GREAT LAKES BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Rules and Information
UPDATED NOVEMBER 6, 1999

The Simulation Software

The software which is used to simulate the GLBA season is Strat-O-Matic Basketball v4.2, using the 1998-99 NBA rosters. Information about the software can be found at the Strat-O-Matic web site. The player performance in the GLBA is based on their 1998-99 NBA performance.

Rosters

Each team most have a minimum of 10 players during the season. Each team must have a minimum of 2 players at each position (point guard, shooting guard, center, small forward, power forward). The SOM rosters are the final word as to what positions each player can play. The other roster slots are at the team's discretion, but there MUST be a minimum of 2 players at every position at any time (exception being injuries). No roster can have fewer than 10 players that actually played in the NBA in 1998-99.

NO PLAYER CAN PLAY A POSITION THAT HE IS NOT RATED FOR. The only case in which a player will be allowed to play at an unrated position is if every player on the team at that position is injured.

Pre-Season Rosters (Non-expansion year)

At the start of each season, each team will keep 10 players. There will then be a 5-round draft to fill the remaining slots

Expansion Draft

No Expansion Draft for the 1999-00 Season.

Regular Draft

The regular draft will be in normal order (1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4). The team selection order is determined by season record for non-playoff teams and order of finish then record by playoff teams

ONCE THE DRAFT IS COMPLETED, NO PLAYERS THAT WERE UNDRAFTED CAN BE PICKED UP. These players in essence do not "exist" once the draft is done, the players that are on GLBA rosters are the "universe" of basketball players available for trade.

Rookies (players that did not play in the NBA last season, but are on a NBA roster this year) CAN be drafted but they can not play during the current GLBA season and they cannot be part of the minimum 10 player limit. (see Playing Time Limits below

Trades

Trades are pretty straightforward in the GLBA. There are some rules that do apply:

You can not trade players so that you no longer have under 10 players with NBA stats remaining on your team after a trade. Each team must maintain a minimum of 10 players that played in the NBA in 1998-99.

Any trades involving draft picks are subject to an immediate veto by the commissioners. These trades are subject to more scrutiny because they can be made by a team attempting to weaken its position and then not rejoin the league the following year. While this situation is rare, it can happen, and as a result, more care must be taken when making trades of this nature.

There is a trading deadline. The trading deadline will be at the same time as it is in the NBA season. When this time is known, it will be announced to all owners.

Any owner can dispute a trade within 48 hours of its announcement. If a trade is disputed, the commissioners will review it and give a final decision on the trade within 48 hours of the dispute. If no dispute is made within 48 hours of a trade announcement, the trade will be considered official.

Playing Time Limits

Players in the GLBA can only play the number of minutes that they played in the NBA last year. This information is available in the SOM Stats, which will be available in a link on the main GLBA screen. Rookies, having not played in the NBA last year, can not be used in the GLBA this year. However, if you draft one, you will have that player on your team for next year and won't have to try and acquire them in the draft.

GLBA Division Alignment

The GLBA will be made up of 2 conferences of 2 divisions each.

GLBA Season Schedule and Playoffs

Since last years NBA season was strike shortened, the GLBA season length and schedule have not yet been determined. The schedule will be set so that more games are played against teams in your own conference and more in your own division. The playoffs will take the best 4 teams (each division champion and the 2 next teams with the best records) from each conference for a total of 8 teams.

All playoff rounds are best-of-seven, with the teams with better records having home-field advantage. The first round will match the first-seeded team with the fourth-seeded team from each conference and the second seeded team with the third seeded team from each conference. The winners will then face off in the Conference Championships, with the Conference Championship winners going to the 1999-00 GLBA Finals. Because the season will most likely be very short, there will be consolation games played for the losers on the first round and conference finals. The loser of the 1-4 game will play the loser of the 2-3 game in the first round and the losers on the Conference finals will square off to decide third and fourth place for the GLBA.

The division champions automatically get the first and second seeds. It is possible that a division champion would play its second round matchup on the road if it has a worse record than the third-seeded team.

Other rules can be added by a 2/3 majority vote of GLBA owners and Commissioners' approval. New rules and rule changes can be brought up by any GLBA owner at any time during the season. They will then be voted on.

If any changes are made to this page, a change notification will be sent to all owners and posted at the top of the page.

If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, e-mail us by clicking here.