X's T'wolves (NBA 2K11)

2010/11 1st TRIMESTER UPDATE (PART FOUR)


SWEDISH MO' THE LATEST CRAZE TO SWEEP EUROPE

Johan Svensson, Sweden
PF/C, 6'9", 236lbs, 19 years old
Season Stats: 14ppg, 10rpg, 2bpg

News in from Sweden is there is a kid (hard to really call him a kid because he looks like a man) who will change everybody perception on how Euro big men play the game of basketball. Let me introduce Johan Svensson, a Euro teenager that plays from the inside out, he has already stamped himself as the best defensive big man in the entire continent of Europe. Many of Europe's big guns have been circling like sharks, all looking to lock him up long term. However, Svensson has shown no interest in staying in Europe as he believes he can cut it with the big boys in the NBA, and after seeing him play, it's hard to argue with his confidence.

Svensson has recently created a cult following in Sweden after growing a mustache in support of Movember during the month of November. The mo' seems to have given him supernatural powers, because his game has gone from strength to strength since he started growing it. Word is that Svensson has no plans on shaving it off, even if it does make him look like a cross between Ron Jeremy and Chopper Read (pic).

If he can keep out of foul trouble, Svensson could probably average close to a 20-20, that's how dominant he is in the local Swedish league. At present, he's a lock to top 5 in the 2011 Draft, but given the dearth of quality big men in the NBA, he's got a great shot of going number one overall. He might not have the potential of what you'd expect out of a top 5 pick, but he will be able to step in right away and contribute.

Draft Stock: Top 5


THE NEXT MANU?

Ciro Nunez, Argentina
SG, 6'5", 209lbs, 21 years old
Season Stats: 8ppg, 2rpg, 2apg

Moving across to Spain, a 21 year old Argentinian is causing a stir with his strong play off the bench for ACB giants Real Madrid. His stats don't tell the whole story because Nunez is a very cerebral player, much like his fellow countryman Manu Ginobili of the San Antonio Spurs. It's not surprising that you have not heard of Nunez until recently, since he has been unable to crack the Argentinian National Team due to its sheer depth. He has however starred for Argentina in all the age group representative teams before getting the call-up to join Real Madrid's Youth Squad. He finally made the first team last season, but it wasn't until a recent injury to backup American guard Clay Tucker, the opportunity for meaningful backup minutes has opened up for him, and he has taken full advantage of them.

Nunez has superb court vision and always seems to make the right play. He will hit the open shot and is a great teammate. NBA scouts are now all over Nunez's game, especially considering the success of man other Argentinian players over the recent years. The only question on Nunez's game is whether he will be able to play the NBA style of game. I believe he will, he just needs to land in the right situation. He's the type of player that could turn a good team into a great team, but put him in the wrong situation and he will look like a very average NBA player. That being said, Nunez could go anywhere between the 5th and 15th pick in next June's Draft.

Draft Stock: Lottery


CHINESE MELO OR IS IT CHELO?

Jin Lam, China
SF, 6'7", 227lbs, 22 years old
Season Stats: Unknown

You have got to hand it to the Chinese. They really know how to hype a player then hide him so that scouts can only see what the Chinese officials want them to see. So let me get this right? There is an unknown Chinese player, whose game draws comparison to Carmelo Anthony. I find this one very hard to believe. From the scouting reports in hand he appears to be a smaller AK47 with slightly more polished offensive skills. But given that he comes from the CBA, it's very hard to guage how well that will translate to the NBA. What he does have going for him is he is a very good athlete. Needless to say, he's going to be better than Sun Yue, but will he be as good or any better than the previously hyped Yi? Lam is currently being projected to go around the 8 to 12 spots, but somebody might get excited and stretch on him as high as the 5th pick. As for me, I don't know if I see him as any better than a mid-1st Round gamble.

Draft Stock: Lottery


RUBIO THINKS HE READY FOR THE NBA

Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio has started the 2010/11 ACB season is strong form, averaging 12ppg, 6rpg and 8apg for FC Barcelona. Many believe that Rubio is ready to and will make the jump to the NBA in the 2011/12 off-season, either to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team that currently holds his draft rights, or to another team. Rubio's camp has been pretty quiet of late on his NBA situation and are preferring to let his ACB play do all the talking.


