Post by Majic on Feb 5, 2021 10:45:11 GMT -5
First I wanted to thank all of the participants for their contributions.
This ended up being the longest RT I have ever done so I thought it best to break it up into 2 parts.
Some might say this is the BIGGEST AND BEST Round Table they have ever seen, some have said that.
And here... we.. go...
1. Now that the creation draft is over and we are deep into the first season, what was your approach/strategy and how do you think it went? For Sapular, what stuck out to you the most when observing the draft and teams strategies?
skrouse - I'm going for it, have been trying to move my 2 top 10 future picks to plug holes in my squad for some time and I think I finally have done that. I didn't sell out on short term success though, Wrenn and Cota are rookies and Peppers is 24 with only 4 yrs of experience. The rest is a mix, I'll lose some guys, but not everyone. I do what I can to reload next year and we'll see what happens from there.
Soup - when I saw I was picking at 22 and that my first good draft pick was 3 years out, my strategy was to do more or less what Ward and Tim are doing right now. Power down, collect assets, build in FA and with the 3rd pick in the Durant/Oden/Conley/Horford draft. Once my pick came up and Moala was still there my plan immediately changed. Moala stuck out to be a different kind of player and those typically have success early on in creation leagues. He seemed to do well stats wise in the tested sims, and although he's 33, I thought he could be someone I could build around and re-tool come the 3003 draft. I was able to add some pieces in Kurland and Ramunas, whom at the time looked like they were going to be really good players. Where I really missed out is my PG Aaron Craft pick. I think he could still be a good player but I don't think he fits with what I'm doing schematically right now. Going into the season I thought I would be a distant 3rd best team in the west behind Druce and Dirt. Once preseason hit, it looked like I was a little closer than I was expecting, so I decided to make a move for Theo Papalock and in the process trading that coveted 1.3 in 3003. I did the move because I feel it vaulted me into the top spot in the west, but that still remains to be seen. I'm certainly in contention and feel like this core has 2-3 more years of strong play left together.
Bankz - I had a couple of early picks in the 3001 and 3002 draft. So with being unfamiliar with grades and the system in place I felt like moving out of the fist few rounds of creation would be wise. Stock up on more future draft capital to improve my stock in other drafts. In the later rounds I wanted to focus on high potential guys who could be developed by the time my rookies got on roster. I also wanted to snag the occasional vet who could be flipped in the first season. I was happy with my return in draft capital but none of the high potential players I drafted showed much life. That was super disappointing and the couple of older gents I took didn't produce as I wanted either and the value wasn't as strong. Looking back I my game plan was good and I likely wouldn't have changed it given how the wheel set up. My fear of drafting the creations prospects did catch up to me as I expected and basically every pick was a whiff.
Yawn - I wasn't interested in acquiring a lot of contracts. I knew I had 1.1 so I wasn't desperate to move up to compete now. I felt ok trading back to get some bucks as there weren't a lot of fellows I was enamored with. In terms of player I was looking at higher efficiency guys, especially as we got to the end. Rebounding and efficiency were things I looked at more than grades. I don't give a shit about grade vanity if the dude isn't going to shoot more than 40 percent and still score less than 8 ppg.
Sapular - While watching Shout I found it very interesting to see how people prepare for the draft. Some are really looking for specific attributes. I will say that picking your brain along with Druce has helped me see what, why and how people view certain things. I will also say, while this heebs and Eric nonsense is going on it really has made me think about scouting and I am almost going to give you credit but I can't do it so I will just end my thought there.
IanBoyd - I had a low pick in creation and pick 1.23, 1.12 and 1.11 in the 3 drafts that we were allowed to trade picks for so right off the bat I knew I was not going to be in a position to compete in the first few seasons. So I traded down a few spots and picked guys in the 2nd/3rd round that I thought had the best chance of being a valuable trade piece, guys like slightly older players that could be good in the short term that I could flip to a contender (Greek Ian) or d/r bigs that might warrant some interest (didn't pan out) as opposed to taking mediocre versions of the elite talent that went in the first round. I was able to trade Greek Ian for a top 10 pick and moved a few other contracts to free up enough cap space to offer a max this offseason so all in all it went okay. Short term wise my team won't be in contention for the next 4-5 years unless I get lucky in FA and decide to change course but long term wise my plans hinge on the #1 pick in the 04 draft.
Dirt - My strategy was to be competitive early. I wanted to make as many moves as i could to be the best i could possibly be. Espcially the 1st two seasons of the league. I wanted to check out some drafts see what type of talent the league was going to have and go from there. My biggest goal was to find a top 5 player in the league and trade my 1.2 in 03 for him. After the dust settled i felt i had a top 5 team but not the best. I decided to to trade my best player and re-tool. I have an old roster right now and i'm hoping i can get a title in the next two years. I think for what goal i had in mind a couple weeks ago I've done a pretty good job executing it.
Druce - Well I think my strategy was pretty clear. I wanted to get the most talented roster I could aged relatively close together so that I had a core for a good amount of time. Contract length was also important. I tried to grab guys who I thought were an upgrade away from elite first (Cooke, Capel) then Jarvis and Joshua fell into my lap. I was honestly shocked that Joshua Smith was still around when I picked him. I had tried to move up to go get him a few times. We also share a first name so we are bonded. I knew Retin would probably need a year or two and some upgrades so I grabbed an aging PG to be my starter for the time being. Turns out he’s made of glass but that’s ok. I think the results speak for themselves. I really like where my team is at both now and for the next few years. We’ll see what happens to Jarvis in TC, but he was worth the gamble if for this year alone. I’m not the type to sit back and wait for shit to happen, so it shouldn’t be surprising that I didn’t sit around and wait for the draft to come to me.
20’s - My draft strategy was to try to build a somewhat competitive team while not giving up any of my future assets. I adopted this strategy because I didn't have a great read on the file/league at the outset and thought I would rather use my assets to trade for guys who I had already seen play and put up numbers instead of just creation picks where I could maybe select someone who would be good.
I didn't look at the draft file until I was on the clock at 1.16 and it was kind of overwhelming initially. There wasn't anyone standing out as someone I needed to select when I first looked and I already had multiple offers for the pick. Odin was offering 1.24, 2.6 and 6.2 for the pick (as well as a couple future 2nds) so I decided to take that offer. That trade was fine, I took Chief and Diebler with 1.24 and 2.6 who are my best two players by far. Odin landed Mitchell at 1.16 who is a great PG.
As far as my draft strategy, I was very stats focused and wanted guys who were at least B or better in multiple stat categories. I ended up leaning a little harder on the defensive stats as it was hard for me to draft many of the elite scorers with my positions in the draft. I also had to make sure I didn't draft too many long term contracts so I would have cap space to resign Chief Kickingstallionsims after the first season. I think I did okay executing my strategy, some of my picks were great, some were not, but I did follow my original plan. I left the draft not having traded any future picks and had a team I thought could compete for a bottom tier playoff spot right away. I currently sit as the 8 seed in the East (although with Chief out, I could see the Heat passing me in the last two sims).
