X's T'wolves (NBA 2K11)

[The X]

Good thing the real Kidd will be able to go out with a championship.

Yup, definitely a good thing that he avoided being another "John Stockton". Great point guard with no ring

Over the course of his career he wasn't as good as Stock IMHO, but I get what you are trying to get at. Unfortunately for the Jazz, they peaked when MJ was still dominating.

[Andrew]

Agreed, though I'm not entirely heartbroken about that.

[Mavs4Life]

Kidd retiring, he could of gone one more year. Big Z, he was my favorite under the radar starter.

[The X]

Agreed, though I'm not entirely heartbroken about that.

I was, but more so in 1997.

Kidd retiring, he could of gone one more year. Big Z, he was my favorite under the radar starter.

I think the thought of playing with Villanueva & T-Mac was too much for him

[µTorrent]

Good to see Bell ending his career with the team that made him a better player

[Valor]

Agreed, though I'm not entirely heartbroken about that.

Me too for obvious reasons

[The X]

Good to see Bell ending his career with the team that made him a better player

I was happy to see that too

Agreed, though I'm not entirely heartbroken about that.

Me too for obvious reasons

I didn't want Malone to win, but loved Stock, Horny, Russ, Eisley & Shandon Anderson


In Assoication-related news, I'm about half way through off-season & am getting ready for Draft. I've got updates to do between now & then but due to crazy workload at work, I'm working many nights & weekends from home at the moment. Should ease up slightly in about 10 days once end of financial year passes but that doesn't help this Association for the next week or so. I want to do updates, because I love off-season, but unfortunately work is a priority It's so bad atm that for the first time in 5 years I will not take the day off to drink & celebrate the NBA Draft Ah well, draft hasn't been the same since they shelved Stephen A. Smith. Anyways, back to work.

In the meantime I suggest checking out badreligion's dynasty & showing Perko some love.

[shadowgrin]

But The Stephen A. Smith is back with ESPN! He's back! Don't lose hope for him X!

[Andrew]

But The Stephen A. Smith is back with ESPN! He's back! Don't lose hope for him X!

Quite frankly, I'm not sure how to feel about that.

[shadowgrin]

QUITE FRANKLY, I'M NOT SURE HOW TO FEEL ABOUT THAT!

Fixed.

[The X]

But The Stephen A. Smith is back with ESPN! He's back! Don't lose hope for him X!

But The Stephen A. Smith is back with ESPN! He's back! Don't lose hope for him X!

Quite frankly, I'm not sure how to feel about that.

QUITE FRANKLY, I'M NOT SURE HOW TO FEEL ABOUT THAT!

Fixed.

Ahh it must be draft time as the Stephen A. Smith lovefest is back

[Valor]

But The Stephen A. Smith is back with ESPN! He's back! Don't lose hope for him X!

But The Stephen A. Smith is back with ESPN! He's back! Don't lose hope for him X!

Quite frankly, I'm not sure how to feel about that.

QUITE FRANKLY, I'M NOT SURE HOW TO FEEL ABOUT THAT!

Fixed.

Ahh it must be draft time as the Stephen A. Smith lovefest is back

Everybody loves Stephen A

[The X]

But The Stephen A. Smith is back with ESPN! He's back! Don't lose hope for him X!

But The Stephen A. Smith is back with ESPN! He's back! Don't lose hope for him X!

Quite frankly, I'm not sure how to feel about that.

QUITE FRANKLY, I'M NOT SURE HOW TO FEEL ABOUT THAT!

Fixed.

Ahh it must be draft time as the Stephen A. Smith lovefest is back

Everybody loves Stephen A

I wouldn't quote Mr Beggs & say that

[Andrew]

Yeah, I'm definitely not a fan.

[The X]

2012 OFF-SEASON UPDATE - TEAM OPTIONS / PLAYER RE-SIGNING


TEAM OPTIONS

The Minnesota Timberwolves announced it had exercised one year team options on centre Joel Przybilla, forward Jordan Hill and guard Wayne Ellington, as well as exercising two year team options on last year's second round draft picks, forward Benjamin Dragic and guard Marcel Moore.

