The "Dark Knight" Rises: A Detroit Pistons Dynasty (NBA 2k11)

[Truthseeker83]

(The following thread is a re-post of "Opinions on my new Pistons Dynasty (NBA 2k11)" Thread. Mods, you're welcome to lock the previous thread if you prefer)

The dilemma I've been having is rebuilding a team realistically. Most of the bad teams (with the exception of Cleveland....whose uniforms are hideous) already have young potential star players. I want to rebuild a team from scratch basically...and it's not realistic that any of those teams would trade the young players they have for different young players.

Then it dawned on me to start an association with the Pistons....and I'm having a blast. Just an aside, I'm on HOF difficulty and the only thing I've changes is the Personal Foul slider and Charge Called slider (both on 60) for both user and comp. I'm also playing with 8 minute quarters.

Detroit had a terrible record last season, and while they still have a couple pieces who could be valuable to teams looking to contend, the team as a whole has largely become irrelevant. They do have an above average point guard in Stuckey and a young big guy with good potential in Greg Monroe.

Almost immediately, I traded Tayshaun Prince and Will Bynum and got PG Ben Uzoh and PF Yi Jianlian back in a three team trade. Then I traded Rip Hamilton to Boston for a first rounder and and someone else I can't remember now...obviously they weren't a long-term building block lol.

Just before the trade deadline, I unloaded Stuckey because I knew he'd ask for way more than I wanted to pay a guy who didn't have a ton more untapped potential (and couldn't shoot from range at all) if he resigned with me at all. I traded him to Philly for Jrue Holiday (at a much more manageable price for virtually the same skill level....plus some three point shooting ability) and Spencer Hawes (who was ridiculously overpaid but they wouldn't do the trade without me taking on his massive contract).

Going into the off-season between years one and two, I knew I had a huge hole at 2 guard, and I was able to sign Nick Young who was a RFA. They weren't willing to match the offer sheet I signed him to...which was roughly 8 million a year or so with a Team option for the last year (something I always do....even if I have to pay a little more per year....gives me a lot of flexibility). I also signed Marco Bellinelli for shooting on a two year contract.

I got lucky and earned the 1st pick in the draft due to my ridiculously poor record the year prior (I blew the entire thing up and was playing young guys....so it's expected). I drafted a guy who I could build the team around in SF Darius Knight, a 6'9" early entry SF from Michigan State with outstanding potential. So my starting 5 going into year 2 was:

PG - Holiday
SG - Young
SF - Knight
PF- Yi Jianlian
C- Greg Monroe

with Uzoh and Hawes being key backups. I also picked up Marvin Williams in a mid-season trade which didn't cost more than a 2nd round pick and some other spare parts. So that's a fairly solid young group of players right there.

Well, while I still obviously didn't make the playoffs, I made a 17 game improvement while getting some young guys valuable starting experience. Knight won Rookie of the Year by averaging 22 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and just under a block per game. He also made the All-Star team as a reserve and 3rd team All NBA.....not bad for a rookie.

Going into the second offseason, my needs were becoming pretty clear. While Monroe was solid at center, I felt he was best suited to play PF....and even there, he was only solid offensively....definitely not a big-time threat...though he could be with more development. I wanted to add a C in the draft, and I earned the 5th pick this time. But lucky for me, the top 5 was stacked with talented players, including two high potential Centers and a decent potential athletic PF. So I felt confident I could either draft a good young Center and move Monroe to PF, or draft a PF and keep Monroe at center. I felt confident that a talented big man would fall to me at 5 due to the fact that there were also two talented, high potential wings in the top 5 as well. I never alter the abilities of the generated draftees because it feels like cheating, though I do alter their looks, names, accessories, etc....because some of them look stupid. But this was a great year to have a top 5 pick with all the supremely talented players...that just doesn't happen every year.

ANYWAY, back on track. As FA came and went, Uzoh accepted my qualifying offer of 500k a year or so, which is outstanding for a backup PG at 70 overall. I also signed Marcus Camby as a backup big for the vet minimum because of his defense and rebounding.

