Xbox 360 pricing announced

[Eaglesfan27]

Ended up playing another two games even though I should have gone to bed 2 hours ago...

Not an impression of the gameplay, but I just have to get it off my chest: Chris Webber sucks in his old age! He shot below 30% in back to back games, and we lost both of them as Iverson also had 2 off nights. However, unlike Webber, Iverson has had some huge games. Webber is averaging 13 points 7 boards a game, and is not playing anywhere near his contract's dollar amount.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Ended up playing another two games even though I should have gone to bed 2 hours ago...

Not an impression of the gameplay, but I just have to get it off my chest: Chris Webber sucks in his old age! He shot below 30% in back to back games, and we lost both of them as Iverson also had 2 off nights. However, unlike Webber, Iverson has had some huge games. Webber is averaging 13 points 7 boards a game, and is not playing anywhere near his contract's dollar amount.

Sounds like the game is quite realistic then........

[Ragone]

Originally Posted by stevew

Sounds like the game is quite realistic then........

Not really steve, Webber hasn't called a timeout when his team doesn't have any left.. yet


reading all this stuff about the xbox is making me sad.. and angry

[Pumpy Tudors]

Last week, I reserved College Hoops 2K6 for the XBox (not for the 360) the night before it was supposed to come out at the same GameStop where my XBox 360 is reserved. I paid for College Hoops in full, just to get it out of the way. The next night, I went into the store to pick up my game, and they didn't have it. Rather than wait another day, I went to an EBGames and bought the game there. Of course, this meant that GameStop had $30 of my money, and I was going to get it back, but my wife said that I might as well put it on the XBox 360. Good idea.

Yesterday, I finally made my way back to GameStop to transfer the money onto my XBox 360 reservation. There were no problems with that. The manager was kind enough to show us the list of customers who hadn't gotten their 360's yet. There are about 15-20 people ahead of me on the list. He said that he's been told to expect the next shipment of "several" 360's in the third or fourth week of December. I told him that I would start checking some of the big chains like Wal-Mart and Best Buy in the meantime, and he understood. It's really looking like I won't be getting my 360 before Christmas, at least not at that GameStop. I'll start calling the big stores in a week or so just to see if they've gotten any more shipments in. If they have, I'll get my money (well, my wife's money) back from GameStop.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

Last week, I reserved College Hoops 2K6 for the XBox (not for the 360) the night before it was supposed to come out at the same GameStop where my XBox 360 is reserved. I paid for College Hoops in full, just to get it out of the way. The next night, I went into the store to pick up my game, and they didn't have it. Rather than wait another day, I went to an EBGames and bought the game there. Of course, this meant that GameStop had $30 of my money, and I was going to get it back, but my wife said that I might as well put it on the XBox 360. Good idea.

Yesterday, I finally made my way back to GameStop to transfer the money onto my XBox 360 reservation. There were no problems with that. The manager was kind enough to show us the list of customers who hadn't gotten their 360's yet. There are about 15-20 people ahead of me on the list. He said that he's been told to expect the next shipment of "several" 360's in the third or fourth week of December. I told him that I would start checking some of the big chains like Wal-Mart and Best Buy in the meantime, and he understood. It's really looking like I won't be getting my 360 before Christmas, at least not at that GameStop. I'll start calling the big stores in a week or so just to see if they've gotten any more shipments in. If they have, I'll get my money (well, my wife's money) back from GameStop.

I read on another site (I think Operation Sports) a post from a Microsoft rep that said, shipments will be steady every week for the 360 and that rumors about no more until next year are untrue. I think you'll get yours before Christmas. If you don't, Microsoft is truly stupid.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

I read on another site (I think Operation Sports) a post from a Microsoft rep that said, shipments will be steady every week for the 360 and that rumors about no more until next year are untrue. I think you'll get yours before Christmas. If you don't, Microsoft is truly stupid.

That would be great. Even if they only ship 10 per week to each store, I should have mine by mid-December. I'll check with my GameStop on Thursday or Friday to see if they have any further updates. I'll also start calling the other stores around the same time. I hope it's true that they will be doing steady shipments throughout the rest of the year.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

That would be great. Even if they only ship 10 per week to each store, I should have mine by mid-December. I'll check with my GameStop on Thursday or Friday to see if they have any further updates. I'll also start calling the other stores around the same time. I hope it's true that they will be doing steady shipments throughout the rest of the year.

Posted by one of the Microsoft guys on the xbox forums

Xbox 360 Availability
Posted: November 26, 2005 @ 7:53 pm (8 hours, 16 minutes ago) By: Major Nelson
Visiting family here on the east coast, I took the opportunity over the past couple of days to stop in at various retailers in Southern New England to check out what people were saying about the Xbox 360. One thing I noticed was there is a large amount of incorrect information floating around regarding shipments of units. (One store (incorrectly) told me that ‘Microsoft won’t’ send us anymore until March.’) I double checked with the retail team, and while I can’t speak to each retail outlets specific distribution strategy, I can tell you that we (Xbox) have a weekly replenishment strategy. That means that we have new shipments of Xbox 360’s being sent out each week. If you hear that a store won’t get Xbox 360 from Microsoft until next year, you may want to gently remind your source that we in fact ARE shipping consoles out each week. The moral of the story is be patient and (once again) don’t believe all the rumors you hear.

You all will get one, have patience, and go away Sony fanboys, we don't want ya here!!!

There ya go!

