Post by aar on May 1, 2012 12:53:43 GMT -5
1) Do the Bobcats have a chance to win the East next year?
Jordan: They absolutely have a shot. Too many things can happen that would give them an advantage. If the Magic don't resign Trapp, then the Bobcats may even be the favorite. Nate and Hayes will be more than capable of slowing down the Magic's inside scoring attack. Should UK use the right tactics, they may even be capable of getting Bingo in foul trouble a game or two. Issel should give them a rebounding advantage. Having the better PG is always huge in the playoffs as well. It will be interesting to see who the Bobcats can add as depth in FA. If they get some good pieces, they will be scary.
Aar: I'd give them a 20% chance. I think that they have an intriguing team, but I'm eager to see how it all meshes. They did a great job of collecting assets and not rushing into building a contender until they could absolutely make it happen. Their team is really solid across the board, but the Magic have built an absolute juggernaut, especially with Bingo Smith locked up for the foreseeable future. It would take a ton to get Repole to move him, but we'll get to that later on.
2) Which of the players in this year's draft is the best risk/reward pick?
Jordan: I had not looked at the draft notes until you asked this. At first glance, I would have to go with Alvan Adams. He sounds like the classic big man that goes high in the draft despite not blocking shots or providing much outside of inside scoring. In fact, he also has turnover issues, which will likely result in him being the last selected of the five players that could go #1. I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t go top five either. Having said that, I think this guy could be very good. I don’t think Spence would have given him the label as a potential #1 if that weren’t the case. He will most likely be a player you have to adjust the rest of your roster around, but I think he could be very good in the right circumstances. He could also be completely worthless with the turnover issues, lack of shot blocking, and likely weak midrange since he tends to shoot 3s.
Aar: I'm looking outside of the obvious guys and going with Gus Williams. It strikes me that Spencer will likely make the best player in this draft a guy who gets taken outside of the six guys who could "potentially go #1". Williams will have nice handles and I expect him to shoot high percentages from the field. The note about shooting bad threes is disappointing, but I think that if his A potential is true, he could be a B+ B A- A- D C type.
3) Who is the best power forward in the league? (Must be listed at power forward on the roster page)
Jordan: Bob Lanier and it isn’t even close IMO. He has to be close to leading all PFs in points, rebounds, and blocks per game. I believe he played most of the season at center though. Out of the rest of the players listed at PF, this is a really tough call. I always have trouble picking players on bad teams, but I think Derrek Dickey may be the next best. I struggle to pick a guy like Willie Davis since he is benefitting from play on a wing, but he should definitely be near the top. You could make a case for Bill Cunningham as well. I’d also like to mention Rick Roberson, the guy no one likely knows exists since he is stuck in Utah.
Aar: How about Rick Roberson? He's a prolific scorer, can block a bit and gets steals. he reminds me of Pau Gasol. I'm not sure that he's as good as The Dobber, but he's certainly better than Dickey. He's buried in the Utah wasteland, so not a lot of people know about him.
4) Who is the most overrated player in BBS?
Jordan: I would have said Pete Maravich a week ago. Since no one traded for him, I’m assuming the majority of the league realizes he is just another wing with a big name. With Pistol Pete off the table, I think Dr J may be most overrated player. He shoots average percentages, doesn’t score well given the talent on his team, and turns it over 2.5 times per game. He isn’t as far along in his career as Maravich so there is still some hope. Note: Jordan wrote this before acquiring Dr. J.
Aar: I'm going to go with Austin Carr. Hype could have gotten so much for him over the years and really, he's just a good scorer who is very limited. He's a glorified Cazzie Russell and I'm sick of all of these poor rebounding shooting guards, like the ones in this year's draft and past drafts.
5) Who is the most indispensable GM in the league?
Jordan: I don’t think any one GM quitting would result in the league ending, but I think the two GMs that provide the most for the league are Skillz and Marty. Skillz keeps interest up since he trades so much while Marty trolls enough people to keep them checking the boards.
Aar: Marty. He keeps the league interesting with his offbeat shenanigans. If Marty left, the league would take a significant hit. Although, I will say that him winning a championship absolutely sucks. I loved holding that over his head. I'm sure he's the type of guy who is annoying online, but a great guy to hang out with.
6) If I could build a team to lead the league in any statistical category, which category would it be?
Jordan: Blocked shots. I haven’t kept up on team statistics as I normally do in the last few seasons, but it always obvious the best teams block shots and the worst teams don’t. You can rarely find a team that is near the top of its conference, but not in the top 8 in blocks.
Aar: I'm going to go with points-per-game. If you lead the league in that category, chances are you have the most wins and also the most fun team. I love running very fast offenses and even if you don't have the best blocking, you always end up with a fun team if you have five solid scorers. I'm excited to see what my Walton/Adams frontcourt can do in terms of moving the ball around and spreading the offense in the long-term
7) Who is the best player in the Midwest division right now?
