First official 2K Sports NBA 2K12 roster released

MISSING PLAYERS ADDED

76/PG - Kyrie Irving (Cavaliers)

66/PF - Tristan Thompson (Cavaliers)

56/C - Eddy Curry (Heat)

65/SF - Jordan Hamilton (Nuggets)

70/PF - Kenneth Faried (Nuggets)

Obviously it's disappointing to see only the rookies for Nuggets and Cavs added (Nuggets players surely being the most important signings and ones that held up the roster release, since they needed to replace the Chinese exports).  All the rookies will make it in by Christmas, but I'm sure fans worldwide are hoping for another update ASAP.

PLAYERS REMOVED
75/PG - Aaron Brooks (Suns)
78/SG - Brandon Roy (Blazers)

74/SG - J.R. Smith (Nuggets)

80/SF - Wilson Chandler (Nuggets)

76/PF - Kenyon Martin (Nuggets)

64/C - Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Heat)

54/C - Nenad Krstic (Celtics)

I don't have issue w/ the Nuggets players & Brooks being removed but it's worth noting that all four will be back in the NBA in march when the regular season ends.  This will actually leave me (and other roster editors) a difficult decision to make later on in the year when they return to the NBA.  Restart my roster to get the official models and associated commentary, or use player CAPs?  It would be great if 2K put them back in the game and removed them AFTER the season started (so we could get them in a roster w/ all of the official rookies), but roster editors should not exactly hold their breathe waiting for that to happen.

RATING CHANGES

I did not see any, and honestly I wouldn't expect any until the season starts.  For now we will have to live with 65 rated center getting 10 million per year and a 70 rated center getting 14 million.

PLAYER MOVEMENT

Derrick Brown (65/SF) on Bobcats (via Knicks)

Mike Dunleavy (62/SG) on Bucks (via Pacers)

Keyon Dooling (67/PG) on Celtics (via Bucks)

Brandon Bass (70/PF) on Celtics (via Magic)

Caron Butler (81/SF) on Clippers (via Mavericks)

Tracy McGrady (69/SG) on Hawks (via Pistons)

Vladimir Radmanovic (53/PF) on Hawks (via Warriors)

Shane Battier (77/SF) on Heat (via Grizzlies)

Chuck Hayes (68/C) on Kings (via Rockets)

Tyson Chandler (70/C) on Knicks (via Mavericks)

Andy Rautins (56/SG) on Mavericks (via Knicks)

Brandan Wright (59/PF) on Mavericks (via Nets)

Brandon Roy (78/SG) removed from game (via Trail Blazers)

Aaron Gray (54/C) on Raptors (via Hornets)

Jamaal Magloire (50/C) on Raptors (via Heat)

T.J. Ford (69/PG) on Spurs (via Pacers)

Sebastian Telfair (63/PG) on Suns (via Timberwolves)

Shannon Brown (72/SG) on Suns (via Lakers)

Roger Mason (66/SG) on Wizards (via Knicks)

Ronny Turiaf (62/C) on Wizards (via Knicks)

Chauncey Billups (79/PG) in Free Agents (via Knicks)

Richard Hamilton (76/SG) in Free Agents (via Pistons)

Vince Carter (76/SG) in Free Agents (via Suns) (signing w/ Mavericks not official yet)

Anthony Parker (67/SG) in Free Agents (via Cavaliers) (he re-signed today however)

Troy Murphy (66/PF) in Free Agents (via Celtics)

Reggie Evans (60/PF) in Free Agents (via Raptors)

Alexis Ajinca (43/C) in Free Agents (via Raptors)

MISCELLAENOUS CHANGES

Ron Artest (71/SF) name changed to Metta World Peace

ROSTER MISTAKES

Jason Kapono (53/SF) on 76ers; signed w/ Lakers on Friday
Darius Songaila (54/PF) on 76ers; signed in Turkey over summer w/ no out-clause
Garrett Temple (65/SG) on Bobcats; signed in Italy over summer w/ no out-clause

Chris Douglas-Roberts (69/SF)  on Bucks; signed in Europe over summer w/ no out-clause

Rasual Butler (58/SF) on Bulls; signed w/ Raptors

Kurt Thomas (63/C) on Bulls; signed w/ Trail Blazers

Joey Graham (70/SF) on Cavaliers; waived by team

Alonzo Gee (67/SF) on Cavaliers; signed in Poland over summer (left team, current free agent)

Von Wafer (59/SG) on Celtics; traded to Magic as part of Brandon Bass trade that 2K made

Damien Wilkins (61/SF) on Hawks; signed w/ Pistons

Hilton Armstrong (51/C) on Hawks; signed in France over summer w/ no out-clause

David West (74/PF) on Hornets; signed w/ Pacers yesterday
David Andersen (49/C) on Hornets; signed in Italy over summer w no out-clause

