Official NBA 2k18 MyLeague/MyGm Thread

[jetsman92]

Re: Official NBA 2k18 MyLeague/MyGm Thread

Well...the Lakers did sign Rondo when they already have Ball. They are pretty similar. Maybe 2K is on to something with Rondo.

It's not just that... The Nuggets NEVER sign another backup point guard behind Murray because they are logjammed at the forward position... The AI never thinks to dump players or make trades that makes sense... It's not dynamic enough... They stock up at one position and leave other positions thin because of that... My league is a deep mode as far as features but it's shallow when it comes to how the AI builds it's teams... There's too much emphasis on overall ratings and it's pretty clear

[jetsman92]

Re: Official NBA 2k18 MyLeague/MyGm Thread

And I know teams like the Kings have logjams at certain positions... But not at the expense of having backups at other positions

[UpThunder0]

Re: Official NBA 2k18 MyLeague/MyGm Thread

It's not just that... The Nuggets NEVER sign another backup point guard behind Murray because they are logjammed at the forward position... The AI never thinks to dump players or make trades that makes sense... It's not dynamic enough... They stock up at one position and leave other positions thin because of that... My league is a deep mode as far as features but it's shallow when it comes to how the AI builds it's teams... There's too much emphasis on overall ratings and it's pretty clear

Yeah, this has always been an issue with 2K. I just started year two of my MyLeague. The Grizzlies obviously have holes in their starting lineup and bench and they decided to use what cap-space they did have to sign Rudy Gobert. At least the Grizzlies best player has an uber-elite backup.

I just always do 30 team control so I can hopefully avoid things like that but I let that one slip through the cracks. And, unfortunately, I have to wait until about 1/4th into the season before I can trade Gobert and fix the situation. But 30 team control (in MyLeague) does allow you to fix issues like teams having 6 PGs but only one PF.

[notsobabybombers]

Re: Official NBA 2k18 MyLeague/MyGm Thread

Fired up a Raptors MyLeague this morning and it's already been something special.

Spoiler

I used the Start Today feature to replace the past season. Heading into the offseason, I knew that I didn't want to lose Casey. In my mind, you don't fire a successful head coach.

We didn't have a first round pick; the Nets had control of it. I eyed the Blazers (24) and Jazz (21) as potential trade targets, depending how the board shook out.

The Mavericks interviewed and hired our assistant GM, so we hired a new one to replace him. The Mavericks took DeAndre Ayton first overall after winning the lottery.

I decided to trade a 2021 first round pick, and a 2021 2nd round pick, to Minnesota for the 23rd overall pick and a 2019 second rounder. I took Zhaire Smith from Texas Tech, the top consensus guy on the board. He could replace Lowry or even DeRozan eventually.

Next up: team options. Star C Jonas Valanciunas opted out of his contract. He signed with the San Antonio Spurs. I could have tried to keep him, but with DeRozan and Lowry up for FA after S2, I decided we needed the cap space.

Spoiler

CJ Miles opted in, we accepted options on Siakam, Poeltl, Richardson and Anunoby. We let Lucas Nogueira go and he signed with the Warriors, so he can't be too upset, lol. We also let Norman Powell go, as I didn't like his lack of progression.

We kept Fred VanFleet and Delon Wright, which gave us a crowded guard room. We signed Zach Randolph for the minimum, in addition to Mike Muscala and Derrick Williams.

With now crowded forward and guard groups, I traded Pascal Siakam and Malachi Richardson to Portland for Caleb Swanigan and a lottery protected 2021 first rounder.

Spoiler

I was stunned to see that LeBron stayed in a Cleveland. That rarely happens in my 2K saves. Not only that; he signed a fully guaranteed five year deal for $209.7 million. My jaw dropped. No options, no room for escape.

Kahwai went to the Bulls, which puzzled me. Carmelo wound up in Philly. Brook Lopez signed with the Warriors, which seemed interesting. Chris Bosh came back and signed with the Wolves, who also got Manu Ginobili.Paul George stayed in OKC.

2019 would be a huge season for us. DeRozan, Lowry and Ibaka were up for FA at the end of the year. None of them wanted to resign right away; they were all undecided. Poeltl was our guy to start at C; he's why we felt comfortable letting Jonas go, and we focused on him in training camp.

We were one of the best teams in the 2018 portion of the calendar. We were near the top of the conference from October through December. But in the new year, injury after injury plagued the team. Pretty much everyone experienced some type of injury.

