Post by Gossip Girl on Nov 25, 2008 21:33:08 GMT -5
The Beginning
When I became the GM of the Utah Jazz(after my 1 season as GM of the Hawks) I was endowed with an aging but still amazing Paul Pierce on a pretty awful contract, Andrei Kirlenko, Andris Biedrins on an awful contract as well, and of course, a blossoming future All Star and MVP in Derrick Rose. By far the biggest problem I had with the team was the fact that I did not have my 1st Round Draft picks in 13/14/15. They belonged to Outlawz. I obviously knew there was no way I could truly compete for a while unless I got those picks back. For a while my initial plan was to do just what I could to get by by winning 40 games until I had my picks back in 2016 and beyond. I took this route for what is was worth and tried to make it work. My first season was a tumultuous one and I was afraid I was going to lose a year on my contract year as I had stuck around or just below the .500 mark all year. My first big break came when Dave offered me Jamison for Kirlenko. I really like Kirlenko's D but Jamison gave me a somewhat legitimate 3rd Option. For the rest of that season and the whole 2nd year I did not do much in the way of trades. The best players I acquired were the likes of Roger Mason Jr. and Samuel Dalembert. This was appearant in the number of wins I had both years, 44 and 43 wins, respectively. At this point it became pretty obvious I could not continue this way in BBS.
The Rose Trade
Trading Derrick Rose was about 2 season in the making. As soon as I was made the GM Outlawz immediately PM'd me about Rose. I knew from being an AGM that he would be likely to try to rape a new GM. However, he had an extreme amount of leverage in the fact that he had my 13/14/15. He politely reminded me of this fact that I already knew. I knew Rose was something special though and I told him he would have to offer more than just those picks, although I did consider it for a while. For about a season and a half we had sparse back and forth PM'ing reminding each other of our interests. I have never been good at standing firm on the fact that someone isn't available, because truly no one should be available for the right price. In retrospect this was for the best and I think that there should never really be someone is "unavailable" as long as you get more value in return. Towards the end of my 2nd season, he really upped the ante, including Arenas and the Bos 13 in addition to my 13/14. It took quite a while for me to realize this was the right thing to do because after all it was Derrick Rose and I had put every reward we were given into him. Of course the rest is history and we spent a good hour and a half on AIM pounding out the details and what not.
The Arenas Trade and Draft Picks
The next problem I faced was how to tank when I still had an All Star PG on my team that would win me games I did not want to win. Obviously he needed to be traded quickly, but for something of reasonable value. I hadn't gotten anything Ii had liked for a while and I was also winning games about 30 days into the season. I had narrowed my choices down to Phoenix, who had a lot of pieces I really liked. I like Blue but those trade negotiations were awful. I finally settled on trading Arenas and two of my future firsts for Westbrook, Roe, and Walker. I got a lot of flack for this trade and deservedly so. I was just desperate to get rid of Arenas at that point. While those picks are most likely to be worth much the fact remains that I probably shouldn't have had to trade them. Now I had some pieces I could use in to build my team up. Roe and Walker both looked great and simmed quite well. I like them a lot. In the 2013 Draft I took Jeremy Tyler 2nd overall, passing on Lance, they both look really good. Only time will tell which one turns out better. With the Boston pick I was fortunate to have Brandon Knight fall into my lap. He looks amazing. With the Clips pick that year I picked Yarou based off his draft notes. He sounded good and looked good as well. He hasn't lived up to expectations. Whatever. Finally, in the 2014 draft I picked Tony Galvan who had an amazing TC. A lot of these players I picked look to be future superstars, especially with a little work.
Present Day/Conclusion
Currently in the 2014 season I am sitting at 5-5, with a team of young studs, really valuable picks in the NOH 16, HOU 16/17, and one year removed from a potential contract year. This begs the question that has been in my head since the end of my 2nd tanking year. Can a group of mainly rookies and sophomores win 40 games? Tanking another year wasn't really an option without having my pick. So I have chosen to go for it. I plan on doing what I can without breaking apart my young core to win 40, if I need to break it apart at all. This of course leads to another question. When is the right time to break it apart for superstars that can make me a championship contender? Or I could choose to let my players develop into the superstars they look to be becoming( Is that grammatically correct?)
I have always been a person with a high degree of risk aversion. This extends to the way I GM as well. If I was to trade my players now for studs there is a good chance that they develop into studs that could keep me a contender for years to come. The irony in this is that trading young guys for studs is, to a degree, practicing risk aversion. In summary, you would be trading players with potential to become superstars for players who already are superstars. Who is to say that those players develop past what they already are? The toughest part about trading for superstars for young guys is that you usually have to give up more than one young guy/pick to get them. The beauty of FBB is that, like most things in life, hindsight is 20/20. I have heard Aaron talk of how he had Nenad/Monta/Bynum all on the same time at one point and how he sometimes regrets trading them. If there is one thing he definitely hasn't gotten through to me at all about, is that you should really value veterans. I try to practice a mixed approach to the whole overvaluing vets/young guys. For the most part it is evident that guys value youth more than solid vets. I often compare players to what I learned in finance and that is that money now is worth more than money later. I translate that into talent now is worth more than talent later. As much as I like that philosophy I, like most people, have a hard time letting go of guys who are so young and look so good. I have also never been one to make blockbuster trades. I attribute this to the fact that I have only been a GM in this league since August and I am pretty naive about the workings of FBB. I still need to analyze and over analyze potential trades to see if I am getting a good deal when I feel that most GM's can make an immediate judgment on value. In time I'm sure that I will be able to feel the league out and become one of the better GM's, but for the time being I am going to continue to be overly hesitant about trades and remain a middle of the pack GM.
