Hey... (if y'all still remember me)

It's been nearly a year since I was here, and I've seen that there's been a lot of new folks around. Last I remember, I was around #40 in points on this site, relatively comfortably in the featured creators. Now, I'm #57. I mean, it has been nine months since I made a post or comment.

You've probably thought of me as a relatively average student who loved everything sports. If you didn't, well I guess you know me well, or you know something I don't. I'm not, at least the first part. The second part still exists in me.

In reality, I'm just an introverted nerd, at everything I do, whether it's sports, academics, etc. I'm at a academically competitive high school (for the lack of a better word), and I'm striving to be at the top.

As I'm writing this, I'm realizing that I'm writing like I haven't been here in decades; in reality, it's only been nine months. But that's about 5% of my life. It's not much, but it is definitely a good bit of time, and plenty has changed.

I left over the summer because I was entering high school this year, and I really didn't want this to become a distraction to me. For me, middle school was really laid back. I was getting good grades, I wasn't really trying (nor did I need to), and to make matters even better, I wasn't even in school for all of seventh grade. I think I joined here in the spring of 2021, towards the end of seventh grade. I was bored sitting at home, and wanted something to do during school when I wasn't paying attention in class. I loved reading trade posts by different places (specifically Bleacher Report) and wanted to make some myself. It was still TradeNBA at the time, and I started making random trade ideas that I thought of.

I stayed on through the majority of my eighth grade, when I actually starting going to actual school. I did take a few breaks here and there, probably when I felt that it was getting too distracting, even for my really low work ethic at the time. There were other things that I was trying to do, though school wasn't a part of that. I think I showed this site to one of my friends (I don't think he's still here last I checked), but I really did have fun here.

Into the present we go:

Now, I'm in my freshman year of high school. In hindsight, I think I probably made the right choice. I knew how much work I wanted to put in in order to do well and set myself up in the future, and I think I've done okay at that so far (though there's plenty to go). Though other things have distracted me from being productive at times, I think I've done well in that regard, much better than I was a year ago.

For Fanspo, I don't really plan on being here much. If I read a sports article, and I have an idea, maybe I'll post it. That's the case with this one. I think I was reading a BR article and I was reading about Jalen Suggs, so I thought of a change of scenery for him.

Back to the nerdy part of me: I'm an avid chess player, and I think I've played for eight-ish years. My account names on lichess and chess.com are both the same as my Fanspo name (bear3236). If you ever want to play me, feel free to issue me a challenge. I'll accept it if I see it (which is probably).

This is probably much too long that you're probably already bored reading this, but if not, I'll take a bit about this trade.

Jalen Suggs is in a giant logjam for minutes in Orlando. They also want to play big and play giant lineups with four forwards. That's not great for Suggs, as there's also Markelle Fultz starting at the 1. There's also guys like Gary Harris and Cole Anthony blocking up minutes. They get two lottery-protected firsts, the Raptors one probably turning into a mid-late first, and the Spurs ones turning into two future seconds, along with Khem Birch (buyout candidate) and another second. They also get a project in Blake Wesley that they might be able to use in the future.

On the other hand, the Spurs kinda need a point guard. Tre Jones is okay, but his contract expires at the season's conclusion, and their backup is Devonte' Graham, who's okay, but not good enough. Jalen Suggs can step in and be their new starting PG. He can work well as a tablesetter and defender, and maybe become a better shooter as he ages. After all, he's only 21. The first rounder from Toronto that they just got comes in a really weak draft class as of right now, and is top 6 protected. Their first next year almost definitely won't convey, and turns into two seconds. They also give away a project in Blake Wesley, but he's not doing much right now on the team. It is somewhat of a large price to pay, but it's worth it for Jalen Suggs.