SWISH | Retired.

[Lamrock]

Yeah, I was pretty livid to be honest. Curry and Thompson were hitting EVERYTHING. It was ridiculous! Sets up an epic final season for CP3 though!

My laptop with all of my information died so I'm going based on memory. It was like a month ago so I pretty much remember how it went down. I'll have the off-season recap up in an hour or so.

[Lamrock]

2022 NEW YORK KNICKS OFFSEASON

Lyman Witherspoon is arguably the most celebrated general manager in the league, fleecing teams left and right, winning a pair of championships with the Blazers, and coming within one game of another with the Knicks. That's why it was so baffling when he somehow failed to retain Chris Paul's bird rights, after convincing him to play one final season. The 37 year old Paul demanded a salary in excess of $20 million per year, and without the bird rights, this meant that some moves needed to be made.

The first to go was vanity acquisition Andrew Wiggins, the former #1 pick who never became the all-star caliber player people expected. Wiggins was sent, along with starting 2 guard Malcolm Brogdon, to the Bulls (fresh off a first round exit) for sharpshooter Buddy Hield, disappointing one year point guard Duane Nelson, and a top-five protected first round pick. The Knicks cleared about $10 million in salary, swapped defense for offense at the SG position, and got a couple assets. The Bulls reload with a pair of solid starters in an attempt to make one or two more runs with their core of Butler and Noel.

Witherspoon still had work to do. I want whatever he was having when he signed Gorgui Dieng to a $5 million extension with a trade kicker... In a second trade, sixth man Nicolas Batum and young centers Georges Fulton and Jacob Patrick were sent to Houston for backup SF Kelly Oubre Jr. and some scrub who got waived. This allowed the Knicks to bring back Paul on a one year, $25 million deal. LaMarcus Aldridge, also set to play his final season, was signed for the MLE. Bruno Caboclo, Alexis Ajinca, Terrence Ross and Eric Gordon were signed for the minimum, while Ben McLemore and Tyreke Evans were retained for cheap.

The reworked roster might not be as talented as last season, but Witherspoon made one last move to put them over the top. Head coach and empty suit Tyronn Lue was replaced by three-time NBA Finals opponent Steve Kerr.

Around the league, Bulls head coach Gregg Popovich retired. LeBron announced this season would be his last, as did Carmelo Anthony, who signed with the defending champion Warriors. Golden State, New York, Philadelphia and the Lakers were named the pre-season Vegas favorites to win the title.

2022-23 New York Knicks Roster

PG - Chris Paul
SG - Buddy Hield
SF - Kelly Oubre Jr.
PF - Kristaps Porzingis
C - Brandon McCoy

G - Tyreke Evans
F/C - LaMarcus Aldridge
G/F - Ben McLemore
G - Duane Nelson
C - Alexis Ajinca
F/G - Terrence Ross
F - Bruno Caboclo
C/F - Gorgui Dieng

G - Eric Gordon
F - Brandon Knight (no relation)

[Lamrock]

2022 NEW YORK KNICKS OFFSEASON

Lyman Witherspoon is arguably the most celebrated general manager in the league, fleecing teams left and right, winning a pair of championships with the Blazers, and coming within one game of another with the Knicks. That's why it was so baffling when he somehow failed to retain Chris Paul's bird rights, after convincing him to play one final season. The 37 year old Paul demanded a salary in excess of $20 million per year, and without the bird rights, this meant that some moves needed to be made.

The first to go was vanity acquisition Andrew Wiggins, the former #1 pick who never became the all-star caliber player people expected. Wiggins was sent, along with starting 2 guard Malcolm Brogdon, to the Bulls (fresh off a first round exit) for sharpshooter Buddy Hield, disappointing one year point guard Duane Nelson, and a top-five protected first round pick. The Knicks cleared about $10 million in salary, swapped defense for offense at the SG position, and got a couple assets. The Bulls reload with a pair of solid starters in an attempt to make one or two more runs with their core of Butler and Noel.

