Also, if a player has came out and complained about his role or minutes, then I will make note of it and adjust his personality (Big Baby).
Personality Types
Unpredictable: If they don’t play that coach better get him out of town ASAP. The chemistry of that team will plummet in a heart beat. This will be reserved for Star Players because they are the players that can make the most noise if they don’t see the court for any reason. I don’t think it is accurate for a team’s Chemistry to drop that much because a role player (Like DeLonte West) isn’t getting the minutes he wants. So what if he carries guns. So this personality type will be few.
Expressive: These players will make a fuss if they aren’t getting the minutes that their roles suggests. No other explanation needed. This will be reserved for Lottery Picks on bad teams and starters/6th men on any team. But if it is a place-holding starter like Aaron Afflalo was with the Nuggets and how Keith Bogans is with the Bulls, I will list them as Neutral. I will treat them as role players. Also role players on bad teams will hurt a team with this personality type.
Neutral: Won’t really make a fuss but won’t be completely happy either. Won’t turn the locker room inside-out because of a lack of playing time like an expressive or unpredictable player would. If there is a former D-League call up that has cracked a top 6 spot on a team (Reggie Williams) I will label them as neutral instead of expressive. This way we can try to mimic the humble factor that many of these young men display. Also, if a player really isn’t starting material but he is starting, I will label his as neutral as well. If a player is a fairly new starter (Darren Collison), I will label them as Neutral instead of Expressive. But in essence, this is reserved for Prospects that are waiting their turn on bad teams and bench players on poor teams. It is also for Role Players on better teams.
Laid Back: Won’t make a fuss about anything. Knows he is lucky to be in the NBA, especially if he rides the pine for a good team. Associated with bench players on the better teams. It is also reserved for Prospects that are waiting their turn on the better teams. Also, any veteran leadership type guy that is on any roster will be given the laid back personality. These players are known to increase the chemistry of the team so they will be non-factors if they don’t get much time.
I will make exceptions to teams that are known to have great chemistry. The Celtics and Thunder come to mind. The Big Three will not follow the rules that I give below since they are known to not care about minutes since they are older and need to rest. But the new players in Boston will be treated as the rest of the league is treat.
The Jazz is another team that usually keeps their chemistry issues out of the public eye. That is a reflection to the non-nonsense approach that Coach Sloan is known for. So I will make sure that there aren’t many distractions in Utah. The same can be said about the Spurs. But here are the list of teams that I consider good chemistry teams:Lakers, Bucks, Suns, Cavs, Celtics, Thunder, Blazers, Spurs, Jazz, Kings, Rockets, and Pacers. So if a player on any of these teams is not getting the minutes he deserves, I will give them the least expressive personality to keep the team’s chemistry closer to the positive side.
Player Roles
Note: Roles will be based on the starting roles of each team for the 2010-2011 Season. If the team has injuries or a starting lineup that doesn’t appear to be what the team will normally go with, I will just let you figure it out. Example, Detroit only has 4 starters IMO. If you use this scale after then, please adjust accordingly. To start an Association, each team needs 5 starters, 1 6th man, and 2 roles players.
Bench: A bench player usually knows he is supposed to be a bench player. Unless a player is notoriously known for being a locker room cancer, then most of these players will be associated with the Laid Back personality type. These players generally aren't the ones that cause rifts in the locker room. That is usually done by the big wigs. A coach wouldn't even entertain them if they tried to. They would just get shipped out. Side note, if a young player is going to be a bench player throughout his career then he will be listed as bench and not prospect. Prospect is reserved for those young players that will actually be developed into roles with the team in the future. Harangody is a bench player. Semih Erden is a prospect. Big difference.
Associated Personality Types: Laid Back (Winning Franchise), Neutral (Non-Winning Franchise or If the player is a known cancer).
