Q & A with Skillz
Apr 19, 2013 0:13:09 GMT -5
Post by greeme on Apr 19, 2013 0:13:09 GMT -5
1. You have gone on record saying that too many teams tank for 2-3 yrs and then only compete for a few years. Why does that bother you ? Would you suggest changing the cy rules in some way to make it harder to do that and if so, how?
I think people do sims to simulate, well, real life. For me at least, my dream job would to be an NBA GM, and I always search for some realism in the league. And to me, tanking is just the worst of the worst. Giving up on seasons just to lose, and to do so consistently? It requires absolutely no skills as a GM and I don't see why people join sims just to sit on draft picks for year after year and watch them develop due to the game. I wouldn't change the CY, though, because I think it does a good job stopping people from doing what I just mentioned. And those who get away with it generally enter their CY anyway. I generally have zero respect for anyone who needs to use their CY unless they started under a dire situation. I've never been in one in any version as GM, despite being in a number of tricky/shitty situations. We play to win!
2. I always think that your biggest problem is overtrading. You put together a very good team but then you either make one trade too many or you don't get your dc in order by the time that the playoffs come around. Any truth to that??
Absolutely. I've always overtraded, and it's always been my achilles heal. With that said, I think i probably win 90% of the trades I make and it usually leads to good things rather than bad things. The downside to overtrading is the fact that I have thrown away dynasties just out of boredom (i.e., Acy). The upside is that I can get out of pretty much any hole. My team looks pretty shitty right now but I garauntee it will be in great shape in no time.
3. What did you think of the past draft? Who will be the best 3 players when all is said and done?
The past draft was really nice. I think Dakari will be the best player, no question, just as I said after notes. I think Irish will be really effective if he is camped properly. Similarly, I think Calvin Porter will be a complete stud if he's given +25. But that's up to Greg.
I'm with you on Dakari but not on porter or irish. I think that Andy harrison will be a stud and compete with Dakari for top player in the class. Though he hasn't shown it yet, i'm going with Ben Simmons as the third best player. The dropoff from 2nd to 3rd is steep.
4.Are the Suns better than last year's version? Which of your trades this year was your best trade?
Eh, both teams are pretty bad. Both pretty clearly were not going to win anything. My team this year has more potential because I have more value to work with and can improve it before the playoffs start. I also can trade back for Dalembert which will fix my shot blocking problem. Trading for Blair and Lou Will was probably my best deal---Lou is still a complete stud and I got two good players for one.
5. Quincy Davis?? Stud? Why does play hate him so much? Do gms is general get locked in to a "type" of player and just can't see greatness in front of their noses?
I think he'll be really good. Honestly, the only thing holding him back is ratings. I would give him his + 5 in strength from this AC and then use the rest on jumping or some useless shit like that just so his inside eventually shows "B+" Play has notoriously been a ratings whore and hated on players who sim well but rate poorly, so it's not surprising. He hated on Acy and also hated on Rickey Francis back in the day too.
Yeah, he is already awesome. I will +5 his strength at some point and he will be better. Play sucks
6. -?
WTF is this question? Don't have any of these guys. Minus points for Greeme.
Stop trading so much
7. Which teams look like the favorites in the West and East right now? Why?
I like the Hornets out of the East. They arguably have the two best players in the Eastern Conference in Acy and Aldridge, and I think the other teams around in the East are gimmiky. The Grizzlies and Warriors are the clear favorites out West. I'd probably give the Warriors the edge, because Kobe made a pretty shitty trade for Alando Tucker.
I think the nets are being overlooked
8. 3 Easiest gms to trade with?
Aar. He's easily offended when I make offers, and sometimes I have to convince him when my good offers are actually good (and he actually listens and will change his mind if it benefits him), but we generally have an idea of what each other want in a trade and have made a bunch of blockbusters.
Smh. 3 is not such a difficult concept
9. What makes a team a good playoff team vs a good regular season team and vice versa?
They are generally one of a kind. FBB is FBB, so there is not really a distinction. A team that wins 55-60 during the regular season will generally have a chance to win a title. I think more versatile teams generally can fair better in the playoffs because they can matchup to teams individually, but at the same time, I also like having a set DC going into the playoffs so that point contradicts. The one thing I can really point to is when I win titles, my teams have always dominated in possessions. They've always been sick rebounding teams, never turn it over, and present a lot of matchup problems (forwards backing up PG's, some of my best players coming off the bench, efficient starters). I can tell you pretty easily going into the playoffs whether my teams will have a good shot. Mine this year? Nope.
10. Has Kobe gotten better as a gm or is this a lucky streak?
I think he's gotten better. He's still pretty stubborn but doesn't trade for the sake of trading anymore really. I think a lot of it is just that he's active and can take advantage of less active GM's and/or those who aren't paying much attention.
11. The fakes are here. What do you think about the fakes?
I've always liked fake players. I think Spence for the most part has done a good job with them, and he's created a lot of new cool guys like Davis, Meanwell, etc. I still think he needs to do notes for any redeemable player or the random raw guys he creates. The draft is such a crapshoot and does not require much skill, but no one listens to me on that. The drafts have been intriguing at least.
I think that we should have general notes and then each be able to send questions, maybe have to pay in posts, so we could each "scout" certain players that interest us. Obviously the types of questions we could ask would be limited.
12. How does BBS compare to other sim leagues that you are currently in or have been in? Why don't you join UOSL3?
Normally, I just do BBS. I re-joined SLOR this year which is the one I created. It's a nice change of pace from BBS because it's much slower (5 day sims, slow off-season, lux tax and no HC) so it makes it a much different experience. I don't want to join UOSL3 because it's always seemed like a poor man's version of BBS and BBS already fills that void. No one has ever asked me to join and I've never gotten along well with Ashes anyway.
Play gets along with Ashes. That says a lot
13. Bottom 3 gms?
Elbee was pretty terrible but he's out. The new Spurs GM seems like an idiot. Galo has been pretty atrocious. Greg has always been prepetually mediocre. It changes a lot.
I think the Spurs gm should be cut some slack. BBS is different than most leagues out there so it takes awhile to adjust
14. Do you think that changes should be made to the article grading rules? Why is it so hard to get 10 people to vote these days?
No article ever gets under a 5 so it should just be an automatic +4 or something. I don't like the grading policy anyway.
Good job thinking of creative solutions
15. You manage to talk people into a ton of trades. Do you do this in real life also? What was the craziest thing that you talked somebody into doing?
Hah, good question. I think I do it to a lesser extent in real life. There is a good chance I become a lawyer, so there's that. I convinced my buddy who is scared of heights to go sky-diving with me by doing a cost-benefit, risk outline relating skydiving to scuba diving (which he tried). He did it with me but puked when we got to 8000 ft in the air.
Or he just jumped out of a plane so he wouldn't have to listen to you talk anymore.
