ASA Rules

These are the official rules for the ASA. Any changes to the rules can be made at league admin's discretion. Some important issues may go to a league vote.

The ASA rules do not and will never cover every possible scenario. This is a simple internet league and should not require an extensive rule document. Team owners should not be looking for loopholes to get around the intention of the ASAs salary cap and trading rules.

If a team owner is unsure of a rule or believes something is not covered by the rules, they should seek advice from the league as to whether they may proceed with the action/strategy. That there is not an explicit rule for the action/strategy is not a reason to proceed with it and assume it to be a loophole/within the rules.

• The All Star Association (ASA) is a league that uses NBA Live (EA Sports) to simulate the NBA through roster management, gameplay, and owner interaction.
• All games are played on owners' computers with the computer AI being the opponent. There are also simulation games where the computer controls both teams.
• With that parameter in place, the goal of an owner in the ASA is to build the strongest computer team and to guide that team to the computer simulated ASA playoffs.

• Members are expected to keep up-to-date with announcements posted on the league website AND the league forum.
• Team owners are expected to turn in all games on time in the correct manner (POTG, quarter scores, etc). If you cannot play your games in a certain week, please advise the league via the forum. You may arrange for someone else to play your games and any sims should be made available for someone else to sim. You must not proceed with another weeks games until a previous weeks games are submitted.
• Team owners should endeavour to play games in a realistic manner.
• Owners must use the correct roster for all games played/simmed.
• Team owners should keep their teams roster valid at all times (5 starters, at least 3 bench players in roster positions 6, 7 and 8). This includes making any relevant changes due to injuries, trades or free agency transactions.
• Team owners must participate in all league events, eg. drafts, votes, nominations.
• Members should treat eachother in a civil manner.
• Team owners must not collude in an attempt to get around the league rules for salary cap, trading, free agency - and thus giving themselves an unfair advantage over other teams.

• Games are played using the PC version of NBA Live. (EA Sports)
• An owner is responsible for submitting up to three games per week (two human and one sim). Each season runs for 15 weeks of regular season games, plus playoffs. There are two ASA seasons to one NBA season.
• *IMPORTANT NOTE* These rules are outdated. Please use the settings in the settings file. Game Settings - All Games:
  • Difficulty Level: SuperStar
  • All rules: On
  • CPU assist: Off
  • Foul meters: Default
  • Shot control: User
• Game Settings - Human Games (we recommend setting up the human game sliders as the 'Custom' sliders):
  • Quarter Length: 10 minutes
  • Game Style: action (with appropriate slider settings - see section Slider Settings)
  • Foul Out: 6
• Game Settings - Sim Games (we recommend setting up the sim game sliders as the 'NBA Live 07' sliders):
  • Quarter Length: 10 minutes
  • Game Style: simulation (with appropriate slider settings - see section Slider Settings)
  • Foul Out: 6
• You MUST use the patch for the given week. Owners must get their roster for each round in on time prior to the start of the round.
• You may change your own roster before playing human games and you may activate players from the IR, provided injured players remain on the IR.
• The ASA requires owners endeavour to play games as realistically as possible. Should players consistantly produce games with unrealistic stats, penalties may be applied.

• Each team plays an 87-game regular season schedule with 29 Human, 29 CPU and 29 Sim games - one of each type against each other team in the league.
• The regular season will run for 15 weeks - each team will play up to 2 human and 1 sim game per week. They must not proceed with another weeks games until a previous weeks games are submitted.
• There will be 2 ASA seasons to each NBA season.

