NBA SIMS LEAGUE
NSL Insider - GMOTY Nominations!by Nenjabin, updated on Sunday, April 26 2020, 08:54 am EST We’ve had an amazing 1 st season in the NSL and we’re now over a year old. It’s fitting that the first end of season award handed out is one for the GMs as they, we, are what makes the league. There’s a lot to consider this season. Do we go as far back to the inaugural draft in deciding? Or do we just look at this season, the standings, the coaching, the moves made? Everyone on this list is deserving of the award, in truth, every GM is worthy, we made it! But the ones nominated below have been chosen for a plethora of reasons. Special mentions Firstly, a quick word of a couple of GMs that received a handful of nominations but have been deemed ineligible to win. *If the GM themselves doesn’t know the reason why they weren’t eligible, contact the NSL inbox for an explanation as I am not aware and it wouldn’t be made public.* Merencio (ineligible) BAndrsn10 (ineligible) Titlesorbust (ineligible) Sheed (ineligible) Dylan (ineligible) Lets be honest, there was a legit threat to have won this award within this group. All 5 teams are playoff teams and all 5 have shaped their teams throughout the season, taken adversity head on and pushed forward to be in the final dance. Merencio and the Bulls are 11 games on top of the East, and only 3 games shy of the best record in the league, despite having John Wall sitting all year. Bandrson and the Hawks are 2 nd in the East and juggled some pieces to finish strong to get there. Titles has been a West phenomenon after taking the struggling Warriors way up into the playoffs with some shrewd trading. Sheed copped some of the harshest injury news of the season, time and time again, but doubled down each time, making moves to keep him ticking along the same as he did all year. And Dylan may be new, but be took hold of that team and made them in the form he wanted, while guiding them into the 5 th seed in the East. Great season guys. Sorry you weren’t deemed eligible. The Nominations And so without further adieu, we move to the guys who have been nominated to win the award, and are officially eligible! Congratulations to you all for your nomination and recognition from your peers for having achieved something GM of the Year worthy in this the inaugural season of the NSL. The voting will determine the winner, but here is a brief synopsis of each of the GMs and their year, in no apparent order. Smokey The Knicks finished 23-59 on the season, so it’s fair to say that Smokey got nominated for other reasons than winning. The man was one of the most active GMs in the league on the trade front, amassing 23 picks total (the nominal starting figure for a team is 10) on top of the already young exciting core he has in Brandon Ingram, Montrezl Harrell, DeAnthony Melton, Daniel Gafford and more. How do you still have these names and more and gain that many picks too? But the crowning achievement of Smokey this year must be his astounding effort in getting through the simming of games where he knocked out nearly 200 games on the season, nearly 10 per week, to literally be the life blood of the league. Kudos to you Smokey. JMac Is JMac the soul of the league? He wears his heart on his sleeve and intently watches all the games he can. He’s active, vocal and a great GM. The Blazers finished with the best record in the league, 66-16, after being hot favourites to do so from the pre-season tournament. His team was unstoppable early on including a 28 game win streak which saw him sitting 35-3 at one stage. He can be his own worst enemy with his constant trade shuffling though, which was probably the main reason why he went “only” 31-13 the rest of the way, but the man finishes the season as the team to beat, sporting 2 of the highest rated players in the game (2k20), and another budding superstar in Murray, and a deep roster of talented guys that just know how to play. Pistolpk My words for Pete have been all said before in my playoff write up, but Pete is the 2k zen master, and built his team as such. From the inaugural draft where he went for all specific types of guys to do one thing, win. To then making smart trades along the way, always to improve now even with the future in mind. The Heat finish 51-31, in 3 rd in the East, and were sitting pretty in 2 nd most of the way despite the injury to Jonathon Isaac, before slipping just a little due to the Ben Simmons injury. Simmons is back now though, and the Heat fully healthy are on the Bulls level. Coupler thsat with all the hard work Pete has put in as an admin, promoted when I myself left the league in the lurch in a time of personal weakness, and all the amazing features Pete has helped implement, and the massive amount of simmed games, we have an all rounder here in the GM nomination list. Laddas Greeny is the man that started this league, but Laddas helped for sure…LOL Laddas is our immaculately conceived child in a manger, under some massive star, and the 3 wise men came bearing gifts along the way (myself, Tim, Leeroy) to witness the birth of Christ…I mean the NSL, which was born in the mind of our lord saviour, Laddas. He then “suffered” the 29 th pick in the start up draft an yet got himself Kawhi Leonard along the way, while continually moving and shaking his way into a legit West powerhouse who finished 2 nd in the West, with the 3 rd best record in the league at 55-27. The Suns remain one of the most talented teams with a blend of now and future and will be a playoff contender for years to come. The man sims the nights away, while trading the rights away and handles all us knuckleheads with grace as the admin man. Klemmelo Is this really Klemm’s to win, or is he being puppeteered