10-04-2019, 10:08 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-07-2019, 09:02 AM by goodvsevil1275.)
Please pay this out 506 words to @IsaStarcrossed and 881 words to @JuOSu
"Hello ladies and gentlemen, this is Bjørn Ironside reporting in from the S18 Sports Center. With all of the insanity that has been going on in the league, every now and then it is nice to get grounded back in the safe in familiar. One of the long time general managers in the league, juOSu from New Orleans, offered to sit down with an exclusive with us. I was excited to see what someone with some league experience had to say after all the insanity we’ve dealt with of late.”
Ironside: "As the general manager of New Orleans, you've had a busy last few days. You had your long term coGM, Charles O’Potamus step down. What does his departure mean for you and this front office?"
JuOSu: “Hippo was an amazing co-GM and having him step down was obviously a very hard situation for us. We felt like we were in a spot where he was really helping us and the team, but real life comes first and he just felt like he wasn't able to give the team everything he could as a co-GM. I am insanely grateful for all the help he has given the team and he will still be a crucial part of our war room going forward. The departure meant that we had to sort of take a step back and think about what we wanted to do going forward and where this team was heading.”
Ironside: "With him stepping down, you were quick to name long time Tijuana general manager Jimmy Dugan to the spot. I know you and Dugan have been close. Is this something you had planned and how confident are you in Dugan's abilities?"
JuOSu: “Tom is an obvious choice as the replacement for co-GM. He has been an absolute joy to work with and was someone I felt really strongly about in the draft when we took him initially. He has far exceeded even my biggest expectations of him and has been crucial in the war room and in helping us test sims and other things. He was the perfect candidate for me to be the new co-GM and I was insanely happy that he was in a place where he felt comfortable taking over as co-GM and taking that big step from the minors to the majors and giving himself a new challenge. I think he is an amazing person and knows the league well. I think he will be an excellent co-GM and is an obvious choice for someone who will be a major league main GM one day sooner or later. He is awesome.”
Ironside: "There has been a lot of turnover at the general manager spot so far this season. It seems like everyone is jumping ship and new people are pouring in. You're one of the increasingly smaller pool of veterans. What has been your take on all of this change?"
JuOSu: “This question made me shocked in a way. It is very odd to consider myself a veteran among GMs in this league at least, but I suppose looking at it more closely, it is the case. I was obviously also a co-GM earlier in my career here in Orange County, which seems like forever ago now and I also have experience GMing in the PBE. I think I have mixed feelings. I think there is always a positive side to having people who have been around from the start and know the league well. There is a sense of belonging in that, a sense of knowing that the league is in good hands. But at the same time, new players, new people, new ideas are always a fantastic thing for leagues like this and it's the only way you can move forward as a league, by having new amazing people join the ranks of GM and head office and similar.”
Ironside: "With the leadership of the team cemented once more, what do you feel like your focuses are at the moment for the team?"
JuOSu: “Obviously the draft is a big focus for us right now and in general off-season planning and thinking ahead. We have an amazing core of people already and locking people up long-term is a big focus and making sure that this core can stay on the team together is a crucial thing.”
Ironside: "Now that you have that situation taken care off, free agency has launched and is in full swing. After this past season do you see New Orleans diving deep into the free agency pool or are you mostly comfortable with where the roster is right now?"
JuOSu: “Our team is already in a really good spot and we feel very comfortable where we are at right now. Obviously there are some awesome free agents out there and we will obviously try to land free agents whenever we think someone is an awesome person and can help the team, but this team has absolutely been built through the draft and smart trades so far and we will continue to lead this team down that path and seeing where it takes us.”
Ironside: "New Orleans has the benefit of being loaded with a lot of early draft picks this season. Is your focus on trying to get as much impact as possible early or do you see yourself potentially trading down for more value?"
JuOSu: “It’s definitely a very tough question, since I think both options have a very smart thought process behind it. I can’t really discuss the draft in too much detail right now obviously, but we are extremely happy with the amount of picks we have in the draft this season and the amazing players we should be able to get in those spots. This draft class was amazing and we will be very happy with whoever we end up getting.”
Ironside: "Obviously with so much young talent there were some who expected more from New Orleans this past season. After a disappointing run, what do you think changes in season 18?"
JuOSu: “Honestly, as bad as the season was, and we obviously were the worst team, we also were less bad than people think. We had two over-time losses and with two more wins, we would have been a playoff team. That doesn’t even count other tough, close losses. I think this team has amazing talents on the field and with the incredibly young core of our team, we should be a threat for playoff runs for many seasons to come going forward.”
Ironside: "What message would you like to give to any rookies that may find themselves in New Orleans after this draft?"
JuOSu: “We have a very strong young core, as I mentioned and beyond that, we have an amazing locker room and a lot of history on this team, a history of being a very fun team to be on and we have some great guys on the team right now as well. We should be a team that will contend for titles for several seasons to come and new rookies will absolutely be a part of this path forward. I already look forward to working together with anyone we drafted this season.”
Ironside: "Finally is there a message you'd like to give to your team or the league as a whole after the recent changes?"
JuOSu: “I think I have said most of the things I wanted to say. I have mentioned before, I am not someone who does a lot of trash talk, I am not someone who will have fighting words, but I think the league kind of already knows that NOLA will be a dangerous team in the next few seasons and I am excited to see it unfold. Thank you!”
“As always it seems like juOSu has a plan. She has had a goal of a championship since taking the mantle in New Orleans. She has slowly assembled a team of young stars and put together a locker room she is proud of. Now it is just time to start taking those steps forward. The team has rounded itself out and with what should be a group of rookies coming in, they should be on the rise. I look forward to seeing what they can do. Until next time, Ironside signing off.”
