Post by mcmuslim on Oct 16, 2019 20:18:28 GMT
Welcome to the first interview in a series of GM interviews I'll be covering. The interview process was much different than usual, as I asked the questions one at a time to keep things more fluid and feel like a genuine interview. Either, today we're starting with a bang, as we interview one of the best: ucfinfan86 . Uc has been a strong GM for years, nabbing 3 GMOTY awards and 2 rings. Let's see what he has to say about his team and the league.
MC: Let's start with Dick Barnett. Wow, what an incredible season. Do you think he's already surpassed Belov?
UC: If I had to win 1 game, I would still take Belov. If you offered me Belov for Barnett I wouldn’t take it though. He was just named 1st team all NBN, but that’s partly because Belov/Guerin we’re injured. I would have liked to see where he would have landed if they were all healthy. I’ve been so high on Barnett since he came into the league as the Gleague MVP. I turned down a deal around Barnett/Lopatka for Nico 3 years ago and I’m really glad I ended up not regretting that. He has such a well rounded game and doesn’t really have any weaknesses. I’m expecting him to end up as a HOFer. Just look at his career percentages. 48% FG and 46% 3pt is unreal.
MC: Yeah, pretty unreal numbers. And Scmidtt has fit in nicely with Cousy and Barnett, is this your favorite team you've conjured up in this league?
UC: No my favorite team was my first title team in 2038. I had an unreal starting lineup of Lumpp(one of the best PGs ever), young Frank Ramey (glue guy for my team), Prime Yardley (Top 2 SF of the decade), and a young big man duo of Bitadze/Edwards, who both averaged 13+ rebounds and 3.5+ blocks. Aside from Lumpp that was a homegrown team. Unfortunately I lost in the finals in 2039 and then the team got to expensive to keep together.
MC: Interesting, crazy to think you've had even more talent than you do now. Do you think there's a missing piece for your squad or do you think you have the best team in the league?
UC: I think I have the best team in the league this year. Best record and best point differential. Best offense in the league by 6pts and best shooting percentage. For most of the season we were breaking the all time record but faded down the stretch. The defense could be a little better. I wish Bobro was the Bobro of a few years ago when he was closer to 3.5 blocks. Lopatka/Eddie/Bevo give me a really good bench unit.
MC: Yeah I completely agree with you, you don't have holes. It's interesting to see teams like the Hornets have top heavy talent and still be a massive threat. Speaking of which when do you think it's going to be time to shake things up? The east has been ruthless these last few seasons, it would be interesting to see what it would look like with you transitioning.
UC: Possibly this offseason, but it depends on if anyone wants to trade for Schmidt or Cousy. So far I haven’t received any good inquiries. Since I unloaded Dyker, I have the ability to run it back minus Dyker/Lopatka/Bobro. It would be tough to be as good as this season without those guys and Schmidt/Cousy another year older unless a few of my young guys pop.
I’m open to running it back for another year and open to mixing it up. I probably won’t tank because I’m not moving Barnett and as Wizards have shown, just having a little bit of talent almost guarantees you a playoff spot.
MC: Who do you think is going to come out next year as a true contender who hasn't been considered one before?
UC: That's a hard question to answer without seeing what happens this offseason and free agency. I really like the Jazz's core. Not sure what happened to Hampton this year, but he was on his way to a top 5 PG. Hampton/Dragan/Stith/LaRusso/Thurmond/Bogut is a fantastic young core and they should have cap space to make a big addition as well. Let's see if the new GM can put it all together.
MC: Let's move towards league related questions. What are your thoughts on unclaimed teams being GMed by a CPU?
UC: Obviously it sucks and I wish we had a real GM for every team. I hate to see high draft picks go to these teams and die. Someone made a suggestion that I liked, which was to give the reigning champion the ability to camp up the CPU rookies. Allows them to not die and gives a bit of a reward to those of us who really enjoy building players up. Maybe allow the GM to get the rookies free scouting report so they get a little perk out of it.