Witherspoon still had work to do. I want whatever he was having when he signed Gorgui Dieng to a $5 million extension with a trade kicker... In a second trade, sixth man Nicolas Batum and young centers Georges Fulton and Jacob Patrick were sent to Houston for backup SF Kelly Oubre Jr. and some scrub who got waived. This allowed the Knicks to bring back Paul on a one year, $25 million deal. LaMarcus Aldridge, also set to play his final season, was signed for the MLE. Bruno Caboclo, Alexis Ajinca, Terrence Ross and Eric Gordon were signed for the minimum, while Ben McLemore and Tyreke Evans were retained for cheap.

The reworked roster might not be as talented as last season, but Witherspoon made one last move to put them over the top. Head coach and empty suit Tyronn Lue was replaced by three-time NBA Finals opponent Steve Kerr.

Around the league, Bulls head coach Gregg Popovich retired. LeBron announced this season would be his last, as did Carmelo Anthony, who signed with the defending champion Warriors. Golden State, New York, Philadelphia and the Lakers were named the pre-season Vegas favorites to win the title.

2022-23 New York Knicks Roster

PG - Chris Paul
SG - Buddy Hield
SF - Kelly Oubre Jr.
PF - Kristaps Porzingis
C - Brandon McCoy

G - Tyreke Evans
F/C - LaMarcus Aldridge
G/F - Ben McLemore
G - Duane Nelson
C - Alexis Ajinca
F/G - Terrence Ross
F - Bruno Caboclo
C/F - Gorgui Dieng

G - Eric Gordon
F - Brandon Knight (no relation)

[Phil89]

Interesting moves. Aldridge should be a very handy bench player, despite his age.

[Lamrock]

2022-23 REGULAR SEASON IN REVIEW

Record: 58-24 | Standing: 1st in Conference | Power Ranking: 1st
Awards: All-Star: K. Porzingis | All-NBA First Team: K. Porzingis | All-NBA Third Team: C. Paul

In Chris Paul's final season, the New York Knicks were under immense pressure to win the championship, especially after blowing a 2-0 lead in last year's NBA Finals. The offseason saw several players go in and out, with Buddy Hield, LaMarcus Aldridge and Kelly Oubre Jr. being among the key additions. Not to mention Steve Kerr replacing Tyronn Lue..

And things are looking good. After posting a 58 win season, the Knicks are the 1 seed in the East and top seed overall. Kristaps Porzingis once again made the all-star team, and also made the all-NBA first team after being in MVP consideration most of the year. Chris Paul and Brandon McCoy were narrowly snubbed for all-star honors, but Paul was named to the All-NBA third team.

Buddy Hield appears to be a better fit than Andrew Wiggins was, while Oubre had the best season of his career thus far. Oubre appears to be carving out a niche for himself a la Trevor Ariza back in the day. The bench is solid - Tyreke continues to be a sensational sixth man, Aldridge has had big games off the bench at the 4 and 5, Duane Nelson is a solid role player reminiscent of Derek Fisher, and Ben McLemore continues to be solid as well.

Golden State will not win their fourth straight title. Steph Curry missed half the season, and despite the addition of Carmelo they did not make the playoffs. Neither did the Lakers, despite having recent MVP's D'Angelo Russell and Brandon Ingram. The Clippers took the 1 seed in the West, followed closely by MVP Ryan Kent and the Seattle Supersonics. In the East, LeBron announced it would be his last season, and he led his Cavs to the 2 seed. Orlando, Toronto and Philadelphia also emerged as contenders in the conference.

New York will open its post-season campaign against Andre Drummond and the Detroit Pistons.

2023 Playoff Picture

Eastern Conference
1 New York vs. 8 Detroit
4 Toronto vs. 5 Philadelphia
3 Orlando vs. 6 New Orleans
2 Cleveland vs. 7 Washington

Western Conference
1 LA Clippers vs. 8 Denver
4 Phoenix vs. 5 Utah
3 San Antonio vs. 6 Minnesota
2 Seattle vs. 7 Sacramento

[Phil89]

Great job on securing the one seed. Seems like you've got Porzingis living up to his potential.

It's just a shame that you won't be able to face the Warriors

Nice to see the Timberwolves and Kings make the playoffs for a change though.

