2023 CS Historic Draft - How's My Team?

[Who]

Denver Nuggets

Guards

Kevin Johnson - 1989-90
Gus Williams - 1978-79
Fred Brown - 1976-77
Eddie Jones - 1998-99
Rolando Blackman - 1984-85

Small Forwards

Bernard King - 1983-84
Bob Dandridge - 1977-78

Big Men

Alonzo Mourning - 1999-00
Vin Baker - 1997-98
Danny Manning - 1991-92
Jack Sikma - 1981-82
Clifford Robinson - 1997-98

This is a top 3 team for me. I love this Big 3 of Zo, King and KJ and I like the fit of the guys around them.

Who is the starting SG? Your sig has Blackmon listed first but here it’s Brown, and Eddie Jones was the highest pick of the 3.

No idea. No settled starting lineup.

Not settled on the SG or the PF starting slots. I like Danny Manning as my best PF (to stretch the floor & enable ball movement) but I love him off the bench as someone who can change the complexion of the game. So still tempted by starting Vin Baker.

I have a strange love / hate thing with Eddie Jones. I thought I was over it. So I drafted him. I wasn't. I don't know. Rolando Blackman was actually my alternative choice to Eddie if I didn't draft him in the 4th round. If I drafted a big instead and left the SG slot until the 6th round, Blackman was going to be my first choice. So the gap between the two is pretty small in my mind.

Plus, I am tempted by letting Freddie Brown shoot a load of 3s. I reckon he is my best offensive SG. He has the best handles, best passing, best outside shooting. He is the most skilled SG. F Brown is an okay defender but Blackman is above average and Eddie is elite. I like Freddie in that lead backup SG slot. Major firepower. And he actually played as a 6th man and instant-offense role on a title winner so we know he can handle that role well.

Question on Freddie since I overlooked him -- and purely a real question rather than an intended knock -- how much of his stats drop-off post-merger was him starting to slow down (which it seems like started happening after that year) versus the change in competition versus DJ showing up and lowering his shots from 20 per game to 15? Seems like he lost his All-Star season but kept his skillset. He just had a future HOFer show up.

I thought he was still awesome when coming off the bench in 1978 and 1979 so I think it has more to do with DJ. I am not sure what is the best season to pick for Freddie so I just went with his youngest available season. I have no idea if he was better that year or not. I am using the titles / finals seasons as a baseline. 

F Brown still had speed & athleticism. He was still dynamic with the ball. He could still create his own shot. He could score against anyone. If the team asked him to, I believe he could have increased his scoring back up to 20+ppg.

Just with Gus and DJ there, the team didn't need him to do that. They needed him to be the 6th man. Be an offensive sparkplug off the bench and he did that very well. Most likely the same role he'd have on my team. He sacrificed for the good of the team. He was still good enough to be a starter and big scorer elsewhere in the league.


Fred Brown is one of those guys who I think would be much better in today's league than he was in his own era. He was too reliant on outside shooting for his era. So more of a 3rd scoring option on a winning team back then because you wanted to get shots closer to the basket. More posts ups. More midrange. 

In today's league, with the three point line, he'd be making it rain all night and teams would build an offense around him. He was the best outside shooter of his era. Unlimited range. Highly accurate. And he could shoot with volume.

They didn't have a three point line back then. He would just pull up from way outside. One of the most exciting shot makers in the league because of it.

[Who]

I thought Ratliff's 85 had to be a record only to learn that Walt Bellamy played in 88 games in the 68-69 sesson.  35 games with the Knicks and 53 games with the Pistons.

Wow. That is awesome.

I gotta keep a trivia page on my computer for this stuff. I love these odd facts about the game.

[Roy H.]

HISTORIC CLEVELAND CAVALIERS

"Five players on the floor functioning as one single unit: team, team, team - no one more important that the other."

