Post by aar on May 22, 2012 11:01:37 GMT -5
1) Which of these teams will make the playoffs in the East and which won't: 76ers, Bucks, Bulls, Knicks, Heat, Pistons?
Greeme:
76ers – in. They are in their cy year and they have looked good so far. Even if they fall off somewhat they can always move Dawkins or Foots or maybe even Gervin if they really need to.
Bucks – in. They are a borderline playoff team, and they would be on the wrong side most years, but there are only 10 teams trying to get in the playoffs so they should get in.
Knicks – in. Skillz. No pick. He will find a way. Enough said.
Heat – out. I like sobers and drew but they need another tc or 2. They also don't have to make the playoffs so they won't make moves that others would.
Bulls – in. does anyone really think that Play will get cyd? I don't either.
Pistons – out. Slow start. They just don't look that good. I like a lot of players on the team but only as role players.
Aar:
76ers - out. They're not around and their team is beginning to struggle. They have some nice talent, but not enough talent all-around.
Bucks - in. Too many good pieces and too well-rounded to fall off.
Knicks - out. Starting to trade off assets too quickly and want to build for the future. They'll be on the cusp.
Heat - in. Too much talent. They'll be a consistently middling team.
Bulls - in. Play will make his CY come hell or high water.
Pistons - in. This is my long-shot pick. They're going to be pumping ACs into their team and they have a lot of talent. It will be an uphill battle, but they'll make it.
2) The Jazz just acquired Dick Snyder. Are they the new favorites to win their division?
Greeme: Nah, I think the Thunder have one more big year in them. They do need another big but they have a big to spare. Great trade for the Jazz though and I almost had a heart attack when I saw that Jah took a risk.
Aar: I think so. He's played the second-least amount of games of any team in the league. Don't get me wrong, the Lakers are really nice, but Snyder adds a new facet to their team. They have way too many PGs and will likely trade one of them for some more depth, but even so, they already have an incredibly deep team all-around. If I were them, I'd run Gerard off the bench and start Knight.
3) Bucks trade Paul Westphal to the Lakers for Dennis Johnson - who wins?
Greeme: Lakers would win imo. It would be much easier to find a scorer who plays little d and doesn't rebound well than an all around player like dj. Even if Dj never develops the volume that we all like to see it is much easier to replace scoring than pretty much everything else.
Aar: I think that Greeme misunderstood the question, but I think that the Lakers won the initial deal at the very least in the short-term. Westphal is a dynamic scorer and is only 25. DJ still has a lot of deficiencies in his game. He'll be starting at point guard this sim and we'll see what he is truly capable of.
4) If you were taking over the Wizards, what would be your first move?
Greeme: Dump CJ for whatever I could get, even if it was expiring. I would try to tank with barnes and then flip him for the best pick I could get in the draft. That would give me 3 good picks and a ton of cap. What would happen after is dependent on fa.
Aar: Get exp and a 1st for Gilliam or use Gilliam to dump some contracts, dump CJ for expiring and shop Barnes around to see what's out there. This is a fun situation for them to be in and they can slow-play things.
5) If you landed the top pick in the 2047 draft, who would you take and why?
Greeme: I look at Sikma and I hear "Mel Daniels". I don't know, it is really note dependent. If I had first pick I would probably take Sikma bc he looks and if he busts, he busts. But since I'm not actually picking first, just answering questions, I will say T.R. Dunn bc I have a feeling that he will become a Butch Beard type; everywhere he goes his teams will win.
Aar: T.R. Dunn? Really? Didn't you learn from giving Terrence Jones that long-term deal? After seeing the notes, I'm leaning towards Bernard King. He could be DeMar DeRozan (BBS version) part two and that would be really tough to pass up.
6) Alex English or Adrian Dantley?
Greeme: English but I would take either happily. English is scoring at a higher volume but that could have to do with his team more than anything. What is impressive is the %s that go with the volume. I know that a lot of gms would take Dantley bc of the lower tos but I'm not one of them.
Aar: I tend to agree with you here, but for the sake of the article, I'll make a case for Dantley. He looks to be a prolific inside scorer with a sweet jump shot and is a better rebounder and ball handler. English appears to be a volume scorer, but he's also doing it on a team of nobodies. Dantley has a good supporting cast and is putting up higher percentages. The one thing that will really hurt Dantley are his low steals.
7) Most consider Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Elvin Hayes the two best centers in the league. Who is the third best?
Greeme: Nate Thurmond. I thought he was going downhill in 2041 and he was. Even after he was traded to the Celtics he wasn't able to score in volume and his stats were down across the board. Then he discovered the fountain of youth (some say steroids) and he made a remarkable comeback. He does it all scores, nice %s, rebounds, blocks, low TOs.
