You got me hooked on moves with your good advice...it's been very successful and is addictive. :)
Yao was on my 1st Knicks Dynasty. That was the one where I went for quality and started to forget about cap room. So in that one, I have Hinrich, Barbosa and Blake at PG, Kobe and Battier at SG, Rashard Lewis, Josh Smith and Korver at SG, Okafor and Howard at PF, and Ming, Gasol and Bosh at C...don't recall who my other 2 player are on that team. That's a team that cannot be beat, but it sucks for the cap.
The team above is my 2nd Knicks Dynasty. The focus is on trying to reduce the cap while having a competitive team...my original focus that I am now trying to act upon. This team is not as good as my 1st Knicks Dynasty (how can you beat a starting lineup of Hinrich, Kobe, Lewis, Howard and Ming?), but the salary cap thing is working. With increases in salaries for the players I keep, but taking out Penny, Stoudamire and Trybanski's salaries, I should be about $6-7M over the cap after the season. That's a huge reduction from the $56.81M cap mess I started with. And if I can trade away Crawford's salary for a quality cheaper SG like Josh Howard and lose Voskuhl, I may get under the cap yet. In any event, I'll be more cap friendly than most other teams in the league at that point. It's a fun exercise...plus, the games become more challenging anf fun when I don't have the all-star team of all all-star teams (like my 1st Knicks Dynasty).
Anyway, the trade deadline has passed, so I am done trading in the above dynasty until after the season. I am now playing a few games so I get dynasty points. I want to develop a few players more (i.e. Harrison's strength and D, Howard's strength and D, Korver's speed and quickness, Curry's dribbling, etc.). I also want to do good scouting, as I will at least develop 1 rookie C next season. There are a few over 7'3" with some reasonable defensive projections...pretty good for a "weak" draft.
Trade advice needed
by asgsjb on Sat Oct 27, 2007 7:58 am
You got me hooked on moves with your good advice...it's been very successful and is addictive. :)
Yao was on my 1st Knicks Dynasty. That was the one where I went for quality and started to forget about cap room. So in that one, I have Hinrich, Barbosa and Blake at PG, Kobe and Battier at SG, Rashard Lewis, Josh Smith and Korver at SG, Okafor and Howard at PF, and Ming, Gasol and Bosh at C...don't recall who my other 2 player are on that team. That's a team that cannot be beat, but it sucks for the cap.
The team above is my 2nd Knicks Dynasty. The focus is on trying to reduce the cap while having a competitive team...my original focus that I am now trying to act upon. This team is not as good as my 1st Knicks Dynasty (how can you beat a starting lineup of Hinrich, Kobe, Lewis, Howard and Ming?), but the salary cap thing is working. With increases in salaries for the players I keep, but taking out Penny, Stoudamire and Trybanski's salaries, I should be about $6-7M over the cap after the season. That's a huge reduction from the $56.81M cap mess I started with. And if I can trade away Crawford's salary for a quality cheaper SG like Josh Howard and lose Voskuhl, I may get under the cap yet. In any event, I'll be more cap friendly than most other teams in the league at that point. It's a fun exercise...plus, the games become more challenging anf fun when I don't have the all-star team of all all-star teams (like my 1st Knicks Dynasty).
Anyway, the trade deadline has passed, so I am done trading in the above dynasty until after the season. I am now playing a few games so I get dynasty points. I want to develop a few players more (i.e. Harrison's strength and D, Howard's strength and D, Korver's speed and quickness, Curry's dribbling, etc.). I also want to do good scouting, as I will at least develop 1 rookie C next season. There are a few over 7'3" with some reasonable defensive projections...pretty good for a "weak" draft.
Yao was on my 1st Knicks Dynasty. That was the one where I went for quality and started to forget about cap room. So in that one, I have Hinrich, Barbosa and Blake at PG, Kobe and Battier at SG, Rashard Lewis, Josh Smith and Korver at SG, Okafor and Howard at PF, and Ming, Gasol and Bosh at C...don't recall who my other 2 player are on that team. That's a team that cannot be beat, but it sucks for the cap.
The team above is my 2nd Knicks Dynasty. The focus is on trying to reduce the cap while having a competitive team...my original focus that I am now trying to act upon. This team is not as good as my 1st Knicks Dynasty (how can you beat a starting lineup of Hinrich, Kobe, Lewis, Howard and Ming?), but the salary cap thing is working. With increases in salaries for the players I keep, but taking out Penny, Stoudamire and Trybanski's salaries, I should be about $6-7M over the cap after the season. That's a huge reduction from the $56.81M cap mess I started with. And if I can trade away Crawford's salary for a quality cheaper SG like Josh Howard and lose Voskuhl, I may get under the cap yet. In any event, I'll be more cap friendly than most other teams in the league at that point. It's a fun exercise...plus, the games become more challenging anf fun when I don't have the all-star team of all all-star teams (like my 1st Knicks Dynasty).
Anyway, the trade deadline has passed, so I am done trading in the above dynasty until after the season. I am now playing a few games so I get dynasty points. I want to develop a few players more (i.e. Harrison's strength and D, Howard's strength and D, Korver's speed and quickness, Curry's dribbling, etc.). I also want to do good scouting, as I will at least develop 1 rookie C next season. There are a few over 7'3" with some reasonable defensive projections...pretty good for a "weak" draft.
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by JT_55 on Sat Oct 27, 2007 3:52 pm
lol...three in a row. Some guy posted seven straight once 
. Andrew will probably fix it up. But the forum's been acting up lately again, they say it has to do with the large amount of new members from the Live 08.
Oh right, I forgot you had two Dynastys. This one is focusing on cap? Well, you have a good choice of players, only one of the backups in over $5 mil. Beware of Tinsley though; third year he'll bee asking for more than 5 million. Never seen anything of the sort from Barbosa, Smith, or Wallace, so they shouldn't be much trouble. I would actually consider not keeping one of the PFs when they expire, as having a future semi-expensive backup is not going to help your cap alot. Works fine in a normal one, but if you're keeping your cap down, taking a little dropoff at PF for a big salary cut might be worth it.
. Andrew will probably fix it up. But the forum's been acting up lately again, they say it has to do with the large amount of new members from the Live 08.
Oh right, I forgot you had two Dynastys. This one is focusing on cap? Well, you have a good choice of players, only one of the backups in over $5 mil. Beware of Tinsley though; third year he'll bee asking for more than 5 million. Never seen anything of the sort from Barbosa, Smith, or Wallace, so they shouldn't be much trouble. I would actually consider not keeping one of the PFs when they expire, as having a future semi-expensive backup is not going to help your cap alot. Works fine in a normal one, but if you're keeping your cap down, taking a little dropoff at PF for a big salary cut might be worth it.
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by asgsjb on Sun Oct 28, 2007 2:08 am
True. Trying to groom people for the future. After the season, Pargo and Steve Blake are available as free agent PG's, so I can nab one or both for the future behind Barbosa, who I am grooming to eventually replace Tinsley (if and when Tinsley gets too costly).
As for PF, I might have to move one of Okafor or Howard at some point. I am focusing my draft on C's and PF's with size, strength and blocking ability. So I hope to develop the "future" at the position. I also want to go another season or two to determine who to keep. Okafor has the blocks and strength, but Howard seems better on offense and develops a bit quicker. I want to see how that battle shapes out before deciding who to move. I could trade one away for a "clone" who is cheaper, but I have to identify who that is. I've ben focusing first on trying to ID cheaper backup SG's to replace Crawford in a potential trade.