Roster:

C:  Dikembe Mutombo / DeMarcus Cousins / Mehmet Okur
PF: Elton Brand / Andrei Kirilenko
SF: Andre Iguodala / Jamal Mashburn
SG: Manu Ginobili / Reggie Lewis / J.J. Redick
PG:  Mookie Blaylock / Isaiah Thomas


Front office:

General Manager: Roy H.
Head Coach: Larry Bird
Assistant Coaches: Kevin McHale, Danny Ainge, Norman Dale

Player	Season	Position	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Blocks	Steals	eFG%	3PT%	TS%
Elton Brand	2005-06	PF / C	24.7	10.0	2.6	2.5	1.0	.527	33.3%	.580
Manu Ginobili	2007-08	SG / SF	19.5	4.8	4.5	0.4	1.5	.540	40.1%	.612
Andre Iguodala	2007-08	SF /SG /PG	19.9	5.4	4.8	0.6	2.1	.495	32.9%	.543
Dikembe Mutumbo	1994-95	C	11.5	12.5	1.4	3.9	0.5	.556	NA	.595
Andrei Kirilenko	2003-04	PF / SF	16.5	8.1	3.1	2.8	1.6	.479	33.8%	.559
DeMarcus Cousins	2016-17	C / PF	27.0	11.0	4.6	1.3	1.4	.498	36.1%	.562
Mookie Blaylock	1996-97	PG	17.4	5.3	5.9	0.3	2.7	.528	36.6%	.548
Isaiah Thomas	1996-97	PG	28.9	2.7	5.9	0.2	0.9	.546	37.9%	.625
Reggie Lewis	1991-92	SG / SF	20.8	4.8	3.7	1.3	1.5	.505	23.8%	.550
Jamal Mashburn	2002-03	SF / PF	21.6	6.1	5.6	0.2	1.0	.460	38.9%	.507
J.J. Redick	2015-16	SG / PG	16.3	1.9	1.4	0.1	0.6	.593	47.5%	.632
Mehmet Okur	2008-09	C / PF	17.0	7.7	1.7	0.7	0.8	.536	44.6%	.592

Draft approach:  I took players that I enjoyed watching, period.  Some of it was their dominance, some of it was their personality, some of it was their skill set.  But each one of these guys brought something to the take that I liked to watch and rooted for as a fan.

That said, looking at team construction, there are obvious themes.  I like:

1.  Versatility.  I think this team can play any style.  It's got the beef and physicality to play a half-court game.  It's got the rebounding and athleticism to thrive in transition.  It can grind out games inside and from the line, while also having the personnel to play bombs away from outside in the rare situations that it is needed.  It can score and defend with both traditional lineups and with small ball.

2.  Defense.  That's the calling card here, right?  This is a bully-ball team.  Dikembe, Brand, Iguodala, Reggie and Blaylock is the best combination of individual and help defense in this league.  Dikembe was 4x DPOY.  Blaylock was 1st Team All-Defense six years in a row, and led the league in steals.  Andre Iguodala is the only player I've ever seen severely limit Lebron James.  Brand and Reggie were magnificent defenders.  And then we've got Kirilenko off the bench.  Boogie Cousins, who despite his reputation, was a very good defender (I could write pages on this, and have in the past.)

3.  Efficiency.  The efficiency on this team is wild, particularly in light of the eras they played in.  Even those guys who can't shoot from outside have showed the ability to score at an excellent level inside.

4.  Willingness to accept a role.  So many of these guys sacrificed stats for the good of their team.  Iguodala and Manu stand out for accepting bench roles, but all of these guys aged gracefully.  When DMC got traded to NOP, he embraced playing next to Anthony Davis.  Later, he accepted smaller roles in Golden State and Denver.  Brand went from a superstar to a role player.  IT humbled himself and came off the bench, too.  Sometimes the question is how would these guys fit together with their egos?  I think that 1 through 12, every guy here made sacrifices.

[Who]

Joe Dumars (1992-1993):
1. Accolades: All-NBA 2nd Team, All-Defensive 1st Team, All-Star, 10th in MVP voting.

2. Stats: 23.5PPG, 4.0APG, 1.9RPG, 1.0SPG, 0.1BPG, 47%FG, 38% 3PT, 86% FT, 56% TS, 17.6PER, 2.1BPM, 9.1 Win Shares.

3. Write-up: Joe Dumars was one of the premier defensive players on the perimeter in NBA history. He was Michael Jordan's best defender, according to Mike himself.