After a sustained run atop the East to start the year, multiple losing streaks dropped us all the way to 30-29 at the break, "good" enough for 7th in the conference. I briefly considered selling , given the contract situations and that we were in free fall at the break.

It wasn't all bad, though. DeRozan and Lowry both made the ASG, which Lowry also participating in the 3PT contest.

Things didn't get much better in the second half. We finished 40-42, still 7th in the conference. To make matters worse, Jonas Valanciunas won the Most Improved Player award. We tied with the Bulls and the Hornets, but the Bulls got the tiebreaker for the 6th spot.

Playoffs:

#1 Cavaliers (59-23) vs #8 Hornets (40-42)----Cavs in 7
#2 Bucks (55-27) vs #7 Raptors (40-42)---We win in 7.
#3 Celtics (52-30) vs #6 Bulls (40-42)---Celtics in 5
#4 Sixers (51-31) vs #6 Knicks (49-33)--Sixers in 7.

R2: The Sixers beat the Cavaliers in seven, sending LeBron home. Love went down with a season ending injury mid series. We beat the Celtics in seven, making it back to back seven game series for us.

So, the ECF: the Sixers vs the lowly Raptors. We were only 40-42 but we were finally healthy. And we showed it here, as we beat the Sixers in 5 games. We were going to the NBA Finals!

The Warriors beat the Thunder in 5 in the WCF but Durant went down with a season ending injury and Curry was diagnosed with shoulder tendinitis, severely impacting his play.

NBA Finals: Warriors vs Raptors. Would our Cinderella run continue?!

No. Lol. We got spanked by a short-handed Warriors team that swept us in 4.

Here's where it gets really cool. With Curry really hurt and Durant out, the Warriors didn't really need a hero; they still had Green and Thompson. But they got a hero anyway. 28 year old formerly undrafted guard Tim Frazier won Finals MVP, averaging a double double including a 24 point outburst in one game. Thats probably the coolest thing I've seen in my years playing 2K.

What a year. We climbed so high and fell so low. At the deadline, I was *this close* to firing Casey and tearing the team apart, kick starting the rebuild. Instead, we made an incredible run to the NBA Finals.

Now, it's on to the offseason. Will we keep DeRozan, Lowry or Ibaka? All of them? Or some? Stay tuned.

[jetsman92]

Re: Official NBA 2k18 MyLeague/MyGm Thread

How do you guys simulate the stretch provision in Myleague since it's not a feature in the game

[trekfan]

Re: Official NBA 2k18 MyLeague/MyGm Thread

How do you guys simulate the stretch provision in Myleague since it's not a feature in the game

Generally I do one of two things:


A) I make the contract of the player I want to stretch to whatever the "stretched" salary would be over a period of time. So say if I'm OKC and I want to stretch Melo, I make his salary 9M a year for three years and then waive him -- meaning I'll take a cap hit of 9M over the next three seasons, thereby "stretching" him, as opposed to waiving him for one year at 28M.


Or



B) I make the contract of the player I want to stretch the vet minimum for one year and then waive them -- thereby getting most of it off the books and not weighing down the books in future seasons. This is not an accurate way of doing it, admittedly, but it does make it simpler all the way around and is the "casual" way of doing it -- this can also allow you to trade the player in question to whatever team you want to sign them for a scrub or a 2nd rounder, should you so desire.

[Deflo_]

Re: Official NBA 2k18 MyLeague/MyGm Thread

How do you guys simulate the stretch provision in Myleague since it's not a feature in the game

If you cut a player with more than 1 year on his contract it will stretch him automatically. Go to contrats - actual salaries and you will see it at the bottom.

[jetsman92]

Re: Official NBA 2k18 MyLeague/MyGm Thread

If you cut a player with more than 1 year on his contract it will stretch him automatically. Go to contrats - actual salaries and you will see it at the bottom.

Really? I didn't know... Thanks

[Talentoso23]

Re: Official NBA 2k18 MyLeague/MyGm Thread

30 team control looks really daunting at first, but it can be as simple or complicated as you want it.


Firstly, don't let the AI do much of anything -- they can't draft, sign, or trade worth a damn. So have all those settings on "manual" for you.


Next, determine if you want them to set rotations or have you do it; personally, I let the AI set rotations. If I give them a good enough roster, they generally do an all-right job, but you might want to go into the coach settings and make the bench depth "9" or less to avoid full bench substitutions, if that bothers you.


The only things I let the AI do are scout prospects and NBA players -- otherwise, it's all me.



