The Gold Standard: The Ronnie Gold Story

[trekfan]

Re: The Gold Standard: The Ronnie Gold Story

My man Hayward making the All-NBA 3rd Team

This is great stuff you have here man, just read through it and it's wonderful.

Thanks! Yeah, the Jazz are looking to be players in a stacked, stacked West this upcoming season. It's gonna be brutal this year in the West, some serious contenders are lining up. Full offseason moves, team previews, story updates, draft updates, and more will be here in the coming days.

[BraedenG33]

Re: The Gold Standard: The Ronnie Gold Story

Thanks! Yeah, the Jazz are looking to be players in a stacked, stacked West this upcoming season. It's gonna be brutal this year in the West, some serious contenders are lining up. Full offseason moves, team previews, story updates, draft updates, and more will be here in the coming days.

With the stacked west comment, I seem to notice that a lot of the time by year 4 or 5 of most of my associations if your team isn't like 94 overall then you typically aren't a contender because everyone develops into star players and a low caliber starter ends up being like 83 overall. For example, I did a memphis grizzlies association right after they traded Rudy Gay to see how I could play with them, because I used to use them a lot with Gay because in 2k the team was overpowered for some reason. and by year three mike Conley was the 13th best point guard with like a 91 overall. first off, while Mike Conley is a good player he is not 91 overall and probably will never be that good, and second how is 91 thirteenth at a position? that would be like 8th in all of the NBA right now. That ceases my rant about player progression. Maybe its just my game or the 2k rosters but its weird how that happens the Evan Turner gets to 95 overall averaging 13-7-5 with 1.5 steals. Does anyone else get that problem in deeper associations?

[trekfan]

Re: The Gold Standard: The Ronnie Gold Story

With the stacked west comment, I seem to notice that a lot of the time by year 4 or 5 of most of my associations if your team isn't like 94 overall then you typically aren't a contender because everyone develops into star players and a low caliber starter ends up being like 83 overall. For example, I did a memphis grizzlies association right after they traded Rudy Gay to see how I could play with them, because I used to use them a lot with Gay because in 2k the team was overpowered for some reason. and by year three mike Conley was the 13th best point guard with like a 91 overall. first off, while Mike Conley is a good player he is not 91 overall and probably will never be that good, and second how is 91 thirteenth at a position? that would be like 8th in all of the NBA right now. That ceases my rant about player progression. Maybe its just my game or the 2k rosters but its weird how that happens the Evan Turner gets to 95 overall averaging 13-7-5 with 1.5 steals. Does anyone else get that problem in deeper associations?

Progression is a bit of an issue, yeah, but I haven't seen it be THAT bad with Conley. He's only rated an 83 as for me. Turner is a 90 (and actually had a year that justifies, sorta, his rating).

The West is stacked because of how good just about every team is. This isn't so much a progression issue (as there are clearly stars and superstars in the league, just about every team has a star-except the Bucks because they're the Bucks), as it is a depth issue. There are plenty of players in my chise that are in the upper 70s/ lower 80s range in terms of rating and finding a place for them is tough. Not undoable but I really wish the D-league was back in the game, so I could send some of the young guys there to develop and free up a roster spot/some cap.

Admittedly, I think part of the problem with the progression and the high number of 70s/80s guys is that the draft classes I've been using have serious depth to them. Because of this, and the new CBA, I don't find it smart to overpay for a vet when you have a cheaper, young talent there on a nice four year deal they can't get out of.

So, my free agency is stock full of 70s guys. If you're above a 78, I try to find a home for you, but if you're below it you sit in FA until injuries strike (as they always do) and the teams have to begin to clear cap, use their mid-level exceptions, and decide if the season is a lost one.

I don't find this an unlikely future for the NBA either, as there is some serious talent in the league right now and guys who are seen as knuckleheads (Jordan Crawford), albatrosses (Carlos Boozer), or players unwilling to play in the system (J.R. Smith on his bad days) won't find themselves in the NBA. Boozer and Smith are both gone in my chise, as there was really no spot for them. So they're off in China in my game, playing there, or retired.

I wished progression was better and, if things get real bad, I can always go and edit everyone down to get them into a more friendly rating range (which makes the cap number more friendly too) but I'm not finding every team to be super teams. The talent is deep in the NBA in my game and I see that as a valid possibility in real life.

/End rant.

