Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2019 11:22:05 GMT
1. Last Season we saw the 6th seed Blazers grind their way through 3 seven game series to win their 2nd ship in 4 series, were you suprised that they were the winners?
No I wasn't honestly all that surprised with the way things went. The Blazers team is always well managed and makes playoff noise no matter what seed they come in with. At this point Id be more surprised by a first round exit than a surprise trip to the finals. They're up there with the Clippers for routinely causing playoff upsets in recent memory.
2. Which teams leading into the playoffs were you predicting to face off in the final?
At this point in the season its hard to predict against any trades that may go down, but as the league currently stands Its definitely between the Nets and Hornets out East, and honestly I'd put my money Nuggets to make it from the West, barring another Rip City run to the finals. The Nuggets just look dangerous with Oscar entering his prime alongside Belov in the backcourt. Should be a fun season though, as I don't see any unbeatable teams (yet).
3. There was a brief discussion from the commish regarding a possible restart, what were your thoughts on the topic?
I think right now, considering I don't feel super attached to my team, I would be in favor of a restart if it meant we could more easily fill out the teams and retain a full squad of quality GM's. I really do get the difficulty people could have with this though, as they've spent years of their lives molding their respective franchises and building a legacy for themselves, so I can imagine it would be sad to hit the reset button on all of that. But for me, as someone who has run a few different teams in various spells in league history, I am no stranger to starting over with a new franchise, and I enjoy the fresh feel every time. Im not going to push for it if the league majority is against it, but I would have fun with a roster reboot if it means we can run through some familiar legends of our lifetime.
4. A few more GM vacancies recently opened up resulting in the opportunity in some GMs taking an interim role to fill the vacant teams, do you think this is good for the league and the vacant teams or do you have a different opinion on it?
Personally I think its good for the league, at a minimum to just cut away the logjam of un-touched rosters that have been soaking up all the lottery talent in the 1-6 pick range every year. Its really sad to see guys like Wes Unseld, Chet Walker, etc, go to exist camp-less lives and never reach their true potential, when 70% of the league would give up anyone on their roster to get one of those guys. On top of that, it really should help the awkward logjam of teams trying to sink through the GM-less trash pile at the bottom of the lottery, AND help make it less of a joke to make the playoffs without needing much effort. I might just be very opened minded, but I like having more competition across the league so giving other GM's a chance to right the ship seems smart to me.
5. How did your team go in the draft and in the FA period?
The offseason went pretty well for us in Boston. We had some late picks in the draft which we turned into G-League stashes and some cash, which is fine given the fact that we won 50+ games last year and retained most of the starting 5 that should get me into the playoffs. The offseason as a bit of a mixed bag, where we lost Gus Johnson to a higher bidder, but at a cost that Im ok with not retaining him. He seems like he'll be a solid playoff level starter in his career, but I don't think he's worth 20 million per season for how I like to build a team. I think we rebounded well though by signing Luka Samanic to fill the hole at the 4, and by picking up Queeley to mentor Boston and play a role off the bench.
6. Preseason is now done and dusted and were heading into the regular Season, what expectations do you have for your team this Season? Your stuck in a room with nothing but a TV for 24 hours and can only repeatedly watch the same movie, which movie would it be?
Interesting double question here, but lets go: I think this teams ceiling is about 55 wins and a chance at making the ECF if we match up well with the right teams. I don't think we're quite a contender yet, since Boston hasn't reached his peak and the rest of my roster is probably closer to averaging about 34 years of age than being in their prime.
7. Who’s your favourite on your team and what plans do you have for him in the near future?
That would definitely be BJ Boston, as he's the only guy Im committed to long term. My plans for him are pretty open though, as I want to at least make sure I take him as far as his potential will allow me to, and get him to a level that I can either utilize him on a contending team, or deal him for someone that can. I come from the Danny Ainge school of player loyalty and will deal anyone for the right price.
8.How would you rate Richie Guerins career? Plenty of individual awards and likely to retire a one club player but you kinda feel he has been held back by being stuck in a dead end team like the Heat, discuss.
