Post by Braz on Mar 19, 2021 12:36:35 GMT -8
For this round table we sit down with some fine gentlemen who are all tasked with turning around their franchises. In this roundtable we have myself, RC. Andy and John (Big Welcome Back). We will discuss the draft, the East and the league's future!
1. What are your thoughts on this past draft? Good, Bad, Ugly
RC- UGLY! I think it's too soon to necessarily make a value judgement because it seems spencer has made more and more guys with funky ratings and awesome performance (Kendrick Nunn, Deonte Burton, etc.). But goddamn we can say that shit was ugly. There were 2 sexy names in the entire draft, 3 if you're a knicks fan. I guess we'll see if any fun randos shake out! We'll look back on Samardo Samuels' draft and say it produced a super fun, iconic BBS player and we wouldn't have known that at the time.
John- I thought it was a pretty mediocre to poor class overall. Of course you had Zion and Morant but I'm not really sold on anyone outside of those top two. I didn't really pay much attention to it before yesterday obviously being on the outside looking in. I'm not even sure how many solid starters there will be. I hope PJ and Herro are good tho!
Andy- Bad and ugly pretty much. I do feel like Spencer is working on things to get ready for the fake drafts so I can see dudes with subpar ratings have good seasons or dudes have solid potential. FBB TC can be a wild beast as well so anything goes there. Still, as is, sure as hell looks bad and ugly.
Braz- I think the draft was a lot deeper then most felt. Even in the second round I got a guy I was into. Not a lot of stars but I see a lot of value in these guys as role player potential. I think we will also start to see a shift where late picks become more valuable due to guys slipping in draft and people just not knowing.
2. Going into this season it seems your goal is to rebuild. What would you say is your franchise cornerstone currently?
RC-what is our cornerstone?? STOCKS!!! Forever and awlways. Realistically i would say YOUTH and FLEXIBILITY are the cornerstones of the Hawks right now. In terms of "who" that youth is, it's a combination of high upside prospects like KJ and Bridges as well as some fringe interesting guys who could pop (looking at you, Dragan!). Our FLEXIBILITY we can hopefully parlay into some noise and value during FA. We shall see. CY coming for us in 2 seasons so we will try to be ready for that.
John- I don't think I have one currently, ask me after TC. I think all my rookies are complimentary pieces and I hope I draft a cornerstone in 2020. If you had a gun to my head I think PJ will be the best of the three rookies I currently have on my roster.
Andy- I’m stuck somewhere between rebuild and trying to hit 42. No real rush but we’ll see. The cornerstone for us was Morant but I guess it’s DLo now? Eh, still go Morant I think. I expect Morant will end up being a star PG eventually. Obviously depends on his handles and how his outside scoring is but the fact that he has B+ inside already before TC is sick.
Braz- Well for me this is obviously Zion. I just hope he is good. For now I want to see his TC and a Pre because I know he is camped inside. Hopefully he can hit the FT and rebound like 6 or 7 with a block and steal. I would be really upset to see more than two TO so let's see what happens. I am now making aggressive offers for guys I think fit around WIlliamson.
3. Looking outside our tanking focus- Who are the top 3 in the east?
RC--All 3 of my favorites come out of the Central Division. Give me the defending champ Pistons (the Steph Curry rule of BBS dominance applies here), the always Klawing Cavs of Cleveland (Kawhi is the perfect player in terms of all-around construction in my opinion), and to round it off I stilll like the Bulls a lot. Coby White could've been a huge steal in the mid-20s. Murray-Butler-Collins-Capela is a serious core.
John- The reigning Champs have to still be #1 until they're dethroned right ? Should still be a pretty damn good team next year. I also like the Knicks and Bulls in the top three. You can never discredit the Cavs either.
Andy- I think the Pistons, Bulls and Knicks will be top 3. Bulls are very talented. Skillz makes 30 deals a season but usually gets his team in a good spot to compete. Pistons are the defending champs and haven’t really lost anyone.
Braz- I would have to say Pistons are the best until someone proves otherwise with Curry. Second the Bulls return an another TC stronger. At 3 I would go with the Knicks. The Knicks found something special and only lost in the end. I think Skillz will keep that loss in mind and make changes to be a top team.