[gstelmack]

The confusion may be caused by the long pre-order lists at places. For example, I could see Pumpy's store telling people "none until next year" because they feel like they will be filling pre-orders until then.

[Mustang]

I've seen reports on other message boards of some Targets getting very small shipments 2-4 units and some Gamestops getting the same treatment. Although, it is very sporadic.. Some people are holding onto tomorrow as a potential date for places to get small #'s...

[Philliesfan980]

Hey guys, just bought the following on OS for $740 (shipped overnight)

XBOX 360 Core
Extra Wireless Controller
20 GIG HDD add on
HD Cables (so now I basically have a premium)
Madden 360
COD 2
64 meg memory card

I figured I could turn the system pretty easily (considering xbox cores are going for $600 - and the hdd's are going for 150-170). Should I keep this system or not?

[Airhog]

Why, so you can make 10 bucks?

[Philliesfan980]

Originally Posted by Airhog

Why, so you can make 10 bucks?

'

Eh, you know. Always have second thoughts when you just shelled out $740 for video games, no matter if it was a good deal or not

[MizzouRah]

Man that's a lot of cash.

[Philliesfan980]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Man that's a lot of cash.

Haha, I know!

[INDalltheway]

I can confirm that post above about steady shipments. My friend's mother is a higher-up at Target and a Microsoft guy told her that there will be steady shipments coming in. My friend is going to get one once they get them in and his mom can check if they are on their trucks coming in. So I will post on here if I find out that the Targets are getting any.

So I take it NBA2k6 over Live!?!?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

FYI......I don't have an Xbox or want to own one, but I did notice that there are a couple reports of scratched disks where the outside 1/8th of the disk is scratched. It supposedly occurs when the box is vertical (possible misalignment of disk). PS2 had similar problems when vertical, so it sounds like it may be best to keep the Xbox horizontal to avoid any disk alignment problems that may cause a scratch. Just thought I'd give a heads up.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by INDalltheway

I can confirm that post above about steady shipments. My friend's mother is a higher-up at Target and a Microsoft guy told her that there will be steady shipments coming in. My friend is going to get one once they get them in and his mom can check if they are on their trucks coming in. So I will post on here if I find out that the Targets are getting any.

So I take it NBA2k6 over Live!?!?

I haven't tried Live, but I think so from reviews of Live that I have read. What I do know is that NBA 2k6 has become my favorite game (for the Xbox 360) by a good margin. It's really a great game so far. I've noticed even trading seems to be better done than in past versions. I'm trying to unload Webber and certainly can't get any good deals for his fat contract and relatively limited skill (at least in comparision to that contract.)

[Philliesfan980]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I haven't tried Live, but I think so from reviews of Live that I have read. What I do know is that NBA 2k6 has become my favorite game (for the Xbox 360) by a good margin. It's really a great game so far. I've noticed even trading seems to be better done than in past versions. I'm trying to unload Webber and certainly can't get any good deals for his fat contract and relatively limited skill (at least in comparision to that contract.)

Any chance that you can sim through a few seasons in a test franchise for us?

[MO542]

Originally Posted by Philliesfan980

Any chance that you can sim through a few seasons in a test franchise for us?

I’d like to see that too. I’ve been a big fan of the NBA 2k series, but the one big thing that has always been a problem with the series is the progression of players; specifically the draft generated players. Can anyone sim a couple seasons and see if they see anything funny with progression?

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Philliesfan980

Any chance that you can sim through a few seasons in a test franchise for us?

I simmed through one year last night just for kicks.

The Mavs won the title and Dirk the MVP, but I didn't pay a lot of attention to the stats.

One thing I did like was the drafting. When you scout a player, you get the strengths and weaknesses of the player and an NBA player that the scout thinks the guy is similar to.

I'm paraphrasing here, but something like:

Bill shows great explosion to the basket. Solid man to man defender who will get his share of steals.

Poor ball handling, will turn the ball over, struggles hitting mid range jump shots.

Similar player: JR Smith

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Philliesfan980

Any chance that you can sim through a few seasons in a test franchise for us?

I'll give it a try this evening when I get off work. Hopefully, this test will go more smoothly than my Madden test

Edit: One thing I really like is that the game has an option to set the length of simulated quarters. Hopefully, the stats will be realistic. I'll also keep an eye on player progression (particularly the drafted players.)

[stevew]

Originally Posted by INDalltheway

I can confirm that post above about steady shipments. My friend's mother is a higher-up at Target and a Microsoft guy told her that there will be steady shipments coming in. My friend is going to get one once they get them in and his mom can check if they are on their trucks coming in. So I will post on here if I find out that the Targets are getting any.

So I take it NBA2k6 over Live!?!?

Yeah, from the Target POS terminal IIRC you can tell when a product is on order, and I believe when it is on a truck. Unless Microsoft is drop shipping the consoles to the stores(distinct possibility here). Best bet for some place like target would be to check the store at opening, pretty much every day. Unless its a 24 hour joint, stuff gets taken to the floor every night for the next morning.

[TroyF]

OK, simmed a couple of seasons.

2005:

Kobe Bryant MVP - 31.1 ppg, 7.4 rebounds, 8.1 assists
Bogut ROY - 17.4 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 2.1 assists
Damon Stoudamire 6th man - 16.2 points, 6.3 assists
Kevin Garnett DOP - 2.3 steals, 1.6 blocks, 28.4 points, 14.5 rebounds

First team all league - Arenas, Bryant, James, KG, Shaq
Second Team all league - Baron Davis, TMac, Pierce, Dirk, Yao
Coach of the year - Rick Carlisle - 56-26
Exec of the year - Pistons 55-27

Suns the first seed out west, Pacers in the east. Clippers (3 seed) and Knicks (8 seed) only surprises in the tree.

