RAVENOUS's Dynasty - Operation Sports

Saturday, April 13, 2013

NBA 2k13 Association Mode - Washington Wizards: The Great Wall of Championships

Posted on April 13, 2013 at 07:47 AM.

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Introduction:

Hello there OS, I'm going to be picking up an Association as the Washington Wizards, and I'd like to blog it here. I'm going to play one game against every team each regular season, for a total of 29 played games, and sim the rest. I will, of course, play all my playoff games as well if/when I make it.

This is my first attempt at this sort of thing, so I'm not going to be getting too deep into stuff like press conferences or posting pretty pictures/vids, this is more of a way for me to do the following things:

Stay "in touch" with my association, and be familiar with my whole league, not just my own team.
Have a reference for myself, and people interested in the sliders/rosters/draft classes I'm using, without spamming up other threads.
Get feedback. I haven't ever followed the NBA too closely, and while I'll list many of my thought processes here, I imagine my concepts of strategy and team-building are very simple. It reminds me of how a few years ago, I knew nothing about soccer. Then I discovered the FIFA video games, then I started watching it, and for awhile now I've been able to hold my own in conversations about it with Europeans and South Americans.

Pre-Association Setup:

Rosters + Sliders --> 2013 Trifecta Project XBOX 360(Roster, Draft Classes, Sliders)

I edited in 5 extra years to CP3's contract as he does not resign with the Clippers in the first offseason (Howard does resign with the Lakers). $17.28m in year 2 scaling up $500k/yr to $19.28m in year 6.
I'm only doing 1-team control, and as the CPU will be adjusting their rotations anyway, I'm going to leave player roles on. I will resign and switch between teams to set their Total Sim Control scorers at the beginning of each season, as well as use forced trades to undo any silly draft shenanigans (I.E. Team A drafts PG X with pick 4, then trades PG X and SF Y to Team B for pick 11, with which they draft PF Z. I force trade PG X and SF Y back to Team A for PF Z to Team B, and just assume Team B drafted PF Z with pick 11 for purposes of the post-draft writeup).
Search their thread for "injury" and you'll find an explanation of how to adjust the injury frequency and severity sliders if you want to leave injuries on, which is what I'm doing. It's not on page 1.
I'm using User Timing for Shooting Type and FT Shooting Type instead of Real Player %, I just have to control that as a matter personal preference. May adjust the sliders a little if I find it necessary.

Fictional Draft Classes --> (XBox360) CWSapp757/Dreece NBA 2K13 Realistic Fictional Draft Classes

I'll be starting at draft class 1 and going through them in order.
I'll put anything with player overall ratings in spoilers so as not to "spoil" draft classes for anyone who doesn't want that.
They work on tons of extra stuff in addition to the classes themselves. Powerpoints with full scouting reports, vids, etc; check out their thread. I'll be referencing the supplemental information they provide, and in year 1 especially I'll be relying heavily on it - "starting today" gives me limited scout time of my own.

Association Setup:

Start Date Today
Quarter Length 11 min
Sim Quarter Length 12 min
Washington Wizards
Everything Else Default
I'm not bothering to micromanage roles or rotation yet as I have two regular season games left, and no playoffs. I also won't do any development drills, ever.

The Vision (Overarching Goals):

1) Be a yearly title contender.

2) Build around John Wall, and keep him healthy. This year the Wizards started 4-28 without him, but since his return have gone 25-23, with two games to go. A .500 record is usually enough to sneak into the playoffs in the Eastern Conference, and indeed would net an 8, and possible 7, seed this year. Wall alone is apparently worth about 3 wins every 8 games to this team, so theoretically, if we start by putting a 20 win team together around him, we should be in good shape. Development-wise, I'll be training his 3pt every offseason until it hits 80.

3) Trim the fat - as new GM of the Wizards, I see pieces in place here that just don't jive with my style.

First and foremost, I have a pretty low opinion of coach Randy Wittman (DDDD ratings). I'm unfortunately stuck with him next season, as I won't be able to afford a better coach until his 3m/yr contract expires. Unless he really impresses me this upcoming season with a Conference Title appearance or better, his contract will not be renewed. I'm hoping to sign a coach with high teaching and potential ratings to a long term deal, fostering the imminent youth movement.
Second, I just prefer my players to have a certain height for their position. PG I don't so much care about, but Wall is 6'4" anyway. I like >6'5" for my SG, >6'7" for my SF, >6'9" for my PF, and >6'10" for C. I worry about matchup problems with specific players throughout the league otherwise. Booker (6'8" PF) and Seraphin (6'9" C) I just won't resign in the offseason. Beal (6'3" SG) is a nice prospect who I'll have to find a way to trade for some value (possibly a lottery pick).

4) Remold the team my way

I'll be looking for players who, in addition to being tall enough, can shoot. I really hate when a player pops out in to open space only to remember as I'm getting him the ball that he can't hit jump shots, and being able to spread the floor as a team I think will suit Wall's game well. I prefer PG, SG, and SF to all be 3pt capable, and PF to be at least mid-range capable.
I'd like at least one or two "explosive" players - athletic guys who can get down the floor on the break and throw down entertaining dunks (or I'm going to bore myself to tears shooting jumpers all day).
To supplement building through the draft, I'll be looking through the FA pool every offseason for prospects with potential. I like getting these guys on 4 year deals, they can evolve pretty quickly into serviceable, cheap backups before their contract expires.
Any gaps leftover in the roster will be filled year-to-year by veterans who will sign cheap one or two year contracts.
By next (the '14) offseason I'll be able to re-sign Wall to a long-term deal, and afford a solid starter in FA, as Okafor's 14.55m/yr contract expires. If I can find a way to move Nene and his 13m/yr contract by that point as well, I'll be able to sign any FA of my choosing. Couple that with the planned coaching overhaul, and I'm targeting the '14-'15 NBA season as the first of many deep playoff runs.
Doing the above things should manage my cap space well enough that I can afford two star-caliber players down the road to go with Wall and the compliment of role-players.