4. If you could start with 1 rookie deal player in the league rn who would it be.
RC--Trae Young. Just seems like he has the best chance to become a transcendant scorer and I think those dudes are the most valuable in the league. Runners up here are the young big men like Jarrett Allen, John Collins, and the Pacers FC duo.
John-BAM or SGA. They're probably in the top 5 of my favorite cats from the calipari Era. Bam is a great player but Shai still has some work to do and I'm not sure if he will be anything special considering the depth of the PG position in the league.
Andy- I would love Bam Bam. A big like that is very valueable. After that, I guess Zion. Very unique.
Braz- I would love Luka. He does not look that great yet but I have a lot of faith and frankly love him. Right now I am content with Zion and seeing what happens but man Luka would be fun.
5. Talking more about that player. Did you like how they were camped? how would you have done it?
RC--Trae actually still has +5 left, with jump shot and 3 point still untouched by AC (I have to imagine they are both above 85 at this point??). I like that he got his +8 handles, which I think is critical for a PG/SG type like Trae. I would try to give to jump or 3pt right now if possible, and if he's already above then I would wait until he sims after TC and then see what looks most deserving of the +5.
John- The consulting firm of harold harold and harold IV did a fine job of camping Bam. I have no complaints.
Andy- Don’t think Bam has been camped wrong at all so I’m good with what habes did.
Braz- I think Pig did a fine job. I would have tried to move him to PG maybe and taken the rebound hit to just make him the best scorer ever. I would have camped all scoring as well but that is just my fav part of Luka's game.
6. Who will be the biggest bust of this past class?
RC--Kevin Porter Jr. Huge boom/bust. I think he's either a perennial all-star or the biggest bust of the class. Ominous 'off field' issues in his notes, but the rest seemed very enticing.
John- If I'm betting it is gonna be against Porter. His ratings are nothing spectacular and he was drafting pretty high. If he doesn't have extremely high potential he could look really rough really fast.
Andy- I’m a bit scared of a player like Hunter. I do like him but if he doesn’t have a ton of potential it can be difficult for him to find a place. He’s not a lock for PF or SF. He needs to develop well and be camped ASAP. Interested to see what Porter’s notes mean in regards to “question marks off the court”.
Braz- I will say Hunter just because I do not think Lumz has space for him. I do not think he will be better than Ingram or Simmons or command enough trade value unless he is properly featured in a DC.
7. How do you feel about future drafts after this year being fake?
RC--i'm extremely excited about it. I think it will be fresh and a really fun change of pace. Additionally, I am interested to see how creative Spencer can get! The Deonte Burton's of the world are very fun to me.
John- I'm excited. I think it gives Spencer some creative license to make interesting prospects. Bigs with A+ handles? PGs who are talented but have D inside? Elite prospects with D defense? Let's get it. Make it interesting. I got a chub thinking about it
Andy- I love that we’re going into fake players. It’ll make things more interesting. There will be less of a focus on HOW a player should look. Spencer can be as creative as he wants to be
Braz- At first I hated it but now as I see how much other are excited I am cool with it. I got zion which gives me a chance to have a top real player for years to come so I can not really have much of a problem with it if Zion dunks over ronald mcdonald.
8. 2020 draft preview. Who will go 1? Is Wiesman the lock as a warrior big?
RC--I think the smart money has to be on Wiseman. He's an unbelievably cool young Warrior and he plays the holy position. But there are some exceptionally cool, talented guys from this class like Obi Toppin, Lamelo Ball, Edwards (and his iconic interviews!), Haliburton, and others. I wouldn't put Lamelo out of the discussion quite yet for first overall.
John- Edwards and Wiseman should/will be the clear top two. If Wiseman is a solid stocks big with decent rebs out the gate he will probably go first simple due to the glut of wings in the league. I hope Quickley looks like a top 5 pick tho. Maybe Spencer goes all out in the last real player draft!
Andy-I’d bet serious money that, yes, Wiseman goes 1st and he is really good. I’d say he goes first considering he’s a Warriors big. 100 POT right there. 200 if possible.
