Lv06|ROCKETS-2| Officially Closed.

[Chaser7]

Nooooooo, don't go Clutch just because you lost. I can't decide. On one hand I'd like to see this go into year 2 and see how you respond, (side note its somewhat nice having this being realistic in the sense that you didn't win in your first season recapping). But seeing you come up with new story lines would be great! I dunno man, whatever you do just don't stop though!

[OrlMagic]

No . I hope you choose B

[Clutch]

ok, thx for the feedback guys; seems the consensus is unanimous (and favors the option i was leaning as well) so i'll make it official...

there will be a Season 2 - w00t!!!

jonthefon/chaser, while i share your sentiment in that a new story line/different franchise would be fun, i'm actually gonna hold off for two reasons: 1) i'm ticked my Rockets didn't get further and got romped by Denver; i didn't do any 'coaching' ie., subs for the Playoffs like i had for earlier games during the reg season; i just let the outcome be what it may CPU vs CPU and it proved costly; next time i think i (or rather 'coach Phil') will take more control of timeouts and subs in the final 5 mins of Playoff games, assuming we make it of course ; 2) this dynasty's already 'retro' so i'd like to wait on Andrew's final 'PC Project' roster and then run a parallel dynasty using a different team, the latest players, ratings, trades etc

anyway, gotta do a little house cleaning/maintenance/prep work (mostly the 1st pg, 1st post) before i can get "off-season" and Year 2 underway
lastly, thx to everyone who took time to follow/comment during this past season; hopefully it was an enjoyable ride and that Season 2 will be twice the fun!

[Chaser7]

Don't make a new thread. Keep it here, that way this is just one continuation the story. ya know? Anyways let's see if T-Mac can get to the finals now also technically its year 3 in your dynasty since you simmed a season. Now just gotta recap this past offseason right?

[Lamrock]

Actually he's going into year 4!

Yeah, keep it in this thread. As long as this dynasty is alive, the whole thing should be here. Also, you could go for some page number records. (I think 36 is the record for dynasties...) And don't worry, as long as you keep it going as consistently as you have been, you'll be eligible for another DotY award next year.

[Clutch]

lol you guys are right, it is technically year 4! damn, but i simmed through the first two so they don't really count

and sorry if that gave the impression there'd be a separate/new thread; i plan to keep everything right here and just re-organize pg 1

EDIT:

for the sake of keeping things wild and woolly in Season 2, i'd like to ask viewers what they'd like to see. mind you, things might not go as you'd like but your feedback could influence things

a couple scenarios i've been thinking about are:

Breaking up the dynamic duo of TMAC and Yao;

A total youth-movement overhaul;

"Life-mimics-Art-mimics-Life" ie., keep T-Mac/Yao together and go after Artest, just as i had going waaay the hell back to pg 2 here: http://www.nbaliveforums.com/viewtopic. ... 118#789118

Bring in a different veteran component to complete the Rockets "Big 3" -- but who?

Also to think about, next season Roster... who makes the cut and who doesn't?

Just a few ideas to open it up

[Valor]

Yay!! keep it up!!!

[Lamrock]

I would go with the Artest one. It is the most realistic, and could actually be what pushes your team over the top.

You should play a game every once in a while this season.

[Clutch]

Season 2: PROLOGUE



July 18, 2008 Friday.

"What's it going to take to get us over the top?"

It's the question Les (Alexander) leaves to float out in the open like a feather on a light-wind day back in Montana. It's been a long week; I'm tired, Darrel (Morrey)'s tired. We're all tired and the turkey club and mineral water I just put down makes me want to take a nap.

"Well, there's a number of possibilites," says Darrel. "Based on these statistics… here, refer to page..mmm.. Nine. No, wait… yeah, page nine. That's the one."

Morrey's a "stats" man. He looks at the numbers, crunches them all together and finds the best solutions. He's sharp as a tack and terrific at what he does; but, sometimes in this game, there's more to it than just numbers.

"Phil, you still with us?" Les says.

"Sorry, I was just thinking."

Thinking about last season.

We accomplished a lot, broke new ground for our players, pushed them past barriers they never could push through before. But we ran into a buzz saw by the name of Allen Iverson who chopped through us like a lumberjack paid on commission.

"Well, try and stay with us, okay? I know we've been at this all week but we need to come to some decisions," Les says with a positive yet firm tone.