As for PF, I might have to move one of Okafor or Howard at some point. I am focusing my draft on C's and PF's with size, strength and blocking ability. So I hope to develop the "future" at the position. I also want to go another season or two to determine who to keep. Okafor has the blocks and strength, but Howard seems better on offense and develops a bit quicker. I want to see how that battle shapes out before deciding who to move. I could trade one away for a "clone" who is cheaper, but I have to identify who that is. I've ben focusing first on trying to ID cheaper backup SG's to replace Crawford in a potential trade.
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by JT_55 on Mon Oct 29, 2007 4:15 pm
Arghhh. Forum keeps losing contact with my computer after like 5 minutes.
Yeah, in a Dynasty focusing on cap room, drafting is really important, but I have no advice on that, long since giving up trying to crack the code. For SG, I don't really know. Unless you want the Korver clone (Kapono), there isn't one I can think of that is cheap, young, and not horrible. But then again, my Live roster memory is failing from lack of playing. You should check on that one.
Yeah, in a Dynasty focusing on cap room, drafting is really important, but I have no advice on that, long since giving up trying to crack the code. For SG, I don't really know. Unless you want the Korver clone (Kapono), there isn't one I can think of that is cheap, young, and not horrible. But then again, my Live roster memory is failing from lack of playing. You should check on that one.
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by asgsjb on Tue Oct 30, 2007 10:35 am
Michael Redd is the highest ranked "cheap" player ($3M, but his contract goes up quite a bit after his contract expires in 2 seasons. Josh Howard is a good one, but his $824K contract makes him tough to get. Childress is likely the most reasonable...he doesn't shoot the 3 well, but he is fast and can dunk well. Petrius and Welsch are the best 3-point shooting SG's, although Kapono and Casey Jacobson are alternatives...but I can't see dropping from a 72-ranked Crawford to a 56 ranked Petrius or Welsch. Battier is another option, although he is a drop over $3M...but that is better than Crawford's salary.
In any event, I will likely have to move down to a lower-ranked SG, but perhaps I can use move up from Tinsley to a better PG like Hinrich in the process Better starting PG for a lesser backup SG...sounds logical.
By the way, I've played a few games with this Knicks team and despite the fact that the individual players aren't ranked as high as the players on my 1st Knicks dynasty, they are dominating opponents the same way. Few of my players are in the leaders columns, but they play very effectively together. As for individual players, Barbosa, Curry and David Harrison are a blast to use.
In any event, I will likely have to move down to a lower-ranked SG, but perhaps I can use move up from Tinsley to a better PG like Hinrich in the process Better starting PG for a lesser backup SG...sounds logical.
By the way, I've played a few games with this Knicks team and despite the fact that the individual players aren't ranked as high as the players on my 1st Knicks dynasty, they are dominating opponents the same way. Few of my players are in the leaders columns, but they play very effectively together. As for individual players, Barbosa, Curry and David Harrison are a blast to use.
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by JT_55 on Wed Oct 31, 2007 3:59 pm
Even with my trade scheme, I can never find an effective way to get Josh Howard. Dallas just has no holes and not enough relatively cheap players to package him in with. I think Childress might be the best, but you can always consider Battier. 56 might be a bit on the verge of the "horrible side", as that is just too low a ranking for a backup.
Your PG-SG plan sounds good, look up on that one. If you can, maybe you can squeeze Deng in the trade, too. Not guaranteed to work, but the computer should take a 5 point gain, even if they are losing Deng for a no-name guy. And once you get Hinrich you can also deal Tinsley while he is cheap, so that's a great idea.
Your PG-SG plan sounds good, look up on that one. If you can, maybe you can squeeze Deng in the trade, too. Not guaranteed to work, but the computer should take a 5 point gain, even if they are losing Deng for a no-name guy. And once you get Hinrich you can also deal Tinsley while he is cheap, so that's a great idea.
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by asgsjb on Thu Nov 01, 2007 3:05 am
I agree on Dallas. Can't figure out how to nab Howard and can't seem to find any need of theirs to try to even get Podkolzin (that 7'5" strong stiff I enjoy using). 
56 is not necessarily a bad rank. With Petrius, his stats are pretty decent...but with the 56 rank, you get an iffy dribble skill...so when you try a spin move, you are 50%-50% to cough it up. But that is a skill that can be improved. Battier is a better SG, for sure, but you have to pay almost twice the price to get him.
While trading is good and enjoyable, it seems it is not as cap friendly as re-signing your own players. The players you trade for always have salaries that increase each year, while with re-signings, you can agree to pay more upfront and have the salary decrease each year. Interesting.
Here's what I did with my cap-friendly Knicks dynasty. I won the championship in my 1st year. I then moved to the offseason.
Re-signings: I re-signed Tinsley (1 yr., $4.2M...with that price and it likely going up on the next renegotiation, it made it more imperative to move him), Korver (1 yr., $695k), Curry (3 yrs., $12.65M...normally $4.21M/yr., but I have it decreasing each year), and Wallace (7 yrs., $21.57M...normally $3.081M/yr., but I also have his salary decreasing each year). I decided to let Hardaway, Stoudamire and Trybanski go and I dropped Voskuhl (he had this next season left on his contract).
Draft: I chose to go with centers, so I drafted Holton and Valicevic. Valicevic turned out to be a 44 rank while Holton turned out to be a 41 rank. In my mind, that makes Holton good trade bait.
Free agent signings: I tried to get Steve Blake and R.Lopez, but got outbid. I did sign Gadzuric and Jerome James (both C's), figuring C's are easy trade bait if needed to get a PG for when I try to trade Tinsley.
Trade period: Nice moves here.
- I traded Jerome James to Chicago (desparate for C's) for R.Lopez, who I tried to sign during the free agent period.
- Traded Tinsley/Gadzuric to Chicago (still wanting C's badly) for Hinrich and Piatkowski. That gave me a starting PG upgrade who is signed for another year at a cheap price.
- Dropped Piatkowski...he was a salary cap throw-in anyway.
- Traded Crawford (getting too pricey for a backup) and Holton (the rookie C) to GS for Petrius and Murphy...Petrius is intended to be my cheaper backup SG.
- Traded Lopez and Murphy to Toronto for Bosh. I like Bosh, but his lack of strength is a liability at C and he is a bit pricey for abackup C, so I got him to trade him.
- Had roster room, so I signed Fortson (PF) and Bryce Drew (PG).
- Traded Bosh and Drew to Seattle for Ridnour and Robert Swift. This gave me a 3rd PG who is cheap and with some quality and also gave me another quality young C prospect who plays much like David Harrison.
Present Roster: after the above, here's what my roster looks like:
- PG: Hinrich (starting), Ridnour, Barbosa
- SG: Kobe (starting), Petrius...Korver can play here too.
- SF: G.Wallace (starting), J.Smith, Korver
- PF: Howard (starting), Okafor (who can also play C)
-C: Curry (starting), D.Harrison, Swift
This roster now moves me from the $56.81M cap mess when I started last season and the $31.47M cap mess when I finished last season to a much more reasonable $6.57M over the cap. And when you consider Piatkowski's $2.95M salary comes off after this year and Fortson is an unnecessary free agent ($800K or so), my cap will get even better. Now most of my players' salaries will increase next year, but Curry's and Wallace's will decrease, so hopefully that counterbalances a little.