• A team must have a minimum of 12 players, and a maximum of 15 players, under contract at any time (certain periods of the off-season do not require a minimum 12 players). Any violation of these roster limits may result in the ASA admin cutting and/or signing additional players for your team.
• A team's combined payroll must remain at or below the named salary cap value for that season (the salary cap is not enforced for certain periods of the off-season). The lone exception to this is through use of the '15% trading exception' (explained below). Any violation may result in ASA admin cuts and/or signings for your team.
• Changes to rosters may be made on the site at any time.
• All teams MUST have at least 2 players capable of playing all the positions PG, SG, SF, PF, C on their roster for every week of the ASA season and playoffs. If a team does not have 2 players at each position, a penalty will be applied for every week their roster is invalid (see Penalties). If a team goes below the 2 required players at a position via a trade, then they must make further roster moves (trades or FA signings) to return to a valid roster before the start of the next week.
• Every team must have at least 1 bench player with a primary or secondary position of PG, SG, SF, PF and C for each week of the regular season and playoffs. ie. there must be a backup player at each position on the bench. The only exception to this is if the team has sufficient injuries to players at a particular position and cannot provide an eligible backup. If a team has eligible players, but fails to assign a backup bench player at any position, a penalty will be applied for every week their roster is invalid.
• If a team has injured players at a particular position which would prevent them from assigning a starter or bench player at that position, then they should contact league admin to request an "appropriate" player to be assigned the position for each week the team has injuries preventing them from fielding a valid roster.

• When a trade is agreed by both teams, members of the ASA Trade Panel have to approve it before the trade is made official.
• Trades made by an owner up to two weeks before departure from the league MAY be voided upon league review, as well as any subsequent trades involving players acquired from these voided trades.
• Process for making a trade:
  • you may initiate a trade, by clicking on the blue '+' next to the appropriate player on another team's roster page.
  • you can then add players/picks to the trade. You may then 'Offer' the trade to the other team.
  • either team may make changes to the trade by adding/removing players and draft picks.
  • any violations of the league roster/salary rules will be shown on the trade page.
  • each team must 'Confirm' the trade when satisfied. Once confirmed, neither team may pull out.
  • members of the ASA Trade Panel must then 'Approve' or 'Reject' the trade.
• Draft picks may be traded, but only one season ahead. All picks eligible to be traded are listed on the team pages.
• The trade deadline is at the end of Week 12.
• Trades may only involve players and draft picks (no future/other considerations).
• Trades may be voided at the discretion of the ASA admin.
• 15% Trading Exception - Any trade that would put an owner over the league salary cap has to adhere to the "15% trading exception" in order to be approved. A team that makes a trade that would put their payroll over the salary cap must receive, at most, 115% of the value of salary they gave. The "15% trading exception" will not be enforced in the offseason (i.e. the cap is not in effect)

• The period for signing free agents starts at the conclusion of each season's Free Agent Draft and lasts until the end of the regular season. Free Agent signings are prohibited during the ASA Playoffs.
• A team that releases a player may not sign him as a Free Agent for a period of two weeks after the player's release. The exception is if the player is signed as a result of being selected in the Free Agent Draft, where another team has had the opportunity to select the player with a prior pick.
  • Example 1: if you have picks #1 and #3, you may not release a player and select him with the #1 pick, you could however select him with #3.
  • Example 2: if you have picks #1, #2, #4, you may not release a player and select him with the #1 or #2 picks, you could however select him with #4.
• Process for signing a free agent:
  • you must make a request to sign a free agent, by clicking on the appropriate salary for the contract years on the Free Agents page.
  • you can specify just one salary and term for any player.
  • you MUST make a request for any player you wish to sign. Do not make a request for "the best available player" in your FA Request Notes, as this request cannot be processed and your bids on other players may be made invalid.
  • you may make offers for many players. If you wish to sign only one player from a group of players, you must make a request for all the players and then specify your preferences on your team's FA Request page, in the FA Request Notes.
  • if signing a free agent will put your team over the salary cap or over the 15 player limit, you must specify, in the FA Request Notes, which player(s) you wish to release to make cap room/roster space.
  • once a week, a member of the ASA admin will process the free agent requests and determine which team will sign a player. This decision is based on the largest salary (yrs * salary) the player is offered. Where teams make identical requests, the team deemed the more needy will be given the player. The 'more needy' team is determined by the Free Agent Team Rankings - this is based on the ratings of the best 6 players for each team.

• Each week during the ASA regular season, a list of injured players will be posted on the website. These players will be placed on a team's IR for the specified period of time.
• Injuries are effective from Week 2.
• Players can be injured multiple times in a season.
• The ASA admin reserves the right to manipulate a team's roster as they see fit should a team fail to submit a revised roster.
• Injuries are determined by using a random number generator.
• A maximum of 3 players from one team can be injured for a particular week of the regular season.
• There are no injuries during the playoffs.

