Post by London on Mar 13, 2014 15:38:37 GMT -6
ABCA ROUNDTABLE CAGEMATCH
We have put four somewhat capable General Managers into a Skype room, asked them some questions, and all pretended like we weren't just doing this to boost our young rookies. Each question was worth 10 points.
These are the results of that experiment.
QUESTION 1) In terms of positional player skills where are we lacking the most? (i.e. PGs with hands, Cs who can shoot, etc)
Boston - I would have to say SFs with D. Outside of a small handful such as Elgin Baylor most of the SFs in the league are only there for offense and that's it. It is quickly becoming a position with lots of offense and the few teams that have amazing defenders there tend to do better. Mainly looking at PRD but STL is there too. Prime example, I ran to 64 wins with George Yardley sporting a C+ PRD and B STL stat along with a B- quickness rating. Not stellar.
Seattle - This may be too complicated... but nonetheless, I see a lot of chatter complaining about small forwards being bad at defense when in reality most of them are bad at defense. It's extremely rare to find a small forward who's both strong and quick enough as well as can defend inside and outside. I see Elgin mentioned up above but even he isn't a great post defender.
Los Angeles - I've got to say and not surprisingly, were still a league lacking a bunch of guys who can shoot threes at an efficient clip. So for now I have to say we don't have a ton of true SHOOTING guards. Most of the shooting guards in the league would be lost playing for a team that jacks up a ton of 3s. As we get into players that actually played with the 3-point line this will dissipate, but as of now we lack bombers.
KK Partizan - I'd say the biggest area of need in the league is PGs who actually belong on the basketball court. We've got some who can pass but not shoot or defend. Others who can score but play no defense. Then we have the players who are atheltic and can play defense but have absolutely nothing else to their game. Look at Detroit starting Al Attles, the point guard position in this league is a disgrace to the game.
TOTAL POINTS: Boston 7, Seattle 6, Los Angeles 8, KK Partizan 9
QUESTION 2) What GM (not grading these answers) has done the best job managing their team since the trade deadline?
Boston - Wow this is tough if you really start digging into it. I actually like the spot that Mexico City has put itself into. A strong case can be made for many teams but there weren't many big deadline moves this year and him getting rid of a quickly aging Bob Pettit and getting the 10th pick (Tree Rollins) will give them a steady C that can step in and do all the things a big needs to do. They shouldn't get a ton of credit since it was more dumb luck but being able to add Alex English by trading up to 8 for only the cost of a PG that they had many of and 12 Which later turning into Marques Johnson. They've been living on youth to develop for a while so maybe this won't turn into much but I like a core of Lemon/Frazier/English/Tree/Cowens in a conference where very few things are set in stone right now
Seattle - I personally like what Chicago did. I know KAJ is all the rage, but I think Hayes > KAJ and he also gave up less than what was given up for KAJ to get him. It may be difficult to field a winning squad this year but, I could see Hayes winning MVP for a bunch more seasons especially since a max has never left their prior team.
Los Angeles - Im sure I am going to have the same answer as KK here, but I have to say that I like what KK has done. To me Kareem is currently the most valuable piece in the league. A surefire top player for his whole career. While I do like what Chicago has done in a similar vein, acquiring Hayes, his expiring contract puts that move a notch below the KAJ move.
KK Partizan - Buenos Aires did a wonderful job in the playoffs as a 4 seed. He sat on his roster knowing how good they'd be once healthy and it paid off as he came within a game of winning the ABCA Title! Though he's been quiet on the trade front, I think he got some real value at 21st overall with James Edwards. I just can't overlook the run they made in the playoffs despite the number of teams who have improved their roster since the post-season. At the end of the day, it is about winning titles and he came the closest.
TOTAL POINTS: Boston 15, Seattle 13, Los Angeles 14, KK Partizan 15
QUESTION 3) Which expansion team's roster (not picks) would you rather have right now?
Boston - Easy. BC Zalgiris. Bob Mcadoo is legit, and they were the luckiest team to have King fall to them after trading out of 2. He is a PG away from having a decent looking starting lineup with Jan and Green on his squad. I think he's smart to move one of them for an asset but as is I like what they'll be able to do much more then DJ and Walton. Longterm I think Harlem will end up better, but for right now BC has the better squad pre-FA.
Seattle - BCZ has lot more assets than Harlem atm and could move some for an even better fit. While Walton is probably > than McAdoo, BC also has King, Jan, WBF, and Green to some extent while Harlem only has Dennis Johnson standing out. If cap space is used wisely and with some luck, Harlem could snag some assets to move around going forward. Nonetheless, I'll stick with BCZ.
