Post by Deleted on May 12, 2020 12:15:11 GMT -8
1. Name two trading frenzy winners and two trading frenzy losers.
kobe:
- Two winners for the frenzy I would have to say the Mavericks and the Heat! The Mavericks made a nice trade moving Bonzi Wells who I'm not a big fan of and 2 firsts for Kenyon Martin who I think can turn in to one of the best defensive players in the league. Liked that a lot for them and they also picked up 3 great assets in the Tracy McGrady deal to help them build one of the best teams in the West next year. Hate to give this to myself but we've been one of the more active teams trading wise in the frenzy. Was able to move Stephon Marbury for Jason Kidd then turned around and traded Kidd, Mike Miller and Heat 01 First to the Mavs for Tracy McGrady. Was too enticing not to pair up Tmac with Davis on the wing. If they both become what I think they will then they can carry me for a long time both being only 21.
- Two losers I would have to say the Clippers because of how they wasted all of their firsts just to get Kerr and a Jazz first. Trading their 02 for Jazz 02 was really, really dumb because you never know if Duncan could get injured next season. And then they traded Williams(who they gave up a first for) and their 03 first for a 35 year old 20 day rental basically in Kerr. The other loser I would probably say the Celtics because they also stupidly traded their 02 first for a bad first for seemingly no reason at all. Celtics have one of the best players in the league but seem content to just be a middling team for awhile since they don't show any sign of getting better any time soon.
Insane:
- Winners - Kobe. Loved the McGrady deal for him and how he basically turned Marbury into McGrady. Crazy stuff. I also liked what JR did picking up Big Dog, should be a nice weapon for them in the playoffs.
- Losers - Not really a fan of what the Pacers started and ended up with but I guess the last deal with Big Dog was a culmination of deals before the frenzy too. Didn't love the McGrady deal for Habes but I get it, tanking blows.
Skillz:
- Winners - Kobe and JR. Kobe turned Stephon Marbury, Mike Miller and a late lotto into T-Mac. Marbury is the classic type of FBB Point Guard that doesn't really impact winning. He'll need significant TC help given his problems as a defender and ball-handler. This was an impressive series of moves for Kobe so you've got to give him credit. I also really liked JR's move for Glenn Robinson. The consensus seemed to be that he overpaid, but BIG DOG can really play and the advantages he can create with 0.6 TOPG are significant. He's only 27. That's a centerpiece upon which to build.
- Losers - Sargo and Brian H. Sargo got a lot from me for Hakeem, but as I said in the trade threads that followed, I don't think his Sprewell or Robinson deals were especially promising. I never understand trading players when their value takes a hit, so this was an odd time to make a deal. And Brian H made a ballsy but very low-upside bet on himself by trading his own 1st round pick. Respect the conceit, but it was an objectively terrible trade. Low-upside, high-downside.
svedda:
- The big winner is Kobe. Turning Marbury into TMac McGrady and only losing a first in the end is a job well done. I see some value in Marbury but personally I would never actually want him on my team unless he was cheap. So big win there! Nuggets won for this season with the gift of Stockton and Pippen for Rasual Butler.
- Losers would be my fellow Steve who has Philly in a tough spot right now and Sargo who threw away a potential dynasty to tank.
2. Player evaluation: Shaq is top five in PPG, FG%, RPG, and BPG. On the other hand, he’s shooting 44% from the free throw line and averaging 11 attempts per game, and he’s second in turnovers per game. Unsurprisingly, his team is last by a mile in free throw percentage and bottom five in turnovers per game despite playing normal pace. Is Shaq one of the best players in BBS? If you could build around Shaq, Ray Allen, Steve Nash, AI, or Kobe, do you take Shaq over any of them?
kobe: Shaq is great but he definitely needs to have the right team constructed around him and the Nuggets picked the worst guys to surround him with lol. His free throw shooting and turnovers are a concern but as long as you put good free throw shooters and low turnover guys around him then it's no big deal. He's the most dominant rebouner/shot blocker in the league and is going to get 25-30 points a night without trying and his FG% is really high. I think he just looks bad right now because of how terribly built the Nuggets are around him.