Braz- I think James Wiesman is a lock for 1. A spencer file and a big starved league he will be great. Unless Edwards has the best two weeks ever these next few or Lamelo scores 40 on someone James is 1 and the other two are constellation prizes.
1. What are your thoughts on this past draft? Good, Bad, Ugly
RC- UGLY! I think it's too soon to necessarily make a value judgement because it seems spencer has made more and more guys with funky ratings and awesome performance (Kendrick Nunn, Deonte Burton, etc.). But goddamn we can say that shit was ugly. There were 2 sexy names in the entire draft, 3 if you're a knicks fan. I guess we'll see if any fun randos shake out! We'll look back on Samardo Samuels' draft and say it produced a super fun, iconic BBS player and we wouldn't have known that at the time.
John- I thought it was a pretty mediocre to poor class overall. Of course you had Zion and Morant but I'm not really sold on anyone outside of those top two. I didn't really pay much attention to it before yesterday obviously being on the outside looking in. I'm not even sure how many solid starters there will be. I hope PJ and Herro are good tho!
Andy- Bad and ugly pretty much. I do feel like Spencer is working on things to get ready for the fake drafts so I can see dudes with subpar ratings have good seasons or dudes have solid potential. FBB TC can be a wild beast as well so anything goes there. Still, as is, sure as hell looks bad and ugly.
Braz- I think the draft was a lot deeper then most felt. Even in the second round I got a guy I was into. Not a lot of stars but I see a lot of value in these guys as role player potential. I think we will also start to see a shift where late picks become more valuable due to guys slipping in draft and people just not knowing.
2. Going into this season it seems your goal is to rebuild. What would you say is your franchise cornerstone currently?
RC-what is our cornerstone?? STOCKS!!! Forever and awlways. Realistically i would say YOUTH and FLEXIBILITY are the cornerstones of the Hawks right now. In terms of "who" that youth is, it's a combination of high upside prospects like KJ and Bridges as well as some fringe interesting guys who could pop (looking at you, Dragan!). Our FLEXIBILITY we can hopefully parlay into some noise and value during FA. We shall see. CY coming for us in 2 seasons so we will try to be ready for that.
John- I don't think I have one currently, ask me after TC. I think all my rookies are complimentary pieces and I hope I draft a cornerstone in 2020. If you had a gun to my head I think PJ will be the best of the three rookies I currently have on my roster.
Andy- I’m stuck somewhere between rebuild and trying to hit 42. No real rush but we’ll see. The cornerstone for us was Morant but I guess it’s DLo now? Eh, still go Morant I think. I expect Morant will end up being a star PG eventually. Obviously depends on his handles and how his outside scoring is but the fact that he has B+ inside already before TC is sick.
Braz- Well for me this is obviously Zion. I just hope he is good. For now I want to see his TC and a Pre because I know he is camped inside. Hopefully he can hit the FT and rebound like 6 or 7 with a block and steal. I would be really upset to see more than two TO so let's see what happens. I am now making aggressive offers for guys I think fit around WIlliamson.
3. Looking outside our tanking focus- Who are the top 3 in the east?
RC--All 3 of my favorites come out of the Central Division. Give me the defending champ Pistons (the Steph Curry rule of BBS dominance applies here), the always Klawing Cavs of Cleveland (Kawhi is the perfect player in terms of all-around construction in my opinion), and to round it off I stilll like the Bulls a lot. Coby White could've been a huge steal in the mid-20s. Murray-Butler-Collins-Capela is a serious core.
John- The reigning Champs have to still be #1 until they're dethroned right ? Should still be a pretty damn good team next year. I also like the Knicks and Bulls in the top three. You can never discredit the Cavs either.
Andy- I think the Pistons, Bulls and Knicks will be top 3. Bulls are very talented. Skillz makes 30 deals a season but usually gets his team in a good spot to compete. Pistons are the defending champs and haven’t really lost anyone.
Braz- I would have to say Pistons are the best until someone proves otherwise with Curry. Second the Bulls return an another TC stronger. At 3 I would go with the Knicks. The Knicks found something special and only lost in the end. I think Skillz will keep that loss in mind and make changes to be a top team.
