Inaugural Majic's Things I Like and Dislike - League Edition
Feb 7, 2024 13:13:59 GMT -6
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Post by majic44 on Feb 7, 2024 13:13:59 GMT -6
Inaugural “Things I Like and Dislike” - ITP Sim League Edition
Hello all to the inaugural “Things I Like and Dislike” article.. Before you ask, yes I am ripping this from Lowe and ESPN, but all great ideas are stolen. This article will be a regular option for me to break down my team, the league, or anything else that I might feel like discussing at that time. I plan to do at least one of these every season, and if the mood hits me maybe I will do it more often.
For the first posting of this article, I thought it only fitting to do 10 or so likes and dislikes about the league overall. This is the 4th iteration of a sim league that I have been a part of, and each has their own quirks to figure out. Lets jump right into it:
1) I like the existence of this league. Yes, that is a bit simple but I wanted to start with the most important one. All 3 of the previous iterations of sim that I was a part of came to end. Thankfully, after the first 2 ended we had enough interest to restart the league and go to the beginning. This last time that was not the case, our league regularly had 20+ GM’s for several years but over the course of the last iteration we were regularly down in the single digits. Finding this league and having the option to join with a couple of buddies has been great. Seems this is a stable and long tenured league and I look forward to being here as long as you all will have me.
2) I dislike our DC rules and think they are overly complicated. Don't get me wrong, its not easy to come up with streamlined DC rules when the NBA essentially has many position-less players in its history. That being said, the way our DC rules are setup is overly confusing. Why is handling the baseline for a SF to play SG? If a GM wants to play a SF with horrible handling then so be it. SG and SF should be interchangeable given those two positions essentially are the same in real life. I do think its smart to have some limit on a SG playing PG as a SG could be a cheesed PG with the right stats. Also, we should have more flexibility with who is listed at backup. NBA rotations are usually only 7-8 players deep, we should be able to mirror that in sim league.
3)I like (love?!) player attributes being visible for everyone. The other leagues I played in did not release players attributes, or hid them for purchase in limited supplies. Madden and 2k have long been successful with competitive online dynasties and those games have full attributes available. I love that our league has the attributes available for all to see. It allows each GM to prioritize different traits and go after guys they really like.
4) I like our Upgrade Camp setup and how it is structured. In my old leagues, we had a 30 point limit for each player and they could be used all at once. This resulted in every player getting the full upgrades right away and essentially being nearly fully formed players in their first year. This obviously helped rebuilding teams get impact players right away, but it also made the upgrade process very stale. Every GM was essentially upgrading the same 2-3 attributes right away and players oftentimes looked identical. I like that there is more structure and diversity to the camping system in our league.
5) This won't be my first BUT, so stick with me here… BUT, I also dislike some of the rigidity to the camps. I like that there are limits to the camps but I wish we had more flexibility on what we can upgrade, and also when. There are some attributes that are pointless to upgrade and it would be nice to be able to put more points into certain areas that a GM might find more beneficial. Also, I do wish we could upgrade players beyond their rookie contract. Most pros don't hit their prime until their mid/late 20’s and it would be nice to continue to upgrade guys beyond that first contract.
6) I like the overall pace of the league, specifically the offseason. Our previous league ran a a breakneck pace and we finished a full season/offseason every 3 weeks. This made it difficult at times to stay on top of everything league related, especially when you have “life” stuff going on. I also love that john does minimal work on the weekends. As a father of 2 young kids, it can get pretty hectic on the weekends, not having to worry about sim related stuff makes it a nice change.
7) With that said, I also dislike the pace at times, but this is more to do with my impatience as a person than anything related to the league. I am more in a rebuilding phase with my team and I would love to speed through seasons to get to the competing years. Again, I would rather have our season's pace than my last one, but sometimes it would be nice to speed up.
8) I like the lottery model to determine the draft order. My last 2 leagues were “wheel” leagues, meaning picks were predetermined for every draft and your record would not impact them. It is an understatement to say that I hated it and missed having a traditional lottery. Lottery drafts provide the most fun and exciting way to establish the draft order. It also benefits the bad teams while forcing the good teams to strategically build their teams. Sure, there are some downsides, such as tanking, but I think it's worth it in the long run.
9) I like proxy teams (I think).... Proxy teams are a great way to keep budding stars upgraded and on a team. It also helps balance the league and not create a saturation of players. Most importantly, I think it provides an easier path for new GM’s to join and take over a team. It was a benefit for myself to come in and take over a team with a couple of young players already on the roster. There are some downsides, but overall I think it better helps keep the league healthy.