Insane: Interesting case. Because of the flaws you've mentioned, it makes it kind of untenable having the guy on your team, weird paradox because he's so fucking good otherwise. I could probably live with the FT shooting but the turnovers make him unbearable. I would take all those players you mentioned over him.
Skillz: You can probably get away with Shaq as your best player in the current iteration of the league and low ratings everywhere. His dominance can be overpowering. But eew, no, I would never want to build around a player with statistical holes built into the foundation. The only player I would take Shaq over in that list is Ray Allen. Ray is very good, but not a transcendent star, so I'd probably hold my nose and take Shaq over Ray Ray. Kobe and AI are both two-way stars who are already better than Shaq and will get better. Nash is the best Point Guard in the league in a game designed to reward the teams that have the best Point Guards. I don't think it's particularly close with those three.
svedda: Clearly I do not think Shaq is amazing since I traded him! Of the names you listed I would pick him though if I wanted to WIN NOW. The problem is it is hard to build a team around him. The Nuggets did a bad job but they just got a care package from Toronto so maybe they will be competitive now. It is not Shaq's fault that Mitch Richmond started at PF! When it comes to value then yes Shaq would be below Kobe or even TMac McGrady.
3. Draft predictions: tell me your top pick, one steal, and one non-Eddy Curry bust.
kobe: Gilbert Arenas but wouldn't be surprised if someone took Pau at all. Steal of the draft might be Eddie Griffin imo if he sims anything like the college stats he put up. I also like Murphy and Okur a lot once they are moved to SF. Bust of the draft will be Jason Richardson. High jumping and D rebounding is ew. Kwame Brown always a good bust candidate as well I'm sure someone will reach on him as always.
Insane: Number one pick should be Gasol, looks super solid and I'm not feeling Arenas at all. Steal will be Bobby Simmons, should be very solid with a diligent GM and camps. Bust will be ZBo (unfortunately), no shot blocking is mehhhh.
Skillz: Arenas # 1. Not because he is going to be some cheat code, but because the top of this draft is poopie. He'll be fun to have. He would be fun to hype. Even if his defense is really atrocious, it's harder to quantify and if he puts up 30/8/5 in year three on ridiculous %'s, he'll have elite trade value even with C- defense. My one bust pick is a hot take: Pau Gasol. Not because he will actually bust, but because I don't think he will merit his eventual # 1, # 2 or # 3 position. He has the type of profile that just doesn't impact winning much in FBB. If you aren't a dominant defender or rebounder, and can't dominant offensively, your use as a big is questionable. I wouldn't want to build around Elton Brand or Chris Webber. Same goes for Pau. He'll be good, not great. I won't say my steal because there's a good chance I trade into the 11-20 range. I always tend to do that.
svedda: I have Arenas going #1 overall in my mock. My favorite player in this class is Zach Randolph. Depending on where he is picked he could end up being a steal. For later picks, Bobby Simmons is kind of interesting. The most likely bust besides Curry has to be Gerald Wallace. The odds are just against him fixing his outside game and being a good enough scorer to be worth a top lotto pick.
4. Game just took over the Raptors after we lost another good man to the complexity of the salary cap. Imagine the fellow has too much pride and wants to deal Ray Allen to design his own team.
kobe: Don't think he should move Allen unless he's getting a great deal along the lines of a top 5 pick and a great prospect. Allen is gonna be one of the best SG in the league for awhile so hopefully if game does trade him, he gets a ton in return.
Insane: Michael Finley, Malik Rose and a 1st for Ray. Just kidding. But not really. Game should really do this deal with me.
