Right now I'm running into a few problems:
1. There are not enough quality guards in the game to purchase
What is a quality guard to you? Respectable in all 6 skills (JS, JR, Driving, Passing, Handling, OD)? Better? Or with some of those skills pumped up and others possibly lower?
I agree that there aren't many great guards on the TL. Not really sure what to advise - I wound up getting lucky a few weeks ago and snagged a couple for about $700k each. I assume prices are still pretty similar now, so if you keep some cash on hand and keep looking, your guard may show up.
2. Training 2 spots is difficult because it leaves you vulnerable in games where you have to play trainees
Agreed. Though it's not just the training - if you play your studs in every game, they'll get too many minutes and game shape will suffer. I think the key is to have balanced trainees. If you have some trainees that are ahead of the others, maybe it's worth selling them off and investing that money in:
1. some new trainees that are around your other trainees' levels
2. a guard or two.
You'll lose some inside performance, but you'll have more balance on the guard end and training minutes should be easier to balance. Of course, this leads to:
3. Very competitive league (obviously)
It is competitive but balanced. You won against nth mlb last night - I'm guessing you normalled at home vs his TIE. And that's what it's about - winning the games that you have a chance to win and forgetting the games you have no chance at. Do that and you should finish at least 6th, more likely at least 5th, which ensures safety.
So, any suggestions?
-Train one slot?
-Train guards?
-Buy the latest and greatest players every time and try to sell the ones that are almost as good?
-Keep training PF/C and just use TIE/CT effectively?
-Anything else?
Training guards is an option, but that'll take some startup time. If you can't find decent guards now, finding decent guard trainees will be even harder, won't it? On the other hand, with a few quick pops (say training just one position), you can make a ton of money on selling guards...
I don't know about sticking to one slot - if I knew more about how fast it was, I'd have more to say.
My advice is to stick with your PF/C training (while using TIE/normal/CT effectively), accumulating money with home games (and possibly a second tier trainee or two - list high, and you might get a nibble), and then pour that money into better guards.
Oh, and you should try not to foul Jan as much. He can hit free throws, you know. :)