Majic - My strategy and approach changed very quickly once we got past the first several picks. Very quickly I could see that a number of other GM’s were going to be quite aggressive and try to build an immediate contender. Once I saw that happening I was less inclined to really “go for it” and instead decided to take the wait and see approach. I also expected there to be a learning curve for the league over the first couple seasons. Once I made the choice to take a slower building approach I wasn't really concerned with the creation draft at that point. Then, once we moved into the first several sims of the first season it was apparent my team was terrible and I needed to start shedding salary quickly. Now that I have a high draft pick and cap space I am excited to start building for the future.
2. Besides your own, whose draft and/or strategy do you like the most? Whose draft/strategy do you dislike the most? Why?
skrouse - Dirt did a great job early, he was the first to strike a big deal to get back into the 1st round and did a great job. He drafted well and continues to position himself well. Boomslick, the Pelican's are bottom of the East and haven't made any moves nor have they upgraded anyone to find their hidden gems, it's a shame.
Soup - I like the guys that pushed in early and grabbed guys that would help them compete for titles this season. The Clippers, Grizzlies, and Bobcats in particular. This league is all about titles in my opinion so any successful strategy you can put in motion to lead to that will get a thumbs up from me. What will be interesting to see is if the GMs of the group that went all in will think it was all worth it if they're not able to pull out a title? Here recently I've liked that someone else in the east has finally grown some balls and made a move to challenge the west. Good job Skrouse.
On the other end, I feel like the 76ers had a really bad creation draft. That's not all his fault though. The new guys coming back had no idea what the value of creation draft picks would be and it seems Bankz moved his first 3 picks for pennies on the dollar. Hopefully he's able to turn it around starting out with this draft pick coming up.
Bankz - Odin went super high risk with his approach. I don't hate it. If he doesn't win the title this year he's got it all riding on FA re-signs and that makes it very dangerous. Untimely I believe he brings his guys back because he took the time to set up the roster to do so and I don't expect a ton of FA movement. Dirt did a fantastic job of buying early at a lower value before GMs started to see the lack of depth in the draft and thus raising the price on 2nd and even 3rd round picks. I don't dislike any approach because I'm in the boat of not knowing what is really going on with Sim so even the GMs who just stood pat made no deals and just selected seemed fair in the end.
Yawn - I thought Dirt played the draft really well. I generally like the way he runs his teams. Delap moved around a lot and I think it worked.
On the flip side. I think if anyone but Odin was going so all-in I would be concerned about their long term prospects. I know Odin wheels and deals and I think he'll be ok. In general I like least the teams that just stood pat and drafted long term contracts on their team. Those 4 year 3.5 mill per year contracts are gross when the dude is getting you less than 5 points at low efficiency.
Sapular - Heebs brought up something interesting about how waiting on the pick is an advantage to him. I really don’t think that is the case. It seems the whole league knows that the 2 best players in the draft are Drexler and Ellis. So holding 1.1 means you are going to pick one of them. At the end of the day they cannot be that much different so I am not sure what advantage you gain by holding off.
IanBoyd - I think the top 3 teams of both conferences all had pretty good drafts and were made to make the moves necessary to maximize their window. There were a bunch of teams that didn't draft well but I think most of the active GMs made at least enough moves to the point where you could see they have a long term plan in place.
Dirt - I feel like alot of people did the same thing I did. Most of the teams that are top 6 in the league don't have alot of draft stock left. I may have the best pick out of them all with a 1.5 in next year's 3002 draft. I really don't know why skrouse gave away his last good pick for such an old expiring player. I think the top 6 will be the top 6 for a couple years. Depending on FA we may have 1 or 2 teams fall, also depending on TCs and retired players may have some teams shake up. The one good thing about skourse is he has a couple of good young players with multi year contracts. That should help him stay a contender for longer than someone like me who is pretty dang old.
I probably dislike the GMs that aren't active the most. They are sitting at 500 with no trades and just wasting all of our time. These tanking teams will be interesting after our first rookie TC. We can get a glimpse of how good the new crop of players will be. It might have been the best strategy if these rookies come in really good. Time will tell who made the right decision.
Druce - The way I see it, the creation draft shapes literally every move you make thereafter in the league, and having a good start is a way to jump start your franchise. I understand why some guys punted the draft and got picks, and for a few I’m sure it’ll work out well. That being said I like the strategy of the guys who did similar things to me: Dirt, Soup, Odin, Skrouse. Get busy winning or get busy punting until you have good picks etc.
20’s - I actually like the strategy of everyone who kind of pushed all in the most. It seems to have worked well and paid off for pretty much everyone. Dirt, Druce, odin all have very strong teams and a good chance to win a title. I wish I had done something similar. They were able to land 1st and 2nd round creation draft picks for cheaper than what you are seeing people pay for the equivalent players in season now.
I don't know whose I dislike the most. I guess you could say those who sold all their picks for future assets and just kept moving back, but not because I don't think it is a strategy that can succeed, just because it would be boring for me out of the gates so I wouldn't really want to use it myself. Teams like the Warriors, Bucks, 76ers, Sonics didn't pick until round 3 at the earliest if I remember correctly and we are seeing the results of that with their relative lack of success this season (Sonics are a playoff team so they don't really apply). I think all those guys will do well, I just probably didn't have the patience to go for that strategy right off the bat.
Majic - At the moment I hated the aggressive teams and didn't think it was a good approach, but looking at the first season I can respect it better. I think Odin, Druce and Soup all had successful drafts and first seasons and they were easily the most aggressive. I also like what Dirt has done, building a solid team while also having some future draft capital to work with. Skrouse has been aggressive as well, just hope he has enough talent to pull out a title. I also like what the Stags did, Troy has a ton of draft capital over the next couple years to build a team.
As for the team's strategy I didn't like, Bankz doesn't have much proven talent but he does have some draft capital. Hopefully he can turn that into something. Otherwise, the biggest disappointment so far has been the non-existent GM’s. Not much more to say about them but I would love to get some new GM’s in place of those guys.
3. Which player fell further than you expected? Who was drafted way earlier than you expected? Or, any major surprises from the draft that stuck out to you?
Skrouse - I'm trying to recall, looking at the draft now I do recall seeing Larry Brown almost making it back to me and I was really hoping to get him late in round 2, outside of that I'm not sure. I also recall being confused when Mike took Calipari so early, it seemed to be purely a name based pick. I can't think of any other major surprises, people seemed to have good reason for most of the picks that truly mattered in the first three rounds.
Soup - A lot of the old dudes fell farther than I thought they were. I realize they're not ideal for building your franchise around but there was a lot of talent passed on strictly to age. Belov at 18, Schmidt at 20, Moala at 22, Pee Wee at 23, Hines at 26 all in the first round alone. Then you had players like Greek Ian, Drazen, Papalok and Kurland picked in the 2nd.
