I want to make a quick announcement about plans for adding the new 09-10 players to the game. As most of you know, we wait until the All-Defense teams are announced as we factor that into our defensive ratings.

This year my plan is to also re-release the entire player pool with updated defensive ratings and position effectiveness. We're working on some changes to how effectiveness is determined with the goal of giving most players a little more flexibility to play multiple positions.

In addition, because of some errors in listed positions throughout the seasons, some players were given skewed defensive ratings. That problem was most evident in the 08-09 batch of players.

The downside to all of this is that you'll probably have to wait a few extra weeks for the 09-10 players. The upside is that the entire player pool will be better.

I appreciate all the patience that you guys have shown over the years and I hope this release will address most of the issues with specific player seasons.

Thanks for the heads-up, seble. I'm looking forward to that release. Waiting a bit longer for ratings that better reflect reality is very worthwhile.

Do you have a target date (or week or month) in mind for the release?

P.S. Sounds like it's time to say good-bye to Troy Murphy as a superstar small forward...

It's hard to say. One of the key steps in the process will be to get the listed positions as correct as possible, which will take some time. I would guess within a month.

OK, fair enough. Thanks! If you start to run short of ideas, I'm sure you've noticed the opinions (solicited and unsolicited) in other threads regarding accurate position listings.

good news. I don't mind waiting a couple of weeks extra at all if the entire player pool is more realistic. I expect that there won't be many other changes in this release, but just those will be very helpful and encouraging.

Thanks, seble. Will correcting those errors you mentioned be a step towards increasing the impact of defensive ratings in the engine as well, or just an adjustment to individual players?

Seble, seriously, defense needs to be addressed whether it's here or in another thread. You have to admit that the price we pay for defense isn't translating into this SIM engine. Offense kills right now and that just wasn't the case with previous releases. Thanks for your time

Good news.

How will the changes affect salaries?

Will existing leagues (or leagues in process) be affected by the changes? I don;t want my 2800 minute PF suddenly not able to play 100% at PF (for example).

There won't be a change to the salary formula or the engine at this time. Individual players' salaries may change if their defensive rating changes. This won't affect anyone already drafted.

Thanks for the clarifications.

I still plan to look at the salary formula at some point in an attempt to better balance offense and defense.

Thanks for the info.

More good news.

Thanks, Seble.

Thank you for the update. It is appreciated.