All that out of the way, it's time to get down to business: how do you run 30 teams at once?


Let's take an example from a MyLeague from back in 2K16 – in this MyLeague, Chris Paul was demanding a ton of money from the Clippers and the Clippers let him walk. Most of this is still valid today.


Running all 30 teams allows me to plot out who goes where in free agency. I really had to put myself in the mindset of each team (teams like Miami and the Clippers, both of whom had to let go of stars because of unrealistic monetary demands). Here's how I approach a 30 team FA:

1. Identify where the best players are going.

It's a players league and that holds true in 2K as much as anything else. The best guys have certain wants and thrive with certain types of rosters. I usually try to determine, right off the bat, where the best players go. Westbrook was destined for the Sonics, Paul should have stayed with the Clippers but I couldn't justify sinking 29M in a guy who couldn't get his team to the Finals. Finding a place for Paul was tough -- he didn't bring his demands down even after we got to training camps (which, by the way, is where I sign the majority of free agents. It's stupid that player progression is AFTER free agency in MyLeague, but whatever -- I like to see where the younger players are, how they've progressed, and then sign the FAs at the beginning of training camp -- everyone's ratings are what they will be for the regular season then, basically.)

I had to take a look around the league to see where he fit. In the running were the Pistons and the 76ers, as both squads had oodles of cap space to spend and a young talent base to build off of. But I eliminated the Pistons based on SVG never having success with a star guard -- he got to the Finals with Jameer Nelson (a solid guard) and Rafer Alston (who had bounced around a few times before he landed on the 09 Magic). He was murdered (I mean, figuratively) by Wade and Shaq back when he was with the Heat, so I think star guards + star bigs bother him, but it's just my feeling.

The 76ers also went out the window because, despite their massive cap space (I mean, it's SO MUCH), Paul wouldn't sign there based on one fluke playoff run -- no way is he spending his last prime years in Philly, attempting to nurse the organization back to health.

But then I remembered that wedding toast he made at Melo's marriage, and I took a quick look at the Knicks cap sheet -- they were close, but needed to free up some cash. I did a quick salary dump to the Kings (who are good at facilitating things as any rebuilding team is, as long as they get youngish players and picks, they're fine), then pitched Paul. I actually had to overpay him some on the backend to secure his services, but the Knicks (and James Dolan in particular) would have done that in a heartbeat.

2. Start filling out the rosters for the contenders, playoff hopefuls, and rebuilding squads.

Once I figure out where the best players are going (and make the moves needed to get them there), its time to start rebuilding the rosters of the league. I start with the contenders AKA the teams that made the playoffs last season. They'll want to maintain or improve their standing, so they'll be looking for guys who can help now but that won't cripple them long-term if things go south. The Rockets are a good example of this, as they lost Dwight, but used the money they would have paid him to bring in Gay and Gasol -- arguably two players who have been more productive than Dwight the last two seasons.

Once I figure out the contending squads, I jump into the next tier -- the playoff hopefuls. These guys are the squads who were close to the playoffs last year, missing it due to injuries or bad luck. There are two types of squads in this tier -- the "up and comers" and the "almost there's".

The former is represented by teams like the Lakers and Timberwolves, guys who, for one reason or another, just missed the playoffs but were really close. I generally don't make many additions to these squads, other than to re-sign their young talent and bring in some veteran backups that compliment the roster.

For the "almost there's" you have teams like the Pacers and the Hornets, two squads that started well but faded down the stretch. Their teams with young talent and veteran talent, trying to find the right mix to get them back into the playoffs. These teams you can usually make one or two big moves with (like the Pacers signing Rose) or leave alone and bet on the younger talent stepping up (like the Hornets with their faith in Kaminsky/MKG/Zeller).

Finally, we reach the last tier -- the rebuilders, usually the guys in the top-ten of the lottery. Teams in real bad shape are usually young or they have talent that doesn't work well together. Two examples of this would be the Jazz and the Celtics. The rebuilder tier has all types -- teams content to stay the developmental course (Jazz, Nuggets) and unwilling to invest in an outside free agent.

Then you have teams like the Celtics, who want to jump from a rebuilder to a playoff hopeful and make a big signing (in this case, Gordon Hayward). This tier usually takes the longest to sort out because, depending on what the team is (a historically great one like the Celtics or a dumpster fire like the 76ers in real life), the strategies can vary greatly.

Which brings us to my final note on running a 30 team free agency ...

