Here are my power rankings thus far. I'm not including the Bucks and the Rockets. The Kawhi-Butler deal was a risky move for both teams. It's way too early to tell how things will pan out.
Tier 1
- Phoenix: Giannis, Reggie Miller
I believe Giannis is the best player in the draft. Absolutely love the fit of Reggie next to him.
Tier 2 (in random order)
- Memphis: Kobe, Artis Gilmore
Kobe won all 5 of his championships while playing alongside a dominant big man. Gilmore is one of the best big men in this draft. - Washington: Stockton, Klay
Super solid backcourt duo. Easy to build around them as well. Both of them are 2-way players and great shooters. If I were the Wizards, I would be looking for a go-to scorer. Stockton had pass-first mentality. Klay is an off-ball specialist. - Toronto: Karl Malone, Tiny
Plenty of star power for the Raps. Malone is arguably the 2nd best PF in the draft (if not the best). I guess the consensus is that Tiny ranks 3rd among PGs. - Sacramento: Moses, Alex English
Very interesting fit, imo. Both Moses and English were at their best when playing at a fast pace. Moses was undersized at the 5, hence he was quicker/more explosive than his opponents. English spearheaded the fastest-paced team to ever make the playoffs. The 1983-84 Nuggets had a true pace of 9.0, which means they used 9% more possessions than the league average! If I were the Kings, I'd be looking for a speedy PG who can push the tempo for English+Moses. Someone who can explode on the open court!
I also think the Kings need a couple of shooters. Moses and English were amazing scorers, but they weren't shooters. Lots of good shooters left in the draft though. - Chicago: Dr J, Kemp
Two of the best in-game dunkers of all time. Chicago would be a fun team to watch, no doubt about that! Again, I'd be looking for a speedy PG who can push the tempo for Erving+Kemp. I'd also be looking for a mobile big man and some shooters.
Tier 3 (in random order)
- San Antonio: Drexler-Gervin
Two amazing scorers. Both of them were elite slashers. Unfortunately, neither of them was a good shooter. Imo, the Spurs need to surround their slashers with shooters. - Indy: Nash, Marc Gasol
Don't love the fit of Marc Gasol and Nash tbh. Imo, Nash was at his best when running an uptempo offense. Gasol is at his best when playing in the half court. Personally speaking, I would have opted for a mobile big man. But that's just me.
i appreciate your feedback but Gervin was an excellent shooter who would excell in todays game.
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/533759-nothing-but-netranking-the-greatest-shooters-in-the-nba-history
One of the best offensive players to step on the NBA hardwood, George Gervin was additionally one of the finest shooters to ever grace the game of basketball.
He could sink a variety of difficulty shots from anywhere. He was heavily defended, as there was usually a double team, even sometimes a triple team, waiting to stop him. That was impossible, as he had his own style, which was to put consistent effort in.
He was so effective with his shot, recognized by Dr. J, who gave him the nickname "Iceman." Yes, he was nailing them, and he put defenders in a position to hope that he'd get tired and miss. That never happened. During one season in which he led in scoring at 29.6 points per game, he did so on 54 percent shooting from the field.
https://www.nba.com/history/legends/profiles/george-gervin
To fully appreciate the greatness of “the Iceman” one had to see him rise up for a silky-smooth jump shot from 25 feet, twirl a heavenly finger roll while soaring through the lane, execute a graceful reverse layup with either hand or explode for a sneaky power dunk between a pair of 7-foot defenders.
Drexler shot 33Q% over his final 8 seasons from 3 point range. a couple of seasons he shot 36% from 3 on 5.4. last season trae young shot 36% from 3.
I wouldn't say they aren't good shooters. they could shoot well.
For the record, I've only watched him play in youtube videos. I've read some stuff about him online. I also watched a long interview about a month ago where he was talking about his game (among other things). From what I know, he had a silky smooth finger roll. In fact, he was the one who made the finger roll famous. Sure, he was very efficient, but he hardly even took any 3s. His career average was 27.1% from 3 on 0.7 attempts per game. I guess he must have been a good mid range shooter. I mean, his FT% certainly suggests that he had potential as a shooter.
Would he be shooting more 3s in today's game? For sure.
Would he be an accurate 3pt shooter? Hard to say. No one can really know.
According to the advanced stats, he was also a below average defender+passer.
Career averagesDefensive Box Plus/Minus: -0.8
AST%: 12.2
TOV%: 11.7
Don't get me wrong, both Gervin and Drexler were amazing scorers. Unlike Gervin, Drexler was also a very good defender. Imo, what holds you back the most is the lack of an elite-level talent. As good as Gervin was, he never led his team to the NBA Finals. Drexler wasn't good enough to be the go-to guy on a championship team either. He won a championship in Houston, but he was playing second fiddle to Dream. At the end of the day, winning matters.