NBA 2K15 MyGM: Building a Dynasty in the Central Division

Happy NBA 2K15 release day, everyone! Our final division preview takes a look at the Central, which saw radical changes in the offseason:

Chicago Bulls

• 2013–2014 Record: 48–34 (4th in East, lost to Wizards 4–1 in playoffs)
• 2015–2016 Cap Room: $3 million
• Key Strengths: Complete roster offensively and defensively
• Key Weaknesses: Over-reliance on player with multiple knee injuries

1st-Year Strategy: Allow Aaron Brooks and Mike Dunleavy to expire, as you will most likely play neither all that much in 2014–2015. Jimmy Butler is due an extension after the first year, so try to keep yourself under the tax while giving him a solid deal that will keep him around as a running-mate for Derrick Rose. Wrap Rose in bubble wrap and hope he doesn’t get injured.

3-Year Strategy: Things in seasons 2 and 3 get a little more dicey, but there are some simple decisions to make here. Joakim Noah should get whatever he wants, and if Rose is healthy (remember, 2K15 has a new injury system that may make guys like Rose a little more risky), he’s obviously worth a maximum contract. More interesting are Taj Gibson and Pau Gasol. Both are free agents after 2016–2017 (though Pau has a player option after 2016), though Pau may be looking to retire at that point. Gibson is the player to decide on here, as he’ll be older than you’d think (he’s 29 as of this writing), and you may have a worthy replacement in Nikola Mirotic also needing a new contract at this point as well. If you max out Rose, give Noah a huge deal, extend Butler and give Tony Snell an extension (he’s an RFA in 2017–2018), you may have to choose between Mirotic, Gasol, and Gibson. Personally, I’d probably choose Mirotic.

Cleveland Cavaliers

• 2013–2014 Record: 33–49 (10th in East, did not make playoffs)
• 2015–2016 Cap Room: None
• Key Strengths: Best player in the world, top 5 talent at Point Guard and Power Forward
• Key Weaknesses: Center

1st-Year Strategy: In real life, LeBron James and Kevin Love will likely exercise their player options in keeping with their plans to get a big payday when the league’s new TV revenue creates a bump in the cap, but this may not be reflected in 2K15, so try to extend both players as soon as possible to long-term deals. LeBron may be better suited for the 4-year max and Love the 5-year, but either way you want to lock these guys up, along with Kyrie Irving, who certainly will be looking for max money himself after the first year. Anderson Varejao also expires at the end of year 1, but his situation is a little more tricky. If you have something like $60 million allocated to just 3 players, Varejao’s declining skills due to age and injury may not be an efficient usage of your limited resources. It may be worth trading someone like Dion Waiters (who has a team option and qualifying offer due to him after year 1) and/or Tristan Thompson in order to replace Varejao by either trade or draft. Obviously, trading Waiters causes you to lose your presumptive starting Shooting Guard, but Waiters is overqualified to be the starter on this Cavaliers team. You should instead look for someone like Anthony Morrow who can spot up and shoot open 3s all game long.

3-Year Strategy: Once you make your decisions on your starting 5 going forward, you’re just working on depth at that point. Matthew Dellavedova is a good in-house option to back up Kyrie Irving, but there’s not a ton here otherwise. You need a good wing who can swing back and forth between the 2, 3, and 4 positions (Dorrell Wright or Draymond Green are decent choices depending on whether you want the player to flex between the 2 and 3 or 3 and 4), but, you also need to work out your center depth. Any draft picks you have should be looking for players with specific skills: shooting or rim protection. You don’t need ball-handling at all, so place a premium on players who excel at those specific skills.

