LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh did something that has never been done before this NBA offseason by bringing their collective free-market talents to South Beach. While they have shaken up the real-life NBA, they have also done the same in the digital NBA world.

The biggest story of the NBA year was not a game or the NBA Finals, but the free agency period and where the league’s stars would decide to go and play. NBA video games cannot let this go unnoticed.

We are no longer in an era where the free-agency period in a franchise mode is something you sim past after 15 minutes. It’s too important and needs to feel that way in video games.

So here are a few suggestions to make free agency more realistic in NBA video games.

NBA Icons

I got this first idea from the old Madden PS2 games when some players were given the title of NFL icon. While it did not mean much in those games, I think it could really help add to the personality of franchises in NBA games. The big names are what made free agency such a big deal this year in the NBA. For the NBA video games to try and re-create this feel, they should incorporate a system that determines which handful of players in the league are considered its icons.

This should not be something where every team has at least one icon either. I am talking about just 10-15 players around the league who have the best chance to alter a team’s chances of winning titles. I would suggest adding a rating that combines overall, age and potential to determine who is an icon. With that element in place, those players would be the ones who would generate the most buzz when they are in contract seasons.

League Buzz

This is something that is missing from NBA franchise modes. Basically, it is almost impossible to really care about other teams within a franchise mode. Other than just checking league leader stats or team records, you don’t really know what else is going on with other teams. I think that from the start of the regular season, taking into account which players are icons, there should be buzz around the wires about what these players are saying and demanding.

If someone was playing with the 2010 Cleveland Cavaliers last season, they should know that LeBron wants another 85-plus overall player by the trading deadline and is expecting a trip to the NBA Finals otherwise he may not re-sign. It would add to the franchise the element of keeping players happy. It would make it so you have to do a number of things to keep your stars instead of just bringing up a screen and pressing a button to re-sign your best players for five more years.

There needs to be some real buzz around the offseason.

Recruiting

LeBron went around and visited multiple teams this offseason, trying to find the best fit for him. In a sense, these teams were recruiting LeBron. NBA video games should take a page out of NCAA Football's book and integrate a recruiting function during the free-agency period. Each player should have his wants and demands listed and then each team can be given the opportunity to pitch what they have to offer.

The wants for players should include money, location, championship potential and loyalty (I vote to give LeBron a zero on the loyalty front). This way no NBA team not located in Los Angeles or Miami would have a chance at a guy like Lamar Odom because he loves living close to a beach. At the same time, guys like Joe Johnson will be easy to keep in cities like Atlanta as long as you pay them.

Twitter Integration

Now that players are breaking news on Twitter, why not integrate that into the game as well. However, players’ wants and demands will not be as straight forward as just checking their profiles. You will have to do your research as a GM and look at their Twitter pages to see that you perhaps do not want to re-sign Michael Beasley because he tweeted something about the coach not playing him enough -- this could perhaps hurt your team chemistry. Then you find out (although this is pretty obvious) that Kevin Durant is perfect for an extension because he constantly tweets about his workouts and how much he loves his teammates. This would give a great personalized feel to any franchise and add another dimension that has been missing.

Final Thoughts

I want more from my NBA franchises and that begins with putting more importance on the offseason. I have never spent more than 20 minutes on an NBA 2K offseason before, but I spent hours reading about where LeBron might end up next year.


Andrew Kennedy is a staff writer for OS. He lives in Orlando and is really good at watching sports and playing video games a lot. You can follow him on Twitter @akennedy41, on OS as crusaderhoops10 or at his sports blog akennedy13.wordpress.com.