From the short time I've known Les, he's been all business. Easy-going enough outside work hours but when it's on the clock, he wants things done. I don't mind really; it's the way a good Owner needs to be. At least he doesn't speak to Darrel and I like a condescending prick the way Jeanie's father did to my staff back in LA.

"Okay… let's start with some of the names I mentioned earlier - Jason Maxiell?" I say and get no visible reaction. "He's a solid defender and could helps us in the paint. Denver really killed us on the glass in that last series."

It still burns, that series loss. The only consolation is that they advanced only to get mowed down in the Conference Finals by the Spurs, who in turn, moved on to claim the NBA Championship over the young, underdog 76ers.



"Phil, the Spurs are back in Championship form; it would take 3 Maxiell's to slow down Tim Duncan," Darrel says jokingly; but he's right.




"Besides, I'm not sure Detroit wants to part with Maxiell. They'd ask a lot in trade," Darrel adds.

"Guys, I think we need to look at the bigger picture again -- Tracy and Yao," Les holds his hands out spread and sits up a bit. He's about to drop a bomb; I've noticed he always holds out his hands when he's thinking of something big.

"Together... are they good enough to get it done?"

Darrel and I look at each other and let it float, like that feather in the wind.

This is the 'War' room - a table, some chairs, a chalkboard, artificial light and no windows. Where game plans are formed, strategies developed, and player's careers are made, or broken.

It's going to be a long afternoon.

[Cartar]

[size=8]Close but no cigar(Philadelphia).[/size=8]

Sad to see you lose on 2nd round, but at least you breaked the first round curse.

I´m very glad your still continuing this, this has been my favourite dynasty for a long time. About the new seasons roster, imo the first option should be Artest, then if not I would break up Yao-T-Mac duo (I would hold on to T-Mac).

Anyway good luck with it and hopefully this season will be little faster than 1 year and 3 month.

[Clutch]

Season 2: PROLOGUE (Cont.)

"You want to trade Yao or Tracy?" The words leak out of Darrel's mouth after a long, awkward silence becomes unbearable.

"No… no, no," Les says nervously, like someone who let an offensive comment slip and wishes they could take it back. "No. All I'm asking is if you guys think they've got what it takes to get it done, to go all the way and bring home a title, you know, eventually."

"Les, I'm curious... who are we talking about here - Yao or Tracy?" I reply.

"Well," Les takes a sip of coffee. "there was that god awful game 4 where Tracy only scor…"

"It was just one game," Darrel is quick to interrupt. "Statistically, McGrady's led us in scoring, both in the regular season and in the playoffs."

"Morrey's got a point. Tracy's a load of firepower; I mean who exactly would you want to trade for?"

Les reaches over and scrawls a word on a piece of paper then hold it's up for us to see with a grin, like a kid at Christmas.

___

NBA REWIND (Two weeks prior to the 'War' room meeting)

JULY 2, 2008 -- Defying the odds, the Miami Heat (36/1000) and Charlotte Bobcats (63/1000) move up to take the 2nd and 3rd picks. The Los Angeles Clippers, who had the second best chance of securing the #1 draft pick, did exactly that and pushed the Portland Trailblazers down to the 4th overall pick.



JULY 10, 2008 -- Free Agents, Brevin Knight and Anthony Sato, are asked to rejoin the Rockets but for slightly less durations than they're asking for.



Both would find the Rockets' counter-offers acceptable.

___

ratrac - lol i hear ya; i'll try (operative word is, "try") to keep more regular posts of at least once a week to move things along quicker; i wish someone would pay me to do this for a living as it's sooo much more fun than 'the grind' anyway, thx for the long-standing support; it's appreciated

[Valor]

NOOOOOO Dont trade T-Mac away!!! dont break up the MM combo

[Chaser7]

lol Valor do you even read? He didn't get the 3rd pick...

Glad to see this continuing. Don't break up the duo though, you made it past the 1st round, that's step 1. Plus i like how this told as if it was happening, but with so many blockbusters... haha. Long live clutch!

[Valor]

oh wait shit , my mind is messed up from exams lol..forgive me
i mixed this up with my bobcats one..meh

IB MESSES YOUR BRAIN UP SERIOUSLY, SHOUT OUT TO ALL PPL NOT TO TAKE IT LOL

anyways...DONT TRADE TMAC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Clutch]

Season 2: PROLOGUE, Part 3

July 27, 2008 Sunday.