MC: That's definitely something the rules committee should look into it. Let's keep backpacking off of that, what's something you wish could change about the league rule wise?
UC: One of the things that came up during the initial rule committee that I really liked was anti-tanking measurements and/or incentivizing winning more. The 3 that I really liked were: 1. A tax for the amount of games that you lost. Kind of a reverse Win Bonus. Win less than 20 and it costs $1000, 21-30 is $750, 31-41 is $500 or something to that effect. 2. Changing the lottery odds to match what the NBA does now. 3. Some type of incentive to make the playoffs beyond just $200 playoff cash.
I just want to see more competitiveness instead of 8 (or sometimes less) teams in each conference trying to make the playoffs and everyone else just tanking. Maybe more camping options for playoff teams or less options for non-playoff teams. One idea was also tying the amount of FA bids you get to how many games you won. 60+ gets 15, bids, 50-60 gets 10, 40-49 gets 8, etc.
MC: With classes with stud names such as this one, how can tanking be avoided? Is it just a necessary evil?
UC: I don't know how tanking can be avoided except to incentivize winning more. If you flatten the lottery odds like the NBA has, it could make teams not strive to land the worst record since you don't get that much better lottery odds than if you fielded a competitive team. The NBA hasn't figured out how to avoid tanking though, so not sure the NBN can either.
I can only imagine what kind of tanking is going to go on when we get to the Magic/Larry/MJ draft classes.
MC: Do you think a reset will be necessary within the next 10-15 seasons?
UC: No I don’t. What benefit does the league get from a reset? I love the historical aspect of the league and would hate to lose that. I mean I’m open to it if there were valid arguments for it, but I just don’t see what they would be.
MC: Interesting, personally I only think it's a problem once we loop back around to where we were originally, I guess we'll have to cross the bridge when we get there. What's one piece of advice you'd give teams that have been struggling to be contenders for the last bunch of seasons?
UC: The easiest piece of advice is to be more active, earn cash so that you can use that cash to buy picks and upgrade your players. Beyond that, I don't think people are using the G-League enough. Look at my roster, I have quality backups on cheap contracts from G-League players Johnny Egan, Bevo Nordmann, Audrey Dawkins, and Zhaire Williams. One or 2 of them will probably end up being starters at some point and they were all 2nd round picks. Dick Barnett was a 1st rounder I sent to the G-League, who exploded and won MVP. I have plenty of 2nd round picks who I sent to the G-league who flamed out, but even if you go 1 for 4, that's a quality player you acquire for basically nothing.
MC: 100% agreed, 2nd round picks are extremely valuable. I already see you inquire about the 33rd pick. Do you think it's better to trade for top tier talent and build your G-League roster or is it better to be patient and stick with it through drafts?
UC: I think both strategies are sufficient. A lot of times it's hard to trade for top end talent though. Personally, my favorite type of strategy for building a team is to have a few high priced stars and then surround it with cheap young players. My favorite part of this league is building up young players. I'm active enough that I earn enough cash to be able to camp 3 or 4 guys each season. Doing it this way gives me the best of both worlds. I have stars and am competing, I have young players I'm building up, and hopefully when those young players are time for a contract extension, I can move on from the expensive stars and have the young player step up. I did that last year with Belov and Barnett, maybe I can do it this year or next with Cousy and Egan. Probably will do it with Bobro and Bevo this season.
All that being said, I would also love to slow play it, tank for 2-3 seasons and build a roster slowly through the draft and build up my draft picks. I did that when I first took over the Nets in 2030, but it takes alot of time and patience (like 3-4 months real time) and hasn't been something I've wanted to commit to or needed to. I've been able to continue to compete continuously without going that route, but if the time comes that is another approach I'm willing to take.
MC: Awesome this has been a great conversation, is there anything you want to say before we close things out?
