GMC Guide 2008: Rules, Resources, Dates & GM Listing

[JSM]

Note: If you played in year one and/or two of the GM Challenge, these rules are going to look very familiar to you. A couple revisions have been made based on what worked and didn’t work from last summer. I think we all are beginning to get the hang of this so there should be even less hiccups than last year and most importantly…as the host of the GMC I hope all 30 participants (and their assistants if they want one) enjoy the third go around of this educational game.


Last year we adjusted the rules to make the game more challenging and realistic and I like the results of GMC 2.0 over 1.0, so we will be operating under the same structure as last year. Once again, I suggest bringing your A game.


The GM Challenge 3.0: The Rules


INDEX
1. GM Activity
2. GM Negotiations
3. GM Announcements
4. Trade Approval
5. Draft Lottery
6. GMC Draft
7. Free Agency
8. Salary Cap Figures
9. Team Options
10. Trade Requirements
11. GM Signatures
12. Coaching Staff
13. Sign and Trades
14. Trade Exceptions
15. 48 Hour Rule
16. BYC Rules
17. Assistant GMs
18. No Trade Clauses
19. Location, Location, Location

1) All GMs MUST be active. If a GM cannot meet this requirement, turn back now. There is nothing worse than being a GM who keeps getting another GM's voice mail. If a GM does not respond to a request from another GM or the game commissioners (yours truly and Massacre) within 48 hours, he will be fired. Last year the GMs were much more active than in year one, but some GMS still went AWOL. Every GM needs to be active in responding to PMs from other GMs or they won't be happy. More importantly, all GMs need to be active on draft day or I won't be happy (see #6 for more on the draft). Try to be as involved in this game as possible. If the aforementioned requests are asking too much, drop out now. If help with the day to day operations will be needed then consider hiring an assistant GM (see #17 for more on assistant GMs). Please do not wait until the half way mark of the game, then drop out. Doing that makes the replacement’s job unfairly difficult.

2) Negotiations between General Managers and discussion between GM and Free Agent must be done in private. This can be done by way of Private Message or Instant Message (check the IM thread for that contact information). Do not discuss trade possibilities with another GM in the forums. This will result in the thread being locked, the messages erased, and a stern warning. The reason for this rule—it would be a big disadvantage in negotiations and could result in the competition swooping in and stealing a targeted player(s).

3) Use the GM Challenge forum to tell your fellow GMs what players/picks are up for grabs and to react to deals/signings. Every GM will be required to create a designated thread for his team. Unsure how to set it up? Scroll over a few pages and check out some of the ones from last year. Basically all of a GM’s information should be posted (update it regularly) in the first post of the page. Post the roster, coach, draft picks, and salary figures. The GM’s roster movement also belongs in this thread and the other GMs (as well as spectators) can come in and comment on the moves which have been made. After a trade has been approved by the league’s office, both GMs should post trade details in their threads and keeping the thread title updated with recent activity is a good idea.

4) When a trade has been agreed upon in principle, the GMs involved MUST send it in to the league’s office (Massacre) for approval. This is to make sure the trade meets all of the CBA rules. This does not give GMs a pass to come up with any crazy trade proposal, send it in, and let the league office do all the work. The league’s office will double check the numbers to make sure the trade can be made, but do not take advantage of this and not run the numbers before submitting the trade for approval. GMs are doing themselves a disservice by not putting in the legwork and missing one of the key teaching tools of this game. If it is suspected that a GM is doing this, the league’s office will start to ignore his pending trades. Once again, do not divulge details about a trade in the forum until it has been given the stamp of approval from the league’s office.

5) The Draft Lottery will be held on Tuesday, May 20th on ESPN at 5-5:30 PM PST. This is the real draft lottery, not the GMC draft lottery. This year we will be going with the actual results of Tuesday’s event. The Draft Lottery will determine what non-playoff teams ends up with what lottery pick. The following day, Wednesday, May 21st at Noon PST, teams may begin to trade picks and players. This is the earliest that any trade can be made. Any attempts to trade a player before this point will be ignored. Keep in mind that while a pick can be traded (it counts as $0 towards matching salaries in a trade), but once that pick turns into a signed player, he must remain on the team that drafted him.

