1-on-1 w/ Repole

1. Your team seems to be a top 3 team and you still have a ton of assets to trade. What is your plan this offseason?
-I'm in wait and see mode. I'll continue forward with this current roster until someone is available that fits my roster well. I'm going to be patient with this roster, because if I play this right, I'll be able to contend for a long, long time instead of having a nice two to four year run like most contenders do.

2. Do you think Terry Tyler is the reason your team is doing so well? Would you be this good if you had kept Marvin Barnes?
-Tyler's been absolutely huge. Barnes would have had a similar impact, but I don't know that he'd of fit quite as well. I don't really value Barnes' volume scoring as he's not especially efficient. Defensively I prefer Tyler a bit, particularly at SF where he's better with steals than Barnes would be. The big advantage Barnes has is on the glass, but I think that only mildly outweighs the disadvantage his turnovers represent. All in all, I don't think we'd be a whole lot different with Barnes instead of Tyler, and being able to get a younger, cheaper option and three future firsts on the side made it a no brainier for me.

3. What is your favorite move you've made since rebuilding? Why?
-Hmph, good question. I think I'd have to go with the deal I made with the Grizzlies to send him his four picks back in return for his next lotto and next top 8 pick. Instead of having to worry about a good GM turning four picks into mid firsts, I ended up with two quality picks that turned into a stellar frontcourt of Mark Eaton and Rick Robey. Other moves I was happy with were picking up Barry and NVL, and I think I got really nice value for Mike Glenn. The only thing I second guess at all is the series of moves that got me Tyler, I basically gave up Cooper+Donaldson+Mokeski for him, and well, that's a lot. But I'd still do it again.

4. Rate yourself in the following catagories... 1) Trading, 2) DC, 3) Free Agency, 4) Drafting
Trading: B+
I tend to overpay for guys I want, but target the right guys. Case in point being Terry Tyler, or way back in the day Vince King. Otherwise I think I do a nice job of getting value.
DC: B
I think I do a good job of playing the right players, but honestly I'm mostly guessing when it comes to different tactics. Lots of trial and error there.
Free Agency: B
Haven't really done much of anything other than land Wil Jones in a while. When I have time I try to identify some potential value guys and get them for cheap, but I haven't really done anything special in that regard.
Drafting: A
Seeing as Spencer had to stop people from sorting on potential because of me, I think I've done a pretty good job. Robey was a great pick at 10 a few seasons ago, Hollis Copeland looks like a major 2nd round steal, Purvis looks like the right pick at 4, one could argue Eaton as the most valuable player from his draft, Glenn obviously worked out at 13, and Sichting looks like a major late 1st steal as well. All in all, even knowing ratings now, there's not much I'd change from these last few drafts. My strategy will obviously have to change some now though.

5. Which GM(s) can you NOT deal with for whatever reason?
There's no one that I simply wouldn't deal with, but the guys I least look forward to working with tend to be:
Marty - Just don't trust that he's serious when negotiating, always wary with him.
GAME - Not wanting his picks back is just bleh. I don't even have them anymore and it still bothers me.
Play - Assume he's only trying to rape, never expect to get anything done. Sometimes he enters talks with the explicit intentions of getting things done though, and when that's the case he's fine.

6. Which team has surprised you the most this season? Who has disappointed you the most?
Surprised: Clippers. I expected them to be good, I didn't expect them to be as good as the Celtics. Haywood in particular has been great. Still don't really expect them to contend though to be honest.
Disappointed: Pretty much all the contract year teams? Greg's been the best of the bunch, and frankly he's par for the course at this point. Outside of that, the Bulls supposedly have all these top 5 players at their respective positions, and yet they're struggling to hit .500. The Wizards are also pretty bleh considering Bingo.

7. If you don't win it all this season, who do you think will? Also, who will be a darkhorse in the playoffs?
-The Blazers should be the favorites at this point, their frontline is just ridiculous. The Celtics will obviously be in the mix as well, but I think the Blazers are a better team, so they're my pick to win it all.
I think the Wizards could make some real noise as a dark horse if they make a few moves and pickup a decent big or two. Bingo/Willie/Meng is an awesome trio, just need to do a better job of surrounding them.

8. Assuming Isiah Thomas goes #1, who are the next 3 to go in this draft and in what order do you think they'll go?
McHale - Looks like he'll be an awesome scorer who rebounds and eventually plays defense.
Kiki - Hard to pass up on a potential #1 option type at the third pick.
Joe Barry Carroll - Great post scorer, though have to be a bit wary that Spencer could have some pent up hate with him never truly living up to his potential in real life and bust him big time.

9. Who are this leagues top 5 most valuable players so far this season?
Bingo - I think he's still the most productive player in the league.
Tree Rollins - Crazy percentages, great defense, great rebounding.
Magic - The rebounding at PG is just so ridiculous. Not a great scorer yet though.
Bird - Awesome scorer, awesome rebounder, he's pretty much carrying Outlawz out of his contract year.
Money - Pretty great all around.

10. Do you think anyone gets CY'd this season? If so who might that be?
The Mavs are probably the most likely, just because there's a good amount of fighting for position from 6-10 in the west,and they have a negative point differential which isn't exactly encouraging. I think they all make it though.

11. What teams do you think need to rebuild?
Timberwolves - This is as good as they're going to be, and it's not very good.
Spurs - They're still ok, but they might want to start thinking about it heading into the offseason with Lanier/White getting older and their issues at PG.
Nets - MRR and McAdoo simply isn't enough. If MRR walks they're in major trouble too.
Bobcats - A lot of mediocrity in their future if they don't do something.

12. Who do you feel is the most underrated player in this league?
-Can I nominate my entire roster
Spencer Haywood is just killing it for the Clippers though, he's been huge. I think people tend to forget how good Lloyd Neal is too. People other than Hype that is.

13. Name the top 3 GM's in the past 5 seasons here... not exactly the best overall.
-Broph's done a great job with the Blazers, really couldn't ask for much more with that roster. I'm sort of struggling after Broph though to be honest because I don't think anyone's done that great of a job. Greeme's been solid, DBW obviously did a nice job of building around Magic but I don't want to give him too much credit for jumping from 8 to 1 in the lotto, Aar's been good but I just can't stomach putting him here after he didn't win with Bingo. Styro's built a really nice core in LA as well, but he hasn't won anything with it. If I have to give an answer, I'll go ahead and include myself and say:
1. me
2. broph
3. dbw

14. Let's talk NBA... do you think the Pacers will match the Blazers max offer on Roy Hibbert? Also what are your thoughts on the Ray Allen to Heat and Steve Nash to Lakers? Will Dwight Howard be traded before the start of the season, if so where?
Hibbert - I think they do, he's really not worth it yet, but you simply can't let him go for nothing at this point.
Allen - Meh, it's the right decision for him, it just sucks. Anywhere other than the Heat or Lakers and I wouldn't have cared, but seeing one of my favorite players on a team I hate is disappointing. Will work out great for Miami tough.
Nash - Just awesome for LA, should be fun to see how much he has the ball in his hands with Kobe on the court. Makes LA more interesting to watch again though for sure.
Dwight - I think so, and I think the best chance for that to happen is within the coming week to the Nets. If that doesn't happen I really don't know what will, but it's getting a bit tiring to follow. Unfortunately he's the reason Gerald Green may have to leave the Nets

15. Finally, Who are you planning on using this AC on?
Either Hollis Copeland's shot blocking that has seemingly magically disappeared or Rick Robey's jumpshot, one of the two.