I played the 1st 2 games of the season already, and the team still plays nicely. Hinrich isn't as fast as Tinsley and doesn't steal as well as Tinsley, Ridnour is iffy on 3's, and Petrius can be hit or miss on the spin-move, but otherwise I keep the core starting roster that played so well last year and added a nice backup C in Swift. So the team is mostly intact and plays nicely. I also have a lot of dynasty points to develop the youngsters...I already have improved Petrius' dribbling by several points.
The biggest cap crunches now are Kobe, who is going to be impossible to trade, and having a backup PF who makes at least $3.74M. But I can't seem to find a better backup PF solution who is cheaper and plays relatively well.
56 is not necessarily a bad rank. With Petrius, his stats are pretty decent...but with the 56 rank, you get an iffy dribble skill...so when you try a spin move, you are 50%-50% to cough it up. But that is a skill that can be improved. Battier is a better SG, for sure, but you have to pay almost twice the price to get him.
While trading is good and enjoyable, it seems it is not as cap friendly as re-signing your own players. The players you trade for always have salaries that increase each year, while with re-signings, you can agree to pay more upfront and have the salary decrease each year. Interesting.
Here's what I did with my cap-friendly Knicks dynasty. I won the championship in my 1st year. I then moved to the offseason.
Re-signings: I re-signed Tinsley (1 yr., $4.2M...with that price and it likely going up on the next renegotiation, it made it more imperative to move him), Korver (1 yr., $695k), Curry (3 yrs., $12.65M...normally $4.21M/yr., but I have it decreasing each year), and Wallace (7 yrs., $21.57M...normally $3.081M/yr., but I also have his salary decreasing each year). I decided to let Hardaway, Stoudamire and Trybanski go and I dropped Voskuhl (he had this next season left on his contract).
Draft: I chose to go with centers, so I drafted Holton and Valicevic. Valicevic turned out to be a 44 rank while Holton turned out to be a 41 rank. In my mind, that makes Holton good trade bait.
Free agent signings: I tried to get Steve Blake and R.Lopez, but got outbid. I did sign Gadzuric and Jerome James (both C's), figuring C's are easy trade bait if needed to get a PG for when I try to trade Tinsley.
Trade period: Nice moves here.
- I traded Jerome James to Chicago (desparate for C's) for R.Lopez, who I tried to sign during the free agent period.
- Traded Tinsley/Gadzuric to Chicago (still wanting C's badly) for Hinrich and Piatkowski. That gave me a starting PG upgrade who is signed for another year at a cheap price.
- Dropped Piatkowski...he was a salary cap throw-in anyway.
- Traded Crawford (getting too pricey for a backup) and Holton (the rookie C) to GS for Petrius and Murphy...Petrius is intended to be my cheaper backup SG.
- Traded Lopez and Murphy to Toronto for Bosh. I like Bosh, but his lack of strength is a liability at C and he is a bit pricey for abackup C, so I got him to trade him.
- Had roster room, so I signed Fortson (PF) and Bryce Drew (PG).
- Traded Bosh and Drew to Seattle for Ridnour and Robert Swift. This gave me a 3rd PG who is cheap and with some quality and also gave me another quality young C prospect who plays much like David Harrison.
Present Roster: after the above, here's what my roster looks like:
- PG: Hinrich (starting), Ridnour, Barbosa
- SG: Kobe (starting), Petrius...Korver can play here too.
- SF: G.Wallace (starting), J.Smith, Korver
- PF: Howard (starting), Okafor (who can also play C)
-C: Curry (starting), D.Harrison, Swift
This roster now moves me from the $56.81M cap mess when I started last season and the $31.47M cap mess when I finished last season to a much more reasonable $6.57M over the cap. And when you consider Piatkowski's $2.95M salary comes off after this year and Fortson is an unnecessary free agent ($800K or so), my cap will get even better. Now most of my players' salaries will increase next year, but Curry's and Wallace's will decrease, so hopefully that counterbalances a little.
I played the 1st 2 games of the season already, and the team still plays nicely. Hinrich isn't as fast as Tinsley and doesn't steal as well as Tinsley, Ridnour is iffy on 3's, and Petrius can be hit or miss on the spin-move, but otherwise I keep the core starting roster that played so well last year and added a nice backup C in Swift. So the team is mostly intact and plays nicely. I also have a lot of dynasty points to develop the youngsters...I already have improved Petrius' dribbling by several points.
The biggest cap crunches now are Kobe, who is going to be impossible to trade, and having a backup PF who makes at least $3.74M. But I can't seem to find a better backup PF solution who is cheaper and plays relatively well.
- asgsjb
- Posts: 151
- Joined: Tue Apr 03, 2007 2:05 am
by asgsjb on Thu Nov 01, 2007 3:09 am
I agree on Dallas. Can't figure out how to nab Howard and can't seem to find any need of theirs to try to even get Podkolzin (that 7'5" strong stiff I enjoy using).
56 is not necessarily a bad rank. With Petrius, his stats are pretty decent...but with the 56 rank, you get an iffy dribble skill...so when you try a spin move, you are 50%-50% to cough it up. But that is a skill that can be improved. Battier is a better SG, for sure, but you have to pay almost twice the price to get him.
While trading is good and enjoyable, it seems it is not as cap friendly as re-signing your own players. The players you trade for always have salaries that increase each year, while with re-signings, you can agree to pay more upfront and have the salary decrease each year. Interesting.
Here's what I did with my cap-friendly Knicks dynasty. I won the championship in my 1st year. I then moved to the offseason.
Re-signings: I re-signed Tinsley (1 yr., $4.2M...with that price and it likely going up on the next renegotiation, it made it more imperative to move him), Korver (1 yr., $695k), Curry (3 yrs., $12.65M...normally $4.21M/yr., but I have it decreasing each year), and Wallace (7 yrs., $21.57M...normally $3.081M/yr., but I also have his salary decreasing each year). I decided to let Hardaway, Stoudamire and Trybanski go and I dropped Voskuhl (he had this next season left on his contract).
Draft: I chose to go with centers, so I drafted Holton and Valicevic. Valicevic turned out to be a 44 rank while Holton turned out to be a 41 rank. In my mind, that makes Holton good trade bait.
Free agent signings: I tried to get Steve Blake and R.Lopez, but got outbid. I did sign Gadzuric and Jerome James (both C's), figuring C's are easy trade bait if needed to get a PG for when I try to trade Tinsley.
Trade period: Nice moves here.
- I traded Jerome James to Chicago (desparate for C's) for R.Lopez, who I tried to sign during the free agent period.
- Traded Tinsley/Gadzuric to Chicago (still wanting C's badly) for Hinrich and Piatkowski. That gave me a starting PG upgrade who is signed for another year at a cheap price.
- Dropped Piatkowski...he was a salary cap throw-in anyway.
- Traded Crawford (getting too pricey for a backup) and Holton (the rookie C) to GS for Petrius and Murphy...Petrius is intended to be my cheaper backup SG.
- Traded Lopez and Murphy to Toronto for Bosh. I like Bosh, but his lack of strength is a liability at C and he is a bit pricey for abackup C, so I got him to trade him.
- Had roster room, so I signed Fortson (PF) and Bryce Drew (PG).