6) The GMC Draft will be held on Saturday, May 24th at 6 PM PST. It is strongly recommended that all GMs be online during the draft. Who knows what might happen or who might slip. GMs who are online during the draft have a better chance of grabbing a steal. If a GM cannot attend the draft, he needs to send in a list of players for me to pick from. A GM can also have his assistant make the selection but it has to be cleared with me beforehand and the GM would need to discuss draft situations and targets with his assistant. If a GM does not draft live or submit a list, his team will have a tougher time landing free agents and it will also affect his final grade during the judging. To find out what players are eligible to be drafted head over to Draft Express, check out their early entry page and their senior ranking page (lists 100 seniors). GMs pick from any of those players on draft day. In Round 1, each GM will have 5 minutes to make his selection. For Round 2, each GM will have 3 minutes. More on the draft will be posted in a separate thread at a later date.

7) The free agents will be represented by sports super agent Jerry Maguire (me). If a GM is interested in signing a FA, that GM must PM me and make a pitch as to why the free agent should sign with his team - money, playing time, championships, opportunity to start, etc. Please include the total salary being offered and the number of years the deal is for (a yearly salary breakdown is recommended). Remember in a multi-year contract you can only up the salary 8% per year. Free agency negotiations with the top 15 ranked Free Agents will begin on May 27th and with the remaining free agents on June 2nd. Free agents can sign on or after June 9th. GMs can announce the signing of a free agent before June 8th (agreed in principle), but he must contact the free agent again on signing day so the FA can put his John Hancock on the contract.

8) The salary cap used for the game will be $59 million, so salaries up to that figure can be absorbed by teams below the cap. The luxury tax will be $71 million. The mid-level exception (MLE) of $5.6 million dollars is available to teams over the cap. The Hawks, Celtics, Cavs, Nuggets, Pistons, Rockets, Pacers, Clippers, Lakers, Heat, Bucks, Wolves, Nets, Hornets, Knicks, Magic, Blazers, Kings, Spurs, and the Jazz have the Bi-Annual Exception (BAE, formerly known as the LLE) of $1.9 million. The BAE can be split between players, but this is only worth more than the veteran minimum in very few scenarios (if it’s being sliced like a pizza). Every team has an unlimited amount of Veteran Minimum Contract Exceptions to use, which are assigned according to how long a player has been in the league:

Years of Experience - Salary
0 - $442,114
1 - $711,517
2 - $797,581
3 - $826,269
4 - $854,957
5 - $926,678
6 - $998,398
7 - $1,070,118
8 - $1,141,838
9 - $1,147,533
10+ - $1,262,275

GMs can sign as many players as they want to vet. min. contracts, regardless of whether the team is over or under the cap. Veteran Minimum Contracts are good for 2 years. Once a player is signed to a Vet. Min. Contract, he cannot be traded. And here's a little tip: the cap is set at $59m, to use the MLE a team has to have a salary at least $53.4m to use the MLE. To use the MLE and BAE (if available) the team has to have a salary of at least $51.5m. Teams under that amount do not have use of these exceptions. A team cannot go start out with said amount, go salary dumping, and then expect to still have the exceptions. And a team cannot be under said amount sign a player to a fat contract and then expect to gain these exceptions.

9) GMs have until 12:00 AM PST May 26th to decide on accepting or declining the team options of their players who have team options. If I am not notified, the player will automatically re-sign. Teams must decide if they will sign the offer sheet of players with restricted free agency within three days of the RFA signing the offer sheet. If a team should decide to match the offer sheet, they must notify me.

10) The salaries of each trade must be within 25% of each other. The team with the lower total salary has their salary number multiplied by 1.25 and the product has to be a larger number than the team amount of the greater amount of salary. Again, when a trade is agreed upon by GMs via PM/IM, all GMs involved MUST NOTIFY the front office.