Detroit Pistons

• 2013–2014 Record: 29–53 (11th in East, did not make playoffs)
• 2015–2016 Cap Room: $26 million
• Key Strengths: Potential stars
• Key Weaknesses: Bad vets in front of them, shooting

1st-Year Strategy: Due to him accepting the qualifying offer from the Pistons, Greg Monroe will be an Unrestricted Free Agent next summer. Playing him and Drummond together will be a painful experiment in year 1, but a necessary one. You need to determine which one of these guys to keep. Chances are it will be Drummond, and you should look to part with Monroe early by trading him away for whatever you can get.

3-Year Strategy: If you do let Monroe go, it actually frees up one of your biggest problem areas on the roster: Josh Smith. Really, the choice may be between Monroe and Smith, but Monroe is the only one you can actually get rid of. Still, if you’re playing Monroe and Drummond together, Smith at Small Forward is just not acceptable offensively or defensively. Smith can’t shoot and isn’t quick enough anymore to guard the elite Small Forwards in the game, leaving a gaping hole at that spot that nobody on the roster can really fill. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is your Shooting Guard of the future, and you have a nice backup in Jodie Meeks. Letting Brandon Jennings go after year 2 is a no-brainer, so your efforts going forward should be focused on finding starters at Point Guard and Small Forward.

Indiana Pacers

• 2013–2014 Record: 56–26 (1st in East, lost to Heat 4–2 in East Finals)
• 2015–2016 Cap Room: None
• Key Strengths: Interior defense
• Key Weaknesses: Offense

1st-Year Strategy: The real-life Pacers are too prideful to do what I’m going to advocate here, but NBA 2K15 should reflect Paul George’s yearlong absence, and Roy Hibbert and David West have a combined $28 million in player options due to them in 2015–2016.

That considered, blow it up. Try to move Hibbert, West, and George Hill and back whatever you can in return. You’re looking for draft picks and cap relief.

Otherwise, your big decisions are on CJ Watson and Chris Copeland. I think both have the skills to be useful players in NBA 2K15, and each one brings some offense to a team that is sorely lacking it, especially without Paul George.

3-Year Strategy: If you decide to keep your team intact, your year to contend is 2015–2016, when George comes back. Even if you re-sign Watson and Copeland, you are still in the market for another wing, with little cap space to acquire one, unless you want to start CJ Miles along with George. Honestly, this preview could just be a big sad face, because this franchise is suddenly in limbo after having such a great start last season.

Milwaukee Bucks

• 2013–2014 Record: 15–67 (15th in East, did not make playoffs)
• 2015–2016 Cap Room: $7 million
• Key Strengths: Shooting Guard and Small Forward, arms
• Key Weakness: Point Guard

1st-Year Strategy: You have an overpriced bench player in OJ Mayo and an interesting decision piece in Brandon Knight. Mayo should definitely be traded. He’s a decent bench option, but this is a young team with cheap, young talent, and having a guy like Mayo play 18 minutes per game for $8 million per year for 2 years is a waste. Knight is due a $5 million qualifying offer, and giving him a raise will bring you up to the cap, unless you shed more salary. I would rather target a Point Guard in the 2015 draft and either trade Knight or let another team sign him to an offer sheet.

3-Year Strategy: If you keep the status-quo in place, you have a pretty clean cap sheet after 2016 and 3 solid pieces: Larry Sanders, #2 overall pick Jabari Parker, and Antetokounmpo, who by this point in your NBA2K15 franchise should be a mid-80s player with multiple skills on offense and defense. That’s not counting whoever you draft in the years prior. This is a potentially great team with only 2 real needs: frontcourt scoring and Point Guard play. Guys like Middleton, Nate Wolters, and John Henson can all offer depth, but Ersan Illyasova might be the swing play for you. If you can get him at a reasonable cost, Illysaova is an interesting player who can play with Sanders and provide you with some frontcourt scoring that you so desperately need. He has a team option in 2016–2017, and then he’s a free agent, so you could find yourself with a very solid team quickly if you make the right decision at Point Guard. This is a potentially terrifying team if you play your cards right.

Originally published at www.goodgamebro.com on October 7, 2014.