- Traded Bosh and Drew to Seattle for Ridnour and Robert Swift. This gave me a 3rd PG who is cheap and with some quality and also gave me another quality young C prospect who plays much like David Harrison.
Present Roster: after the above, here's what my roster looks like:
- PG: Hinrich (starting), Ridnour, Barbosa
- SG: Kobe (starting), Petrius...Korver can play here too.
- SF: G.Wallace (starting), J.Smith, Korver
- PF: Howard (starting), Okafor (who can also play C)
-C: Curry (starting), D.Harrison, Swift
This roster now moves me from the $56.81M cap mess when I started last season and the $31.47M cap mess when I finished last season to a much more reasonable $6.57M over the cap. And when you consider Piatkowski's $2.95M salary comes off after this year and Fortson is an unnecessary free agent ($800K or so), my cap will get even better. Now most of my players' salaries will increase next year, but Curry's and Wallace's will decrease, so hopefully that counterbalances a little.
I played the 1st 2 games of the season already, and the team still plays nicely. Hinrich isn't as fast as Tinsley and doesn't steal as well as Tinsley, Ridnour is iffy on 3's, and Petrius can be hit or miss on the spin-move, but otherwise I keep the core starting roster that played so well last year and added a nice backup C in Swift. So the team is mostly intact and plays nicely. I also have a lot of dynasty points to develop the youngsters...I already have improved Petrius' dribbling by several points.
The biggest cap crunches now are Kobe, who is going to be impossible to trade, and having a backup PF who makes at least $3.74M. But I can't seem to find a better backup PF solution who is cheaper and plays relatively well.
56 is not necessarily a bad rank. With Petrius, his stats are pretty decent...but with the 56 rank, you get an iffy dribble skill...so when you try a spin move, you are 50%-50% to cough it up. But that is a skill that can be improved. Battier is a better SG, for sure, but you have to pay almost twice the price to get him.
While trading is good and enjoyable, it seems it is not as cap friendly as re-signing your own players. The players you trade for always have salaries that increase each year, while with re-signings, you can agree to pay more upfront and have the salary decrease each year. Interesting.
Here's what I did with my cap-friendly Knicks dynasty. I won the championship in my 1st year. I then moved to the offseason.
Re-signings: I re-signed Tinsley (1 yr., $4.2M...with that price and it likely going up on the next renegotiation, it made it more imperative to move him), Korver (1 yr., $695k), Curry (3 yrs., $12.65M...normally $4.21M/yr., but I have it decreasing each year), and Wallace (7 yrs., $21.57M...normally $3.081M/yr., but I also have his salary decreasing each year). I decided to let Hardaway, Stoudamire and Trybanski go and I dropped Voskuhl (he had this next season left on his contract).
Draft: I chose to go with centers, so I drafted Holton and Valicevic. Valicevic turned out to be a 44 rank while Holton turned out to be a 41 rank. In my mind, that makes Holton good trade bait.
Free agent signings: I tried to get Steve Blake and R.Lopez, but got outbid. I did sign Gadzuric and Jerome James (both C's), figuring C's are easy trade bait if needed to get a PG for when I try to trade Tinsley.
Trade period: Nice moves here.
- I traded Jerome James to Chicago (desparate for C's) for R.Lopez, who I tried to sign during the free agent period.
- Traded Tinsley/Gadzuric to Chicago (still wanting C's badly) for Hinrich and Piatkowski. That gave me a starting PG upgrade who is signed for another year at a cheap price.
- Dropped Piatkowski...he was a salary cap throw-in anyway.
- Traded Crawford (getting too pricey for a backup) and Holton (the rookie C) to GS for Petrius and Murphy...Petrius is intended to be my cheaper backup SG.
- Traded Lopez and Murphy to Toronto for Bosh. I like Bosh, but his lack of strength is a liability at C and he is a bit pricey for abackup C, so I got him to trade him.
- Had roster room, so I signed Fortson (PF) and Bryce Drew (PG).
- Traded Bosh and Drew to Seattle for Ridnour and Robert Swift. This gave me a 3rd PG who is cheap and with some quality and also gave me another quality young C prospect who plays much like David Harrison.
Present Roster: after the above, here's what my roster looks like:
- PG: Hinrich (starting), Ridnour, Barbosa
- SG: Kobe (starting), Petrius...Korver can play here too.
- SF: G.Wallace (starting), J.Smith, Korver
- PF: Howard (starting), Okafor (who can also play C)
-C: Curry (starting), D.Harrison, Swift
This roster now moves me from the $56.81M cap mess when I started last season and the $31.47M cap mess when I finished last season to a much more reasonable $6.57M over the cap. And when you consider Piatkowski's $2.95M salary comes off after this year and Fortson is an unnecessary free agent ($800K or so), my cap will get even better. Now most of my players' salaries will increase next year, but Curry's and Wallace's will decrease, so hopefully that counterbalances a little.
I played the 1st 2 games of the season already, and the team still plays nicely. Hinrich isn't as fast as Tinsley and doesn't steal as well as Tinsley, Ridnour is iffy on 3's, and Petrius can be hit or miss on the spin-move, but otherwise I keep the core starting roster that played so well last year and added a nice backup C in Swift. So the team is mostly intact and plays nicely. I also have a lot of dynasty points to develop the youngsters...I already have improved Petrius' dribbling by several points.
The biggest cap crunches now are Kobe, who is going to be impossible to trade, and having a backup PF who makes at least $3.74M. But I can't seem to find a better backup PF solution who is cheaper and plays relatively well.
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by JT_55 on Thu Nov 01, 2007 10:11 am
Really consider not signing or moving Okafor, as he is getting to be quite expensive. You can maybe get Harrison and Swift to fill in at PF if you need. They may not be as adept at it as Bosh, but a 3 M drop in salary with Piatkowski gone would get you below cap. Of course, dropping him would be better, but is there a team that is below cap right now you can dump salary to still?
Other than that, plan out after the next seven years when you can finally get rid of Kobe.
Other than that, plan out after the next seven years when you can finally get rid of Kobe.
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by asgsjb on Thu Nov 01, 2007 10:30 am
Did a few more deals:
- Traded Petrius and Swift to Memphis (they needed a C) for Battier and Burks (PG). Battier is an upgrade at SG, even though he is a bit pricier, and as Burks is disposable, I free up another roster spot for the next draft, where there are several 7'3"+ C's I can add to my growing (in size) team.
- Traded Fortson to Charlotte for Toomey, a 7'5" rookie C who is cheaper than Swift, while not losing too much in ability. I can now develop Toomey and my other rookie C.
If I manage to free up 2 roster spots for the next draft and nab 2 7'3"+ rookie C's, I will have 4 young C's at that height...quite a scary prospect for teams trying to drive to the basket. Even worse for them if I put one of those C's at PF...creating a "twin towers" (a la Duncan/David Robinson) kind of thing.
You might be right about the PF situation. But I can't decide whether to keep Okafor or Howard. Howard is developing a bit quicker, but Okafor has him beat big-time on strength and blocks. With young C's who are OK, but not great, at blocks, having a PF like Okafor could be key. And Howard costs more anyway. I may have to scour the other teams' rosters to see about alternative backup PF's with strength and defensive ability. Boston has Jefferson and Perkins...both being quite strong...but their defensive and offensive skills are lacking a bit. I like Chandler, but he is pricey. I don't know. I may have to start focusing on drafting a good PF.