That concludes this trimester's update (finally). I can get back to playing Association. Hope you all liked. As always, appreciate feedback.

very nice i like this a lot.

very nice i like this a lot.

Cheers

I like the trades! and the signing of Iverson
cant wait for Rubio!

Nice update man again international players are projected lottery picks.

I like that Rubio is gonna be in yours next season

Very cool, liking this a lot! Would you play Rubio at point or Flynn though? Because I love playing with Flynn on 2K11, very fun and effective guy to run the point with.. and he does become amazing a few years in haha.

I like the trades! and the signing of Iverson
cant wait for Rubio!

Cheers, glad you like. Seems Ricky is popular

Nice update man again international players are projected lottery picks.

Cheers. As for international prospects, it's only 3 out of 14 so that ain't too bad in my eyes.

I like that Rubio is gonna be in yours next season

Maybe....although you won't like my next post

Very cool, liking this a lot! Would you play Rubio at point or Flynn though? Because I love playing with Flynn on 2K11, very fun and effective guy to run the point with.. and he does become amazing a few years in haha.

Cheers. Don't know about Rubio & Flynn because I've never used Rubio. Don't know if he'll ever play for T'wolves either. Glad you are enjoying Flynn, I'm not

Hey Guys,

A few random notes and interesting tidbits. I tried 11 minute sim quarters for a few games & scores were far too low so back to 12 minute sim quarters & they actually seem better than before Might just be because of my recent slider changes, I dunno, all good though.

Other news from transaction history on page 1 of this thread, Pau Gasol is OUT FOR SEASON!!!

MAJOR INJURIES

2010/11 Season:
29/12/10: Los Angeles Lakers F/C Pau Gasol out for the season with a torn MCL

You heard it right, Lakers are screwed. Let's see if Kobe can win a real championship & not have some superstar next to him. He's still got a very good team around him (Artest, Odom, Bynum, Blake, Sefolosha, Fisher etc) but it'll be no cakewalk. Makes it very interesting. Sad for Gasol though, he was having career season, 21 & 11.


Then there is Joe Dumars, who has been very busy in Detroit. See below:

NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS

2010/11 Season:
01/01/11: Detroit trades G/F Richard Hamilton and G/F Tracy McGrady to Denver for F Kenyon Martin and G Coby Karl
29/12/10: Detroit trades G Ben Gordon to Phoenix for F/G Josh Childress and F Jared Dudley
11/12/10: Detroit trades G Will Bynum and their 2011 1st Round Pick to Philadelphia for F Thaddeus Young

Wow

Pistons lineup went from:

B.Wallace/J.Maxiell/T.Prince/R.Hamilton/R.Stuckey/W.Bynum (6th)
to
B.Wallace/K.Martin/T.Prince/J.Childress/R.Stuckey/T.Young (6th).

But Pistons lost their 2011 1st Round pick in the 76ers' trade.

Rumour is that Pistons also want to deal Villanueva. I'm actually really curious to what Joe D is doing. Interested in what 2k11 engine can do for rebuilding. Pistons have got an expiring (K.Martin), got rid of some bad contracts (B.Gordon, R.Hamilton), trying to get rid of more bad contracts (C.Villanueva), have picked up some young, useful wings with good contracts (T.Young, J.Dudley & J.Childress), but traded their (potentially) high 2011 1st Round pick in a strong draft ( ) Tis interesting if nothing else

A few questions for readers: Can the Lakers win the title without Pau Gasol? Are the Pistons better now than before? Are the Pistons better served for the future?

Lakers lost a lot with Gasol out. Provided everyone is still healthy, I think they will make finals... unfortunately, I think the sim engine will dictate that they lose in the Finals though.

Pistons, I feel, are worse than before the trade. As for the future, I think it was also took a step back. Yes, they are younger but they lost a pick with not much in return.

Pistons are better I think, Thad is great, and off the bench as a 6th man that's a great athletic spark to lift a team in need.

Lakers can win, but I think it will be much harder without Pau. Maybe th Western Conference Finals will be the furthest they can go?

Uhm, Not quite sure if the RIP, T-MAC For Karl and K-Mart Trade Is pretty balanced.

