The Lounge W/ Andy!
Jan 19, 2013 19:34:52 GMT -5
Post by Skillz on Jan 19, 2013 19:34:52 GMT -5
It's The Lounge! W/ Andy!
Welcome to the Lounge, Andy!
1. You must have had high expectations going into the season. Forgetting the Knicks awful start, what was your reasonable expectation for a win number going in?
47-52. I wasn't expecting to run through the league or anything like that but I definitely did not expect such a horrible start. What I did expect was a pretty shaking beginning. It's a fairly new roster with a bunch of new stars, I figured it would take time for me to get the right DC going. I also knew we had some fairly big weaknesses. Definitely did not expect 2-8 though.
2. You are 10-12, but started 2-8. What went wrong? Do you regret trading so much for Dwight Howard?
A bad DC is the more obvious answer. We’re obviously a bit of a weak rebounding team so that didn’t help at all. I was hoping the talent on the team would at least help carry us a bit but everyone besides LeBron just played bad. As for Dwight, no, I don’t regret it at all. It's a move I made and it's a move I have to live with making. I'm just going to make the best out of it. If he can give me 18/11/2 then I'll be perfectly content with what he's giving me. Are there other, and better, options? I guess? Main one I can think of is Bogut. Not sure who else was out there at the time.
**Editors note: THe KNicks just traded Conley and Dwight in a deal for Yao Ming. Good stuff Andy.
3. If you had to go forward with your existing team (no more trades or anything) for the rest of the season, do you make your CY?
Yes, I'll make it. I'll be in there with 43 wins. That's the number. 43. A couple of good sims and I'll be fine. The biggest issue is finding what works best with Wade and Bron. If I can get them both going at the same time, the rest will work out. I'm sure of it. One of my bigger concerns is working out the PG position. Conley did pretty well at the 2 when he had to start. His turnovers hurt some but the rest of the guys have been pretty good there. I might keep him as the back up 1 and 2, I think that’s going to work out well for us. Llull can play and I have no doubt he’ll be able to start and give me what I need as a 3rd option.
4. Are you exploring any trade options? If so, what type of move would you try to make?
I have been talking here and there with a few guys. After the first sim, I got a few PM's about LeBron. After the next sim, even more. So it's obvious that if I plan on making a move, it's going to be him, That said, aside from one offer, everything else has been rather sub par. I have no issue staying put so I sure as hell won't make a move just because I'm in trouble. If I decided to make a move, it would be for a shot blocking big and a replacement SF.
5. Predict your BBS finals matchup. Who and why?
I believe the Hawks come out of the East. The team is pretty loaded throughout and have the young talent to get better if need be. They've only lost once at home (and that was by 1 pt) so they can control home court obviously. Besides all that, I don't see anyone in the east that can hold them in 7.
In the West, I see the Suns coming out. Of course, this is with me having some info on a potential move they are making but still, it's Skillz. He was going to make a move regardless. I can see them making moves to get better and take the top seed out West.
Editors note: Wonder what moves you are talking about? Was trying to make moves for Marion/Deron but have gotten cold feet with our success. We might actually hang tight.
6. If Don wins a title this year, can he call himself a top 5 GM?
Sure he can. He can call himself a pretty bitch. Doesn't mean he is. No disrespect either but eh. I just don't see it. There are still some guys out there that I prefer (play, repole, hustlin, skillz, dbw). If you asked me if he was top 10, then that I would likely agree with. He’s made some decent moves and such but eh. They were “Jah” type moves. Nothing wrong with that, he’s winning, but I just can’t call you a top 5 GM doing that. If he has continued success, including winning titles, then he’ll be there no doubt.
7. Speaking of surprises in GM rankings, the new Wizards and Cavs GM's have been impressive. Where would you rank them among this group of BBS guys?
Tough question. I believe they are somewhere in the 11-20 range. Definitely not bad thus far for “newer” guys. I don’t recall a lot of Traves during his last BBS run but I see people saying it wasn’t all that good so It’s good to see that he’s having a good run now. It’s always nice to have new blood come in and hang around the league. Makes the league more fun and enjoyable when there’s new guys.
8. Will Spence ever win a title in this version of BBS? Is he an above average GM? How isn't Spencer an elite GM after simming for 5+ years??