The only picks that jumped out to me in the first round as way early were Raymond Lewis, Jon Davis and John Calipari. Anyone of those picks could have had almost any of the players in the paragraph before. That has to sting a little.
Bankz - I think most of the draft was a surprise to me. Druce took a bunch of guys I looked at as meh and they are really good players. Soup's rookie phenom was amazing value. I honestly didn't have a great gauge of what a good set of grades was/is. So it's hard to answer this question as a Monday morning QB because it wouldn't be fair to the guys who did poorly.
Yawn - Sharrar wasn't on the first list I sent to Troy Barnes. Kennedy Meeks was one of the players on my list. Thank goodness I switched gears. That's a real sliding door moment. I thought Gates was fine, but was surprised he went that high. I admit I actually looked at Kemp with some heart emojis in my eyes. Whew.
Drafting Gary Payton in 2.0 has scarred me a good bit and I wanted more than anything to get off to a good start for this sim. I think it sets the tone for me and my participation. I can switch off a lot and not be involved but I wanted to set down a marker for my GM-ship with this season.
Sapular - Well since heebs has not picked and technically does not have to, it is hard to say how the draft played out because as I type this the draft has not happened. Now I may come back and amend my statement after the draft. I am curious how teams such as yours will be attacking the draft and FA. Your team seems to be a crossroads. They are young and ok, can a solid draft and good FA help? Ordo those with the D potential stay true to who they really are “They are who we thought they were”
IanBoyd - Outside of the top 3-5 obvious picks like Bojan, Estes, Gathers, Riva etc I didn't pay much attention the rest of the way but I hated both the John Calipari pick from the Bulls and the Jon Davis pick from the Kings.
Dirt - Nash, Peppers, Papadoc, Smith, Drazen, Lang were all great 2nd round selections. I wasn't expecting such amazing players in the 2nd round. I thought the creation draft would definitely be front loaded but I was wrong. There were plenty of good players after the first to help a team win a title. I think it will be interesting to see what the young F potential guys do like Lang. I also think the greats that are A potential might just rule the league for a while. After seeing how many A potential studs in the creation and then scouting this draft...A pot is in low supply.
Druce - As previously mentioned, Joshua Smith fell way further than I thought he would. John Calipari went way higher than expected. I also figured the PG delap got (belov? I forget his name) would go higher. If I’m being completely honest I had a list of guys I was trying to get and outside of that I didn’t pay attention to when other players went, as the more that weren’t on my list that went the greater the chance guys I wanted fell see: Lang, Jarvis, Smith, Joshua.
20’s - Higher than expected: Sergio Llull, John Calipari, Irwin Dambrot, Chase Harler, Retin Obasohan, Shawn Witherspoon, Przemek Karnowski
Lower than expected: Sergei Belov, Kyle Hines, Bob Kurland, Joshua Smith, Drazen Dalipagic, Pierluigi Marzorati
Other than guys going a little earlier or later than I expected, nothing huge stuck out as a surprise. I think no one knew for sure what any of these guys were so it was hard to know what to expect, but I was just surprised by some of the guys with relatively weak stats going above guys who had produced more and were still available.
Majic - Honestly the draft was a lot harder to follow than I anticipated. I had gone through one of these before but that didn't help this time around. There was ALOT of information to sort through and overall a lot of guys went in spots I did not anticipate. The older guys really seemed to fall, I expected a couple to fall but it really seemed like most GM’s were looking to go young, myself included. For me personally, I probably should have paid better attention to potential on those younger guys. As for the worst pick. The Calipari pick looked bad in the moment and looks worse now. I also think my second round selection was brutal, but you live and you learn.
4. There have been a lot of new changes made since the early parts 5.0, the biggest being the wheel. For newer GM’s what are your thoughts on the wheel? For existing GM’s, any early observations on the wheel when factoring in a full league? For Sapular, any early thoughts as an outsider on the wheel and how it functions?
skrouse - I think just last night Ian said he was coming around to the Wheel, Soup mentioned it was easier to make trades for players because you didn't have to move 5 picks for a star. I think the league is more active throughout the season and just better all around with Wheel. Trades during Creation were doubled from 5.0, and were already at 80 trades before the season one trade deadline. I think the Wheel is great and showing it why.
Soup - I've been on record with my thoughts on the wheel. It is what it is at this point. Wheel or not, I think good GMs will be good GMS. All the wheel does is create training wheels for dumb GMs.
Bankz - I was always against the wheel during my time as GM in the past. I would say my reaction to it is mixed. On one hand I find trading picks to be easier because of the known. I also see that you can attempt to maneuver assets to load picks in a two year window to load up on a run. The downside is the wait for the premium picks to start rolling in. Some GMs really didn't have elite picks in this first 5 year window and it's a long time to wait for a good window to appear for those GMs. I also have big issues with the Wheel if the replacement/contracting of teams in a full league goes down as currently set up. I'm fine with the wheel I wouldn't advocate for it's removal but I'm still in the trust but verify stage of my relationship with it.
Yawn - I loved the wheel in 4.0. I loved the idea of it. I'm kinda sad knowing I won't have 1.1 again for a bajillion years unless I make a trade. That said oh my god did I despise the Lotto. I'm cool with the wheel. I'm interested to see how it plays into how willing GMs are to make trades when they know what their pick is years down the line.
Sapular - As I think about the wheel, while it does go round and round, much like the wheels on the bus I am slowing becoming a fan of it. I think it does a great job of preventing tanking. There is little incentive to tank other than waiver order and a few extra skrouse. I think it also allows teams a good shot to turn a franchise around rather quickly rather than being stuck in hell.
IanBoyd - I've come around on the wheel, it's definitely made the trade market more active for people that are active, gone are the days of moving a super star for 6 picks that look like a monster haul that turn out to be worthless. One of the concerns I had before was that people would just hoard their good players since tanking being gone removed any incentive to gut your own team and stagnate the trade market but that hasn't been the case at all, now guys are just still trading players but more for individual picks that are more of equal value to the players they're moving.
Dirt - I think the wheel makes GMs make decisions and have to stick to them. If you want to sell it all you can because your giving away good picks, but it's going to be awhile before you get some good picks again. The days of trading for your pick backs and tanking is gone. I think that is a key factor in making decisions as a GM. I personally like tanking but i also enjoy being able to trade my top ten picks down the road to finish out my roster. It's going to suck when my players get old and retire and i have to wait on my picks. Once that comes maybe i will have a decision if i like the wheel or not.
Druce - I still hate the wheel and imagine I always will. It’s obviously much more balanced than it was in 5.0 because it’s full, but I don’t like the idea of good teams being able to be infused with young talent without giving anything up. I think it makes it easier for good teams to stay good and harder for bad teams to get good.
