Life as the GM of the Mexico City Kings

[JCarson 590]

Life as the GM of the Mexico City Kings – Trade talks 

 

As I noted at the beginning of the season, I am going to do a series of media spots about the ongoing thoughts I have related to being a first season GM. Up to now I have covered the offseason prep for the draft and then how I progressed through the draft itself. 

 

Originally, I thought that I would do my media spot this week on the ongoing drama of the waiver system, from following new players coming into the league to building a waiver pitch, to the frustration of watching players leave immediately after creating. It was set to be a dramatic piece filled with angst and frustration. But then early this afternoon another situation came up and I thought this might be a good topic to discuss while it was occurring. 

 

Now to protect individual teams and players I am not going to name anyone. And as I write this we are not extremely far into discussion and potentially nothing could happen but the beginning of trade talks have started. 

 

Now for those who don’t know I am going to give you a small glimpse behind the secret curtain. The VHLM GM have a private chat group on discord where we talk about several things, mainly asking the commissioners to clarify rules. However, this afternoon one of the GM noted that they had player(s) that they may consider trading. They provided reasoning which I am not going to share but let me reassure everyone it had nothing to do with the individual player(s). 

 

Looking to find a way to improve my roster and help secure a playoff position, I looked at the player(s) and thought there may be some potential as long as I didn’t have to give up too much. So, I reached out to the GM and a DM conversation started. Now I will fully admit that it is about how far things have gone so everything I am going to discuss are my thoughts.

 

The first conundrum with trade talk is how do you evaluate players. More importantly how do you evaluate a player who at any time could become inactive and may not be on your team at the end of the season? How do you evaluate someone who is not fully developed? Then how do you evaluate what you may be willing to give for today without mortgaging the next season? 

 

The second conundrum is how do you position yourself in your first inter GM conversation, how do you build a reputation of being a fair but tough trade partner? Honestly, you don’t want the reputation of being a push over, but you also don’t want the reputation of being a jerk. How do you get the most, pay the least but gain respect in the process? 

 

All I know is that there are so many variables at play, and I can’t know for sure what is going to happen, but I can suggest that there is a unique level of excitement in the process. You will have to wait to find out what happens if anything.  

[ace_five_ 126]

As for how you position yourself, I’d personally say just be yourself. Understand what you want to get out of the trade and push for that. Maybe you have to compromise a little in order to get the deal done, but if in the end you think you’ve improved your team, either immediately or for the future, it’s a success. All the GMs want the same thing in the end and some negotiations are going to be tougher than others because of that but I would think there’s a kind of mutual understanding that nobody’s trying to be a jerk. Unless it’s very obvious that they are, in which case I’m sure you wouldn’t be the only one thinking that. 

[Gaikoku-hito 1,646]

On 3/29/2024 at 9:17 AM, JCarson said:

More importantly how do you evaluate a player who at any time could become inactive and may not be on your team at the end of the season?

There is no sure fire way to evaluate a player when it comes to trading at the VHLM or VHLE level since as you mention they can go inactive at any time so it usually is best to evaluate them based on your team current need and if they fit that need but also understanding if there might be a risk of going inactive so that you don`t either over pay or completely get burned by giving up too much assets. This is where you need to find your own comfort level or risk versus reward.

 

On 3/29/2024 at 9:17 AM, JCarson said:

How do you evaluate someone who is not fully developed?

Check activity of the member and are they login in multiple times per week or only once per week, Are they stead earner? Do they understand the basics of earning from (at least) welfare, practice facility? Have they done a press conference or trivia at any point etc.... These are all signs that they are active within the league forums and are more likely to stick around but might need a bit more guidance to learn how to earn more TPE. Watch for cross over players as well since a few of the new players are coming from affiliate leagues so have a connections to others that might know or join affiliate leagues yourself. Since we are talking about trade talks you cannot ask the player directly otherwise this would be something I would try as well. 

 

On 3/29/2024 at 9:17 AM, JCarson said:

Then how do you evaluate what you may be willing to give for today without mortgaging the next season? 

That is your own comfort level and understanding the value or how you value future picks or players. I will also say that with the new rules around draft picks; this has become harder to say the least. I would say it is more of a balance act now than ever before when we would just load up on first round picks and draft everyone that we knew!!

 

On 3/29/2024 at 9:17 AM, JCarson said:

how do you build a reputation of being a fair but tough trade partner?

Simply put there are a few different factors that goes into this but Is the trade fair to both sides and Does it work for both sides? If Yes, than you are at least covering the fair aspect. Being tough trade partner? I don`t think you want to really be known as tough trade partner but rather just a fair trader that works both ways while understanding the value of their players or picks. It is okay to say no to a trade that doesn`t give you the value you want or doesn`t work for your team. This also comes back to scouting, understanding your team, value of picks and direction of your team at the moment or that point of the season.

 

Also doing what is right for your players since it doesn`t make sense to have a 200TPE player on team in last or near last so doing right by him and trading him only makes sense but also make sure you get value back in return aka 1st Round pick at least!!

 

On 3/29/2024 at 9:17 AM, JCarson said:

How do you get the most, pay the least but gain respect in the process?

You will win some trade and you will lose some trades but as long as you are being fair and making trades that you are comfortable with than you will get the most out of most trades while paying the least and gain respect. You will also find a few trade GM that you simple find common ground with more often than others.

 

Also remember it is a game so have fun!!