Dwayne Wade finals MVP. Miami over Detroit in the east, Phoenix over SA in the west. Miami in 6 for the title.

Raptors with the worst record in basketball, they end up with pick #4 in the draft, Utah get the first selection. Bucks come in at number three.

Wade won the Finals MVP again the following year with KG winning the MVP. The first pick in the draft looks like it might be a bust. Utah took a SF from Oklahoma State and he was terrible and doesn't have great ratings now.

Will post some more observations as I seem em.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Philliesfan980

Any chance that you can sim through a few seasons in a test franchise for us?

Starting the test franchise now:

1st thing I notice is that I have the same owner. I wish owners were random, but not a huge deal.

For this test, I'm not doing any development drills, so that will affect my own guys progression, but shouldn't otherwise affect progression.

I'm also turning off the "fire GM" option, as I'd hate to be fired midway through this test.

The game reminds you if you want to set up weekly practice each week. It also has a convenient option to always say no to this question if you wanted to sim seasons for some reason (as I do.)

It also has an option to auto adjust for injuries, as Webber was hurt (he is the bane of my test franchise as well as my real franchise.)

The email messages are nice. From them, I can see one trade happened in the first month:

Jazz traded G. Giricek (SG, 72) to the Hornets for R. Butler (SF, 74.) Fairly even trade for both teams.

In December, the Grizzlies traded B. Jackson (PG, 82) to the Clippers for S. Livingston (PG 72 with high potential.)

Also, In December, The Hornets traded S. Claxton (PG, 81) to the Celtics for M. Blount (C, 78)


In January, The Mavericks traded J. Terry (PG, 84) to the Nuggets for A. Miller (PG, 84.)


Approaching the deadline in Febuary, The Bobgates offered me SG Keith Bogans for PF Michael Bradley. Bogans is a 26 year old 69 rated SG who is averaging 6.8 PPG and 0.7 APG coming off the bench. Bradley is a 27 year old 62 rated PF. Bradley isn't giving me much averaging only 3.6 PPG and 3.2 RPG despite starting 9 games when Webber was hurt. However, he is only playing 15 mpg due to fatigue and conditioning. I decide to hold onto him for now due to Webber's frequent injuries.


The next day, The Mavericks try to unload Doug Christie for Steven Hunter my backup center. Christie is averaging 7.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg, and 2.5 apg. However, he is 36 and in decline. Hunter is a legitimate 7 footer who is playing quite a bit for me with Webber's injury. He is averaging 6.2 ppg and 5.7 rpg. I decline the trade, particularly since Hunter is only 25.

A week later, the Jazz offer Keith McLeod, a 27 year old PG who is averaging 1.1 ppg and 1.2 agp in 8.2 mpg for John Salmons. Salmons is a tall PG who I really like and he is averaging 8.0 ppg, 2.7 apg in 27.9 mpg. i turn down the offer.


The Pistons offer me the first deal where I don't necessarily agree with the CPU seeing a clear advantage. They ask for Nailon who is a 31 year SF 72 rated SF averaging 4.0 ppg and 2.1 RPG in 10.2 mpg. They are offering me Carlos Delfino, a 73 rated SG who is only 24. He is averaging 2.3 ppg 0.8 rpg in 2.4 mpg. I guess this deal makes sense as Nailon can help more now while Delfino isn't helping much at the moment. I pull the trigger even though this is just a test league.


Ok, I've now seen my first true head scratcher trade. The Spurs traded Tony Parker (PG 83) to the Mavericks for E. Dampier (C, 83)

Actually, my trade and the Spurs trade were the only trades of Febuary. I guess.

I decide to look at the Spurs trade a bit closer. The Spurs have had Nazr Mohammed starting for them. The 29 year old is 6'10 250lbs. He is averaging 25.4 mpg, 7.2 ppg, 7.5 rpg, and 1.0 bpg. He is rated 81, but is in the last year of his contract and is currently making 5.5 million/year.

Dampier is 31. He is signed for 6 more years. He is 6'11 265lbs. He is averaging 6.3 ppg, 8.7rpg, 1.4 bpg, and 1.0 apg in 27.4 mpg.

Looking at Parker, he is 24. 6'2 180lbs. He is playing 37.2 mpg. He is averaging 13.2 ppg, 6.9 apg, 1.2 spg. I don't see why the Spurs made this trade except they were thin at center with Marks and Nesterovic both playing horribly. For the Mavericks, they lost their only good center, but they unloaded a big contract and got Bird rights on a great young PG. This trade makes sense for them if they move A. Miller sometime in the next year or so.

Anyway, only bad trade isn't so bad. Overall, the other trades made sense for the most part.



Ok, time to look at standings and stats at the end of season 1:

Kevin Garnett (Minn) won the MVP: 29.7 ppg, 13.9 rpg, 5.8 apg, 2.1 spg, and 1.7 bpg in 37.9 mpg.

Marvin Williams (Hawks) won the Rookie of the Year: 14.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 3.5 apg, 0.8 spg, and 0.8 bpg in 34 mpg.

Stephen Jackson (Pacers) won the 6th man of the year, 15.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.2 spg in 32.1 mpg off the bench. He started just 3 games.

Garnett won Defensive player of the year award.