As expected, the Timberwolves declined Martell Webster's 1 year, $5.7 million team option. The team also declined two year team options on guards Marc Scott and Malcolm Hoffman, both of whom were also drafted in last year's second round and ended up spending most of their time in the D-League.

Minnesota is looking to clear some roster space prior to this year's draft in which the Timberwolves have three lottery picks at their disposal.


PLAYER RE-SIGNING

With forward Kevin Love and guard Eric Gordon locked up to long term extensions during last season, the first priority of the off-season is to work out what it is doing with four year veteran forward Michael Beasley. Beasley improved considerably during his fourth season and repaid the faith that coach Jay Triano put in him. Beasley thrived in his frontcourt pairing with Kevin Love and his play really improved late in the season. Still unsure about whether he was a good investment or not, the Timberwolves put out the wallet to lock him up to a slightly shorter deal that he desired, signing Beasley to a 3 year, $45 million deal that includes a player option for the fourth season.

Swingman Martell Webster refused to negotiate a new contract with Minnesota after his team option was declined, which should come as no surprise considering how disgruntled he had become by season's end.

[The X]

2012 OFF-SEASON RECAP - TEAM / PLAYER OPTIONS


NOTABLE PLAYER OPTIONS

The following is a list of notable players who exercised or declined their player options:

C- D.Howard (Orl): ACCEPTED 1 year, $18.52m
PG- C.Paul (NOH): ACCEPTED 1 year, $18.09m
PG- D.Williams (Uta): ACCEPTED 1 year, $18.09m
PG- C.Billups (Den): ACCEPTED 1 year, $10.27m
SF- G.Wallace (Cha): ACCEPTED 1 year, $11.44m
SF- R.Artest (LAL): ACCEPTED 1 year, $7.26m
PG- M.Williams (Cle): ACCEPTED 1 year, $8.50m
PF- B.Bass (Orl): DECLINED 1 year, $4.00m
PG- B.Udrih (Sac): DECLINED 1 year, $7.81m
C- D.Diop (Cha): ACCEPTED 1 year, $7.37m

NOTABLE TEAM OPTIONS

The following is a list of notable players whose teams exercised or declined its options:

C- A.Bynum (LAL): ACCEPTED 1 year, $16.47m
PF- L.Odom (LAL): DECLINED 1 year, $8.20m
PG- J.J.Barea (Dal): DECLINED 1 year, $4.62m
PF- Kenyon Martin (Atl): DECLINED 1 year, $2.11m
C- H.Thabeet (NJN): ACCEPTED 1 year, $6.47m
SF- A.Nocioni (Phi): DECLINED 1 year, $7.50m

I have excluded the team options on rookie contracts as they are usually expected to be picked up.

[The X]

The minute I saw Dwight & the other big names exercise their player options, I quickly realised that there wouldn't be much of a 2012 free agency class so I decided to re-up the Beas Knees.

Just thought I'd let you know the logic behind the decision

[The X]

2012 OFF-SEASON RECAP - COACHING CAROUSEL


In what appears to be an unparalleled number of coach movement that makes college basketball's coaching carousel look like child's play. The following is a list of notable active coaches who changed teams:

Boston: Scott Brooks (led OKC to best record in West last season but 8 seed Utah bounced them in the first round)
Chicago: Erik Spoelstra (led Heat to 2011 title but shock first round defeat by 8 seed Milwaukee soured his time at South Beach)
Memphis: Phil Jackson (led Lakers to game 7 of Western Conference Finals loss to Houston. Seems to be jumping ship for a challenge)
LA Clippers: Tom Thibodeau (trades in Derrick Rose for Jonny Flynn, probably not his smartest move. Especially when he's blindsided by Sterling)
Oklahoma City: Doug Collins (leaves hapless 76ers to go to OKC. Can't see him doing any better than Scott Brooks)
Philadelphia: Stan Van Gundy (wore out his welcome in Orlando after a terrible 2011-12 season. Woodson was also very happy to see him leave, maybe he'll get a chance to finally play next to Dwight)
Sacramento: Lionel Hollins (let's see if he can work his magic with the young Kings)

