NBA 2K Retro: An Alternate New Millennium

**trekfan** · 02-23-2020, 04:39 PM

Table of Contents

The Cliff Notes version of what happened in future seasons (erased my save file by accident, so the below is all that survives of a lost tale):

Spoiler

**trekfan** · 02-23-2020, 04:43 PM

2000-2001 Recap

Awards:

Final Standings:

Retirements:

The Lottery:

**trekfan** · 02-23-2020, 04:53 PM

Re: NBA 2K Retro: An Alternate New Millennium

Ch. 1

The Mile High Steakhouse was nice; that much Jim Wolf could tell just by the looks of the place. It was restrained, not too garish, a steakhouse that was adorned with some sports memorabilia on the walls — signed posters, famous pictures, old pennants — but the largest one that loomed was that of John Elway, holding the Super Bowl trophy.

For many, Denver was a football town — basketball was a second place love when the team was good — and that was a fact. It wasn’t going to be changed overnight, the Broncos had too many years of success to overcome. But being second wasn’t the worst thing in the world and, if he could put together a good team, he could make the city love the Nuggets.

If I can, he reminded himself with a smirk. His eyes moved past the picture of Elway and to the front of the restaurant, where his guest was making her way through at a brisk pace. Amazingly, she still seemed to be just as young as when he last saw her in 1996, five years ago. He stood from his chair, flashed a smile, and extended his hand. “Erin.”

The lithe redhead, hair no longer in curls (like it was in 1996), shook his hand with a smirk. “Coach Wolf. Or should I say ‘Head Coach’ Wolf?”

The two took their seats as Jim let out a chuckle. “Jim works. Just like before.”

Erin’s green eyes softened just a tad. “Before was five years ago. We’re in the now,” she said as she took out a pen, paper, and recorder from her purse, “and now I’m here for an interview, not a date.”

“I never said it was a date.”

She loudly clicked her pen and began jotting down notes. “You didn’t need to say it.”

“The best coaches don’t have to say anything sometimes,” he joked. She was still as lively as ever and still just as damned perceptive too. This is a professional engagement, keep it in your pants, he scolded himself.

A waiter showed up and the two made their orders — wine and steak, nothing special — and then Erin turned on her recorder. “You promised this interview if you ever got a coaching job in the NBA,” she reminded him with a laugh. “I never thought you’d actually get here.”

“That makes two of us — it’s been … trying … living in Europe. Lonely in some ways, exciting in others.”

She took a sip of her water, her nails still short, just like she used to keep them. “Tell me, Coach, how did this all start for you? What took you overseas?”

He leaned back in his chair and tapped his thumb against the table. “I was a video assistant after college, at Duke, back in the late 80s. I made the jump to the pros in 1991 as a player development coach, one of many, for the Orlando Magic.”

“And how long were you with the Magic?”

“I was with them until the end of the 1996 playoffs,” he answered with a sigh. “After five years of working my way slowly up the ladder, I was ready for a new challenge … wanted to push my limits. Frankly, I felt like the writing was on the wall for that team.”

Erin scribbled some more notes — her hand writing was still atrocious — and underlined something. “And what gave you that feeling?”

“Shaq’s impending free agency. Management had waited too long to get him a new deal, they left the door open for someone — anyone — to come in and make a play for him, and when the Lakers called, it was a done deal. Once LA got involved, I didn’t see anyway for the Magic to get back into the conversation.”

“So you left the team because you didn’t see a future for it?”

He pointed at himself. “A future for me with them. Shaq was the gravity with which the offense was built around, a point guard and a big working together in an inside-out game like we’ve never seen before … you take away the big, and what happens? The point guard becomes the focal point of the offense. That’s what happened when Shaq left.”

She looked right at him, her eyes drilling into his. “And you left after that.”

The way she said it, the dead-even delivery, told him there was more than one question there. Always more than one thread with you.“Yes, I left Orlando after that … I got an offer from a friend to come be an assistant coach in Europe. Traveling abroad had always been a dream of mine when I was a kid, so I decided to take the chance and roll the dice.”

Her gaze lingered for a moment before she nodded and went back to her notes. “You spent a year in Greece, then another in Germany, before getting to Spain.”

“It was a bit of a journey,” he stated flatly. “Frankly, traveling wasn’t all it was cracked up to be and I really began missing the states.”