Here is MJ on Dumars:

"He thought well, and he was very smart about his defense. I think he approaches the game as trying to dissect his opponents and try to find weaknesses or try to force them to do things they didn't feel comfortable doing. He introduced certain tricks to make me expand on my talents as an offensive player, and that is why I consider him one of the best."

Terry Porter (1990-1991):
1. Accolades: All-Star, 9th in MVP voting.

2. Stats: 17.0PPG, 8.0APG, 3.5RPG, 2.0SPG, 0.1BPG, 52% FG, 42% 3PT, 82% FT, 63% TS, 21.7PER, 7.4BPM, 13.0 Win Shares.

3. Write-up: Porter's value on the other end of the floor cannot be understated either. Built similarly to Dumars, Porter was a strong and relentless perimeter defender. He was brilliant at generating steals and turning them into fast break opportunities, and his built frame allowed for some versatility in his intensity. His awareness comes to the fore again on the defensive end, as he was able to jump opposition offensive schemes before they knew what hit them.
His relentlessness on the defensive end was coupled with high levels of endurance, allowing him to continue to excellent to a very high standard on both ends of the floor. He rarely showed signs of fatigue, which allowed him to impose himself upon the opposition as the game wore on.
Porter will be our starting PG, and will form a nasty defensive duo on the perimeter with Joe Dumars.

I saw an interview clip with MJ from the early 90s where MJ was naming his 5 toughest defenders. Joe Dumars was obviously number 1 but Terry Porter was also in MJ's top 5. So you got 2 of the 5 guys MJ thought defended him the best.

At that point in his career, MJ didn't like the little bulky guards who could get into his dribble. He hadn't fully developed the post game yet and wasn't as good at defeating them. He had a better time against bigger two guards or physically weak guards.

[Who]

Wow, that was a heck of a long write up for Orlando.

Great team. I lean towards Orlando and Chicago as my two favourite squads. Maybe Toronto #3.

[Who]

For OKC, I would think about bumping Gerald Wallace to 3rd stringer and elevating Allan Houston to main backup SG with Dan Majerle sliding over to SF. Majerle had his best years at SF. Gets more shooting on the court.

OKC (Celtic Fan Forever):

PG: Chauncey Billups / Baron Davis
SG: Michael Redd / Dan Majerle / Allan Houston
SF: Peja Stojakovic / Gerald Wallace
PF: Shawn Kemp / Antonio McDyess / Toni Kukoc
C: Dwight Howard / Tyson Chandler

[theswitch]

Introducing the Historical Toronto Raptors! Before getting into the actual team, I’ll start with my guiding principles:

Passing: In real life NBA and in particular this league, my favorite teams are the ones that facilitate constant ball movement across most, if not all, players on the court. The trap with these games is that you end up with ball dominant players who don’t work in a setting where they aren’t the only important player on the team. What you’ll see on my team is an incredible amount of ball movement across the board:

Penny Hardaway – 7 assists per game, >30% assist rate
Fat Lever – 8 assists per game, 28% assist rate
Terrell Brandon – 7 assists per game, 38% assist rate
Paul Westphal – 7 assists per game, 30% assist rate
Paul Pressey – 8 assists per game, 30% assist rate
Marques Johnson – 3 assists per game, 12% assist rate (although these materially increased a couple years later when he had a better team around him)
Danny Granger – 3 assists per game 13% assist rate
Kiki Vandeweghe – 3 assists per game, 10% assist rate
Bobby Jones – 3 assists per game, 15% assist rate
Jermaine O’Neal – 2 assists per game, 12% assist rate
Marc Gasol – 4 assists per game, 19% assist rate
Serge Ibaka – 1 assists per game, 5% assist rate

So in the backcourt, you have every single player through Paul Pressey who can play small forward averaging over 7 assists and a 30% assist rate. Marques is a more than capable passer. Marc Gasol and Bobby Jones are high level passers for their positions. Bobby – a quick aside – was an incredible cutter who scored so efficiently. With this passing on the court, he’s going to be a nightmare to keep track of. You need someone who is there to score – Jermaine and Danny Granger are those guys – but everyone else is going to keep the ball zinging across the court.

