Reigniting the Extinguished Flames

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Reigniting the Extinguished Flames

Postby TheWildCat on Thu Nov 05, 2015 10:35 am

It's 2015 and doing a 2k14 Association is a bit too late, but here I am making one just for the fun of it and because I'm that type of gamer that plays the older games more than the new blood (Yes, I still play Live '03, GTA: SA, Half-Life 2 and all of those games that aren't made after 2008- 2k14's actually the newest game that I had on my PC.)

Judging from the title, we already know that this is a Phoenix Suns Association. I chose the Suns because I live in Arizona as a child and idolize Charles Barkley, also, the Suns is a storied franchise with several Finals appearances, and was home to many legends at one point but is currently struggling to retain it's former glory, just like my father's beloved Lakers. So I picked them.

NBA 2K14 (PC)
Team: Phoenix Suns
Roster: Roster that I downloaded somewhere (Up to the 2014-2015 Finals Minus 2014-15 Rookies so 13-14 starts with LeBron in Cavs uni. My KB and TD are from their Retro Roster ones so my roster is messed up but it'll work)
Draft Class: Customized King Mellow's (Up to 2016, adjusted the ratings and potential as to how they are now.) Then Custom Draft Classes (Forgot who made it but credits to whoever he is nonetheless)

Difficulty: Hall of Fame
Quarter Length: 12 Minutes
Sliders: Default
Substitutions: Manual
Coaching: Manual

Injuries: On
Fatigue: On
NBA Rules: All on

SIm Quarter Length: 12 Minutes
Season Length: 82 games
Playoff Format: 7-7-7-7
Team Chemistry: On
Player Roles: On
Trade Override: Off (Why would I turn it on?)
Trade Deadline: On
CPU Trades: On
Pre-Season Games: On
Customize League: Off
Last edited by TheWildCat on Fri Apr 22, 2016 2:02 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Reigniting the Extinguished Flames

Postby TheWildCat on Thu Nov 05, 2015 10:41 am

2013-2014 PHOENIX SUNS ROSTER

C Emeka Okafor
PF Brendan Wright
SF Gerald Green
SG Archie Goodwin
PG Eric Bledsoe
....
6th Man PG Leandro Barbosa
PG Ish Smith
SF PJ Tucker
PF Markieff Morris
PF Channing Frye
C Miles Plumlee
SF Marcus Morris

Reserves List

SG Dionte Christmas
C Alex Len
PF Shavlik Randolph
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Re: Reigniting the Extinguished Flames

Postby TheWildCat on Thu Nov 05, 2015 11:43 am

Prelude

Created in 1968, the Phoenix Suns became known for it's exciting play and many playoff appearances, along with two NBA Finals appearances against the Celtics in '76 and the Bulls 17 years later. The Suns only missed the Playoffs 17 times in 45 years in the league, and was home to stars such as Gail Goodrich, Walter Davis, Dick Van Arsdale, Kevin Johnson, Larry Nance, Charles Barkley, Connie Hawkins, Paul Westphal, Steve Nash, Joe Johnson, Grant Hill, Amar'e Stoudemire and such but currently, the storied franchise is a shadow of what it once was, it has missed the playoffs three times and came from a horrible 25-57 season that led to the firing of Alvin Gentry, who once guided the team to the Conference Finals three years back where they dropped the series to the Lakers (4-2).

The team is currently led by young rising point guard Eric Bledsoe, who came off a great Playoff with the Clippers, and that itself is saying a lot. The Suns isn't going to be on the promised land anytime soon and current Suns GM Lance Blanks was blamed for that and as such, the Suns management wanted change, and luck has it that Fil-Am Jefferson Martinez, an Arizona native, a former Three-time Euroleague MVP, the man often called as the Philippine's greatest export and the mind behind Maccabi Tel Aviv's back-to-back title and Olympiacos' current back-to-back titles is currently without a job after disputes with Olympiacos' Team President.

With that mentioned, the Suns Owner Robert Sarver immediately called up Martinez and sent him an offer to become it's GM.

Athens, Greece (September 14, 2013)

"So.." A tall dark haired man spoke, "What do you think of the offer? Do you like it?" He asked the man in front of him.
"It's a little bit cheaper than CSKA's offer but that is to be expected. After all, they always underestimate things that are famous in European Basketball." Martinez said as he drank his wine.
"Ah, so it's no then?"
Martinez laughed, "You really don't know me that well Stephenson."
"So you're accepting the offer?" said Stephenson as he looked at Martinez' smiling face.
"Hmm, I haven't decided but I've always wanted to have a role in the Suns one way or another, but I must say their GM offer is more expensive than their offer back in 1985 after I won MVP in the Euroleague and ABC. That offer was just insulting, Colangelo really needs to have his brain checked." Martinez and Stephenson both shared a laugh and went to talk about the past.
...