As the 5th pick of the draft arrived, my hunch proved correct. I had my choice between Josh Simmons of Purdue, a Center with A+ potential and Marcus Buchanan from Georgia Tech, a 6'11 PF with A- potential. Although Simmons had the slightly bigger upside, I really wanted to add more athleticism to my front line (since Monroe was only average to slightly above average in the athleticism department). I felt this would definitely show up in rebounding finishing at the rim, and shot blocking. So I pulled the trigger on Buchanan (who has a B rating on athleticism).

Later in the first round, now being crowded at the PF position with Monroe and Yi, I decided to start looking for potential trading partners in order to acquire a starting-caliber two-way 2 guard. Young was outstanding offensively, but he left alot to be desired on the defensive end...and I felt he could better contribute as a heavy-minute sixth man. Well, I went back to the bargaining table with Philadelphia trying to acquire Andre Iguodala. While he's definitely not a pure shooter, he can finish at the rim with the best of them, take defenders off the dribble, hit the open jump shot, and he's an outstanding distributor. His salary is pretty high at around 15 million a year, but he only has two years left on his deal and is still only 27. I sent them Yi, Belinelli, and next year's first rounder. They accepted the deal.

So heading into the pre-season, my roster looked like this:

PG - Jrue Holiday / Ben Uzoh
SG- Iggy / Nick Young / Jrue Holiday
SF- Darius Knight / Marvin Williams
PF - Marcus Buchanan / Darius Knight / Marvin Williams
C - Greg Monroe / Spencer Hawes / Marcus Buchanan / Marcus Camby

I still felt like I was lacking a truly reliable low post scorer though, and I felt like both my starting bigs were still a year or two away from being able to supply that. I was also quite crowded at the center position. So I decided to see what it would take to pry Andrea Bargnani away from Toronto, who of course still has multiple holes to fill. I offered Spencer Hawes, Greg Monroe (who was tied for my highest rated trade chip), and my last future first rounder (I'm totally out of draft picks for the next two years lol). Success! I get a dynamite post scorer in Bargnani, and Toronto gets Hawes to help fill the void left by Bargnani (he's a good shooter and has good potential as well) as well as a top-flight young PF with gobs of potential, as well as another first rounder.

So my final roster to this point is as follows:

PG - Jrue Holiday (79) / Ben Uzoh (72)
SG - Andre Iguodala (88) / Nick Young (77) / Holiday
SF - Darius Knight (88) / Marvin Williams ( 74)
PF - Marcus Buchanan (77) / Knight / Williams
C - Andrea Bargnani (82) / Marcus Camby (71)

I feel like all the pieces are now in place....they just need some time to develop and to grow together as a team.

-On a side note, I love the dynamic of having an athletic, shot blocking power forward with the offensive dynamo, not quite as athletic Bargnani.

I feel like this has been realistically done. No unthinkable trades, I felt like all of my moves benefited each of the teams involved and were something they'd actually consider. What do you guys think?

[Truthseeker83]

Ok.....for anyone who is interested, the 2012-13 season (the second season of my association), despite the heartbreak at the end, has to be considered a smashing success. The new look Detroit Pistons posted a 62-win season (and a whopping 9 point differential for those of Hollinger's ilk), earning the East's number one seed heading into the playoffs. That is a massive turnaround in win total from the previous season. The run went all the way to the conference finals (by way of sweeping the 8th seeded Celtics and then trumping the 4th-seeded Knicks in 5) before finally falling to the Heat in 5 games.

Second-year Forward Darius Knight was magnificent, averaging 26.1 points, 8.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game. He shot 49% from the field, including 40% from 3. He was voted an All-Star for the second time in as many seasons, and he was named 2nd Team All-NBA. Knight is racking up the accolades at an alarming rate and seems primed for an all-out assault on the MVP trophy in the coming seasons.

PF Andrea Bargnani (yes...I did move him to PF) enjoyed a breakout season of his own, posting season averages of 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks, shooting 47% from the field and 33% from 3. He dropped 90% of his free throws as well. He was voted to the All-Star team, his first since he entered the league 7 years ago, and he was named 3rd Team All-NBA as well.

Rookie center Marcus Buchanan had a very good season, averaging just under 10 points and 9 rebounds a game. The 21-year-old athletic big man compliments Bargnani's game better than anyone could have envisioned...and this front court looks primed to dominate the NBA for the foreseeable future.

