We sat with 7 of this league’s finest and went to town with questions about the league, this season, exciting players, both new and old, and takes were loaded with insight, humour, and wisdom.
Without further ado, let’s meet our panel of GMs:
dd10snoop28– New Jersey Nets
Cellar-door – Charlotte Hornets
800wins – Miami Heat
Foxyg1396 – Denver Nuggets
vincent1469 – Seattle Supersonics
lukeyrid13 – Portland Trailblazers
Craig – Phoenix Suns
Let’s here from our panel, shall we?
1) Midway through the season, who is the favourite to win it all going into the playoffs?
dd10snoop28: Favorite to win it all is the suns right now. They are on a crazy hot streak and I think their team is finally coming together after underperforming the last 2 years. Other than that, the contenders are me/Heat/Nuggets. Mavs have an outside chance as well.
Cellar-door: Still the Heat, bets offense in the league by a ton, and a +15 net rating. Unless one of the other top teams makes a huge trade they are favorites (and not clear any of the other top teams have the assets to make a trade
800wins: Usually don't like doing this, but I'll say my team the Heat. Best w/l record, high level of talent, and even more importantly in my book the most impressive team statistically.
Foxyg1396: I would say probably Bucks or Heat. I wanna be a Homer but I realize that maybe we’re just not quite there yet
vincent1469: Probably the Suns. I’ve had them as my favorite as long as they had their core of Elliott - Smith - O’Neal. Heat are nice but a young team, I think they’ll contend for years and their team will only get better.
lukeyrid13: I think it has to be the Heat. Their PPG differential is huge, they have by far the best offense in the league and are lowest in turnovers, first in rebounds etc. Statistically they are the clear favorite. Quinnett averaging 30ppg with only 1 turnover is really quite amazing.
Craig: Pretty clearly the Heat I think. Stupidly dynamic on both ends, no real weaknesses. Maybe a big, strong SF can pummel the undersized Piatkowski but they have so much size & rim protection behind him it probably doesn't matter. I suppose there is a shot for Bucks, Nuggs, Suns if Miami falters in the playoffs, as they all look pretty strong too.
2) Give me a league-wide bold prediction for the rest of the regular season or playoffs.
dd10snoop28: I’ll give 5:
1. Priest Lauderdale will win ROTY and be the best player from this draft.
2. Pacers will NOT make playoffs even after trading all picks to compete.
3. Four teams will break the offensive PPG scoring record (heat/nuggets/nets/bucks).
4. lukey/TK1/Heezy will make a combined amount of TWO lopsided trade with new GM’s before end of season.
5. Mavs will beat both Nuggets and Suns en route to DASL finals appearance.
Cellar-door: Spurs take the 4 seed in the West.
800wins: My bold prediction is that the Rockets, having finally gotten ridden of that choker MJ, will make it to the Finals carried by Kenny Smith.
Foxyg1396: Grizzlies will get the number 1 pick again.
vincent1469: Timbs will make the conference finals. I like the construction of their roster and they have the tools to make it far.
lukeyrid13: The Nets flame out in the 1st round and throw a hissy fit. Maybe not bold since we all expect it though.
Craig: The Heat will win the title but lose at least one of Brian Quinnett or Anfernee Hardaway in free agency (ok maybe it's more of a wish).
3) Who do you think will win MVP? Who is your dark horse candidate?
dd10snoop28: Quinnett or Charles Smith. Both playing out of their minds right now on the top teams. Vlade is a crazy dark horse. Came out of nowhere and Bucks look good because of it…. The real dark horse, however, is Vlad coming out of retirement to lead Nets to championship.
Cellar-door: Brian Quinett wins it. Dark Horse... Vlade has a shot if Quinett gets hurt.
800wins: I'll take Kenny Anderson as my MVP choice. MVP's favor PG's and he may be having the best statistical season at the position. My dark horse candidate is Vlade Divac who suddenly at 28 years old has turned into an AMAZING player and is leading the way for one of the leagues best teams.
Foxyg1396: Charles Smith, my dark horse would probably be MJ.
vincent1469: MVPs have been favoring guards recently. I’m thinking Quinnett, but Richmond can win it as well.
lukeyrid13: It should be Quinnett. With how much FBB loves PGs, I think Hardaway is more likely to win (see MJ & Smith on Rockets). Dark horse, is Mitch Richmond. The Bullets are quietly good this season for the first time in 2.0.