[Valor]

Love that clickbait title

New York Knicks #1 seed....damn that feels really weird

[Lamrock]

2023 PLAYOFF RETROSPECTIVE


Yes, I was too lazy to upload a new picture.

I'm not really a Knicks fan, and Chris Paul isn't even one of my favorite players, but this 2022-23 Knicks team might be the funnest one I've ever used in 2K. Boasting just two players from when I took the reigns, it was satisfying to rebuild and tinker with the roster - even if I did totally fleece the Nuggets for Jokic... Struggling to overcome injuries in our first season, suffering that heartbreaking game 7 loss the following year, the scene was set for an epic 2023 playoff run. And well..

Round 1

First round we took on Detroit. They only won 40-ish games, and outside of their frontcourt duo of Andre Drummond and Mohamed Bamba (dominant on the boards, but a major spacing liability) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, their roster was a bunch of Rocky Akonners. We went up 3-0 on them pretty easily, but it cost us backup point guard Duane Nelson, who suffered a broken patella in game 2. Bad news for a guy who was already the slowest 23 year old point guard in NBA history. Detroit caught fire in game 4 to stay alive, and in game 5, Brandon McCoy went down with an injury. Uh-oh. To make matters worse, Caldwell-Pope hit a three at the buzzer to win it 103-102. With McCoy out with shoulder tendinitis, LaMarcus Aldridge started game 6 at the 5. He was okay, but Buddy Hield's 37 was what really got it done.

NEW YORK 4 - 2 DETROIT

Round 2

In round 2, we faced Toronto, fresh off their defeat of the hobbled 76ers. With Lowry & DeRozan past their primes and coming off the bench, it was up to young Roderick Moreland and Jakob Poeltl to lead the team. Brandon McCoy tried to play game 1, but was too much of a liability on offense. Bad news for Toronto, who had no answer for Aldridge. The Porzingis/Aldridge frontcourt was a puzzle the Raptors' defense could not solve, as they scored at will in the paint, en route to a quick sweep. Drake is a Knicks fan now.

NEW YORK 4 - 0 TORONTO

Conference Finals

The conference finals saw the Knicks take on LeBron, in his final season. However, it was Kyrie who was taking most of the shots, with James playing a passive role. Irving scored a lot of points, Tristan Thompson was a handful on the glass, and Alex Abrines made some threes. However, Kelly Oubre legitimately outplayed LeBron, while Paul and Porzingis were on top of their games. Games 3 & 4 were close, but it was another sweep for New York, who advanced to face Kawhi Leonard, Omer Yurtseven and the Spurs.

NEW YORK 4 - 0 CLEVELAND

NBA Finals

San Antonio was a bit of a Cinderella story, coming back from down 3-0 (!) against the Sonics in the second round, before upsetting the Clippers in 6. With a pair of all-stars in Leonard and Yurtseven, and a solid group of role players around them, they might pose a threat to New York. Right? Well, McCoy was back, though still coming off the bench. And San Antonio's starting point guard Dejounte Murray was out for the season (not a huge loss).

Game 1 was competitive, until KP took over in the fourth quarter. Game 2 was a similar story, with Tyreke having a huge performance off the bench. Game 3 saw the Knicks score the first 15 (!) points of the game, and take a 27-4 lead, before cruising to victory. Could the Spurs overcome a 3-0 lead twice in one post-season? No. Finals MVP Kristaps Porzingis dropped 40 points and 17 rebounds in a 112-98 series-clinching game 4 win.

NEW YORK 4 - 0 SAN ANTONIO

The Knicks are your 2022-23 NBA champions! Let's take a look at this roster...

Player Evaluations

There's Chris Paul, the veteran future hall-of-famer with one last chance to win a ring. Despite slowing down somewhat, he's was still an all-star caliber player, and developed into a knock-down three point shooter as well. He probably could have played a couple more seasons, but props to him for going out on top.

Buddy Hield, Wiggins' replacement, can't really defend, but can play both guard positions, hit the three and create his own shot. Way better than Wiggins, despite his lower rating. He was amazing in the first two rounds, but came back down to earth a bit.

