My topic of discussion has already been addressed in some capacity, which is awesome, but I feel there is still some alterations that can further benefit the process. I'm a huge proponent of free agency. I guess being a rabid, avid basketball and hockey fan has ingrained the addiction to see frequent roster movement season to season. Unfortunately in the ISFL, there isn't much free agency movement and after undergoing free agency myself last offseason, I can see why some people are absolutely petrified or put off by free agency. I believe the biggest drawbacks with free agency comes from the condensed timeline --- so many decisions are rushed and the pressure is amplified severely due to opening only a few days before the draft and subsequent depth chart submission deadline. Here are some issues and suggestions I believe would make the process less tense(I would hope)
- Reverse the draft and free agency. Simply put --- reflect actual sport leagues timelines that have their league drafts before free agency. For one, it would give GM's actual time to scout their draft class and the free agency class at separate intervals. Also, there is usually a dead period before each season starts, that time could be used to properly finalize depth charts and send down lists. Instead of cramming every action into a short period, space out everything and leave gap periods and extended deadlines. I would also say, one of my intentions was to base my choice on how the draft played out, but teams could not reveal their picks. I ended up folding under pressure of not wanting to wait it out and changing my mind again and made my decision early. If I waited, some teams would have slid up my board based on who they added to their roster.
- Make the player option deadline at the trade deadline --- we all have time constraints and we cant work a regular offseason schedule. Waiting on so many different decisions can really cause an impasse on a team's future. I think because some teams don't have ample time to create quality pitches, many player's dont bother entertaining other teams. Allow potential free agents to be tamperable for an extended period might allow some teams time to work a player over. This would also help with clarity as to which players are leaving heading into the offseason phase of the GM role
- This one is more personal to me but creating direct affiliations with ISFL and DSFL teams' send downs/call ups could reduce tension. My DSFL team ended up with three teammates becoming GM's at 3 different teams. You know the emotional strife I had trying to decide between which one to cut off my list first? If teams were directly affiliated, it would be more transparent than the current pseudo-pipelines that are built in(MIN to COL, DAL to CHI, NOR to NOLA, POR to AZ). For now, two ISFL teams would share a DSFL team and those players would be legally tamperable all season in their free agent period by the two parent clubs, but if they sign with the other club and switch, the old club would be rewarded, 3rd round pick, like the compensatory pick system in the NFL.