Hello all to the inaugural “Things I Like and Dislike” article.. Before you ask, yes I am ripping this from Lowe and ESPN, but all great ideas are stolen. This article will be a regular option for me to break down my team, the league, or anything else that I might feel like discussing at that time. I plan to do at least one of these every season, and if the mood hits me maybe I will do it more often.
For the first posting of this article, I thought it only fitting to do 10 or so likes and dislikes about the league overall. This is the 4th iteration of a sim league that I have been a part of, and each has their own quirks to figure out. Lets jump right into it:
1) I like the existence of this league. Yes, that is a bit simple but I wanted to start with the most important one. All 3 of the previous iterations of sim that I was a part of came to end. Thankfully, after the first 2 ended we had enough interest to restart the league and go to the beginning. This last time that was not the case, our league regularly had 20+ GM’s for several years but over the course of the last iteration we were regularly down in the single digits. Finding this league and having the option to join with a couple of buddies has been great. Seems this is a stable and long tenured league and I look forward to being here as long as you all will have me.
2) I dislike our DC rules and think they are overly complicated. Don't get me wrong, its not easy to come up with streamlined DC rules when the NBA essentially has many position-less players in its history. That being said, the way our DC rules are setup is overly confusing. Why is handling the baseline for a SF to play SG? If a GM wants to play a SF with horrible handling then so be it. SG and SF should be interchangeable given those two positions essentially are the same in real life. I do think its smart to have some limit on a SG playing PG as a SG could be a cheesed PG with the right stats. Also, we should have more flexibility with who is listed at backup. NBA rotations are usually only 7-8 players deep, we should be able to mirror that in sim league.
3)I like (love?!) player attributes being visible for everyone. The other leagues I played in did not release players attributes, or hid them for purchase in limited supplies. Madden and 2k have long been successful with competitive online dynasties and those games have full attributes available. I love that our league has the attributes available for all to see. It allows each GM to prioritize different traits and go after guys they really like.
4) I like our Upgrade Camp setup and how it is structured. In my old leagues, we had a 30 point limit for each player and they could be used all at once. This resulted in every player getting the full upgrades right away and essentially being nearly fully formed players in their first year. This obviously helped rebuilding teams get impact players right away, but it also made the upgrade process very stale. Every GM was essentially upgrading the same 2-3 attributes right away and players oftentimes looked identical. I like that there is more structure and diversity to the camping system in our league.
5) This won't be my first BUT, so stick with me here… BUT, I also dislike some of the rigidity to the camps. I like that there are limits to the camps but I wish we had more flexibility on what we can upgrade, and also when. There are some attributes that are pointless to upgrade and it would be nice to be able to put more points into certain areas that a GM might find more beneficial. Also, I do wish we could upgrade players beyond their rookie contract. Most pros don't hit their prime until their mid/late 20’s and it would be nice to continue to upgrade guys beyond that first contract.
6) I like the overall pace of the league, specifically the offseason. Our previous league ran a a breakneck pace and we finished a full season/offseason every 3 weeks. This made it difficult at times to stay on top of everything league related, especially when you have “life” stuff going on. I also love that john does minimal work on the weekends. As a father of 2 young kids, it can get pretty hectic on the weekends, not having to worry about sim related stuff makes it a nice change.
7) With that said, I also dislike the pace at times, but this is more to do with my impatience as a person than anything related to the league. I am more in a rebuilding phase with my team and I would love to speed through seasons to get to the competing years. Again, I would rather have our season's pace than my last one, but sometimes it would be nice to speed up.
8) I like the lottery model to determine the draft order. My last 2 leagues were “wheel” leagues, meaning picks were predetermined for every draft and your record would not impact them. It is an understatement to say that I hated it and missed having a traditional lottery. Lottery drafts provide the most fun and exciting way to establish the draft order. It also benefits the bad teams while forcing the good teams to strategically build their teams. Sure, there are some downsides, such as tanking, but I think it's worth it in the long run.
9) I like proxy teams (I think).... Proxy teams are a great way to keep budding stars upgraded and on a team. It also helps balance the league and not create a saturation of players. Most importantly, I think it provides an easier path for new GM’s to join and take over a team. It was a benefit for myself to come in and take over a team with a couple of young players already on the roster. There are some downsides, but overall I think it better helps keep the league healthy.
