Salary Cap Team Building

[justlaze]

What's good OS Community!

As we're getting closer to the Salary Max kick off, I thought we might gather some ideas or share our thoughts concerning team building.

I really like the challenge of building the best squad with a certain gap.

So what's your take on a team for a cap of 1775?
Which are the best low budget cards to mix with Sapphs or Emeralds?

I probably wanna go with Curry/Harden/LBJ/AD/Cousins as starters and need to figure my bench. I only know for sure that Fultz and D12 will get some minutes, as they are really good for being gold!

Best, Laze

[badmrfrosty7]

Re: Salary Cap Team Building

You can use that lineup with that cap? That kind of kills my interest in the mode if that's the case because then lineups still seem pretty OP. Just people's bench's that will be a bit less so.

I can kind of understand that a lot of people want to play with All-Star lineups like that in the mode but I really wish there was something with a stricter cap for more realistic rosters to create more variety and more strategy when playing.

Don't mean to derail your thread though. Definitely still a lot more to plan and talk about than years past at least.

[kabamaru]

Re: Salary Cap Team Building

Middleton/Giannis make a great dynamic Duo

Otto Porter is a great shooter too.

Also Lavine is very athltic for a gold with decent shooting

[Defconxx]

Re: Salary Cap Team Building

I have a question: have 2K confirmed that the value of cards in the cap will be adjusted according to the number of people using them?

If so, I'll have to start looking for hidden alternatives for my team.

[justlaze]

Re: Salary Cap Team Building

You can use that lineup with that cap?

well if I plan to do that, I have to build a bench worth 775. So in theory yes - it's possible - it might not be the right move though. I'm still trying to figure whats the best chemistry between different tier cards.

I have a question: have 2K confirmed that the value of cards in the cap will be adjusted according to the number of people using them?

If so, I'll have to start looking for hidden alternatives for my team.

that was confirmed before the game dropped. very interested how the most favorite cards of the community will end up in terms of cap value, just like the Melo/Porzingis Duo f.e.

[Fakename22]

Re: Salary Cap Team Building

You can use that lineup with that cap? That kind of kills my interest in the mode if that's the case because then lineups still seem pretty OP. Just people's bench's that will be a bit less so.

I can kind of understand that a lot of people want to play with All-Star lineups like that in the mode but I really wish there was something with a stricter cap for more realistic rosters to create more variety and more strategy when playing.

Don't mean to derail your thread though. Definitely still a lot more to plan and talk about than years past at least.

Yeah you should be spending this time improving your team and playing the mode.

Also dont forget that the more popular a player is in terms of how much hes used by the community his salary will rise.

[Bi00]

Re: Salary Cap Team Building

Here is my day 1 team coming in at 1775. If 2K lives up to their promises, this definitely will go over the cap since there are some popular players here.

I'm completely prepared to get murdered by Ruby Shaq but there aren't many great options at center without locking in a set. I'm also worried about my rebounding but once again, not many good options at PF/C.

Anyone else think that Amethysts are at the sweet spot for salary costs? They cost 300 and Rubys are at 250 and players can be rated at 95. This is why I'm going to rush my way through historic dom to pick up Fat.

[harryl]

Re: Salary Cap Team Building

1775 as initial cap is actually kind of disappointing. Bronze and Silver are already all but irrelevant, except as deep bench DNP's.

For 1775, one can play a lineup like this:

• 2 x Ruby
• 2 x Sapphire
• 3 x Emerald
• 2 x Gold
• 1 x Silver
• 3 x Bronze

Or, taking out all Rewards, something like this:

• 5 x Sapphire
• 3 x Emerald
• 1 x Gold
• 1 x Silver
• 3 x Bronze

With really smart rotation and timeouts management, one could play just 8 deep and never field anything lower than an Emerald. One could very easily run 9 deep and "have to" play a Gold, but there's a good number of very capable Gold role players who are perfectly fine playing very limited bench minutes.

I was really hoping that the first round would require teams to be heavy with Gold and Silver. So that, if one were playing Amethysts, or even Rubies, that would require playing one or more Bronzes for meaningful minutes.

Even if one plays an Amethyst and a Ruby, one could do this and play 9-deep and never play below a Gold. Or, at worst, just a couple or few minutes with a Silver:

• 1 x Amethyst
• 1 x Ruby
• 2 x Sapphire
• 2 x Emerald
• 3 x Gold
• 1 x Silver
• 3 x Bronze

Hopefully there is matchmaking for comparable teams and that it works better than in the past. Because even though there are 2 available Amethyst Rewards and a bunch of Ruby Collection rewards, I think most people would consider a team that is mostly Sapphire and Emerald to be a "God Squad" at this infant stage in the game.

[Erithtotl]

Re: Salary Cap Team Building

1775 as initial cap is actually kind of disappointing. Bronze and Silver are already all but irrelevant, except as deep bench DNP's.

For 1775, one can play a lineup like this:

• 2 x Ruby
• 2 x Sapphire
• 3 x Emerald
• 2 x Gold
• 1 x Silver
• 3 x Bronze

Or, taking out all Rewards, something like this:

• 5 x Sapphire
• 3 x Emerald
• 1 x Gold
• 1 x Silver
• 3 x Bronze

With really smart rotation and timeouts management, one could play just 8 deep and never field anything lower than an Emerald. One could very easily run 9 deep and "have to" play a Gold, but there's a good number of very capable Gold role players who are perfectly fine playing very limited bench minutes.