Tony Allen of the Celtics won the most improved player of the year award. He averaging 13.4 ppg (up 7 points), 6.2 rpg (up 3.3), 1.4 apg (up 0.6.)

The All NBA First Team: Kidd, Bryant, Pierce, Garnett, and Shaq.

Flip Saunders won the Coach of the Year.

Jim Bartlett of the Pistons won the Executive of the Year.

They also named (but I'm not typing out) the All NBA 2nd team, 3rd team, all defensive first and second team, all rookie first team, and all rookie second team. I don't see any head scratcher picks on any of those teams.

Well apparently, you have to view the standings before the end of the regular season. I can't see them now. We finished 35-47 (I wonder if I should have scheduled practices ) and missed the playoffs.

I wonder if after the season, I'll be able to go back and view last years (this sim's) regular season standings?

The Western Conference Teams (In order of seeding):

1. Spurs.
2. Suns
3. Jazz
4. Kings
5. Rockets
6. Clippers
7. Mavericks
8. T'Wolves

In the East:

1. Pistons
2. Heat
3. Nets
4. Cavaliers
5. Bulls
6. Celtics
7. Knicks
8. Magic

This post is getting really long. I'll look at individual regular season stats in the next post.

[Eaglesfan27]

PPG Leaders:

1. Pierce - 30.8
2. Garnett - 29.7
3. Bryant - 29.6
4. R. Allen - 29.5
5. Nowitski - 27.5
6. Iverson - 27.4
7. Stoudemire - 27.0
8. Lebron - 24.4
9. Redd - 24.2
10. Peja - 24.1

Other notable: Shaq was 25th with 19.0 ppg in 33 mpg.

RPG:

1. Garnett - 13.8
2. Duncan - 12.4
3. Shaq - 12.3
4. Shawn Marion - 12.1
5. Dwight Howard - 12.0
6. Okafor - 11.9
7. Ben Wallace - 11.5
8. Stoudamire - 10.9
9. Camby - 10.8
10. Chris Bosh - 10.3

APG:

1. Nash - 9.9
2. Brevin Knight - 9.6
3. Marbury - 9.1
3. Iverson - 9.1
5. Kidd - 8.6
6. Luke Ridnour - 8.5
6. Baron Davis - 8.5
6. Bibby - 8.5
10. Cassell - 8.0

Steals per Game:

1. Kidd - 2.3
2. Arenas - 2.2
3. Kirilenko - 2.1
3. Ginobili - 2.1
3. Garnett - 2.1

Blocks per Game (seems a bit off to me)

1. Kirilenko - 2.2
2. Marion - 1.9
3. Duncan - 1.8
3. B. Wallace - 1.8
3. Tyson Chandler - 1.8

Theo Ratliff also had 1.8

FG% leader (among guys who actually shot more than a few dozen times)

1. Shaq - 54%
2. Mark Blount - 53.1%
3. Garnett - 53%
4. Jermaine O'Neal 52.4%
5. Eddy Curry - 52.0%

Minute per game leaders:

1. Bryant - 41.9
2. Iverson - 41.5
3. McGrady - 41.2
4. Marbury - 41.1
5. Pierce - 40.6


In the Playoffs the Spurs and Pistons advanced to the finals. The Spurs won in 5.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Regarding EaglesFan27's individual stats post, the blocks are a bit low, but only 12 players in the NBA averaged at least 2 blocks per game last season (Kirilenko and Camby both got at least 3.0), so it's not really too bad. It might only get a little funky if you have a lot of blocks in games that you actually play or coach. Then the numbers for your team could get a bit screwy.

[Eaglesfan27]

Tim Duncan was named the Finals MVP for averaging 21.8 ppg, 12.3 rpg, 3.0 apg, and 2.3 bpg.

No big surprises with players retiring. Willis was the oldest player retiring at 44 years old. Vin Baker was the youngest at 35. Only a dozen players retired.

Jerry Sloan retired from the Jazz.

Despite the bad season, I decided to extend Mo Cheek's contract for 4 more years. I didn't get to pick the salary, but it kept him at the same rate of 1.5 million per year.

Rany Myers took a new 3 year deal worth 500k/year.

I decided to extend head scout J. Graham's contract for 3 more years as well.

I had 4 days to sign any coaches, trainers, scouts, etc that I wanted.


After that, I had to decide what to do about 2 players whose contracts expired (I would have had to deal with Nailon if I hadn't traded him as well.)

I apprach Salmons. I can pick the nu,ber of years, the salary, and 4 types of contracts: Front Loaded with a higher percentage of money in the beginning of the contract (as much as I can with being against the cap), a flat salary each year, a 5% per year raise, or a 10% per year raise. I offer him a 2 year deal with a salary of 1.46 million in the first year and 1.61 million in the second year. Regrettably, this game has a bar like previous versions of Madden that tells you immediately how interested the player is in the contract as you change the values.

Therefore, Salmon agrees to the deal immediately after I offer it to him.

My other player whose deal has expired is Michael Bradley. He is a big man, not a very good one, but I decide to keep him for now. I offer him the 340k for 1 year that he is asking for.

I have 3 players who have 1 year left on their deal: Jamal Mashburn, Louis Williams (the young PG recently drafted by the Sixers) and Kevin Ollie. Williams is the only one I really want to keep. However, I can't do that yet.

I had 7 days in which to re-sign players. I wonder if I could have tried to negotiate a bit harder and that yellow bar isn't an absolute guideline. I will fool around more with this next year.