Craig: I think it should be Brian Quinnett. Not sure that's a prediction for the sim file, but it's who I would choose. Scoring 30ppg and only 1 damn turnover with plus rebounding/defense is pretty nuts. And he's on the league's best team. Vlade Divac, if he continues to be a top scoring option, is a good dark horse I think. Other options are Anfernee Hardaway, David Robinson, Kenny Anderson, super dark horses Alonzo Mourning & Kenny Smith if they start climbing up the standings.
4) Which contender is actually the biggest pretender this year?
dd10snoop28: Bullets/Lakers. Both over-performing at this time. If they were a pretender, doesn’t that mean that they are not a contender btw?
Cellar-door: Not sure who counts as a contender, but the Bullets and Blazers both appear to be outperforming their underlying stats in terms of records.
800wins: Does self proclaimed contender count ? If so my choice is easily the New Jersey Nets who may be due for another playoff sweep. If we aren't counting them, I'd say the Portland Trailblazers who are playing well but don't impress me with their top end talent.
Foxyg1396: The Bullets, this is the first year they've actually been anywhere close to relevant.
vincent1469: Charlotte. I think their relatively weak defense wouldnt do as well in the playoffs.
lukeyrid13: Blazers, my squad. It's been a theme to win 50+ games in the regular season but not be a title contender and I think the same is true this year. Expect a full reset this offseason.
Craig: It depends on who is in the 'contender' category. If we're talking teams near the top of the standings, I think I'd go with the Bullets/Blazers. I just don't see their frontcourts/rim protection being able to hold up in the playoffs. Though Anderson and Richmond in Washington have turned into absolute superstars, so you never know. Maybe my answer is just Blazers
5) You get to choose one active player to build a franchise around, who is it?
dd10snoop28: Chris Gatling. Kind of a weird pick, but I think he’s a top scorer and could surround him with supporting cast and make him a 30ppg scorer maybe. Other than that, KG would be a ton of fun to build around.
Cellar-door: Short Term.. Robinson, long term... Jalen Rose.
800wins: As much as I wanted to be biased and say Penny, I'll have to choose Shaq. At 24, age is still very much on his side and it's hard to match his level of domination. A guy who can give you his level of production offensively combined with 5+ Stocks per game can be the anchor for a variety of different looking championship level teams.
Foxyg1396: Probably KG, he's gotten much better in his TC's and doesn't show signs of slowing down.
vincent1469: Allen Iverson. Mostly because I’m a fan of him irl.
lukeyrid13: A year ago I would have said Shaq, but his last TC was both surprising and concerning. Alonzo Mourning is interesting with still showing A potential on top of a couple of great TCs. As for rookies, Ray Allen is looking like he will have the best career, especially as we shift to more outside focused offenses.
Craig: I guess it depends on what you're trying to do. For winning immediately? Probably Quinnett. He just offers so much flexibility in roster building. But he's 30 so if you're looking for a younger guy to build around for 10 years, then maybe a Ray Allen/Kevin Garnett, or Shaq if you're looking for a middle ground of young while being more of a sure thing.
6) Which position would be considered the premium one in the league today?
dd10snoop28: Sheesh, I want to say that we have officially moved to the guard-dominant era, but all of the top players in the league are still big men so I think we are still in the big-man era. I'm surprised, to be honest.. Therefore, I would say that Center is the most important, followed by PF, then PG, then SG/SF.
Cellar-door: Point Guard, least depth, most impact.
800wins: With Fbb's love of PG's, and the rules here Is say that position is most at a premium now and will continue to be. Most of the top teams have an all star caliber player at the position & it shows.
Foxyg1396: Shooting Guard or Small Forward would probably be my pick for premier position.
vincent1469: Probably Center. Given how the software was made in a less-perimeter heavy time, a good center is incredibly important.
lukeyrid13: There is a lot of depth at PG, which the league really struggled with throughout the 80s, but I think SG is the strongest. MJ, Quinnett, Gill, Piatkowski, Richmond, Jim Jackson, Ray Allen etc.
Craig: Depends on the definition of 'premium' I guess. The position with the most scarcity is PG, so having one of the few great ones is a good place to be in that not many others can match, but it also means you can get by with a lot of different options if you have talent elsewhere. SG has the most high-end talent, so it could be at a premium in that there are a lot of great options available. Great C's have the most two-way impact, in that they can control the game on both sides of the floor, but sometimes their offense is inconsistent. The best PF's are just C's playing down and most of the best SF's are PF's playing down. To answer the question for me: Generally speaking, having one of the league's best wings (SG or SF) is probably the easiest ticket to a good team, as there are easier combinations of role players at C/PF/PG that can work if you have that. A great PG is right up there for me as well, there just aren't very many of them right now.