I'm sipping iced-lemonade under the shade of a large, old oak just in front of my quiet, off-season country home, taking respite from the heat as Tracy pulls up the dusty road in red and white, vintage and mint-condition '61 Corvette Roadster; the top down, large dark shades and a big smile on his face. He motions me a thumbs up, "s'sup coach."



I smile in return and toast my glass, "How in the world do you fit in that thing?"

Still smiling McGrady shuts her down and gets out, awkwardly, but he manages. "Yeah... they didn't exactly make these things with a 6'8" guy in mind," he chuckles. "But I'm a sucker for the classics, so I had it 'customized.' " He's wearing a white hat that resembles the ones my father and I wore when we went fishing during my youth, only this one has a thinner brim and "T-1" embroidered in red type on it's front; a white tank-top and baggy denim shorts that fall below the knees. He looks good; more fit than I've ever seen him in fact.

"You've been training hard this off-season, I can tell."

"Yeah, I have. You know, before last season started, I had this shoe deal where I had to do a lot of promo work in China; even though I trained daily, the travel, the meetings, the signings, the pictures - it really wore me out. This year I rearranged all that; stayed closer to home. I took a few shorter trips here and there but mostly just worked on my game."

It's a hot afternoon but with a warm pleasant breeze. We walk back to the porch and I pour Tracy a glass of lemonade from the pitcher. He takes it and sits back in the one of the woven basket chairs while my ol' yellow lab, Penny, comes up wagging her tail and starts vying for his attention. "Thanks for coming out Tracy; I know it's a bit out of the way," I begin.

"No prob. It was a peaceful ride; I can see why you like it out here. So, what's this about coach?" he asks.

"I had a meeting with Les and Darrel recently," I say. "There was some discussion of breaking up you and Yao; more specifically, talk of moving you," I brace for his reaction.

"Your kiddin', right?" he says, not angry but amused; I'm somewhat relieved.

"No, I'm serious. Les had a crazy idea,"

"Of what? Who was he thinking of replacing me with?" he sits slightly forward intrigued. I take a moment to collect my thoughts, inhale deeply and say,

"Kobe."

To my surprise, after a short pause, Tracy bursts into laughter, "Sorry coach, but... Have you seen Kobe lately? The dude is FAT! I'm talkin' fatter than he's ever been"



"I had heard he put on some weight," I respond. "Told me he needed to 'bulk up' to battle bigger guys like LeBron"

"Coach, if he aint careful, the only person he'll be battling is Shawn Kemp... for the last donut in the box!" I can't help but laugh at the strange imagery.

"He was up to 237 lbs last season and pushing 240+ this year; no doubt all the losing in LA has taken its toll and he's letting himself go a bit. No disrespect coach but, I'd eat Kobe alive," he adds.

Tracy is confident; sometimes to a fault. I doubt it would be as easy as he claims; I still rank Kobe among the top 5 players in the game, even at his weight; muscle weighs a lot more than fat.

Tracy continues, "Now… on the other hand, if you were talking about his young nephew, Lorenzen? I might be worried; the kid's got loads of skill and a ton of potential"



Lorenzen Bryant, 19 years old, 6'9" tall and nephew to Kobe, straight out of high school with expectations nearly as high as LeBron's when he first entered the league. Easily the unanimous 'prize' among an otherwise poor draft class, and snatched up first overall happily by the Clippers.



With Bryant playing alongside last year's #2 overall pick and brief Rocket, Jafari Cotton, they are the makings of a 'youth movement' team done correctly.

I didn't realize all the hype that's been buzzing about Bryant til the off-season. During the regular season and playoffs, I don't pay much attention to the media. Now that I've had time, I've seen this kid's face on the cover of every sports magazine, in commercials, etc. He's been dubbed, "the Second Coming" and is easily the front-runner for the coming season's Rookie of the Year.

I'm not sure if Lorenzen will achieve all that Kobe has, but the potential is definitely there and he is only 19. I watched he and Tracy in a practice scrimmage and they're actually very similar in style; the "all-around" game, not quiet the scoring prowess of his uncle Kobe or overpowering force that is LeBron.



But he's got the raw talent and just needs time to develop.

If there's a knock against him it's his strength and frailness; unlike his now-bloated uncle, Lorenzen is toothpick thin at 198 lbs and many question if his lanky frame can endure a season battling against true NBA power and talent. Time will tell.