The Lottery is next which started with a presentation of odds of getting the 1st pick. The Hornets were the "top" team with 25% chance of getting the 1st pick.

The presentation showed a reasonable amount of drama as it went slowly enough to wonder at the top few teams. New Orleans was very unlucky and ended up with the 4th pick. Toronto was the lucky team to get the #1 pick. We ended up with the 9th pick (of course, I haven't sent my scout to look at anyone during this test franchise )

Fortunately, you can do 4 types of pre-draft workouts for kids. A shooting drill, 1 on 1, 2 on 2, or 5 on 5.

The shooting drill can be done as many times as you want throughout the week of scouting, but the 1-1 or 2-2 can only be done twice. The 5-5 can only be done once.

I haven't scouted these kids so I don't know who to bring in for a 2 on 2 drill, but forunately, the assistant manager tells me if guys are projected to be top 5, lottery picks, 1st roumd or 2nd round picks. I need a PF to replace Webber so I bring in a big men for a 2 on 2 drill along with the top PG in the draft (however, he is old at the age of 23 and I really wonder if he will go in the top 5.)

I can pick any 2 of my current players to go against them! I decide to bring on my young PG Williams and Webber.

Since this is just a test franchise, I only choose to do one other eval, a shooting drill. I bring in that same PF even though I know he is supposed to have a weak outside shot.

I just discovered you can also simulate the workouts. I'll simulate a few as well.

Unfortunately, when you sim the workout, you don't see any results. I was hoping to see shots taken, shots made, or something. However, if you bring a guy in for 2 of these workouts (the max # allowed) your scouting notes get much better and you get an estimate of their pick. That PF which I loved actually went #1. He dominated Chris Webber in my 2 on 2 game.

The draft (I was typing, then realized I was on the clock. You get 5 minutes to make your pick.)

You only get 3:30 to make your 2nd pick which was hard since I didn't scout the 2nd round kids at all.

Also, I was wondering why there were no young HS kids, then I remembered the age limit. The youngest guy in this draft appears to be 20.


1. Anton Kolomak, PF went to the Raptors. He last played in the Ukraine.
2. G. Kelly, PF went to the Bucks. He played for Arkansas.
3. R. Morris, PG went to the Lakers. He played for Purdue.
4. E. Gooding, PG from Oklahoma State went to the Hornets. Odd since, Chris Paul is great there.
5. F. Jacobsen, a SG from Mississippi went to the Hawks.
6. D. Stafford, a PF from Georgia Tech went #6 to the Trailblazers.
7. P. Bajza, a PG from Hungary went 7 to Washington.
8. H. Cowens, a PF from Pepperdine went to the Nuggets.
9. I took K. Milton, a PF from Canada.
10. The Warriors took J. Griffin, a SF from Texas

I'll keep an eye on these guys over the next 2 to 3 simulated years.

[jbmagic]

does coach make a difference in performance, player development and scouting opponents on nba 2k6?

[Philliesfan980]

Is anyone running to the store to buy this yet?

[Eaglesfan27]

Even though this is a test franchise, I decide not to screw around with my 1st round pick. He is asking for a 3 year deal for just under 9.8 million. It has a salary of 2.93 million the first year and 10% raises the next 2 years.

I not as sure about my 2nd round pick, Wayne Hart, but he is from North Carolina and he has good size for a SG. I give him the 480k 1 year deal he is requesting.

I had a week to sign rookies, so I probably could have negotiated more if I wanted to do so..


Looking at the Free Agent pool, the most talented guy is Latrell Sprewell and I really don't want him. There are no talented young players available except for Nene who has potential and is only 24. However, I just drafted a PF so I decide to pass on him for now (assuming I could have offered him enough money..)

Actually as a test of the salary cap, I try to offer him a deal.

Good. The game won't let me sign him. The most I can offer him is the league minimum. I wonder if that is because I've already used my exceptions on players, or they aren't in the game....

The Bulls signed Sprewell to a much lower deal than he wanted. He got a 4 year deal for 9 million total.

The Hawks signed Nene to a 5 year 34 million dollar deal.

Penny Hardaway was signed by the Magic for 4 years as 1.4 million per year. There were lots of other signings, but those were the ones that caught my eye.


During the offseason, The Suns traded J. Jackson (SG, 78) to the Kings for Fred Garcia (SG, 76.)

Now, I'm done the pre-season. Iverson is starting to slip slightly in ratings at the age of 31. AndrewIguodala continues to improve. Dalembert does as well.

As far as Kent Milton, he is a respectably rated 76 at the end of pre-season. He is clearly more athletic than Webber, but Webber is a better shooter. I'll bring Milton off the bench and see how he develops. Wayne Hart is rated a 61. Not bad for a 2nd round pick. The 6'6 SG has good leaping ability going for him. Not much else..

Now a quick look at the other top 10 picks:

1. Anton Kolomak is rated 78.
2. Garrett Kelly is rated 79.
3. Ray Morris looks like he might be a bust for the Lakers. He is rated 72.
4. Everett Gooding is rated a 73.
5. Freddie Jacobsen is rated a 75.
6. David Stafford (who was my #2 big man) is rated 75.
7. Pisike Bajza looks like the steal of the draft. He is rated 79.
8. Herb Cowens is rated 73.
10. John Griffin is ranked 75. I liked him, but I thought we needed a PF more than a SF.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

does coach make a difference in performance, player development and scouting opponents on nba 2k6?

Yes.

