Finals Preview � The GMs

6/08/2021

 

With the Finals underway, there�s so much focus on the players and the teams involved as a whole, but what of the GMs? These are the guys that did the work to put this team together and get the team to the final week of the NSL season!

 

Nels and the Spurs

Nelson is a relatively new GM to this format compared to some but he�s taken to it like a fish to water on his way to the Finals in only his 2^nd season, having talked, traded, podcast and coached his way into this somewhat commanding spot in the Finals. The man from Australia, like so many of us here, is never short of a yarn, a regular on the boards, loves a bit of banter and leads one of the entertaining pods of which this league has quite a few. And how about that Gif game?

Nels started out his career in this league, in the inaugural draft, filling the hole left by an old head who arguably cracked it at the draft position. Though he was short on time, too. Nels didn�t mind, he was here! Their draft went pretty well overall with a nice mix of talent and potential. Only one man, underlined, remains however!

D'Angelo Russell
Clint Capela
Mike Conley
Al Horford
OG Anunoby
Derrick White
Jordan Bell
Pick 14
Andre Roberson
Marquese Chriss
DJ Augustin
Shaquille Harrison
Marcin Gortat
Corey Brewer
Gary Payton Jr
Quincy Acy

Fast forward to now, and you can see the sheer volume of work Nels has put in over the last 2 years to get to where he is now, with the talent he has now, and with a legitimate chance to take out the title. He cleared salaries of Conley and Horford, he moved his youth for value, he got on and off guys all at the right times and with his work level in contacting people to talk deals and all the trades, he wowed himself and the league on the path through. Even this year, he turned a team that I myself called �shallow� into what we see now, with a 1-0 lead in the Finals, after having taken down the team that went 78-4, and 86-0 with at least two of their stars healthy.

Perhaps the leader of the pack, was turning Karl-Anthony Towns into Damian Lillard, and seeing him flip him over the top from contender, to favourite, down the stretch this season.

The Spurs have come along way, and are only a few short games away now from what might be their destiny. There are questions for the future, sure, but with Nels at the helm the team is in great hands and if a title is the result, who cares about questions!

 

Sheed and the Pistons

Someone will say�SHEED! Sheed is one of the old heads of the league and fun personalities of the league also. Hailing from Brazil, his quirky sense of humour and dedication to his team and league never go unnoticed by anyone. He�s a simmer, for the league and for himself and for this we are very thankful�at least for the league bit�as his dedication to running tests and finding ways to destroy you is what he is known for around the league, and he�s done it many a time. Who else would we have expected to see do something like start Bam at PG? None other than the numbers man himself. Whatever gets results! And we mentioned Nelson�s gif game, but how about this man too?

Sheed was and is the Indiana GM in the old league and has a reputation for being as active as they come. He�s a shrewd trader and good NBA head and knows the format inside out. He was the one that traded into Luka in the NLL, drawing the ire of some, but look at how that played out. Here, he�s been a lot less active than Nels on the trade front, but the work is evident too from the starting point in the original draft where he put together a roster of known talent and 2k guys, with still a few hanging around.

Kyrie Irving
Blake Griffin
Spencer Dinwiddie
Bam Adebayo
Danilo Gallinari
Pick 10
Jordan Clarkson
Jae Crowder
DJ Wilson
Jeff Green
Lance Stephenson
Mike Muscala
Trey Burke
Jose Barea
Treveon Graham
Eric Moreland

Unlike Nels, Sheed has pretty much all his top guys still on board. Griffin obviously fell over, but he turned him into Rudy Gobert and that hasn�t shifted. He moved off guys where required, he brought in exactly what was needed when he needed it and he�s always been in full pursuit of that next win, and it shows. This year, he was right up there anyway, but the big fix came when he managed to bring in Kyle Lowry and of course with Kyrie remaining a lot more healthy than in recent years. He was the top of the East for a reason, and if it wasn�t for the domination we were witnessing out West, we�d all have been talking even more about Sheed and his amazing season as 13 losses, only, is one of the best. He stuck to the tall timber, and he stuck to the backcourt, and bettered it.

Now, it�s hard still to look past the West talent level and the amazing season which has been put together by the Spurs to get to the Finals through the greatest team the NSL will ever see, and so he�s still not being talked about as highly as he could be. But, he answered all challenges, he swept through the last 2 rounds of the playoffs without breaking a sweat and even managed to hold on with Kyrie out in round 1. He's going to be in the lab figuring out how to get this team to 4 wins in this the final week, and we know if anyone can find that way, it will be Sheed.

 

 

Good luck to both GMs and congratulations on being two of the most active and involved GMs in the league, and your well deserved place in the Finals. May the best team win!

- NSL Insider News.