“But you did coach two teams over there, over the course of four years, and won a decent amount of games. Do you think that style of basketball can work here in America?”

“Basketball is a global sport, Miss Kendrick. The way they play it in Europe may not be as physical as here in the NBA, but it certainly has merits … and I plan to bring some of that style here. They can be married together, despite their differences.”

She smirked at his word choice. “Marriage of such two, distinct styles, requires a great deal of massaging. It’s a tough ask of players to learn how to do things in such a different way, that goes against what they’ve been taught all their lives. Do you have concerns that your players will find the adjustment difficult?”

He took a breath. If he was honest with himself, the answer to that question was a loud yes. “I think there will be an adjustment period, absolutely. Do I think it will be difficult? Not for everyone, no.”

“Are you referring to the presumed first overall pick, which Denver controls?”

He smiled. “I am referring to Pau Gasol, yes.”

“Are you confirming you’ll take him first overall?”

“I am confirming that is our pick — what happens after is another story. Of course, the phone lines are open and we’ll take the calls, but we’ve got to be blown away — I mean, socks knocked off and we’re in the ER from a near heart-attack type blown away — to trade that pick. Pau Gasol is a generational big, a man who is as much finesse as he is power, a blend at that position we haven’t seen for a long time.”

“And how do you think he’ll blend with Antonio McDyess and Nick Van Exel?”

Jim forced himself to smile. He knew damn well that there would be no worries about that because Denver was trading them, but he couldn’t give that away. “I think Pau’s game will be a compliment to them and their game to his; we’re going to have a very entertaining team.”

The waiter arrived with their wine and food, and Erin began putting away her interview things. “I think I have all I need.”

The steak smelled delicious and the red wine was equally alluring. Jim rubbed his hands together in anticipation. “Good, we can catch up —”

She stood from her chair, purse in hand. “I think I’ve had my fill of this dinner.” She shook her head wearily. “It’s been … nice … seeing you again. But I should write this up while it’s still fresh.”

Jim stood from his seat as well. “Come on, Erin. Let’s just have a nice meal … just two old friends, huh? I haven’t seen you in five years for God sakes … it’s been a long time.”

“I know,” she said quietly. She readjusted her purse strap, the same way she used to do it when she was uncomfortable with something. She fidgeted a little in those situations.

He forced down his frustration at it all. Damn it to hell. “Well, if you’re going to go, at least take the steak with you. I’ll get them to box it, you can take it home. My treat, no worries.”

She took a look at the steak, her nose flaring slightly, before giving a nod. “All right … this time. I owe you next time.”

He turned around and called for a waiter, quickly flashed a grin at the thought of a next time, and then buried it before turning back around. They made small talk for the next few minutes as her meal was loaded into the box, closed up, and handed over. She said her goodbyes and he watched her leave.

He sat back down, grabbed her glass of wine — he’d need at least two now — and began cutting into his steak.

I’m having dinner with me, myself, and … His eyes found their way to Elway.

He’d had worse dates.

**Bradster224** · 02-24-2020, 05:37 AM

Re: NBA 2K Retro: An Alternate New Millennium

Awesome to see you've moved onto 2K20!

Currently re-reading your 2K16 Seattle Dynasty over the past few days, so it's good to know I'll have something new to sink my teeth into once I've gotten through all of that again.

Will be following keenly!

**glenzariczny** · 02-24-2020, 11:51 AM

Re: NBA 2K Retro: An Alternate New Millennium

This is an awesome concept. Please don't let my Sonics leave in this new universe lol

**trekfan** · 02-24-2020, 05:08 PM

Re: NBA 2K Retro: An Alternate New Millennium

Originally posted by Bradster224

Awesome to see you've moved onto 2K20!

Currently re-reading your 2K16 Seattle Dynasty over the past few days, so it's good to know I'll have something new to sink my teeth into once I've gotten through all of that again.

Will be following keenly!

Much thanks, sir! That 2K16 Seattle dynasty is one of my favorites as well and I think this one has some serious legs. This era of basketball is fun.

Originally posted by glenzariczny

This is an awesome concept. Please don't let my Sonics leave in this new universe lol

The Sonics are NOT going anywhere -- neither is New Jersey, lol. I'm not going to introduce any other franchises into this until way, way down the line (if we get that far) if that. Honestly I'm really good with 30 NBA teams.