Nov. 4th edit: I managed to figure out how to get Howard from Dallas. If I trade Ridnour and Burks to Philly (who needs PG's), I can get Iguodala. I can then trade Iguodala and Battier to Dallas for Howard and Shawn Bradley, whose $4M+ contract expires this season. So it in essence a Battier/Igodala for Howard deal. Doing this gives me a quality inexpensive backup SG and opens up 2 positions for the upcoming draft and reduces my cap even more after the season. Sweet.
- Traded Petrius and Swift to Memphis (they needed a C) for Battier and Burks (PG). Battier is an upgrade at SG, even though he is a bit pricier, and as Burks is disposable, I free up another roster spot for the next draft, where there are several 7'3"+ C's I can add to my growing (in size) team.
- Traded Fortson to Charlotte for Toomey, a 7'5" rookie C who is cheaper than Swift, while not losing too much in ability. I can now develop Toomey and my other rookie C.
If I manage to free up 2 roster spots for the next draft and nab 2 7'3"+ rookie C's, I will have 4 young C's at that height...quite a scary prospect for teams trying to drive to the basket. Even worse for them if I put one of those C's at PF...creating a "twin towers" (a la Duncan/David Robinson) kind of thing.
You might be right about the PF situation. But I can't decide whether to keep Okafor or Howard. Howard is developing a bit quicker, but Okafor has him beat big-time on strength and blocks. With young C's who are OK, but not great, at blocks, having a PF like Okafor could be key. And Howard costs more anyway. I may have to scour the other teams' rosters to see about alternative backup PF's with strength and defensive ability. Boston has Jefferson and Perkins...both being quite strong...but their defensive and offensive skills are lacking a bit. I like Chandler, but he is pricey. I don't know. I may have to start focusing on drafting a good PF.
Nov. 4th edit: I managed to figure out how to get Howard from Dallas. If I trade Ridnour and Burks to Philly (who needs PG's), I can get Iguodala. I can then trade Iguodala and Battier to Dallas for Howard and Shawn Bradley, whose $4M+ contract expires this season. So it in essence a Battier/Igodala for Howard deal. Doing this gives me a quality inexpensive backup SG and opens up 2 positions for the upcoming draft and reduces my cap even more after the season. Sweet.
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by JT_55 on Fri Nov 09, 2007 1:37 pm
My internet is not functioning properly right now so it might be a while before I get back to you...
Wow, you finally managed to get Howard. Congratulations. It seems to easy now that I look back on it. I have long since given up, so...anyway, you cap must be low, low, low by now. You probably can get it under the next two years, I assume?
I myself am also torn on which PF to keep. Both have their strengths, and Howard is a bit younger and is better offensively, but Okafor is cheaper and is a beast on defense. Drafting won't get you a starter, unless you start Operation Tank.
Wow, you finally managed to get Howard. Congratulations. It seems to easy now that I look back on it. I have long since given up, so...anyway, you cap must be low, low, low by now. You probably can get it under the next two years, I assume?
I myself am also torn on which PF to keep. Both have their strengths, and Howard is a bit younger and is better offensively, but Okafor is cheaper and is a beast on defense. Drafting won't get you a starter, unless you start Operation Tank.
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by asgsjb on Sat Nov 10, 2007 1:45 am
My access has been the same...I think the logjam on the site is impacting it.
I love defense, so I decided to keep Okafor. He's also a bit cheaper. I agree on drafting a good PF...tough to do. It's easier to see how PF's develop and then trade for one you like.
I made my moves, and so now my team went from this (the original Knicks)...$56.81M over the cap:
PG: Marbury (85 rank, 27 yrs. old, 5 yrs. $14.63M)
PG: Norris (54 rank, 31 yrs. old, 2 yrs., $3.85M)
PG: Brewer (40 rank, 23 yrs. old, 1 yr., $720K)
SG: Crawford (72 rank, 24 yrs. old, 7 yrs., $5.80M)
SG: Houston (65 rank, 33 yrs. old, 3 yrs., $17.53M)
SG: Hardaway (60 rank, 33 yrs. old, 1 yr., $14.63M)
SF: T.Thomas (68 rank, 27 yrs. old, 2 yrs., $12.90M)
SF: Anderson (58 rank, 30 yrs. old, 3 yrs., $7.30M)
SF: Ariza (46 rank, 19 yrs. old, 1 yr., $385K)
PF: K.Thomas (65 rank, 32 yrs. old, 3 yrs., $5.89M)
PF: Sweetney (59 rank, 22 yrs. old, 3 yrs., $1.98M)
PF: J.Williams (58 rank, 31 yrs. old, 3 yrs., $5.60M)
C: Baker (57 rank, 32 yrs. old, 2 yrs., $3.45M)
C: Mohammed (53 rank, 27 yrs. old, 2 yrs., $5.25M)
C: Sundov (36 rank, 24 yrs. old, 1 yr., $745K)
...to this (my current team)...$163K over the cap, with $2.95M waiting to expire at the end of the season or sooner if someone picks up my discarded player this season):
PG: Hinrich (74 rank, 24 yrs. old, 2 yrs., $2.28M)
PG: Barbosa (59 rank, 23 yrs. old, 2 yrs., $1.28M)
SG: Kobe (94 rank, 27 yrs. old, 6 yrs., $15.95M)
SG: J.Howard (74 rank, 25 yrs. old, 2 yrs., $1.20M)
SF: G.Wallace (63 rank, 23 yrs. old, 7 yrs., $3.79M...goes down each yr.)
SF: J.Smith (60 rank, 19 yrs. old, 3 yrs., $1.59M)
SF: Korver (53 rank, 24 yrs. old, 1 yr., $695K)
PF: Okafor (71 rank, 23 yrs. old, 3 yrs., $4.30M)
PF: Sweetney (62 rank, 23 yrs. old, 2 yrs., $2.34M)
C: Curry (68 rank, 22 yrs,. old, 3 yrs., $4.60M...goes down each yr.)
C: D.Harrison (56 rank, 23 yrs. old, 3 yrs., $873K)
C: R.Swift (55 rank, 20 yrs. old, 3 yrs., $1.96M)
C: Valicevic (rookie) (46 rank, 22 yrs. old, 4 yrs., $691K)
I also have 2 spots open for the draft, where I will select really large centers (7'3" and above) who are easily tradeable or developable.
Cap-wise, I am presently $163K over the cap. I dropped a player who was making $2.95M with a contract expiring this year, so that comes off at the end of the year at the latest. Everyone's salary will go up a bit except for Wallace and Curry, whose salaries will go down. I will re-sign Korver to a similar deal. The new rookies will have low salaries, so they won't add much. Plus, I discovered that next season, when Michael Redd's contract is renegotiated, I can trade Kobe to the Bucks for Redd and an expiring contract. Redd will be a small drop down from Kobe, but Redd makes half of Kobe's salary next season (Kobe will be in the high $17M range) and the expiring contract will bring me nicely under the cap that year.
This team is also performing well together. Okafor and Curry are providing the best D, while the young, tall centers are doing nicely offensively...I am also developing their conditioning, so their strength and speed is improving quickly. I can pound it down low, use speed (Kobe, Howard, Wallace and Smith) to get around defenders and drive to the hoop, or hit from outside (Korver, Hinrich, Barbosa and Kobe all hit the 3 nicely)...whatever works in any given game. Everyone gets a ton of PT because I only have 1 player on the IR at a time and few positions go deeper than 1 backup...and I swap Swift and Valicevic to the IR each game so they get equal PT for development. Sweetney is no Dwight Howard, but his offensive game is pretty good and he is as poor defensively as Howard, so I don't gain or lose much there other than a ton of salary.