20’s - The wheel is great. I always wanted to try a league with the wheel when I was in TMBSL before so I am excited to be using it now. I hated tanking as an option because it is too easy and mediocre GMs were way too prideful in their ability to "tank well" and it really annoyed me when people would brag about how bad they were/how much they were losing. Anyone can do that. An annoying byproduct was how cheap contenders were able to get pieces that would help them because teams would be trying to sell off anyone good so they could completely bottom out as much as possible.
Majic - I have long been a detractor of the wheel, but as Soup mentioned it is what it is at this point. Overall I am very curious to see how it plays out in a full league. I think the dynamics of having 12-15 active GM’s compared to 25+ is going to change things quite a bit. Obviously you will wait a little longer for higher draft picks but also there will be less talent. It was mentioned in shout that you likely need 2-2.5 All-Star players to compete. Right now there likely isn't that many players to go around, so seeing how teams with 1 all star navigate the market will be interesting. The trade market has already been extremely active so hopefully that continues as everyone settle into all the new league dynamics.
5. We have almost gone through a full season and are starting our first traditional draft with some changes and some controversies. What are some of your early thoughts on the changes and controversies? What do you like the most? What do you like the least? Do you see anything major rules being changed or added by year 5?
skrouse - I think we need to get some clarity on a few rules, like the whole scouting debacle. I also think GMs need to be a bit more flexible and understanding when it comes to eric's decisions. He won't veto a trade lightly, he puts thought into it and generally has a good reason for his actions. That said, there are other ways to handle rules you don't like besides pouting about it and being upset that you didn't get your way. I am glad most of these questions/issues have resulted in a discussion thread with thoughts and votes, that is the best way to handle things. As far was what I like the most and least, I can't think of a specific rule change I am super happy about, I am glad we're increasing the Casino limits, that was what I was most upset about especially since the over/under bets were included in that.
Soup - vague question is vague. I think scouting as a whole is broken. Being able to see every attribute of a draft prospect is just dumb as fuck in my opinion. I guess that's just the pussification of the league in its current state. This league was better when there wasn't full transparency. Now that the software has been broken down by Eric it seems like the league was taken in a similar direction with transparency in everything.
The controversies are great as long as they don't get too personal. The bickering is fun and helps pass the time but when the line is crossed it really changes the dynamic of it. Calling someone a racial slur or wishing somones kids would have depression because of bickering in a sim league doesn't have that same feel. We've probably all been guilty of crossing the line at some point but I do hope we can all agree that this is sim. This isn't real life. Love each other, no exceptions.
As far as wait times for changes to take effect. I imagine some of our grandchildren may eventually see these changes.
Bankz - I find the entire process about making changes beyond fucking stupid. Go set up a thread... go make a poll... go fuck yourself. I don't believe Eric really listens to the league. I think its clear he picks and chooses what he likes of the suggestions and implements what he wants vs the grand scope of the change. It's in his power to do so because he's a generally liked commish and nobody is going to tell him to fuck off and replace him. I will say its lowered my view on eric and been beyond frustrating to deal with him on changes. As for what he put in place it seems like small steps forward and given what i've learned thus far of Eric that might be the best we get.
Yawn - I've been away so I'm going to assume a whole bunch of people are annoyed about stupid shit. I assume Heebs is leading one side. Maybe Soup on the other? Am I right? Honestly I have no idea. Sim needs its own twitterverse for the drama.
Sapular - I do not have much to add other than I feel that scouting needs an overhaul. I have a few thoughts on it. Number one is I don’t trust anyone enough to give me accurate info (point to heebs). I am curious to know more about this summit that people have spoken of. Now I do also like the ability to invest if you have a high pick and see what you are truly getting.
IanBoyd - I'm mostly pretty happy with the changes that have taken place since I've last GM'd, the controversies we've had so far just mostly boils down to people not backing down over childish reasons but nothing too major in the grand scheme of things.
Dirt - I think with the GMs we have in the league, rules will be changed. I don't mind the draft knowing all the scouts but I'm' also not a huge fan of scouting in general. I do like the luck factor when drafting 1.1. I also think the potential grade should reflect true potential. (it might already be that way idk). I liked ank's idea of bringing back the summit instead of having scouts. I don't know maybe just have graded stats per cat instead of knowing each individual number. It makes it a lot easier to draft the right guy and not letting the good one's fall through the cracks. With scouting those with pick 7 will never get a shot to grab a stud and that kind of stinks.
Druce - As with most controversies that take place in sim league, this one is rooted in hard headedness. Everyone in the league whether sooner or later is faced with a situation where they can dig their heels in or swallow their pride and just move on. Certain personalities will dig their heels in more often than not (myself, soup, heebs) and other people are more willing to just let shit go. It just so happens our first couple controversies have involved two people that dig their heels in because they’re annoyed etc. I get it, I do it all the time. Like when I wanted to upgrade Demar DeRozan who was on my minor league team and I didn’t put the minor league team name because I didn’t know we were supposed to (even though it’s right in the user profile thing when you post) and I got fined and didn’t get the upgrade. As far as the changes, I think the whole trading of scouting change is completely unnecessary, period. I think we need to change how we remove inactive people from the league moving forward, at least when there is a waiting list. I don’t particularly see any counter to this thought that is based is logic.
20’s - I mean, almost everything seems like a change to me being out of the GM game so long. I like a lot of the new stuff, overall the league seems great. I like all the new stats pages and all the other custom stuff eric brings to the GMs with every sim. That used to be article content that we would rarely or occasionally get, it's great that it's just standard at this point.
I also really like how bigs are viable scorers once again. I like that the league seems balanced across the positions. I like that most players and teams have weaknesses. I like how there are different builds and not every team looks the same.
As far as the controversies, I am kind of tired of talking about them at this point. I wish eric would be a little more flexible some of the time, I wish the people wronged would handle it a little better some of the time. Oh well.
As far as rule changes, I really hope we look at the process for getting rid of inactive GMs and how we decide who gets open spots first. That one seems obvious.
Majic - I have a few thoughts on this topic overall, but the first thing I want to say is that eric has been extremely consistent so far in 6.0 to how he was in 5.0. I will be the first to admit that we had a number of disagreements and I got angry on a few occasions, but this is just how eric is. Fighting with him will get you nowhere, instead you will be far more successful if you can engage in a conversation and propose true changes. As for some of the recent controversies, I think soup was ultimately wrong but I don’t see a reason eric couldn't let it pass this one time. Soup interpreted the rule wrong but still made an attempt to do the right thing. As for the Scouting situation, I personally think nothing is wrong with the scouting situation however I think we need to go back to our 5.0 trade rules. Adding eric to the mix and having him determine “fair value” seems wrong and time consuming. As for scouting, with wheel I think it's extremely important for teams to not have a draft bust, thus I think it's extremely important we have a good form of scouting. Regular lottery you can miss on a top pick and be right back there the next year to try again. In wheel you are potentially waiting a long time to get another top 3 pick, that's hard for a team to deal with.