Aar: Call me biased, I'm going with Walton. Turnovers aside, he's really come into his own this season. Career highs across the board in every category (sadly, that includes TOs). If he's not an All-Star this year, I'll snap. His ratings haven't progressed in an incredible manner, but his stats have, which leads me to believe that his underneath ratings are climbing.
8) Who is your pick to win the West?
Greeme: Uh, me. What did you think I would say? Unless I trade away Glock. Then I will suck and regret the trade. He is by far the best pg in the league. Glock, Skeeter and love provide the o, Artis and ray provide the d. I like the way my team is set up. Too bad that if I get to the finals I will probably have to find a way to beat the Magic. I hate Bingo. Maybe I will put Glock on him. If there is a rematch I'm not losing. At least I hope not.
Aar: The T-Wolves. Once Jasper Wilson returns, they are going to be really tough to stop in the playoffs. I think that the Nuggets will have the best regular season record, but when push comes to shove, the Timberwolves have a better team than anyone else. They could also afford to add some depth, but that's not overly important/
9) If you were the Bulls, what would you do to ensure that you make your CY?
Greeme: Trade Dickey and Bryant for Love, Glock and Robisch.
I would probably hang tough until around the all star break before doing anything major. If I could get a good pg or a big for Dunleavy and/Bryant I would. I think Play is kidding himself about Gus being a starter at this point in his career. Bad %s. low tos doesn't make up for that especially when play needs his pg to score. Also a bad rebounder. I like Gus and another tc or 2 he will be a worthy starter but at this point he can only start on teams that don't need him to score. Alternatively, Play could get a big that can score.
Aar: LOL Greeme - is that a serious trade proposal? Do you think that Play is just suddenly an awful GM? My advice would be to see where they're at on Day 60 before they make any drastic moves unless it's a truly beneficial trade that keeps them competitive for awhile. If they can add a cheap frontcourt scorer, that would probably help them out, but they have a solid team and they should have no problems making the playoffs.
10) Let's say that one of your team's starters was going to get injured for the season. Who would you most and least want it to be?
Greeme: Hmmmmm. My best backup is Taylor but if he has to start at pg it gets ugly. Willie Smith shouldn't really see time at this point in his career. So I would least want Glock to get injured. Skeeter is also hard to replace. I have more big backups so I would rather one of them gets injured, doesn't matter which.
Aar: Pretty easy choice for me here. Whoever my starting point guard is. If I settle on Al Skinner, then him and if I settle on Dennis Johnson, then he can go. Even if both of them got injured, I'd be comfortable with Jim McElroy starting and he was my second rounder last year. He already has 85+ handles.
Greeme:
76ers – in. They are in their cy year and they have looked good so far. Even if they fall off somewhat they can always move Dawkins or Foots or maybe even Gervin if they really need to.
Bucks – in. They are a borderline playoff team, and they would be on the wrong side most years, but there are only 10 teams trying to get in the playoffs so they should get in.
Knicks – in. Skillz. No pick. He will find a way. Enough said.
Heat – out. I like sobers and drew but they need another tc or 2. They also don't have to make the playoffs so they won't make moves that others would.
Bulls – in. does anyone really think that Play will get cyd? I don't either.
Pistons – out. Slow start. They just don't look that good. I like a lot of players on the team but only as role players.
Aar:
76ers - out. They're not around and their team is beginning to struggle. They have some nice talent, but not enough talent all-around.
Bucks - in. Too many good pieces and too well-rounded to fall off.
Knicks - out. Starting to trade off assets too quickly and want to build for the future. They'll be on the cusp.
Heat - in. Too much talent. They'll be a consistently middling team.
Bulls - in. Play will make his CY come hell or high water.
Pistons - in. This is my long-shot pick. They're going to be pumping ACs into their team and they have a lot of talent. It will be an uphill battle, but they'll make it.
2) The Jazz just acquired Dick Snyder. Are they the new favorites to win their division?
Greeme: Nah, I think the Thunder have one more big year in them. They do need another big but they have a big to spare. Great trade for the Jazz though and I almost had a heart attack when I saw that Jah took a risk.
Aar: I think so. He's played the second-least amount of games of any team in the league. Don't get me wrong, the Lakers are really nice, but Snyder adds a new facet to their team. They have way too many PGs and will likely trade one of them for some more depth, but even so, they already have an incredibly deep team all-around. If I were them, I'd run Gerard off the bench and start Knight.
3) Bucks trade Paul Westphal to the Lakers for Dennis Johnson - who wins?
Greeme: Lakers would win imo. It would be much easier to find a scorer who plays little d and doesn't rebound well than an all around player like dj. Even if Dj never develops the volume that we all like to see it is much easier to replace scoring than pretty much everything else.
Aar: I think that Greeme misunderstood the question, but I think that the Lakers won the initial deal at the very least in the short-term. Westphal is a dynamic scorer and is only 25. DJ still has a lot of deficiencies in his game. He'll be starting at point guard this sim and we'll see what he is truly capable of.