Richie Guerin is one of the happier stories of a neglected un-camped player in NBN history in my opinion. He developed purely on natural god given talent, despite not being helped along at any point, he still rose to the top tier of SG's in the league and has been in that conversation for a long time. I know that there have been many inquiries from plenty of teams who wanted to acquire him for a playoff push, but his home town value has remained too high to get a trade done. It would be awesome if he was able to escape for a late career championship run as a sixth man, much like Bryce Griggs getting his two only rings as the backup to Cousy on my recent title runs, but I don't see it happening. I think thats the best chance for him to make a real story of out his career, instead of how he currently projects as one of the most underrated and under utilized talents in the league.
9. Your stuck in a room with nothing but a TV for 24 hours and can only repeatedly watch the same movie, which movie would it be?
For the movie choice for 24 hours straight, I would probably go with a Marvel movie like Endgame or Infinity War. I love the epic battles and crazy sci-fi action, especially with it flashes me back to my childhood hits that spot that I can just zone out and chill hard with that in the background. I also would accept watching Star Wars The Empire Strikes back as backup option. To be honest though, I think if I had a choice, I would rather just have the entire series of Always Sunny in Philadelphia looping on that TV instead of one movie, but I know that's not a valid answer...
10. The NBA is back and so are a lot of superstars wearing their new team jerseys, and Harden and Westbrook have already had a mid game argument who would have thought, anyways which teams do you think will make the most noise this year and which will fail miserably?
I think the best "new" team dynamic will have to be the Clippers. Kawhi is just on another level right now where he can take Lebron James to school and single handedly carry teams to the finals. Add a great two-way second fiddle in PG13, a nasty pick and roll bench mob with Lou Will and Montrez, AND the pit bull Pat Beverly locking down other teams ball handlers, they might just be too much for anyone to handle in a playoff series. Secondly, Im really excited for Kemba and a revitalized Gordon Hayward to get a chance to surprise everyone in Boston, but the team in general is just too young to make any real noise I would think... Unless Danny pulls a miracle and trades Kanter for a real big man...
No I wasn't honestly all that surprised with the way things went. The Blazers team is always well managed and makes playoff noise no matter what seed they come in with. At this point Id be more surprised by a first round exit than a surprise trip to the finals. They're up there with the Clippers for routinely causing playoff upsets in recent memory.
2. Which teams leading into the playoffs were you predicting to face off in the final?
At this point in the season its hard to predict against any trades that may go down, but as the league currently stands Its definitely between the Nets and Hornets out East, and honestly I'd put my money Nuggets to make it from the West, barring another Rip City run to the finals. The Nuggets just look dangerous with Oscar entering his prime alongside Belov in the backcourt. Should be a fun season though, as I don't see any unbeatable teams (yet).
3. There was a brief discussion from the commish regarding a possible restart, what were your thoughts on the topic?
I think right now, considering I don't feel super attached to my team, I would be in favor of a restart if it meant we could more easily fill out the teams and retain a full squad of quality GM's. I really do get the difficulty people could have with this though, as they've spent years of their lives molding their respective franchises and building a legacy for themselves, so I can imagine it would be sad to hit the reset button on all of that. But for me, as someone who has run a few different teams in various spells in league history, I am no stranger to starting over with a new franchise, and I enjoy the fresh feel every time. Im not going to push for it if the league majority is against it, but I would have fun with a roster reboot if it means we can run through some familiar legends of our lifetime.
4. A few more GM vacancies recently opened up resulting in the opportunity in some GMs taking an interim role to fill the vacant teams, do you think this is good for the league and the vacant teams or do you have a different opinion on it?
Personally I think its good for the league, at a minimum to just cut away the logjam of un-touched rosters that have been soaking up all the lottery talent in the 1-6 pick range every year. Its really sad to see guys like Wes Unseld, Chet Walker, etc, go to exist camp-less lives and never reach their true potential, when 70% of the league would give up anyone on their roster to get one of those guys. On top of that, it really should help the awkward logjam of teams trying to sink through the GM-less trash pile at the bottom of the lottery, AND help make it less of a joke to make the playoffs without needing much effort. I might just be very opened minded, but I like having more competition across the league so giving other GM's a chance to right the ship seems smart to me.