• Playoffs are in a 7-7-7-7 format.
• The top 8 teams, by overall record and tie-breakers if necessary, in each conference will qualify for the playoffs.
• If the Division Champions qualify for the playoffs, they will be seeded #1, #2 and #3 in their conference.
• The remaining seeds are determined by overall record and tie-breakers if necessary.
• Tie-Breakers: Head-to-head results (may not be appropriate to split multi-team ties), sim%, conference%, cpu%, human% (coin toss is a last resort)
• Home court advantage goes to the team with the better regular season record for all rounds of the playoffs.
• All playoff series are played in a 1-1-2-2-1 format.
• In the playoffs each owner plays their first home game, with the final five games of the series being simmed.
• As with the regular season, strategies (defensive/offesive playsets, defensive matchups, defensive pressure, double teams) will NOT be used for playoff sims.
• Player positions will be hidden from view during the playoffs.

• The salary cap is currently set at $37 mil.
• The salary cap will be calculated each season. It will be based on the base salaries of the top 360 players in the league (30 teams in the league * 14 players for a minimum roster = 420).

• Player salaries are based entirely on player ratings.
• The type of player (ball handling guard, shooting guard, scoring swingman, tall forward, bigman) will be taken into account in the calculations to determine base salaries.
• Players can be signed for 1 to 4 season terms.
• The salaries for signing free agents are based on the following:
  • 1yr : 85% of the base salary
  • 2yrs: 100% of the base salary
  • 3yrs: 115% of the base salary
  • 4yrs: 130% of the base salary
• After week 9 of the regular season, all free agent salaries will decrease by 10% of the base salary.
• The salaries for re-signing restricted free agents are based on the following:
  • 1yr : 130% of the base salary
  • 2yrs: 145% of the base salary
  • 3yrs: 160% of the base salary
  • 4yrs: 175% of the base salary
• When a player is released by a team, his salary WILL NO LONGER count against the team's payroll.
• The rookie salary pay scale is as follows. All 1st round picks MUST be signed to 2 or 3yr deals. 2nd round picks may be signed to 1, 2 or 3yr deals or be released.
  • Pick #1 : 1yr-N/A; 2yrs-$3,500,000; 3yrs-$4,000,000
  • Pick #2 : 1yr-N/A; 2yrs-$3,250,000; 3yrs-$3,750,000
  • Pick #3 : 1yr-N/A; 2yrs-$3,000,000; 3yrs-$3,500,000
  • Pick #4 : 1yr-N/A; 2yrs-$2,750,000; 3yrs-$3,250,000
  • Pick #5 : 1yr-N/A; 2yrs-$2,500,000; 3yrs-$3,000,000
  • Pick #6-9 : 1yr-N/A; 2yrs-$2,000,000; 3yrs-$2,500,000
  • Pick #10-14 : 1yr-N/A; 2yrs-$1,750,000; 3yrs-$2,000,000
  • Pick #15-19 : 1yr-N/A; 2yrs-$1,500,000; 3yrs-$1,750,000
  • Pick #20-24 : 1yr-N/A; 2yrs-$1,300,000; 3yrs-$1,500,000
  • Pick #25-30 : 1yr-N/A; 2yrs-$1,100,000; 3yrs-$1,250,000
  • Pick #31-37 : 1yr-$600,000; 2yrs-$800,000; 3yrs-$1,000,000
  • Pick #38-45 : 1yr-$450,000; 2yrs-$650,000; 3yrs-$800,000
  • Pick #46-60 : 1yr-$400,000; 2yrs-$500,000; 3yrs-$600,000