4) If you were taking over the Wizards, what would be your first move?
Greeme: Dump CJ for whatever I could get, even if it was expiring. I would try to tank with barnes and then flip him for the best pick I could get in the draft. That would give me 3 good picks and a ton of cap. What would happen after is dependent on fa.
Aar: Get exp and a 1st for Gilliam or use Gilliam to dump some contracts, dump CJ for expiring and shop Barnes around to see what's out there. This is a fun situation for them to be in and they can slow-play things.
5) If you landed the top pick in the 2047 draft, who would you take and why?
Greeme: I look at Sikma and I hear "Mel Daniels". I don't know, it is really note dependent. If I had first pick I would probably take Sikma bc he looks and if he busts, he busts. But since I'm not actually picking first, just answering questions, I will say T.R. Dunn bc I have a feeling that he will become a Butch Beard type; everywhere he goes his teams will win.
Aar: T.R. Dunn? Really? Didn't you learn from giving Terrence Jones that long-term deal? After seeing the notes, I'm leaning towards Bernard King. He could be DeMar DeRozan (BBS version) part two and that would be really tough to pass up.
6) Alex English or Adrian Dantley?
Greeme: English but I would take either happily. English is scoring at a higher volume but that could have to do with his team more than anything. What is impressive is the %s that go with the volume. I know that a lot of gms would take Dantley bc of the lower tos but I'm not one of them.
Aar: I tend to agree with you here, but for the sake of the article, I'll make a case for Dantley. He looks to be a prolific inside scorer with a sweet jump shot and is a better rebounder and ball handler. English appears to be a volume scorer, but he's also doing it on a team of nobodies. Dantley has a good supporting cast and is putting up higher percentages. The one thing that will really hurt Dantley are his low steals.
7) Most consider Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Elvin Hayes the two best centers in the league. Who is the third best?
Greeme: Nate Thurmond. I thought he was going downhill in 2041 and he was. Even after he was traded to the Celtics he wasn't able to score in volume and his stats were down across the board. Then he discovered the fountain of youth (some say steroids) and he made a remarkable comeback. He does it all scores, nice %s, rebounds, blocks, low TOs.
Aar: Call me biased, I'm going with Walton. Turnovers aside, he's really come into his own this season. Career highs across the board in every category (sadly, that includes TOs). If he's not an All-Star this year, I'll snap. His ratings haven't progressed in an incredible manner, but his stats have, which leads me to believe that his underneath ratings are climbing.
8) Who is your pick to win the West?
Greeme: Uh, me. What did you think I would say? Unless I trade away Glock. Then I will suck and regret the trade. He is by far the best pg in the league. Glock, Skeeter and love provide the o, Artis and ray provide the d. I like the way my team is set up. Too bad that if I get to the finals I will probably have to find a way to beat the Magic. I hate Bingo. Maybe I will put Glock on him. If there is a rematch I'm not losing. At least I hope not.
Aar: The T-Wolves. Once Jasper Wilson returns, they are going to be really tough to stop in the playoffs. I think that the Nuggets will have the best regular season record, but when push comes to shove, the Timberwolves have a better team than anyone else. They could also afford to add some depth, but that's not overly important/
9) If you were the Bulls, what would you do to ensure that you make your CY?
Greeme: Trade Dickey and Bryant for Love, Glock and Robisch.
I would probably hang tough until around the all star break before doing anything major. If I could get a good pg or a big for Dunleavy and/Bryant I would. I think Play is kidding himself about Gus being a starter at this point in his career. Bad %s. low tos doesn't make up for that especially when play needs his pg to score. Also a bad rebounder. I like Gus and another tc or 2 he will be a worthy starter but at this point he can only start on teams that don't need him to score. Alternatively, Play could get a big that can score.
Aar: LOL Greeme - is that a serious trade proposal? Do you think that Play is just suddenly an awful GM? My advice would be to see where they're at on Day 60 before they make any drastic moves unless it's a truly beneficial trade that keeps them competitive for awhile. If they can add a cheap frontcourt scorer, that would probably help them out, but they have a solid team and they should have no problems making the playoffs.
10) Let's say that one of your team's starters was going to get injured for the season. Who would you most and least want it to be?
Greeme: Hmmmmm. My best backup is Taylor but if he has to start at pg it gets ugly. Willie Smith shouldn't really see time at this point in his career. So I would least want Glock to get injured. Skeeter is also hard to replace. I have more big backups so I would rather one of them gets injured, doesn't matter which.
Aar: Pretty easy choice for me here. Whoever my starting point guard is. If I settle on Al Skinner, then him and if I settle on Dennis Johnson, then he can go. Even if both of them got injured, I'd be comfortable with Jim McElroy starting and he was my second rounder last year. He already has 85+ handles.