Flexible, Switching Defense: It’s modern day! You have to be able to switch, right? It's literally my name, is it not? The big concern here is that other teams are going to exploit your matchups. I believe we have countered that. In the backcourt, other than Brandon who is less likely to get material minutes, you have Penny (6’7, quality defender), Fat Lever (6’3, 2nd team all-defense), Paul Westphal (6’4, quick-handed and capable defender), Paul Pressey (6’5, 2x 1st team all-defense), Marques Johnson (6’7, >3 DWS, best defender on the team until Moncrief came), Danny Granger (6’9), Bobby Jones (6’9, 8x 1st team all-defense, 1x 2nd team all-defense in addition to multi-1st team in ABA), Jermaine O’Neal (6’11, 2.6 bpg, 6.3 DWS), Marc Gasol (DPOY this year), Serge Ibaka (3x 1st team all-defense including DPOY runner-up, 4.4 DWS, 3bpg).

So we have quality defenders in the backcourt in the starting lineup who can guard bigger players, including Marques. We have all-defensive backups in Fat Lever and Paul Pressey. We have the best, period defensive frontcourt in the game with the rotation of Jermaine O’Neal, Bobby Jones, Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka.

Spacing: We need to be able to shoot! I’ll keep this one briefer. Penny could shoot (32% this year but 35% the year before and 40% later in his career). Lever got to >40%. Brandon was 39% this year. Westphal had range. Pressey shot 30%-ish before the three-point era really kicked off. Marques had range. Granger was 40% on volume. Kiki got up to 48%. Bobby and Jermaine – ok, not so much but could hit a mid-range open shot. Gasol was 39% when he started shooting them. Ibaka was 38%. So up and down the lineup, you have outside shooting. It’s probably the best shooting team in this entire league, other than Bobby and Jermaine. Definitely the best shooting centers which provide that spacing for Jermaine to bang down low.

Efficient Scoring: Look, you need to put points on the board. You can’t just have amazing passing without people proving they can be an alpha. Up and down the lineup, there is efficient scoring.

Penny – 22 points per game on 51%
Lever -- 19 points per game on 47%
Terrell Brandon -- 19 points per game on 47%
Paul Westphal – 24 points per game on 54%. Per 36, this was 27 points per game. The year before was 29
Paul Pressey – 14 points per game on 49%
Marques – 26 points per game on 55%
Danny Granger – 26 points per game on 45%
Kiki Vandeweghe – 27 points per game on 55% (next year was 29 points per game)
Jermaine O’Neal – 20 points per game on 43% (I’ve already written about why he was inefficient this year due to his team – the years before when he had better facilitation he was at 48%)
Bobby Jones – 15 points per game on 57%
Marc Gasol – 14 points per game on 49%
Serge Ibaka – 15 points per game on 54%

If there’s one knock on my team, it’s that we don’t have enough oomph. We don’t have Tracy or Vince or truly prolific scorers. We traded off for some of the other attributes. But I’m not sure how many teams have this level of efficiency. Every single player is efficient offensively, and every single player can hurt you. When we really need a bucket, we are going to Paul Westphal, Marques, Danny Granger, Kiki, and Penny to create and score, or Jermaine down low. Those guys all proved they can be the alpha. They’ll get it done when it matters.

Summary: So that’s the philosophy. I don’t see another team in this league that can compete with my combination of passing and basketball IQ, spacing across all positions, defensive flexibility and frontcourt defensive ability, and efficient scoring. That’s a winning formula, and why so many of my players have won something important (Westphal, Penny (Olympics), Marques (NCAA), Bobby Jones, Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka) or become coaches (Penny, Westphal, Pressey, Kiki). I liked the comparison from an earlier post to the Spurs, and that’s how this team wins.


Onto the good stuff – the team.

Penny Hardaway 1995-1996: 22 points per game on 51% shooting, 4.3 rebounds, 7.1 assists, two steals. 11.0 OWS and 3.4 DWS. 0.229 per 48 minutes which is my personal metric of choice. 3rd in MVP voting ahead of Hakeem, Pippen, Payton, Malone, Kemp, Hill. 1st team All-NBA ahead of Payton and Stockton. Took the team to the ECF until they met the ’96 Bulls. Won in the Olympics. Ended up a coach.

