Post by Blake Bowman on Jun 28, 2013 12:06:35 GMT
Insider Interview with Walt Frazier
Okay, firstly, you were only three games out of the playoffs, so close; if you would have made it in, how do you think you would have fared against #1 Seed OKC? Do you think you could make it past round one?
It was very close. I was very frustrated actually, because up until about a month to go in the season, I was way out of the playoffs. My team went on quite a streak to get within 3 games of the playoffs. I think we went something like 12 and 7 to end the season. It was impressive compared to where we were the rest of the season, but again, for me, I was pretty certain we wouldn't win enough to make the playoffs, so my team just picked an annoying time to go on a run, and hurt my pick a little bit. Anyway, honestly, I don't think we would have done much against OKC. Maybe squeezed out a game? But we just wouldn't have had enough all around to give them a serious go, at this time.
Your team has a good young front court in Love and Favors, but do you have any anticipation of trading one of the two for a more legitimate Center?
I have looked into this, and probably will continue looking into it. Based on what I've seen, it's very unlikely I'll move Love. I just seem to value him more than most. That's fine, to each their own. Favors is available but I'm also very high on him. There is a reason I traded for him. I think Love and Favors can both play Center, so I'm not too desperate, but it's always an option.
You have two late lotto picks, currently #'s 12 and 14. Let's say you keep your picks at #12 and #14, whom would you like to select with these picks? Use any mock draft you'd like, any reasoning you'd like.
Well, I'm set at PG and at least half of my front court. I'm really looking for wing players and maybe another big man, so I'll probably be targeting McCollum, Adetokunbo, Shabazz, Adams, and Olynyk. We'll see how that all shakes out, I'm excited to have two picks in the top half of the draft, no matter where they fall.
Okay, now let's say you move up to #1 with one of your picks, who do you take since you already have a nice front and back court, would you trade the pick with another player to upgrade a position possibly, or maybe move Favors or Love?
If I am lucky enough to win the lotto with my #12 pick (#14 has already been revealed by Commissioner Ian, it will be staying at 14), I like Noel, McLemore, Otto Porter, and Oladipo. Gun to the head, pick of the litter? McLemore.
What are your off-season plans, are there any free agents you're targeting?
My first order of business is bringing back Nicolas Batum. He's one of my favorite players, and was one of my first trades in this league, bringing him to Minnesota. We've shown him a lot of commitment, and we know he loves being here and playing with Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio. Other than that, we should still have enough money to go after a max-type FA. Dwight Howard, Josh Smith, Roy Hibbert, Brook Lopez, and Paul Millsap will probably all be on our radar, but we have some other ideas that we'll keep under the hat for now.
Rubio is playing very well, how would you grade his Sophomore season?
I love Ricky's game. We are ecstatic to have him running our offense. We know he has some deficiencies shooting the ball, but we believe he can work on that and improve. His elite level court vision and passing ability, as well as his active hands on defense make him a top notch PG in our eyes.
What is a deal you made that you especially liked this past season?
Overall I was kind of quiet this season. I fielded and sent plenty of offers, but didn't seem to get all that close most of the time. My favorite deal from this year is probably a tie between my late-season deal to get a lottery pick from the Blazers for 3 expiring contracts and my pre-season trade with the Hawks. I know why the Blazers did it, and it really may help him get a ring this year, but for me, I ended up getting a lottery pick for "nothing". I was not really planning on bringing any of those players back, so, even though this is a weaker draft, I think there are rotational players available for me, and I'll get to keep him for 5 years at a cheap price. The pre-season trade with the Hawks is where I brought in Derrick Favors for Tyreke Evans. I just have never been a huge Tyreke fan, his style of play, and I'm very big on Favors as I mentioned. I'm looking forward to seeing this pay off down the road.
What is a deal you would take back if you had the chance?
If you are talking about just this season, I don't really have one. I think my only other trade was sending Jan Vesely out (a player I have soured on) for Dorell Wright, and I ended up using Dorell to get the Blazers' Lotto pick (from New Orleans). I'm not trying to back out of this question, but even going back to last year I don't regret a trade I have made thus far in D5.
Is there anyone in the league that you would really like to put in a 'Wolves jersey?
I'd love a guy like James Harden. I'd kill for Kevin Durant. Also, just a personal favorite, as a Knicks fan, Iman Shumpert. I love what he brings from a defensive standpoint, and his energy and character are top notch.
What is a deal another team made that you really liked?