I don't think he will. I don't think Spencer has the time and that team really needs a lot, especially right now. Ray Allen's contract is going to hold that team down until he retires. Also, some guys just haven't worked out right. Above average, sure. I don't see why he can't be placed there. As for the last question, it's tough. Who's to know how much he messed around and tested with stuff. Sure he did draft files and had to test certain stuff out but that alone isn't gonna do it. A guy like repole sounds like he has done everything with the game. Broke that shit down to the formula's it has. Simming doesn't mean doing all of that. It's just that. Simming. I simmed before and I'm leading a team with Dwight/Bron/Wade to a 5-11 record.
9. DBW is giving me shit again. How good is Greg Smith? Can Greg Smith and Greg Monroe (Greg^2) ever be a successful front court together in BBS with that shot blocking?
From the discussions Broph and DBW have had, I’m going to go ahead and say Smith is good. He’s Zach Randolph like (no jumping but good inside scoring and rebounding) but with some added shot blocking. As far as if they can be good, I don’t see why not. I’ve seen successful front courts have a sub par shot blocker in the starting line up. If DBW can land a good shot blocker as the back up, he’ll be good to go. DBW must love (and hate) these Broph drafts.
10. Greeme, Ashes, Aar, Hustlindaily. Rank these guys 1-2-3-4, and give reasons please.
1. Hustlindaily – Won 2 titles. Put together a good team that continues to win. Wouldn’t shock me if he made one more finals. Going to be interesting to see what happens after a rebuild.
2. Greeme – Built a consistent winner. Put together one of the best back courts in the league. Hasn’t helped said back court all that much. Seems like his front court has been together for the last couple of seasons (not a good thing). Greeme definitely CAN get help, he’s a good enough GM to do it, not sure why he hasn’t. I understand he lost TC but it seems like he’s content with riding that blame wave.
3.Ashes – Made a pretty nice trade for Kobe once. Made it all the way to the finals once. Hasn’t done much of anything since.
4.Aar – Honestly not sure what aar has done. Not trying to be a douche but, yeah. Really don’t recall much. I know he took a rather sub par looking team into the playoffs so that’s good.
11. You just made a lot of deals for stud players. Of the guys you dealt with, who was the easiest to trade with? The Hardest?
Play and Uk were fairly easy to deal with. I made an offer, we worked with that, done deal. Outlawz was tougher though I chalk that up, more so, to him not having a lot of time then anything else. I was trying to get Wade from last season and Outlawz either wasn’t ready to rebuild or had another offer he wanted to do (with Hawks? I don’t know). Either way, when he hit me up before the season, we worked it out pretty quickly. The trades process was fairly simple.
12. You have to go to a professional sporting event with one BBS GM. Who would it be and why?
I’d likely go with Play. I’ve been in sims with this dude for a long ass time. As much as I enjoy shitting on him (and he does to me), he’s a good dude. From the prior discussions I’ve had with Play, I’m sure it would be a rather fun day.
13. The NBA Knicks are a BBS team with their current ratings in BBS. What would their record be? (Felton-JR-Melo-Amare-Chandler, Shump/Kidd/random big bench)
Felton sucks ass here I believe so that’s not a good start already. Same with JR. That back court would be horrific. Kidd would have to start (though I believe he retired). The Chandler/Amare/Melo front court would be pretty solid. Honestly, look at the current Sonics. Replace Boozer’s offense with Chandler’s D and the rest of the team is pretty similar. Kidd might be the biggest difference there (and obviously more D). I’m going to say barely a .500 team.
14. If you don't make the CY, will you be coming back as the GM of another team?
Definitely not right away. I can’t say anything about the future but I can say with 100 percent serenity that I won’t be coming back for a while if this is indeed my last season. If I was ever to come back, It would be the summer I guess. I would definitely miss being in sim leagues but at least being out gives me time for other outside shit.
15.Who is the best GM in BBS right now and why?
Currently it has to be Hustlin. He’s one of 2 GM’s to win 2 titles (DBW being the other) and he has a team that can definitely fight for another. Past that, nobody has done anything to really stand out lately. Play, in a couple of seasons, will likely be fighting for this title. He has a lot of nice, young pieces and I’m sure Play is tired of people talking shit about him. If Don wins a couple of titles, maybe him as well. Anyways, yeah, right now it’s Hustlin.
