Post by ripkobebryant on Jul 7, 2024 22:16:47 GMT
For anyone that received questions and you are not in the 2 articles I am posting, you can still send back answers and I will post it up as a GM Interiew for you to still receive cash.
I would like to thank the following guys for answering the questions and participating in the Roundtable.
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1. FA and Draft is now over and the season is about to begin, who do you think is an early GMOTY candidate so far and why?
Slough: Probably going with the Pacers for how solid the team looks and what they built and the Knicks for putting the band back together even though I think it was an overpay, but should work it out. Not to toot my own horn, but I think I can be top 3 with the moves I have made in the offseason bringing in Sengun, Lauri, Ausar, Joe, while also resigning Mintz to keep the backcourt secure.
UC: Melo getting Wemby is a game changer. He also signed Sabonis away on a large contract but only 3 years. I liked the resigning of Quickley too.
silent: I know that he wasn’t really trying to be competitive last year, but at the moment, it looks like it will probably be The Slough with the Pelicans. He really needed to improve his frontcourt and he did so by getting Lauri Markannen, Ausar Thompson and Sengun. His defense, outside of Markannen, should be elite and the bigs can probably run in an outside offense without any problems. It should be a fun team.
Aside from that, I like what the Jazz did. They added a lot of veterans and guys that have been all stars. The team looks much deeper than they ever have. They could definitely make some noise. The Thunder could get it also depending on how well the end up doing. They were the 6th seed, but could finish a bit higher this season. The Nuggets could be there, but we tend to vote for teams making the playoffs, so I don’t think they are there just yet.
cop: If I had to choose right now, I'd probably have to go with the Jazz, thy are not likely to be better than a low seeded playoff team in the West this season but going back to last season they've made several key moves. Drafting Baba, using the two extra lotto picks to acquire Scottie, who in turn co tributed greatly to the development of SF Nyugen Tran. This team should likely reach contender status in the West at earliest by next season, assuming Egor doesn't decided to take off to the Grand Land of Automobiles.
rip: I'm gonna go with 2 teams, one in the East and West. For the West I'm picking Cheddar, not only did he pick up Lively, Jalen Green, and Scoot last year, he also added Franz Wagner, if he can build some sort of bench that team could be dangerous. For East I'm picking a team that isnt making moves but are building their team mainly through the draft just like I did, Nets, they aren't making much moves but DJ/Arenas/Stokes others look scary for the future if camped right.
rip: I'm gonna go with 2 teams, one in the East and West. For the West I'm picking Cheddar, not only did he pick up Lively, Jalen Green, and Scoot last year, he also added Franz Wagner, if he can build some sort of bench that team could be dangerous. For East I'm picking a team that isnt making moves but are building their team mainly through the draft just like I did, Nets, they aren't making much moves but DJ/Arenas/Stokes others look scary for the future if camped right.
2. What is your current season goal and 3 year goal moving forward?
Slough: I think I built a top 4 team in the East and my 3 year goal is to go for a title. I think the squad can do it, but see after this year if there is some fine tuning and tweaking to do with the right lineup and strategy changes
UC: So many teams are tanking that I think I’ll be trying to compete every season moving forward. My goal is to unseat Carlos as the GOAT and get more titles than him.
silent: For the Hornets, I truly believe we can get back to competing. Last season was absolutely horrendous. It’s weird because it was basically the same roster, but Barrett fell off the map and Lavine had just enough of a drop off. The early preseason stats seem to indicate that Lamelo is playing a bit better. A full season of Murray should be an improvement over what we got from Lavine last season. Avdija could play 10 minutes a game and he would still have better numbers than Barrett did. I’m not sure if I will stick with Avdija or play Lavine at small forward, but either way, I think the team looks better. The roster is much deeper also with Boykins, Bona and Oubre. I lost Carlyle and Griffin, but I think top to bottom we are better. The three year goal depends on Lamelo staying. It’s tough to know how aggressive to be with that in limbo. Obviously, I think we could take another step forward. The Murray salary doesn’t help me, but I think I can add to the roster and continue to build.
cop: Tank, tank, tank. I struck out on all the high dollar free agents this off season. To be candid the only one I think I was truly interested in acquiring for a max contract was Judah Mintz. I've got 6 picks on thw next upcoming draft and knowing myself I'll likely want to use them all and blow loads of cash on them. Just my style, waste money on worthless careers. It's the reason I've got the reputation of the former NFL coach Jeff Fisher.
rip: In terms for the Knicks, I believe we are pretty set, only goals I guess I can say is max DJ Wagner this offseason, find a way to fix my cap situation, and finally get ready to bring in Dwyane Aristode to the team.