[The X]

I was shocked to see the above. Something for the 2k producers to improve. Not many people see this since they don't get beyond their second season. It's not a major thing but would prefer to see guys like Brooks, Spelstra, SVG & Thibs get fired before they sign with new teams. That would be more realistic than them being free agent coaches when their contracts are up.

[hova-]

Yeah, 2k can still improve a lot in free agency and the signing of coaches etc. It's still not very realistic. 15M$ for Beasley is quite a lot. I hope that move turns out to be good. Maybe the toughest move so far in this Dynasty.

[The X]

Yeah, 2k can still improve a lot in free agency and the signing of coaches etc. It's still not very realistic. 15M$ for Beasley is quite a lot. I hope that move turns out to be good. Maybe the toughest move so far in this Dynasty.

He's now my highest rated player at 84 & has good potential so I think that was reason for pay. I was obviously a bit hesitant to pay but after seeing no free agents on market & wanting to make the playoffs, I just wasn't going to take the gamble. I also paid him a bit more to keep deal shorter (3 plus player option for 4th year). Depending on what happens in the draft/draft lottery he may still be moved in a quasi sign & trade arrangement.

I agree free agency & coach engine needs improvement.

[Valor]

Chicago: Erik Spoelstra (led Heat to 2011 title but shock first round defeat by 8 seed Milwaukee soured his time at South Beach)
LA Clippers: Tom Thibodeau (trades in Derrick Rose for Jonny Flynn, probably not his smartest move. Especially when he's blindsided by Sterling)

2K Fail

[The X]

Chicago: Erik Spoelstra (led Heat to 2011 title but shock first round defeat by 8 seed Milwaukee soured his time at South Beach)
LA Clippers: Tom Thibodeau (trades in Derrick Rose for Jonny Flynn, probably not his smartest move. Especially when he's blindsided by Sterling)

2K Fail

Yes, I can't argue with you there

[Andrew]

Solid offseason moves in the face of a rather unexciting turn of events with the free agent class. It seems the game still definitely needs a bit of fine tuning in terms of player and coaching movement but hey, at least you can hire and fire coaches in Association Mode and free agency is more deeply represented.

[The X]

2012 OFF-SEASON RECAP - NBA DRAFT LOTTERY

2012 NBA DRAFT LOTTERY

X: "The 2012 NBA Draft Lottery is ready to start, Phoenix (25.0%) has the best odds at winning the top pick, followed by Sacramento (19.9%) and Minnesota (15.6%), whose pick came across from the Los Angeles Clippers in the Eric Gordon-Jonny Flynn trade. Minnesota (0.5%) has the lowest odds from its own pick of winning the top pick after finishing the season with a 40-42 record and narrowly missing out on the playoffs due to a tiebreaker with the Utah Jazz. It could be a big night for Minnesota, who also hold a third lottery selection courtesy of a trade with Toronto on draft night last year.

Without further ado let's cross to the NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver to announce the final order of the NBA Draft Lottery.”

Silver: “Thanks X and good luck everyone. The 14th pick goes to….



the Minnesota Timberwolves.”

X: “The Timberwolves will look to improve on their successful 40-42 record from last season with the first of their three lottery picks.”


Silver: “The 13th pick will be made by….



the Detroit Pistons.”

X: “The Pistons took a slight step back last season but Joe Dumars did get rid of one or two toxic contracts.”


Silver: “The 12th pick goes to….



the Indiana Pacers.”

X: “The mid-season trade with the Cavs seemed to backfire as Danny Granger and Tyler Hansbrough played the best basketball of their careers as the Cleveland stunned the World to win the title. The same can't be said about Antawn Jamison and Ramon Sessions.”


