Is a mod that allows for < 30 teams possible?

I heard Dom_2K say that at the start of his '96 season re-simulation that it's impossible to have 2K have less than 30 teams without breaking the game. Is that true and is there no current way for a mod to change that?

I haven't seen it done.

How do people get around this in the retro seasons they've been doing? Would it be possible to fill the extra teams with placeholders to give "free wins" to the other teams?

That's usually how retro rosters have been handled when there are more teams than in the year being represented.

How do people get around this in the retro seasons they've been doing? Would it be possible to fill the extra teams with placeholders to give "free wins" to the other teams?

Yeah that's what Dom_2k did on his stream - he's starting in 97 so he created a fake placeholder team for what will become the Hornets - the team is awful (made up of fake 40 overall players) and he plans to take control of them in the Drafts/Free Agency, and make sure they get the worst players available until he hits the actual expansion year.

Its definitely a solid option if the game just won't let you do it - his placeholder team went 0-82 in the first season so they clearly didn't have any impact on the sim results lol