This ended up being the longest RT I have ever done so I thought it best to break it up into 2 parts.
Some might say this is the BIGGEST AND BEST Round Table they have ever seen, some have said that.
And here... we.. go...
1. Now that the creation draft is over and we are deep into the first season, what was your approach/strategy and how do you think it went? For Sapular, what stuck out to you the most when observing the draft and teams strategies?
skrouse - I'm going for it, have been trying to move my 2 top 10 future picks to plug holes in my squad for some time and I think I finally have done that. I didn't sell out on short term success though, Wrenn and Cota are rookies and Peppers is 24 with only 4 yrs of experience. The rest is a mix, I'll lose some guys, but not everyone. I do what I can to reload next year and we'll see what happens from there.
Soup - when I saw I was picking at 22 and that my first good draft pick was 3 years out, my strategy was to do more or less what Ward and Tim are doing right now. Power down, collect assets, build in FA and with the 3rd pick in the Durant/Oden/Conley/Horford draft. Once my pick came up and Moala was still there my plan immediately changed. Moala stuck out to be a different kind of player and those typically have success early on in creation leagues. He seemed to do well stats wise in the tested sims, and although he's 33, I thought he could be someone I could build around and re-tool come the 3003 draft. I was able to add some pieces in Kurland and Ramunas, whom at the time looked like they were going to be really good players. Where I really missed out is my PG Aaron Craft pick. I think he could still be a good player but I don't think he fits with what I'm doing schematically right now. Going into the season I thought I would be a distant 3rd best team in the west behind Druce and Dirt. Once preseason hit, it looked like I was a little closer than I was expecting, so I decided to make a move for Theo Papalock and in the process trading that coveted 1.3 in 3003. I did the move because I feel it vaulted me into the top spot in the west, but that still remains to be seen. I'm certainly in contention and feel like this core has 2-3 more years of strong play left together.
Bankz - I had a couple of early picks in the 3001 and 3002 draft. So with being unfamiliar with grades and the system in place I felt like moving out of the fist few rounds of creation would be wise. Stock up on more future draft capital to improve my stock in other drafts. In the later rounds I wanted to focus on high potential guys who could be developed by the time my rookies got on roster. I also wanted to snag the occasional vet who could be flipped in the first season. I was happy with my return in draft capital but none of the high potential players I drafted showed much life. That was super disappointing and the couple of older gents I took didn't produce as I wanted either and the value wasn't as strong. Looking back I my game plan was good and I likely wouldn't have changed it given how the wheel set up. My fear of drafting the creations prospects did catch up to me as I expected and basically every pick was a whiff.
Yawn - I wasn't interested in acquiring a lot of contracts. I knew I had 1.1 so I wasn't desperate to move up to compete now. I felt ok trading back to get some bucks as there weren't a lot of fellows I was enamored with. In terms of player I was looking at higher efficiency guys, especially as we got to the end. Rebounding and efficiency were things I looked at more than grades. I don't give a shit about grade vanity if the dude isn't going to shoot more than 40 percent and still score less than 8 ppg.
Sapular - While watching Shout I found it very interesting to see how people prepare for the draft. Some are really looking for specific attributes. I will say that picking your brain along with Druce has helped me see what, why and how people view certain things. I will also say, while this heebs and Eric nonsense is going on it really has made me think about scouting and I am almost going to give you credit but I can't do it so I will just end my thought there.
IanBoyd - I had a low pick in creation and pick 1.23, 1.12 and 1.11 in the 3 drafts that we were allowed to trade picks for so right off the bat I knew I was not going to be in a position to compete in the first few seasons. So I traded down a few spots and picked guys in the 2nd/3rd round that I thought had the best chance of being a valuable trade piece, guys like slightly older players that could be good in the short term that I could flip to a contender (Greek Ian) or d/r bigs that might warrant some interest (didn't pan out) as opposed to taking mediocre versions of the elite talent that went in the first round. I was able to trade Greek Ian for a top 10 pick and moved a few other contracts to free up enough cap space to offer a max this offseason so all in all it went okay. Short term wise my team won't be in contention for the next 4-5 years unless I get lucky in FA and decide to change course but long term wise my plans hinge on the #1 pick in the 04 draft.
Dirt - My strategy was to be competitive early. I wanted to make as many moves as i could to be the best i could possibly be. Espcially the 1st two seasons of the league. I wanted to check out some drafts see what type of talent the league was going to have and go from there. My biggest goal was to find a top 5 player in the league and trade my 1.2 in 03 for him. After the dust settled i felt i had a top 5 team but not the best. I decided to to trade my best player and re-tool. I have an old roster right now and i'm hoping i can get a title in the next two years. I think for what goal i had in mind a couple weeks ago I've done a pretty good job executing it.
Druce - Well I think my strategy was pretty clear. I wanted to get the most talented roster I could aged relatively close together so that I had a core for a good amount of time. Contract length was also important. I tried to grab guys who I thought were an upgrade away from elite first (Cooke, Capel) then Jarvis and Joshua fell into my lap. I was honestly shocked that Joshua Smith was still around when I picked him. I had tried to move up to go get him a few times. We also share a first name so we are bonded. I knew Retin would probably need a year or two and some upgrades so I grabbed an aging PG to be my starter for the time being. Turns out he’s made of glass but that’s ok. I think the results speak for themselves. I really like where my team is at both now and for the next few years. We’ll see what happens to Jarvis in TC, but he was worth the gamble if for this year alone. I’m not the type to sit back and wait for shit to happen, so it shouldn’t be surprising that I didn’t sit around and wait for the draft to come to me.
20’s - My draft strategy was to try to build a somewhat competitive team while not giving up any of my future assets. I adopted this strategy because I didn't have a great read on the file/league at the outset and thought I would rather use my assets to trade for guys who I had already seen play and put up numbers instead of just creation picks where I could maybe select someone who would be good.
I didn't look at the draft file until I was on the clock at 1.16 and it was kind of overwhelming initially. There wasn't anyone standing out as someone I needed to select when I first looked and I already had multiple offers for the pick. Odin was offering 1.24, 2.6 and 6.2 for the pick (as well as a couple future 2nds) so I decided to take that offer. That trade was fine, I took Chief and Diebler with 1.24 and 2.6 who are my best two players by far. Odin landed Mitchell at 1.16 who is a great PG.
As far as my draft strategy, I was very stats focused and wanted guys who were at least B or better in multiple stat categories. I ended up leaning a little harder on the defensive stats as it was hard for me to draft many of the elite scorers with my positions in the draft. I also had to make sure I didn't draft too many long term contracts so I would have cap space to resign Chief Kickingstallionsims after the first season. I think I did okay executing my strategy, some of my picks were great, some were not, but I did follow my original plan. I left the draft not having traded any future picks and had a team I thought could compete for a bottom tier playoff spot right away. I currently sit as the 8 seed in the East (although with Chief out, I could see the Heat passing me in the last two sims).