3. It looks like we are about to start getting some really good retro players coming into the draft, who are you really excited to see come into the league soon and why?
Slough: It depends on which years Rog will pull in, but would love to see; John Stockton, Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, 'Nique Wilkens, of course MJ and Bird, not to mention Dr. J. But adding in AI and Stoudamire would be dope as well. I'm a big fan of Pg's, so those will always be some of my favorite players, but some of the great dunkers as I mentioned.
UC: Lemme get DWade and Haslem. Caron Butler…really any of the older Heat guys. Can I get Rog to throw in Jermaine Taylor too from UCF from like 2009 (drafted by Houston in round 2)
silent: I feel like Rog read my roundtable answer last year. I love Eddie Jones and Jamal Mashburn being freshman there. I said it last year, but I grew up a Heat fan and those two were two of my favorite players, who ended up being traded for each other.
Looking at some of the other guys that are coming in soon, I’m excited for Mitch Richmond. Anyone who was here for version 2, knows how much fun it was to build Richmond up. The draft note was amazing and he just kept improving each year. I think he still had 95+ potential in his 5th season. I doubt he will get the same incredible draft note, but picking him took me out of a rebuild very quickly, so I’m curious to see how he does in this version.
cop: I couldn't really care who, but the freshman class has got Stockton and World B. Free and I've never really in all my expierence in FBB have had a top tier guard at the helm, tat least on who wasn't aging out. Think the closest I've gotten was Arturo Guerro in 2.0.
rip: I'm not gonna respond to this one here fully as there will be another article where I respond to this, someone elses answer not on here changed what I was going to reply to this and really opened my eyes on how I felt with their answer to this question.
4. I tried my hardest and brought some fresh new blood to the league and all of them are active and highly interested, how do you think this will affect the league now and what have you already seen better than how its been for about the last 2-3 seasons?
Slough: It's great for the league and love active gm's. The more active gm's and full league we have is the better. I'm not a fan of interim gm's tbh, I get it, but it isn't the greatest for competition and I love competition in the league, not to mention with active gm's there are more trades. League was good at the start, then some left, so as long as we keep getting more and more active gm's it will only get better.
UC: I think it amazing. Both GMs seem to be active and bringing nice activity to the league. It’s unfortunate that as we bring in new guys we may lose some that kicked the league off with Ronin and Charles. Afro coming back is nice and hopefully John is right around the corner
silent: I think it will definitely be good for the league. The Nuggets have already made some big moves. The Bucks added Gobert and Paul Jr also, so both teams have added a new dimension. It’s great to have full time GMs and for the people GMing them to be able to make whatever moves they deem necessary without certain restrictions as to what they can move. We definitely want to see these teams be competitive at some point. The Bucks were a hell of a rebuild after what was left after year 1, so it will be nice to see a competitive team there. It's just crazy how two of the better rosters to start with both ended up being where they were in the last few years.
cop: The league will always hit dry spells where its seemingly empty with major lack of activity. That is generally contributed to busy parts of the year, whether its professionaly or just other stuff. I know after I rejoined I was practically vacant for a couple of months. The league has been more active recently so its a good time for them to join
rip: I gotta agree with all of you, I ran MANY league in my fbb career and know how hard it gets to find GMs when the league is already in season 5 and established. I also know how annoying it is that GM's just dissapear, unfortunately at this point, its just something apart of FBB leagues. Usually around Season 5 is when it becomes crucial to the league to try to find and fill as many teams as possible and that's what I tried doing.
5. Out of all the newer GMs that have joined recently, who has impressed you the most and which do you think has done the best job up to this point?
