Budget Ballers (2K18)

[harryl]

Starting this thread for discussion about Player Cards that provide notable value, in any of a number of ways...

• Good MT value, in terms of AH cost.
• Good Super Max value, in terms of performance vs. salary.
• Good Super Max value, in terms of not being popular (we'll see how this works out).
• Good value with Duo, either in terms of MT cost or Super Max salary.

Going to kick things off with a second post about the budget duo of Gold Nate Thurmond and Bronze Jeff Green...

[harryl]

For the past several years, I've played on PC and, on PC, it's easy to make millions of MT just buying/holding, then selling cards from packs that expire. Been learning how much of a grind earning MT is on PS4, this year. I'm much more budget-conscious. And with the salary cap of Super Max this year, even big spenders can benefit from being salary-conscious.
One of my favorite budget duos so far is Gold Historic Cavs Nate Thurmond and Bronze Current Cavs Jeff Green. Nate Thurmond goes from a 79 OVR Gold to an 83 OVR Emerald, and Jeff Green goes from a 69 OVR Bronze to a 73 OVR Silver. Huge, and very useful buffs for both of them.

BUDGETING

In terms of buying them with MT, it's a mixed value bag. Thurmond is one of the more expensive Golds you can get, and varies pretty wildly. I see him down around 3,500 MT, and also see him around 6,000 MT. Green is a Current Bronze and dirt-cheap. Typically available for 700 MT and if you're patient, you shouldn't have an issue copping him for minimum 500 MT.
Where they provide great value is in Super Max. As a Gold and Bronze, fundamentally, they only count 150 (100 Gold, 50 Bronze) against the cap. But they become Emerald (150) and Silver (75), so give you 225 value for a cost of 150.

Depending on how you're building your team, they can serve as a strong budget Bench 4 and 5 for a top-heavy team, can do the same for a more balanced team, and can even be a deep-bench 4 and 5 duo in slots 11-13 for a balanced team that wants to carry 3 bigs.

Also, with all the offline content we have to grind through, anyone can benefit from this sort of budget duo, in terms of Contracts costs. I use them on my bench in Historic Domination. I use them as starters for easy Challenges.

Here's more on both, and the buffs they get with their duo...

NATE THURMOND

• 2975 to 3179 Attributes (+195)
• Without buff, he's already #7 out of all Gold Centers in Attributes. With the buff, he becomes #5 out of all Emerald Centers in Attributes.
• Pre-buff, he's going to be somewhat similar to a Dwight Howard. Pluses and minuses.
• Post-buff, he suddenly can shoot mids, is solid at the line, is a dunking force, draws fouls, gets decent post weapons, and becomes elite as a blocker.

NATE THURMOND GENERAL IMPRESSIONS

• Most of all, he impresses me with his rim protection and rebounding. Post-buff he has 90 Block and 86 Contest, 85 LPDIQ and 80+ in all DIQ. 80 Strength. As good as you can get, really, in even an Emerald Center. If you can get a good contest/block attempt, it seems clear he alters shots at the rim and makes many clank.
• On the boards, he gobbles up boards much better than one would expect from a sub-7-footer with unremarkable Vertical. Has great 91/98/98 Rebounding ratings.
• Offensively, you're best off P&R'ing with him. But you can also work midrange P&Pop with him. If you can get the ball to him deep in the paint and know how to work there, he'll reward you with posterizers all over the poor soul defending him.

NATE THURMOND DRAWBACKS

• Does not have Defensive Anchor.
• Does not seem to have good post moves/animations, probably due to lower Post Control.

JEFF GREEN

• 2905 to 3090 Attributes (+185)
• Goes from #3 out of all Bronze SF/PF to #2 out of all Silver SF/PF.
• As a ~70 OVR, he's built just about perfectly to play as a Stretch 4.
• Pre-buff, he's a really good Stretch 4...for a Bronze.
• Post-buff, he's about as good as it gets as a Stretch 4...amongst Silvers.

JEFF GREEN GENERAL IMPRESSIONS

• For me, he's the prototypical Stretch 4 corner shooter. I don't try to create for him, I just need him to bail me out when his defender leaves him to help on D.
• He's got an easy shot and shooting 0.6 3PM for 1.1 3PA. Over 50%. Shooting even better overall from the floor. He has pretty decent speed at the 4 and good 80 Driving Layup and 77 Driving Dunk.
• Defensively, he doesn't get buffs and his DIQ is actually on the low side. But opposing 4's are rarely dynamic and coming off screens, so he works out well. 65 Lat Quickness vs. 4's is fine, and 77 Shot Contest is solid. Against more physical guys, 68 Strength and 71 LPDIQ is also solid for what he is.
• Defensive stats for him, for me, so far are really nice: 0.7 FGM for 3.0 FGA. Holding guys to 23.33%. Only 1.6 Points Against per Game.