5. How did your team go in the draft and in the FA period?
The offseason went pretty well for us in Boston. We had some late picks in the draft which we turned into G-League stashes and some cash, which is fine given the fact that we won 50+ games last year and retained most of the starting 5 that should get me into the playoffs. The offseason as a bit of a mixed bag, where we lost Gus Johnson to a higher bidder, but at a cost that Im ok with not retaining him. He seems like he'll be a solid playoff level starter in his career, but I don't think he's worth 20 million per season for how I like to build a team. I think we rebounded well though by signing Luka Samanic to fill the hole at the 4, and by picking up Queeley to mentor Boston and play a role off the bench.
6. Preseason is now done and dusted and were heading into the regular Season, what expectations do you have for your team this Season? Your stuck in a room with nothing but a TV for 24 hours and can only repeatedly watch the same movie, which movie would it be?
Interesting double question here, but lets go: I think this teams ceiling is about 55 wins and a chance at making the ECF if we match up well with the right teams. I don't think we're quite a contender yet, since Boston hasn't reached his peak and the rest of my roster is probably closer to averaging about 34 years of age than being in their prime.
7. Who’s your favourite on your team and what plans do you have for him in the near future?
That would definitely be BJ Boston, as he's the only guy Im committed to long term. My plans for him are pretty open though, as I want to at least make sure I take him as far as his potential will allow me to, and get him to a level that I can either utilize him on a contending team, or deal him for someone that can. I come from the Danny Ainge school of player loyalty and will deal anyone for the right price.
8.How would you rate Richie Guerins career? Plenty of individual awards and likely to retire a one club player but you kinda feel he has been held back by being stuck in a dead end team like the Heat, discuss.
Richie Guerin is one of the happier stories of a neglected un-camped player in NBN history in my opinion. He developed purely on natural god given talent, despite not being helped along at any point, he still rose to the top tier of SG's in the league and has been in that conversation for a long time. I know that there have been many inquiries from plenty of teams who wanted to acquire him for a playoff push, but his home town value has remained too high to get a trade done. It would be awesome if he was able to escape for a late career championship run as a sixth man, much like Bryce Griggs getting his two only rings as the backup to Cousy on my recent title runs, but I don't see it happening. I think thats the best chance for him to make a real story of out his career, instead of how he currently projects as one of the most underrated and under utilized talents in the league.
9. Your stuck in a room with nothing but a TV for 24 hours and can only repeatedly watch the same movie, which movie would it be?
For the movie choice for 24 hours straight, I would probably go with a Marvel movie like Endgame or Infinity War. I love the epic battles and crazy sci-fi action, especially with it flashes me back to my childhood hits that spot that I can just zone out and chill hard with that in the background. I also would accept watching Star Wars The Empire Strikes back as backup option. To be honest though, I think if I had a choice, I would rather just have the entire series of Always Sunny in Philadelphia looping on that TV instead of one movie, but I know that's not a valid answer...
10. The NBA is back and so are a lot of superstars wearing their new team jerseys, and Harden and Westbrook have already had a mid game argument who would have thought, anyways which teams do you think will make the most noise this year and which will fail miserably?
I think the best "new" team dynamic will have to be the Clippers. Kawhi is just on another level right now where he can take Lebron James to school and single handedly carry teams to the finals. Add a great two-way second fiddle in PG13, a nasty pick and roll bench mob with Lou Will and Montrez, AND the pit bull Pat Beverly locking down other teams ball handlers, they might just be too much for anyone to handle in a playoff series. Secondly, Im really excited for Kemba and a revitalized Gordon Hayward to get a chance to surprise everyone in Boston, but the team in general is just too young to make any real noise I would think... Unless Danny pulls a miracle and trades Kanter for a real big man...
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