ncih, I have a few qustions before I sign up.

What's the player pool? Any player from any season as long as you stay below the 47 mill cap? Is the league a fresh restart every year or do people get to carry over players? Does 'no clones' also mean each drafted player can be on one and only one team in the league? I assume there can be overlap with the five bench players ? What happens to teams that break the rules?

Thanks

What's the player pool?

The entire Database

Any player from any season as long as you stay below the 47 mill cap?

Yes

Is the league a fresh restart every year or do people get to carry over players?

No player carryover.  Fresh start every year.

Does 'no clones' also mean each drafted player can be on one and only one team in the league?
 
Each drafted player is exclusive.  You can't draft a player and use him twice.

I assume there can be overlap with the five bench players ?

Yes

What happens to teams that break the rules?

You forfeit every game where there is a rules violation.

ok, count me in. thanks, nate

One more quick question, can the non-drafted players be anyone, or are players that were taken in the draft round off limits, i.e., i draft hakeem, can someone else still use his 5.7 mill 100def season if they add him in the non-draft, or is he off limits even for the non-draft portion of the roster.

drafted players are exclusive - ie once a player is drafted, nobody else can use him.  Period.

thanks for the info, a very unique league to say the least.

A few more simple questions, does rule number 4 apply to the season as a whole or is it game by game. For example I bank up minutes from a 12 minute backup, can I use him for 36 minutes in one individual game, also what if I schedule my drafted player for 24 minutes then the 'clear the bench' kicks in and he plays 18 while the undrafted player gets 30 minutes for that individual game, is that a rules violation?

I get the concept of having drafted guys play more, but the way I read the rules I MUST start 5 drafted guys EVERY single game, with no exceptions even for one game, correct? 

Thanks

rule number 4 has been at contention in the past... I thought it was being removed and replaced with 2 separate rules that made it clear... but here's how it works:

Typically it's very apparent when someone is trying to "cheat the system" and when someone is just the victim of a sim-engine tragedy (foul trouble, clear bench, etc).  The main thing that rule is there for is to keep you from drafting a player with (say) 1300 minutes, starting him and using an undrafted backup with 2600 minutes.  That's not cool.  Neither is getting a guy with only 900 minutes but platooning him with 2 undrafted guys that play 1500 minutes each.  But if you you draft a guy that plays 900 minutes and another guy that plays 1500 minutes, then that third guy in the platoon is cool because your drafted players at that position (900+1500 = 2400 > 1500) is greater than the minutes provided by the undrafted player... as long as you start one of the ones you drafted.  Individual game minute micro-management is not a violation - or has never been in the past 30-some odd seasons of this league!  I've never seen anybody get that specific and try to call someone out on a rules violation with the example you gave in a single game. 

Here's an example:

(Assume this platoon is at the Shooting Guard position)

Legit:

Player 1 - drafted (minutes 1568) starts 62 games at SG
Player 2 - drafted (minutes 1032) starts 20 games at SG
Player 3 - undrafted (minutes 1300) starts 0 games at any position

(2600 > 1300)

Illegal:

Player 1 - drafted (minutes 911) starts 82 games at SG
Player 2 - drafted (minutes 989) starts 0 games at any position
Player 3 - undrafted (minutes 2000) starts 0 games at any position

(1900 < 2000)

Here's another example of a legit scenario:

Player 1 - drafted (minutes 1500) starts 82 games at SG
Player 2 - drafted (minutes 1000) starts 0 games at any position
Player 3 - drafted (minutes 3170) starts 82 games at SF
Player 4 - drafted (minutes 2000) starts 0 games at any position - plays about 1400 minutes at SG and 600 at SF

However, in this scenario, all of the other 4 drafted players will have to play more than 2000 minutes due to rule #11.



I hope this makes it clear.  That rule really does need to be just trashed.  Rule #3, rule #11 & another rule saying no undrafted player can have a salary higher than (x) would accomplish the same thing without the confusion.

Thanks ash, this clears it up a bit. Given your example it sounds like I can draft two 20 mpg players and play them 30-32 minutes 2 out of 3 games as long as the undrafted third guy averages 16-18.  i guess I can also still draft a 35-38 mpg superstar and rest him 4-5 games against the weakest teams, as long as I replace him in the lineup with other drafted players.

I removed rule #4.  I don't think a cap on salary is necessary for undrafted players.

If you want to spend $6M on a player that plays less than half the time, that is your decision.

come on guys...who wants to step up and join the big boy league...anyone can win a title in the open leagues but winning in this league takes some serious skill

I'd like to try, would have to read the rules a few more times though. Totally stupid beginner question: I pick 7 players, does that mean I have to play with a 7 man rotation?

last 5 are up to you, as long as they werent drafted