Los Angeles - I like the Harlem roster here. Although BC is likely going to win more games, I still want Walton on my team. Coming out of the draft I loved Walton, trying to get pick 3 or 4 in order to take him. I still think he's the key piece here between the two teams. Depending on what Zalgiris does with his two SFs on the block, Green and Jan, he can make a move here and pass Harlem. For now, I'll follow Walton.
KK Partizan - Give me Zalgiris' roster in a close one. Not really sold on either player Harlem has in Walton and DJ as franchise type players. Zalgiris meanwhile has two young players just as good AND players like Jan Brobrovsky and Johnny Green who can be dealt for picks or young players to really build the team up. Couple that with a sleeper in World B. Free and you've got a much much stronger roster.
TOTAL POINTS: Boston 23, Seattle 20, Los Angeles 21, KK Partizan 23
QUESTION 4) Who is the biggest name FA that will jump ship and to where?
Boston - We find this actually a very difficult answer, because I don't believe any stars are going to jump teams. Most of the free agents either care about loyalty or greed, so I'm going to give two that I think realistically jump ship since the 3rd one I thought of in Thurmond will get maxed I think by BA and he'll have to figure out of a cap jam. First and most likely is Bill Spivey. He will get good money from somebody and the only thing he cares about is playing for winner which CSKA is not. I think many teams (London) is the first that comes to mind will put in bids for him as it's hard to find height. Other dark horse will be Neil Johnston. He still has name value and he's not exactly a scrub, I don't however see Toronto opening the bank for him and somebody will. It wouldn't shock me if he ended up back in Chicago, but I think a team like BC or even Tel Aviv could use him even just for trade fodder
Seattle - Moscow is a big wildcard for me as I wasn't here when he was last in the league. I'm assuming he maxes Cunningham to keep him around but Spivey is a definite wildcard. I could see someone like Alba offering him a Fulks type contract to move for picks later.
Los Angeles - I have this coming down to two guys who are going to get paid more than they likely deserve, Walt Hazzard and Jiri Zidek. Hazzard fills a position that is always in demand and Zidek is a marksman from down town. The question is: Can either of these guys be a top 3 player on a championship team? Because that is what they are going to get paid. I see Tehran being more urgent about resigning Hazzard as going into the season without a PG is a death wish, so my prediction is Zidek jumping to Athens to play third fiddle to Moses and Meschery.
KK Partizan - Nate Thurmond is going to jump ship because Buenos Aires isn't going to want to tie up every bit of cap paying him a max. I think he heads to Mexico City. Roark has proved he is willing to pay the bigs and depsite drafting Tree Rollins, I think it'll be too much for him to pass up on. I think Free Agency otherwise holds true to previous years, most players returning to their former teams. Something may need to be done about this CBA.
TOTAL POINTS: Boston 30, Seattle 26, Los Angeles 29, KK Partizan 30
QUESTION 5) When (if ever) would you expand again? What cities would you like to see? What would you do differently (if anything)
Boston - Well if the league plan is to eventually get to 40 teams I would like to see 2 more (probably not after this coming season, but that could be argued) probably 2 seasons from now. I like the idea of sooner just because it would be more fun to have more teams that are building from the ground up together to hopefully spark some new rivalries and more importantly get us back to 3 divisions in each conference.
Cities I would like to see the next time around would be definitely the Indiana Pacers due to a long legacy in the NBA and the great players that have come from the Hoosier state. As I'm not too informed on foreign ball and teams I'd like to see us visit some of the older Global teams possibly. I think it's time for the Tokyo Magnums (Globals final championship team) to make a triumphant return to a league. Also I would like to see us move Washington from the Bullets to the Generals now that we have the Globetrotters in the league. Harlem needs some wins somehow
Seattle - I'd love to expand as soon as possible to get to 3 divisions per conference. I'm a fan of adding Portland as that was my first sim team and I'd be down for Power Electronics Valencia because sponsorship is hilarious
Los Angeles - I would actually expand again after this season. I think we have a great active base of GMs and most seem to be entrenched at this point. We have trimmed a lot of the fat over the past two seasons as well. I always think that if you can fill it, the more teams there are the more fun it is. We are also about to hit a strong talent influx over these next few seasons that will make up for the diminished roster strengths.
My first choice for a place to expand to is a state that 100% deserves a team, about as basketball obsessed a place as you can find: Indiana. Being a Hoosier alum, I may be biased, but living in that state for 4 years, I know what basketball means to those backwards midwesterners. As for Eurasia, I am not exactly a huge fan, so my choice would be to add another Israeli team as Israel is the only country in Eurasia I have visited besides a stop over in Italy…nice airport.
