Post by Orlando Magic Johnson on May 22, 2020 13:29:55 GMT -8
Hello friends and welcome to a special DB Memorial Day Weekend Roundtable. This roundtable has nothing to do with MDW but I hope everyone is having their favorite drinks of choice and enjoying some sun! Now, hold onto your boot straps we have some heavy hitters coming on the show today. In today's interviews we go over all sorts of topics concerning BBS, the state of the league and present day sports in today's unique landscape. Let's get right into it with Red, Skillz, Nanz and Sixers GM Steve!
Welcome boys!
1. A few GMs have made some controversial trades lately. Of them which do you think is worse? Chipper trading away Rasheed Wallace for picks or Jeb trading Vince Carter for essentially some mediocre young guys and his picks?
Red: Chipper's deal was the bomb, think he really chose the best offer that was from what my sources tell me, made at a strip club where at least one of the GMs was very inebriated and it was after 3 AM. So obviously the Vince deal was the one that was horrible. I think the trade that was the worst was either the Celtic 04 for a guy who's name escapes me, or sending spree and a 1st for basically the same player. There was another one too, but right now can't think of the details.
Skillz: Jeb trading away Vince Carter, for sure. I don’t think Chipper took the best deal for Rasheed Wallace, but he probably got 70 cents on the dollar and didn’t screw things up royally. The VC deal is much worse because VC is like 3X better than Sheed and one of the 6-7 most valuable players in the league. It’s compounded by the series of bad moves the Wolves made that preceded the deal, but it’s awful in a vacuum too. The Pacers had a lot more they surely would have been willing to trade, and it’s really rough that the Wolves couldn’t have eakd out more value.
Nanz: I’ll go with Sheed because I think we had the better offer for him LOL . First you have AK: I know people are really low on AK but the guy is raw and hasn’t been camped anywhere yet. I think after TC and a few RCs will really get a glimpse at what he is going to be. You then have Samake: another young piece with no RCs yet with A potential to grow in a good player. Those two plus the Nets pick next year which could be good if MJ and Mutumbo retire, plus a Knicks pick this year which could possibly be lotto I think is a pretty good deal. Would have loved to get Vince tho… AK+Hughes would have been a good starting point.
Steve: Easily the Jeb trade. Jeb seems like an absolutely terrific guy...but man, what the fuck kind of trade was that. The restrictions on those picks...plus not getting Sargo's most valuable picks. Jesus, man. I've never been in a league with Sargo before, but he's won like every trade since the Nash debacle. He clearly made up for that catastrophe. Chipper's trade is obviously poor value, but clearly Jeb's is worse. Bottom line.
2. What is one player, playing really well right now around the league that has shocked you so far? What is one player on paper that is not preforming up to what you expected?
Red: Duncan, and it’s not that I am surprised he is doing well, it how much better he is than anyone else. Was looking at a box score and was why did that starting PF only play 11 minutes… oh 6 fouls against Duncan. So, the true surprise is Joe Smith for my Celtics, as while he looked OK in the Creation Draft, he is sitting as one of the best PF in the league. The guy that I wonder about is AK. His stats so far have been abysmal; however I have a feeling he’s the kind of player that makes team D better and any individual stats comparison, he’ll look bad.
Skillz: Eddy Curry! I should take this time to apologize to the man. I still don’t think he’s a winning player, but his inside is so exaggerated he is at least useful in situations. And given how poor the group of bigs are around the league, it wasn’t a bad pick. Also shouts to Rashard Lewis. I hammered that deal but he clearly had high potential and was able to cover for his own faults after one TC. He’s a good player.
Nanz: I’ll go with my man Larry Hughes baby! Before the last sim he was shooting over 50% from the field and putting up 17 ppg. He also rebounds extremely well with a couple of steals a game! He is a really good player and because of how good he’s played, I don’t really want to shop him anymore LOL.
For the second part I guess I’ll go with T-Mac. He will def fix it and have a great line by the end of the year but its weird seeing his numbers next to Ricky Davis right now. It just aint right!