So this was my gaol when I first started playing, only it took some time to figure out the nuances of the game so as to develop the right strategies. I wanted to take a cap-poor, talent-poor team like the Knicks and turn them into a quality team that is cap-friendly. My first go-round with a Knicks dynasty (which I wrote a lot about earlier on) was successful in trying to develop a quality team (It turned into an all-star team) but was still terrible cap-wise. I was able to do a lot cap-wise with fantasy dynasties, but that was just a fantasy draft and was not turning around an existing team. This Knicks dynasty is the perfect combo...taking that bad Knicks team and turning it into a quality team that wins, while also shaving off millions and millions of dollars in salary and turning the team into a cap-friendly team where I can go after a wider range of free agents if I choose to. Pretty cool.
I love defense, so I decided to keep Okafor. He's also a bit cheaper. I agree on drafting a good PF...tough to do. It's easier to see how PF's develop and then trade for one you like.
I made my moves, and so now my team went from this (the original Knicks)...$56.81M over the cap:
PG: Marbury (85 rank, 27 yrs. old, 5 yrs. $14.63M)
PG: Norris (54 rank, 31 yrs. old, 2 yrs., $3.85M)
PG: Brewer (40 rank, 23 yrs. old, 1 yr., $720K)
SG: Crawford (72 rank, 24 yrs. old, 7 yrs., $5.80M)
SG: Houston (65 rank, 33 yrs. old, 3 yrs., $17.53M)
SG: Hardaway (60 rank, 33 yrs. old, 1 yr., $14.63M)
SF: T.Thomas (68 rank, 27 yrs. old, 2 yrs., $12.90M)
SF: Anderson (58 rank, 30 yrs. old, 3 yrs., $7.30M)
SF: Ariza (46 rank, 19 yrs. old, 1 yr., $385K)
PF: K.Thomas (65 rank, 32 yrs. old, 3 yrs., $5.89M)
PF: Sweetney (59 rank, 22 yrs. old, 3 yrs., $1.98M)
PF: J.Williams (58 rank, 31 yrs. old, 3 yrs., $5.60M)
C: Baker (57 rank, 32 yrs. old, 2 yrs., $3.45M)
C: Mohammed (53 rank, 27 yrs. old, 2 yrs., $5.25M)
C: Sundov (36 rank, 24 yrs. old, 1 yr., $745K)
...to this (my current team)...$163K over the cap, with $2.95M waiting to expire at the end of the season or sooner if someone picks up my discarded player this season):
PG: Hinrich (74 rank, 24 yrs. old, 2 yrs., $2.28M)
PG: Barbosa (59 rank, 23 yrs. old, 2 yrs., $1.28M)
SG: Kobe (94 rank, 27 yrs. old, 6 yrs., $15.95M)
SG: J.Howard (74 rank, 25 yrs. old, 2 yrs., $1.20M)
SF: G.Wallace (63 rank, 23 yrs. old, 7 yrs., $3.79M...goes down each yr.)
SF: J.Smith (60 rank, 19 yrs. old, 3 yrs., $1.59M)
SF: Korver (53 rank, 24 yrs. old, 1 yr., $695K)
PF: Okafor (71 rank, 23 yrs. old, 3 yrs., $4.30M)
PF: Sweetney (62 rank, 23 yrs. old, 2 yrs., $2.34M)
C: Curry (68 rank, 22 yrs,. old, 3 yrs., $4.60M...goes down each yr.)
C: D.Harrison (56 rank, 23 yrs. old, 3 yrs., $873K)
C: R.Swift (55 rank, 20 yrs. old, 3 yrs., $1.96M)
C: Valicevic (rookie) (46 rank, 22 yrs. old, 4 yrs., $691K)
I also have 2 spots open for the draft, where I will select really large centers (7'3" and above) who are easily tradeable or developable.
Cap-wise, I am presently $163K over the cap. I dropped a player who was making $2.95M with a contract expiring this year, so that comes off at the end of the year at the latest. Everyone's salary will go up a bit except for Wallace and Curry, whose salaries will go down. I will re-sign Korver to a similar deal. The new rookies will have low salaries, so they won't add much. Plus, I discovered that next season, when Michael Redd's contract is renegotiated, I can trade Kobe to the Bucks for Redd and an expiring contract. Redd will be a small drop down from Kobe, but Redd makes half of Kobe's salary next season (Kobe will be in the high $17M range) and the expiring contract will bring me nicely under the cap that year.
This team is also performing well together. Okafor and Curry are providing the best D, while the young, tall centers are doing nicely offensively...I am also developing their conditioning, so their strength and speed is improving quickly. I can pound it down low, use speed (Kobe, Howard, Wallace and Smith) to get around defenders and drive to the hoop, or hit from outside (Korver, Hinrich, Barbosa and Kobe all hit the 3 nicely)...whatever works in any given game. Everyone gets a ton of PT because I only have 1 player on the IR at a time and few positions go deeper than 1 backup...and I swap Swift and Valicevic to the IR each game so they get equal PT for development. Sweetney is no Dwight Howard, but his offensive game is pretty good and he is as poor defensively as Howard, so I don't gain or lose much there other than a ton of salary.
So this was my gaol when I first started playing, only it took some time to figure out the nuances of the game so as to develop the right strategies. I wanted to take a cap-poor, talent-poor team like the Knicks and turn them into a quality team that is cap-friendly. My first go-round with a Knicks dynasty (which I wrote a lot about earlier on) was successful in trying to develop a quality team (It turned into an all-star team) but was still terrible cap-wise. I was able to do a lot cap-wise with fantasy dynasties, but that was just a fantasy draft and was not turning around an existing team. This Knicks dynasty is the perfect combo...taking that bad Knicks team and turning it into a quality team that wins, while also shaving off millions and millions of dollars in salary and turning the team into a cap-friendly team where I can go after a wider range of free agents if I choose to. Pretty cool.
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by asgsjb on Tue Nov 13, 2007 1:44 pm
Thanks. It took a lot of practice and work...and a lot of help from JT (in particular), Andrew and the other posters on the site. I'm going to enjoy this dynasty for another season or two (seeing if I can keep under the cap and have a solid team...also testing my drafting ability) and then pick another NBA team to use for a new dynasty. But I still have some fun to do with this Knicks dynasty first.
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by JT_55 on Wed Nov 28, 2007 1:44 pm
Was my turn for a long time without posting here. hope to get internet back by the end of the month.
don't have a lot of time here, so going to make this short. Like jonthefon said, that is a crazy team. I actually don't have a lot of things that I can see taht need improvement, I hope you can get the team above cap soon. Thjat would be great.
don't have a lot of time here, so going to make this short. Like jonthefon said, that is a crazy team. I actually don't have a lot of things that I can see taht need improvement, I hope you can get the team above cap soon. Thjat would be great.
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by asgsjb on Thu Nov 29, 2007 1:16 am
Welcome back JT. I look forward to our usual dialogue once your internet is back up.