Majic - My strategy and approach changed very quickly once we got past the first several picks. Very quickly I could see that a number of other GM’s were going to be quite aggressive and try to build an immediate contender. Once I saw that happening I was less inclined to really “go for it” and instead decided to take the wait and see approach. I also expected there to be a learning curve for the league over the first couple seasons. Once I made the choice to take a slower building approach I wasn't really concerned with the creation draft at that point. Then, once we moved into the first several sims of the first season it was apparent my team was terrible and I needed to start shedding salary quickly. Now that I have a high draft pick and cap space I am excited to start building for the future.
2. Besides your own, whose draft and/or strategy do you like the most? Whose draft/strategy do you dislike the most? Why?
skrouse - Dirt did a great job early, he was the first to strike a big deal to get back into the 1st round and did a great job. He drafted well and continues to position himself well. Boomslick, the Pelican's are bottom of the East and haven't made any moves nor have they upgraded anyone to find their hidden gems, it's a shame.
Soup - I like the guys that pushed in early and grabbed guys that would help them compete for titles this season. The Clippers, Grizzlies, and Bobcats in particular. This league is all about titles in my opinion so any successful strategy you can put in motion to lead to that will get a thumbs up from me. What will be interesting to see is if the GMs of the group that went all in will think it was all worth it if they're not able to pull out a title? Here recently I've liked that someone else in the east has finally grown some balls and made a move to challenge the west. Good job Skrouse.
On the other end, I feel like the 76ers had a really bad creation draft. That's not all his fault though. The new guys coming back had no idea what the value of creation draft picks would be and it seems Bankz moved his first 3 picks for pennies on the dollar. Hopefully he's able to turn it around starting out with this draft pick coming up.
Bankz - Odin went super high risk with his approach. I don't hate it. If he doesn't win the title this year he's got it all riding on FA re-signs and that makes it very dangerous. Untimely I believe he brings his guys back because he took the time to set up the roster to do so and I don't expect a ton of FA movement. Dirt did a fantastic job of buying early at a lower value before GMs started to see the lack of depth in the draft and thus raising the price on 2nd and even 3rd round picks. I don't dislike any approach because I'm in the boat of not knowing what is really going on with Sim so even the GMs who just stood pat made no deals and just selected seemed fair in the end.
Yawn - I thought Dirt played the draft really well. I generally like the way he runs his teams. Delap moved around a lot and I think it worked.
On the flip side. I think if anyone but Odin was going so all-in I would be concerned about their long term prospects. I know Odin wheels and deals and I think he'll be ok. In general I like least the teams that just stood pat and drafted long term contracts on their team. Those 4 year 3.5 mill per year contracts are gross when the dude is getting you less than 5 points at low efficiency.
Sapular - Heebs brought up something interesting about how waiting on the pick is an advantage to him. I really don’t think that is the case. It seems the whole league knows that the 2 best players in the draft are Drexler and Ellis. So holding 1.1 means you are going to pick one of them. At the end of the day they cannot be that much different so I am not sure what advantage you gain by holding off.
IanBoyd - I think the top 3 teams of both conferences all had pretty good drafts and were made to make the moves necessary to maximize their window. There were a bunch of teams that didn't draft well but I think most of the active GMs made at least enough moves to the point where you could see they have a long term plan in place.
Dirt - I feel like alot of people did the same thing I did. Most of the teams that are top 6 in the league don't have alot of draft stock left. I may have the best pick out of them all with a 1.5 in next year's 3002 draft. I really don't know why skrouse gave away his last good pick for such an old expiring player. I think the top 6 will be the top 6 for a couple years. Depending on FA we may have 1 or 2 teams fall, also depending on TCs and retired players may have some teams shake up. The one good thing about skourse is he has a couple of good young players with multi year contracts. That should help him stay a contender for longer than someone like me who is pretty dang old.
I probably dislike the GMs that aren't active the most. They are sitting at 500 with no trades and just wasting all of our time. These tanking teams will be interesting after our first rookie TC. We can get a glimpse of how good the new crop of players will be. It might have been the best strategy if these rookies come in really good. Time will tell who made the right decision.
Druce - The way I see it, the creation draft shapes literally every move you make thereafter in the league, and having a good start is a way to jump start your franchise. I understand why some guys punted the draft and got picks, and for a few I’m sure it’ll work out well. That being said I like the strategy of the guys who did similar things to me: Dirt, Soup, Odin, Skrouse. Get busy winning or get busy punting until you have good picks etc.
20’s - I actually like the strategy of everyone who kind of pushed all in the most. It seems to have worked well and paid off for pretty much everyone. Dirt, Druce, odin all have very strong teams and a good chance to win a title. I wish I had done something similar. They were able to land 1st and 2nd round creation draft picks for cheaper than what you are seeing people pay for the equivalent players in season now.
I don't know whose I dislike the most. I guess you could say those who sold all their picks for future assets and just kept moving back, but not because I don't think it is a strategy that can succeed, just because it would be boring for me out of the gates so I wouldn't really want to use it myself. Teams like the Warriors, Bucks, 76ers, Sonics didn't pick until round 3 at the earliest if I remember correctly and we are seeing the results of that with their relative lack of success this season (Sonics are a playoff team so they don't really apply). I think all those guys will do well, I just probably didn't have the patience to go for that strategy right off the bat.
Majic - At the moment I hated the aggressive teams and didn't think it was a good approach, but looking at the first season I can respect it better. I think Odin, Druce and Soup all had successful drafts and first seasons and they were easily the most aggressive. I also like what Dirt has done, building a solid team while also having some future draft capital to work with. Skrouse has been aggressive as well, just hope he has enough talent to pull out a title. I also like what the Stags did, Troy has a ton of draft capital over the next couple years to build a team.
As for the team's strategy I didn't like, Bankz doesn't have much proven talent but he does have some draft capital. Hopefully he can turn that into something. Otherwise, the biggest disappointment so far has been the non-existent GM’s. Not much more to say about them but I would love to get some new GM’s in place of those guys.
3. Which player fell further than you expected? Who was drafted way earlier than you expected? Or, any major surprises from the draft that stuck out to you?
Skrouse - I'm trying to recall, looking at the draft now I do recall seeing Larry Brown almost making it back to me and I was really hoping to get him late in round 2, outside of that I'm not sure. I also recall being confused when Mike took Calipari so early, it seemed to be purely a name based pick. I can't think of any other major surprises, people seemed to have good reason for most of the picks that truly mattered in the first three rounds.
Soup - A lot of the old dudes fell farther than I thought they were. I realize they're not ideal for building your franchise around but there was a lot of talent passed on strictly to age. Belov at 18, Schmidt at 20, Moala at 22, Pee Wee at 23, Hines at 26 all in the first round alone. Then you had players like Greek Ian, Drazen, Papalok and Kurland picked in the 2nd.
