TD St. Matthew-Daniel: Do I start off with the vast contract options? Defined player roles? D-League integration? When it comes to dealing with team personnel decisions, NBA 2K10 has better handles than Rafer Alston’s alter ago at the Rucker.

Restricted free agents are now a thing of virtual reality in NBA 2K10 and being able to call up or demote players to the D-League keeps you busy as a GM. Also, now that failing to honor player roles can prove costly for your team’s chemistry, you have to pay closer attention to player personalities and motives when making trades or free-agent signings. And if that doesn’t entice you, how do 10-day contracts sound? Yup, Morris Almond and other D-League hopefuls would be pleased as well.

Steve Bartlett: Yeah. I’m not even going to lie, I’m supposed to be over here arguing for Live’s great Dynasty mode but 2K10’s handle on the business side of the Association is serious. You mentioned the restricted free agents in 2K, which I love. It’s impressive to me that when you negotiate new player contracts the game gives you the option to build a player and team option into the contracts. If a player is indecisive in signing with your team, this element can help you sway the pendulum in your favor.

In Live you can’t do any of these things when it comes to contracts. What you can do is play a negotiation game. The game gives you seven player interests to choose from when signing a free agent. You have three tries to select two options that you think the player will bite on. 2K does not have that type of interaction between the agent and GM.

Live also makes use of the mid-level exception, which can be used once per season per team. Even if the team is over the cap, this exception allows the team to go out and sign a player.

But I am conceding this one because I find 2K10’s use of the Bird Rights provision in the Collective Bargaining Agreement to be groundbreaking. This allows you to go over the soft salary cap to re-sign a hometown star as long as he has satisfied his Bird Years (3) in that city. Furthermore, if the player has satisfied his Bird Rights and is traded, his Bird Rights are also traded with him. While Morris Almond does not quite have his Bird Years yet, players such as Dwyane Wade and LeBron are more likely to stay put without being forced into accepting a hometown discount. The 2K10 developers have done an amazing job re-creating the structural components of an NBA contract.

TD: This has always been area of underachievement for all sports games simply because the developers can’t include the next official draft class in the game. But for what it’s worth, 2K Share gives you more control this year than in previous seasons. This feature allows you to import a created draft class into your ongoing Association, giving you the chance to fully customize those rooks.

Steve: One thing that is a nice feature from Live is the draft highlights at the conclusion of the NBA Draft: Most NBA Ready, Highest Potential and Most Questionable picks are all highlighted at the conclusion of your draft.

Both games give you the opportunity to watch the ping-pong balls play with your fate as an NBA GM. While Live handles the Draft nicely, the scouting for rookies needs work. It really feels like gambling when you select these guys since the scouting features are lacking. Oh yeah, and all the players have the same face.

TD: It’s not flashy, but NBA 2K10 provides GMs with the essentials. Coaching contracts are basic and straight to the point, but the size of the staff resembles that of an AAU team rather than an NBA squad. No shooting coach, no trainer and no big man coach to tutor your boy, Dwight “Smallville” Howard.

However, I am impressed with the League History section. After a grueling stretch in my team’s schedule, I often find myself admiring the record books and deciding which ones I’m going to break next. Speaking of which, we should square off Steve -- NBA 2K10 now has the option of playing versus an online friend in the Association, and I have Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game in my sights.

Steve: I’ll take NBA Live’s RPG approach here. I like the reward points that let you upgrade your staff at the end of the season. These points are earned by achieving the dynasty objectives that you set out to complete at the beginning of the season. I also enjoy the dynamic DNA scouting reports that prepare you for your upcoming opponents. You can get a feel for how each player will attack you once the ball tips off.

TD: No disrespect intended but the NBA 2K series has always been more accurate from a basketball standpoint. So it should come as no surprise that NBA 2K10 has more coaching options. Yeah, I know NBA Live 10 has the effortless play-calling system, but NBA 2K10’s deep playbook options would school Don Nelson on a thing or two. In Association this year, you can also practice with your squad whenever you feel like it. Whether you need to practice the new plays you just implemented into your team’s offense or make Rajon Rondo work on that jump shot, the gym stays open. I am still saddened by the fact that the BRILLIANT create-a-play feature from College Hoops 2K8 has been ignored by the NBA 2K series yet again. It truly is heartbreaking.

Steve: NBA Live 10’s endless playbook is the truth. The playbook on offense allows you to select from seven play-type categories and there is a wide variety of plays to be executed here. The categories are post, perimeter, isolation, pick and roll, screener, post up and off-ball screens. Not only are there hundreds of plays, but most of the plays can be focused on the player of your choice. For example, you can run the triangle offense plays through your point guard or your post players –- it’s all a matter coaching style.

After practicing your offense, check out your team chemistry to see if your superstars are getting along. I enjoy how Live touches on the team dynamics of the game of basketball here. Think of it as your own coaches meeting with the team captains.

You can check in with your player’s overall satisfaction in a number of categories (examples include team market, roster stability, win percentage, playing time, team talent, bench order, team events and team chemistry). From the "player chemistry" screen, you can view how each player perceives one another. 2K10 does not go to these lengths to break down a player’s happiness and measure overall team chemistry.

But I’m glad to see a number of options in both games. 2K10 has some great team sliders as well as highly functional playbooks that allow users to actually coach how your team performs as a five-man unit out there.

TD: If all the things I stated above have yet to convince you that the Association is the way to go, then there’s still the NBA Today integration. Never before have you played a sports videogame where the announcers talk about the upcoming games on Halloween with an on-screen graphic to match. That’s some national TV type of presentation right there. There are also quite a few NBA.com improvements. In addition to the home page, every team has a domain of its own that contains headlines, rumors, scores and stats. And unlike in past years, the AI does much less to take away from the experience. You would be hard pressed to come by a Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown swap or any other giveaway trades the Memphis Grizzles might be offering.

Lastly, don’t be worried about players receiving unrealistic rating boosts during your Association. Only players with a ceiling to reach and those who get significant playing time have a chance to step up their game to elite levels. The realistic player progression, being able to user-control all 30 NBA teams and all the other previously stated reasons are why NBA 2K10’s Association is the better franchise game mode. And if you don’t like that, then you my friend, do not like NBA basketball.

Steve: Ha, I love this game man! I live by that old NBA slogan, otherwise I wouldn’t be here debating these two games.

All of the things you hit on do add up and push the NBA 2K10 Association mode ahead of Live’s Dynasty mode -- I am willing to concede that point -- but Live brings some fresh features to the table as well.

NBA Live 10’s Dynasty mode does some creative things with the dynamic DNA features. As the season progresses, you can check out all the player DNA tendencies, which I happen to love. It also allows you to check out your player’s strengths and weaknesses in great detail. You can use these DNA reports to your advantage to make an immediate impact while playing with your squad.

But at the end of the day, 2K10 is fully developed when it comes to all aspects in a typical franchise mode. Adding the D-League and 10-day contracts in an NBA game just shows you how serious the developers are about their hoops. You know they know the rules to the game inside and out.

So I concede defeat here. Without question NBA 2K10’s Association mode is the one. 2K10 understands the little things, such as Bird Rights and player options. These are the types of tools that not only enrich the experience of being the virtual GM of your favorite team, but they also immerse you in the game behind the game, which is the business world of the Association.