Post by aar on Jun 8, 2012 16:49:13 GMT -5
1) When you first acquired Clifford Ray, you got absolutely ripped. Now it's clear that people were wrong. Do you enjoy rubbing it in people's faces and where do you think Ray ranks among the league's bigs?
Greeme: I tend to get ripped a lot in trades. Cliff was the classic low risk, high reward player. He just needed to get a little better in a few categories in order to be a top big. If he stayed the same he wouldn't have been worth the contract but he was young and it was only a 4 year contract so I took a risk and it paid off. It isn't so much about rubbing it in people's faces as it is about pointing out that people jump the gun when evaluating trades. At this point Ray is probably a top 10 big. He turns the ball over too often and he isn't a good ft shooter. His blocks aren't elite, though 3 a game is nothing to sneeze at, and he won't be a volume scorer, at least not in my offense. On the other hand his rebounding is top notch, he gets to the line a ton, he has A+ d and his steals are nice for a big. It really comes down to fg%; if he can continue to shoot close to his current rate he is one of the top 5 bigs and if he falls back to where he was last year than he is probably around #10 in performance.
Aar: I wouldn't say it was low risk. Many thought he had an awful contract. I don't think he's a top-5 big, but he's definitely top-10. I'm shocked at how much more value he has and that's certainly a trade that I regret. I had a lot of faith in Ray and listened to the skeptics.
2) Are the Hornets efforts to win futile?
Greeme: I wouldn’t' say that they are futile but he seems to go in circles. He moved 3 draft picks for Hillman and now he is trying to downgrade Block for a younger, cheaper player. I like Mcginnis but he will need to improve in at least one scoring rating to be a quality offensive option. I don't like his cap situation now. He will probably have to give mccarter close to a max and that will leave no money to resign jimbo, boone and thornton who all give him minutes so he can easily find himself without good depth. I would keep block and see what this team can do although in all honesty I don't see them winning a round in the playoffs.
Aar: Completely and utterly futile. They've acquired a lot of second-tier talent and lack a true #1 star type player. They will be a middling team for awhile and ride the treadmill for the next five-six seasons. Sorry Kobe - I like you and I like that you took a risk, I just doubt it pays off.
3) Are you surprised by how quickly the Blazers have become a great team?
Greeme: Yes and no. If you asked me before fa I would have said they would be a low seeded playoff team but then they stole Kermit in fa and got Larry Jones for nothing. Two all star caliber players can change many teams into great teams. There young players have all developed nicely, except for Wilkes. Lol at broph for not trading him when he had a lot more value. The team is very well put together, great rebounding, outside shooting, defense. They might have trouble with teams that have a stud high scoring pg. They could use another depth piece or 2. All in all I wouldn't call them a great team compared with some teams that have been here but they are one of the top few teams this year.
Aar: I'm pretty surprised and I think Broph is too. I remember that I offered him a deal before the season and told him it'd make him a contender and he laughed off the idea that he'd contend. Now he has the league's best record. Certainly a surprising turn of events.
4) The Bucks have done a lot of fine tuning to find the best mix around Bingo. The latest move is acquiring Bob McAdoo to play at center. After the trade, the Bucks declared that they were done dealing. Do you think this is the case and if so, do you like the finished product?
Greeme: No. Bingo plays best when he is Kobe; he shoots when he wants and the more the better. Bingo and defense was the crux of Repole's formula. So why bring in Mcadoo? Mediocre d? to take shots away from Bingo? I think a player like Jim Mcmillian is a great fit next to bingo. Ditto George Trapp. A stud defensive big/rebounder is what they need, not mcadoo. They might be a better team with elmore smith than mcadoo. I'm sure that if Aar doesn't like how his team sims then he will keep tinkering until he gets it right. Don't get me wrong, Aar might have the best team in the league, but "might" isn't enough after painting a bull's eye target on his back.
Aar: Saying that I'm done dealing would be shortsighted on my part, as I'm always trying to improve my team. Right now, my philosophy is to score more points, more efficiently than any other team and if you look at the team stats, I think that we're almost there. Our offense is going to be sick once McAdoo comes back with his +15.
5) Clifford Ray and Artis Gilmore - you need to trade one. Who goes?