Hate to beat a dead horse but Denver getting Kyrie. I'm a huge Kyrie fan, I think he will be, and maybe already is, one of the best PG in the league. He's also crazy young and has time to improve. I would probably never trade him unless getting someone even better, so great get for Denver.
What is a deal another team did that made you scratch your head as to why?
Again, don't know why Lakers would move a guy like Kyrie. I don't care if the rest of my roster is a mess, or I just really like some other players and Kyrie is the only way I can get them, I hold onto Kyrie for dear life and build around him at all costs.
What is your long term plan for the team and how long until you return to the playoffs in your mind?
Second part of your question first - I expect to be back in the playoffs this coming season. Love and Rubio with Favors is a great core for me to build around and attract FA's. I ended the season on a tear, and expect that to continue or get better, especially if I am able to attract a big-time FA, along with bringing Batum back to town. Add two useful lottery picks and I think I'm sitting pretty. I plan to take this team to perennial contender status, and if the right big-name FA does bring his talents to the beautiful Twin Cities, we are going to make a ton of noise.
What got you into sim b-ball leagues, and how did you first discover them? How long have you been GMing, and how long have you been into basketball in general?
I started getting into basketball when I was around 5 or 6 years old I think. I was kind of an anti-conformist even then, so while everyone else seemed to love Michael Jordan and the Bulls, I went for one of his rivals, Patrick Ewing and the Knicks. I've been a fan of the Knicks ever since, even through the *insert unspeakable former GM of the Knicks here* era. I remember playing this old computer game, and I guess they couldn't use actual NBA player names, but I was always this guy named something like "Coatrack Chewing".
I've been GMing since the old NBA Legends sim league. Maybe it's just because it was my first league, but that's still my favorite league I've ever been in. I love D5 for it's longevity and ability to keep bringing in quality GMs to make this league fun though, of course. I honestly forget what year that was, 2007 I think? It has been effectively dead since the main Admin decided to walk away in 2010. I had a team with David Lee, Bogut, Stephen Curry, Ty Lawson, Wilson Chandler, JaVale McGee, Nikola Pekovic, and Tiago Splitter. Plus a loaaaaad of Cap Space. I was ready to finally make my move, and then the league died! Anyway, back on topic lol.
I don't even remember how I found sim leagues, unfortunately. I may have just been searching for something about a video game I was looking into, and kind of fell into it. Honestly, don't remember, that's way too long ago for me.
Okay, firstly, you were only three games out of the playoffs, so close; if you would have made it in, how do you think you would have fared against #1 Seed OKC? Do you think you could make it past round one?
It was very close. I was very frustrated actually, because up until about a month to go in the season, I was way out of the playoffs. My team went on quite a streak to get within 3 games of the playoffs. I think we went something like 12 and 7 to end the season. It was impressive compared to where we were the rest of the season, but again, for me, I was pretty certain we wouldn't win enough to make the playoffs, so my team just picked an annoying time to go on a run, and hurt my pick a little bit. Anyway, honestly, I don't think we would have done much against OKC. Maybe squeezed out a game? But we just wouldn't have had enough all around to give them a serious go, at this time.
Your team has a good young front court in Love and Favors, but do you have any anticipation of trading one of the two for a more legitimate Center?
I have looked into this, and probably will continue looking into it. Based on what I've seen, it's very unlikely I'll move Love. I just seem to value him more than most. That's fine, to each their own. Favors is available but I'm also very high on him. There is a reason I traded for him. I think Love and Favors can both play Center, so I'm not too desperate, but it's always an option.
You have two late lotto picks, currently #'s 12 and 14. Let's say you keep your picks at #12 and #14, whom would you like to select with these picks? Use any mock draft you'd like, any reasoning you'd like.
Well, I'm set at PG and at least half of my front court. I'm really looking for wing players and maybe another big man, so I'll probably be targeting McCollum, Adetokunbo, Shabazz, Adams, and Olynyk. We'll see how that all shakes out, I'm excited to have two picks in the top half of the draft, no matter where they fall.
Okay, now let's say you move up to #1 with one of your picks, who do you take since you already have a nice front and back court, would you trade the pick with another player to upgrade a position possibly, or maybe move Favors or Love?
If I am lucky enough to win the lotto with my #12 pick (#14 has already been revealed by Commissioner Ian, it will be staying at 14), I like Noel, McLemore, Otto Porter, and Oladipo. Gun to the head, pick of the litter? McLemore.
What are your off-season plans, are there any free agents you're targeting?