[BraedenG33]

Re: The Gold Standard: The Ronnie Gold Story

Progression is a bit of an issue, yeah, but I haven't seen it be THAT bad with Conley. He's only rated an 83 as for me. Turner is a 90 (and actually had a year that justifies, sorta, his rating).

The West is stacked because of how good just about every team is. This isn't so much a progression issue (as there are clearly stars and superstars in the league, just about every team has a star-except the Bucks because they're the Bucks), as it is a depth issue. There are plenty of players in my chise that are in the upper 70s/ lower 80s range in terms of rating and finding a place for them is tough. Not undoable but I really wish the D-league was back in the game, so I could send some of the young guys there to develop and free up a roster spot/some cap.

Admittedly, I think part of the problem with the progression and the high number of 70s/80s guys is that the draft classes I've been using have serious depth to them. Because of this, and the new CBA, I don't find it smart to overpay for a vet when you have a cheaper, young talent there on a nice four year deal they can't get out of.

So, my free agency is stock full of 70s guys. If you're above a 78, I try to find a home for you, but if you're below it you sit in FA until injuries strike (as they always do) and the teams have to begin to clear cap, use their mid-level exceptions, and decide if the season is a lost one.

I don't find this an unlikely future for the NBA either, as there is some serious talent in the league right now and guys who are seen as knuckleheads (Jordan Crawford), albatrosses (Carlos Boozer), or players unwilling to play in the system (J.R. Smith on his bad days) won't find themselves in the NBA. Boozer and Smith are both gone in my chise, as there was really no spot for them. So they're off in China in my game, playing there, or retired.

I wished progression was better and, if things get real bad, I can always go and edit everyone down to get them into a more friendly rating range (which makes the cap number more friendly too) but I'm not finding every team to be super teams. The talent is deep in the NBA in my game and I see that as a valid possibility in real life.

/End rant.

Haha yeah, I the depth is really strange in the game, usually you would see the 11th or 12th man be a 55-60 overall and on deeper teams a 65. In associations a few years down the road you could have a 12th man be 75 overall, which could be a 6th man on normal roster set.

The D-League was a favorite feature of mine, and I wish it was back because it would help with the progression issues as you could then have the high potential prospect with low overalls (like Fab Melo, for example) could develop and you could let the progression engine be based on production only.

And an offseason thing that bothers me about progression is the way training camp works with how you can only send a few players based on 'coach points'. Wouldn't all NBA players be at training camp? I think what would work better is you should be able to send players to the summer league at the end of the offseason to develop, instead of the current training camp thing.

[trekfan]

Re: The Gold Standard: The Ronnie Gold Story

Haha yeah, I the depth is really strange in the game, usually you would see the 11th or 12th man be a 55-60 overall and on deeper teams a 65. In associations a few years down the road you could have a 12th man be 75 overall, which could be a 6th man on normal roster set.

The D-League was a favorite feature of mine, and I wish it was back because it would help with the progression issues as you could then have the high potential prospect with low overalls (like Fab Melo, for example) could develop and you could let the progression engine be based on production only.

And an offseason thing that bothers me about progression is the way training camp works with how you can only send a few players based on 'coach points'. Wouldn't all NBA players be at training camp? I think what would work better is you should be able to send players to the summer league at the end of the offseason to develop, instead of the current training camp thing.

The training camp stuff is frustrating. I would like to send the same person to more than one type of training camp, but I feel like they limited it to make up for the regular season progression, which is weird some years. I don't pretend to understand it or why they dish out certain sig skills to some players and not others.

But all of that can, thankfully, be edited.

I'm on my last created draft class anyway as far as downloaded ones go, so I'll either have to find some more for 2017 and beyond or start making some myself. I've never made some before and I may need to make some to start balancing out the league's depth. People need to retire earlier too, I feel ... I really, really wanted Kobe to retire at the end of this year after winning the last ring but he's coming back for another year and I can only hope he retires after this season.

[BraedenG33]

Re: The Gold Standard: The Ronnie Gold Story

The training camp stuff is frustrating. I would like to send the same person to more than one type of training camp, but I feel like they limited it to make up for the regular season progression, which is weird some years. I don't pretend to understand it or why they dish out certain sig skills to some players and not others.

But all of that can, thankfully, be edited.

