Apparently, all it takes to manage an NBA roster these days is a working knowledge of a game console and a copy of
NBA Live 09. (
LA Times seems to think you'd do just fine with the '08 edition, too, but it's simply not in that version's "
DNA.") You don't even need to know how to
play -- just sit back and let the game run its own simulations, as Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey recently admitted. While it sounds like the sort of desperation measure fit for a Clippers GM, reportedly, roughly half of NBA teams use EA's
NBA Live to evaluate players around the league. "Say if you're thinking about acquiring Ron Artest," explained Morey, "On the game, you can see how adding Artest can change the dynamic of your team. You can program it to run offensive sets with Artest and any combination of your players."
On the flip side, "you can't simulate a player being out too late the night before or his body language on the bench or how he interacts with teammates" conceded Morey; or his potential to attend practice in a
bathrobe or put out an embarrassingly clichéd
hip-hop record. (All great ideas for the next installment of
NBA Live, by the way.)
[Thanks, Wonderflex]
{ Dec 3rd 2008 at 8:30PM } 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
JRM @ Dec 3rd 2008 8:35PM
That's not a bad idea. Although I wonder why no one ever came up with a database/software of players that is more serious than a video game? One that updates itself daily, contains memos from different scouts, and so detailed that you could even check the stats of highschool players and leagues all over the US.
elafantcircusman @ Dec 3rd 2008 8:38PM
I agree.
I'll be playing this game instead though...http://www.futuregame.com/index.php?r=conore1337
twolfe287 @ Dec 3rd 2008 8:46PM
2k9 >
M @ Dec 4th 2008 9:39AM
They lost me to EA sports with NBA2K9. Good luck getting those roster updates they promised. I read the fine print and discovered that the updates are weekly, so I gave it about a week and a half... still had Allen Iverson on the Nuggets and no Delonte West even on the Cavs' roster. I went to call 2kSports support, but it's not an 800 number so I figured I should check online for answers for free before spending more money. From what I read in those forums I saw that not only had no one else gotten the updates, but online matchmaking was effed-up as well. The outlook was not good, so I cut my losses and traded the game in for the EA sports one with the ugly dude on the cover.
Donald @ Dec 3rd 2008 9:22PM
I'm not buying a basketball video game unless it features Allen Iverson skipping practice.
And saying "practice" 23.5 times in a 90 second soundbite.
Mike @ Dec 4th 2008 3:57AM
About 14 NBA teams get their scouting information from Synergy Sports. Starting with NBA Live 09, EA Sports is also getting information regularly from Synergy Sports. All this is is another medium to look at the data they already have, and the accuracy of EA's simulation engine. It's pretty pointless to comment about 2K9 when this has nothing to do with the actual gameplay being any good.
lolololol @ Dec 3rd 2008 10:11PM
this sounds like a fluff piece to market a game. Kind of like how Saddam was supposedly buying ps2's because they were powerful enough to make a super computer for actual WMD's..or something.
Strategy_Panda (the artist formally known as Titanium_Orchid) @ Dec 3rd 2008 10:24PM
o.0 ?
snapa @ Dec 3rd 2008 10:50PM
It's a true story...
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=21118
HPanda @ Dec 3rd 2008 11:57PM
Not sure if I trust your source there. That same site has an article titled "Soy is making kids 'gay'."
Deeznuts420 @ Dec 4th 2008 8:43AM
it isnt?
Beastfromeast @ Dec 4th 2008 8:20AM
Here in England football teams are using Football Manager by Sega for scouting purposes.