Showtime - Los Angeles Lakers MyLeague - NBA 2K19

[ATLBrayden]

SHOWTIME: A LAKERS DYNASTY

It's that time of year for another summer MyLeague, almost one year to the day from my last one.

Some of ya'll may remember it: https://forums.operationsports.com/f...&postcount=916

This time I'll be using my favorite team and try to build a championship winning roster around LeBron James, no matter the cost. After that, it'll be about rebuilding the team. I'll be using the start today roster from before Warriors/Raptors game 6.

Superstar sliders with the CPU buffed and myself nerfed.
10 minute quarters. Normal season settings, trying to keep it as true to life as possible.

MyLeague Sliders/Settings:

Spoiler

Sim Quarter Length: 12min
Normalize played to sim minutes: On
Normalize played to sim stats: off
Automatic League Expansion: off

Draft Class Quality: 48 (However I will be using player-made draft classes for real prospects)

Trade Override: Off
Trade Approval: On (just to prevent idiotic trades like Steph for Fultz)
Trade Frequency: 32
Previously Traded Picks: On

Injuries: On
Career-Ending Injury Frequency: 5

Player Progression Rate: 47
Player Regression Rate: 53

Training Effects: 45

Training Intensity:
Rest - 25
Very Low - 30
Low - 40
Medium - 45
High - 50
Very High - 52

Work Ethic:
Medium - 45
High - 53
Very High - 57
Team Player - 52
None - 40
Extremely Confident - 53

Simulator Difficulty: 70
Trade Negotiation Difficulty: 85
Contract Negotiation Difficulty: 85
CPU Re-Signing Aggressiveness: 100
Morale Difficulty: 80
Morale Effects: 50
Chemistry Difficulty: 80
Chemistry Effects: 52
CPU Injury Frequency: 40
User Injury Frequency: 40
CPU injury effects: 40
User injury effects: 40

If you're interested in my gameplay sliders just let me know. I tried to make them realistic, ex: I don't want to shoot 70% every game. I plan on playing a sim brand of basketball during these games, not posting up and spinning 40 times a game baseline with LeBron, but running actual plays, rotations, and basketball concepts.

I will also be making trades to make the lottery exactly as it is in real life. Pelicans first, Grizz second, Knicks third, etc.

[ATLBrayden]

THE PLAYOFFS

(Season One/Before First Offseason)

With KD out, Klay with a lingering injury, and Kevon Looney with half a collarbone, the Golden State Warriors managed to do the impossible. They have managed to reverse fate and come back from a 3-1 deficit, something they are all too familiar with. Stephen Curry is officially a finals MVP, averaging over 30PPG in a heroic effort to keep Golden State's dynasty alive.

THE OFFSEASON

With an aging LeBron James, the Lakers are in a position where they need to build a winning roster, and they need to build it NOW. Despite LeBron's almost superhuman durability, it is inevitable that time will catch up. With their best player being 34 years old, the Lakers are looking to acquire proven NBA talents, the time for sitting and developing players is over.

Many consider the current draft to be a three man draft, but sitting at four the Lakers believe they can still snag talent for their team, or for someone else's. Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Jimmy Butler have all declined their player options. These NBA stars and superstars are absolute targets for Los Angeles.

LAKERS OVER-HAUL THEIR STAFF - PELINKA, WALTON OUT

The Lakers have fired Luke Walton after another unsuccessful run with him at the helm. In his place, they've hired Frank Vogel to take over lead coaching duties on a three year deal. After a lengthy search and interviewing process, LA has promoted Ryan West to Assistant GM. I went with Hollins as my assistant coach over Kidd despite Kidd being the real lead AC in real life because I just really don't like him and don't want him to be apart of my franchise.

NBA DRAFT TOP 5 RE-CAP

Spoiler

1. Pelicans - Zion Williamson, F (82ovr)
2. Grizzlies - R.J. Barrett, G (81ovr)
3. Knicks - Ja Morant, G (81ovr)
4. Lakers - Darius Garland, G (77ovr)
5. Cavaliers - Jarrett Culver, G (78ovr)

As many know, Anthony Davis has been demanding OUT of New Orleans. Listing his preferred destinations as the Lakers and Knicks. The Pelicans have been very wary of trading with Los Angeles, but after firing their GM and going with David Griffin, an absolute blockbuster deal was finally made.