My first order of business is bringing back Nicolas Batum. He's one of my favorite players, and was one of my first trades in this league, bringing him to Minnesota. We've shown him a lot of commitment, and we know he loves being here and playing with Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio. Other than that, we should still have enough money to go after a max-type FA. Dwight Howard, Josh Smith, Roy Hibbert, Brook Lopez, and Paul Millsap will probably all be on our radar, but we have some other ideas that we'll keep under the hat for now.
Rubio is playing very well, how would you grade his Sophomore season?
I love Ricky's game. We are ecstatic to have him running our offense. We know he has some deficiencies shooting the ball, but we believe he can work on that and improve. His elite level court vision and passing ability, as well as his active hands on defense make him a top notch PG in our eyes.
What is a deal you made that you especially liked this past season?
Overall I was kind of quiet this season. I fielded and sent plenty of offers, but didn't seem to get all that close most of the time. My favorite deal from this year is probably a tie between my late-season deal to get a lottery pick from the Blazers for 3 expiring contracts and my pre-season trade with the Hawks. I know why the Blazers did it, and it really may help him get a ring this year, but for me, I ended up getting a lottery pick for "nothing". I was not really planning on bringing any of those players back, so, even though this is a weaker draft, I think there are rotational players available for me, and I'll get to keep him for 5 years at a cheap price. The pre-season trade with the Hawks is where I brought in Derrick Favors for Tyreke Evans. I just have never been a huge Tyreke fan, his style of play, and I'm very big on Favors as I mentioned. I'm looking forward to seeing this pay off down the road.
What is a deal you would take back if you had the chance?
If you are talking about just this season, I don't really have one. I think my only other trade was sending Jan Vesely out (a player I have soured on) for Dorell Wright, and I ended up using Dorell to get the Blazers' Lotto pick (from New Orleans). I'm not trying to back out of this question, but even going back to last year I don't regret a trade I have made thus far in D5.
Is there anyone in the league that you would really like to put in a 'Wolves jersey?
I'd love a guy like James Harden. I'd kill for Kevin Durant. Also, just a personal favorite, as a Knicks fan, Iman Shumpert. I love what he brings from a defensive standpoint, and his energy and character are top notch.
What is a deal another team made that you really liked?
Hate to beat a dead horse but Denver getting Kyrie. I'm a huge Kyrie fan, I think he will be, and maybe already is, one of the best PG in the league. He's also crazy young and has time to improve. I would probably never trade him unless getting someone even better, so great get for Denver.
What is a deal another team did that made you scratch your head as to why?
Again, don't know why Lakers would move a guy like Kyrie. I don't care if the rest of my roster is a mess, or I just really like some other players and Kyrie is the only way I can get them, I hold onto Kyrie for dear life and build around him at all costs.
What is your long term plan for the team and how long until you return to the playoffs in your mind?
Second part of your question first - I expect to be back in the playoffs this coming season. Love and Rubio with Favors is a great core for me to build around and attract FA's. I ended the season on a tear, and expect that to continue or get better, especially if I am able to attract a big-time FA, along with bringing Batum back to town. Add two useful lottery picks and I think I'm sitting pretty. I plan to take this team to perennial contender status, and if the right big-name FA does bring his talents to the beautiful Twin Cities, we are going to make a ton of noise.
What got you into sim b-ball leagues, and how did you first discover them? How long have you been GMing, and how long have you been into basketball in general?
I started getting into basketball when I was around 5 or 6 years old I think. I was kind of an anti-conformist even then, so while everyone else seemed to love Michael Jordan and the Bulls, I went for one of his rivals, Patrick Ewing and the Knicks. I've been a fan of the Knicks ever since, even through the *insert unspeakable former GM of the Knicks here* era. I remember playing this old computer game, and I guess they couldn't use actual NBA player names, but I was always this guy named something like "Coatrack Chewing".
I've been GMing since the old NBA Legends sim league. Maybe it's just because it was my first league, but that's still my favorite league I've ever been in. I love D5 for it's longevity and ability to keep bringing in quality GMs to make this league fun though, of course. I honestly forget what year that was, 2007 I think? It has been effectively dead since the main Admin decided to walk away in 2010. I had a team with David Lee, Bogut, Stephen Curry, Ty Lawson, Wilson Chandler, JaVale McGee, Nikola Pekovic, and Tiago Splitter. Plus a loaaaaad of Cap Space. I was ready to finally make my move, and then the league died! Anyway, back on topic lol.
I don't even remember how I found sim leagues, unfortunately. I may have just been searching for something about a video game I was looking into, and kind of fell into it. Honestly, don't remember, that's way too long ago for me.