• A penalty system is in place to penalise owners who do not participate at the appropriate level.
• Punishment will take the form of salary cap deductions for the season the owner plays in immediately following the time the penalty is incurred.
• Punishment is as follows:
  • failing to play/sim games by the specified deadline ($150,000 per game which is more than 1 week late and a further $100,000 for every further week the game is late)
  • failing to play games realistically ($1,000,000 for repeated infringements)
  • playing subseqent games before a prior weeks games are submitted ($500,000 for each game)
  • failing to specify your team's roster correctly ($500,000 per week the roster is invalid)
  • failing to use the appropriate roster for games ($250,000 per incorrect game - may be replayed with correct roster to avoid punishment)
  • failing to submit games in the correct manner (quarter scores, POTG, starters) ($250,000 per game)
  • failing to participate in league votes/nominations ($1,000,000 per failure to participate in a vote)
  • failing to have at least 2 players at each position on a roster ($1,000,000 for each week the roster is invalid)
  • failing to have at least 1 backup at each positions on the bench ($500,000 for each week the roster is invalid)
  • other penalties may be applied at the ASA admin's discretion if members fail to abide by league rules
• Should a team owner incurr excessive penalties, the ASA admin can dismiss the owner from the league.

• An owner may leave by resignation or dismissal.
• Should an owner leave by resignation, he may nominate someone on the waiting list to take over. The ASA admin must still approve the nominated owner.
• If an outgoing owner fails to appoint his replacement General Manager, one will be selected from the ASA waiting list.
• The league will endeavour to arrange a panel of 3 members of the ASA to preside over the hiring process
• Selection will be dependent upon several factors:
  • Applicants with prior experience in other leagues will have an increased chance in being selected
  • The Applicant's general behaviour in other leagues will be examined through discussion with Commissioners of other NBA Live leagues with any recommendations being taken into account
  • If no recommendation is received from other participants in the Applicant's other leagues, then any or all deals conducted by the applicant may be examined
  • Applicants who are highly recommended by an existing ASA member will have an increased chance of being selected.
• The Applicant will be interviewed by the panel. The outcome of the interview and subsequent discussion by the panel will determine the Applicant's success
• The ASA admin reserves the right to give preference towards previous ASA/ASL/SSL owners.

• A member(s) may be nominated and selected to host the all-star weekend, which involves the three-point shootout, slam dunk contest, rookie-sophmore game, all-star game, or any other ASA admin approved event. He is expected to provide 'coverage' of all events, with a full recap of the events.
• The All-Star Weekend will take place mid-season.
• The selection of the all-star teams will be done by league vote - each team must vote for 1 center, 2 forwards and 2 guards. An owner may not vote for his own players.
• The top 12 vote getting players from each conference are selected for the all-star game.
• Competitors in the various All-Star Weekend events are to be selected by ASA admin approved criterias.

• At the end of the regular season, ballots will be e-mailed to owners with selections for the ASA's major awards.
• An owner may not vote for his own players.
• The ASA Finals Most Valuable Player will be selected by the ASA admin at the conclusion of the ASA Finals.

• There will be a FA draft before each season and a Rookie draft before each season when new rookies are added to ASA patch (to co-incide with the NBA rookie draft).
• There will be a Rookie Draft Lottery. This lottery follows the same rules as the NBA draft lottery.
• Each team will be assigned picks in the 2 rounds of the drafts prior to the previous season commencing. These picks may be included in trades.
• The Rookie Draft will always have a maxiumum of 2 rounds.
• The Free Agent Draft may contain more than 2 rounds (but no more than 4 rounds). Teams can get picks in additional rounds depending on the number of 'restricted free agents' they release prior to that draft.
• The free agent draft order will be determined by a combination of 50% previous season win% + 50% team player ratings (top 6 players). Additionally the ASA champion and runner up from the previous season will be assigned the last and second last picks respectively in each round of the draft.
• The rookie draft order will be determined by 100% sim win% from the previous season. The tie-breaker for the rookie draft order will be: FA ranking. The teams that missed the playoffs will participate in a lottery for the top 3 positions. The lottery chances will be determined by the draft order - tied teams will split the chances (if the chances can not be split evenly, the team with the better FA ranking will get extra chances.
• The methods of determining the FA and rookie draft order maybe be changed by ASA admin.
• In the Free Agent draft, a team can NOT resign a player they have released unless another team has the opportunity to sign the player first. If a team has picks #1 and #3 in the draft, that team cannot release a player and draft him with pick #1 as no other team has had a chance to sign the player - ie. he is not a true "free" agent. The team can draft the player with pick #3, as the team with pick #2 will have had a chance to draft the player. Additionally, teams who hold the high picks in the draft must not collude to release and sign eachothers players.