Fat Lever 1987-1988: 19 points per game, 8.1 rebounds, 7.8 assists, 2.7 steals. All-Star (2x total). Took his team to the WCF Semis. All-NBA Second Team the year before, All-Defensive Second Team this year.

Terrell Brandon 1995-1996: 19 points per game. 0.237 WS/48 (9.5 OWS, 3.1 DWS). All-Star (2x total).

Paul Westphal 1978-1979: 24 points per game on only 32 minutes. 6.5 assists and 1.4 steals. All-Star (5x total). 0.189 WS/48 (8.2 OWS). Champion. 3x 1st team All-NBA, 1x 2nd team. Ended up a coach.

Paul Pressey 1985-1986: 14 points per game, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 1 block. 2x 1st Team All-Defense, 1x 2nd Team All-Defense. Took his team to the ECF this year. Ended up a coach.

Marques Johnson 1978-1979: 26 points per game on 55% shooting, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.2 blocks. 0.211 WS/48. 1st Team All-NBA this year, 5x All-Star (including this year), 2x 2nd Team All-NBA behind Bird and Dr. J

Danny Granger 2008-2009: 26 points per game, 40% shooting from deep. All-Star

Kiki Vandeweghe 1982-1983: 27 points per game on 55% shooting. Got up to 2nd in the NBA in scoring. 10.5 OWS this year. 2x All-Star

Bobby Jones 1976-1977: 15 points per game on 57% shooting, 2.3 steals, 2.0 blocks. 5.5 DWS, 11.0 WS, 0.219 per 48 minutes. 8x 1st Team All-Defense, 4x All-Star, NBA Champion. Best teammate in this exercise. Made the playoffs…every…single…year

Jermaine O’Neal 2003-2004: 3rd in MVP voting. 20/10 guy. 2.6 blocks per game. Took his team to the ECF before losing to the eventual champion. 6x All-Star. 3x All-NBA. 6.3 (!!) DWS this season.

Marc Gasol 2012-2013: DPOY while scoring 14 points and dishing out 4 assists from the center position. 39% three point shooter from that position. 3x All-Star. 2nd Team All-NBA this year, 1st Team a different year. NBA champion.

Serge Ibaka 2013-2014: 1st Team All-Defense (3x) and runner up to DPOY another year (4th this year). 15 points per game with 38% three point shooting. 3 blocks a game. NBA champion.


Finally, the lineups. We love the flexibility here. The typical rotation is going to look like this:

Starters: Penny Hardaway – Paul Westphal – Marques Johnson – Jermaine O’Neal – Marc Gasol

In the playoffs, we are likely to go with a three man guard rotation with Fat Lever, rotate Marques Johnson with Danny Granger, and play Bobby Jones and Serge Ibaka off the bench although less with each other because of the lack of offense. So you’ll see these combinations off the bench (quicker subs with Fat Lever in for Penny and Serge Ibaka coming in for Jermaine O'Neal to facilitate it):

Fat Lever – Paul / Penny – Danny Granger – Bobby / Serge – Jermaine / Gasol

If we want to go all-defense, you’ll see: Fat Lever – Paul Pressey – Marques Johnson – Bobby Jones – Serge Ibaka / Marc Gasol / Jermaine O’Neal

If we want to go all-offense, you’ll see: Terrell Brandon – Paul Westphal – Danny Granger – Kiki Vandeweghe – Marc Gasol / Jermaine O’Neal

If we want to go smaller and faster, you’ll see: Terrell Brandon / Fat Lever – Paul Westphal – Penny Hardaway – Danny Granger / Kiki Vandeweghe – Serge Ibaka

If we want to go bigger, you might even see: Paul Pressey – Marques Johnson – Danny Granger – Jermaine O’Neal – Marc Gasol


Wow, that was way longer than I expected. But fun! Here’s the bottom line on my team – we aren’t the flashiest, and we know it. But we are the best passing, defensive, winning basketball team with a bunch of smart and likable guys, and you are going to get really annoyed playing us because we’re going to get easy buckets, space the floor, and defend the heck out of you.