Greeme: Tough question. I think that Ray has passed Artis in terms of productivity but Artis has a cheaper contract and is signed for 4 years. Ray has been incredible in the first few months of the season and his fg% is unreal. Both are top notch rebounders. Artis is a better shotblocker and ft shoter but turns the ball over more often . I don't really value one above the other and it would depend on who I could get more for in a trade. Of course I also don't have any real plans to trade either at this point.
Aar: I'm not sure that you answered the question. I think Ray might actually be more valuable now. He lacks the name value, but he's a better overall defender and Artis has that horrible turnover problem. If you switched names, Ray would be twice as valuable.
6) The Nets lost Kermit in free agency, but have since acquired some interesting pieces. Are they still a contender?
Greeme: No. They have a bunch of talent and should win a round in the playoffs but they are not a contender. Of course if they can get some more depth and manage to move Barnett or Ford for a good big they could become a contender. ML carr is a stud and Barnett is ageless but even with good ratings they are getting killed defensively, especially from downtown. And Hardy and Cowens take way too many shots. The Bucks, Bulls, sixers, cats are clearly better and I'm not that sure that they would even beat the cavs.
Aar: I think that they'd need the perfect storm of awesomeness to win the championship. They can beat anyone if their team clicks, but I think that they lack the star power that they had when they had Kermit. I really respect Nanz for not flinching when Kermit left. He just pulled up his socks and made deals to improve his team. Solid GM.
7) Could Maccabi Tel Aviv beat this past season's NBA Charlotte Bobcats?
Greeme: I don't really follow Maccabi though I will catch a game here and there. As far as I remember they were nothing special so that means any NBA team should blow them out. In short, no.
Aar: What kind of Israeli citizen are you? Israelis live and breathe Maccabi! The answer is yes. They're more well-coached and more motivated. They'd beat last season's Bobcats.
8) Which team will finish 2nd in the East?
Greeme: Chicago. The Bulls are still playing with their dc and once they get it figured out I think they will finish second. I still think that the cats will be better than the bulls but the bulls will finish second. Dickey and Brown are among the top players at their respective positions and Gus is getting better. Webster, Kauffman, silas, glen (nice pick btw)are all good backups.
Aar: I'm going to turn some heads and say the Cavs. They are getting hot at the right time and have a really nice team top to bottom. Marty seems very motivated to prove the haters, especially Play, wrong.
9) Insane has made some interesting trades in the past day. Is it fair to say that he's in the top-half of GMs talent-wise?
Greeme: I hated the trade with the magic. I assume that he will try to fall into the lotto this year but guaranteeing a top 8 pick is not only weird but also renders all future picks, which would all be subject to repole's stipulation, pretty much useless. Maybe he will try to get repole his pick next year and then start trying to get something done. Idk. Getting 3 picks for Hillman was a great move. The hornets might run into cap problems and mccarter might leave so the picks could become very valuable. As for the trade of Wilkerson for the Grizz 50 – I like Wilkerson but insane really had to get that pick back.
If insane manages to fall out of the playoffs this year and stays top 8 next year then he will have done a good job getting the team ready to rebuild. Maybe he can flip some of the hornets picks to Repole for the grizz top 8 and save a year. In any case Insane is definitely in the top half of gms.
Aar: Insane has made a HUGE statement upon his return. He basically turned a team that was up shit's creek around in a matter of days without even being that active on the boards. Good for him. When he's motivated, he's a top-10 GM and he proved it this week.
10) Your team has been playing very well lately. Why risk messing with the chemistry by trading D'Antoni for Bing? What will this mean for the Nuggets going forward?
Greeme: I think that this will be the trade that puts us over the top. Bing's stats are a little low but i am hoping that is more due to CC trying to put together a bad dc than anything else. Dantoni looked to be shutting down pgs but bing has also done ok and didn't have the advantage of ray and artis backing him up. I don't know what i will do at sf now. I will just leave tom there this sim but with bing and skeeter supplying the offense i will probably try moving gar into the starting lineup to get some more D and rebounding.
Aar: I don't like this trade for the Nuggets. Given the look of his team, I think that D'Antoni may have actually been a better fit. He's very efficient and barely turns the ball over. As for Bing, he's never been on a championship team and seems to be on a lot of losing teams despite being a really nice looking player on paper.