I'm on my last created draft class anyway as far as downloaded ones go, so I'll either have to find some more for 2017 and beyond or start making some myself. I've never made some before and I may need to make some to start balancing out the league's depth. People need to retire earlier too, I feel ... I really, really wanted Kobe to retire at the end of this year after winning the last ring but he's coming back for another year and I can only hope he retires after this season.

I agree. And it would make too much sense for him not to have retired. He done everything he set out to do, he's tied MJ, and that was all he had left to accomplish other than maybe the all-time scoring title, speaking of which where is he on the scoring list right now? Can you post the all-time scoring list with rankings and numbers?

[trekfan]

Re: The Gold Standard: The Ronnie Gold Story

I agree. And it would make too much sense for him not to have retired. He done everything he set out to do, he's tied MJ, and that was all he had left to accomplish other than maybe the all-time scoring title, speaking of which where is he on the scoring list right now? Can you post the all-time scoring list with rankings and numbers?

I have no idea where the all-time scoring list is in the game (if it's even there), but Kobe has 35,287 points to his name. The top all-time is 38,387 by Kareem. So, judging by what I see here and the math I've done myself, it seems that if Kobe plays for another two season he can conceivably pass Kareem. IRL, Kobe has 31,617 points and we're two seasons down the line now, so if Kobe plays two more years he could pass Kareem. He'll pass Karl Malone this season more than likely.

I could see him coming back this season, in game, to defend the title and try and pass Malone on the all-time list, but if we don't get back to the title game (possible, seeing as how tough the West looks this year) I think Kobe hangs it up. But then again, he's Kobe, so he may not. He's aging really, really well in comparison to some of his contemporaries (Tim Duncan, the years have hurt thee), but I'm keeping his minutes in the mid30s to preserve him for the playoffs, so we'll see if that helps/hurts his case for the all-time scoring list.

[BraedenG33]

Re: The Gold Standard: The Ronnie Gold Story

I have no idea where the all-time scoring list is in the game (if it's even there), but Kobe has 35,287 points to his name. The top all-time is 38,387 by Kareem. So, judging by what I see here and the math I've done myself, it seems that if Kobe plays for another two season he can conceivably pass Kareem. IRL, Kobe has 31,617 points and we're two seasons down the line now, so if Kobe plays two more years he could pass Kareem. He'll pass Karl Malone this season more than likely.

I could see him coming back this season, in game, to defend the title and try and pass Malone on the all-time list, but if we don't get back to the title game (possible, seeing as how tough the West looks this year) I think Kobe hangs it up. But then again, he's Kobe, so he may not. He's aging really, really well in comparison to some of his contemporaries (Tim Duncan, the years have hurt thee), but I'm keeping his minutes in the mid30s to preserve him for the playoffs, so we'll see if that helps/hurts his case for the all-time scoring list.

Maybe you could in the storyline Kobe wants to reitre and Ronnie met with him in the offseason and convinced him to stay for those reasons

[trekfan]

Re: The Gold Standard: The Ronnie Gold Story

Maybe you could in the storyline Kobe wants to reitre and Ronnie met with him in the offseason and convinced him to stay for those reasons

Actually, I don't see Kobe wanting to retire in storyline, especially after this year. His competitive fire will demand he give it another go around. But there is a Kobe angle in this year's storyline ... I won't say anymore Just know that, being this is the Lakers, there is always SOMETHING going on. Drama and L.A. go together like bacon and eggs.

[BraedenG33]

Re: The Gold Standard: The Ronnie Gold Story

Actually, I don't see Kobe wanting to retire in storyline, especially after this year. His competitive fire will demand he give it another go around. But there is a Kobe angle in this year's storyline ... I won't say anymore Just know that, being this is the Lakers, there is always SOMETHING going on. Drama and L.A. go together like bacon and eggs.

Haha. Yay can't wait

[trekfan]

Re: The Gold Standard: The Ronnie Gold Story


6-22-15

“Cannon ball!” the scream came as the child jumped off the diving board, her laughter ending with the collision of the water. Ronnie watched as she eagerly poked her head out off the water and began climbing out of the pool, heading to the diving board again.

He could only shake his head with an amused grin.

“Gianna, be careful!”

The concerned tone of Kobe Bryant broke Ronnie’s gaze from the young girl and brought his attention to him. “Kids.”

Kobe nodded. “Yeah, kids.” He handed him a glass of water as the party around them continued on. They were celebrating the Lakers championship, Kobe’s sixth ring and Ronnie’s first ever. The thought of actually having a championship ring, of having a piece of NBA history to wear on his hand for the rest of his life, sent shivers down his spine.

