MortalSoul,
Thanks for that. I hate CPU Assist, too, so I did one other thing to keep the game competitive: importing legends into the roster created teams, then starting a fantasy league via draft.
I set the "IsHistoric" attribute to "F" so that these guys would indeed retire

, and changed their birth dates, years of experience, draft years, etc., to match today's players. It is awesome!
Just a sample of who I added to the league: Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Kareem, Bob Pettit, Elvin Hayes, Wes Unseld, Willis Reed, Pete Maravich, Tiny Archibald, Walt Frazier, Isiah Thomas, Oscar Robinson... many others. I get to play the legends versus today's stars over seasons (settling the Shaq/Wilt debate).
My current starting five (Atlanta Hawks): S. O'Neal, A. McDyess, R. McLeod, John Havlicek, Mike Bibby; sixth man = P. Gasol.... Two-time defending champs over Golden State's Kareem, Dave Cowens, Jalen Rose, "Pearl" Monroe, Jason Terry.