• At the conclusion on each season, there will be a period of time in which the following activities will take place.
• The roster patch will be updated to incorporate new players, remove players and adjust player ratings. The ASA will use players and ratings from the NLSC roster patches. If the NLSC roster patches are not considered up to date, the ASA admins may choose to adjust player ratings based on NBA stats from the last NBA season.
• New player salaries will be calculated based on the new ratings. The new salary cap will be determined.
• Teams must re-sign/release their 'restricted free agents' (players whose contract term has expired). (see Player Salaries). Teams MUST remain under the salary cap in re-signing their restricted free agetnts. The minimum roster limit will not be in force. There is no trading during this period.
• Once all teams have re-signed their restricted free agents, the salary cap will be lifted (not in force). Teams may then make trades without the restrictions of the salary cap and minimum roster limits. (All trades must still be approved by the ASA Trade Panel to ensure fairness)
• In seasons with a Rookie Draft, the Rookie draft will preceed the Free Agent draft.
• Just prior to the Rookie draft, all teams must get under the salary cap by means of trades and releasing players. Trading will cease.
• Draft Day Trades - there are NO draft day trades. If teams wish to trade draft picks on draft day, the team holding the pick must draft and sign the player (included in their salary cap), then do a regular trade after the draft.
• The Rookie Draft will take place. Teams may draft any player(s). Teams will have 24hrs after the draft to decide on rookie contract terms and ensure they are under the salary cap. To get under the salary cap teams must release players. No trading is allowed at this time.
• Once all teams are back under the salary cap, trading will resume and the salary cap will be lifted.
• The Free Agent Draft will follow the same sequence as the Rookie Draft. Teams must get under the salary cap just prior to the draft and be under the cap a day after the draft.
• After the Free Agent draft, the salary cap will be inforce as will the minimum and maximum player roster limits.

• Each team can create and publish their own personal web site on the ASA server.
• To publish files, go to your Team WebSpace page. Here you can upload files and delete them.
• You must publish a file called index.html to have it display as your home page.
• The following rules MUST be adhered to with regard to team WebSpaces. Failure to adhere to the rules will result in instant dismissal from the league.
  • Only ASA related files can be loaded into your team's web space.
  • Teams must not exceed the 5Mb web space capacity.
  • A team owner must remove any files from their web space when asked to do so by the webmaster.