And, beyond that, even if you don’t vote for my team, this was a lot of fun. Everyone was really great to play with and I learned a lot. But you should vote for my team anyways 😉

[wdleehi]

The Jazz by year

Tony Parker 06-07
Joe Johnson 09-10
Grant Hill 96-97
Chris Bosh 06-07
Artis Gilmore 77-78

Sam Cassell 03-04
 Dale Ellis 88-89
Latrell Sprewell 93-94
Sean Elliott 95-96
Robert Horry 95-96
Larry Johnson 94-95
Kevin Willis 91-92


I will try to expand if I have time.   Start of the school year has me very busy.

[Roy H.]

A question for each squad, harkening back to the "press conferences" of the CB Draft.

Chicago (smokeablount):
PG: Deron Williams (07-08) / Micheal Ray Richardson (80-81) / John Wall (16-17)
SG: David Thompson (77-78) / Hersey Hawkins (96-97)
SF: Tracy McGrady (02-03) / Tayshaun Prince (04-05)
PF: Larry Nance Sr (91-92) / Blake Griffin (13-14)
C: Bob Lanier (76-77) / Brad Daugherty (92-93) / Marcus Camby (06-07)

If I'm not overlooking somebody, Williams, McGrady and Hawkins are your only reliable outside shooters.  Is that a problem?

Also, why the 1997 season for Hawkins?

Utah (wdleehi):
PG: Tony Parker / Sam Cassell
SG: Joe Johnson / Dale Ellis
SF: Grant Hill / Latrell Sprewell / Sean Elliott
PF: Chris Bosh / Larry Johnson / Robert Horry
C: Artis Gilmore / Kevin Willis

What's the hierarchy on your team?  Do too many guys need the ball in their hands to be at their best, particularly in the starting lineup?

Memphis (celticinorlando):
PG: Kemba Walker (18-19) / Jamal Crawford (07-08)
SG: Vince Carter (00-01) / Michael Cooper (86-87) / Gail Goodrich (77-78)
SF: Alex English (82-83) / Antawn Jamison (00-01) / Josh Smith (11-12)
PF: LaMarcus Aldridge (14-15) / Horace Grant (93-94)
C: Yao Ming (08-09) / Bill Laimbeer (85-86)

Same question as wdleehi:  are your starters too ball dominant?  Do you have "glue guys" there?  Is wing defense an issue with the starters?

Denver (Who):
PG: Kevin Johnson (89-90) / Gus Williams (78-79)
SG: Eddie Jones (98-99) / Rolando Blackman (84-85) / Fred Brown (76-77)
SF: Bernard King (83-84) / Bob Dandridge (77-78)
PF: Vin Baker (97-98) / Danny Manning (91-92) / Cliff Robinson (97-98)
C: Alonzo Mourning (99-00) / Jack Sikma (81-82)

Is two spacers in the starting lineup enough?  How would Mourning, Baker and King adapt to the modern game regarding jumpers that didn't extend to the 3PT line?  In this league, would there be enough space for King to operate?

Toronto (theswitch):
PG: Penny Hardaway (95-96) / Fat Lever (87-88) / Terrell Brandon (95-96)
SG: Paul Westphal (78-79) / Paul Pressey (85-86)
SF: Marques Johnson (78-79) / Danny Granger (08-09)
PF: Jermaine O'Neal (03-04) / Bobby Jones (76-77) / Kiki VandeWeghe (82-83)
C: Marc Gasol (12-13) / Serge Ibaka (13-14)

Do your top four bigs -- particularly your starters -- provide enough offense?  Where's the spacing coming from overall?

OKC (Celtic Fan Forever):
PG: Chauncey Billups / Baron Davis
SG: Michael Redd / Dan Majerle / Allan Houston
SF: Peja Stojakovic / Gerald Wallace
PF: Shawn Kemp / Antonio McDyess / Toni Kukoc
C: Dwight Howard / Tyson Chandler

Do Redd and Peja both start?  If so, who defends elite wings?  Who does your offense run through?  Will D12 throw a fit if he doesn't get enough touches, like he did in LA and Houston?