THE ANTHONY DAVIS TRADE

LAKERS RECEIVE:
Anthony Davis, PF, 26yrs, 96ovr

PELICANS RECEIVE:
Kyle Kuzma, PF, 24yrs, 83ovr (87 potential)
Brandon Ingram, SF, 22yrs, 81ovr (89 potential)
Darius Garland, PG, 19yrs, 77ovr (87 potential)
Lonzo Ball, PG, 21yrs, 77ovr (88 potential)
Isaac Bonga, PG, 19yrs, 69ovr
Jemerrio Jones, PF, 24yrs, 69ovr
Lakers 2020 1st round pick, unprotected
Lakers 2021 1st round pick, Top 5 Protected

You never want to trade your superstar, but when you do, you almost certainly hope for a trade like this one. If the Pelicans are patient and spend time developing these young players well, they will have an absolute monster rebuild on their hands that will set them up for the next decade.

Josh Hart and the rest of the roster were shipped out in trades to clear cap space during free agency.

FREE AGENCY RE-CAP

Spoiler

Kawhi Leonard stays in Toronto, re-signs with the Raptors on a 5yr/$177.16m deal

Kevin Durant signs with the Knicks on 3 year deal worth $114.90m with a $41.95m fourth year player option (plus NTC). He will miss the entire season with a torn Achilles.

Kyrie Irving joins the Knicks, signs a 3yr/$98.48m deal with a $35.95m fourth year player option

Jimmy Butler moves to LA, joins the Clippers on a 3yr/$98.48m deal with a $35.95m fourth year player option

Klay Thompson stays in the bay, re-signs to the Warriors on a 4yr/$134.44m deal

Kemba Walkers stays in Charlotte, signs his five year supermax worth $193.57m

DeMarcus Cousins sign with the Los Angeles Lakers on two year deal worth $64.09m

Kristaps Porzingis re-signs with the Mavericks on a 3 year deal worth $82.07m, includes $29.96m fourth year player option

Nikola Vucevic re-signs with Orlando on a five year deal worth $170.69m

Julius Randle joins the 76ers on a 3 year deal worth $72.59m which includes a $26.50m fourth year player option

Devin Booker re-signs with Phoenix on a five year deal worth $158.05m

The Lakers sought to surround their new trio with shooters and savvy veterans. They weren't in need of another do it all guy, just reliable rebounders, defenders, and floor spacers.

Roster heading into the 2019-2020 season:

Spoiler

PG: T.J. McConnell (75ovr), Brandon Jennings (71ovr), Aaron Brooks (69ovr)

SG: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (76ovr), J.R. Smith (74ovr), Troy Daniels (72ovr)

SF: LeBron James (96ovr), James Nunnally (69ovr)

PF: Anthony Davis (96ovr), Mike Scott (73ovr), Eric Moreland (72ovr)

C: DeMarcus Cousins (87ovr), Joakim Noah (74ovr), Andrew Bogut (71ovr)

The Lakers front office believes this team will mesh very well together. They expect solid contribution off the bench from their veterans such as J.R., Noah, and Bogut. Davis and Cousins already have experience playing together, so the coaches are expecting them to have an even easier time with a player like LeBron James bringing new gravity to their duo.

LAKERS PRESS CONFERENCE

"I've made my desire to play in Los Angeles very clear from the start," said Anthony Davis, "but I'm not quite ready to put the pen to the paper just yet. Right now all I'm focused on is helping my team win games. Contract talks can come later." he continued.

"The Lakers were an easy choice for me, coming off another big injury I wasn't getting looked at like I was expecting," DeMarcus Cousins told us. "The Lakers were willing to take a chance on me with a two year contract still offering a great amount of cash. But I've already inked the contract, so the time to talk about it is over. Now it's time to look ahead to who we play next and try our best to execute the coach's gameplan to victory." he finished.

"Honestly it's very exciting to have these two on the team," LeBron told reporters. "I'm going to miss our youngings, I really am. We'll still keep in touch, that's for sure. Basketball is a business, you never know if you're going to wake up on the same team, but that's life. You face obstacles no matter where you are. Just because you're in a different city doesn't mean the brotherhood we formed is gone though, these bonds are strong. Like the others said though, it's time to look ahead to what we have in front of us. I have full faith in this front office to put the best organization together that they possibly can, and I'll do as much as I can to contribute to that." James finished.

[ATLBrayden]

Opening Tip Off

The first game of the season displayed why trading the farm for Anthony Davis was absolutely the right move. In an absolute 101-79 rout of the Memphis Grizzlies on National TV, Anthony Davis dropped 32 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block on 15/20 shooting in 29 minutes.