7) What recommendations would you give to making this league even better?
dd10snoop28: Any proposal to improve the league that doesn't mention the words "lukey" and "suspension" ought not to be taken seriously.
Cellar-door: Generally happy with all the fine tuning. Would be interesting to bring in the real Stepien rule though, would change a lot of how the top contenders operate.
800wins: Something I brought up recently was updating the advanced stats tool regularly. That is something that's unique to this league and would help an already great league shins even brighter.
Foxyg1396: Honestly, I'm not sure I think this league is really well run. Maybe just updating the advanced stats more often.
vincent1469: Honestly not sure. Maybe make the closing sim 10 games?
lukeyrid13: More 10 day sims! I don't mind trying to stretch seasons a bit, but I think alternating 10 day and 5 day sims would be nice.
Craig: Meh, I dunno it's pretty good. I've been thinking maybe running Free Agency in sims of Day 1/2, 3/4, and 5 might be interesting in making it more difficult to pile up good depth on Day 5/leftover FAs, but I don't actually have a problem with the way it is. Still say the "veto" system is broken, as the criteria flies all over the place. Just do away with it or enforce it consistently, but again not a real issue.
8) Are you on the ddsnoop's side, Lukey's side, or neutral, just generally speaking?
dd10snoop28: Puh-lease navidad.
Cellar-door: Neutral.
800wins: No comment.
Foxyg1396: Is this really even a question? One of them has actively helped me when I've needed cap relief or advice on trades, while the other has actively taken advantage of me and in the past has taken advantage of what I thought was a friendship. Just so we are clear and he doesn't try to twist my words, Lukey has helped me time and time again while DD has done everything humanly possible to stunt my growth as a GM.
vincent1469: Neutral. Its just fun to watch haha.
lukeyrid13: This is the easiest answer of all of them. Every story needs a villain and at least our league has a very clear villain. We should just starting calling the Nets GM the Joker, cause he's a total clown.
Craig: They both do all the sh** they accuse each other of
I'm neutral.----- Lightning Round -----
1) Who will win ROTY?
dd10snoop28: Peja Stoyakovic. His stats don’t show it but that man deserves an award for having to guard the Karl Malone’s of the world as the starting PF of the Grizzlies.
But really, looks like Antoine Walker is gonna run away with it. High volume/scoring on a bad team. He looks good tho.
Cellar-door: Antoine.
800wins: Antoine "4 Point" Walker
Foxyg1396: Walker.
vincent1469: Ray Allen.
lukeyrid13: The Priest.
Craig: Walker.
2) Who will win DPOY?
dd10snoop28: Zo. His rebounding/steals/rebounding is crazy.
Cellar-door: Vlade.
800wins: Alonzo Mourning.
Foxyg1396: Zo.
vincent1469: Vlade Divac.
lukeyrid13: Zo.
Craig: Alonzo Mourning.
3) Who will be the first seed in the East?
dd10snoop28: Me, unless something and/or someone nefarious prevents us from going on a 20-2 run the next 22 games.
Cellar-door: Heat.
800wins: Heat.
Foxyg1396: Heat.
vincent1469: Bucks.
lukeyrid13: Heat.
Craig: Heat.
4) Who will be the first seed in the West?
dd10snoop28: Whoever wins between Suns/Nuggets on Day 86. Book it! - (answered before day 86 lol)
Cellar-door: Suns.
800wins: Suns.
Foxyg1396: Suns.
vincent1469: Suns.
lukeyrid13: Suns.
Craig: Phoenix Suns.
5) What team finishes with the worst record?
dd10snoop28: The team where 170lb Peja Stoyakoivic is playing starting center.
Cellar-door: Clips.
800wins: Grizzlies.
Foxyg1396: Clippers.
vincent1469: Sonics.
lukeyrid13: Clippers.
Craig: Los Angeles Clippers.
6) Who is the most exciting name in the 1997 DASL draft class?
dd10snoop28: Keith Van Horn. Seems like a down to earth kinda guy.
Cellar-door: Duncan.
800wins: Kobe. The most exciting prospect in league history.
Foxyg1396: Def Kobe, granted Mr. Fundamental is nice too.
vincent1469: Tim Duncan.
lukeyrid13: Scot Pollard. When you tear your team down, you only do it for guys like Scot Pollard.
Craig: Kobe.
That's all the time we have today, folks! Thanks for joining us, and until next time!