LA Clippers (RPGenerate):
PG: Dennis Johnson / Jo Jo White / Stephon Marbury
SG: Sidney Moncrief / World B. Free
SF: Chris Mullin / Ron Artest
PF: Detlef Schrempf / Buck Williams / Tom Chambers
C: Ben Wallace / Andrew Bynum

What trouble are Starbury, Artest and Bynum getting up to together?  I *love* the potential lineup of DJ / Moncrief / Artest / Williams / Wallace, but could that team compete offensively?  How do you see Schrempf being used?

Orlando Magic (gouki88):
PG: Terry Porter (90-91) / Steve Francis (00-01)
SG: Joe Dumars (92-93) / Jeff Hornacek (91-92) / Jerry Stackhouse (00-01)
SF: Brandon Roy (08-09) / Walter Davis (78-79)
PF: Terry Cummings (84-85) / Paul Millsap (15-16)
C: Chris Webber (00-01) / Ralph Sampson (83-84) / Andrew Bogut (09-10)

Will Webber struggle with big centers?  In those situations, do you stick it out with him, or switch to Sampson?  Roy played primarily as a SG; can he defend the SFs in this league?  Is your team overall undersized?

Brooklyn (Moranis):
PG: Maurice Cheeks / Don Buse
SG: Drazen Petrovic / Rip Hamilton
SF: Adrian Dantley / Bruce Bowen / Jim Jackson
PF: Amare Stoudemire / George McGinnis / Dan Roundfield
C: Pau Gasol / Dan Issel

Why start your draft with three straight frontcourt players, none of whom was a good 3PT shooter?  Is Petrovic the only guy who shoots from outside?  Do Buse and Bowen provide enough offense to be playable? 

Cleveland (Roy H.):
PG:  Mookie Blaylock / Isaiah Thomas
SG: Manu Ginobili / Reggie Lewis / J.J. Redick
SF: Andre Iguodala / Jamal Mashburn
PF: Elton Brand / Andrei Kirilenko
C:  Dikembe Mutombo / DeMarcus Cousins / Mehmet Okur

Do you feel bad for the other teams when they have to face your team?  In an 82 game season, would your team win 80 games?

Sacramento (Donoghus):
PG: Mark Price / Rajon Rondo
SG: Mitch Richmond / Andrew Toney / Doug Christie
SF: Shawn Marion / Michael Finley
PF: Maurice Lucas / Zach Randolph / David West
C: Vlade Divac / Theo Ratliff

Why Randolph over West in the draft?  As with most other teams:  outside of Price and Richmond, is there enough outside shooting?  Is Marion best as a PF?  Can West play small ball center?

Washington (Kernewek):
PG: Tim Hardaway Sr. / Gilbert Arenas / Jason Williams
SG: Alvin Robertson / Tony Allen
SF: Glen Rice / Mark Aguirre
PF: Rasheed Wallace / Carlos Boozer / Derrick Coleman
C: Joakim Noah / Arvydas Sabonis

Any thought to playing Rasheed at center and putting one of your prolific scoring PFs in the starting lineup?  Is yours the most emotionally explosive team in the league?

[Who]

Starters: Penny Hardaway – Paul Westphal – Marques Johnson – Jermaine O’Neal – Marc Gasol

In the playoffs, we are likely to go with a three man guard rotation with Fat Lever, rotate Marques Johnson with Danny Granger, and play Bobby Jones and Serge Ibaka off the bench although less with each other because of the lack of offense. So you’ll see these combinations off the bench (quicker subs with Fat Lever in for Penny and Serge Ibaka coming in for Jermaine O'Neal to facilitate it):

Fat Lever – Paul / Penny – Danny Granger – Bobby / Serge – Jermaine / Gasol

If we want to go all-defense, you’ll see: Fat Lever – Paul Pressey – Marques Johnson – Bobby Jones – Serge Ibaka / Marc Gasol / Jermaine O’Neal

If we want to go all-offense, you’ll see: Terrell Brandon – Paul Westphal – Danny Granger – Kiki Vandeweghe – Marc Gasol / Jermaine O’Neal

If we want to go smaller and faster, you’ll see: Terrell Brandon / Fat Lever – Paul Westphal – Penny Hardaway – Danny Granger / Kiki Vandeweghe – Serge Ibaka

If we want to go bigger, you might even see: Paul Pressey – Marques Johnson – Danny Granger – Jermaine O’Neal – Marc Gasol

Pretty cool small ball lineups with Marques Johnson at PF. I'd say he is your best small ball PF over B Jones or K Vandeweghe. Marques is the most complete two way player. Vandeweghe is a bit lightweight as a defender & rebounder. Bobby brings the D but not much O.