LeBron James contributed to the blowout with 25 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, and one steal on 9/11 shooting in 32 minutes.

DeMarcus Cousins was slow to get started, but still had an efficient night. He dropped 10 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 4 blocks while shooting 5/7 in 30 minutes.

Key contributors off the bench were J.R. smith and Joakim Noah. J.R. scored 9 points and shot 4-6 (1-1 from 3) in 25 minutes, Noah scored 6 points to go alongside 9 rebounds in 18 minutes. He shot 3-3 from the field.

Rookie R.J. Barrett's debut consisted of 14pts/1reb/2ast on 6/13 shooting (0/4 from 3) in 30 minutes. He was the team's second leading scorer behind Mike Conley who dropped 15 points in 39 minutes.

DeMarcus Cousins was asked about his low scoring performance and if his injury from April is still affecting him in the post-game presser.

"Honestly I'm not worried about my points. I'm not. You see what else I did? 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 4 blocks. It's not all about scoring. I try to do as much as I can in the time I'm given, whether that's passing, rebounding, or whatever." Cousins declined to comment on the injury.

GAME TWO

The Lakers would travel to Portland to take on the dynamic duo of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. This duo showed why they were not to be taken lightly.

Damian Lillard, who played almost the entire game, dropped 28pts/2reb/9ast/3stl in 44 minutes. He shot 13-30 overall, with an ice cold 1-9 from beyond the arc.

C.J. McCollum showed deadly efficiency this game, with a stat-line of 30pts/4reb/5ast/1stl on 12-21 shooting. He was 4-5 from 3 point land. He played an exhausting 39 minutes.

This high scoring output from the two would prove to be all for naught however, as the Lakers still managed to squeeze by 109-102. LeBron proved he was still King, dropping 31pts/5reb/6ast/1blk, shooting 12-17 from the field (3-4 on 3pters). He played 30 minutes.

Anthony Davis had another monstrous night, dropping 25pts/10reb/1ast/3blk on 10-15 shooting in 25 minutes.

DeMarcus Cousins had another quiet yet efficient night, dropping 13pts/9reb/2ast/2stl/1blk on 6-10 shooting in 27 minutes.

Key contributors off the bench were J.R. Smith (11pts, 5-10FG) and Brandon Jennings (9pts, 3-7FG).

This team looks ahead to the new Golden State Warriors. With KD gone, Steph has gone absolutely SUPERNOVA. The Warriors are currently 2-1, here are Steph's last 3 games:

W 126-109 @POR: 57PTS/7REB/2AST/2STL, 18-26FG, 9-14 3PT, 39MIN
W 114-98 @DEN: 43PTS/9REB/9AST/2STL, 16-24FG, 9-15 3PT, 38MIN
L 111-113 vOKC: 50PTS/5REB/8AST/2STL, 18-31FG, 9-18 3PT, 38MIN

He is AVERAGING 50/7/6.3/2 on 64.2%/57.4%/100% shooting splits. Absolutely historic start to the season by the future Hall of Famer Stephen Curry. Something the Lakers are definitely taking note of as they prepare to play Golden State.

By the way, I will be increasing the difficulty to Hall of Fame. I don't like how well I am shooting right now. I do take a lot of paint shots which inflates team FG% but it definitely seems a tad easy so difficulty is going up. Please Steph don't hurt me.

[ATLBrayden]

Well, I was right! I turned the difficulty up to Hall of Fame and still had a pretty good shooting game. 55% as a team overall, 44% from three, putting up 105 points. Unfortunately, the warriors shot 69% as a team and 66% from three, putting up 153 points.

My worst fear from Curry came true. He scored 37 points on his usual shooting splits, however the first quarter was the worst. He scored 26 of the team's 35 points in the first quarter, achieving his takeover badge twice in the same quarter. He was relatively silent for the rest of the game, but that didn't matter as his splash bro Klay dropped 26 points on 11-13 FG, 4-6 3PT.
Damian "Damian Jones" Jones for some reason dropped 19pts/8reb on 8-9 FG against DeMarcus Cousins.

Josh Hart, who I traded to the Warriors so I could trade for AD, dropped 18 points on 7-9 shooting, with a perfect 4-4 from three.

LeBron tried his hardest to will the team to victory per usual. He dropped 35/6/10 on 15-23 shooting, he played 37 minutes. Anthony Davis had a bit of a lackluster game by his standard, but still a good one nonetheless. He dropped 22/8/4/2blk on 9-15 FG, 1-1 3PT.