Skillz: This is tough because rosters are down right now. Dallas would make some sense. But how about this one after Y1: Ray Allen, Filler Pieces for Jalen Rose, Theo Ratliff, Grizzlies 2004 1st round pick? Game can take this in any direction and Rose is a reasonable replacement for Allen. Getting a future Erbes 1st is interesting, too.
svedda: Game will sit on Ray Allen I'm sure. Does not need to trade him to tank in the East so why trade him? Doubt he will get fair value for him. He does not love mid firsts like some here do. If he had to deal him I would target a top 5 pick or so in this draft from a West team. One may see the crappy competition and see an opening to compete.
5. What’s better for the league: tons of posts, writing articles, assuming thankless jobs, and showing zero interest in running your team vs. low posts, limited extracurricular participation, but proactive trading/roster construction?
kobe: Activity is great wish everyone posted about their teams more and I know Spence loves activity. We need an article grader to fix that system but other than that the articles are great for the league. I don't mind if a guy doesn't post a lot but more often that not if a guy isn't posting much then he's not trading much and it's hard to tell if he's interested in his team or not really. But as long as a guy is proactive with their team I don't mind no posts at all.
Insane: Needs to be a mix of both, too many of either spells doom for the league. With activity too low, interest will flag. Not enough GM's taking good care of their teams, you're going to get one or two good GM's running shit forever.
Skillz: I think it depends on the makeup of the rest of the league. In BBS, which over-indexes on tons of activity and a zillion posts, I would much rather have a few more GMs who were proactive trading and had a lot of interest in building their teams. We have enough posts and articles and all of that other stuff. I like doing sim leagues because they are a fun, competitive outlet and a good way to test your decision-making skills. As much as I love some of y'all, this is not where I necessarily look to make friends or use as a social outlet. But it definitely does depend on the league. I've been in SLOR for a decade and we would kill for some active GM's who post 1/2 as much as most of the guys here. And I'm in that league with my best friend from college, so its needs are completely different. Generally i think BBS would be well-served with a couple more game-focused guys who weren't as big on posting. That was a ramble.
svedda: Will always choose an active GM over a 'good' GM. Obviously every league needs at least a few GMs who know what they are doing. Not a fan of robots though! The best part of leagues is the shit talking and discussion around the forum. I tried out some OOTP leagues and while most kept up with their teams, very few ever said anything. Was very boring most of the time.
6. I just dealt TMac—classic. But I sent some other offers out, too. Some were, appropriately, declined (Andrew, Dan). One was ignored (AllstarJAH). One I leave to you to judge: I offered Ashes TMac for Crawford, Artest, and the Kings ’01. He thought about it for a while but turned it down. Should he have done it?
kobe: ashes definitely should have taken that deal! Artest is worthless and his first isn't going to be anyone that good since he will make playoffs. Crawford is nice but can't believe he turned that down, yikes!
Insane: Very tempting to do because of the name value and the cool factor of having Kobe and McGrady but I'd probably say no to that. Crawford's pretty good himself and he might be better off just drafting with that lotto and seeing what he can get.
Skillz: No. If he was a savage like Habes or me and had no loyalty to the guy he is trading for, the trade might make sense. You could flip T-Mac for significantly more than you could flip Crawford+ that other stuff for, but I bet Ashes was looking at this in a vacuum. T-Mac definitely has more value than Crawford right now, but I think there's a better than 50/50 shot that Crawford will end up being the better player. T-Mac still needs to overcome a jump-heavy ratings profile and poor jumpshot. Crawford doesn't have to overcome anything. Both may have high potential. Crawford is a safer bet in my eyes.
svedda: Pretty crazy he turned that down. Guess that proves he actually thinks Artest is a good player. Why? Who knows. The time to sell him is now. Crawford is a good player but he is just a PG padding stats on a bad team. Having both wing positions locked down for a decade is just too good to pass up. He'll regret it.
7. You all have good rosters, but which other roster do you wish you had and why?
kobe: Hmm I do like my roster a lot but I would probably say the Mavs after their last few trades and the assets they have to play around with. Most of the top teams right now are just filled with old guys that's no fun.