• The following slider settings will be used for ASA games. Note: there are different settings for human and sim games.
• To enable us to specify different slider settings for Sim and Human games (and thus get better stats for both types of game), Human games will be played in "Game Style = Action" and Sim games will be played in "Game Style = Simulation".
• When you play your games you should:
  • before starting a game, go to the "Rules" and set the correct: Quarter Length, 10mins, and "Foul Out" value of 6
  • then go to the "In-Game Settings" and set "Game Style" to 'Action' for human games or 'Simulation' for sim games.
  • then go to the "Gameplay Settings" and check that the correct sliders are set for the game
  • then just play the game (when you get into the game you may wish to check the settings to ensure they are correct)
• The leagues slider settings are as follows. These settings may periodically change.
• SIM Game Slider Settings:
  • Global Sliders:
    • Game Speed: 40
    • Free Throw Difficulty: 100
    • Boundary Force Field: 50
    • Injury Freq: 0
    • Fatigue Effect: 50
    • Charge/Block Freq: 50
    • Shooting Foul Freq: 30
    • Reach-In Foul Freq: 20
    • In-Air Collision Foul Freq: 65
  • User Sliders:
    • N/A
  • CPU Sliders:
    • Steal Ability: 20
    • Interception Ability: 5
    • Shot Blocking: 50
    • Dunk/Layup Blocking: 50
    • CPU Freestyle: 40
    • Dunk vs Layup Freq: 25
    • Substitution: 50
    • Offensive Rebounds: 0
    • Defensive Rebounds: 100
    • Fake Out Discipline: 50
    • Short Range %: 35
    • Medium Range %: 40
    • Long Range %: 57
    • Dunk %: 40
    • Layup %: 30
    • Adjusted Shot %: 33
    • Adjusted Shot Freq: 50
    • On-Ball Physical Defense: 70
    • Poor Release %: 20
    • Double Team: 45
    • Pro-Hop Effectiveness: 55
    • Drop Step Effectiveness: 55
• HUMAN Game Slider Settings:
  • Global Sliders:
    • Game Speed: 50
    • Free Throw Difficulty: 65
    • Boundary Force Field: 65
    • Injury Freq: 0
    • Fatigue Effect: 53
    • Charge/Block Freq: 50
    • Shooting Foul Freq: 15
    • Reach-In Foul Freq: 30
    • In-Air Collision Foul Freq: 60
  • User Sliders:
    • Steal Ability: 15
    • Interception Ability: 15
    • Shot Blocking: 30
    • Dunk/Layup Blocking: 20
    • User Freestyle: 45
    • Dunk vs Layup Freq: 25
    • Substitution: 0 for no auto subs, 50 for auto subs
    • On-Ball Assist: 50
    • Offensive Rebounds: 0
    • Defensive Rebounds: 100
    • Fake Out Discipline: 50
    • Short Range %: 40
    • Medium Range %: 41
    • Long Range %: 42
    • Dunk %: 50
    • Layup %: 50
    • Adjusted Shot %: 45
    • On-Ball Physical Defense: 60
    • Poor Release %: 50
    • Double Team: 50
    • Pro-Hop Effectiveness: 30
    • Drop Step Effectiveness: 30
  • CPU Sliders:
    • Steal Ability: 17
    • Interception Ability: 17
    • Shot Blocking: 32
    • Dunk/Layup Blocking: 20
    • CPU Freestyle: 45
    • Dunk vs Layup Freq: 25
    • Substitution: 60
    • Offensive Rebounds: 0
    • Defensive Rebounds: 95
    • Fake Out Discipline: 50
    • Short Range %: 40
    • Medium Range %: 41
    • Long Range %: 42
    • Dunk %: 50
    • Layup %: 50
    • Adjusted Shot %: 45
    • Adjusted Shot Freq: 45
    • On-Ball Physical Defense: 65
    • Poor Release %: 50
    • Double Team: 50
    • Pro-Hop Effectiveness: 40
    • Drop Step Effectiveness: 40

• NOTE: the expansion draft has already happened - however these rules have been left here as a reference for any possible future expansion drafts.
• Following are the rules for the expansion draft that will introduce a 30th team to the ASA, the Charlotte Bobcats. The ASA will adopt a new division structure in line with that of the NBA for ASA 4.
• The owner of the expansion team will be appointed at the end of ASA 3. The owner will come from outside the ASA (ie not a current owner changing teams).
• The expansion draft will occur after the ASA 4 salaries and salary cap are calculated, but prior to any other off-season events (ie before re-signing restricted FAs, the rookie draft, the FA draft).
• All 29 current teams will nominate 8 players to protect - these may be contracted players or restricted free agents (ie players who's contract is due for renewal in ASA 4).
• The expansion team will pick 8 players from a pool of players comprising those left unprotected and any current free agents (ie those that will be free agents going into ASA 4).
• The expansion team can pick no more than 1 unprotected player from any other team.
• Unlike the NBA, NO DEALS will be allowed between the expansion team and any other team in regard to who the expansion team selects in the expansion draft. Should this rule be broken the owners of the team(s) involved and the expansion team owner will be heavily fined or dismissed.
• Salaries for players selected in the expansion draft will be as follows:
  • If an unprotected player with a current contract is selected, then the expansion team will get the current player contract
  • If an unprotected player is selected who is a restricted free agent, then the expansion team can sign the player at free agent salary values for 1 to 4 seasons as they wish (ie not re-signing salary values)
  • If a free agent is selected, then the expansion team can sign the player at free agent salary values for 1 to 4 seasons as they wish
• The expansion team will get pick #4 in the 2 rounds of both the rookie and FA draft for ASA 4 only. Thus they can draft 4 players to add to the 8 already selected, resulting in a roster of 12. Alternatively, these draft picks can be traded.
• The Bobcats will have the same salary cap as the rest of the league. After the initial drafts the Bobcats will be exactly the same as any other team in respect to rules.