SG Andre Iguodala, who served as the team's go-to defender, averaged 17 points, 7 boards, 6 assists, and just under 2 steals per game. PG Jrue Holiday also contributed a solid 11 points 6 assists per game.

The accolades didn't end with the players, however, as head coach Tyrone Corbin was named Coach of the Year due to the team's remarkable turnaround.

(BTW...I'd love to post pics from my association but I have never attempted this, nor do I know how to do it. I see that it's possible to upload to 2ksports.com, but I've never tried this. First off, how do I do this? And second, could I just copy and paste from there on to this website? Any help would be much appreciated)

[Truthseeker83]

2013 Off-season Summary

-Staff Changes: HC Tyrone Corbin signed 3-year, $9 million dollar extension. NBA Scout Dustin Braxton also signed a 3-year extension to remain with the club. No other changes were made, bringing last year's staff back fully intact.

-Contract Options:

1. The Pistons picked up Darius Knight's 2 year option at just over $5 million per season.

2. They declined the options for Marcus Camby, J.J. Barea, and Sheron Collins.

3. SG Andre Iguodala opted out of the final year of his deal, as expected. Although he's stated on numerous occasions that he would love to return to the Pistons, he was intent on at least exploring Free Agency, letting the market set his value.

-Draft:

The Detroit Pistons traded their 2013 1st (29th overall) and 2nd round picks to the Utah Jazz for their 2014 1st rounder. Flipping the 29th pick in a very weak draft (only the first three players taken even topped 70 overall) for a 1st rounder next season (possible lottery pick? fingers crossed) seems like a very savvy move. Detroit now has both a 1st and 2nd rounder for next season's draft, as well as its full compliment for the season after that.

-Free Agency:

1. The team's first order of business was extending yet another (and the final) 1-year qualifying offer to backup PG Ben Uzoh, worth $674k (a steal for a 76-rated backup point).

2. Next, in order to replace the departing Marvin Williams, the Pistons extended a 3-year, $30 million contract offer to 6'9" swingman Dorell Wright. The deal contains a player option for a 4th season that would pay him $12 million. Wright would accept the offer.

3. The Pistons then turned their attention to replacing the departed Marcus Camby, inking Deandre Jordan to 3-year, $12 million contract. The deal contains a team option for a 4th season at roughly $4.5 million.

4. Finally, after staying in constant communication with Andre, the Pistons signed Iggy to a monster 5-year $101 million contract (with a player option for a 6th season worth $25 million). At 29, Iguodala knew this was his last chance for a long-term max contract, and he cashed in.

The team thought about going for slightly cheaper options in RFA's Demar Derozan and James Harden, but holding Iguodala's bird rights allowed them to also fill out other holes in the roster, something that would not have been possible had they gone another route. Also, neither Derozan or Harden could replace Andre's leadership, veteran savvy, defensive prowess, or ball distribution skills.

It's important to note that the deal does NOT include a no-trade clause....so look for the team to try and acquire and develop a future replacement (it's worth watching the 1st rounder the team just acquired from Utah next year....my hunch is the team will scout SG's heavily) and then trade Iguodala before this deal reaches full term. While this essentially handicaps Detroit's financial flexibility for the foreseeable future, Iguodala should be able to provide a high level of play on both ends of the court for the next three years at least.

5. PG Ben Uzoh ultimately accepted the qualifying offer and will return to back up Jrue Holiday in 2013-14.

-Other Roster Moves:

1. The team waived PF Joey Dorsey and sent SG Dennis Nash to the D-League for the third consecutive season.

2013-14 Season Opening Roster

PG -
#12 Jrue Holiday (83)
#13 Ben Uzoh (78)
SG -
#9 Andre Iguodala (89)
#1 Nick Young (78)
#23 Kareem Rush (52)
SF -
#5 Darius Knight (93)
#8 Dorell Wright (80)
PF -
#7 Andrea Bargnani (87)
C -
#3 Marcus Buchanan (82)
#45 Deandre Jordan (70) /
#41 Kosta Koufos (64) /
#42 David Anderson (52)

Head Coach: Tyrone Corbin
Assistant Coach: Greg Kennedy
NBA Scout: Dustin Braxton
Prospect Scouting Department: Everett Slater, Alexander Hamlin, Jeff Bradley
Trainer: Mike Abdenour

The regular season opens in Philadelphia on Sunday night when Jrue Holiday and Andre Iguodala face off against their old team. Former Pistons Rodney Stuckey and Yi Jianlian will also be motivated to play well. Should be a good game.