DeMarcus Cousins was abysmal, playing 38 minutes he scored 12 points, grabbed five rebounds, put up no assists, and had two blocks. He shot a terrible 6-15 from the field. Absolutely abused on both ends of the court. Maybe his quad injury was more serious than let on.

I'm happy with my team's shooting, they shot very well. I'm not too keen on my opponent almost shooting 70% from three though, I'm not sure if it's a hall of fame thing, a warriors thing, or both. I'll play a few more games before I make a decision.

[ATLBrayden]

THE REUNION

It's time for the Lakers and Pelicans to showdown. This is the ex-young Lakers' chance to prove that the front office made a mistake in trading them away for the superstar forward Anthony Davis.

The game started off as a hot back and forth, the Lakers took a nine point lead by the end of the first quarter but a hot second quarter let the Pelicans cut that lead down to just three by half time. Anthony Davis was scorching hot in the first half, Kyle Kuzma had absolutely no answer for the elite post moves of AD. AD finished the first half with 20pts and 9 rebounds.

The third quarter is where the Lakers finally began to pull away, with scoring explosions from LeBron, AD, and Cousins, they entered the fourth quarter with a 10 point lead, the first double digit lead of the night. The Pelicans wouldn't go down easy though, they fought tooth and nail, even outscoring the Lakers in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough as LA pulled away with a 114-107 victory.

Anthony Davis had a superb statline. In 38 minutes he racked up 36pts/13reb/1ast/1stl/3blks/1to on 16-29FG, 1-4 3PT.

LeBron James remains as well rounded as ever, almost snagging his first triple double of the season. In 37 minutes the King put up 31pts/9reb/9ast/2stl/4to on 13-19FG, 1-3FT.

DeMarcus Cousins is finally gearing up. He stuffed the stat sheet in 35 minutes with 14pts/13reb/4ast/3stl/6blks/0to on 6-10 FG, 0-3 3PT. He was an absolute menace on the defensive end and a key part of the Laker victory.

The bench was pretty subpar, however Joakim Noah contributed 8pts/5reb/1ast/1stl/1blk on 4-4 shooting in 13 minutes.

Zion shouldered the load for New Orleans. Playing 33 minutes he put up 24pts/8reb/6ast/2stl/1to on a pretty abysmal 9/21 FG. He was 1-1 from beyond the arc.

Darius Garland put up 14/1/4 in 19 minutes off the bench on 5-11 FG.

Kuzma played a grueling 40 minutes, putting up 15pts/7reb/2ast/1blk/1to on 7-16FG, 1-2 3PT during it.

Lonzo Ball was an absolute non-factor. In 29 minutes he put up 0 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal on 0-5 shooting, 0-3 from 3.

During the post-game interviews, the Lakers GM was asked how he felt about the trade after seeing the direct results this game.

"I was confident in the trade already, I didn't need any proof or results like this to change my mind. If I wasn't confident in my decision I would not have made it. But I know what you're trying to do, you want me to bring down our former players because some of them had a bad game after we traded them away. I'm not going to do that. Players have bad games, it happens. LeBron has had bad games, Anthony has had bad games, Cousins has, everyone has. No player is perfect.

The trade is done with. We wish the players in New Orleans the best of luck. My focus is on the Lakers and setting my team up in the best way possible."

[ATLBrayden]

DUEL IN OKC

The Lakers traveled to Oklahoma City to take on the 4-0 Thunder in what was sure to be a fantastic game.

From wire to wire this game was close, the first half saw Westbrook score 20 points on 8-14 shooting, but it wasn't enough to give the Thunder a halftime lead. LA lead 44-42 at half. There was only one standout scorer in the first half for LA, and that was bench guard Troy Daniels.

Daniels gave the Lakers an efficient 10 points in 6 minutes, before going down with an unknown arm injury. He was seen clutching his arm to his side as he left to the locker room to be evaluated.

The third quarter saw a 10 point scoring output by star forward Paul George. Not only was George scoring efficiently (17pts on 8-11 FG), he was very clearly bothering LeBron James with his stout defense. LeBron managed to put up 15 points entering the fourth quarter, but on an inefficient 5-14 shooting. Not to mention he had four turnovers.

The Thunder lead 69-66 entering the fourth quarter, showing they are here to compete. What they failed to do though, as many have before, is keep LeBron under control in the fourth.

James showed he is still the king of the fourth, dropping 13 points, two rebounds, two assists, one steal, and no turnovers on 5-6 shooting alongside a perfect 3-3 from the free throw line.