Slough: I really haven't had a chance to look into who has done the best job or anything yet. Probably go with Guins as he seems active. Activity is always how I judge gm's the most regardless of winning as that adds the most to the league. I will say Afro who just joined is a very good gm and active, so that was great to see him back just now.
UC: It really to early to tell on some of them. I like the way cheddar has built up the Warriors so far. I like how active the Nuggets have been on the trade market.
silent: I think slim has done a great job. I love the Flowers signing. I wanted him myself to start at small forward. He was able to sign and flip Mara and Topic and also obtain some more assets. The team just has a much more competitive roster top to bottom. Last year, it was basically Jamal Murray and Poeltl and a bunch of rookies that were not ready yet. I love that he took the Deion Sanders approach of walking in to the organization and cutting basically everyone that was on the team. It fits that they are both in Colorado. I’m very excited that afro is back. It’s nice to get someone who has been in all three versions of the league and someone who seemingly always had very competitive teams and built up some great players also.
cop: Too soon to say really, give it a month I'd say afro, I know his history, I have loled the constant move slim has made. Lot's of young talent plus picks, just got to get the money to camp them.
rip: Even though I agree with cop saying its too early to tell, imma still leave this one short and say all of them as they all declined to take Brandon Miller's contract, its okay though, I'll figure it out.
6. After TC, Which player if any were you upset you may have passed on in the draft?
Slough: I didn't have a draft pick as I traded it, but I think SF Nguyen Tran probably won the draft for sure based on his pick at #8. He looks to be a solid player just based off TC and where he went.
UC: Everyone that I could have selected in place of the loser Jermaine O’Neal.
silent: I’m going to answer this from the perspective of both teams.
With the Hornets, I think I had the perfect draft. I was looking to trade into the draft to grab either Ganub, Hoang or Boykins. I wanted to mentor another young point guard. Ganub was the youngest and had A potential. Hoang also looked interesting. Boykins was the one that ended up dropping to me, but his ratings are set up very nicely for a point guard. The ratings that you would expect a 5’5 point guard to be bad at are terrible, but otherwise, he has a good baseline to really be a nice player. The potential boost from the mentor camp was nice also. TJ Crumble as a mid 2nd, feels like a good opportunity. I also signed Tim Legler as an undrafted free agent. I wanted Legler also since he does one thing very well, so he can be a useful player.
The Suns were the team that had a first round pick. At the time that I made the pick, I was actually super happy with it. Thomas would be the starting shooting guard if I had lost Booker and not retained Edgecombe. Booker did resign and Thomas will get a mentor camp at some point, which will be perfect to improve his shooting a bit more. The only reason that I might be regretting picking him is that Sander Reist from the Mavs seems like he really would’ve been the perfect piece next to Booker. My defense would have been atrocious, but he is scoring at will during the preseason. Reist did get a mentor that I wouldn’t have been able to provide, but he still would’ve been a good complement offensively to Booker.
cop: It might be Sarunas Jasikevicius, he's still got another two seasons of TC overseas, and that could make him an absolute freak or kill him off like Jermaine O'Neal, but just looking at the ratings now, if it keeps on an upward trajection plus 4 years of camps, the other 6 picks that went before might've missed on a +28ppg player.
rip: This one was tough even for me to answer. I had the 14th pick but I wasn't REALLY fond of anyone there. Maybe Miika Muurensen at the time. I moved it because I just had too many bigs so it worked out that I got him anyway. Besides Miika, I wanted Tran but also at the time had many SFs and Aristode is my future anyway so I ended up trading the pick to Thunder but happy I ended up basically with who I wanted. I guess so silent doesn't get mad at me again I'll say Earl Boykins #1 PG Prospect under 24 and less than 4 years experience!!
rip: This one was tough even for me to answer. I had the 14th pick but I wasn't REALLY fond of anyone there. Maybe Miika Muurensen at the time. I moved it because I just had too many bigs so it worked out that I got him anyway. Besides Miika, I wanted Tran but also at the time had many SFs and Aristode is my future anyway so I ended up trading the pick to Thunder but happy I ended up basically with who I wanted. I guess so silent doesn't get mad at me again I'll say Earl Boykins #1 PG Prospect under 24 and less than 4 years experience!!