Silver: “Picking number 11 will be….



the Memphis Grizzlies.”

X: “The Grizzlies took a step back this past season after losing Zach Randolph in free agency to Washington. This draft has some solid power forwards that would help mitigate the loss of Randolph.”


Silver: “The 10th pick in the Draft will go to….



the San Antonio Spurs.”

X: “We haven't seen the Spurs here since they won the first pick back in 1997. Needless to say there are not any Tim Duncan's in this draft, not even a poor man's version.”


Silver: “The 9th pick will be made by….



the Sacramento Kings.”

X: “The Kings will probably look for a point guard with this pick after trading last year's disappointment Lambros Washburn mid-season to the Wizards. Coincidentally this is the pick that the Kings received from Washington in that deal.”


Silver: “The 8th pick goes to….



Philadelphia 76ers.”

X: “The lottery is holding to course right now.”


Silver: “The 7th pick will be made by….



the Detroit Pistons.”

X: “This is the pick that Detroit received from Orlando over a year ago in the Ben Wallace deal. The Magic made a deal to improve its chances of winning a title. That did not happen and a year later they lose a valuable lottery pick to the Pistons, who look to be stockpiling assets at the moment.”


Silver: “Pick number 6 belongs to….



the New Jersey Nets.”

X: “That means that Minnesota's pick, by way of Toronto, has moved up to the top three. Kahn is looking very smug right now after taking a beating last year after trading away the number 2 pick Chuck Smith and picking another point guard in Floyd Bradley. One can not have too many point guards I guess, but looks like he will stockpile power forwards instead, which is a good thing considering this year's draft is stacked with them.”


Silver: “Pick number 5 goes to….



the Portland Trailblazers.”

X: “This team went south as quick as Brandon Roy's knees. Who's their GM now? Even I don't know.”


Silver: “And the 4th pick of the 2011 NBA Draft goes to….


the Sacramento Kings.”

X: “And that means Minnesota has a superb shot of winning the top pick, with their picks received from the Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Clippers still being in play. Those teams must be kicking themselves. They were happy to trade out of the draft knowing that it was a weak draft class but there is always going to be value at the top. The Phoenix Suns, the team that ended last season with the worst record in the league (25-57) will look to spoil David Kahn's party. David Kahn will be joined by Steve Nash on the stage as each team's representatives.

Let's cross back to NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver is ready to announce the top three picks.”


Silver: “Thanks again X. The third pick in this year’s Draft will be made by....



the Minnesota Timberwolves.”


Silver: “The second pick goes to....



the Phoenix Suns.”


Silver: “And that means that the number one pick in the 2011 NBA Draft will be made by....



the Minnesota Timberwolves.”

X: “Kahn is beside himself with glee. This marks the first time that the Minnesota Timberwolves have ever won the NBA’s Draft Lottery. The highest draft pick that they previously had was the 3rd pick in the 1992 and 2008 NBA Draft when they selected Christian Laettner and O.J. Mayo (traded for Kevin Love on draft night) respectively.

Heading into the draft with the number 1, 3 and 14 picks, perhaps the Timberwolves will trade one or more of their picks since it is widely considered a weak draft that only goes a few deep and the lottery will mostly consist of power forwards and point guards, which are David Kahn's two most favourite positions. With the right draft night, the Timberwolves could establish themselves to take the next step towards being a competitive playoff team in the Western Conference. Who will they pick? Does it mean that one of their forwards like newly signed Michael Beasley will be shown the door? For that I'm not sure and there are no franchise changing players in this draft, just nice pieces to the puzzle, so Timberwolves' fans would pay to keep their enthusiasm slightly tempered. It's a good day though for basketball fans in Minnesota, that I can be sure.

That concludes our coverage of the 2012 NBA Draft Lottery. Congratulations again to the Minnesota Timberwolves, winner of the first and third picks in the 2012 NBA Draft.”