3. Remember your history.

Before you do anything, take a minute to research history. This is important within the MyLeague (because, let's face it, we forget things as the season goes on) and outside of it. Historically, some franchises succeeding in doing things that others struggle in. Let's take the Lakers and Celtics for example.

LA has always recruited well in free agency, but especially when the team is seen in a positive light. Within this dynasty, the last two years have been very positive for LA and with their young roster on the cusp of being a playoff team, the Lakers can easily grab any free agent they want (and they'll make it happen as the Lakers always do).

The Celtics, however, have historically struggled at signing free agents. Think for a minute about it. Can you name one major free agent acquisition the team has made in the last five years? The last ten? (Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett were acquired via trade, for the record, so they don't count.) Boston is cold in the winter, gets snowed in often, isn't exactly a night-life town, has tough fans, and generally isn't seen in a positive light when they're not winning. Boston is a place that will love you forever if you accept them and they accept you, but that's not a guarantee, no matter how big your star is.

History plays an important role in the NBA, perhaps more important than in any other sports league. You have teams that can get anyone on most days -- the Lakers -- and you have teams that can get talent only through trades and the draft -- the Celtics -- and then you have teams that only get talent through the draft -- the Jazz.

The players are as aware of this history as much as the fans are, maybe more so. They will stay away from places that historically suck (looking at you Sacramento) and gravitate towards winning environments. No one wants to play for a losing team (and if they are playing for a losing team, that losing is mitigated because of the surrounding city/environment).

So, before I make any choices, I take stock of what free agency has looked like the last five years or so. You have the occasional blip (Monroe to Milwaukee was that), but most of the time history holds true. There are overriding actions -- the Celtics, in this offseason, made a big signing with Hayward. Normally, they'd not get that guy, but having his former college coach as your head coach gave them a serious leg up (in my opinion), so Hayward signed, knowing that he was the fallback star if Boogie left in the offseason.

It's some time, but those are my three keys for free agency -- I feel that, with those three things, you end up making decently realistic decisions.


Outside of Free Agency: The Draft and Trades


Free agency is an important part of any MyLeague, but the draft and trades are also important. How you approach this is entirely up to you; are you a big fan of big trades? Then let the mega, three-team deals rain from the heavens. Do you wish stars stuck with their original teams more often? You have the power to make that so.


For trading, I tend to treat every offseason a bit differently; some years you'll have big trades (in my current MyLeague, the LeBron to LA has triggered a massive shift in power and big trades are flying as teams decide to bottom out or bulk up) and some years you'll have a few minor trades for cap relief/prospects that need a fresh bit of scenery.


As it comes to the draft, I tend to approach it like free agency; find the weakest parts of the roster, evaluate if anyone's there that you want, and grab the player or trade back a bit and net another asset. For the most part, trading first round picks is not something I have rebuilding teams do ever – UNLESS they're making a mega-trade to nab big stars.


An example of this is in my current MyLeague, where the Knicks finished in the lottery, drafted a highly-rated prospect, but made minimal improvements otherwise … until free agency that is. With LeBron going to the Lakers and vacating the East, the Knicks made two mega-deals, bringing in Kemba and Jimmy Butler – both of whom were displeased with their current situations and likely to bolt for nothing next summer. Players hold a lot of power now so they forced their way out; the Hornets started blowing up their roster for cap space and young prospects.


The T'Wolves got the Knicks 2019 1^st rounder with minimum protection, which normally would be highly valuable but with a Kemba/Porzingis/Butler team, probably somewhere in the 20s barring injury; they shipped that pick and a disappointing Andrew Wiggins (who's massive contract and only 14.5 PPG was not getting it done) to the Raptors for DeRozan; Toronto, rather than blow it up, wanted to get younger and bring in Wiggins (a Canadian) to lead the next iteration of the franchise; the pick was the sweetener to get ship DeRozan out, who projects to be very good still into his mid-30s with the development his game has taken in recent years (and under contract for the next 3 years).


30 team MyLeagues are really, really fun in my opinion and it's the only way they should be played; you can't trust the AI to do much of anything and I can get through a regular offseason in fairly short order – maybe a day or two, depending on how crazy I want to make things.


And that's really the main point – the league can be as active and crazy as you like or it can mostly hold to form, allowing for minimal movement and only a few big moves a year. How you want to treat your league is all up to you and you don't have to do it the same way twice.