Welcome to the Lounge, Andy!
1. You must have had high expectations going into the season. Forgetting the Knicks awful start, what was your reasonable expectation for a win number going in?
47-52. I wasn't expecting to run through the league or anything like that but I definitely did not expect such a horrible start. What I did expect was a pretty shaking beginning. It's a fairly new roster with a bunch of new stars, I figured it would take time for me to get the right DC going. I also knew we had some fairly big weaknesses. Definitely did not expect 2-8 though.
2. You are 10-12, but started 2-8. What went wrong? Do you regret trading so much for Dwight Howard?
A bad DC is the more obvious answer. We’re obviously a bit of a weak rebounding team so that didn’t help at all. I was hoping the talent on the team would at least help carry us a bit but everyone besides LeBron just played bad. As for Dwight, no, I don’t regret it at all. It's a move I made and it's a move I have to live with making. I'm just going to make the best out of it. If he can give me 18/11/2 then I'll be perfectly content with what he's giving me. Are there other, and better, options? I guess? Main one I can think of is Bogut. Not sure who else was out there at the time.
**Editors note: THe KNicks just traded Conley and Dwight in a deal for Yao Ming. Good stuff Andy.
3. If you had to go forward with your existing team (no more trades or anything) for the rest of the season, do you make your CY?
Yes, I'll make it. I'll be in there with 43 wins. That's the number. 43. A couple of good sims and I'll be fine. The biggest issue is finding what works best with Wade and Bron. If I can get them both going at the same time, the rest will work out. I'm sure of it. One of my bigger concerns is working out the PG position. Conley did pretty well at the 2 when he had to start. His turnovers hurt some but the rest of the guys have been pretty good there. I might keep him as the back up 1 and 2, I think that’s going to work out well for us. Llull can play and I have no doubt he’ll be able to start and give me what I need as a 3rd option.
4. Are you exploring any trade options? If so, what type of move would you try to make?
I have been talking here and there with a few guys. After the first sim, I got a few PM's about LeBron. After the next sim, even more. So it's obvious that if I plan on making a move, it's going to be him, That said, aside from one offer, everything else has been rather sub par. I have no issue staying put so I sure as hell won't make a move just because I'm in trouble. If I decided to make a move, it would be for a shot blocking big and a replacement SF.
5. Predict your BBS finals matchup. Who and why?
I believe the Hawks come out of the East. The team is pretty loaded throughout and have the young talent to get better if need be. They've only lost once at home (and that was by 1 pt) so they can control home court obviously. Besides all that, I don't see anyone in the east that can hold them in 7.
In the West, I see the Suns coming out. Of course, this is with me having some info on a potential move they are making but still, it's Skillz. He was going to make a move regardless. I can see them making moves to get better and take the top seed out West.
Editors note: Wonder what moves you are talking about? Was trying to make moves for Marion/Deron but have gotten cold feet with our success. We might actually hang tight.
6. If Don wins a title this year, can he call himself a top 5 GM?
Sure he can. He can call himself a pretty bitch. Doesn't mean he is. No disrespect either but eh. I just don't see it. There are still some guys out there that I prefer (play, repole, hustlin, skillz, dbw). If you asked me if he was top 10, then that I would likely agree with. He’s made some decent moves and such but eh. They were “Jah” type moves. Nothing wrong with that, he’s winning, but I just can’t call you a top 5 GM doing that. If he has continued success, including winning titles, then he’ll be there no doubt.
7. Speaking of surprises in GM rankings, the new Wizards and Cavs GM's have been impressive. Where would you rank them among this group of BBS guys?
Tough question. I believe they are somewhere in the 11-20 range. Definitely not bad thus far for “newer” guys. I don’t recall a lot of Traves during his last BBS run but I see people saying it wasn’t all that good so It’s good to see that he’s having a good run now. It’s always nice to have new blood come in and hang around the league. Makes the league more fun and enjoyable when there’s new guys.
8. Will Spence ever win a title in this version of BBS? Is he an above average GM? How isn't Spencer an elite GM after simming for 5+ years??