Greeme: I tend to get ripped a lot in trades. Cliff was the classic low risk, high reward player. He just needed to get a little better in a few categories in order to be a top big. If he stayed the same he wouldn't have been worth the contract but he was young and it was only a 4 year contract so I took a risk and it paid off. It isn't so much about rubbing it in people's faces as it is about pointing out that people jump the gun when evaluating trades. At this point Ray is probably a top 10 big. He turns the ball over too often and he isn't a good ft shooter. His blocks aren't elite, though 3 a game is nothing to sneeze at, and he won't be a volume scorer, at least not in my offense. On the other hand his rebounding is top notch, he gets to the line a ton, he has A+ d and his steals are nice for a big. It really comes down to fg%; if he can continue to shoot close to his current rate he is one of the top 5 bigs and if he falls back to where he was last year than he is probably around #10 in performance.
Aar: I wouldn't say it was low risk. Many thought he had an awful contract. I don't think he's a top-5 big, but he's definitely top-10. I'm shocked at how much more value he has and that's certainly a trade that I regret. I had a lot of faith in Ray and listened to the skeptics.
2) Are the Hornets efforts to win futile?
Greeme: I wouldn’t' say that they are futile but he seems to go in circles. He moved 3 draft picks for Hillman and now he is trying to downgrade Block for a younger, cheaper player. I like Mcginnis but he will need to improve in at least one scoring rating to be a quality offensive option. I don't like his cap situation now. He will probably have to give mccarter close to a max and that will leave no money to resign jimbo, boone and thornton who all give him minutes so he can easily find himself without good depth. I would keep block and see what this team can do although in all honesty I don't see them winning a round in the playoffs.
Aar: Completely and utterly futile. They've acquired a lot of second-tier talent and lack a true #1 star type player. They will be a middling team for awhile and ride the treadmill for the next five-six seasons. Sorry Kobe - I like you and I like that you took a risk, I just doubt it pays off.
3) Are you surprised by how quickly the Blazers have become a great team?
Greeme: Yes and no. If you asked me before fa I would have said they would be a low seeded playoff team but then they stole Kermit in fa and got Larry Jones for nothing. Two all star caliber players can change many teams into great teams. There young players have all developed nicely, except for Wilkes. Lol at broph for not trading him when he had a lot more value. The team is very well put together, great rebounding, outside shooting, defense. They might have trouble with teams that have a stud high scoring pg. They could use another depth piece or 2. All in all I wouldn't call them a great team compared with some teams that have been here but they are one of the top few teams this year.
Aar: I'm pretty surprised and I think Broph is too. I remember that I offered him a deal before the season and told him it'd make him a contender and he laughed off the idea that he'd contend. Now he has the league's best record. Certainly a surprising turn of events.
4) The Bucks have done a lot of fine tuning to find the best mix around Bingo. The latest move is acquiring Bob McAdoo to play at center. After the trade, the Bucks declared that they were done dealing. Do you think this is the case and if so, do you like the finished product?
Greeme: No. Bingo plays best when he is Kobe; he shoots when he wants and the more the better. Bingo and defense was the crux of Repole's formula. So why bring in Mcadoo? Mediocre d? to take shots away from Bingo? I think a player like Jim Mcmillian is a great fit next to bingo. Ditto George Trapp. A stud defensive big/rebounder is what they need, not mcadoo. They might be a better team with elmore smith than mcadoo. I'm sure that if Aar doesn't like how his team sims then he will keep tinkering until he gets it right. Don't get me wrong, Aar might have the best team in the league, but "might" isn't enough after painting a bull's eye target on his back.
Aar: Saying that I'm done dealing would be shortsighted on my part, as I'm always trying to improve my team. Right now, my philosophy is to score more points, more efficiently than any other team and if you look at the team stats, I think that we're almost there. Our offense is going to be sick once McAdoo comes back with his +15.
5) Clifford Ray and Artis Gilmore - you need to trade one. Who goes?