Westbrook tried his best to combat the late surge by King James with 9 points on 4-7 shooting, but it wasn't enough. Paul George completely disappeared going 0-3 in the fourth. The last 3 minutes and 26 seconds were an absolute shootout. In these fading minutes the lead changed eight total times. The Lakers snuck away with a 92-87 victory over the dangerous Thunder.

Los Angeles Lakers (5-1) at Oklahoma City Thunder (4-1)
Nov 3, 2019 1 2 3 4 Final Los Angeles 18 26 22 26 92 Oklahoma City 15 27 27 18 87 Top Performers Los Angeles Lakers LeBron James - 28PTS, 7REB, 8AST, 4STL DeMarcus Cousins - 19PTS, 8REB, 1ST, 2STL, 3BLK Oklahoma City Thunder Russell Westbrook - 31PTS, 3REB, 1AST, 2STL Paul George - 17PTS, 5REB, 4AST, 3STL	Team Stats Comparison LAL OKC FG Made-Att 37-70 39-81 3PT Made-Att 5-16 6-19 FT Made-Att 13-15 3-5 Rebounds 44 35 Assists 15 24 Turnovers 15 9 Steals 8 14 Blocks 10 2
Los Angeles Lakers STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS T.J. McConnell, PG 20 0-1 0-1 0-0 1 1 1 0 0 0 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, SG 30 1-3 1-2 0-0 1 0 0 0 6 3 LeBron James, SF 39 10-20 0-3 8-10 7 8 4 1 4 28 Anthony Davis, PF 36 7-12 0-0 2-2 11 2 0 2 1 16 DeMarcus Cousins, C 38 9-14 0-0 1-1 8 1 2 3 1 19 BENCH MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS Brandon Jennings, PG 16 1-5 0-2 0-0 1 1 0 1 0 2 J.R. Smith, SG 25 2-4 2-4 2-2 3 2 0 1 1 8 Troy Daniels, SG 7 4-7 2-4 0-0 0 0 0 0 1 10 Eric Moreland, PF 7 1-1 0-0 0-0 4 0 0 0 0 2 Andrew Bogut, C 5 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 1 0 0 0 2 Joakim Noah, C 10 1-1 0-0 0-0 3 0 1 2 1 2
Oklahoma City Thunder STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS Russell Westbrook, PG 33 13-23 2-3 3-5 3 3 2 0 1 33 Andre Roberson, SG 30 3-9 2-3 0-0 4 4 1 0 2 8 Paul George, SF 35 8-14 1-4 0-0 5 4 3 0 2 17 Jerami Grant, PF 34 2-6 0-2 0-0 3 3 2 0 1 4 Steven Adams, C 43 2-4 0-0 0-0 8 3 3 1 0 4 BENCH MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS Dennis Schroder, PG 18 4-9 1-3 0-0 1 7 0 0 1 9 Tyreke Evans, SG 15 3-9 0-3 0-0 1 1 0 0 2 6 Shelvin Mack, SG 13 3-5 0-1 0-0 0 1 2 0 0 6 Bruno Fernando, C 19 1-2 0-0 0-0 6 0 1 1 0 2

POST GAME PRESSER

Reporter: "Troy Daniels came off the bench with a very supportive 10 points before going down with injury. Is there any word on his health?"

Frank Vogel: "Right now all we know is he has an injured arm, we're not sure of specifics yet. We don't believe it to be serious but I can't elaborate more than that at the moment"

Reporter: "Anthony, we saw an unusually quiet offensive output from you tonight, was Steven Adams bothering you on the defensive end?"

Anthony Davis: "Uhh..." *looks at score sheet* "Honestly I wouldn't say that, no. Steven is a great player, but I still feel like I performed well. I scored efficiently, defended well, limited turnovers, and played my role. The way the offense was rolling tonight the ball was just moving around me a lot. When playing a good defensive team like the Thunder it's about exploiting match ups. Next question."

Reporter: "Anthony, care to comment on why you haven't signed an extension with the team yet? It was you that demanded a trade out of New Orleans, wasn't it?"

Anthony Davis: "Like I said, I'm just focused on what I'm doing on the court right now. Contracts are at the back of my mind. That's all the questions I'll be answering"

[Knickerbocker91]

Lol Daniels injury came from his shooting arm never being used that frequently in so long

[ATLBrayden]

Quote: Originally Posted by Knickerbocker91

Lol Daniels injury came from his shooting arm never being used that frequently in so long

Haha literally. He got hurt shooting an open lay up on the fast break.


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