I don't think he will. I don't think Spencer has the time and that team really needs a lot, especially right now. Ray Allen's contract is going to hold that team down until he retires. Also, some guys just haven't worked out right. Above average, sure. I don't see why he can't be placed there. As for the last question, it's tough. Who's to know how much he messed around and tested with stuff. Sure he did draft files and had to test certain stuff out but that alone isn't gonna do it. A guy like repole sounds like he has done everything with the game. Broke that shit down to the formula's it has. Simming doesn't mean doing all of that. It's just that. Simming. I simmed before and I'm leading a team with Dwight/Bron/Wade to a 5-11 record.
9. DBW is giving me shit again. How good is Greg Smith? Can Greg Smith and Greg Monroe (Greg^2) ever be a successful front court together in BBS with that shot blocking?
From the discussions Broph and DBW have had, I’m going to go ahead and say Smith is good. He’s Zach Randolph like (no jumping but good inside scoring and rebounding) but with some added shot blocking. As far as if they can be good, I don’t see why not. I’ve seen successful front courts have a sub par shot blocker in the starting line up. If DBW can land a good shot blocker as the back up, he’ll be good to go. DBW must love (and hate) these Broph drafts.
10. Greeme, Ashes, Aar, Hustlindaily. Rank these guys 1-2-3-4, and give reasons please.
1. Hustlindaily – Won 2 titles. Put together a good team that continues to win. Wouldn’t shock me if he made one more finals. Going to be interesting to see what happens after a rebuild.
2. Greeme – Built a consistent winner. Put together one of the best back courts in the league. Hasn’t helped said back court all that much. Seems like his front court has been together for the last couple of seasons (not a good thing). Greeme definitely CAN get help, he’s a good enough GM to do it, not sure why he hasn’t. I understand he lost TC but it seems like he’s content with riding that blame wave.
3.Ashes – Made a pretty nice trade for Kobe once. Made it all the way to the finals once. Hasn’t done much of anything since.
4.Aar – Honestly not sure what aar has done. Not trying to be a douche but, yeah. Really don’t recall much. I know he took a rather sub par looking team into the playoffs so that’s good.
11. You just made a lot of deals for stud players. Of the guys you dealt with, who was the easiest to trade with? The Hardest?
Play and Uk were fairly easy to deal with. I made an offer, we worked with that, done deal. Outlawz was tougher though I chalk that up, more so, to him not having a lot of time then anything else. I was trying to get Wade from last season and Outlawz either wasn’t ready to rebuild or had another offer he wanted to do (with Hawks? I don’t know). Either way, when he hit me up before the season, we worked it out pretty quickly. The trades process was fairly simple.
12. You have to go to a professional sporting event with one BBS GM. Who would it be and why?
I’d likely go with Play. I’ve been in sims with this dude for a long ass time. As much as I enjoy shitting on him (and he does to me), he’s a good dude. From the prior discussions I’ve had with Play, I’m sure it would be a rather fun day.
13. The NBA Knicks are a BBS team with their current ratings in BBS. What would their record be? (Felton-JR-Melo-Amare-Chandler, Shump/Kidd/random big bench)
Felton sucks ass here I believe so that’s not a good start already. Same with JR. That back court would be horrific. Kidd would have to start (though I believe he retired). The Chandler/Amare/Melo front court would be pretty solid. Honestly, look at the current Sonics. Replace Boozer’s offense with Chandler’s D and the rest of the team is pretty similar. Kidd might be the biggest difference there (and obviously more D). I’m going to say barely a .500 team.
14. If you don't make the CY, will you be coming back as the GM of another team?
Definitely not right away. I can’t say anything about the future but I can say with 100 percent serenity that I won’t be coming back for a while if this is indeed my last season. If I was ever to come back, It would be the summer I guess. I would definitely miss being in sim leagues but at least being out gives me time for other outside shit.
15.Who is the best GM in BBS right now and why?
Currently it has to be Hustlin. He’s one of 2 GM’s to win 2 titles (DBW being the other) and he has a team that can definitely fight for another. Past that, nobody has done anything to really stand out lately. Play, in a couple of seasons, will likely be fighting for this title. He has a lot of nice, young pieces and I’m sure Play is tired of people talking shit about him. If Don wins a couple of titles, maybe him as well. Anyways, yeah, right now it’s Hustlin.
