Put Your GM Skills to the Test with PASPN

Everyone who has visited this site, myself included, has passed judgment on the moves made by Pistons GM, Joe Dumars.  In addition to critiquing every little acquisition (or lack thereof), on a daily basis we speculate on what moves he still needs to make to help continue building this team into a legitimate contender for the NBA Championship. Well now we can all start walking the talk and put our GM skills to the test with PASPN's Mock GM League.  

PASPN is similar to fantasy basketball in how your team's success is determined, but the overall experience actually simulates running a team from the GM's shoes.  

Here is a brief run down of the rules: 

There will be 30 General Manager spots available: one for each NBA franchise. Since this is a new league, we will start by taking over each team's existing contracts. After that, it's up to you to re-tool your team via trades, draft picks, and free agent signings to form the best team that you can. Since PASPN leagues are governed by the rules of the NBA's collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the Mock GM game mixes fantasy basketball playing with the realities of the business of the NBA.

Once the NBA regular season begins, we will compete in an 18-week Head-to-Head season, where each team has a new opponent every week. You start 8 players (PG, SG, SF, PF, C, UTIL, UTIL, UTIL), and whoever scores more fantasy points wins the matchup. The scoring system is based on NBA.com's Efficiency rating: ((PTS + TRB + AST + STL + BLK) - ((FGA - FGM) + (FTA - FTM) + TOV )). The top 16 teams qualify for the Playoffs, which take place during the final 4 weeks of the regular season.

There is also a feature in the league, for those who loved the movie Jerry Maguire, to sign up and be an agent.  

Here's the brief synopsis:

As an NBA Agent, your goal is to make sure your clients needs are being answered whether they are a free agent and in need of a new contract or looking to get bought out of their existing contract.  The GMs have to negotiate with them, to sign free-agents, or to get buyouts approved. 
 
The agents are ranked based on the size of the contracts they're able to get for their contracts and the performance of the players during the regular season.  Only points earned when a player is part of the GM's roster count towards the Agents rankings, so there is incentive for the Agents to place their clients in situations where they'll see playing time.

If that wasn't enough information, you can take a gander at the GM/Agent FAQ pages on PASPN.  

After you feel you understand what this is all about and it looks like something that would be of interest to you (and, judging by the comments in the FanPost started by detpistons3, it appears many of you would be interested), then sign up.  

PASPN was kind enough to create a specific league for Motown String Music, so I encourage all of you to participate.  It could be a fun community building activity.  Personally, I will probably play the role of an agent since I'm fresh off a job with a sports agency.  

Also, if the league fills up, don't fret.  We can always create a second league specifically for Motown String Music.

According to the site for the initial league, team and client selections begin on August 19th.  Sign up now!