Phoenix, Arizona, USA (September 21, 2013)

"Ah, Mr. Martinez, just the man I was hoping to meet! I must say that the years have been kind to you." Sarver shook Martinez' hand as both took a seat.
"Since when did we last meet Sarver? Was that in '95 or so?"
"Hmm... I can't remember either, but you almost look the same like you did then! What's your secret? Carrots?" Sarver laughed
"That's funny because I never liked carrots." said Martinez as he shook his head at Sarver's pitiful attempt at making a joke.
"Guess too much Family Guy does that to you... now let's go down to business. The Deal is 5 Year, 2.5 Million, my only wish is that the Team make the playoffs within Three Seasons, because the current state of the team just won't cut it and I don't want to lose investors. You get to call the shots, but it needs to go through me first. I know you are very capable of the job but I needed to assure it would be the case. Do you accept?" Sarver lost his joking look and had a serious look on his face as he looked in Martinez' eyes, who countered with his own serious look.
"I accept."
"Good, as of this moment, you, Jefferson Martinez are the GM of the Phoenix Suns, I hope you will help lead the team back to where it should be. I am counting on you."
As Martinez finished signing the contract, he shook the hand of Sarver once more and nodded at him before he left the office.
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Re: Reigniting the Extinguished Flames

Postby TheWildCat on Thu Nov 05, 2015 11:58 am

[i]September 22, Phoenix AP[/] It was reported that as of yesterday, made effective by Suns Owner Robert Sarver, the Suns have fired Lance Banks as their GM and hired famed Fil-Am former 3-time Euroleague MVP, former Maccabi Tel Aviv GM and former Olympiacos Head Coach Jefferson Martinez to an undisclosed contract as the GM.

Martinez is expected to fix all the errors that Banks had made as GM, even promising to lead the Suns to the playoffs within two seasons, such bold claim that every Suns fans wanted to happen but he would have quite a long way to go before that would happen, sadly. While Martinez does have the qualifications and the resume to make true on his words, the Suns roster is underachieving if you may, aside from PG Eric Bledsoe, who is groomed to be the team's centerpiece.

When asked why he picked a cheaper offer in Phoenix than CSKA Moscow's reported 4 Million a year offer, Martinez merely smiled and jokingly said, "They said USA is the land of opportunity, did they not? And besides, I grew up here so I took it, nothings wrong with that, right?"
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Re: Reigniting the Extinguished Flames

Postby TheWildCat on Thu Nov 05, 2015 12:17 pm

NBA SEASON PREVIEW: THE PHOENIX SUNS

Jefferson Martinez famously said in the Suns' second press conference that the Suns isn't just looking to earn a playoff slot but in the next season, they are to win the first title of the franchise

After a decent preseason performance by the Suns, Martinez might even have a shot in his first claim, to reach the playoffs, but the other claim... from their roster we all know such is not a possibility but what I liked about Martinez is that he acknowledges that fact and said that while that would be the case, the next two seasons leaves infinite possibilities for his team when players such as LeBron James test the free agent waters. Such optimism isn't that far fetched which led to my appreciation.

Eric Bledsoe, an acquisition in the free agency averaged 20.7 ppg and 8.4 apg in just over 30 mpg. The revived Gerald Green, the forward of the team averaged a decend 16.3 ppg and 5 rpg.

Rookie Alex Len didn't put up much of a showing as Jeff Hornacek insisted the big man isn't just ready for the big boys and late first round pick Archie Goodwin is showing promise as a potential salad role player as he averaged 14.3 points per game on 27 minutes as starter, and is shooting 46% from the field! Emeka Okafor, Martinez' second big free agent signee averaged a double double 11.2 ppg and 10.2 rpg.

Although only the starters of the team have made splashes in the free season, and their bench had been quite inconsistent barring 6th man Leandro Barbosa, the Suns is officially the dark horse for that playoff spot.

With that at hand, let's go to the Best, Worst Case Scenarios and the Player to Watch for the young club.
Best Case Scenario: Enter the playoffs as the 7th seed
Worst Case Scenario: Return to the lottery for the fourth straight year
Player to Watch: Eric Bledsoe, who might finally fully shine as he leaves the shadow of Chris Paul
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Re: Reigniting the Extinguished Flames

Postby Solaris Phase Two on Sun Nov 08, 2015 5:31 pm

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