Prospect: For the most part I will put them at neutral unless they are known to have attitude problems. Remember that players that will come in immediately and get minutes will be listed as role/start/6th man and not prospect. Prospect is for the player that has to sit and wait to develop before they can contribute. There are a few young players that’s playing time for this season is up in the air (Derrick Brown and James Johnson) depending on how they have developed and how much they produce when they see minutes. Those players will have the prospect label as well. But if they didn’t get any minutes last year and aren’t projected to play this season, they are bench players.
Associated Personality Types: Laid Back (Winning Franchise) - Neutral (If the player is a known cancer).
Role Player: These players are role players that are part of the rotations but not starters or 6th men. So while they deserve minutes, they will>>
Associated Personality Types: Neutral (Winning Franchise) - Expressive (If the player is a known cancer).
6th Man: Essentially a starter that comes off the bench. So they will follow the rules of a starter when it comes to demanding minutes. I will only assign the 6th Man label for each team but some teams actually have more than one bench player that is capable of starting. For example, the Pistons bring Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva off of the bench and both of those players can start. But since 2K only needs one 6th man, I will only assign on 6th man per team. But in this situation, Charlie V. will follow the personality rules of a 6th man even though he will be listed as a role player.
Associated Personality Types: Expressive (Winning Franchise) - Unpredictable (Non-Winning Franchise)
Starter: Self-explanatory. This player will start the game and, since 2K doesn't have end of game rotation logic, end the game. They want a lot of minutes because their skillset suggests it. So if they don't get those minutes, they will let the coach and/or media know about it.
Associated Personality Types: Expressive (Winning Franchise) - Unpredictable (Non-Winning Franchise)
Star: Players are those players that are untouchable. I think I might tend to give out this label a little to easily, so if you think a player isn’t star-worthy, then let me know please. I am always open for suggestions. 2K seemed to think Steve Nash was expendable for some reason so I instantly knew that these needed adjusting. We know what start players are so there is no need for me to explain. If these players don't get the minutes they deserve, the world will know. Unless it is a star player that is known to get a lot of rest time because of injury prevention (Nash and Yao), these players will be unpredictable or Expressive. The more volatile players will be unpredictable (Kobe) and the more calm players will be expressive. (Joe Johnson)Associated Personality Types: Unpredictable, Expressive, Neutral (Will not get huge mins because of medical reasons)
Player Styles
Some have mentioned that in 2K10, that player styles had a direct affect on player progression. Also others have noticed a difference is playing style for a player that was tested using two different styles but keeping the same tendencies. While non of this has been 100% confirmed, it doesn’t hurt to have players labeled with their correct playing styles. 2K didn’t do that poorly of a job here but many players are still off. Here I will be discussing the various roles and how I will perform assignments.
PG - All Around, Scoring, Defensive, 3PT, Athletic, Pass-First
SG - Slashing, All Around, Scoring, Defensive, 3PT, Athletic
SF - Slashing, All Around, Scoring, Defensive, 3PT, Athletic, Point-Forward
PF/C - Back to Basket, Faceup, Rebounding, All Around, Defensive, Athletic
If a player excels in 2 or more categories, I will list him as an all-around talent. I have out a lot of all-arounds because there are a lot of all-around talents in this league. 2K seemed to reserve the all-around label for the better players but that just isn’t accurate. Example, Rondo is a good defender, athletic, and he is a pass-first type PG. So he would be listed as an all-around player. I would prefer to give the all-around label to players that can defend, but there are a lot players that can't be fit into one style because of their offensive versatility. Steph Curry and David Lee come to mind as well as Austin Daye.
There are not too many pass-first PG’s either. Steve Nash, CP3, or Deron can score, shoot and pass. They are ball players that happen to make good passes that lead to baskets. A pass-first PG is usually someone that can’t score. Think of someone like Eric Maynor, Shaun Livingston, or Chris Duhon. So don’t expect to see many top PG’s to be labeled as Pass-First. Andre Miller is the first that comes to mind.
If a player is a hustle player (Najera or Ryan Bowen) I will give them a defensive label.
There won't be too many people with the athletic label because I will reserve that for players that are still trying to figure out their niche in the league. If a player is still raw, I will give him the athletic label.