I continue, "Well, Darrel and I quickly talked some sense into Les so you've nothing to worry about. But we all agreed - if we're going to get to the next level this season, we need to make some changes, starting with you."

"What do you mean?" he says with a curious expression.

"We all know you were stretched too thin last season. We had you leading the team in scoring but still wanted you defending the other team's top player as well; it was too much to ask. As a result you were spent by the time we really needed you at your best - in the playoffs."

"I'm not making any excuses coach. If I have to carry this team, I'll do that."

"I know," I say, encouraged by his words. "But this season, we'd like you to change your role; be more of a facilitator, the guy who gets other guys involved and gets the offense going. Morrey noticed a steep drop off in your assists last season; we'd like to focus on that"

"I like what you're saying coach, but without the right pieces of the puzzle I can only do so much..."

"We're working on that right now, Tracy. We've learned from last season. It was a mistake when we made the huge trades right before All-Star weekend. I think it really upset our team's chemistry and ultimately we suffered for it. This season, we'll try to take care of bigger moves in the off-season and make minor adjustments along the way."

"Alright coach. But who are you looking to bring in? Who are you moving?"

"Well for starters, we're bringing back a familiar face… I'm sure you'll be happy to see him."

[Chaser7]

Technically Bryant has only "Average" potential

Damn man this is really good. Who are you bringing "back"? I'm really curious now. Glad you're not breaking the duo up. Keep it up Clutch

[Oskar]

Indeed, as the draft is Very Weak.. His overall is probably around 65, while when there will be a Very Strong draft, the last pick will probably have ovrl around 65 and the first one like 85. That kind a sucks, but still.. Very nice. It's really interesting to read, and I'm looking forward to every update you'll do.

[Lamrock]

Awesome behind-the-scenes. Best I've seen in a long time! lol at (K)obesity.

A familiar face? I'm intrigued.

[Valor]

nice story, kobe is fat lol

wonder who you are going to bring in...i am guessing Vince?

[OrlMagic]

Nice story

[Clutch]

appreciate the comments guys; chaser, oskar - yeah i don't tamper with the evolution of players (for ex, 'chunky' Kobe? i dunno what's going on with him but it makes for good 'around-the-league' humor) but i HATE that a 'very weak' draft class has usually nobody useful. in real life there's usually 1 player (if not more) that the media and everyone's hyped about who makes an impact; some rookies clearly stand out as the 'future' of the league

That said, let's just say the Basketball Gods have given Lorenzen Bryant a slight 'boon' over his mediocre peers (courtesy of dbf editing); especially when I saw the randomly generated last name come up - i knew he had to be special

Bryant is somewhat patterned after Durant (but even KD weighs in at 215lbs so LB25 is super-skinny); from the journal post you can gauge what his strengths and weakness are and provided he's trained properly by LAC, Bryant should be an impact player if not a star in the years ahead

[Clutch]

Season 2: FREE AGENCY, MUTOMBO & RETIREMENTS

July 28, 2008 -- Washington's Antawn Jamison is the top candidate exploring the free agent market; however, with most teams already tied in heavy player contracts and pushing the limits of the salary cap, it's not the best time to be shopping for a new home.

Others testing the waters include Detroit's veteran forward, Chris Webber and Boston's upcoming point guard, Sebastian Telfair.

July 30, 2008 -- Houston signs 6-11, 274lbs undrafted rookie Center, Hosea Grand, to a 1-year league minimum contract as a safe guard in the event of Dikembe Mutombo's decision to default the last year of his contract and retire.

___

As Long As He's Capable

August 11, 2008 JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA -- He's back. Not Michael, Dikembe Mutombo.

Three days before official team player trade negotiations can begin, the Rockets' 42-year-old veteran center announced he has decided to give it one more go.

"I am going play out my contract and enjoy every second and every minute of my last year in the NBA; I hope my farewell tour will be a nice memorable one." Mutombo said Monday night at a reception for Basketball Without Borders, the NBA outreach program in its sixth year of assembling the top 100 African prospects. "I just need one more phone call. (Rockets owner) Les (Alexander) and I need to squeeze out one or two more things."

Now beginning his 18th NBA campaign, Mutombo will fulfill the final year of a contact worth 2.30M in salary cap space.

"I want to play as long as I'm capable," Mutombo said. "But I understand. They must look at the overall franchise and the future and where they are going and do what is best for them in the future. I'm just an old guy looking to play one more year."