by Lebron James, the ultimate player, coach and GM? All jokes aside, this team is Klemms and the man nailed the start up draft coming out with what was probably the most talented/high rated team overall at the end of it. This gave him the pieces and tools he wanted and needed to move and shake around the King to finally find the formula required to shoot him up the standings and eventually into the 3 rd seed in the West behind a 52-30 record, good for equal 4 th best in the league. The Kings have had one of the most turnovers of any team, but one thing remained in all case, Lebron James. That in itself is the mark of a great GM, holding onto the biggest chip you have despite your propensity to make moves. Of course, not all moves worked, but the import thing is he worked again and again to get to where he is now and now they are a legit threat to take it out. Leeroy The Pelicans are a 31-51 team, but were always drafted as a rebuilder style team by old head Leeroy, whom did draft Kawhi Leonard, but traded him for pieces early on. Leeroy is another of the hard working admin team and one of the top simmers in the league. The Pelicans while still sporting Donovan Mitchell, Ja Morant, Mikal Bridges, Svi, Robert Williams, Sekou Doumbouya and Grant Williams, also have managed to amass 21 draft picks (up from 10), including five 1 st round picks in the next two years, and the future is bright for a team that shuffled around for guys they like, maintaining flexibility and winning more games than they probably wanted to. The Pels weren’t winners, but they have been steered gallantly towards one of the brightest futures in the league. Jessedunne The Raptors have been one of the more confident teams throughout the year, and with good reason. Jesse is the Wonderboy of the league this year with strong words, strong moves and a strong team. They started off with Kevin Durant, but made the bold call to trade the injured super stud and go for the win regardless. They finished 4 th in the East with a 51-31 record, equal best with the 3 rd placed Heat, and with one of the true offensive juggernaut teams in the league, they can beat anyone on a given day behind Lillard and Vucevic. They have a deep, handy roster, they still have picks, despite “The Bryant Deal”, which is far from decided upon anyway, despite what anyone says (sorry Jesse), and he managed to snag break out studs like Christian Wood in the start up draft too. With 10 guys rated 77 or higher, they’re going to be a massive handful for years. Nels If Jesse is the Wonderboy of the league, then Nels, the 1 st “new guy” from right back before the inaugural is the arch rival and nemesis of Wonderboy, with powers comparable to Wonderboy! What powers you ask? Well the Spurs finished with the same record as the Raptors, 51-31, and that was good for 5 th in the West. They used the power of trade and activity all year long, removing the players they considered to be bad contracts and poor drafting choices, while immediately making impacts by bringing in Paul George during the draft, the 1 st trade? Of the league. They weren’t scared to trade their best guy though, doing it twice, moving George for Jokic, then Jokic for Towns, while constantly working the phones to get together a roster they feel gels together to get the results they want. They still have youth, too, and have managed to hold onto a few 1 st round picks for the future. The Spurs are going to be around here for a while. Joshua The Wizards may not have made the playoffs gracefully in the end, but they made it. 7 th seed in the East, despite a sub .500 record of 37-45. A playoff team is a playoff team though, and anyone can win if you make it and get the right plays at the right time. From memory, Josh had one of the biggest teams after the start up draft, and even now he boasts 5 Centers on the roster. Booker is his darling, and the team revolves around the Book. They’re built for the now. They’re built for the future and they still boast 13 draft picks to boot. The Wiz were down and out at one stage, but Josh clawed them back up, before they fell a little again, and again he knuckled down and got them back to the big dance where the Book can make some noise. Wizkid Wiz went for the future draft more than the now, and the results show on the season. 33-49 and 12 th in the West, but not the worst by a long way. Wiz is the tech guru behind the scenes and a simmer and his roster sports youth and talent all the way down. He has his picks, and others, and has this team poised to be something to reckon with as early as next year. He turned Khris Middleton into a swathe of youth and talent, which is the way of the Wiz, trading into asset after asset, and the results weren’t coming yet, but they will. Rootsey Last but not least, Rootsey and the Grizzlies were a final bridesmaid on the season finishing 39-43 in the 9 th seed of the West, unable to track down the “tanking” Mavericks. He drafted like a stud, with names like Jaren Jackson, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart, while managing to do deals like Thomas Bryant for not 1, not 2, but 3 1 st round picks and loading his roster up on talented youth that will propel hm into the future. Bryant broke out, and he turned it into gold. Bruce Brown, Derrick White, OG Anunoby, Tyler Herro. Vet depth, talent. They didn’t make it this year, but Rootsey put this team into a rolled gold spot for the future and was unlucky to not be in the final dance this year too. The Nominations are in. The reasons are clear. What will the voters choose as the things that discern one GM from another? The votes begin and will decide the nominees fate. Good luck! |
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