“So, what are your plans for the summer?” Ronnie asked as the two moved away from the uproarious pool area, where the families of the players had gathered, and off towards the backend of the expansive Buss property.

“I was thinking of doing some traveling for about two weeks.” He sipped his water and shook his head. “Got to get back to the gym. Can’t get rusty.”

“That wasn’t exactly what I meant.”

“No, you want to know if I’m retiring.” Kobe shot him a stern glance, eyes hard. “Hell no. Not this year. Probably not next year.”

Ronnie held up his hands. He wasn’t about to get into an argument with the franchise's best player. Admittedly, that title would probably be Jabari’s by next summer but this was Kobe. “Hey, I’m just asking. I have do my diligence here.”

“I get that,” Kobe said with a nod. “Just don’t count on it happening. Not this year.”

The two walked by a large bush, trimmed to look like an elephant.

Apt, considering I’m standing with the elephant in the room, he thought unhappily to himself. “That’s fine. We need to prepare for next season and I just wanted to check on you.”

“Don’t be thinking of trading any of my guys.” Kobe’s tone was serious. He was clearly issuing a warning. “And I’d like Pau back if we can get him.”

Ronnie sighed. This again. “Pau had to go. He wasn’t meshing with Bogut and was killing our floor spacing. He got a good deal, heading to Miami.”

“He wasn’t comfortable there,” Kobe shot back. “It was bull **** what you did to him, signing him back and then trading him to the Heat.”

“I sent him to a contender.”

“Well, he wants to come back to L.A.”

Ronnie shook his head. “Not happening. We don’t need another aging player. We need youth at the four, someone who can give us more production there. West was missing in action for a large portion of the playoffs and we can’t have that next year. We’ll be facing way tougher competition.”

Kobe finished his drink and shook his head. “I think it sucks, but whatever; you know what you’re doing.” He smirked a little. “Maybe.”

The two of them were interrupted as Jeanie Buss made her way over. “Kobe, your wife is looking for you,” she said as she motioned back to the mansion behind her.

Kobe gave a nod and headed back towards all the fun.

Jeanie eyed him for a moment before looping her arm through Ronnie’s and walking with him away from the mansion. “Let’s talk.”

“Okay,” he said with a bit of hesitance. She was his boss. He never felt comfortable talking with the boss.

She looked up at the darkening sky, the hues of pink and orange swirling. “You did wonderful this year, you know that?”

He cleared his throat. “Well, I didn’t do much—”

“The players may have played, the coaches may have coached, but you put this roster together, Ronnie.” She stared into his eyes and he felt even more like running back to the party. “After what happened with Jim … well …” Her voice trailed off, clearly pained.

He pushed down the guilt sitting in his stomach. Jim Buss was innocent. He knew that. But he had to go and if hadn’t gone when he did … well, there wouldn’t be a championship here. He would have done something brash. “I’m sorry about that, really.”

She smiled, but it looked forced. “It’s over now. But you aren’t, Ronnie.” She took a glance back at the party and then to him. Her arm tightened around his for a moment. “You’ve been a steady, positive influence. You’ve breathed fresh life into this organization. You’ve made some good moves and admitted your mistakes on some other ones.”

“Pau.” He sighed. He was getting tired of being reminded about that.

“No one’s perfect,” she said quickly, dispelling any notion about her giving grief to him. He had enough of that with Kobe. “I want you for the long term.”

He looked at her with confusion. “Uh … I’m signed to a five year deal?”

“Longer.” She smirked. “How’s a twenty year contract sound?”

He blinked at her, wide eyed. “Tw … twenty years?” The number seemed impossible. “That’s basically a lifetime deal!”

“Basically, yes.” She unhooked her arm and placed her hand on his shoulder, turning him slightly. “You’ve laid the foundation for something great. You’re great, Ronnie. You took the Bobcats to the second seed in the East in your first full year as GM. You brought us a title in your second full year as GM. I won’t have you being bid away by another team to work your magic. I want you, long term.”

He wasn’t sure what he was looking at. Her or the stars whizzing around his head … he felt like he got hit by a bus. “Jeanie … this is too much. Twenty years? God, anything can happen in one let alone twenty!”

“We’ll make it worth your wild, monetarily speaking.” She motioned towards the mansion with her hand. “You can get one like this with the pay raise.”