Steve: Antoine Walker has played so damn well, man. He's really what I was hoping Jamison would've been if I'm being honest...so yeah. I think his production regardless of a lack of talent on that team has been surprising to me. I haven't really had a ton of time to scope the entire league...but I've noticed my boy Mash hasn't been scoring a ton...however, he's shooting great percentages...so I'm sure he'll even out. My answer to who isn't performing up to my expectations could be a guy like Paul Pierce. If you have A-/A- scoring and you're only doing 24 per game...I'm sorry, that is not enough for me. I wouldn't be too thrilled with that.
3. How do you feel about contributing money to Spencer during this time in the country and the world? Spencer puts in a lot of effort and has over the years, so I am curious to see different or similar takes from people.
Red: I’ve built up an offshore account for laundering payments to the Commish. Seriously though when I found out he was doing this and that he wasn’t working, we sent some cash. Servers don’t run for free… other than mine but I haven’t got it set up so… My Fiancée and I are a very good spot, so was more than happy to help out.
Skillz: Yes. I need to get around to this. Sorry Spence! I have a new bank account so need to hook that ish up with venmo or paypal. People around the world are going through a tough time and Spence is single-handedly providing a group of 29 psychos with consistent drugs I mean fun.
With that said, everyone is in a different situation, so I don’t think there should be any requirement of any sort. People should do what they feel comfortable doing. Spence is like Wikipedia!
Nanz: Ummm this thread got out of hand for no reason thanks to Covid but we’ll leave it at that LOL. Spence has put a ton of effort into the league and all of the previous ones that I have been a part of, I love T-BONE! I’m not saying other people running leagues don’t put in as much effort because I don’t know but I also don’t care lol. I sent something because I wanted to, and other people can make their own decisions based on their own circumstances. I love Spence and all the good times I’ve had in BBS so it was a no brainer to me.
Steve: I made a donation right away to Spence...I'm in 2 different leagues...but I really appreciate anybody who runs a league like that...especially this one, man. Like shit, I would never do it because I don't have the time...yes, even right now. Teaching is so time consuming, but I wouldn't change it for the world. But yeah, I've donated to both of my commishes. Fantastic people.
4. If you could have any squad in the league other than your own, what team would you pick?
Red: Celtic are the only team running through my Green veins. Only other team I’ve followed was the Heat as I was living down there when thy started. Went to a few of the games the first season, and let me tell you, they sucked… sucked BAD, but it was fun. Slowly though they became a big ticket and corporations were buying up all the good seats, and going to games as a casual fan just wasn’t the same. Other than that, I’m a bandwagon guy once the playoffs start, if my team isn’t there.
Skillz: The Magic. I like challenges and shutter at untapped potential and I think that could be a really good team with the right approach and attention. Antoine has become an interesting player and Forky & Co did a nice job with the Joe Johnson and Eddie Griffin picks. I would have fun with Orlando.
Nanz: I would probably go with yours or Habes. Love the young pieces in Eddy and Gerry with another pick coming up (if you can keep losing lol) to build a nice young team to run with… something like I thought the Lakers would be lol. Also Habes because that team looks fun with Kidd Mash JO and TP as a rookie, that’s a good looking fun squad.
Steve: Well, I'd have to roll with Habes. Has all kinds of different assets...super young guys in TP and JO...as well as studs in Kidd and Mash. He has picks. Just a really good situation, and something that would be hard to F up. I've always been a fan of the rebuilding path with a ton of assets...and Sargo is sitting pretty now.
5. Name one future draft and player that you look forward to seeing in the league and why are you excited to see them?
Red: I had planned on tanking in 02 for a chance to put Bron and AI together. Going 41-41 made that impossible to do as I needed to win now. The other guys I can’t wait to see are Durrant and Westbrook. Both of them because of how dominant they have been through their NBA career. Since it seems like this league is all about bigs, I think westbrook cant be as good as he is with all the triple doubles.
Skillz: Kristaps Porzingis. He is my fourth son and we will have hm on the Knicks. I think he’s a tough player to make in sims, but Spence has demonstrated an ability to make outside-oriented bigs valuable, so I trust that he will be able to capture what makes KAT and Porzingis and some of these unicorn bigs unique.