The only picks that jumped out to me in the first round as way early were Raymond Lewis, Jon Davis and John Calipari. Anyone of those picks could have had almost any of the players in the paragraph before. That has to sting a little.
Bankz - I think most of the draft was a surprise to me. Druce took a bunch of guys I looked at as meh and they are really good players. Soup's rookie phenom was amazing value. I honestly didn't have a great gauge of what a good set of grades was/is. So it's hard to answer this question as a Monday morning QB because it wouldn't be fair to the guys who did poorly.
Yawn - Sharrar wasn't on the first list I sent to Troy Barnes. Kennedy Meeks was one of the players on my list. Thank goodness I switched gears. That's a real sliding door moment. I thought Gates was fine, but was surprised he went that high. I admit I actually looked at Kemp with some heart emojis in my eyes. Whew.
Drafting Gary Payton in 2.0 has scarred me a good bit and I wanted more than anything to get off to a good start for this sim. I think it sets the tone for me and my participation. I can switch off a lot and not be involved but I wanted to set down a marker for my GM-ship with this season.
Sapular - Well since heebs has not picked and technically does not have to, it is hard to say how the draft played out because as I type this the draft has not happened. Now I may come back and amend my statement after the draft. I am curious how teams such as yours will be attacking the draft and FA. Your team seems to be a crossroads. They are young and ok, can a solid draft and good FA help? Ordo those with the D potential stay true to who they really are “They are who we thought they were”
IanBoyd - Outside of the top 3-5 obvious picks like Bojan, Estes, Gathers, Riva etc I didn't pay much attention the rest of the way but I hated both the John Calipari pick from the Bulls and the Jon Davis pick from the Kings.
Dirt - Nash, Peppers, Papadoc, Smith, Drazen, Lang were all great 2nd round selections. I wasn't expecting such amazing players in the 2nd round. I thought the creation draft would definitely be front loaded but I was wrong. There were plenty of good players after the first to help a team win a title. I think it will be interesting to see what the young F potential guys do like Lang. I also think the greats that are A potential might just rule the league for a while. After seeing how many A potential studs in the creation and then scouting this draft...A pot is in low supply.
Druce - As previously mentioned, Joshua Smith fell way further than I thought he would. John Calipari went way higher than expected. I also figured the PG delap got (belov? I forget his name) would go higher. If I’m being completely honest I had a list of guys I was trying to get and outside of that I didn’t pay attention to when other players went, as the more that weren’t on my list that went the greater the chance guys I wanted fell see: Lang, Jarvis, Smith, Joshua.
20’s - Higher than expected: Sergio Llull, John Calipari, Irwin Dambrot, Chase Harler, Retin Obasohan, Shawn Witherspoon, Przemek Karnowski
Lower than expected: Sergei Belov, Kyle Hines, Bob Kurland, Joshua Smith, Drazen Dalipagic, Pierluigi Marzorati
Other than guys going a little earlier or later than I expected, nothing huge stuck out as a surprise. I think no one knew for sure what any of these guys were so it was hard to know what to expect, but I was just surprised by some of the guys with relatively weak stats going above guys who had produced more and were still available.
Majic - Honestly the draft was a lot harder to follow than I anticipated. I had gone through one of these before but that didn't help this time around. There was ALOT of information to sort through and overall a lot of guys went in spots I did not anticipate. The older guys really seemed to fall, I expected a couple to fall but it really seemed like most GM’s were looking to go young, myself included. For me personally, I probably should have paid better attention to potential on those younger guys. As for the worst pick. The Calipari pick looked bad in the moment and looks worse now. I also think my second round selection was brutal, but you live and you learn.
4. There have been a lot of new changes made since the early parts 5.0, the biggest being the wheel. For newer GM’s what are your thoughts on the wheel? For existing GM’s, any early observations on the wheel when factoring in a full league? For Sapular, any early thoughts as an outsider on the wheel and how it functions?
skrouse - I think just last night Ian said he was coming around to the Wheel, Soup mentioned it was easier to make trades for players because you didn't have to move 5 picks for a star. I think the league is more active throughout the season and just better all around with Wheel. Trades during Creation were doubled from 5.0, and were already at 80 trades before the season one trade deadline. I think the Wheel is great and showing it why.
Soup - I've been on record with my thoughts on the wheel. It is what it is at this point. Wheel or not, I think good GMs will be good GMS. All the wheel does is create training wheels for dumb GMs.
Bankz - I was always against the wheel during my time as GM in the past. I would say my reaction to it is mixed. On one hand I find trading picks to be easier because of the known. I also see that you can attempt to maneuver assets to load picks in a two year window to load up on a run. The downside is the wait for the premium picks to start rolling in. Some GMs really didn't have elite picks in this first 5 year window and it's a long time to wait for a good window to appear for those GMs. I also have big issues with the Wheel if the replacement/contracting of teams in a full league goes down as currently set up. I'm fine with the wheel I wouldn't advocate for it's removal but I'm still in the trust but verify stage of my relationship with it.
Yawn - I loved the wheel in 4.0. I loved the idea of it. I'm kinda sad knowing I won't have 1.1 again for a bajillion years unless I make a trade. That said oh my god did I despise the Lotto. I'm cool with the wheel. I'm interested to see how it plays into how willing GMs are to make trades when they know what their pick is years down the line.
Sapular - As I think about the wheel, while it does go round and round, much like the wheels on the bus I am slowing becoming a fan of it. I think it does a great job of preventing tanking. There is little incentive to tank other than waiver order and a few extra skrouse. I think it also allows teams a good shot to turn a franchise around rather quickly rather than being stuck in hell.
IanBoyd - I've come around on the wheel, it's definitely made the trade market more active for people that are active, gone are the days of moving a super star for 6 picks that look like a monster haul that turn out to be worthless. One of the concerns I had before was that people would just hoard their good players since tanking being gone removed any incentive to gut your own team and stagnate the trade market but that hasn't been the case at all, now guys are just still trading players but more for individual picks that are more of equal value to the players they're moving.
Dirt - I think the wheel makes GMs make decisions and have to stick to them. If you want to sell it all you can because your giving away good picks, but it's going to be awhile before you get some good picks again. The days of trading for your pick backs and tanking is gone. I think that is a key factor in making decisions as a GM. I personally like tanking but i also enjoy being able to trade my top ten picks down the road to finish out my roster. It's going to suck when my players get old and retire and i have to wait on my picks. Once that comes maybe i will have a decision if i like the wheel or not.
Druce - I still hate the wheel and imagine I always will. It’s obviously much more balanced than it was in 5.0 because it’s full, but I don’t like the idea of good teams being able to be infused with young talent without giving anything up. I think it makes it easier for good teams to stay good and harder for bad teams to get good.