[Eaglesfan27]

At the beginning of my 2nd season, I get this message from my owner:

"I put this team before anything else in my life, and I simply can't sit home and watch you drive it into the ground. I'm not ready to give up on you yet though because I think you and I have the same long term goals in mind, so let's just call this a warning."

Glad I turned firing off for this test franchise

[Eaglesfan27]

A week later, "Well, Ace. We are off to a bad start. I was hoping that we would never need to have this talk, but that is not the case. Things just aren't going as I envisioned but I'm not ready to make a change yet. I want to give you one more chance to see your long term vision through."

I hope I remembered to turn off firing (I think I did.)

Oh yeah, we lost 4 million dollars last year. I wonder if that is part of why he is pissed at me.


Edit: We are 4-12 as I got this second message and team chemistry is going into the dumper..

[jbmagic]

do you notice if salary cap goes up each year?

do players have bird years and options?

do you get a low and mid level exemption each year? your suppose to, regardless if over the cap.

[Eaglesfan27]

We are now 9-20 after December and owner has given me one more final warning.

No trades this season yet.

One trade of two 68 rated players in January.

The owner has given me two more warnings. I suspect that if I didn't have firing off for this test league, I would have been fired already.

A week before the tradeline, the Suns offered my PG Kenny Anderson for Michael Bradley. I decide to hold onto Bradley as I don't see PG being a need, particularly not an aging PG.

The Hornets offered my Brandon Bass, PF for Louis Williams. I think Louis has great potential. I turn down the deal, but am happy to see the AI pursue talented youngsters.

Only one deal of any note went down, but it was a fairly big deal.

The Bulls traded Ben Gordon (SG, 84) to the Hornets for their Gooding, the number 4 pick in this draft that just happened. Gooding is still rated 73. This trade is peculiar. The Hornets are in last place and aren't going to make the playoffs while the Bulls are in the middle of the pack and could be a playoff team this year again. I guess Gooding might end up being better than Gordon and they want this young talent.

Gooding has been averaging 2.4 ppg 1.2 apg and 0.1 spg in 7.0 mpg. What makes this deal bad in my opinion is that the Bulls already have good PG's in Kinrich and Duhon.

On the other hand, this is a great trade for the Hornets since Chris Paul was getting most of the PT at PG anyway and they now have a very good SG to compliment him. Gordon has been averaging 22.4 ppg and 3.1 apg this year. He is signed for this year and next. I just don't see why the Bulls did this, but if there is only 1 questionable trade a year, I'll leave trades on in my franchise.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

do you notice if salary cap goes up each year?

do players have bird years and options?

do you get a low and mid level exemption each year? your suppose to, regardless if over the cap.

Haven't gone enough years to observe changes in the cap yet...

Players do have Bird Years, not sure how extensive the options are yet (if at all.)

Not sure about the exception, I think the Sixers had already used it IRL on Steven Hunter. That might be why I didn't have them. Will see if I have them next year or not..

[Eaglesfan27]

This time I remembered to look at standings the day before the season ended. A few ones of note.

The Nets will win the Atlantic with 50 or 51 wins.

We might repeat last year's record. We are 35-46 now.

The Cavs have become the power in the Central Division and have 64 wins with a game left. The Pistons are in 2nd with 54 wins.

The Heat have 63 wins. The Wizards are 2nd in the Southeast with 40 wins.

The Rockets have won the Southwest with 48 wins.

The Jazz have won the Northwest with 48 wins.

The Kings and Suns both have 53 wins going into the last day of the season.


A quick look at awards:

MVP - Garnett - 25.2 ppg, 16.1 rpg, 4.7 apg, 2.2 spg, and 1.5 bpg.

Rookie of the Year - Jack Blake (12th pick) SF Grizzlies. 8.9 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 3.4 apg, 0.1 bpg.

Sixth Man of the Year - Stephen Jackson again.

Garnett won the Defensive Player of the Year again.

Martell Webster of the Blazers won most improved player of the year: 11 ppg (+8.1), 3.3 rpg (2.5), 3.1 apg (2.3)

All NBA Team, First Team:

PG: Arenas
SG: Bryant
SF: Lebron
PF: Garnett
C: Yao


All Rookie Team:

PG : Pisike Bajza
SG: Lewis Irelan, Pacers
SF: Jack Blake
PF: Garrett Kelly - Bucks
C: Chucky Overton - T'Wolves.

Coach of the Year - Mike Brown of the Cavaliers. 65-17 record.

Executive of the Year - Don Trueman of the Heat.


The Playoff Picture:

West:

1. Suns
2. Jazz
3. Rockets
4. Kings
5. Spurs
6. Mavericks
7. Grizzlies
8. Nuggets

East:

1. Cavs
2. Heat
3. Nets
4. Pistons
5. Bulls (did well despite trading Gordon)
6. Knicks
7. Celtics
8. Pacers

Ahh, Sprewell took over the starting role when the Bulls traded Gordon. That trade makes a bit more sense as Sprewell had a decent season (presumably better once he became a starter.) Sprewell averaged 14.2 ppg at the 2 spot.

[dervack]

Originally Posted by Philliesfan980

Is anyone running to the store to buy this yet?

This weekend. Like I said earlier in this thread, the store I bought from had their computers mess up, and I think it still says that I have $374 in store credit that I was supposed to use towards the 360. So, I'll prolly pick up the 2K6, and a live card.

[Eaglesfan27]

In the Playoffs, the Bulls inches by the Pistons in 7. They then eeked by the Cavs in 7. Shaq missed the Conference Finals with an injury and the Bulls rolled them 4-1. However, the Suns beat the Bulls 4-1 in the Finals.