**studbucket** · 02-24-2020, 05:49 PM

Re: NBA 2K Retro: An Alternate New Millennium

Originally posted by trekfan

The Sonics are NOT going anywhere -- neither is New Jersey, lol. I'm not going to introduce any other franchises into this until way, way down the line (if we get that far) if that. Honestly I'm really good with 30 NBA teams.

Ha! Did you get burnout from adding expansion teams in all your other legacies? Or it's just enough to manage 30 teams.

**trekfan** · 02-24-2020, 07:18 PM

Re: NBA 2K Retro: An Alternate New Millennium

Originally posted by studbucket

Ha! Did you get burnout from adding expansion teams in all your other legacies? Or it's just enough to manage 30 teams.

You know, in my other ones they were fun for a little while, but most of them were not good -- like real life, expansion teams just take awhile to get going and since I'm treating the Pelicans as an expansion team here (which they pretty much are), they're going to take awhile to get good. I usually end up forgetting about the expansion teams unless I'm personally running them, so I'm just going to take a pass on them this time.

**trekfan** · 02-24-2020, 07:24 PM

Re: NBA 2K Retro: An Alternate New Millennium

The Low Block: 2001 NBA Draft Recap

By Erin Kendricks
June 27th, 2001

The NBA had it’s most recent draft last night and there was no shortage of people in attendance. This draft at least had some buzz, unlike the 2000 draft, which was like a family reunion without any alcohol available (that’s the worst type of family reunion). The night started off with big trades by Seattle and the Clippers.

The Nuggets, now employing a brand new coach and GM (along with new uniforms, like half the league) decided to send McDyess away to their division rival for the third overall pick. It was a bold move by Denver — already picking first, they wanted to grab another piece here — but sending McDyess to a team you’ll see often in the regular season and potentially be fighting for a playoff spot with? There’s brave, then there’s stupid, and then there’s this trade — Denver apparently gives zero damns about McDyess coming back to hurt them, and I’m wondering if the management there is abusing that medical marijuana law Colorado passed last fall.

Thankfully for Denver, the Clippers exist! The NBA’s long-time also-ran, doormat, abused puppy, and awful team continued to befuddle people with a trade that sent last year’s third overall pick, Darius Miles, out of LA to Miami — and he took the Candy Man with him. The Heat, after a dismal year, are 100% setting themselves up for a tank job. Multiple established veterans are free agents, Alonzo Mourning isn’t what he was (but is still a great human), and Pat Riley has a long, long look in his eyes — the type of look old coaches get when they know they can’t win with what they have. Miles is just a baby, so he’ll, maybe, figure out something in Miami. Eddie Jones gets to go back to LA and be a veteran voice on a baby Clippers team, who are so young the airports require them to travel with their parents half the time. At least Eddie Jones gets paid way better than I did as a babysitter.

At the top of th draft Denver selected Pau Gasol, a Spanish big who’s got a pretty game — very good fundamentals, a high level of intelligence, and a big who can just as easily drop 20-10 as he can dish out 5 assists. Can he stop Shaq? NOPE. But really, can anyone in the West? Shaq’s bulldozed every center he’s gone against and the Nuggets are not selecting a big in fear of Shaq; they want a franchise piece, a culture setter, and Gasol will be that, assuming the concerns scouts have about his “softness” don’t bear true.

Second overall the NOLA Pelicans — just in existence a year already (and yes, so astoundingly bad last season their previous 1st round pick literally retired to NOT play for this team) get a redo and they decide to grab Arizona’s Gilbert Arenas. Arenas is an electric scorer, a player who nearly won a title with his Arizona team, and one who has confidence for days. The man never met a shot he didn’t like, date, take home, and leave alone in the bed come the morning (he’s busy, he can’t be bothered to stay for breakfast). Arenas in New Orleans may lead to some of the most interesting headlines of this season — hey, the Pelicans are interesting now and that’s a boon for the NBA.

Third overall, we find the Nuggets — thanks to trading their literal best player to a division rival (so questionable), Denver gets a chance to grab another top-5 player. The Nuggets go to Europe, again, and grab PG Tony Parker. Who? Exactly. Denver’s management looks to have reached here to grab a relative unknown; certainly, the fans of the team (*checks notes, yes, there are fans*) have questions but this pick is par of the course for Coach Wolf; remember, he’s spent the last four years in Europe as a coach and he’s clearly had his eyes on some players over there, though one must question whether Wolf realizes he’s in the NBA now.