11) Every GM must use the corresponding GM Challenge Signature of their team underneath their current signature. This is the only time on CL where the signature size rule will be allowed to be broken. Once the GMs have been assigned team, they will be PMed their signature. If a GM is having difficulties attaching his signature, contact myself, Massacre, or even a fellow GM and I’m sure someone can help give the how-to walk-thru. Assistant GMs must have the signature for the team they are on, as well as the assistant GM tag after the team signature (otherwise there will be confusion between the GM and the assistant GM).

12) General Managers are not only responsible for putting bodies on the court, but suits on the bench as well. To hire a head coach contact KB24@CL, he represents all available coaches. PM him with your offers. Remember if a team has a coach already under contract, he has to be fired before a new coach can be hired. However, discussion can take place between a GM and an available coach, even if the team currently has a coach on staff. There are two steps required when firing a coach: 1) create a new thread about the personnel move to inform the other GMs that the coach is available and 2) PM KB24@CL, so he will know he has a new coach to represent. Assistant coaches cannot be hired…maybe another year. But a GM can discuss a head coaching opportunity with an assistant coach; the GM first have to get permission from the team who currently employees that assistant coach. Then that GM will contact KB24@CL and inform him that Assistant Coach X may speak with the Team Y about coaching them. The team which is currently employing this assistant coach has the right to politely decline or can ask for compensation (cash, picks). That information would need to be sent to me, but only in that situation.

13) Sign and Trades. S&Ts involve two GMs, not just one. Let's say I'm DJ Mbenga. If the Lakers GM wants to trade DJ via S&T, he first has to get DJ to agree. Mbenga’s incentive is that he'll get paid a little more with a S&T, but he still has the right to pick where he'll be shipped off to. Meaning the other GM has to sell DJ on coming to his team, as well as the Lakers GM selling him on the contract. If the other team is the Bulls, then the Bulls GM has to send me a PM about why I should take the deal and join his team. If I like what he has to say and like the contract the Lakers GM has set up, I'll accept the deal. So in S&Ts, both GMs have to work together to make it work. S&Ts are best for teams over the cap because they get a guy they couldn't afford originally via free agency, DJ gets paid, and the other GM fills a need.

14) Trade Exception. It is the responsibility of the GM to do a little research to see if he has one. This came from Sky during year one of the competition, “Use a 5M trade X to get a player making 5M or less. Can’t combine the 5M trade X with a player making 3M to trade for a player making 8M. Can’t combine the trade X with the 25% salary matching rule.”

15) The 48 Hour Rule. This rule ONLY applies to multi-player deals. Once you acquire a player, you have 48 hours to package him with a player(s) already on your team. You can get a player in a trade, and then ship him out by himself (or with a future pick) up to 90 days after you acquired him, so for the duration of this game. The new addition to the game in this aspect is that each team can only do this twice. That should add a sense of realism to the game. Last summer it became the Kansas City Shuffle. Players getting shipped in and out so frequently that Fed Ex’s stock went up 16 points.

16) Last year we implemented the Base Year Compensation (BYC) rules. It was one of the biggest additions to the game and it didn‘t seem to overcomplicate the game, so it‘s back. It will be explained again before the trading period, if need be. To get a head start, check out points 73-75 of Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQs. For now this short Larry Coon’s blurb should suffice: “If you re-sign a player and give him a big raise, then for a period of time his trade value will be lower than his actual salary.”

17) Like last year GMs can hire an assistant GM if they choose. It will be up to the GM to delegate responsibilities to their assistant GM. The assistant GMs may contact other GMs, but only the GM can contact the league office. For assistant GMs to be recognized by the league, the GM must announce their hiring (the first post of the team thread would be a good place to keep this recorded). As I mentioned earlier, assistant GMs can do the drafting for his team but only after clearing it by me and after carefully discussing the team’s options with the GM. The assistant GMs must attack the assistant GM tag to the end of their team signature to differentiate between the GM and the assistant GM. Please provide your assistant GM with the assistant GM tag

18) No trade clauses. GMs will not be allowed to trade certain players. Some of these players may not have a no trade clause in their contract in real life, but they are considered as untouchable as they come. The reason for this is that some of the league’s elite superstars visited up to 3 different cities in year one of this game. That just does not happen in real life. There is one way to shop the players listed in the No Trade Clause thread, and that is by gaining the player's permission. He can waive his clause if he wants. To contact the player, PM Massacre or myself and give all the details in the PM. I would recommend having a specific title too, so we know what the PM is regarding.