They were near a bench overlooking a botanical garden and he sat down on it, feeling like he was carrying a boulder up a mountain. “It’s too much. Too long.”

She sat down beside him. “It’s time to make a commitment. You’re getting married in a few months. This is a good place to settle down and build a life. You can do that while you build a winner.”

Liz. She was at home, resting. The championship parade, the celebration at Staples, it had worn her out. Hell, he would have gone home with her if he could have gotten away with it but business called. As much as he hated to admit it, Jeanie was right; he was getting married in a few months, in the first week of October.

It was the best time to do it. He’d get married, they’d go on their honeymoon, they’d come back, and the regular season would be upon them. Between now and then was a lot of work but it was work he was glad to do. Work that would be easier to do if he knew for sure certain things.

Among them, what had happened to Desmond and where Gerard was.

Those two thoughts, and Liz’s safety, at the forefront of his mind, he looked to Jeanie with a newfound appreciation for what this was.

It was a negotiation. He could operate in that.

“There’s a personal matter I need taken care of first. One that requires resources I don’t have.”

Her eyes flashed with curiosity. “Oh?”

“It’s about Liz’s safety … particularly those who attacked her. They’re still out there.” The words were laced with anger. Still out there. Still a threat. Still able to haunt her. She was beginning to put together some of the details … and it wouldn’t be long till it all came back.

When it did, he wasn’t sure what it would do to her. But it wouldn’t be good. He leaned back on the bench. “I want to find those people who hurt her. Find them and get them locked away.”

She leaned back on the bench as well. “All right,” she said with interest, “I’ll bite. Who are these people and why are you so afraid of them?”

He took a deep breath. He was signed to a five year deal and had just won a championship for one of the most prestigious teams in the NBA. He didn’t have much to lose by telling the truth. “I’ll start from the beginning …”

[Knickerbocker91]

Re: The Gold Standard: The Ronnie Gold Story

This is a story I'd camp outside the store 10 days early to buy. How much of this did you have an idea about beforehand, and how much did you have to improvise with how the seasons played out?

[trekfan]

Re: The Gold Standard: The Ronnie Gold Story

This is a story I'd camp outside the store 10 days early to buy. How much of this did you have an idea about beforehand, and how much did you have to improvise with how the seasons played out?

Wow, super high praise there. I am flattered, really, thank you.

As to the story ... well, their was never a definitive plan. All the stories I write always have a general idea about them, things and themes I want to explore, but nothing is ever set in stone. Most of this is improvised stuff, letting the seasons dictate some of the direction, letting real-life story lines (like the Lakers fans massive dislike of Jim Buss) influence things, and ideas from you guys have also factored in here.

I may write the story, but I'm making most of this up as I go along really. The characters, as much as any other thing I've cited so far, also play a large role in dictating the story. Strange and crazy as it sounds, they are real people to me in my head. Sure, they're created characters or fictional takes on real people, but the personalities, wants, conflicts within them, ect; dictate what is written more than anything.

This season (now entering the 4th season of Ronnie's story in my chronology) will be wrapping up story lines from seasons 1 and 2, as well as expanding on a few story lines from season 3 while introducing some new, fun dynamics in season 4. Ronnie's now a definite part of the NBA management stars, no longer seen as just a fluke, and will be getting a really deep look into the inner workings (and traps) of the front office brotherhood.

Hopefully that answers any questions you have. Again, thank you for the really high praise, I honestly think I can do better (and shall strive to do so), so thanks for the compliments and comments. If you want to know anything else, or add any more comments, please do.

[Nox_Caelum]

Re: The Gold Standard: The Ronnie Gold Story

I'm on my last created draft class anyway as far as downloaded ones go, so I'll either have to find some more for 2017 and beyond or start making some myself. I've never made some before and I may need to make some to start balancing out the league's depth. People need to retire earlier too, I feel ... I really, really wanted Kobe to retire at the end of this year after winning the last ring but he's coming back for another year and I can only hope he retires after this season.

Sorry fir coming in late on this, but if you're using a PS3, turty11 has 2 good fictional draft classes you could use.
Great updates btw

[trekfan]

Re: The Gold Standard: The Ronnie Gold Story

Sorry fir coming in late on this, but if you're using a PS3, turty11 has 2 good fictional draft classes you could use.
Great updates btw

I am indeed on the PS3, so thanks for the heads up. I'll def take a look at his classes.