Next up, Philly. The 76ers went all in last year to try for a Finals trip and instead, got nowhere — they were awful, injuries wrecking the roster up and down as Iverson valiantly carried a sub-par cast through the season. AI may not be beloved by the league office, but he’s carrying that show — he’s the star, the Jennifer Anniston of the cast, the one who can go on to have a great career without any of them. Philly desperately doesn’t want to find itself here next year — if so, they may blow it up — and they took a straight up team player in Shane Battier. Battier does the little things, he was an instrumental glue guy for the national title winning Blue Devils, and Philly needs someone like that in the locker room.

Rounding out the top five, Cleveland — a team that once more finds itself in the lottery, a far cry from their late 80s/early 90s heyday. Much like Jurassic Park III, we really just need to stop thinking that the Cavs can somehow get it back; it’s over, that era for Cleveland is done, and revisiting it again and again is just sad. Cleveland decided to grab a big bodied, surly Zach Randolph here — if he reminds you, say, of Shawn Kemp, you’d be right! It seems like the Cavs want to get a player with that kind of edge. Randolph isn’t nearly as athletic as even the inflated Kemp, but he’s a powerhouse player — assuming Cleveland can help develop him (not a given with their recent picks), they could have one of the better players of this draft right here.

The Clippers traded away one past high schooler and a disappointing center for Eddie Jones; they then drafted a high schooler who WAS a center and is younger. Chandler is a defensive savant, yes, and he certainly has the size (and facial hair) to convey a mean interior presence. But on a team that’s already so young, adding yet another teenager could be a disaster. Chandler is almost the starter by default (the rest of the Clippers bench was found in the clearance aisle at Big Lots) and he’s about to get a rude introduction to the NBA as he has to take on Shaq, in the same town.

The Warriors were next and they made a sensible pick! Despite having not a great amount of talent (many of the Warriors picks have been poor) and being coached by a former NBA player who doesn’t get get this current generation (how has Dave Cowens avoided murdering a player on the bench in some games? Would the state of California even prosecute him?), Golden State grabbed a solid player in Tinsley here. Is he “the guy”? Probably not, but he can be “a guy” to help get them there. This is, what I like to refer to, as “The Golden Girls” problem — you can be entertaining with a Rose, a a Blanche, a Sophie, but if you don’t have a Dorthy — Bea Arthur commanding the squad — you’re not going anywhere. Tinsley is not Dorthy, but he could be a good Rose.

Then there’s Hawks. They already have a Dorthy (Jason “the Jet” Terry would be a riot dressed as Bea Arthur), they need a Rose, and they drafted Joe Johnson … I think they stumbled on a sometimes memorable guest star here. Johnson is a good player but really does not stand out, personality wise. He has one of the top five most generic names in the NBA (Joe Smith is number one), and the Hawks are going to have to make sure Terry doesn’t get his feelings hurt with this pick; he needs a backcourt mate with Johnson’s size.

Chicago was up next and, after Jerry Reinsdorf checked his bank account for the umpteenth time, the Bulls selected Jason Richardson — an exciting, high-flying two guard from Michigan State. Richardson isn’t exactly the next Jordan, but the Bulls are desperately searching for that and this marks yet another year where Chicago has a young two guard on the roster. You remember Jamal Crawford? Well, the Bulls don’t as he’s still buried on the depth chart behind Ron Mercer and Fred Hoiberg. Chicago has a ton of young talent, but needs to convert it into something meaningful someday, right? The Jordan Bulls feels as long ago as the Russell Celtics for Bulls fans.

Finally, the Raptors get on the board; Vince Carter has patiently waited for Toronto to get him a team but his patience is waning. He watched his cousin leave for Orlando and, lo and behold, Tmac absolutely made the right call there — he won over 50 games, saw success in the playoffs, has a team around him. Meanwhile in Canada, Vince is still playing with what’s left of Charles Oakley (Oak’s grumpy face), an aging Antonio Davis (officially falling off the cliff as all bigs do), and Morris Peterson (a good player who is probably not a second star). Toronto swung for the fences here, taking Eddy Curry, a big man who definitely has high upside but is also young, and is about to be sent to a whole new country — yep, that plan definitely won’t backfire.