The durable 7-2 center played in all 82 games last season, starting in 4 games when Yao Ming was hampered by injury, and finished averaging 2.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and just under 1 block per game. Rockets' coach Phil Jackson said he wanted the security of a veteran defensive force behind Yao but also valued Mutombo's teaching experience to younger big men such as Marvin Williams and Sean May.

"Physically, I am fine," Mutombo said. "I can come back and play again. No doubt about that. Mentally, that's where I needed to heal. I was upset. I was frustrated at the end of the season. I was angry about the final game and the way it came out.

"I had a great season in my role, and I had great hopes and expectations for the playoffs. We finally got past the first round and everything was opening up. It was there for us. But we didn't take advantage of the opportunity that was in front of us.

"You don't know how many times you are going to get these opportunities. Everyone on our team must understand that. I realize it. I'm at the end. It's why it hurts me so much to lose... I don't want to go out like that."

At age 42, Mutombo is the oldest active player in the NBA. He was the number four draft pick out of Georgetown and has played for the Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks and the Rockets since entering the league with the Nuggets in 1991.

His career tally of 3,278 blocks is second only to Olajuwon's total of 3,830.

__

Retirements

With the level of team disparity on the decline, many headliner veterans chose not to retire and will give it another run seeking the Ring. That is, unless you consider former Rocket, Bobby Sura, a "headliner."

[Clutch]

August 15, 2008 HOUSTON -- The Atlanta Hawks have made an aggressive move to secure the future of their point guard position by acquiring Houston's, Deron Williams(78) in exchange for Shane Battier(77), who rejoins the Rockets after being traded to Atlanta one year ago to the day.

"We're very excited to have a tough, young playmaker like Deron joining our team," said Hawks' head coach, Mike Woodson. "We believe he's a natural leader and that he'll be the catalyst of this team for years to come."

Williams saw his numbers drop significantly from the 2006-2007 season when he averaged 18 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals a game in Utah to last season, averaging only 7 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal per game with Houston. However, Williams only played half the season as a starter with Houston; he played the first half in Utah where surprisingly the promising point guard took a back seat coming off the bench to last year's "Rookie of the Year" recipient, Sergei Tankosic(78). *

No doubt the Hawks are banking on Williams' return to top form after an impressive playoffs run which helped the Rockets finally past the 1st-round plus his guaranteed starting point guard position with Atlanta.

"The Hawks like to play up-tempo style basketball, so I think it's a great move for me," said Williams. "I'm looking forward to playing with J.J. (Joe Johnson), Josh (Smith) and Chris (Wilcox) and leading this team past the first round, if not further, like I did in Houston."

Last season the #3-ranked Hawks were upset by the #6-ranked New Jersey Nets in an embarrassing 4-1 series where Atlanta's smaller backcourt could not contain the larger and stronger veteran, Jason Kidd.

The Houston Rockets reacquired Shane Battier, a tough, defense-minded forward who averaged 11 points, 5 rebounds and roughly 1 assist/steal/block per game last season with Atlanta.

"Definitely I'm excited to be back," said Battier. "I became good friends with Yao two seasons ago and was disappointed when I found out I'd been traded. He and Tracy are tremendous talents and I was really looking forward to helping the team get to the next level; now I'll have that opportunity, as well as the priviledge to work with a championship caliber coach in Phil jackson."



The exchange also sent Atlanta, 7-year veteran guard, Mike James(68), and recently-signed undrafted rookie center, Hosea Grand(59) while the Rockets acquired 7-year pro point guard, Speedy Claxton(67), and undrafted rookie guard, Johnny Cheung(56).

Claxton is coming off his best season averaging 13 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal per game while James averaged 7 pts, 2 assists last season.

___

* 2007-2008 PLAYER AWARDS
(for the life of me i can't recall posting these or not; good thing for mutiple back saves; here they are again just in case i missed it )

[Lamrock]

Bleh. I hate the trade, You get older, and less talented. D-Will is one of the NBA's premier PG's, and you trade him for a solid role-players.

Good luck with your new win-now roster. Can't wait until tip-off.

[kaiser_kobe]

Yeah, i also dont like the trade...D-will is one of the greatest point guards today...and you will just trade it to your former player who will be aging...also somekind of a tradeback, right?...hope that youll made some better trades in your pre season...