UC: That's good for me. I didn't really know what kind of questions you were going to ask, but I think you hit on all of the major topics around the league. Thanks!
Hope you guys enjoyed! This one doesn't have the most with pictures and other design choices, but with the quality of the conversation we had, I think UC makes up for it. Appreciate the convo again ucfinfan86
UC: If I had to win 1 game, I would still take Belov. If you offered me Belov for Barnett I wouldn’t take it though. He was just named 1st team all NBN, but that’s partly because Belov/Guerin we’re injured. I would have liked to see where he would have landed if they were all healthy. I’ve been so high on Barnett since he came into the league as the Gleague MVP. I turned down a deal around Barnett/Lopatka for Nico 3 years ago and I’m really glad I ended up not regretting that. He has such a well rounded game and doesn’t really have any weaknesses. I’m expecting him to end up as a HOFer. Just look at his career percentages. 48% FG and 46% 3pt is unreal.
MC: Yeah, pretty unreal numbers. And Scmidtt has fit in nicely with Cousy and Barnett, is this your favorite team you've conjured up in this league?
UC: No my favorite team was my first title team in 2038. I had an unreal starting lineup of Lumpp(one of the best PGs ever), young Frank Ramey (glue guy for my team), Prime Yardley (Top 2 SF of the decade), and a young big man duo of Bitadze/Edwards, who both averaged 13+ rebounds and 3.5+ blocks. Aside from Lumpp that was a homegrown team. Unfortunately I lost in the finals in 2039 and then the team got to expensive to keep together.
MC: Interesting, crazy to think you've had even more talent than you do now. Do you think there's a missing piece for your squad or do you think you have the best team in the league?
UC: I think I have the best team in the league this year. Best record and best point differential. Best offense in the league by 6pts and best shooting percentage. For most of the season we were breaking the all time record but faded down the stretch. The defense could be a little better. I wish Bobro was the Bobro of a few years ago when he was closer to 3.5 blocks. Lopatka/Eddie/Bevo give me a really good bench unit.
MC: Yeah I completely agree with you, you don't have holes. It's interesting to see teams like the Hornets have top heavy talent and still be a massive threat. Speaking of which when do you think it's going to be time to shake things up? The east has been ruthless these last few seasons, it would be interesting to see what it would look like with you transitioning.
UC: Possibly this offseason, but it depends on if anyone wants to trade for Schmidt or Cousy. So far I haven’t received any good inquiries. Since I unloaded Dyker, I have the ability to run it back minus Dyker/Lopatka/Bobro. It would be tough to be as good as this season without those guys and Schmidt/Cousy another year older unless a few of my young guys pop.
I’m open to running it back for another year and open to mixing it up. I probably won’t tank because I’m not moving Barnett and as Wizards have shown, just having a little bit of talent almost guarantees you a playoff spot.
MC: Who do you think is going to come out next year as a true contender who hasn't been considered one before?
UC: That's a hard question to answer without seeing what happens this offseason and free agency. I really like the Jazz's core. Not sure what happened to Hampton this year, but he was on his way to a top 5 PG. Hampton/Dragan/Stith/LaRusso/Thurmond/Bogut is a fantastic young core and they should have cap space to make a big addition as well. Let's see if the new GM can put it all together.
MC: Let's move towards league related questions. What are your thoughts on unclaimed teams being GMed by a CPU?
UC: Obviously it sucks and I wish we had a real GM for every team. I hate to see high draft picks go to these teams and die. Someone made a suggestion that I liked, which was to give the reigning champion the ability to camp up the CPU rookies. Allows them to not die and gives a bit of a reward to those of us who really enjoy building players up. Maybe allow the GM to get the rookies free scouting report so they get a little perk out of it.
MC: That's definitely something the rules committee should look into it. Let's keep backpacking off of that, what's something you wish could change about the league rule wise?