7. Who do you think will win the West and East and who do you think will be our champion this year and why?
Slough: Its hard to go against the Grizz in the West and a chance to repeat based on their team and how they played last year. For the East, I think its a few teams, but the Wizards, Pacers, and Sixers have a good chance, sprinkle in the Knicks and Pelicans its pretty wide open, but go with the Sixers for now.
UC: 76ers until proven otherwise. Stupid to bet against Carlos at this point.
West I’m going Lakers. Their bigs are a little weak but Ja/Reeves is really good and I don’t trust my hole at SF currently. Kings losing Sabonis hurts but replacing with Sherrell isn’t a huge drop off.
silent: I went with the Lakers last year and I will stick with them again. They were right there last year and I think they are a bit deeper overall. They did lose Porzingis, but overall they look better. If not them, then obviously the Grizzlies are capable of repeating. It will be interesting to see what losing a guy like Barnes will do, but they still have most of the roster returning. In the East, I will pick the 76ers again. It's tough to pick against them in what has been an incredibly impressive run the first few years of the league. I will pick the Lakers to win it all once again. I think they are just deep. They are even deeper than last season, which should keep them from signing multiple free agent point guards for the playoffs lol.
cop: In the West its hard not to see the Grizzlies repeating as Western Conference chanpions, the Grizzlies, Kings, and Lakers still seem to stand on the top alone. However, the Warriors and the Clippers could pit their name in the mix. In the East I'm rolling with the Wizards, the game has to overcorrect for that piss poor postseason performance last year. But if we're being realistic its probably the 76ers again, barring any serious injuries.
rip: I'm gonna keep this one short as well and pick Hawks in the East and Thunder in the West. Both teams just keep getting better and better and both love to make moves and know how to make the team better. Thunder also has Wemby so thats a plus for me.
rip: I'm gonna keep this one short as well and pick Hawks in the East and Thunder in the West. Both teams just keep getting better and better and both love to make moves and know how to make the team better. Thunder also has Wemby so thats a plus for me.
8. Final Question and unrelated, Draft and FA is now done in NBA as well, do you think next season will be Boston again in the Finals and a repeat or do you think somebody else wins a championship next year?
Slough: I think it will come down to the Celtics and Sixers winning it, but it depends on who is healthy. I think dark horses from the West would be Twolves and Thunder.
UC: Please god let it be anyone besides Boston. I think they should be the favorites but I would root for OKC if it’s anyone besides the Heat
silent: It’s probably a bit too early to say since we don’t know where everyone will end up. I really hate saying this because once again I’m a Heat fan, but the Knicks are really putting together a nice roster. They definitely would've had a better shot at it last year if 60% of the roster was not injured during the entire playoff run. They added Bridges. They drafted Kolek and McCullar, two older rookies who know how to win games. They are definitely adding to the team in a way that seems like their focus is in the present. Obviously, the 76ers have really improved also with Paul George, Drummond and McCain. I want to say they have a shot, but with the 76ers, we always have to be aware of potential injury problems. They just seem snake-bit.
cop: For whatever reason (and it doesn't come from pettiness) I don't see Boston as this generational team. They had an historically good shooting season but I don't see any of their players as someone that runs the league. Maybe their comp is the Duncan led Spurs, but I think Duncan, Parker, Ginobli were all more respected than the Celtics core is now. The East is a shitshow, won't shock me if they make it back, but I've got a new crowned champion coming from the West.
rip: I agree with you all. Fuck Boston, Go Lakers! Bronny James Jr gonna turn into his dad overnight right before Opening Night and LeBron is gonna have 27/8/9 and Bronny is gonna have 20/6/5 and Lakers are gonna win by 40.
rip: I agree with you all. Fuck Boston, Go Lakers! Bronny James Jr gonna turn into his dad overnight right before Opening Night and LeBron is gonna have 27/8/9 and Bronny is gonna have 20/6/5 and Lakers are gonna win by 40.
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