The Heat are going in for a youth movement and drafted Earl Watson as their PG of the future (or present, depending on how much Pat Riley can take before retiring). Miami needs any injection of youth it can get and many around the league expect them to unload Mourning at some point this season, if they can find a taker and if they can emotionally detach themselves. Breakups are hard.

The Rockets already have some nice young pieces in Steve Franchise and Cutino Mobley — two guards who are quite good — and still have Hakeem, for now. The Dream decided to put off retirement for one more run, though at this point it’s less for a chance at winning a title and more just for going out on his own terms. Richard Jefferson is another solid young piece for this team, but Houston is clearly in a transition era — much like when Timothy Dalton was James Bond, the Rockets aren’t quite sure what they have here but they could have something … or they could be rebooting this in a few years. Hey, it worked out for Bond (at least for a few movies).

The Knicks went after a big in this draft to take over for Marcus Camby — yes, Camby is still on New York but he and his agent have made it clear that he doesn’t want to be there and the Knicks are searching out for trades as we speak. The big they took here, Dalembert, is a defensive force but isn’t exactly going to put up 15-10 a night — maybe 10-10. Still, for a Knicks team in salary cap hell (hello, contracts for Allan Houston and Latrel Spreewell) and wants to compete for playoff spots and traded away their former franchise star in Ewing for total crap, the Knicks need any sort of good will they can muster.

The Grizzlies, now in Memphis (sorry Vancouver), took a sweet shooting big man from overseas in Okur. Okur is very much a stretch four, a big who likes the perimeter more than the paint, and that should be just fine for a Grizzlies team that is starting Shareef Abdur-Rahim at the three (because, reasons?) and Bryant Reeves at center. Maybe Memphis has something here … or maybe they’re just obsessed with bigs.

We get to the playoff teams now and, look, it’s the Jordan Wizards! MJ managed to drag Washington to the playoffs, winning the last five games of the year and surpassing the Knicks for the final playoff spot out East. They then were demolished by the much better Hornets in round one, but MJ showed he could still play and play well — one of the biggest weaknesses of the Wizards was center and the Wizards went and grabbed the young Diop. He’s young, he’s from another country, and he plays defense. He’s going to be a perfect big man for MJ, who needs centers that can play defense and he can beat up on in practice.

Two interesting picks worth note here (I’ve covered the first 15 in detail, the rest aren’t that interesting): first, the Suns took Eddie Griffin. A young PF from Seton Hall, Griffin is a bouncy defender, a willing roll man, and has a high ceiling — he’s a bit of a headcase, but if any team can get through to him, it may be the Suns, lead by Jason Kidd (also a bit of a headcase, but a great teammate … on the court).

The Mavericks needed some defense off the bench, a young big who could hold down the middle, and took Kwame Brown — straight out of high school, Brown can play up or down depending on the matchup. He’ll be expected to just provide solid defense and board work for this team, a playoff contender that wants to elevate itself to a title contender. Kwame isn’t good enough (or big enough or old enough) to stop Shaq, but he may be enough to slow down Shaq with some fouls and wear the bigger center down with his spry youth. Dallas currently has human light pole Shawn Bradley at center, which isn’t a long-term solution for anything, but Brown may be.

The Jazz taking a young center in Steven Hunter is noteworthy because Utah briefly thought that Karl Malone was going to retire this summer; the Jazz are not ready for a post Stockton-Malone future, and the team is built on the bedrocks of those two veterans. Hunter is another pick made to prop up those two, as he’s a defensive big who doesn’t ask for the ball a lot — he won’t be winning any awards for scoring ever, but he could be a solid piece for the Jazz after the inevitable retirements of their two stars.

The Blazers made the only real noteworthy pick here as Gerald Wallace — a lockdown SF who can score sometimes — makes an interesting addition to a team that is old in many spots. Scottie Pipper and Sabonis are creaky, the years of basketball mileage taking a toll on them like my 1983 Ford Bronco; you think they can go on forever, but really you’re only a bad valve away from a blown engine, suffocating fumes, and a smell that won’t leave your nostrils for weeks. Portland, your team is on the precipice of falling hard and only has Rasheed Wallace and Damon Stoudamire are there to save you. Good luck.