Insane: There are a few teams I really like around the league. For now, I'd like to be the Nets because they're probably gonna win it all this year. Future-wise, Heat look fun despite everyone hating on Kobe. I was a big McGrady fan IRL and Ricky Davis is looking really nice.
Skillz: Svedda's. I was not fucking around when I said how much I love the Cavs roster. I like all of his players. KVH is awesome. LJ is one of my first sons. KG is super fun, even though Spence gave him the shaft with his production. He's definitely more of a top 15 guy than a top 5-10 player. That's unfortunate because KG was such a beast. Even still, that team is fun and a darkhorse contender to come out of the East. I want no part of the Cavs in the platoffs.
svedda: It has been a disappointing season but there are not many rosters I'd swap with if possible. I do like the Nets. They are built for the system I like to run and only one scorer away from being the favorites for a few seasons. The Clippers don't have a lot around Tim Duncan but having Tim Duncan would be nice. I also liked the Pacers roster at the beginning of the season.
8. How many games does this eight-man rotation win? How far does it get in the playoffs? Feel free to make a DC out of it.
Shawn Bradley, Corliss Williamson, Peja Stojakovic, James Posey, Steve Francis, Scot Pollard, Antonio McDyess, Tony Delk.
Shawn Bradley, Corliss Williamson, Peja Stojakovic, James Posey, Steve Francis, Scot Pollard, Antonio McDyess, Tony Delk.
kobe:
C: Bradley / Pollard / Bradley
PF: McDyess / Pollard / McDyess
SF: Williamson / Delk / Posey
SG: Peja / Delk / Posey
PG: Francis / Delk / Francis
Options:
1. Peja
2. Delk
3. McDyess
Game Plan:
Pace-Fast
Trap-Often
Press-Often
Focus-Outside
Depends on the conference but this looks like a 40-45 win team that's waiting for a first round playoff exit. Doesn't really mesh that well with Dyess and Corliss being inside guys and then outside shooters.
Depends on the conference but this looks like a 40-45 win team that's waiting for a first round playoff exit. Doesn't really mesh that well with Dyess and Corliss being inside guys and then outside shooters.
Insane: That's actually not that bad of a team. Has a few scorers in Francis and Peja, some shooting, and a little bit of defense. The main downfalls would be rebounding and turnovers. I'd say they win about 40 games or so. In the east, they probably don't cut it. In the west, easy playoff team. Depends on the conference but this looks like a 40-45 win team that's waiting for a first round playoff exit. Doesn't really mesh that well with Dyess and Corliss being inside guys and then outside shooters.
Skillz: Good question. You picked a lot of mish-mosh pieces. Tough team to make a DC with. Williamson, Posey, McDyess and Peja are all best suited at the 3.
C: Shawn Bradley / Scott Pollard
PF: Antonio McDyess / Scott Pollard
SF: Corliss Williamson / Peja Stojakovic
SG: James Posey / Peja Stojakovic
PG: Steve Francis / Tony Delk
Team goes 54-28 in the West and 48-34 in the East. Loses first round in the East and in the Conference Semis in the West.
svedda: Weird group of players. That team gets swept by any decent team no matter the DC. Too many turnovers and no STAR. Also question if they have enough rebounding outside of McDyess. Not a huge fan of starting any of them really. They would make the playoffs in the West though with at least 35-40 wins!
9. Rate these things by importance in determining whether to make a trade: opposing GM’s talent level; same vs. other conference; greed/loyalty/play for winner metrics; assists per game from a PG; and whether you’d get an RC for the deal.
kobe: Don't really factor any of these things in when trading tbh only really care if the trade can help me but from most important to least-
- Getting RC from the deal
- Same vs other conference
- Opposing GM level
- Assists per game from a PG
- greed/loyalty/play for winner metrics
Insane: In order of importance: Whether I get an RC, intra v. inter conference, opposing GM, greed/loyalty/play for winner, APG from PG. Last two I don't really care about. RC's are hard to come by, I don't want to hook up teams in my own division/conference or GM's who I think can take what I gave them and run with it to become dominant.