"Hello ladies and gentlemen, this is Bjørn Ironside reporting in from the S18 Sports Center. With all of the insanity that has been going on in the league, every now and then it is nice to get grounded back in the safe in familiar. One of the long time general managers in the league, juOSu from New Orleans, offered to sit down with an exclusive with us. I was excited to see what someone with some league experience had to say after all the insanity we’ve dealt with of late.”
Ironside: "As the general manager of New Orleans, you've had a busy last few days. You had your long term coGM, Charles O’Potamus step down. What does his departure mean for you and this front office?"
JuOSu: “Hippo was an amazing co-GM and having him step down was obviously a very hard situation for us. We felt like we were in a spot where he was really helping us and the team, but real life comes first and he just felt like he wasn't able to give the team everything he could as a co-GM. I am insanely grateful for all the help he has given the team and he will still be a crucial part of our war room going forward. The departure meant that we had to sort of take a step back and think about what we wanted to do going forward and where this team was heading.”
Ironside: "With him stepping down, you were quick to name long time Tijuana general manager Jimmy Dugan to the spot. I know you and Dugan have been close. Is this something you had planned and how confident are you in Dugan's abilities?"
JuOSu: “Tom is an obvious choice as the replacement for co-GM. He has been an absolute joy to work with and was someone I felt really strongly about in the draft when we took him initially. He has far exceeded even my biggest expectations of him and has been crucial in the war room and in helping us test sims and other things. He was the perfect candidate for me to be the new co-GM and I was insanely happy that he was in a place where he felt comfortable taking over as co-GM and taking that big step from the minors to the majors and giving himself a new challenge. I think he is an amazing person and knows the league well. I think he will be an excellent co-GM and is an obvious choice for someone who will be a major league main GM one day sooner or later. He is awesome.”
Ironside: "There has been a lot of turnover at the general manager spot so far this season. It seems like everyone is jumping ship and new people are pouring in. You're one of the increasingly smaller pool of veterans. What has been your take on all of this change?"
JuOSu: “This question made me shocked in a way. It is very odd to consider myself a veteran among GMs in this league at least, but I suppose looking at it more closely, it is the case. I was obviously also a co-GM earlier in my career here in Orange County, which seems like forever ago now and I also have experience GMing in the PBE. I think I have mixed feelings. I think there is always a positive side to having people who have been around from the start and know the league well. There is a sense of belonging in that, a sense of knowing that the league is in good hands. But at the same time, new players, new people, new ideas are always a fantastic thing for leagues like this and it's the only way you can move forward as a league, by having new amazing people join the ranks of GM and head office and similar.”
Ironside: "With the leadership of the team cemented once more, what do you feel like your focuses are at the moment for the team?"
JuOSu: “Obviously the draft is a big focus for us right now and in general off-season planning and thinking ahead. We have an amazing core of people already and locking people up long-term is a big focus and making sure that this core can stay on the team together is a crucial thing.”
Ironside: "Now that you have that situation taken care off, free agency has launched and is in full swing. After this past season do you see New Orleans diving deep into the free agency pool or are you mostly comfortable with where the roster is right now?"
JuOSu: “Our team is already in a really good spot and we feel very comfortable where we are at right now. Obviously there are some awesome free agents out there and we will obviously try to land free agents whenever we think someone is an awesome person and can help the team, but this team has absolutely been built through the draft and smart trades so far and we will continue to lead this team down that path and seeing where it takes us.”
Ironside: "New Orleans has the benefit of being loaded with a lot of early draft picks this season. Is your focus on trying to get as much impact as possible early or do you see yourself potentially trading down for more value?"
JuOSu: “It’s definitely a very tough question, since I think both options have a very smart thought process behind it. I can’t really discuss the draft in too much detail right now obviously, but we are extremely happy with the amount of picks we have in the draft this season and the amazing players we should be able to get in those spots. This draft class was amazing and we will be very happy with whoever we end up getting.”
Ironside: "Obviously with so much young talent there were some who expected more from New Orleans this past season. After a disappointing run, what do you think changes in season 18?"
JuOSu: “Honestly, as bad as the season was, and we obviously were the worst team, we also were less bad than people think. We had two over-time losses and with two more wins, we would have been a playoff team. That doesn’t even count other tough, close losses. I think this team has amazing talents on the field and with the incredibly young core of our team, we should be a threat for playoff runs for many seasons to come going forward.”
Ironside: "What message would you like to give to any rookies that may find themselves in New Orleans after this draft?"
JuOSu: “We have a very strong young core, as I mentioned and beyond that, we have an amazing locker room and a lot of history on this team, a history of being a very fun team to be on and we have some great guys on the team right now as well. We should be a team that will contend for titles for several seasons to come and new rookies will absolutely be a part of this path forward. I already look forward to working together with anyone we drafted this season.”
Ironside: "Finally is there a message you'd like to give to your team or the league as a whole after the recent changes?"
JuOSu: “I think I have said most of the things I wanted to say. I have mentioned before, I am not someone who does a lot of trash talk, I am not someone who will have fighting words, but I think the league kind of already knows that NOLA will be a dangerous team in the next few seasons and I am excited to see it unfold. Thank you!”
“As always it seems like juOSu has a plan. She has had a goal of a championship since taking the mantle in New Orleans. She has slowly assembled a team of young stars and put together a locker room she is proud of. Now it is just time to start taking those steps forward. The team has rounded itself out and with what should be a group of rookies coming in, they should be on the rise. I look forward to seeing what they can do. Until next time, Ironside signing off.”
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