Very happy with this team. It will actually be cap-friendly in the offseason. I have determined I can trade Kobe and a rookie center (to be drafted) to Milwaukee in the offseason for Redd (who gets a new contract in the offseason and who plays like Kobe-lite in Live '05) and Joe Smith (in the last year of an overpriced contract, and who is in the deal for the expiring contract). I can then move Joe Smith and keep doing some swaps to reduce the salary attributable to my team and then release the last player I find I cannot trade...that player usually counts for less than half of Joe Smith's contract and impacts my cap less when I release him. And by going from Kobe to Redd, I will save at least another $8-10M. That deal alone will get me to a slight amount within the cap, which accomplishes my cap goal.
Then to really get under the cap, I would like to find a backup PF who is cheaper and taller (better defender) than Sweetney. I like Sweetney, but he is pricey for a backup PF and his height makes it tough for him to defend against taller PF's and makes his shot easy to block. Jefferson is one option, although his offense is less than Sweetney's...but he would save me another $750K-$1M or so. There are not many other worthwhile PF's at a cheap price.
I would also like to shrink some cap space at backup C by moving Swift. His salary will go over $2M next season, and while he is young and pretty cool to play with, he is a clone of the cheaper Harrison and I have been trying to develop Valicevic by giving him a lot of PT, so Swift has been left on IR more often than not. I know I can trade Swift for Ridnour, but that saves me very little money, if any, and I don't know that I want a pricey backup PG any more than I want a pricey backup C. I'd be happy trading for a monstrously taller (7'5") rookie or 2nd year C, but the CPU has been tough on any deal where it gives up a C, even if it may get a better C in return...it is very moody. :)
Anyway, with the Kobe deal alone, I will get under the cap. If I then also move Sweetney and Swift, I will likely be about $4-5M under the cap. That gives me nice room for re-signing my players or for adding a cool free agent.
So very excited about the progress on this team.
Very happy with this team. It will actually be cap-friendly in the offseason. I have determined I can trade Kobe and a rookie center (to be drafted) to Milwaukee in the offseason for Redd (who gets a new contract in the offseason and who plays like Kobe-lite in Live '05) and Joe Smith (in the last year of an overpriced contract, and who is in the deal for the expiring contract). I can then move Joe Smith and keep doing some swaps to reduce the salary attributable to my team and then release the last player I find I cannot trade...that player usually counts for less than half of Joe Smith's contract and impacts my cap less when I release him. And by going from Kobe to Redd, I will save at least another $8-10M. That deal alone will get me to a slight amount within the cap, which accomplishes my cap goal.
Then to really get under the cap, I would like to find a backup PF who is cheaper and taller (better defender) than Sweetney. I like Sweetney, but he is pricey for a backup PF and his height makes it tough for him to defend against taller PF's and makes his shot easy to block. Jefferson is one option, although his offense is less than Sweetney's...but he would save me another $750K-$1M or so. There are not many other worthwhile PF's at a cheap price.
I would also like to shrink some cap space at backup C by moving Swift. His salary will go over $2M next season, and while he is young and pretty cool to play with, he is a clone of the cheaper Harrison and I have been trying to develop Valicevic by giving him a lot of PT, so Swift has been left on IR more often than not. I know I can trade Swift for Ridnour, but that saves me very little money, if any, and I don't know that I want a pricey backup PG any more than I want a pricey backup C. I'd be happy trading for a monstrously taller (7'5") rookie or 2nd year C, but the CPU has been tough on any deal where it gives up a C, even if it may get a better C in return...it is very moody. :)
Anyway, with the Kobe deal alone, I will get under the cap. If I then also move Sweetney and Swift, I will likely be about $4-5M under the cap. That gives me nice room for re-signing my players or for adding a cool free agent.
So very excited about the progress on this team.
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by JT_55 on Tue Dec 04, 2007 12:40 pm
I should be back for good now. At least, I hope so.
You already have a defensive PF in Okafor, so getting Jefferson who isn't as offensively talented would make your PF position a bit of a liability?
On the Swift situation, it doesn't matter if it's very moody. Just keep trading up. If the computer won't take a 57 C for a 55 C, just keep trading up and it won't refuse a 65 C for sure.
Getting way below the cap would be great. I don't think you need to be reminded, but don't go crazy for free agents once you have it.
You already have a defensive PF in Okafor, so getting Jefferson who isn't as offensively talented would make your PF position a bit of a liability?
On the Swift situation, it doesn't matter if it's very moody. Just keep trading up. If the computer won't take a 57 C for a 55 C, just keep trading up and it won't refuse a 65 C for sure.
Getting way below the cap would be great. I don't think you need to be reminded, but don't go crazy for free agents once you have it.
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by asgsjb on Tue Dec 04, 2007 1:46 pm
Iagree on the PF thing...I am not too thrilled with the options. PF is a tough spot after a season or two in dynasty mode. All the worthwhile PF's cost too much and the inexpensive ones just don't cut it. And the rookie crop at PF is usually weak. I could stick with Sweetney and still be under the cap next season, but my cap would look a lot better if I was able to replace him with cheaper talent...and talent is the key word there. On the other hand, I could always use a monster C in the PF spot. It would improve me defensively, but the lack of speed in most C's could be a liability in guarding faster PF's.
As for Swift, I have to think about it more, but I am tempted to try the multi-trade route you suggest. Any good, cheaper and taller C will also be ranked much lower than Swift. But the key is that their salaries are much lower than Swift's, so even if I was willing to accept a lower ranked backup C who I could develop, I would have to make several moves to be able to match up salaries closely enough. The exception is that I could do a direct deal for Podkolzin, who has been a decent play when I've tried using him. Not sure...have to mull this over more.
Definitely won't go crazy with free agents when I can afford them. I want to keep this team under the cap as long as possible, so I don't want to pull an "Isaiah Thomas" and mess up the whole thing with bad contracts. :)
By the way...completely off the Live '05 topic, I have simultaneously been really enjoying being "GM/Owner, etc." with Madden '05. The trading and offseason moves and the draft, etc. is crazy good. I guess I just want to rule the sports world...in video games if need be. :)
As for Swift, I have to think about it more, but I am tempted to try the multi-trade route you suggest. Any good, cheaper and taller C will also be ranked much lower than Swift. But the key is that their salaries are much lower than Swift's, so even if I was willing to accept a lower ranked backup C who I could develop, I would have to make several moves to be able to match up salaries closely enough. The exception is that I could do a direct deal for Podkolzin, who has been a decent play when I've tried using him. Not sure...have to mull this over more.
Definitely won't go crazy with free agents when I can afford them. I want to keep this team under the cap as long as possible, so I don't want to pull an "Isaiah Thomas" and mess up the whole thing with bad contracts. :)
By the way...completely off the Live '05 topic, I have simultaneously been really enjoying being "GM/Owner, etc." with Madden '05. The trading and offseason moves and the draft, etc. is crazy good. I guess I just want to rule the sports world...in video games if need be. :)
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by JT_55 on Tue Dec 04, 2007 5:01 pm
It might be by some bad luck of yours or good luck for me, but the top players in the draft for me are mostly PFs. Two were in the experiment, and I usually can get a good one. I just don't, because I have Howard already. Bosh is the best C considering the PF spot, but he's pretty expensive. Any rookie Cs with decent speed?
I actually say go with Podkolzin. It'll do wonders for your cap, and you use him well. And since you don't have Yao you could use a giant. Even though I'm not too thrilled at the name of him (but I managed to memorize his spelling after typing it all this time. woot), this is your cap-wise dynasty, and using Podkolzin is constant with your central "theme".
