I'll just float this out there as my observation based on personal experience...
My team's income was more than double last season than what it is this season. Sure, my roster is a little better this season, but my team has also been playing better. The biggest difference in income really came in the offseason salary adjustments. This time most seasons I usually buy a player, sometimes even two. This season I can't afford to buy a player that would improve my lineup, not without selling a player first and taking the risk that I will find a replacement in a timely manner. Instead, I'm just sitting on my roster, browsing the TL for a high-value bargain that slip through the cracks, but neither buying nor selling.
I get the sense that most teams are not able to spend big money this season due to reduced incomes, which means they're also less likely to put high-end players on the market for fear of not finding an upgrade on the TL when they need one. I see lots of higher-end centers since there apparently has been a history of more centers getting training than any other position, so there's a bigger supply of them. But just try to find a guard or a SF with a $30k+ salary, it's slim pickings. So the reason why I think prices are still a bit up is due to low supply. I suspect the teams that are still able to spend $3million on a player are the ones that still have old money from previous seasons or have cash from when they dumped their high-priced players early in season to balance their budgets after the big salary adjustment. But I can't imagine too many teams netting profits like from previous seasons. I don't mind, though, since I think once the old money starts drying up, there will be fewer big spending driving up the prices on a lesser demand. I also hear that more teams are doing more guard training since more teams have come to realize that, though centers may be easier to train, high-end guards are harder to acquire from the TL and training is the only way to ensure having high-quality guards without selling the house for them, so I anticipate that within a few seasons high-end guards on the TL may be a little more abundant.
Of course, I don't have the TL stats to support any of this. I'd be curious if anyone has been been tracking this a little more scientifically.
edit: typo
Last edited by chihorn at 5/25/2010 1:53:43 PM
Don't ask what sort of Chunks they are, you probably don't want to know. Blowing Chunks since Season 4!