Nanz: I guess in the short term its gotta be the Steph Curry and Klay drafts. Both are now beasts and you can only imagine what Spence is going to do with them… its going to be real yummy. I’m more intrigued for klay just because I like him more LOL
Steve: '03 draft is obvious with LeBron/D Wade/Melo/Bosh. Especially since I'll be tanking that year as well. I'm looking forward to the '09 draft as that will be pretty sweet, too. Had Harden, Steph, Blake, Demar, etc.
6. Is there any league rule that you would like to see changed, amended or created? Please explain your reasoning.
Red: I would love the article rule to like do; 3-4-3-4-3, so every other year you can do 4. Cause as you know I’m a spammer, and AC is the hack Spence gives us to improve out team. I’m all about looking for anything to give my team an edge.
Skillz: We almost have a perfect league! Everything I propose are amendment’s to current rules, not wholeesal changes. Just minor tweaks to make this thing more efficient and keep everything humming. They are as follows:
1. Article cap raised from 3 to 4; RC’s rom posts capped to 5 per year season. 1500 posts is a LOT in two weeks. That seems like a good happy medium to promote activity and discourage annoying spamming. Articles are good for the league. I would write another article right now but I am capped out. 4 isn’t egregious, and wouldn’t lead to undo inflation if we cap posts.
2. Increase future pick trading threshold to 5 years in the future. 3 years is draconian and provides too large of a limitation on trades. We want more trades, right? We have a long waitlist. If a GM fucks his team up, there will be demand for that team…even if it’s a bad situation
3. Allow for trading of RCs and ACs. More trades = better! Name an RC and AC trade moderator. This would be a bitch to track so I understand why there would be hesitancy to put this in the rules.
Nanz: I barely even know the rules know! What the heck else am I going to say? I guess maybe getting an +3 AC for participating in roundtables instead of RCs? RCs I can get by posting or rewards or something and ideally i would like these to be ACs so that I can upgrade Gil some more. People will instead rather wait for a +5 AC to use it on a player but often, a lot more players will go without having any ACs because not everyone writes an article. Sooooo a plus +3 AC is better than nothing! Maybe you pick if you rather have it be a +3 AC OR RC. Now we’re talking.
Steve: I think we need an article grader. Someone who is unbiased and would give out a fair grade. I just don't think everything should be getting 5's. I haven't been keeping up on if we (as a group) have done a better job grading, but I think it's something we should look at. I think another thing is, we should prob have a SG rule...but I don't really care all that much.
7. BBS leagues have always been active but a lot of this is probably due to the state of the world. Do you think this activity level will keep up when things go back to semi-normal and normal?
Red: Sadly no. I think the posting will keep up sim days but there will eventually be non sim days. Spencer is a beast, and seems to enjoy doing this as a hobby, but I’ve been paying attention to how long a sim takes. This isn’t just throw away 10 minutes, and bang it out. I think this is why I’ve never started a league, as while I’m a very active owner, I am cognizant of how much time the Commish actually puts in for simming and running the board. Once life returns to normal, Spence will be working his normal day, he has a wife and at least 1 son, these things are all more important and will come first as they should. When life is normal, spending 14-20 hrs a week on a hobby, typically just isn't possible.
Skillz: No, it’s unsustainable lol. I can’t spend this much time doing Sim League stuff for this long. But it’s fun right now and I think it will still be active and flourishing when things go back to some type of a new normal. Just not to this insane degree. That change will probably be healthy anyway.
Nanz: I hope so LOL I mean, chances are it goes down as soon as things go back to being somewhat normal but we also don’t need the league to be super active and posting throughout the day. I think coming home to a nice sim after work would also be lovely.
Steve: No, and it simply shouldn't be expected to. Having said that, I think the posting will only slow down at a certain point...and that's ok. Let's enjoy the league, but obviously for a lot of us...we will have to go back to work at some point and time in the near future, and that will take precedence. But yeah, that shouldn't change the fact that it's good to see some old faces and some new faces...and enjoy the league for what it will be eventually. Right now, this is pretty sweet, but good god, I feel like I'm slowing down. BBS is such a drug, man.
