What are the most important things for you while assesing a player?
His salary. But I take a look at his potential and age, too. If the player has good potential and is still young, I look at his games to see, through his minutes played, if he is trained. If he is trained, it means his salary does not reveal his real skills.
If the player is at least 36 years old, his salary also does not reveal his real skills. Because he started to lose some skills.
After all these, I watch his performance regarding his position (rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, throws, etc.)
Excellent info, jokeru.
If I might add a couple things?
Although I am a HG team now and don't buy players, I have bought hundreds of players and would add a couple observations.
1. Fouls. I also look at the number of fouls the player has in each game. If he has fouled out (6 fouls) on many occasions, and he is someone I might consider training, then his training could be impacted by his aggressiveness.
2. Positions/Tactics. I also note his skill set (guard? Big? SF?), what kind of position he is best suited for, and then see if he has been playing in that position, or out of position, and even if the tactics the coach had been using reflect his stats or skewer them. For example. If his skill set suggest that he is a Power Forward, and the owner has been playing him at the SG position for 48 minutes a week while playing Inside focused tactics, I can weigh his performances up against his ratings, salary and quality of opposition for a much more detailed idea of what this guy might be able to do for my team if purchased.
3. Rating. Regarding rating, keep in mind that a player's rating will appear higher when competing against weaker opponents and lower when competing against stronger opponents. Something to consider.
Just my 2c worth
Home Grown; for teams who like a challenge!