When I became the GM of the Utah Jazz(after my 1 season as GM of the Hawks) I was endowed with an aging but still amazing Paul Pierce on a pretty awful contract, Andrei Kirlenko, Andris Biedrins on an awful contract as well, and of course, a blossoming future All Star and MVP in Derrick Rose. By far the biggest problem I had with the team was the fact that I did not have my 1st Round Draft picks in 13/14/15. They belonged to Outlawz. I obviously knew there was no way I could truly compete for a while unless I got those picks back. For a while my initial plan was to do just what I could to get by by winning 40 games until I had my picks back in 2016 and beyond. I took this route for what is was worth and tried to make it work. My first season was a tumultuous one and I was afraid I was going to lose a year on my contract year as I had stuck around or just below the .500 mark all year. My first big break came when Dave offered me Jamison for Kirlenko. I really like Kirlenko's D but Jamison gave me a somewhat legitimate 3rd Option. For the rest of that season and the whole 2nd year I did not do much in the way of trades. The best players I acquired were the likes of Roger Mason Jr. and Samuel Dalembert. This was appearant in the number of wins I had both years, 44 and 43 wins, respectively. At this point it became pretty obvious I could not continue this way in BBS.
The Rose Trade
Trading Derrick Rose was about 2 season in the making. As soon as I was made the GM Outlawz immediately PM'd me about Rose. I knew from being an AGM that he would be likely to try to rape a new GM. However, he had an extreme amount of leverage in the fact that he had my 13/14/15. He politely reminded me of this fact that I already knew. I knew Rose was something special though and I told him he would have to offer more than just those picks, although I did consider it for a while. For about a season and a half we had sparse back and forth PM'ing reminding each other of our interests. I have never been good at standing firm on the fact that someone isn't available, because truly no one should be available for the right price. In retrospect this was for the best and I think that there should never really be someone is "unavailable" as long as you get more value in return. Towards the end of my 2nd season, he really upped the ante, including Arenas and the Bos 13 in addition to my 13/14. It took quite a while for me to realize this was the right thing to do because after all it was Derrick Rose and I had put every reward we were given into him. Of course the rest is history and we spent a good hour and a half on AIM pounding out the details and what not.
The Arenas Trade and Draft Picks
The next problem I faced was how to tank when I still had an All Star PG on my team that would win me games I did not want to win. Obviously he needed to be traded quickly, but for something of reasonable value. I hadn't gotten anything Ii had liked for a while and I was also winning games about 30 days into the season. I had narrowed my choices down to Phoenix, who had a lot of pieces I really liked. I like Blue but those trade negotiations were awful. I finally settled on trading Arenas and two of my future firsts for Westbrook, Roe, and Walker. I got a lot of flack for this trade and deservedly so. I was just desperate to get rid of Arenas at that point. While those picks are most likely to be worth much the fact remains that I probably shouldn't have had to trade them. Now I had some pieces I could use in to build my team up. Roe and Walker both looked great and simmed quite well. I like them a lot. In the 2013 Draft I took Jeremy Tyler 2nd overall, passing on Lance, they both look really good. Only time will tell which one turns out better. With the Boston pick I was fortunate to have Brandon Knight fall into my lap. He looks amazing. With the Clips pick that year I picked Yarou based off his draft notes. He sounded good and looked good as well. He hasn't lived up to expectations. Whatever. Finally, in the 2014 draft I picked Tony Galvan who had an amazing TC. A lot of these players I picked look to be future superstars, especially with a little work.
Present Day/Conclusion
Currently in the 2014 season I am sitting at 5-5, with a team of young studs, really valuable picks in the NOH 16, HOU 16/17, and one year removed from a potential contract year. This begs the question that has been in my head since the end of my 2nd tanking year. Can a group of mainly rookies and sophomores win 40 games? Tanking another year wasn't really an option without having my pick. So I have chosen to go for it. I plan on doing what I can without breaking apart my young core to win 40, if I need to break it apart at all. This of course leads to another question. When is the right time to break it apart for superstars that can make me a championship contender? Or I could choose to let my players develop into the superstars they look to be becoming( Is that grammatically correct?)
I have always been a person with a high degree of risk aversion. This extends to the way I GM as well. If I was to trade my players now for studs there is a good chance that they develop into studs that could keep me a contender for years to come. The irony in this is that trading young guys for studs is, to a degree, practicing risk aversion. In summary, you would be trading players with potential to become superstars for players who already are superstars. Who is to say that those players develop past what they already are? The toughest part about trading for superstars for young guys is that you usually have to give up more than one young guy/pick to get them. The beauty of FBB is that, like most things in life, hindsight is 20/20. I have heard Aaron talk of how he had Nenad/Monta/Bynum all on the same time at one point and how he sometimes regrets trading them. If there is one thing he definitely hasn't gotten through to me at all about, is that you should really value veterans. I try to practice a mixed approach to the whole overvaluing vets/young guys. For the most part it is evident that guys value youth more than solid vets. I often compare players to what I learned in finance and that is that money now is worth more than money later. I translate that into talent now is worth more than talent later. As much as I like that philosophy I, like most people, have a hard time letting go of guys who are so young and look so good. I have also never been one to make blockbuster trades. I attribute this to the fact that I have only been a GM in this league since August and I am pretty naive about the workings of FBB. I still need to analyze and over analyze potential trades to see if I am getting a good deal when I feel that most GM's can make an immediate judgment on value. In time I'm sure that I will be able to feel the league out and become one of the better GM's, but for the time being I am going to continue to be overly hesitant about trades and remain a middle of the pack GM.
. well get on. . . i guess jay's taking forevers