19) A team can relocate. We won't deal with the financial aspect of moving because that comes out of the owner's wallet not the GMs. To relocate your team you must submit a proposal to the league's office and have their pitch approved. Moving could help/hurt your ability to lure free agents depending on the location and what lures that city has.

Important Dates

Tuesday, 5/20 5-5:30 PM PST
NBA Draft Lottery

Wednesday, 5/21
Teams may begin signing coaches

Wednesday, 5/21 Noon PST
Teams may begin trading draft picks and players.

Saturday, 5/24 6 PM PST
GMC Draft

Monday, 5/26 12 AM PST
Teams must decide on taking team options before this deadline.

Tuesday, 5/27 9 AM PST
Teams may begin negotiating with the top 15 ranked free agents.

Monday, 6/2 9 AM PST
Teams may begin negotiating with the remaining free agents.

Monday, 6/9 9 AM PST
Free agents may begin signing with teams.

Sunday, 7/6 9 AM PST
Cut off time for transactions (trades, signings, firings, releases, etc.)

Monday, 7/14 9 AM PST
All write-ups are due.


GM Resources

Real GM: GM Resources
What tools do GMs have to improve their team?

Note: Do not rely on trade checker (or ESPN Trade Machine for that matter), at best it will give you a ball park. At worst, it will not be remotely close.

Larry Coon's Salary Cap
Got a question about the CBA?

Player Contracts
Find out how long a player is signed for.

Player Salaries and Team Cap Figures
Find out which players have team options for your team, and whether you plan on exercising it.

Note: Kramer's salary page has returned so we are abandoning that pile of trash known as Hoopshype. This should reduce the errors by 91%

Draft Express
Most in-depth draft website.

NBA Draft.net
Need to know about a draft prospect?

Free Agents in Summer 2008
Who’s available before team options are announced.

Rookie Salary Scale
Use 2008-2009 figures.

Future Draft Rights
What picks you owe and are owed, something you need to know when trading draft picks.
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[JSM]

RESULTS ARE IN

Atlanta Hawks-Coville
Boston Celtics-Vigen
Charlotte Bobcats-TrixR4Kids
Chicago Bulls-Podium
Cleveland Cavaliers-Venti Quattro
Dallas Mavericks-Crispy
Denver Nuggets-Steve
Detroit Pistons-bumrusherer
Golden State Warriors-jungbum
Houston Rockets-Critter
Indiana Pacers-JamrockLakafan
Los Angeles Clippers-JSM
Los Angeles Lakers-2k
Memphis Grizzlies-unpossibl1
Miami Heat-crucifixion
Milwaukee Bucks-kb the assassin
Minnesota Timberwolves-ShowtimeDynasty_24/7
New Jersey Nets-LaLaKeRz4LiFe
New Orleans Hornets-Perfecto
New York Knicks-The Maverick
Orlando Magic-10scott10
Philadelphia 76ers-Kobe Bryant 8
Phoenix Suns-rayboi8
Portland Trail Blazers-jbiggs
Sacramento Kings-Savage1
San Antonio Spurs-KRC18
Seattle SuperSonics-Klewfish
Toronto Raptors-BadNewsBear
Utah Jazz-Lakerman JSJ
Washington Wizards-nicehair911



Stay tuned...a bunch of threads are about to pop up about where to go from here.

You will also be receiving your GMC team signature via PM this afternoon. If you have an problems adding the signature either PM myself of Massacre or post in the Got Questions thread and someone will help you out
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[JSM]

Updated with:

[JSM]

Updated with:

[JSM]

Update -- replaced the Hoopshype link with Kramer's link.
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[JSM]

Note to GMs:


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[JSM]

I moved the GM Listing to the 2nd post in this thread to condense on the number of stickies.
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[JSM]

Update: End date and due date for write-ups added.
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