KK Partizan - Well this one is quite easy. I would absolutely love to see expansion happen in a season or two. I think the base for leagues are growing and there will be a market for two more teams. In the Americas, I think it is about time we restore the New Orleans Jazz to their rightful place. In Eurasia I would love to see Fenerbahce Ulker be given a chance to succeed worldwide like they've been doing on the European level.
TOTAL POINTS: Boston 38, Seattle 32, Los Angeles 36, KK Partizan 37
QUESTION 6) Outside of the Top 6 who is the prospect you are most excited to see play?
Boston - Darryl Dawkins. For two reasons, first because I always am interested to see how the young guys (19,20) are right into the league, and because second many here thought English was the clear choice and he was passed on for Darryl. I have much faith in my scouts potential scouting ability and if Darryl only hits his potential he's probably not even a top 10 C in the league, maybe fringe 10 so he'll have alot to prove. I just think he'll struggle without a true star to make things easier on him coming up in Washington. Honorable mention: Tree Rollins, because I've listened to Roark talk about Tree for what feels like months now.
Seattle - I want to see what Tree will do. I personally don't think he'll be great but he's coming in pretty developed. This is all speculation though as everyone is subject to crazy swings in potential their first few tc's. Tree could end up like Wilt for all we know
Los Angeles - For nostalgia purposes I want to pick Alvan Adams as he was a very strong player in a previous sim league of mine, but I will go in another direction. I am going to go with the duo of Cliff Robinson and Walter Davis. These two players are crucial members of the London rebuild/retool, so they probably are amazing, or will be amazing, or will be talked about how amazing they are until they're flipped for something amazing. These two players are keys on the reigning champion and for them it might be trial by fire, so I am very interested in their progress.
KK Partizan - I am really intrigued to see how Alvin Adams plays. I don't think we've had many super quick power forwards like he is. His skills will of course need some developing but it is interesting to see if he gets to the Free Throw line more often than most bigs with his skill. Bill Russell is the only other PF with his quickness and he absolutely dominated defensively at the Center position whiele providing better than average offense despite a real lack of skill. I tend to think he will have a very similar impact but in a scaled down manner.
TOTAL POINTS: Boston 46, Seattle 38, Los Angeles 44, KK Partizan 45
We have put four somewhat capable General Managers into a Skype room, asked them some questions, and all pretended like we weren't just doing this to boost our young rookies. Each question was worth 10 points.
These are the results of that experiment.
QUESTION 1) In terms of positional player skills where are we lacking the most? (i.e. PGs with hands, Cs who can shoot, etc)
Boston - I would have to say SFs with D. Outside of a small handful such as Elgin Baylor most of the SFs in the league are only there for offense and that's it. It is quickly becoming a position with lots of offense and the few teams that have amazing defenders there tend to do better. Mainly looking at PRD but STL is there too. Prime example, I ran to 64 wins with George Yardley sporting a C+ PRD and B STL stat along with a B- quickness rating. Not stellar.
Seattle - This may be too complicated... but nonetheless, I see a lot of chatter complaining about small forwards being bad at defense when in reality most of them are bad at defense. It's extremely rare to find a small forward who's both strong and quick enough as well as can defend inside and outside. I see Elgin mentioned up above but even he isn't a great post defender.
Los Angeles - I've got to say and not surprisingly, were still a league lacking a bunch of guys who can shoot threes at an efficient clip. So for now I have to say we don't have a ton of true SHOOTING guards. Most of the shooting guards in the league would be lost playing for a team that jacks up a ton of 3s. As we get into players that actually played with the 3-point line this will dissipate, but as of now we lack bombers.
KK Partizan - I'd say the biggest area of need in the league is PGs who actually belong on the basketball court. We've got some who can pass but not shoot or defend. Others who can score but play no defense. Then we have the players who are atheltic and can play defense but have absolutely nothing else to their game. Look at Detroit starting Al Attles, the point guard position in this league is a disgrace to the game.
TOTAL POINTS: Boston 7, Seattle 6, Los Angeles 8, KK Partizan 9
QUESTION 2) What GM (not grading these answers) has done the best job managing their team since the trade deadline?