UC: One of the things that came up during the initial rule committee that I really liked was anti-tanking measurements and/or incentivizing winning more. The 3 that I really liked were: 1. A tax for the amount of games that you lost. Kind of a reverse Win Bonus. Win less than 20 and it costs $1000, 21-30 is $750, 31-41 is $500 or something to that effect. 2. Changing the lottery odds to match what the NBA does now. 3. Some type of incentive to make the playoffs beyond just $200 playoff cash.
I just want to see more competitiveness instead of 8 (or sometimes less) teams in each conference trying to make the playoffs and everyone else just tanking. Maybe more camping options for playoff teams or less options for non-playoff teams. One idea was also tying the amount of FA bids you get to how many games you won. 60+ gets 15, bids, 50-60 gets 10, 40-49 gets 8, etc.
MC: With classes with stud names such as this one, how can tanking be avoided? Is it just a necessary evil?
UC: I don't know how tanking can be avoided except to incentivize winning more. If you flatten the lottery odds like the NBA has, it could make teams not strive to land the worst record since you don't get that much better lottery odds than if you fielded a competitive team. The NBA hasn't figured out how to avoid tanking though, so not sure the NBN can either.
I can only imagine what kind of tanking is going to go on when we get to the Magic/Larry/MJ draft classes.
MC: Do you think a reset will be necessary within the next 10-15 seasons?
UC: No I don’t. What benefit does the league get from a reset? I love the historical aspect of the league and would hate to lose that. I mean I’m open to it if there were valid arguments for it, but I just don’t see what they would be.
MC: Interesting, personally I only think it's a problem once we loop back around to where we were originally, I guess we'll have to cross the bridge when we get there. What's one piece of advice you'd give teams that have been struggling to be contenders for the last bunch of seasons?
UC: The easiest piece of advice is to be more active, earn cash so that you can use that cash to buy picks and upgrade your players. Beyond that, I don't think people are using the G-League enough. Look at my roster, I have quality backups on cheap contracts from G-League players Johnny Egan, Bevo Nordmann, Audrey Dawkins, and Zhaire Williams. One or 2 of them will probably end up being starters at some point and they were all 2nd round picks. Dick Barnett was a 1st rounder I sent to the G-League, who exploded and won MVP. I have plenty of 2nd round picks who I sent to the G-league who flamed out, but even if you go 1 for 4, that's a quality player you acquire for basically nothing.
MC: 100% agreed, 2nd round picks are extremely valuable. I already see you inquire about the 33rd pick. Do you think it's better to trade for top tier talent and build your G-League roster or is it better to be patient and stick with it through drafts?
UC: I think both strategies are sufficient. A lot of times it's hard to trade for top end talent though. Personally, my favorite type of strategy for building a team is to have a few high priced stars and then surround it with cheap young players. My favorite part of this league is building up young players. I'm active enough that I earn enough cash to be able to camp 3 or 4 guys each season. Doing it this way gives me the best of both worlds. I have stars and am competing, I have young players I'm building up, and hopefully when those young players are time for a contract extension, I can move on from the expensive stars and have the young player step up. I did that last year with Belov and Barnett, maybe I can do it this year or next with Cousy and Egan. Probably will do it with Bobro and Bevo this season.
All that being said, I would also love to slow play it, tank for 2-3 seasons and build a roster slowly through the draft and build up my draft picks. I did that when I first took over the Nets in 2030, but it takes alot of time and patience (like 3-4 months real time) and hasn't been something I've wanted to commit to or needed to. I've been able to continue to compete continuously without going that route, but if the time comes that is another approach I'm willing to take.
MC: Awesome this has been a great conversation, is there anything you want to say before we close things out?
UC: That's good for me. I didn't really know what kind of questions you were going to ask, but I think you hit on all of the major topics around the league. Thanks!
Hope you guys enjoyed! This one doesn't have the most with pictures and other design choices, but with the quality of the conversation we had, I think UC makes up for it. Appreciate the convo again ucfinfan86
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