20’s - The wheel is great. I always wanted to try a league with the wheel when I was in TMBSL before so I am excited to be using it now. I hated tanking as an option because it is too easy and mediocre GMs were way too prideful in their ability to "tank well" and it really annoyed me when people would brag about how bad they were/how much they were losing. Anyone can do that. An annoying byproduct was how cheap contenders were able to get pieces that would help them because teams would be trying to sell off anyone good so they could completely bottom out as much as possible.
Majic - I have long been a detractor of the wheel, but as Soup mentioned it is what it is at this point. Overall I am very curious to see how it plays out in a full league. I think the dynamics of having 12-15 active GM’s compared to 25+ is going to change things quite a bit. Obviously you will wait a little longer for higher draft picks but also there will be less talent. It was mentioned in shout that you likely need 2-2.5 All-Star players to compete. Right now there likely isn't that many players to go around, so seeing how teams with 1 all star navigate the market will be interesting. The trade market has already been extremely active so hopefully that continues as everyone settle into all the new league dynamics.
5. We have almost gone through a full season and are starting our first traditional draft with some changes and some controversies. What are some of your early thoughts on the changes and controversies? What do you like the most? What do you like the least? Do you see anything major rules being changed or added by year 5?
skrouse - I think we need to get some clarity on a few rules, like the whole scouting debacle. I also think GMs need to be a bit more flexible and understanding when it comes to eric's decisions. He won't veto a trade lightly, he puts thought into it and generally has a good reason for his actions. That said, there are other ways to handle rules you don't like besides pouting about it and being upset that you didn't get your way. I am glad most of these questions/issues have resulted in a discussion thread with thoughts and votes, that is the best way to handle things. As far was what I like the most and least, I can't think of a specific rule change I am super happy about, I am glad we're increasing the Casino limits, that was what I was most upset about especially since the over/under bets were included in that.
Soup - vague question is vague. I think scouting as a whole is broken. Being able to see every attribute of a draft prospect is just dumb as fuck in my opinion. I guess that's just the pussification of the league in its current state. This league was better when there wasn't full transparency. Now that the software has been broken down by Eric it seems like the league was taken in a similar direction with transparency in everything.
The controversies are great as long as they don't get too personal. The bickering is fun and helps pass the time but when the line is crossed it really changes the dynamic of it. Calling someone a racial slur or wishing somones kids would have depression because of bickering in a sim league doesn't have that same feel. We've probably all been guilty of crossing the line at some point but I do hope we can all agree that this is sim. This isn't real life. Love each other, no exceptions.
As far as wait times for changes to take effect. I imagine some of our grandchildren may eventually see these changes.
Bankz - I find the entire process about making changes beyond fucking stupid. Go set up a thread... go make a poll... go fuck yourself. I don't believe Eric really listens to the league. I think its clear he picks and chooses what he likes of the suggestions and implements what he wants vs the grand scope of the change. It's in his power to do so because he's a generally liked commish and nobody is going to tell him to fuck off and replace him. I will say its lowered my view on eric and been beyond frustrating to deal with him on changes. As for what he put in place it seems like small steps forward and given what i've learned thus far of Eric that might be the best we get.
Yawn - I've been away so I'm going to assume a whole bunch of people are annoyed about stupid shit. I assume Heebs is leading one side. Maybe Soup on the other? Am I right? Honestly I have no idea. Sim needs its own twitterverse for the drama.
Sapular - I do not have much to add other than I feel that scouting needs an overhaul. I have a few thoughts on it. Number one is I don’t trust anyone enough to give me accurate info (point to heebs). I am curious to know more about this summit that people have spoken of. Now I do also like the ability to invest if you have a high pick and see what you are truly getting.
IanBoyd - I'm mostly pretty happy with the changes that have taken place since I've last GM'd, the controversies we've had so far just mostly boils down to people not backing down over childish reasons but nothing too major in the grand scheme of things.
Dirt - I think with the GMs we have in the league, rules will be changed. I don't mind the draft knowing all the scouts but I'm' also not a huge fan of scouting in general. I do like the luck factor when drafting 1.1. I also think the potential grade should reflect true potential. (it might already be that way idk). I liked ank's idea of bringing back the summit instead of having scouts. I don't know maybe just have graded stats per cat instead of knowing each individual number. It makes it a lot easier to draft the right guy and not letting the good one's fall through the cracks. With scouting those with pick 7 will never get a shot to grab a stud and that kind of stinks.
Druce - As with most controversies that take place in sim league, this one is rooted in hard headedness. Everyone in the league whether sooner or later is faced with a situation where they can dig their heels in or swallow their pride and just move on. Certain personalities will dig their heels in more often than not (myself, soup, heebs) and other people are more willing to just let shit go. It just so happens our first couple controversies have involved two people that dig their heels in because they’re annoyed etc. I get it, I do it all the time. Like when I wanted to upgrade Demar DeRozan who was on my minor league team and I didn’t put the minor league team name because I didn’t know we were supposed to (even though it’s right in the user profile thing when you post) and I got fined and didn’t get the upgrade. As far as the changes, I think the whole trading of scouting change is completely unnecessary, period. I think we need to change how we remove inactive people from the league moving forward, at least when there is a waiting list. I don’t particularly see any counter to this thought that is based is logic.
20’s - I mean, almost everything seems like a change to me being out of the GM game so long. I like a lot of the new stuff, overall the league seems great. I like all the new stats pages and all the other custom stuff eric brings to the GMs with every sim. That used to be article content that we would rarely or occasionally get, it's great that it's just standard at this point.
I also really like how bigs are viable scorers once again. I like that the league seems balanced across the positions. I like that most players and teams have weaknesses. I like how there are different builds and not every team looks the same.
As far as the controversies, I am kind of tired of talking about them at this point. I wish eric would be a little more flexible some of the time, I wish the people wronged would handle it a little better some of the time. Oh well.
As far as rule changes, I really hope we look at the process for getting rid of inactive GMs and how we decide who gets open spots first. That one seems obvious.
Majic - I have a few thoughts on this topic overall, but the first thing I want to say is that eric has been extremely consistent so far in 6.0 to how he was in 5.0. I will be the first to admit that we had a number of disagreements and I got angry on a few occasions, but this is just how eric is. Fighting with him will get you nowhere, instead you will be far more successful if you can engage in a conversation and propose true changes. As for some of the recent controversies, I think soup was ultimately wrong but I don’t see a reason eric couldn't let it pass this one time. Soup interpreted the rule wrong but still made an attempt to do the right thing. As for the Scouting situation, I personally think nothing is wrong with the scouting situation however I think we need to go back to our 5.0 trade rules. Adding eric to the mix and having him determine “fair value” seems wrong and time consuming. As for scouting, with wheel I think it's extremely important for teams to not have a draft bust, thus I think it's extremely important we have a good form of scouting. Regular lottery you can miss on a top pick and be right back there the next year to try again. In wheel you are potentially waiting a long time to get another top 3 pick, that's hard for a team to deal with.