Skillz:
1. RC Incentive - I am a whore
2. Assists Per Game - I don't care personally, but certain GMs would, and if I have something that others may value...that matters.
3. Same/other conference - Don't care unless it's a very specific team in my conference. Maybe I'd think twice before dealing Greeme Steve Nash
4. Talent level - Don't care, I'll trade with anyone. I think it's easier to trade with good GMs than bad GMs anyway.
5. Greed/PFW/Loyalty - Have never looked at this.
svedda: Assists per game is last of course. I do not care about who the other GM is. I try to make deals that improve my team. If it helps them too well that is okay! Fair trades are not a bad thing. Definitely care about the free RC more than any of the rest. That is more because of not caring about the rest than valuing the RC a lot.
10. What’s your best trait as a GM? Is there a GMing skill that you think you're the best in BBS at?
kobe: Persistence? If that counts lol but seriously just being active and always trying to make trades will eventually find you some good deals. Also have to be careful not to over trade though when always seeking trades because that has been a problem of mine in the past. Always been pretty good at drafting and evaluating talent as well.
Insane: My experience is my best attribute. I've been around the block so I know what to do and I know what works. Nobody's going to bait me into shitty trades but I'm not going to hesitate to pull the trigger on something good. I'm probably not the best in BBS at any one particular thing but I'm solid in all aspects.
Skillz: Understanding the needs of other teams and building trade offers that are mutually beneficial. I know the Knicks/Pacers deal was criticized for being one-sided, but the vast majority of trades I make are in the "good for both" category and I am more than willing to take an "L" in a trade if I think it serves a bigger purpose.
svedda: Over the course of the league I think I will be the best at finding depth out of nothing. Love finding steals for the MLE or LLE. Finding good players late in the draft. My weakest skill is making trades. I lock on to players and do not push hard enough to get more out of a deal. Also value players differently than most. Let the Pistons pull PJ Brown out from under me and did not say a word. Let royal make me add to Shaq when originally it was just Garnett and Webber for Shaq. I'm too kind!
11. Who’s the best GM here?
kobe: Hard to say so far since it's still so early and not a ton of trades have been made. The best GMs are starting to show themselves though and it's mostly the older BBS guys for the most part starting to stand out. I want to say myself but I'll just say habes here since I like him.
Insane: Play. He's my boy and his resume speaks for itself.
Skillz: In the roundtable or in the league? In this roundtable, it's Habes. In the league? Idk. It's been like two weeks! I don't even know half of these guys. Probably Greeme and Play, since they are the only two other GMs who have proven to have had sustained success in a larger sample.
svedda: Too early to say. A lot who have not been in leagues in a long time. Skillz is clearly the best at ripping people off but over time it is going to cost him. Nobody likes when you win a trade then come back for more and pretend like you are still helping them. Honesty is key! GMs should trust you!
12. Two other GMs who’ve impressed you so far?
kobe: Haven't really been "impressed" by anyone but I'll say skillz and jr since skillz has done a good job after that opening trade and jr had a good draft and is winning the west.
Insane: I really admire Skillz' ability to shake his team up in major ways multiple times in-season and still be able to maintain a dominant team. Usually it's hard to get new players to mesh right away and come up with the right DC but he's done it and hasn't skipped a beat all season. Kobe has done a pretty good job as well despite a lot of people hating on him. Hyped up Marbury just the right amount to get Kidd, and then flipped Kidd for TMac. Has a good young core for years to come. Also insanely active so he'll never be hurting for RC's.
Skillz: Haven't really been impressed by many of y'all, TBH! Greeme, Play and I are at the top of the league again? Boring.The Jazz GM, JR, seems like he really knows what he is doing. Erbes and Kobe have impressive insofar that they haven't been bad.
svedda: What greeme has done without having a top 20 player when it comes to value is impressive. Erbes building a solid team after making some questionable trades during the draft is also impressive. Obviously he is in the West but he has a very solid team with a lot of depth. He still needs another scorer but I believe in his ability to find one!