Here is a quick look at individual stats:

PPG:

1. Bryant - 30.0
2. Nowitzki - 29.8
3. R. Allen - 29.5
4. P. Pierce - 28.0
5. Iverson - 27.8
6. Stoudemire - 27.3
7. Arenas - 26.9
8. McGrady - 26.3
9. Garnett - 25.2
10. Lebron - 24.8

Shaq is in the 30's with 17.1 ppg

RPG:

1. Garnett - 16.1
2. Dwight Howard - 14.2
3. Okafor - 12.5
4. Marion - 12.4
5. Stoudemire - 12.3
6. B. Wallace - 11.9
7. Duncan - 11.8
8. Brand - 11.3
9. Odom - 11.2
10. Nowitzki - 11.0

Shaq had 9.9 rpg.

apg:

1. Nash - 9.5
2. Knight - 9.0
3. Iverson - 8.9
4. Marbury - 8.5
5. Ridnour - 8.4
6. Baron Davis - 8.1
7. Jason Williams - 7.9
8. Kidd - 7.8
9. Jamaal Tinsley 7.7
10. Steve Francis - 7.6

steals per game:

1. Ginobili - 2.3
2. Kirilenko - 2.3
3. Arenas - 2.2
4. Larry Hughes - 2.2
5. Kevin Garnett - 2.2
6. Marion - 2.0
7. Davis - 2.0
8. Marko Jaric - 2.0
9. Ben Wallace - 2.0
10. Dwyane Wade - 1.9

blocks per game:

1. Kirilenko - 2.2
2. Brand - 2.0
3. Duncan - 1.9
4. Okafor - 1.8
5. Ben Wallace - 1.8
6. Dwight Howard - 1.8
7. Jermaine O'Neal - 1.7
8. Marion - 1.6
9. Camby - 1.6
10. Stoudemire - 1.6

Shaq is down at 22nd with 1.3

FG %

1. Shaq - 57.2
2. Tyson Chandler - 52.9
3. Eddy Curry - 52.4
4. Alonzo Mounring - 51.9
5. Stromile Swift - 51.5
6. Yao - 51.4
7. Chris Bosh - 51.1
8. Jermaine O'Neal - 51.0
9. Ilgauskas - 51.0
10. Dwight Howard - 50.8. He scored almost 20 a game and is quickly progressing into a star.


Minutes per game:

1. Kiriklenko - 41.7
2. Bryant - 41.7
3. McGrady - 41.6
4. Marbury - 41.3
5. Arenas - 40.7
6. Lebron - 40.6
7. Baron Davis - 40.5
8. Dwyane Wade - 40.4
9. Rip Hamilton - 40.3
10. Vince Carter - 40.1

Iverson battled through injuries (the game will let you play at a reduced capacity with minor injuries) andhis mpg were down to 37. Hopefully, he can rebound next year.

[Mustang]

Received my 360 today. Love it... looks great on HD with surround sound. (Only have Call to Duty 2 right now.. getting Madden 06 tomorrow probably.. maybe Gun..)

But.. one thing to anyone else that has this.

Is the fan in this loud or is it just mine? Yeesh... sounds like a Jet engine. Plus, I can feel the heat pushed out of it in the back so.. doing its job.

[Eaglesfan27]

A look at the ratings of our 10 first round picks at the end of the 1st year:

1. Kolomak is now a 79 for a gain of 1.

2. Kelly went up to an 80 for a gain of 1.

3. Morris has gained 1 and is now rated 73.

4. The Bull's new acquisition Gooding hasn't gained at all and is still a 73.

5. Freddie Jacobsen has had no change and is still rated 75.

6. Stafford gained a point for the Trailblazers and is now rated 76.

7. Bajza gained a point and is now rated 80.

8. Cowens gained a point and is now 74.

9. Despite playing 22mpg and averaging 5.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg, and 0.6 bpg, my PF Kent Milton has remained a 76. Of note, I have Mo Cheeks as my coach and he is rated a "master" teacher.

10. The Warrior's Griffin gained a point and is now rated 76.

[ISiddiqui]

Apparently one of the complaints is a loud fan noise. Hopefully by the time I get it, they'll have it fixed .

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Mustang

Received my 360 today. Love it... looks great on HD with surround sound. (Only have Call to Duty 2 right now.. getting Madden 06 tomorrow probably.. maybe Gun..)

But.. one thing to anyone else that has this.

Is the fan in this loud or is it just mine? Yeesh... sounds like a Jet engine. Plus, I can feel the heat pushed out of it in the back so.. doing its job.

My fan isn't that loud, but it does blow out a lot of heat.

[dervack]

It's loud, but not something that bothers me at all.

[Eaglesfan27]

Shawn Marion of the Suns was the MVP of the Finals with 23.2 ppg, 11.4 rpg, 2.5 apg, 2.0 spg, and 1.8 bpg.

Only 8 guys retired. Rebraca of the Clippers was the youngest at 35. Mutombo of the Rockets was the oldest at 41 (or so he claims )

Despite losing money last year, I hire a better trained in Ed Ward for 700k per year for 4 years.

CRAP! I pissed off my star young PG Louis Williams by offering him a 2 year deal at only 500k/year. I offered him this since he only wanted 350k for 1 year. He is now REFUSING to negotiate at all with me

However, it is kind of cool that they have this feature. So, players refusal to renegotiate might have something to do with the few questionable trades.