Wolves will beat Lakers in the WCF

Me too, Porkyjoker. Anyway, Lakers doesn't have a big chance for title. They can go home at Conference Finals.

Thanks for the comments, about what I expected them to be. Interestingly enough, the Lakers one their first game sans Pau Gasol. Odom stepped up well in his starting spot. I think whether the Lakers can advance will be dictated entirely on playoff match-ups.

And to the Utah Jazz fans, they've got AK47 back from injury & have just won another game

Just to respond to a couple of people's thoughts:

Uhm, Not quite sure if the RIP, T-MAC For Karl and K-Mart Trade Is pretty balanced.

You have to look beyond the surface in this deal. The Pistons have been wanting to deal Rip for a while, he's still got a few years left on his deal at big money. They don't use T-Mac so he's irrelevant. K-Mart is essentially an expiring contract. The Pistons made this trade purely for cap benefits, plus their other trades have given them a plethora of cheaper swingmen on their roster. I think deal would've been a little fairer if they could've got say a 2nd Round pick from the Nuggets.

As for Nuggets, with J.R. Smith lost for the season, this was a deal they had to make to keep them contending in the West. Funnily enough this trade was made after the Pau Gasol trade. The West is opening up & everybody thinks they can win it.

Well maybe everybody....

Wolves will beat Lakers in the WCF in 2021

I took the liberty of fixing your comment

Liking the international prospects And to see Gasol out, not because I don't like Pau, it will be interesting to see how the Lakers handle from now on.

The Lakers can still win it provided they become lucky and all the contenders have some major injury of their own.

The Pistons line up is much worse than before but they did acquire some expiring so for the future it's unless they are going to sign some player with an ugly contract.

Liking the international prospects And to see Gasol out, not because I don't like Pau, it will be interesting to see how the Lakers handle from now on.

I agree. It's a nice little subplot to this Association. The Lakers have had a lot of luck these last few years. Something had to finally go against them. I like Pau a lot & rate him highly, but the Lakers are a great team, so they are still one of best teams in league. They just might struggle at the final hurdle without him.

The Lakers can still win it provided they become lucky and all the contenders have some major injury of their own.

The Pistons line up is much worse than before but they did acquire some expiring so for the future it's unless they are going to sign some player with an ugly contract.

Pistons weren't winning with their previous lineup. I actually really like the Gordon & Rip deals for them due to salary cap savings. I don't like the Thaddeus Young deal though. Nothing against Young, they just shouldn't have given up their 1st Round pick

As for Lakers' contenders, Heat have already lost Haslem for season, Nuggets have lost Smith for season but wisely brought in Rip & T-Mac to fill the void. Yes, I agree, Lakers need to get lucky.

If it was real life, I'd still back the Lakers but this is a video game so I don't think it would sim them to win. In real life, there are many intangibles and I believe real Lamar is more handy than virtual Lamar.

We shall Sit, we shall see.

Ooh, I remembered that RIP was on the Trading Block,
But i didnt know that Smith was lost for the Season, I should have read the Injury Reports

Damn, Pau out big time...I agree with Sit, a virtual Lamar is not as good as the real life one, and experience doesn't come into play in video games

3-9 is still not too bad for the Wolves, hopefully you can win a few more in the second half of the season and carry the momentum into next season though, here's hoping Rubio makes the squad next season (his stats from D-League i assume?)

Trimester update looking good, loving it except for the stuff that actually happened (AI to Celtics...Gasol going out )

3-9 is still not too bad for the Wolves, hopefully you can win a few more in the second half of the season and carry the momentum into next season though, here's hoping Rubio makes the squad next season (his stats from D-League i assume?)

Trimester update looking good, loving it except for the stuff that actually happened (AI to Celtics...Gasol going out )

Cheers, yep, Rubio stats are from D-League, which doubles as his FC Barcelona stats

Looking forward to seeing the moustache Swedish in action An inside banger from Europe sounds good. Guys in the US tend to forget that not every Euro big man is taking jump shots and there are some really tough guys over here. (still they all can hit the mid-range shot which is actually a plus compared to some US guys)

Looking forward to seeing the moustache Swedish in action

Yes, I hope he can be an epic character/player in this Association