4. If you could start with 1 rookie deal player in the league rn who would it be.
RC--Trae Young. Just seems like he has the best chance to become a transcendant scorer and I think those dudes are the most valuable in the league. Runners up here are the young big men like Jarrett Allen, John Collins, and the Pacers FC duo.
John-BAM or SGA. They're probably in the top 5 of my favorite cats from the calipari Era. Bam is a great player but Shai still has some work to do and I'm not sure if he will be anything special considering the depth of the PG position in the league.
Andy- I would love Bam Bam. A big like that is very valueable. After that, I guess Zion. Very unique.
Braz- I would love Luka. He does not look that great yet but I have a lot of faith and frankly love him. Right now I am content with Zion and seeing what happens but man Luka would be fun.
5. Talking more about that player. Did you like how they were camped? how would you have done it?
RC--Trae actually still has +5 left, with jump shot and 3 point still untouched by AC (I have to imagine they are both above 85 at this point??). I like that he got his +8 handles, which I think is critical for a PG/SG type like Trae. I would try to give to jump or 3pt right now if possible, and if he's already above then I would wait until he sims after TC and then see what looks most deserving of the +5.
John- The consulting firm of harold harold and harold IV did a fine job of camping Bam. I have no complaints.
Andy- Don’t think Bam has been camped wrong at all so I’m good with what habes did.
Braz- I think Pig did a fine job. I would have tried to move him to PG maybe and taken the rebound hit to just make him the best scorer ever. I would have camped all scoring as well but that is just my fav part of Luka's game.
6. Who will be the biggest bust of this past class?
RC--Kevin Porter Jr. Huge boom/bust. I think he's either a perennial all-star or the biggest bust of the class. Ominous 'off field' issues in his notes, but the rest seemed very enticing.
John- If I'm betting it is gonna be against Porter. His ratings are nothing spectacular and he was drafting pretty high. If he doesn't have extremely high potential he could look really rough really fast.
Andy- I’m a bit scared of a player like Hunter. I do like him but if he doesn’t have a ton of potential it can be difficult for him to find a place. He’s not a lock for PF or SF. He needs to develop well and be camped ASAP. Interested to see what Porter’s notes mean in regards to “question marks off the court”.
Braz- I will say Hunter just because I do not think Lumz has space for him. I do not think he will be better than Ingram or Simmons or command enough trade value unless he is properly featured in a DC.
7. How do you feel about future drafts after this year being fake?
RC--i'm extremely excited about it. I think it will be fresh and a really fun change of pace. Additionally, I am interested to see how creative Spencer can get! The Deonte Burton's of the world are very fun to me.
John- I'm excited. I think it gives Spencer some creative license to make interesting prospects. Bigs with A+ handles? PGs who are talented but have D inside? Elite prospects with D defense? Let's get it. Make it interesting. I got a chub thinking about it
Andy- I love that we’re going into fake players. It’ll make things more interesting. There will be less of a focus on HOW a player should look. Spencer can be as creative as he wants to be
Braz- At first I hated it but now as I see how much other are excited I am cool with it. I got zion which gives me a chance to have a top real player for years to come so I can not really have much of a problem with it if Zion dunks over ronald mcdonald.
8. 2020 draft preview. Who will go 1? Is Wiesman the lock as a warrior big?
RC--I think the smart money has to be on Wiseman. He's an unbelievably cool young Warrior and he plays the holy position. But there are some exceptionally cool, talented guys from this class like Obi Toppin, Lamelo Ball, Edwards (and his iconic interviews!), Haliburton, and others. I wouldn't put Lamelo out of the discussion quite yet for first overall.
John- Edwards and Wiseman should/will be the clear top two. If Wiseman is a solid stocks big with decent rebs out the gate he will probably go first simple due to the glut of wings in the league. I hope Quickley looks like a top 5 pick tho. Maybe Spencer goes all out in the last real player draft!
Andy-I’d bet serious money that, yes, Wiseman goes 1st and he is really good. I’d say he goes first considering he’s a Warriors big. 100 POT right there. 200 if possible.
Braz- I think James Wiesman is a lock for 1. A spencer file and a big starved league he will be great. Unless Edwards has the best two weeks ever these next few or Lamelo scores 40 on someone James is 1 and the other two are constellation prizes.
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