Greeme: Tough question. I think that Ray has passed Artis in terms of productivity but Artis has a cheaper contract and is signed for 4 years. Ray has been incredible in the first few months of the season and his fg% is unreal. Both are top notch rebounders. Artis is a better shotblocker and ft shoter but turns the ball over more often . I don't really value one above the other and it would depend on who I could get more for in a trade. Of course I also don't have any real plans to trade either at this point.
Aar: I'm not sure that you answered the question. I think Ray might actually be more valuable now. He lacks the name value, but he's a better overall defender and Artis has that horrible turnover problem. If you switched names, Ray would be twice as valuable.
6) The Nets lost Kermit in free agency, but have since acquired some interesting pieces. Are they still a contender?
Greeme: No. They have a bunch of talent and should win a round in the playoffs but they are not a contender. Of course if they can get some more depth and manage to move Barnett or Ford for a good big they could become a contender. ML carr is a stud and Barnett is ageless but even with good ratings they are getting killed defensively, especially from downtown. And Hardy and Cowens take way too many shots. The Bucks, Bulls, sixers, cats are clearly better and I'm not that sure that they would even beat the cavs.
Aar: I think that they'd need the perfect storm of awesomeness to win the championship. They can beat anyone if their team clicks, but I think that they lack the star power that they had when they had Kermit. I really respect Nanz for not flinching when Kermit left. He just pulled up his socks and made deals to improve his team. Solid GM.
7) Could Maccabi Tel Aviv beat this past season's NBA Charlotte Bobcats?
Greeme: I don't really follow Maccabi though I will catch a game here and there. As far as I remember they were nothing special so that means any NBA team should blow them out. In short, no.
Aar: What kind of Israeli citizen are you? Israelis live and breathe Maccabi! The answer is yes. They're more well-coached and more motivated. They'd beat last season's Bobcats.
8) Which team will finish 2nd in the East?
Greeme: Chicago. The Bulls are still playing with their dc and once they get it figured out I think they will finish second. I still think that the cats will be better than the bulls but the bulls will finish second. Dickey and Brown are among the top players at their respective positions and Gus is getting better. Webster, Kauffman, silas, glen (nice pick btw)are all good backups.
Aar: I'm going to turn some heads and say the Cavs. They are getting hot at the right time and have a really nice team top to bottom. Marty seems very motivated to prove the haters, especially Play, wrong.
9) Insane has made some interesting trades in the past day. Is it fair to say that he's in the top-half of GMs talent-wise?
Greeme: I hated the trade with the magic. I assume that he will try to fall into the lotto this year but guaranteeing a top 8 pick is not only weird but also renders all future picks, which would all be subject to repole's stipulation, pretty much useless. Maybe he will try to get repole his pick next year and then start trying to get something done. Idk. Getting 3 picks for Hillman was a great move. The hornets might run into cap problems and mccarter might leave so the picks could become very valuable. As for the trade of Wilkerson for the Grizz 50 – I like Wilkerson but insane really had to get that pick back.
If insane manages to fall out of the playoffs this year and stays top 8 next year then he will have done a good job getting the team ready to rebuild. Maybe he can flip some of the hornets picks to Repole for the grizz top 8 and save a year. In any case Insane is definitely in the top half of gms.
Aar: Insane has made a HUGE statement upon his return. He basically turned a team that was up shit's creek around in a matter of days without even being that active on the boards. Good for him. When he's motivated, he's a top-10 GM and he proved it this week.
10) Your team has been playing very well lately. Why risk messing with the chemistry by trading D'Antoni for Bing? What will this mean for the Nuggets going forward?
Greeme: I think that this will be the trade that puts us over the top. Bing's stats are a little low but i am hoping that is more due to CC trying to put together a bad dc than anything else. Dantoni looked to be shutting down pgs but bing has also done ok and didn't have the advantage of ray and artis backing him up. I don't know what i will do at sf now. I will just leave tom there this sim but with bing and skeeter supplying the offense i will probably try moving gar into the starting lineup to get some more D and rebounding.
Aar: I don't like this trade for the Nuggets. Given the look of his team, I think that D'Antoni may have actually been a better fit. He's very efficient and barely turns the ball over. As for Bing, he's never been on a championship team and seems to be on a lot of losing teams despite being a really nice looking player on paper.