Jordan: Since Memphis did so poorly this year, I think it has to be Walt Hazzard. He has been one of the three best PGs in the league for a very long time. It probably isn’t fair to penalize Dave Bing for being on a worse team, but he surprisingly had a worse season than Hazzard as well. Maybe I have just been overrating Bing all of these years. I will say that after the beatdown Skeeter Swift just put on me in Round 1 he should get some recognition as well.
Aar: I'm going with Earl Monroe. 28 ppg, 6 rpg, 4.5 apg, 1.8 spg, under 2 topg and 50 fg%, 91 ft% and 42 3p% from 3. The guy is an absolute stud. I love Hazzard as well, but nobody talks about Monroe and I'll take him.
8) If Spencer said that he was going to assign you to a new team, which team would you least want it to be?
Jordan: I think it would have to be Phoenix. I hate wasting seasons and the next two will practically be wastes since the team has no shot at competing and no picks to tank with.
Aar: I'm going to go with the Grizzlies. They barely have any of their future picks and Luke Jackson just retired. Now they're stuck with an aging Jerry Lucas, the albatross of Warren Jabali and two solid players in Dave Bing and Jack Marin. It will be really tough to restore order there. Phoenix is also a good choice and I'd also hate to take over the Magic because I wouldn't get any credit for building the team.
9) Who is the worst #1 overall pick since 2030?
Jordan: Probably ML Carr in 2042. It probably isn’t fair to pick him this early in his career, but 13 out of the 15 players it could be are studs. Carr would not have been my choice at #1 in that draft whereas Walton last year might have been. Since Walton has only see one TC, I can’t pick him here even though he may end up being the worst player out of the bunch.
Aar: I'm going with Austin Carr in 2041 for the reasons that I mentioned earlier. He's a solid player, but not well-rounded or a franchise guy. I think that Bill Walton has a chance of being a disappointment as well, as much as I hate to admit it. Carr may actually be the worst first overall pick of the last 20 seasons. It's not that he's a terrible player, he's just not a superstar.
10) If you had Bingo Smith, what sort of offer would you need to consider trading him using current rosters (including projected picks)
Jordan: If I had Bingo, I don’t think there is any chance I would trade him. I would probably need at stud PG that was no older than 25 with something else I liked. Probably a shotblocking big man. Since no young stud PGs exist, I don’t think I would move him. After I looked at all of the rosters, I know I wouldn’t.
Aar: Here's the deal that I take for Bingo. Re-signed Fred Brown, Marvin Webster, Derrek Dickey, Gus Williams and Joe Bryant for Bingo and William Franklin. In other words, Play is at it again folks. Watch your backs.
Jordan: They absolutely have a shot. Too many things can happen that would give them an advantage. If the Magic don't resign Trapp, then the Bobcats may even be the favorite. Nate and Hayes will be more than capable of slowing down the Magic's inside scoring attack. Should UK use the right tactics, they may even be capable of getting Bingo in foul trouble a game or two. Issel should give them a rebounding advantage. Having the better PG is always huge in the playoffs as well. It will be interesting to see who the Bobcats can add as depth in FA. If they get some good pieces, they will be scary.
Aar: I'd give them a 20% chance. I think that they have an intriguing team, but I'm eager to see how it all meshes. They did a great job of collecting assets and not rushing into building a contender until they could absolutely make it happen. Their team is really solid across the board, but the Magic have built an absolute juggernaut, especially with Bingo Smith locked up for the foreseeable future. It would take a ton to get Repole to move him, but we'll get to that later on.
2) Which of the players in this year's draft is the best risk/reward pick?
Jordan: I had not looked at the draft notes until you asked this. At first glance, I would have to go with Alvan Adams. He sounds like the classic big man that goes high in the draft despite not blocking shots or providing much outside of inside scoring. In fact, he also has turnover issues, which will likely result in him being the last selected of the five players that could go #1. I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t go top five either. Having said that, I think this guy could be very good. I don’t think Spence would have given him the label as a potential #1 if that weren’t the case. He will most likely be a player you have to adjust the rest of your roster around, but I think he could be very good in the right circumstances. He could also be completely worthless with the turnover issues, lack of shot blocking, and likely weak midrange since he tends to shoot 3s.
Aar: I'm looking outside of the obvious guys and going with Gus Williams. It strikes me that Spencer will likely make the best player in this draft a guy who gets taken outside of the six guys who could "potentially go #1". Williams will have nice handles and I expect him to shoot high percentages from the field. The note about shooting bad threes is disappointing, but I think that if his A potential is true, he could be a B+ B A- A- D C type.
3) Who is the best power forward in the league? (Must be listed at power forward on the roster page)
Jordan: Bob Lanier and it isn’t even close IMO. He has to be close to leading all PFs in points, rebounds, and blocks per game. I believe he played most of the season at center though. Out of the rest of the players listed at PF, this is a really tough call. I always have trouble picking players on bad teams, but I think Derrek Dickey may be the next best. I struggle to pick a guy like Willie Davis since he is benefitting from play on a wing, but he should definitely be near the top. You could make a case for Bill Cunningham as well. I’d also like to mention Rick Roberson, the guy no one likely knows exists since he is stuck in Utah.