Boston - Wow this is tough if you really start digging into it. I actually like the spot that Mexico City has put itself into. A strong case can be made for many teams but there weren't many big deadline moves this year and him getting rid of a quickly aging Bob Pettit and getting the 10th pick (Tree Rollins) will give them a steady C that can step in and do all the things a big needs to do. They shouldn't get a ton of credit since it was more dumb luck but being able to add Alex English by trading up to 8 for only the cost of a PG that they had many of and 12 Which later turning into Marques Johnson. They've been living on youth to develop for a while so maybe this won't turn into much but I like a core of Lemon/Frazier/English/Tree/Cowens in a conference where very few things are set in stone right now
Seattle - I personally like what Chicago did. I know KAJ is all the rage, but I think Hayes > KAJ and he also gave up less than what was given up for KAJ to get him. It may be difficult to field a winning squad this year but, I could see Hayes winning MVP for a bunch more seasons especially since a max has never left their prior team.
Los Angeles - Im sure I am going to have the same answer as KK here, but I have to say that I like what KK has done. To me Kareem is currently the most valuable piece in the league. A surefire top player for his whole career. While I do like what Chicago has done in a similar vein, acquiring Hayes, his expiring contract puts that move a notch below the KAJ move.
KK Partizan - Buenos Aires did a wonderful job in the playoffs as a 4 seed. He sat on his roster knowing how good they'd be once healthy and it paid off as he came within a game of winning the ABCA Title! Though he's been quiet on the trade front, I think he got some real value at 21st overall with James Edwards. I just can't overlook the run they made in the playoffs despite the number of teams who have improved their roster since the post-season. At the end of the day, it is about winning titles and he came the closest.
TOTAL POINTS: Boston 15, Seattle 13, Los Angeles 14, KK Partizan 15
QUESTION 3) Which expansion team's roster (not picks) would you rather have right now?
Boston - Easy. BC Zalgiris. Bob Mcadoo is legit, and they were the luckiest team to have King fall to them after trading out of 2. He is a PG away from having a decent looking starting lineup with Jan and Green on his squad. I think he's smart to move one of them for an asset but as is I like what they'll be able to do much more then DJ and Walton. Longterm I think Harlem will end up better, but for right now BC has the better squad pre-FA.
Seattle - BCZ has lot more assets than Harlem atm and could move some for an even better fit. While Walton is probably > than McAdoo, BC also has King, Jan, WBF, and Green to some extent while Harlem only has Dennis Johnson standing out. If cap space is used wisely and with some luck, Harlem could snag some assets to move around going forward. Nonetheless, I'll stick with BCZ.
Los Angeles - I like the Harlem roster here. Although BC is likely going to win more games, I still want Walton on my team. Coming out of the draft I loved Walton, trying to get pick 3 or 4 in order to take him. I still think he's the key piece here between the two teams. Depending on what Zalgiris does with his two SFs on the block, Green and Jan, he can make a move here and pass Harlem. For now, I'll follow Walton.
KK Partizan - Give me Zalgiris' roster in a close one. Not really sold on either player Harlem has in Walton and DJ as franchise type players. Zalgiris meanwhile has two young players just as good AND players like Jan Brobrovsky and Johnny Green who can be dealt for picks or young players to really build the team up. Couple that with a sleeper in World B. Free and you've got a much much stronger roster.
TOTAL POINTS: Boston 23, Seattle 20, Los Angeles 21, KK Partizan 23
QUESTION 4) Who is the biggest name FA that will jump ship and to where?
Boston - We find this actually a very difficult answer, because I don't believe any stars are going to jump teams. Most of the free agents either care about loyalty or greed, so I'm going to give two that I think realistically jump ship since the 3rd one I thought of in Thurmond will get maxed I think by BA and he'll have to figure out of a cap jam. First and most likely is Bill Spivey. He will get good money from somebody and the only thing he cares about is playing for winner which CSKA is not. I think many teams (London) is the first that comes to mind will put in bids for him as it's hard to find height. Other dark horse will be Neil Johnston. He still has name value and he's not exactly a scrub, I don't however see Toronto opening the bank for him and somebody will. It wouldn't shock me if he ended up back in Chicago, but I think a team like BC or even Tel Aviv could use him even just for trade fodder
Seattle - Moscow is a big wildcard for me as I wasn't here when he was last in the league. I'm assuming he maxes Cunningham to keep him around but Spivey is a definite wildcard. I could see someone like Alba offering him a Fulks type contract to move for picks later.
Los Angeles - I have this coming down to two guys who are going to get paid more than they likely deserve, Walt Hazzard and Jiri Zidek. Hazzard fills a position that is always in demand and Zidek is a marksman from down town. The question is: Can either of these guys be a top 3 player on a championship team? Because that is what they are going to get paid. I see Tehran being more urgent about resigning Hazzard as going into the season without a PG is a death wish, so my prediction is Zidek jumping to Athens to play third fiddle to Moses and Meschery.
