NBA 2K17: Playing GM of the Memphis Grizzlies for five years

Year 4

Offseason Review

Another year of not having to find staff or having any draft picks made the first part of the offseason easy once again. The easy part ended fast, though, as Whiteside and Winslow decided to test free agency, but being able to pick up the team option on the quickly developing Wade Baldwin IV helped soften the blow of potentially losing two starters. The plan for free agency was to keep Whiteside and Winslow, as I wasn’t going to lose Conley and Gasol for one year rentals. As luck prevailed, I was able to keep the whole team together again and both Whiteside and Winslow signed long-term deals to stay with the Grizzlies. With the development of Deyonta Davis, I decided not to pursue any new free agents and move him into the starting power forward slot. By moving Chandler Parson to the bench, I think we could improve our bench scoring while also having some flexibility with multiple different lineups.

Midseason Review

I was worried going into the All-Star break that I would have to blow this team up. We were 23-28 and I was considering moving Parsons and his expiring deal, but after a seven-game win streak to precede the break, the decision was to keep moving forward with this roster. The 30-28 record got us to sixth in the conference while also giving the Grizzlies their first All-Star in four years, Kyle Lowry. I decided to up the role of Baldwin IV in hopes our low assists numbers at the break would rise. For the most part, I liked what the seven-game win streak hinted at and wanted to keep rolling with this team. If they get hot now, why couldn’t they get hot in the playoffs?

"Wade Baldwin IV"

Postseason Review

Unfortunately we didn’t stay very hot. We finished with a 43-39 record and got into the playoffs as the seventh seed. Our first round game was against the Demarcus Cousins led Kings and proved that Sacramento Kings is a one man team. Whiteside shut down Cousins and we swept the Kings in the first round. Round two was against the Clippers who I have been waiting to beat for some time now. After going down two games because of Blake Griffin’s 28.4 points per game, I decided to have Whiteside cover him whenever he was on the floor. That helped a little bit as we got the series to six games, but we couldn’t overcome the deficit and got bounced in the second round.

For the third straight year we finished in the bottom five for points per game and top five for points against, but improved in rebounding with help from Deyonta Davis becoming a key contributor in the post. Giving Baldwin IV significant minutes didn’t help our assists numbers but we ranked first in the league in least turnovers per game. Our bench still struggled even after moving Chandler Parsons to the sixth man role.

Season Notes:

• Ben Simmons won MVP averaging 17 points per game, 10 rebounds per game, and 8.5 assists per game
• Tyronn Lue won Coach of the Year, but with the Sixers and not the Cavaliers
• Warriors and Sixers were the one seeds while the Cavaliers were the three-seed
• The Warriors’ Dominance ended when they lost in Western Conference Quarterfinals, while LeBron lost to the De’Aaron Fox led Dallas Mavericks in seven games