Aar: How about Rick Roberson? He's a prolific scorer, can block a bit and gets steals. he reminds me of Pau Gasol. I'm not sure that he's as good as The Dobber, but he's certainly better than Dickey. He's buried in the Utah wasteland, so not a lot of people know about him.
4) Who is the most overrated player in BBS?
Jordan: I would have said Pete Maravich a week ago. Since no one traded for him, I’m assuming the majority of the league realizes he is just another wing with a big name. With Pistol Pete off the table, I think Dr J may be most overrated player. He shoots average percentages, doesn’t score well given the talent on his team, and turns it over 2.5 times per game. He isn’t as far along in his career as Maravich so there is still some hope. Note: Jordan wrote this before acquiring Dr. J.
Aar: I'm going to go with Austin Carr. Hype could have gotten so much for him over the years and really, he's just a good scorer who is very limited. He's a glorified Cazzie Russell and I'm sick of all of these poor rebounding shooting guards, like the ones in this year's draft and past drafts.
5) Who is the most indispensable GM in the league?
Jordan: I don’t think any one GM quitting would result in the league ending, but I think the two GMs that provide the most for the league are Skillz and Marty. Skillz keeps interest up since he trades so much while Marty trolls enough people to keep them checking the boards.
Aar: Marty. He keeps the league interesting with his offbeat shenanigans. If Marty left, the league would take a significant hit. Although, I will say that him winning a championship absolutely sucks. I loved holding that over his head. I'm sure he's the type of guy who is annoying online, but a great guy to hang out with.
6) If I could build a team to lead the league in any statistical category, which category would it be?
Jordan: Blocked shots. I haven’t kept up on team statistics as I normally do in the last few seasons, but it always obvious the best teams block shots and the worst teams don’t. You can rarely find a team that is near the top of its conference, but not in the top 8 in blocks.
Aar: I'm going to go with points-per-game. If you lead the league in that category, chances are you have the most wins and also the most fun team. I love running very fast offenses and even if you don't have the best blocking, you always end up with a fun team if you have five solid scorers. I'm excited to see what my Walton/Adams frontcourt can do in terms of moving the ball around and spreading the offense in the long-term
7) Who is the best player in the Midwest division right now?
Jordan: Since Memphis did so poorly this year, I think it has to be Walt Hazzard. He has been one of the three best PGs in the league for a very long time. It probably isn’t fair to penalize Dave Bing for being on a worse team, but he surprisingly had a worse season than Hazzard as well. Maybe I have just been overrating Bing all of these years. I will say that after the beatdown Skeeter Swift just put on me in Round 1 he should get some recognition as well.
Aar: I'm going with Earl Monroe. 28 ppg, 6 rpg, 4.5 apg, 1.8 spg, under 2 topg and 50 fg%, 91 ft% and 42 3p% from 3. The guy is an absolute stud. I love Hazzard as well, but nobody talks about Monroe and I'll take him.
8) If Spencer said that he was going to assign you to a new team, which team would you least want it to be?
Jordan: I think it would have to be Phoenix. I hate wasting seasons and the next two will practically be wastes since the team has no shot at competing and no picks to tank with.
Aar: I'm going to go with the Grizzlies. They barely have any of their future picks and Luke Jackson just retired. Now they're stuck with an aging Jerry Lucas, the albatross of Warren Jabali and two solid players in Dave Bing and Jack Marin. It will be really tough to restore order there. Phoenix is also a good choice and I'd also hate to take over the Magic because I wouldn't get any credit for building the team.
9) Who is the worst #1 overall pick since 2030?
Jordan: Probably ML Carr in 2042. It probably isn’t fair to pick him this early in his career, but 13 out of the 15 players it could be are studs. Carr would not have been my choice at #1 in that draft whereas Walton last year might have been. Since Walton has only see one TC, I can’t pick him here even though he may end up being the worst player out of the bunch.
Aar: I'm going with Austin Carr in 2041 for the reasons that I mentioned earlier. He's a solid player, but not well-rounded or a franchise guy. I think that Bill Walton has a chance of being a disappointment as well, as much as I hate to admit it. Carr may actually be the worst first overall pick of the last 20 seasons. It's not that he's a terrible player, he's just not a superstar.
10) If you had Bingo Smith, what sort of offer would you need to consider trading him using current rosters (including projected picks)
Jordan: If I had Bingo, I don’t think there is any chance I would trade him. I would probably need at stud PG that was no older than 25 with something else I liked. Probably a shotblocking big man. Since no young stud PGs exist, I don’t think I would move him. After I looked at all of the rosters, I know I wouldn’t.
Aar: Here's the deal that I take for Bingo. Re-signed Fred Brown, Marvin Webster, Derrek Dickey, Gus Williams and Joe Bryant for Bingo and William Franklin. In other words, Play is at it again folks. Watch your backs.