**glenzariczny** · 02-24-2020, 08:54 PM

Re: NBA 2K Retro: An Alternate New Millennium

Trading away the pick that became Tony Parker for McDyess. Oh no Seattle...

**trekfan** · 02-24-2020, 09:41 PM

Re: NBA 2K Retro: An Alternate New Millennium

Originally posted by glenzariczny

Trading away the pick that became Tony Parker for McDyess. Oh no Seattle...

Little did they know -- in a desperate ploy to make a real improvement after a disaster of a year, the Sonics made a poor choice. I thought it'd work out for them -- they got immediate value for that pick (they can't afford to wait too long with an aging Gary Payton), McDyess is a good (not spectacular but good) player and works with that.

Time will tell if they come to regret it ... but if they do, 2002 and 2003 have some really good player at the top of the draft (2003 especially), so all hope is not lost.

Tell you what, though, I just finished playing them on Christmas day and GOD Gary Payton was killing me. He came out to play against Parker -- have to imagine he has an axe to grind, no doubt the media was clowning the Sonics for passing on Payton's replacement. He was angry, lol.

**djp73** · 02-25-2020, 07:42 AM

Re: NBA 2K Retro: An Alternate New Millennium

Always enjoy your stories, following!

**trekfan** · 02-25-2020, 07:40 PM

Re: NBA 2K Retro: An Alternate New Millennium

Ch. 2

Longtime friend and former player, Jerome Thompson, towered over everyone else in the war room, but it wasn’t so much intimidating as it was comforting for Jim. Despite how large Jerome was — 6’11” and a solid 250 — the man was more teddy bear than grizzly bear at this point in life.

“Congratulations on a successful draft night — our first of many!” he announced loudly as he applauded and the room followed suit, Jim as well. Their first NBA draft night as a management team couldn’t have gone better. The wildcard — as always — were the other teams. Would someone try to trade up for number two, giving the Pelicans a godfather offer?

The answer was a resounding no. NOLA had stayed there and had their pick of anyone left, and they landed on Arenas as their franchise player. That was a fair pick and one Jim would have been fine with if they had needed it.

But they didn’t need it — they had traded McDyess to a division rival and had chosen Tony Parker with the pick they got.

After a few housekeeping items, the war room cleared out as people went home — until it was just Jerome and Jim. Jerome took out a bottle of brandy and poured two glasses. “Well, we did it.”

Jim let out a relieved sigh. “I just made some suggestions.”

“You’re the coach — you have to figure out how these parts work,” Jerome said with a husky laugh. He set a glass of brandy before Jim and raised up his own glass to his lips, taking a generous sip.

Jim took only a small one, but found it satisfying all the same. “We have to figure out what to do about Van Exel.”

“Not even going take a few minutes to celebrate, hmm?”

“I’ll celebrate when we’ve actually won something,” Jim countered. “Too often an organization likes to congratulate itself for ‘winning’ the offseason and what happens then? They lose in the real season.”

“You’re superstitious.” Jerome stretched his shoulders, the movement audible by all the popping sounds — years of hard, physical play in the paint had taken their toll on the former big man.

Jim took a deeper sip of his drink now. “You’re not superstitious enough.”

“That always bugged me when we played together,” Jerome said as he lowered himself into a seat. He leaned his large form back and the poor chair seemed ill-equipped to handle it. “You did everything the same. Same tape routine. Same study habits. Same shots from the floor, no matter what court we were on, you practiced the same damn shots.”

“I did until I blew out my knee. Now I can’t,” he said with a sad shake of his head. He wasn’t nearly as fleet of foot as he was in his youth. “Those who can’t do, coach.”

Jerome frowned. “How many times did you put the ball right in my favorite spot? A hundred-thousand? Two-hundred thousand?”

Jim smiled at the memory of those many pocket passes. If there was one player he admired while in college, playing for a chance at the pros, it was John Stockton. “I think I lost count after two-hundred thousand.”

Jerome took a sip out of his glass and, with his other hand, pulled a folded sheet of paper out of his pocket. “Jotted down some ideas during the draft for Van Exel.”

“Oh? Do tell.”

Jerome cleared his throat. “My first thought was the Spurs — they love a veteran point guard, they could get him cheaper than some of the free agents on the market and Van Exel is still relatively young.”

Jim made a face. “Trading McDyess to the Sonics was hard enough, that could hurt us — badly — during the season.”