I don't have Madden 05, I have 03 (I bought the whole 5 game package thing for $20 CDN, a good deal even at two years ago), and coincidentally, it is the only game which I don't have the trading mastered. Like you, I always enjoy playing GM, and I have managed to figure out the trading for most of the games...just not Madden 03. I can make a decent team from a sub-par one, but not a rigged one.
Oh, and one mroe thing. How is the gameplay for Madden 05? I have been contemplating upgrading to either 05 or 06 or 07 (leaning towards 06 because of another 5-game package), so I'd like to hear your opinion on 05. I suppose it is the most likely one that to work on my computer, since it works on yours.
I actually say go with Podkolzin. It'll do wonders for your cap, and you use him well. And since you don't have Yao you could use a giant. Even though I'm not too thrilled at the name of him (but I managed to memorize his spelling after typing it all this time. woot), this is your cap-wise dynasty, and using Podkolzin is constant with your central "theme".
I don't have Madden 05, I have 03 (I bought the whole 5 game package thing for $20 CDN, a good deal even at two years ago), and coincidentally, it is the only game which I don't have the trading mastered. Like you, I always enjoy playing GM, and I have managed to figure out the trading for most of the games...just not Madden 03. I can make a decent team from a sub-par one, but not a rigged one.
Oh, and one mroe thing. How is the gameplay for Madden 05? I have been contemplating upgrading to either 05 or 06 or 07 (leaning towards 06 because of another 5-game package), so I'd like to hear your opinion on 05. I suppose it is the most likely one that to work on my computer, since it works on yours.
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by asgsjb on Wed Dec 05, 2007 12:23 am
I missed out on 2 7'5" PF's last draft and this upcoming draft has only 6'8" PF's. So I won't have luck at drafting a good PF this year. I'll have to check C speed...good suggestion.
Yes, I do like Podkolzin...perhaps it's the cool Russian name. :)
I like the gameplay on Madden '05. You have a lot of control. From team-side audibles and formation shifts to manuevers for each specific player on either side of the ball, you control all the action. It takes a bit to remember all the options you have, but when you get it down, you can maneuver quickly before the ball is snapped. The only downside so far is that it takes a lot to master receiving the ball if you are going to control the WR after the ball is in the air. I tend to do something wrong so that even sure-handed WR's get hit in the back with the ball. So I still have work to do on that area.
GM-work is also a blast. You can work trades, but the CPU can be a tough negotiator, unlike in Live '05 where the CPU is usually unreasonable only with giving up C's. The key is mastering the cap strategies and player morale. You can have great players who feel aggrieved because you are giving a rookie PT to develop him for ultimately replaceing the starter and actually hold out until you trade him. Or if you trade too much, everyone on the team gets concerned about being traded and morelae drops across the team. You also can manage to acquire a ton of 1st round picks (I find rookies drafted after the middle of the 1st round are usually not worth it compared to free agents), but you also have to pay them, which means you could have cap issues with too many picks...that happened to me on my 1st go-round, and I was trapped between having to drop players and killing my team morale. Sp it requires a lot of brain-work, which we both enjoy. I think you'll like the game.
Yes, I do like Podkolzin...perhaps it's the cool Russian name. :)
I like the gameplay on Madden '05. You have a lot of control. From team-side audibles and formation shifts to manuevers for each specific player on either side of the ball, you control all the action. It takes a bit to remember all the options you have, but when you get it down, you can maneuver quickly before the ball is snapped. The only downside so far is that it takes a lot to master receiving the ball if you are going to control the WR after the ball is in the air. I tend to do something wrong so that even sure-handed WR's get hit in the back with the ball. So I still have work to do on that area.
GM-work is also a blast. You can work trades, but the CPU can be a tough negotiator, unlike in Live '05 where the CPU is usually unreasonable only with giving up C's. The key is mastering the cap strategies and player morale. You can have great players who feel aggrieved because you are giving a rookie PT to develop him for ultimately replaceing the starter and actually hold out until you trade him. Or if you trade too much, everyone on the team gets concerned about being traded and morelae drops across the team. You also can manage to acquire a ton of 1st round picks (I find rookies drafted after the middle of the 1st round are usually not worth it compared to free agents), but you also have to pay them, which means you could have cap issues with too many picks...that happened to me on my 1st go-round, and I was trapped between having to drop players and killing my team morale. Sp it requires a lot of brain-work, which we both enjoy. I think you'll like the game.
- asgsjb
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- Joined: Tue Apr 03, 2007 2:05 am
by JT_55 on Fri Dec 07, 2007 5:04 pm
I don't suppose you can still trade for the two 7'5" PF?
So from what you described, it sounds like a good game to play. Thanks for the advice, I'll put it at the top of my shopping list.
But it does sound like my usual motto of "When it doubt, trade" isn't gonna work too well. At least you start under the cap unlike in Live, becuase I'm a very cautious spender. I always stay below cap.
So from what you described, it sounds like a good game to play. Thanks for the advice, I'll put it at the top of my shopping list.
But it does sound like my usual motto of "When it doubt, trade" isn't gonna work too well. At least you start under the cap unlike in Live, becuase I'm a very cautious spender. I always stay below cap.
- JT_55
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- Location: Canada
by asgsjb on Fri Dec 07, 2007 11:02 pm
I could trade for the PF's, but outside of height, they are not too spectacular. I'll have to check their stats again, as it's been awhile.
Yes, with Madden, "when in doubt, trade" is tough. If you start with a fantasy dynasty and draft inexpensive players (which is definitely doable), you can start way under cap. If you use an actual NFL team, your cap position varies. I'm doing a fantasy dynasty. I think Madden is the best EA game where trading is concerned. The NHL game sucks that way....you can build an all-star team quickly, as the CPU allows most trades. I have a hockey team that has 1st line all-stars making up my 4th line! Live '05 is next best, but the refusal to allow trades of draft picks and the "close salary" requirement is limiting. With Madden, you can trade players and/or draft picks, give up good players for expiring contracts or draft picks to save cap room, trade uneven numbers (i.e. 3-for-1), etc....highly flexible. The only item to note is that the Madden CPU likes to be on the receiving end of good deals before it considers the offer to be acceptable, so you can't offer it garbage. But yes, you cannot trade too much without impacting other things. It's a tough balance to balance out trading with player morale with salary cap...that's why it's so much fun.
Yes, with Madden, "when in doubt, trade" is tough. If you start with a fantasy dynasty and draft inexpensive players (which is definitely doable), you can start way under cap. If you use an actual NFL team, your cap position varies. I'm doing a fantasy dynasty. I think Madden is the best EA game where trading is concerned. The NHL game sucks that way....you can build an all-star team quickly, as the CPU allows most trades. I have a hockey team that has 1st line all-stars making up my 4th line! Live '05 is next best, but the refusal to allow trades of draft picks and the "close salary" requirement is limiting. With Madden, you can trade players and/or draft picks, give up good players for expiring contracts or draft picks to save cap room, trade uneven numbers (i.e. 3-for-1), etc....highly flexible. The only item to note is that the Madden CPU likes to be on the receiving end of good deals before it considers the offer to be acceptable, so you can't offer it garbage. But yes, you cannot trade too much without impacting other things. It's a tough balance to balance out trading with player morale with salary cap...that's why it's so much fun.
- asgsjb
- Posts: 151
- Joined: Tue Apr 03, 2007 2:05 am
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