GM Interview #COUNTONSTEVE
Mar 1, 2013 4:30:19 GMT -5
Post by kobe on Mar 1, 2013 4:30:19 GMT -5
Welcome to my sit down interview with the Spurs GM, steve!
1. To begin, I don't think I've been in a sim league with you before steve. Tell me a little about yourself, what leagues you have been in, etc..
I'm a Scorpio. I was born in Atlanta and raised in Milwaukee. I live in Madison now. I enjoy coffee, beer, and scratching behind my dog's ears. I got started in sims in 2007 when crazymike needed a new A's GM in BBSBL and PB decided to bring me in. Commished BBSBL for a while, which Erbes is butchering now. I've dabbled in a bunch of baseball leagues since 2007, but I've only had a few attempts at BBS. I never had the time to devote to really being effective here, and always ended up quitting without making much of an impact. It's nice to be here without school to worry about.
2. At the All-Star break, who is your favorite to come out of the East this year? West? And why.
I mean, there's really no question in my mind. It's Kings vs. Knicks all the way. If the Kings can avoid injuries (always a big if though), there's really no feasible way anyone keeps them from the finals. You could make a case for the Suns, with Acy playing out of his mind. But the Kings are just so perfect. Plus Duncan has always been a winner. The East is trickier because the Hawks are a pretty complete team and raped the Knicks last year. I think this time around, Bron/Wade/Yao are "just having fun out there", as Andy likes to say. I actually could see the Knicks taking out the Kings in the Finals, too. It'll be like the Big 3 in Miami in real life.
3. The Spurs are currently atop the Midwest division and have played great this season. Do you think you are in position to win a title as assembled or are trades in your future? If so, what type of moves are you trying to make?
No, this isn't a championship team. We're good, but we need another big to pair with Bynum. I like Noah, but he is too ugly to be effective. Outside of that, we just need some depth. We have a nice 2/3 in Klay and Marcus, who will only get better. Westbrook isn't playing quite as well as last season, but he's still one of the better PGs in the league. And Bynum is a beast. So I think we're one big move and a few smaller ones away from being an elite team.
4. The Bynum trade was huge for you obviously. Many GMs thought it was poor value for Bynum. How do you feel about that? And has he performed up to your expectations?
I mean I'm not gonna be one of those GMs who acts like he didn't get a great deal when I clearly did. But the bottom line is Galo wanted to rebuild and needed his next two picks back, and he also got another lotto pick in Thomas Robinson, who I think is going to be really good. So was it a great deal for me? Yeah, of course. But it's not like Galo wasn't getting any value out of it. In terms of expectations, he's leading the league again with >4 bpg which is pretty nice, and pulling down about 12.5 rpg. He's not scoring like he did, but that's to be expected on this team. I think the best big I've had on this team since I joined was Joel Przybilla, so yeah Bynum is everything I had hoped for.
5. Speaking of value, with a lot of top guys being traded lately, give me your top 5 players in terms of trade value. Short explanation for each would be nice.
LeBron. It won't be easy, but Andy has made it clear he'll be trading him at some point. No real explanation needed. Then if we're talking guys who actually could move, I'd say Lou Williams and Kris Humphries. Mavs are kinda stagnant so Greg could easily move these guys and rebuild (technically already did move Lou kinda), and both are pretty damn good. Would love to get Hump myself. Then I'll go to the Nuggets, another team that could be looking to tear it apart. Jeff has been shopping around Rose for a bit, and although he's not a great PG, he's putting up some pretty nice numbers. And finally I'll go with LMA. This guy is a monster, yet he's been moved so much the last few seasons. Forgot about Harden. I'd include him here too.
6. There has been some quarreling amongst the admins lately. How did you feel about the whole play and elcheato situations? And according to steve, who is the better commish, Marty or Spence?
Ehhhh. I'm pretty indifferent on elcheato. Don't know the dude, he wasn't around at all and clearly didn't have time. Could Marty have talked to him before cutting him loose? Yeah probably. But I didn't really mind the decision. Plus mike has been pretty good. The other situation is trickier because play is one of my favorite guys in sims, so I hate a play-less league. Pretty poorly handled by everyone, to be honest. I hate guys who "quit" to make a point, but he did probably deserve the AC. So whatever. I fully expect play to be back at some point. Can't really compare commishes. What Spencer did in building and maintaining BBS was really insane, so I guess I'd have to say him. Marty's been awesome though, and there'd be no BBS right now without him so love ya Marty
7. How excited are you about FBB2 coming out very soon supposedly? Do you plan on buying it or being super active so you get it from marty?
I'm pretty meh about it. I get that there are bugs with FBB but I honestly don't really care. It serves its purpose I'm not going to buy FBB2 right away. If other people start using it and say it's really awesome, then yeah I may spring for it. But I'll let others be the guinea pigs. As for Marty, that's really awesome if he does do that. I'm already just about as active as I can be though so I mean it's not like I'm going to change anything. We'll see how generous he decides to be
8. Even though you aren’t in the lotto this year, what are your thoughts on the 2014 draft? And how do you feel about going to fake players a few years before planned?
I honestly have not looked at it much at all. And by much, I mean I looked at the fake names but not the ratings. So no comment really. My pick should be pretty late so I just haven't cared. I have no issues with fake players. You can get some sick guys like Terrell Morrison, Salvatore Moretti, Duk Young-Bak, Devereux St. Cloud, etc. Kinda cool to take guys that don't exist and form a bond with them. Like imaginary friends
9. Anthony Davis or Andre Drummond. Who do you start your team with? And why?
Fuck. I put this question off to answer last. This is impossible to answer. I really want to say Davis because he looked like he would become the best player in the league after his TC last season. With his meh TC this year and Drummond exploding, it's really tough. Drummond is so ridiculous too. I think Davis is going to develop more though and will end up the better player. Plus how do you pass up on the brow. So I'll go with him.
10. If you could swap teams with any team in the league who would it be and why?
Eh, this is a tough question. I'm pretty pleased with how I'm set up for the future. Klay/Marcus still on their rookie contracts, Bynum and Westbrook on nice deals. If I had to choose a different team, I guess I'd say the Clippers. Davis is a beast even with his disappointing TC, plus Shabazz and Zeller. It's a nice core. Winning the lottery twice in a row (kind of) will do that. 76ers are also pretty nice. Awesome deal for John to get Drummond.
11. Who has been the MVP of this season up until now? Skillz seems to think Acy and john thinks Aldridge is it one of them or someone else?
I could see the game giving it to Deron again. It should probably be Acy though. I mean, this dude is insane. Gotta feel bad for Aar. Even with Broph talking him up, I don't think anybody saw him doing this. 29 ppg on 56% shooting plus 8 rpg and 3 bpg? Not fair. Aldridge is good, but not MVP. LeBron probably would be if he didn't have Wade and Yao stealing stats from him. Looking through everyone, I'm not really sure how it's not Acy.
12. What is one thing you would change about BBS?
The boards. Nah just kidding Marty! I'd push the hard cap back up. 78 makes things interesting but I almost got caught with my pants down when I started because I didn't read the rules. Spencer made the same mistake LOL. I also would give a team to crazymike because things are always more interesting when he is around, although I'm still not convinced that Game isn't just crazymike in disguise.