Kelly Oubre Jr. is probably my favorite player on the roster, despite looking like xxxtentacion. Finally finding his way as a three-and-D player, he broke out this season a la Ariza on the 2009 Lakers. He can play both forward positions, is a pesky defender, can hit shots, and doesn't have the worst handles. He's the X-factor.

Kristaps Porzingis is basically a god. He's practically unstoppable on offense, as his inside game is second-to-none, and he can stretch the floor. Defensively, he gets boards and blocks shots left and right. I'd say he's the best player I've had so far. Better than Lillard, though they're completely different players.

Brandon McCoy was my favorite player last season. He continued his upward mobility with a career year, only missing out on an all-star appearance and most improved honors due to an injury keeping him out about a dozen games. He looked to play a big role in the playoffs, and an injury in the first round held him out until the ECF, and relegated him to a limited role off the bench the rest of the way.

LaMarcus Aldridge.. Thank god I signed him! Best signing ever - this guy, in his last NBA season, filled in at Center for McCoy after his injury in the first round. Our record with LA starting in the playoffs? 13-0. The Raptors in particular had no answer for Aldridge's post moves, and despite his age he was also solid defensively and on the boards. LaMarcus was the man. After being signed for the MLE to basically be an upgrade over Dieng, he ended up being our third best playoff performer!

Tyreke was a fan favorite last season (in my mind). A stellar combo guard off the bench, he wasn't always the most efficient, but did a great job keeping the ball moving when CP was out. Plus he was CLUTCH. Much love for Tyreke. He'll be back next season, though I wouldn't trust him in a starting role...

Ben McLemore returned after an okay season. The first wing player off the bench, McLemore wasn't amazing, but gave us solid minutes off the bench, some epic dunks, and a few clutch threes. I'd like to hold on to him, and work on his perimeter D.

Duane Nelson was a guy I really wanted from Chicago. A second year point guard taken 9th in an admittedly weak draft, Nelson's three point shooting made him a guy I hoped could maybe succeed Chris Paul some day. He has a good season, shooting the ball exceptionally well and running the offense competently. However, his severe lack of foot speed makes me think his ceiling is that of Derek Fisher. Doesn't help that he broke his kneecap in game 3 vs. the Pistons. Athleticism camp for this guy!

Terrence Ross was signed mid-season because Caboclo sucks. He was part of the rotation for most of the post-season, spacing the floor and playing okay defense. Not too impressive, but he was okay.

Bruno Caboclo, nine years in, still seems to be two years away from being two years away. He's got good length and quickness, and can shoot. But he's always in the wrong place as the wrong time, and just doesn't have the basketball IQ to play meaningful minutes.

Alexis Ajinca is incredibly inept offensively, but his ability to rebound and block shots made him an asset when McCoy was out. He had some solid moments, but fell out of the rotation by the Finals once McCoy's injury was mostly healed.

Gorgui Dieng fell off a cliff athletically and was fairly useless this season, only playing in garbage time. Why I wasted $5M of cap and gave a trade kicker to him I'll never know.

Brandon Knight (no relation) and Eric Gordon never really played, but congratulations to them on being champions!

Steve Kerr was a big upgrade over Tyronn Lue. It probably would have been pretty controversial to replace Lue after a Finals appearance, but you gotta do what you gotta do, and Kerr is the best coach in the game.

----------

So there's that. Thank you all for following along for the last year. It's been fun.

[Valor]

Winning the title with the New York Knicks? Now that's an accomplishment Wonder if Phil would still lose his job if he hired Kerr instead of Fisher IRL? Guess this is as close as it gets to finding that out

You going to defend the title or switch to another team to challenge?

[Lamrock]

With the Warriors, Kerr inherited a championship-caliber team that under-performed largely due to their inept coach. I think he's the kind of coach that can get the most out of a great team, but wouldn't be able to elevate a shitty one. So while I think he would have done a better job than Fisher, I doubt it would have made much of a difference. I think Phil was out of his element in that role, but he didn't really have anything left to prove and got PAID.