JEFF GREEN DRAWBACKS

• Let's not get carried away: still just a good Silver Stretch 4.
• Has Wildcard and while he shoots reliably for me overall, and has 77 Offensive Consistency post-buff, I'm not necessarily betting the house on his open jumpers. I wouldn't try to get him a look to win a game, in other words. But I feel good about him shooting when he's open.

[adwin7]

I really like the Victor Oladipo/Myles Turner duo. I am not sure how much they are in the AH but they are pretty good on your salary cap. Both can hit from deep and play multiple positions. Sometimes I run Myles at the 5 or 4. Sometimes Oladipo can play the 1 as well as the 2. This means that they can fit in almost any line up.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

*Edited for spelling

[Bi00]

Here's my list for supermax budget super stars. Expect to see these guys online A LOT.

Silver:
Ben Simmons - fastest 6'10 player in the game. Attacks the rim extremely effectively
Andre Igoudala - 3&D wing with good speed and ballhandling. Fills in any spot 2-4
Lonzo Ball - 6'6 PG that does a little bit of everything
Thon Maker - 7'1 C with above average speed, speed w/ ball, & ball control. Has a ridiculous 90 driving dunk tendency and 80 open 3.

Gold:
Melo/KP - the game's most used dynamic duo for good reason.
Dwight - everyone's favorite prototypical PNR center. Has everything you would need except height.

These guys are so good for so cheap that they enable some crazy 1775 cap lineups full of Rubys, Amys, and even Diamonds.

Edit: Forgot Raef Lafrentz, gold stretch C with actual post game. Only lacking height and speed.

[harryl]

Silver Moments Kyle Kuzma

INTRODUCTION

This kid is just nuts. A 6'9" forward with 77/76/74 speed ratings, and 77 Ball Control, and 83 Open 3, and 75/70 Driving/Contact Dunk and 75/70 Driving/Flashy Dunk Tendencies (and man-dunk animations), respectable Strength (68) for his body/player type, and very good LQ of 73.

http://2kmtcentral.com/18/players/8677/kyle-kuzma

OFFENSE

The number one thing about him is that he's a terror in a fast break. You don't have to wait to get him the ball in the paint because of his 74 Speed with Ball, and with 77 BC, he doesn't just have to run in a straight line.

When he's got a head of steam, it's not easy to deny him a lane to take off and throw down hard. His 75 Driving Layup is not impressive, but unless it's a high-end rim protector contesting him, he seems to finish contested layups for me. And you cannot sit back and wait for him, because he'll bust a three or middie on you with 83/82 Open 3/Mid and two 3-point and two midrange hot zones in center/right of court.

Not only can he finish on the break with a drive or jumpshot, he can dish, with 78/74/82 passing ratings.
75 Offensive Consistency isn't anything to brag about, but he's a Silver, so it is. And if he gets hacked, then don't sweat him at the line, with 85 Free Throw.

DEFENSE

Defensively, keep tabs on him. Very low DIQ. But has the raw tools to be effective when manualed. Along with his athleticism, has 73 Lat Quickness, and 70 Contest is at least not disgraceful. Nor is 68 Strength, for someone with his height and speed.
In terms of Tendencies, he's pretty solid: 72 Contest Shot and 72 Take Charge. Only 26 Block Shot, and only 37 Foul.

He's the #1 Silver Power Forward in the game, in terms of Overall Attributes, by a margin of almost 300 points. #2 is Current Silver Kyle Kuzma. He also has about 150 more Attribute points than the best endowed Gold Power Forwards (Diaw and Thaddeus Young).

GOOD FOR SUPERMAX, GREAT FOR PvCPU (ESPECIALLY SCHED CHALLENGES)

For me, he's scoring 8.1 PTS in 7.4 MPG. Shooting over 80% from the field, and 70% from 3. Mind you, this is all PvCPU, with some Pro-difficulty games in there.

At a 150 Salary, for those who are on a budget right now, then he's well worth a roster spot on your Super Max team, given that the good Golds all cost 200 and the salary-bargain Emeralds and such are much more expensive.

If you're playing PvCPU games, then he's a must-have. Incredible value for his Contract Costs and incredibly effective against the CPU. E.g. when you have to run and gun like a meth-head in Domination. He's a great piece for anyone doing a Schedule Challenge, for those "3 Gold" limitation games, when you need significant production from Silvers.

BARGAIN PRICING

You can find him for under 2000 MT pretty much all the time. If you're a little patient, should be able to cop him for 1500 MT pretty easily. If you're lucky, maybe as cheap as 1000 MT.

He's producing so much for me that I think he probably deserves upgrading/adding Gold One Man Fast Break.