More updates coming soon!.........


Pistons Head Coach Tyrone Corbin

[Truthseeker83]

What I didn't include above is that Dorell Wright is my contingency plan in case I need to move Iggy sooner rather than later. Even though he's listed as purely a SF, his defense is about on par with Iggy's, he can shoot from range, and I used development points on his athleticism so he's now an 87 speed.....not to mention he's two years younger and three inches taller than Iggy as well. If I have to, I'll play him at SG. Not bad, eh?

Now on to my first game summary. I'll only do these for select regular season games (i.e. marquis matchups and such), but since it's opening night I had to, right? I'll also do monthly updates that include the team's record for the month, overall record, key performers over that month's games, playoff outlook, and much more. And here...we....go....

[Truthseeker83]

A Job Well Done
Pistons All Smiles After Opening-Day Drubbing of 76ers, 96-75


Pistons' Darius Knight (left) and Andrea Bargnani (right) celebrate.



Oct. 27, 2013 - The Detroit Pistons were out "assisted" on Sunday night by the Philadelphia 76ers, 18-17. That's about the only blemish on an otherwise masterpiece of a season opener. The Pistons' young, athletic band of whirling dervishes absolutely punished the perennially rebuilding 76ers in dominating fashion, sprinting out to a 96-75 win and an opening day victory that would make even Sylvester Stallone blush.

The Pistons shot a blistering 61% from the floor, including 47% from 3 point land, to completely demoralize their conspicuously over-matched opponent. Leading the charge for Detroit, as always, was phenom Darius Knight. The young superstar poured in 29 points on 13 of 17 shooting from the field and 3 of 5 from three in only 24 minutes of playing time. In fact, no starter logged more than 27 minutes in this one-sided affair.

"Any time you can win a ballgame in which your starters get to basically sit out the fourth quarter, it's a great feeling...and it says a lot about the depth of your basketball team," head coach Tyrone Corbin said after the game.

"Hopefully we can have a few more games like that, because they really add up over the course of the season to keep guys fresh for the playoffs."

Andrea Bargnani and Andre Iguodala followed Knight's lead, scoring 22 and 14 points respectively. Iguodala also chipped in a box-score-filling 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists, and a pair of blocks. Starting point guard Jrue Holiday, not to be left out of this offensive clinic, added 10 points and 5 dimes.

Newcomer Dorell Wright got his Pistons career off to a nice start with 11 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists in 14 minutes off the bench.

The 76ers managed to make a game of it in the first quarter, ending the first frame down only 5, 21-16. But that was as close as they would get, being outscored 75 to 59 the rest of the way.

The evening wasn't a total downer for Philadelphia however as young Evan Turner and Rodney Stuckey turned in rousing performances in defeat. Turner worked his way to 28 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists, while Stuckey chipped in 24 points and 5 assists of his own.

The Pistons will come home oh so briefly to face Utah on Tuesday night before immediately having to fly to Indianapolis to face the Pacers in the first back-to-back of the season. Tuesday's game at the Palace will tip off at 8pm.

Stay tuned to pistonpower.com* for all things Pistons as we keep you informed all season (and off-season) long!

*be advised this is a fake url...or at least one that has nothing to do with this association

(The following pics come to you via my Iphone...... If you're aware of other ways I can include pics from games, especially in which I can include captions with the pics, please let me know.....really.)

Photos (In order of appearance):

1. Andrea Bargnani contributing 2 of his 22 points on Sunday. He also added 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals, and a block.
2. Darius Knight soars for a slam.
3. Dorell Wright celebrates his Pistons debut with a throw down. He threw in 11 quick points on Sunday night.
4. Iggy being Iggy.
5. PG Jrue Holiday hangs in the air before converting an athletic layup.
6. Darius Knight scored 10 of his 29 points at the rim, keying a relentless and efficient Piston attack.

[Truthseeker83]

(and two more)

Attached Images

[Truthseeker83]

Denied!
Pistons Overcome Sluggish Start to Throttle Jazz, Now 2-0


Darius Knight prevents a Devin Harris layup.


