As the first GM to take a recreate, I can also say I drafted for position and I took someone I have never played with or GM'd for. The most interaction we likely would have had was when I was an updater. Honestly I had a blank slate for just about anyone unless I have a bad personal experience with them. In regards to my pick at 3, I have had them high on my list since their J draft and all of my scouts told me fantastic things about user and how they would fit into our plans moving forward.

If I was going pure nepotism I would have drafted my immediate prior Co-GM who is also a Defender who went later in the first.

But I'm also not going to lie and say personality isn't a factor in scouting, it just simply is based on how the league is set up. There have been people with amazing players that would drive all the actives away and then you suddenly don't have a team to work with anymore. Finding someone who fits your LR culture is also a big boon as they can help drive activity in others. I know I would definitely not have stayed active if I didn't make friends with the people in my LR. A lot of the long term successful teams in the SHL come from having a strong LR because then people are less likely to quit, more likely to push each other, and give them reasons to care outside of sim results if that's not doing it for them.