KK Partizan - Nate Thurmond is going to jump ship because Buenos Aires isn't going to want to tie up every bit of cap paying him a max. I think he heads to Mexico City. Roark has proved he is willing to pay the bigs and depsite drafting Tree Rollins, I think it'll be too much for him to pass up on. I think Free Agency otherwise holds true to previous years, most players returning to their former teams. Something may need to be done about this CBA.
TOTAL POINTS: Boston 30, Seattle 26, Los Angeles 29, KK Partizan 30
QUESTION 5) When (if ever) would you expand again? What cities would you like to see? What would you do differently (if anything)
Boston - Well if the league plan is to eventually get to 40 teams I would like to see 2 more (probably not after this coming season, but that could be argued) probably 2 seasons from now. I like the idea of sooner just because it would be more fun to have more teams that are building from the ground up together to hopefully spark some new rivalries and more importantly get us back to 3 divisions in each conference.
Cities I would like to see the next time around would be definitely the Indiana Pacers due to a long legacy in the NBA and the great players that have come from the Hoosier state. As I'm not too informed on foreign ball and teams I'd like to see us visit some of the older Global teams possibly. I think it's time for the Tokyo Magnums (Globals final championship team) to make a triumphant return to a league. Also I would like to see us move Washington from the Bullets to the Generals now that we have the Globetrotters in the league. Harlem needs some wins somehow
Seattle - I'd love to expand as soon as possible to get to 3 divisions per conference. I'm a fan of adding Portland as that was my first sim team and I'd be down for Power Electronics Valencia because sponsorship is hilarious
Los Angeles - I would actually expand again after this season. I think we have a great active base of GMs and most seem to be entrenched at this point. We have trimmed a lot of the fat over the past two seasons as well. I always think that if you can fill it, the more teams there are the more fun it is. We are also about to hit a strong talent influx over these next few seasons that will make up for the diminished roster strengths.
My first choice for a place to expand to is a state that 100% deserves a team, about as basketball obsessed a place as you can find: Indiana. Being a Hoosier alum, I may be biased, but living in that state for 4 years, I know what basketball means to those backwards midwesterners. As for Eurasia, I am not exactly a huge fan, so my choice would be to add another Israeli team as Israel is the only country in Eurasia I have visited besides a stop over in Italy…nice airport.
KK Partizan - Well this one is quite easy. I would absolutely love to see expansion happen in a season or two. I think the base for leagues are growing and there will be a market for two more teams. In the Americas, I think it is about time we restore the New Orleans Jazz to their rightful place. In Eurasia I would love to see Fenerbahce Ulker be given a chance to succeed worldwide like they've been doing on the European level.
TOTAL POINTS: Boston 38, Seattle 32, Los Angeles 36, KK Partizan 37
QUESTION 6) Outside of the Top 6 who is the prospect you are most excited to see play?
Boston - Darryl Dawkins. For two reasons, first because I always am interested to see how the young guys (19,20) are right into the league, and because second many here thought English was the clear choice and he was passed on for Darryl. I have much faith in my scouts potential scouting ability and if Darryl only hits his potential he's probably not even a top 10 C in the league, maybe fringe 10 so he'll have alot to prove. I just think he'll struggle without a true star to make things easier on him coming up in Washington. Honorable mention: Tree Rollins, because I've listened to Roark talk about Tree for what feels like months now.
Seattle - I want to see what Tree will do. I personally don't think he'll be great but he's coming in pretty developed. This is all speculation though as everyone is subject to crazy swings in potential their first few tc's. Tree could end up like Wilt for all we know
Los Angeles - For nostalgia purposes I want to pick Alvan Adams as he was a very strong player in a previous sim league of mine, but I will go in another direction. I am going to go with the duo of Cliff Robinson and Walter Davis. These two players are crucial members of the London rebuild/retool, so they probably are amazing, or will be amazing, or will be talked about how amazing they are until they're flipped for something amazing. These two players are keys on the reigning champion and for them it might be trial by fire, so I am very interested in their progress.
KK Partizan - I am really intrigued to see how Alvin Adams plays. I don't think we've had many super quick power forwards like he is. His skills will of course need some developing but it is interesting to see if he gets to the Free Throw line more often than most bigs with his skill. Bill Russell is the only other PF with his quickness and he absolutely dominated defensively at the Center position whiele providing better than average offense despite a real lack of skill. I tend to think he will have a very similar impact but in a scaled down manner.
TOTAL POINTS: Boston 46, Seattle 38, Los Angeles 44, KK Partizan 45
WINNER: BOSTON CELTICS (+50PP for winning)
