It really depends on what you're looking for/ what your expectations are. If you are in the mindset that you need to TANK and "fire sale" then its generally fairly easy to collect a bunch of picks for your starters and hope you do well in the lottery, but if you are looking to get fair value for your players, you will likely get frustrated. Great examples are the Wizards last year who were openly trying to tank, but due to the overall talent they took back in trades, they had a hard time sinking to the bottom of the Atlantic. They did a great job of collecting solid 1st round picks, but couldn't get into the good parts of the lottery. Conversely, the Pacers, who had just completed a fire sale the season before, were stuck with a TON of rookie contract players from all of the mid-round 1sts they had, and now sit on a pile of players they cant afford to camp/ cant move because they aren't elite.
JR - I think it is extremely hard to make a fair deal. Everybody wants to win the deal here which is why I was trading my picks for cash to improve and develop my youth.
UCFinFan - I haven't been very active on the trade market the past few seasons because I've felt my team has been pretty complete and I've been right up against the cap. Once my current run is over, I'll be more active in the trade market to try and rebuild my team back up. I think it's easy in the aspect there are always teams trying to tank and selling off good pieces for cheap. There's probably about 10 teams that are easy to have a trade negotiation with and then another 5-7 or so that you can atleast send offers with. The hard part is that no one ever wants to send offers. They want to post trade blocks and have people approach them with offers. No one wants to be proactive and send out feelers. If you have a player that you want to move, look through other teams rosters and find someone that might be a fit and send an inquiry instead of just complaining no one trades and posting bump in your trade block. There's also that group of 5 or so teams that just don't respond to a PM.
UCFinFan - I haven't been very active on the trade market the past few seasons because I've felt my team has been pretty complete and I've been right up against the cap. Once my current run is over, I'll be more active in the trade market to try and rebuild my team back up. I think it's easy in the aspect there are always teams trying to tank and selling off good pieces for cheap. There's probably about 10 teams that are easy to have a trade negotiation with and then another 5-7 or so that you can atleast send offers with. The hard part is that no one ever wants to send offers. They want to post trade blocks and have people approach them with offers. No one wants to be proactive and send out feelers. If you have a player that you want to move, look through other teams rosters and find someone that might be a fit and send an inquiry instead of just complaining no one trades and posting bump in your trade block. There's also that group of 5 or so teams that just don't respond to a PM.
10. Inflation has set in, has for while, do you feel that there are too many players with great ratings?
Cedi - I do not like how camps are required for players to develop. I've tried to get GMs from other leagues to join and they all say the same thing and that is that there are just too many camps. At this point there is nothing you can do about it as they're needed to keep up with inflation. I'm ok with some inflation but rather it be natural through TC.
Donny - Nah, I think it's a happy, healthy medium. As long as there are opportunities to continue to get high rated players that do it all, everything is okay. If we get to the point where inflation dies off a bit, that would be fine too, but I think we're good here.
Nate - Right now, it feels like we're in a weird age where there are a lot of fake good players who put up great numbers in bursts but don't contribute to winning at all. I feel like the inflation of point guards in the hardest to sift through, since its fairly easy to find an 18-24 ppg PG with 8-10 apg and 2+spg, but its hard to get the top dogs, because everyone knows who they are and wont give them up (Cousy, West, Costello, etc). After that its a mashup of random dudes that are being passed around between teams trying to take that next step, but falling short once they face up with the elite teams in the playoffs. I think in general, sure the inflation makes things weird at first, but everyone here seems to have a decent enough feel for who the best players are, so it isn't a huge deal.
JR - At this point it really doesnt matter just takes a little longer to build a contender if you dont make trades for win now players, which is why it took me 3 years to actually build a playoff team without trades.
UCFinFan - I don't mind the inflation at all since it's a level playing ground and everyone is playing by the same rules. The only part I dislike is the overly strong draft notes. Mostly just Jerry West. If Wilt wasn't a big man then his notes would be pretty insane, but there's only so much damage a big man can do in an inflated league like this no matter how good his ratings become.
UCFinFan - I don't mind the inflation at all since it's a level playing ground and everyone is playing by the same rules. The only part I dislike is the overly strong draft notes. Mostly just Jerry West. If Wilt wasn't a big man then his notes would be pretty insane, but there's only so much damage a big man can do in an inflated league like this no matter how good his ratings become.
11. Anyways, lets move on from the sim world and liven the mood here, who is the most attractive woman to you, no significant others please.
Cedi - Do we not all wish to hold Chrissy Metz in our arms?
Donny - Big Abigail Ratchford fan here.
Nate - Oh man, I think I might have to go with Alexandra Daddario... She's just literally perfect and looking at her is like starting at the surface of the sun, BUT yet she has a girl next door vibe and seems pretty chill. Other than that, I have a thing for Elizabeth Olsen (probably from all the Avengers movies). Def the hottest of the Olsen girls.
JR - Katya Henry is probably my favorite right now. She has a nice body and pretty face. Kuzma's ex I think thats the best he couldve done.
UCFinFan - I went through a Mila Kunis stage ever since Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Blake Lively is also someone that I've always liked as well. Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn is nice too.
UCFinFan - I went through a Mila Kunis stage ever since Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Blake Lively is also someone that I've always liked as well. Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn is nice too.
12. Adam Silver is a great commish we can all agree on that anything you would like to say to him here?
Cedi - The consistent sims are nice. It is hard to find someone who can stay committed this long to simming for a league so I do appreciate that.
Donny - Keep doing what you do and keep running the league how things have been going. Everything's been fantastic up to this point.
Nate - Keep up the good work boss man. I appreciate you putting in the effort to keep this league running, and always doing your best to make the tough calls to keep the collective group happiest. The league has definitely slowed down a lot over the last year or so, and I just love that so many drastic changes have taken place in order to drum up activity and keep the league alive.
JR - Just want to thank him for simming daily and running a smooth league. Keep up the good work.
UCFinFan - I just appreciate that he continues to run the league on schedule every day. Best sim league I've been apart of and hope it continues for a long time. I appreciate that he takes others opinions and suggestions into account also makes it a collaborative effort.
UCFinFan - I just appreciate that he continues to run the league on schedule every day. Best sim league I've been apart of and hope it continues for a long time. I appreciate that he takes others opinions and suggestions into account also makes it a collaborative effort.
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