Lamar Odom (78/PF) on Lakers; was traded to Mavericks yesterday

Gilbert Arenas (77/PG) on Magic; was waived via amnesty provision

Earl Clark (64/SF) on Magic; signed w/ China, left team and became free agent

Ben Uzoh (57/PG) on Nets; signed w/ Russia over summer (though waived after 2 games)

Mario West (50/PG) on Nets; signed w/ Italy over summer w/ no out-clause

Sasha Vujacic (67/SG) on Nets; signed w/ Turkey over summer w/ no out-clause

Dan Gadzuric (56/C) on Nets; signed w/ China over summer w/ no out-clause

Gary Forbes (65/SF) on Nuggets; signed offer sheet w/ Raptors (can understand waiting to see if they match, though presumed they won't)

Melvin Ely (54/C) on Nuggets; signed w/ China over summer w/ no out-clause

Terrico White (63/SG) on Pistons; waived by team (invited to Hornets training camp)

DaJuan Summers (56/SF) on Pistons; signed w/ Italy over summer (left team, invited to Hornets training camp)

Chris Wilcox (61/PF) on Pistons; signed w/ Celtics

Sonny Weems (67/SF) on Raptors; signed w/ Lithuania over summer w/ no out-clause

Joey Dorsey (62/PF) on Raptors; signed w/ Spain over summer w/ no out-clause

Chris Quinn (53/PG) on Spurs; signed w/ Russia over summer w/ no out-clause

Antonio McDyess (65/PF) on Spurs; expected to retire (though team trying to convince him otherwise)

Gani Lawal (56/PF) on Suns; was waived by team

Patrick Mills (62/PG) on Trailblazers; signed in China over summer w/ no out-clause

Acie Law (59/PG) on Warriors; signed in Serbia over summer w/ no out-clause

Jeremy Lin (56/PG) on Warriors; was waived by team and claimed yesterday by Rockets

Mustafa Shakur (55/PG) on Wizards; signed in Italy over summer (presumed no out-clause)

Yi Jianlian (63/PF) on Wizards; signed in China over summer (unlike other players he WILL have an out-clause because he isn't an import)

Mickael Pietrus (72/SF) in Free Agents (why isn't he on Suns after canceled Raptors trade????)

Marquis Daniels (62/SG) in Free Agents (Signed w/ Celtics same day as Bass/Baby trade, would allow them to move Wafer to Magic)

Ryan Hollins (53/C) in Free Agents (he is NOT a free agent and is still on Cavaliers, unlike waived Joey Graham)

The international players are not a big deal since many of them are place-holders until the rookies are added.

To be honest it is puzzling to see so many roster mistakes considering Aaron Gray's signing w/ the Raptors made it into the roster.  Gray's signing was one of the more recent (and under the radar!) transactions.  Jason Kapono signing w/ the Lakers was reported BEFORE the lockout ended and was one of the first official moves made.  His signing is clearly listed on NBA.com's transactions page, which 2K Sports should obviously be going by since it is an NBA licensed game.  There is simply no good reason for 3-day old transactions to not be kept up with.  Likewise finding Pietrus in the FA pool is simply sloppy, no other way around it.  Finding Hollins in the FA pool instead of a player who was waived on the first day of free agency (Graham) is yet another blunder that 2K seemingly cannot avoid from year to year.  What does it say when CASUAL roster editors can get moves right more frequently than the game company itself?  To quote Eminem, "Maybe there's a little Real 2K Insider in all of us."

MISCELLANEOUS MISTAKES

Contracts seem to be off for the newly signed free agents.  For instance, Chuck Hayes' new contract worth 4 years and 22 million, when he signed for 4 years and 19 million.  Not a huge deal, but does show a lack of effort and attention to detail considering the contract terms are the 2nd most important thing reported (after the team the player is signing with).

Jason Richardson re-signed w/ the Magic but his contract extension has not been implemented, meaning contracts of players who re-signed w/ their teams will be something to watch for.

Chris Johnson has been on an NBA roster since March.  It has been 9 months and he has still not been added to 2K's rosters.

Jeff Pendergraph signed with the Pacers a few days ago.  Eddy Curry has returned to the game from temporary exile, but Pendergraph has not.
It isn't worth fretting over team rotations when there are so many rookies missing.  Only one I would bother changing is Greg Oden starting over Marcus Camby (we all know why).

SUGGESTED CHANGES

Fixing the aforementioned roster mistakes would be a big one.

Nitpicking specific ratings would not be effective at this stage, however I'm sure 100% of fans would agree that the overall ratings for Tyson Chandler and DeAndre Jordan are awful.

Mavericks have SEVEN Shooting Guards on their roster, which is quite comical (and surely some sort of all-time record). Barea is set to sign w/ Timberwolves, which will leave them with only one Point Guard.  Change Rodrigue Beaubois position to PG.  Change Corey Brewer to SF, as Shawn Marion is team's only SF at present.

This post has been sent to Ronnie2K's twitter account and it will be interesting to see how 2K Sports responds to it (if at all).