I think I might be done with this one. 2K18 comes out pretty soon, and while I'm on the fence about picking it up, I think this has run its course. Might sim some seasons, maybe see if I can return to Portland (they imploded after I left), but that's about it.

Thanks to everybody for keeping tabs on this over the last year, and for keeping this section alive with your stories!

[Phil89]

Sweep, sweep, sweep. Not a bad way to win a championship.

Now that you've got the Knicks a title, next stop Sacramento?

[Valor]

With the Warriors, Kerr inherited a championship-caliber team that under-performed largely due to their inept coach. I think he's the kind of coach that can get the most out of a great team, but wouldn't be able to elevate a shitty one. So while I think he would have done a better job than Fisher, I doubt it would have made much of a difference. I think Phil was out of his element in that role, but he didn't really have anything left to prove and got PAID.

Yeah that's a fair assessment, Phil really should've coached himself. To be fair though it was the players who refused to execute the offense that he had designed and is proven, they ran triangle on just 8-10% of the time and got good results with it every time they actually ran it properly (not often, Melo is really lazy on those cuts). Oh well, he got a boatload of cash like you said and is now free to go back to Montana or LA to enjoy his retirement.

Grats on another successful thread, looking forward to you doing one with 2K18 if that's in your plans!

[Lamrock]

I got really burnt out on 2K after putting so much time into 2K17. My days of these super elaborate threads may be behind me, though I do miss the creative outlet, as well as seeing how the league develops (I love looking at all-star teams 5-6 seasons into a game file).

Life takes precedence, but I do hope that this section never quite dies.

[cavs4872]

Life takes precedence, but I do hope that this section never quite dies.

What do you think happened here? As I pointed out in my recently started thread, not anything drastic has taken place since the 2000s; if anything, it's easier to make a story now since you can just take pictures of the game with your iPhone and it will look almost as good as a capture device. I mean, Twitter and stuff is around, but it's very difficult to pinpoint just one thing.

Also, great point about life taking precedence, as sometimes it's way too easy to get wrapped up in these stories and lose yourself, but you almost have to have the mentality that nothing's guaranteed, and if you have time to update it then you have time to update it. You want to make yourself seem reliable with frequent updates but that isn't always practical. I remember an instance probably eight or so years ago in high school where I had an NBA Live 10 Suns story and couldn't stop thinking about it and I remember thinking about it in metals class and I'm just like "This shit has got to end". By the same token, it's a really healthy hobby compared to what other people do, so there's always that.

Your passions never truly die, so I'd like to think some of the old heads will come back, but it's like there was a group of story creators who grew up, and a new generation never came in.

[Murat]

People sharing their stories at YouTube instead of forums. That's my opinion

[Lamrock]

That's exactly it. We were ahead of the curve in the 2000's with these stories, as they're now more popular than ever. But it's the videos that people care about and for obvious reasons. I considered doing videos myself, but couldn't be bothered + I hate my voice. I'm a competent writer and I like MS Paint but that's the extent of my skills.

There are some decent video series out there, I have to admit. Though I got sick of him, AFunkyDiabetic's were my favorite because they were at least somewhat realistic. I'm sure there are other ones that are just as good.

[cavs4872]

Also, MyTeam and MyCareer didn't exist back then (by far the two most popular modes currently).

I actually have a capture card incoming for the new Cavs story I just started, so that should be the best of both worlds.

[Phil89]

Shame that this has ended. But I totally understand why. I've struggled to keep interest in my Suns game over the past year or so because of life stuff and other games taking my attention.

Personally, I have never really bothered with the youtube videos that people make. All the clickbait titles and unrealistic trades that they do every other episode is too off-putting for me to care about their stories.

Hopefully your MS paint skills aren't lost to this section and you'll be back with a new thread someday

[Lamrock]

Thanks Phil! I enjoyed doing this one a lot and I'm happy how I ended it, but it's hard to justify putting too much time into these stories as an adult. Down the road I could definitely see myself making another thread as I like the creative outlet and am attached to our niche community. Someone's got to combine NBA and postmodernism.