“Short term pain for long-term gain,” Jerome said reflexively. “How many times did I take hits, get charged, get fouled, get hammered, and end up on the winning side because the punishment they inflicted on me — the punishment I let them inflict — ended up costing them the game? It’s strategy, plain and simple. My fat *ss can do that, you’re slim *ss can too.”

They both laughed at that and another round of drinks were poured. “No to the Spurs, if possible,” Jim said with a wave of his hand. “Next.”

“I’d suggest Miami, but the Heat seem to want to go in on youth. However, the Magic might be interested.”

That piqued Jim’s interest — that or the alcohol — and he sat up a bit more. “Orlando? They have Armstrong, who’s a very solid point man. Good defense, good passing, good shooting, and doesn’t mind not getting the ball. Van Exel hates not getting the ball.”

Jerome took out a pen and scratched out something. “Armstrong is solid, yes. Van Exel could provide them with a burst scoring wise … but, maybe the Magic might be interested in participating in a three-way trade?”

“With what other team?”

Jerome cracked a smile. “I hear the Knicks want to make the playoffs.”

**trekfan** · 02-26-2020, 06:31 PM

Re: NBA 2K Retro: An Alternate New Millennium

Ch. 3

“I should have said, ‘Like you left me?’ but I just blanked. I wanted out of there … so I got out,” she said with a sigh. Erin Kendricks, neck craned at an awkward angle to hold the phone against it, couldn’t help but replay the moment over and over in her head. Jim stood there and asked her to stay.

“You had every right to go,”her sister, Kari, told her loudly on the phone. “He left you back in ‘96, why shouldn’t you leave him?”

Erin took her laptop off her lap, set it beside her, and stretched out on her bed. This was going to require her full attention. “I’m not mad about that, I’m just mad I didn’t get off a zinger … I didn’t say something to just drive it home, you know? Why am I always better at writing them than I am at saying them?”

“You’re more comfortable behind a keyboard than you are in person,” Kari stated bluntly. “You overthink things in person.”

Erin frowned at the truth in those words. “I think I’d trade being quick witted for being worse at writing.”

“No,” her sister said with a laugh. “You’d be awful at writing then, and more than that, you’d shoot your mouth off like me. Look where that’s got me!”

“You’re in LA, dating a cute guy, living a good life,” Erin shot back with a lot of envy. Here she was, stuck in Denver — of all places — and her sister was enjoying California.

“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be — firstly, cost of living here is a total *itch. Secondly, I say things so fast I sometimes hurt people.”

“It’s not a terrible burden to you.”

Kari snorted. “I’m not the type who cares what other people think. You are and that’s why you’d hate being so quick witted … you’d end up hurting people and hating yourself. You care and that’s not a bad thing.”

Erin sighed again. “I just wish I could have handled it differently … I thought I was ready to see him again. I really thought I could go in there, be a professional, get the story, and have a nice dinner. Instead, I got flustered and ran away like a little girl.”

“You and he have history … it’s hard to get over that really, especially when he just up and left for Europe. You didn’t really have time to get a grasp on it.”

“I had five years,” Erin responded dryly. She crossed her long legs and tried to force herself to relax. “I should be over this.”

“Feelings and you don’t tend to separate easily. You remember that boy in sixth grade, Mark Jacobs?”

Erin’s face flushed red. “Don’t talk about him.”

“See! You still aren’t totally over that!”

“I tried to ask him out and vomited all over him because of how nervous I was — he never forgot that and neither did his friends.”

“He was a jerk anyway, but you still have feelings about it.”

Erin took the palm of her hand and bounced it off her forehead repeatedly. This was getting her nowhere, she was just obsessing over it at this point.

Her cell began going off and Erin looked up at the ceiling, thanking the heavens silently. “Kari, got to go, work is calling. I’ll ring you back later.”

They quickly said their goodbyes and Erin flipped her cell open. “Kendricks.”

“Erin, Dez. Nuggets just traded Van Exel.”

Erin sat straight up and grabbed her computer. “Details?”

“Just emailed you them. I need this included in the free agency recap.”

Erin opened her email and smirked at the contents. Jim, you lucky SOB. “You’ll have it. Got to go.”

She tossed her cell next to her, took a deep breath, and cracked her knuckles. It was time to dish.

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