I was really hoping that the first round would require teams to be heavy with Gold and Silver. So that, if one were playing Amethysts, or even Rubies, that would require playing one or more Bronzes for meaningful minutes.

Even if one plays an Amethyst and a Ruby, one could do this and play 9-deep and never play below a Gold. Or, at worst, just a couple or few minutes with a Silver:

• 1 x Amethyst
• 1 x Ruby
• 2 x Sapphire
• 2 x Emerald
• 3 x Gold
• 1 x Silver
• 3 x Bronze

Hopefully there is matchmaking for comparable teams and that it works better than in the past. Because even though there are 2 available Amethyst Rewards and a bunch of Ruby Collection rewards, I think most people would consider a team that is mostly Sapphire and Emerald to be a "God Squad" at this infant stage in the game.

I played one of these yesterday in qualifying.

Curry, Harden, McGrady (who is ridiculous at 81), Thompson, Paul, D. Howard, KP, Melo, Irving, Wall, etc etc. Was like 2 sapphire, and 7-8 emerald (some of them going for 20K+ on the AH). My squad is the Gold edition Irving/Shaq and a bunch of golds/silvers. My cap number is like 1250 or so.

He also ran 5 out. McGrady scored 26. Was just unstoppable.

Yeah would have been nice if cap numbers were lower. I'm not sure its a restriction at all at this point. And if they steadily increase the cap then it never will be.

[Bi00]

Re: Salary Cap Team Building

Yeah would have been nice if cap numbers were lower. I'm not sure its a restriction at all at this point. And if they steadily increase the cap then it never will be.

Here's an example of a possible squad you could see without a cap.

[justlaze]

Re: Salary Cap Team Building

Here's an example of a possible squad you could see without a cap.

THE GOD SQUAD confirmed on September 21 in 2017

[Bubba13laze]

Re: Salary Cap Team Building

I think the most important factor is not knowing whether or not multiple salary caps will be available to play at the same time. What I mean is, can I build a 2000 cap team and enter a 2000 cap league matchmaking lobby while somebody else does the same for 2500 cap? OR Is there only one available cap at a time, that increases in time with each round or season, and the entire community is always competing on the same lvl (cards they can use - matchmaking rating will still be a thing)? With the addition of leaderboards.. There is an opportunity to open a couple different super max leagues/leaderboards at the same time. If 2k doesn't make this possible it's because they don't want to encourage budget teams. The cap progresses because better cards release and they want packs being opened, not people using silver cards all year.

As for the 1775 starting cap.. I have mixed feelings. Depending how much time you invest in the mode.. Some people play a lot and spend no money on vc, some play little but spend lots of money, and there is everything in between on the spectrum. I feel like there will be some people who can't get near 1775. Like guys who have played 2-3 offline games so far and have a completely vanilla team. That would be what, around 1200 cap? Then there's probably dudes who have half the reward rubies already and are scratching their heads on who to use on their team and who doesn't make the cut.

Me personally I am a pretty dedicated player and 1775 is kind of perfect for as an inaugural season. I spent 0 on vc but played a fair bit and my main squad sits at 1850. So a minor tweak of changing Millsap to Ibaka and one of my silvers to a bronze at the end of my bench and I'm right at 1775 on the dot.

I think the salary cap helps add a deeper strategic element to the game and has the potential to make a lot more cards relevant. Hopefully we have a couple different caps available at one time so more people can field competitive teams. I worry if thee is only 1 cap that gradually increases over time it will end up being too high in order to appease the big spenders and it will take away from the depth in salary cap team building.

[Bi00]

Re: Salary Cap Team Building

1775 is a pretty interesting cap right now with lots of decisions with the current card pool. I know that I need to run two great PGs where I generate my offense. Then it's a question of running another solid card or rounding out the bench.

I'm probably end up running 2-3 studs and filling out with those super budget silvers. Also Penny, trust in Penny.

Edit: Went 7-0 and hit PD in round 1. This lineup was pretty nice to me and Penny was just nuts.

[EarvGotti]

Re: Salary Cap Team Building

Running with this squad for now. I actually wish the cap was a bit lower so that we would have to use more silvers and golds but ehh its whatever.

My team is a good mix of offense and defense. BTW, Baron Davis with that duo is sooooo nasty. Loving this card. A nice new touch i noticed is that 2k added FG against stats to the player cards so you can see how effective your player is on defense. All the way to the end it shows FGs made against and PA(Points Allowed avg). Very nice.

[Bubba13laze]

Re: Salary Cap Team Building

Running with this squad for now. I actually wish the cap was a bit lower so that we would have to use more silvers and golds but ehh its whatever.

My team is a good mix of offense and defense. BTW, Baron Davis with that duo is sooooo nasty. Loving this card. A nice new touch i noticed is that 2k added FG against stats to the player cards so you can see how effective your player is on defense. All the way to the end it shows FGs made against and PA(Points Allowed avg). Very nice.

Omg.. I asked for those specific stats in a post last year and 2 years ago!! Awesome team. I'll post my 1775 lineup when I start it tomorrow. Also I really want to try that b Diddy now! Lol.