Oct. 29, 2013 - Believe it or not, the Detroit Pistons actually trailed the Utah Jazz 40-39 at the intermission of their 97-76 win on Tuesday night. In a stark contrast to Sunday's season opener, the team's shots weren't falling early, and they were having trouble separating from a team that selected 5th in this year's draft.

Detroit shot only 27% from the three point line (3 of 11) in the first half, and they didn't attempt a free throw. Andrea Bargnani's efficient 10 first-half points were the only thing keeping the Pistons from shooting themselves into 3-point oblivion.

And then Darius Knight flipped the switch. Halfway through the third quarter, Detroit found itself trailing 43-41, when Knight suddenly hit a contested straight-away 3 to give the Pistons a 44-43 lead. They wouldn't trail again. Knight exploded for 16 points over the final 5:37 of the 3rd quarter, igniting a surge and opening the floodgate for Detroit's shooters.

Over the final thirteen and a half minutes (I play with 8 minute quarters btw) of the game, Detroit pulled away with a 56-to-33 run, effectively closing the door on Utah and sending their early-season record to 0-2.

Knight spearheaded the attack with 32 points on a coldly efficient 12 of 18 from the floor, including 5 of 6 from beyond the arc. Andrea Bargnani finished the game with 22 points, 3 rebounds, and a robust 5 blocks.

The Pistons would finish the game shooting 48% from behind the 3 point line, something nobody would have predicted before Knight's royal flourish.

Detroit will take on the Pacers in Indianapolis tomorrow night at 7pm. Be sure to keep it right here
at pistonpower.com for all your Detroit Pistons needs!

[Truthseeker83]

Knight Lifts Pistons From Brink
Darius Knight Hits Game-Winning 3-Pointer With .3 Seconds to Spare


Darius Knight rises for the game winner on Wednesday in Indianapolis.

Oct. 30, 2013 - In a thrilling back-and-forth affair with the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night, Darius Knight silenced the 15,000 fans on hand at Conseco Field House with a flick of his wrist and the sharp snap of nylon.

With 3 seconds left in the game with the score deadlocked at 89, Dorell Wright stood with the ball in his hands, hoping for just the slightest amount of space to get the ball inbounds for a last-ditch effort to avoid overtime. As forward Darius Knight tried to streak toward the baseline and curl back around Andrea Bargnani for a look at a potential game winner, Pacers forward Paul George played him perfectly, refusing to cede any ground. Knight immediately reversed course back toward the top of the key and broke left sharply to create just enough of an angle for Wright to loft a perfect pass into his hands.

The rest, as they say, is history. Knight caught, turned, rose, and ripped the Pacers' hearts from their collective chest as the ball sliced cleanly through the net.

Beyond just the last-second heroics, Knight's identity was stamped all over the Pistons' 92-89 win as he simply willed his team to their third consecutive victory to open the season.

Knight led all scorers, including five Pistons in double figures, with 39 points on 16 of 23 attempts including 5 of 6 from beyond the arc, and he registered 23 of Detroit's final 31 points spanning the third and fourth quarters. He was, in a word, unstoppable.

"Darius was unbelievable tonight," said coach Tyrone Corbin, shaking his head.

"This being the second night of a back-to-back, and with the team already feeling the effects of fatigue due to the way our schedule has fallen, you could tell he was absolutely gassed there in the 4th."

After amassing a 5 point lead with 2:36 to play on a fast break rim-rattling Holiday-to-Iguodala alley-oop, Detroit would remain scoreless for the next 2 minutes and 35.7 seconds, allowing the Pacers to tie the game. The team, like Knight, was visibly tired.

"You could see he was struggling to get lift on his jumper as he missed two or three shots in a row there in the last two minutes," said coach Corbin. "Luckily he was able to muster just enough to hit the game winner."

And luckily for the Pistons, it was just enough lift to sink the Pacers.

Notable Piston Performances:

-Darius Knight: 39 points, 6 rebounds

-Jrue Holiday: 15 points, 5 assists

-Andrea Bargnani: 12 points, 3 rebounds, 4 steals, 1 assist

-Dorell Wright: 11 points, 1 assist, 1 steal

-Andre Iguodala: 11 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block