If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

This was very well said dude. Big props. Basically what I do most of the time when it comes to my league is control all 30 teams during the offseason. Once I start the season I take care of any rebrands and other things like equipment and sneakers then I go to the team I want to control which is the bulls. If i see the cpu make a ridiculous move or trade, I’ll make a more logical trade or change it back but this rarely ever happens especially if you lower the trades frequency slider. Mainly during the off season is which everything starts to fall apart lol.


Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

[Talentoso23]

Re: Official NBA 2k18 MyLeague/MyGm Thread

It's not just that... The Nuggets NEVER sign another backup point guard behind Murray because they are logjammed at the forward position... The AI never thinks to dump players or make trades that makes sense... It's not dynamic enough... They stock up at one position and leave other positions thin because of that... My league is a deep mode as far as features but it's shallow when it comes to how the AI builds it's teams... There's too much emphasis on overall ratings and it's pretty clear

Another thing that happens a lot too even in my career a lot of players that got traded this season they went back to their original teams for some reason smh. Like Thomas got traded to the lakers and when I got to the end of this season dude went back to the Cavs as well as melo even going back to the knicks smh


Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

[UpThunder0]

Re: Official NBA 2k18 MyLeague/MyGm Thread

I'm doing a Hornets/Thunder dual-MyLeague. It's a fantasy draft MyLeague in which I included 12 legends. Anyway, I was SimCasting to the third quarter of a game in my Hornets MyLeague when I got a phone call. I lost track of the SimCast because of the call (luckily I have Autosave turned off) and when I got off the phone I noticed something very strange about the Spurs fourth quarter...




Again, that was 100% simmed, no human intervention. I've seen single-digit quarters in a simmed games, but never a 0 point quarter.

[BradyRuss]

Re: Official NBA 2k18 MyLeague/MyGm Thread

2K18 FULLY CUSTOM MYLEAGUE (Single Player)

What is there to do when the NBA offseason feels like it lasts forever? Obviously there's the summer league, but its over pretty quickly and it's not always the most entertaining to watch. There are plenty of basketball leagues aside the NBA that have started up, the newest league which is gaining a lot of momentum is the BRBL. Featuring great players that you've never seen before, fans are excited for the first series of the Brady Russell Basketball League.

I'm going to be posting pictures, short clips, stats, and information about this NBA 2K18 myleague which includes

• 16 CUSTOM TEAMS
• ALL CUSTOM PLAYERS
• CUSTOM STORYLINES

I'm going to be posting more information soon. Please let me know if anyone has any ideas that they'd like me to add into this league.

If I see enough interest in this I will make this into a YouTube series, let me know.

[BradyRuss]

Re: Official NBA 2k18 MyLeague/MyGm Thread

COMBINE DAY ONE HIGHLIGHT VIDEO



Combine Day One Box Score:

Spoiler

HOME

PG: Dashean Baker

• 4 Points
• 1 Rebound
• 6 Assists
• 2 Steals

SG: Brady Russell

• 15 Points
• 4 Assists
• 3 Steals
• 1 Rebound 1 Block

SF: A.J. Chambers

• 14 Points
• 3 Rebounds
• 2 Steals
• 3 Assists
• 3 Blocks

PF: Markus Grimes

• 12 Points
• 8 Rebounds
• 1 Assist
• 1 Block

C: George Irvin

• 15 Points
• 9 Rebounds
• 3 Assists
• 2 Blocks

AWAY

PG: Jared Fuller

• 8 Points
• 4 Rebounds
• 5 Assists
• 1 Steal

SG: Nathan Rogers

• 12 Points
• 1 Rebound
• 1 Assist
• 1 Steal

SF: Christian Duncan

• 12 Points
• 5 Rebounds
• 3 Assists

PF: Terrence Corbin

• 7 Points
• 5 Rebounds
• 1 Assist
• 1 Steal
• 2 Blocks

C: Jermaine West

• 18 Points
• 7 Rebounds
• 4 Assists
• 5 Steals
• 1 Block

[XxCavaliers360]

Re: Official NBA 2k18 MyLeague/MyGm Thread

I'm in the 2018/19 season of my Cavs MyLEAGUE and the Lakers approached me with Kuzma for Osman and a 2021 2nd rounder.

[bravesfan1984]

Re: Official NBA 2k18 MyLeague/MyGm Thread

This thread is huge so I'm just going to ask, what our the major differences in myGM and myLeague? Recently bought 2k18 after not having an NBA game in ages. Does it basically come down to myLeague is a 30 team control thing?