8. Out of the sim world and into the real world. Do you think sports will come back? Which league do you think will return first and why? Do you think we will see fans in the stands in 2020?
Red: NASCAR is already back, and I thought I heard the NBA had decided to resume, but I have had my head down so not sure if it was just a rumor. I highly doubt fans will be in the stands anytime in the foreseeable future, not without a vaccine. Will be very weird watching without crowd noise.
Skillz: I think sports will come back but I don’t think fans will be in the stands. I think the NBA comes back. Football definitely comes back. 60/40 on baseball – they should, but the issues between the Union and League run deep. I can’t foresee fans in the stands, though.
Nanz: The first one will be the NBA. I think because they pretty much only have the playoffs left and a nice window in the summer to get something going, they will finish out the season and get going soon. I think no fans is probably the way to go to be safe. Or have fans sit 10 feet from each other? Lower the capacity of the stadium and make sure you follow the proper rules?
Steve: I pray. I just need them back in my life. Basketball and Hockey will definitely be back. Baseball I hope comes back, but I'm really not holding my breath since these players want to be compensated in full with no fans attending. Football will be back, too. Either way, I need sports back!
9. Going along with question 8, I’ve heard buzz about the possibility of cameras being set up in certain sections of stadiums and arenas to allow fans to get a certain experience without having to actually go there. Would you be willing to pay for a seat for instance with a courtside view? I’m just curious to hear people’s thoughts and if they would be willing to do that.
Red: Why the… would I pay money to be limited to one point of view instead of the amazing job the camera crew does? To me that’s just throwing money out and lighting it on fire for the fuck of it. I’ve been to a couple hundred sporting events and have had some amazing seats, but never once has any seat been better than the view on TV. You go to the game for the experience, not because you get to see the game better. I mean I'm sure the marketing person that thought this idiocy up will get a nice bonus, and I'm also sure there are plenty of people that would spend the money to do so.
Skillz: Interesting. I would consider that for sure!
Nanz: LOL nah, that’s a pass for me dawg. Either I go to the game or I just watch it on TV. Don’t try to suck money out of me anymore! LAWD!
Steve: Nah, lol. I enjoy watching sports on my TV just fine. Having said that, I go to games more so for the experience. Being around people that have the same rooting interest as me. This year absolutely killed me man. Every year I go to the Phillies home opener and this was the first one I wasn't able to go in like 9 years...we had a group of 30 people going, and I was so looking forward to it. I think I've talked about this in every roundtable I do...and it saddens me every time.
10. Finally, do you think sports will forever be changed? What do you see as the potential future of sports in this country and world?
Red: The immediate future will be weird as I said, not having crowd noise. Brady’s gonna have a field day this season, being able to walk up to the line look around and casually change the play without yelling it / hand signals. No more 12th man in Seattle etc. I see us slowly returning to the sporting world as fans in stadiums, but for the next couple years… I have my doubts.
Sports will go on, as will the world.
Skillz: Not sure on that. I think this experience is giving us all a new perspective, but I don’t know if sports will be the thing that experiences the most radical change. I think leagues will experiment, adapt and evolve but I think other industries and our way of living will change a lot more meaningfully than sports.
Nanz: I don’t think so. I think once a vaccine is found, things will go back to normal and we will remember this pandemic like the Spanish blue in the early 1900’’s or something like that. It will take a while but not forever.
Steve: I'm optimistic we will be back to normal in 2021. That's just me trying to be optimistic. But sports without fans is just not the same. Period. I think we will have sports for all 4 sports back without fans in 2020. We shall see, though.
Thank you to Red (Celtics GM), Skillz (Knicks GM), Nanz (Lakers GM) and Steve (Sixers GM) for participating. I appreciate you all being here today. Have a fantastic Memorial Day Weekend and be safe. All the best!
P.S. Sorry to Jeff Erbes, I couldn't keep him on this roundtable but I truly did want you! Realized it had to be limited to 4. Next time!
And I give good answers too!