He won't even let me do a sign and trade (which you can do in the game.)

I'm not interested in bringing back Mashburn who is a drain at 35.

I also let Kevin Ollie go.

I bring Wayne Hart back for 1 year at 350k.

jbmagic, I'm not 100%, but it does appear that the cap has gone up slightly this year (maybe a million or two.)

Bradley isn't very good, but I decide to keep him as trade bait if nothing else. I offer him a 1 year deal at 350k which he accepts.


I just know that Louis Williams is going to blow up on us.. he is rated 69 now, and is 21 years old.

This year, New Orleans again has the best chance of getting the 1st pick..

We don't get lucky, we will pick at 10.

New Orleans is very unlucky and they end up picking 4th again!


Ok, this MIGHT be bad. Either I just saw a tremendous coincidence, or this game might have a bug with the random number generator for the draft...

The Raptors AGAIN vaulted into the #1 slot. The Lakers ended up #3 again. Could be just coincidence.. This time the Bobcats ended up #2.


The Raptors take a huge C who is compared to Shaq from Mexico #1. He wasn't expected to go until around 6 or 7th pick. Santiago is the #1 pick.

L. Knox, a SG, was taken by the Bobcats with the #2 pick. He played for Tulane.

N McLeod, a PG was taken 3rd. He played for Marquette.

R. Posey was taken 4th by the Hornets. The SF played for Minnesota.

J. Faulk was taken 5th.

I end up taking Jameson, a very refined player according to my scouts. I didn't really need another PF but he was the best player on my board at #10.

The Bulls didn't re-sign Hinrich. Now, that trade makes a bit more sense, if they knew he wouldn't do a new deal..

[Terps]

Thanks for the impressions of NBA 2K. I was thinking of picking it up, my bundle came with Live and I just sold it on EBay for $50, and I was gonna use the money for 2K but I went with Call Of Duty 2 instead. Might pick up 2K down the road though, sounds good, but I have a feeling I won't play a pro basketball game too much.

Edit - My fan doesn't really make much noticeable noise, the system does get a little warm on the back, but I moved the power supply off the carpet and it doesn't seem to get as warm.

[Eaglesfan27]

Several Notable Free Agents this year:

Carmelo is testing the market. Hinrich is a very good PG. Mike Dunleavy is a good swingman. I don't have the money for any of them. However, to see if we can do a midlevel deal or something I decide to approach Dunleavy.

Yes, I have a midlevel and low level exception. It has been confirmed.

I decide not to use my exception on Dunleavy now that I know I could..

None of the other players that I would want are interested in anything less than 10 million per year.

[jbmagic]

thanks eaglefan27 great job.

[Eaglesfan27]

Unlike last year, the top FA's are playing the market the first week of FA. There are 21 days in which you can negotiate.

The Bobcats end up signing Kirk Hinrich to a 5 year 63 million dollar deal.

Very interesting. 19 days through FA and no one has signed Carmelo. He is asking for 70 million over 5 years and no one is biting. Meanwhile, Louis is still a FA but refuses to sign with me still..

Carmelo finally lowered his demands some and signed on the last day with the Bulls for 5 years and 61 million.

Travis Best is desperate to catch on anywhere, and I'm able to sign the 35 year old PG for the league minimum. Meanwhile even with no offers Louis is telling me he won't even negotiate.

After the formal free agency period was over, a few days later, the Clippers signed Mike Dunleavy to a 4 year 12 million dollar deal (which is about 30% less than what he wanted.)

The Blazers traded Darius Miles (SF 81) to the Celtics for Ricky Davis (SF 83.)

The Blazers then traded Ricky Davis to the Bucks for T. Ford their 83 PG.

The Bucks then traded Ricky Davis to the Celtics for Darius Miles.

Obviously this is some flawed trade logic. The Celtics traded Ricky Davis only to reacquire him a day or two later. So essentially, there should have been just a trade of Miles for Ford.

The Clippers signed Doug Christie to a 2 year deal for the league minimum.


Interestingly, Ben Gordon was traded by the Hornets to the Pistons for Chauncy Billups. I wonder if Gordon's big contract demands are scaring everyone off..

Of note, you can turn off AI trading if you want to do so. Overall, I haven't seen much that would make me do that.

[Eaglesfan27]

Todd Jameson, my #10 pick was rated 77 when he joined the team. After pre-season he is rated 79 and I think I might have my first breakout player! He is a 6'11 270 pound PF with good post moves. I plan on using him quite a bit in our rotation.

My pick from last, Milton, is stil a 76 rated PF.


Now a look at the rest of my first draft class (I'm just going to track them, the top 5 this year, and my picks for another year or two.)

1. The Raptors Kolomak blew up during the offseason. At the end of the pre-season the 6'11 278 pond PF is now rated an 83. A gain of 5 points from his rookie year.

2. The Bucks are having similar success with Garrett Kelly. The 6'10 270 pound PF is also up to 83 in rating now.

3. The Lakers pick appears to be a relative bust. The 6'3 191 pound PG has remained at 73.

4. The Bulls are relying on Gooding at the PG position and he has grown. He is now rated 76.

5. Jacobsen with the Hawks has gained a few points and is now rated 79.

6. Stafford hasn't gained much and is still rated 76 for the Trailblazers.

7. Bajza is doing well for the Wizards and he is up to 81 now.

8. Cowens isn't showing much, he is up to 76 for the Nuggets.

9. Milton remains a 76 for me.

10. Griffin has gone up to a 77 for the Warriors.