I would think Danny Granger at SF is the best option next to Marques at PF. Granger brings loads of scoring & shooting. Pressey can be a ball-handler / defender alternative. Kiki is similar to Granger; better offense but worse D & rebounding.

[Who]

Starters: Penny Hardaway – Paul Westphal – Marques Johnson – Jermaine O’Neal – Marc Gasol

In the playoffs, we are likely to go with a three man guard rotation with Fat Lever, rotate Marques Johnson with Danny Granger, and play Bobby Jones and Serge Ibaka off the bench although less with each other because of the lack of offense. So you’ll see these combinations off the bench (quicker subs with Fat Lever in for Penny and Serge Ibaka coming in for Jermaine O'Neal to facilitate it):

If we want to go bigger, you might even see: Paul Pressey – Marques Johnson – Danny Granger – Jermaine O’Neal – Marc Gasol

That is an awesome option. I'd keep Penny out there instead of Pressey but the option of switching Marques down to SG and forcing your opponent to put their small PG on one of these big perimeter players - Penny, Marques or Granger - is tough to matchup against.

Especially with big man shooters like M Gasol & Ibaka to free up the paint for one of those guys to post up the little guard.

[theswitch]

Starters: Penny Hardaway – Paul Westphal – Marques Johnson – Jermaine O’Neal – Marc Gasol

In the playoffs, we are likely to go with a three man guard rotation with Fat Lever, rotate Marques Johnson with Danny Granger, and play Bobby Jones and Serge Ibaka off the bench although less with each other because of the lack of offense. So you’ll see these combinations off the bench (quicker subs with Fat Lever in for Penny and Serge Ibaka coming in for Jermaine O'Neal to facilitate it):

If we want to go bigger, you might even see: Paul Pressey – Marques Johnson – Danny Granger – Jermaine O’Neal – Marc Gasol

That is an awesome option. I'd keep Penny out there instead of Pressey but the option of switching Marques down to SG and forcing your opponent to put their small PG on one of these big perimeter players - Penny, Marques or Granger - is tough to matchup against.

Especially with big man shooters like M Gasol & Ibaka to free up the paint for one of those guys to post up the little guard.

You're right -- I was trying to highlight the versatility of a guy like Pressey being able to play point guard but for sure you'd rather keep Penny out there.

[Donoghus]

Sacramento (Donoghus):
PG: Mark Price / Rajon Rondo
SG: Mitch Richmond / Andrew Toney / Doug Christie
SF: Shawn Marion / Michael Finley
PF: Maurice Lucas / Zach Randolph / David West
C: Vlade Divac / Theo Ratliff

Why Randolph over West in the draft?  As with most other teams:  outside of Price and Richmond, is there enough outside shooting?  Is Marion best as a PF?  Can West play small ball center?

I think Memphis Randolph was a stud and team leader.  More dominant than West when they were both at their best.

A big philosophy I had was fluidity and flexibility in lineups.  Option to go big or go small. Bully ball or more finesse.

Marion could pretty smoothly slide between the 3 and 4 with this group.  He was doing it in PHX pretty regularly.  I like him at the 3 for more bully ball when Lucas is in there.  Yeah, I do envision West being able to slide in C for small ball lineups. He's certainly capable.

I think I'm adequate with outside shooting.  Certainly not the biggest strength but I do have guys that can shoot from the outside and I don't think spacing will be much of a problem to get open looks with ball movement.  Especially, when I think I have possibly the strongest passing team in the league.

[theswitch]

Toronto (theswitch):
PG: Penny Hardaway (95-96) / Fat Lever (87-88) / Terrell Brandon (95-96)
SG: Paul Westphal (78-79) / Paul Pressey (85-86)
SF: Marques Johnson (78-79) / Danny Granger (08-09)
PF: Jermaine O'Neal (03-04) / Bobby Jones (76-77) / Kiki VandeWeghe (82-83)
C: Marc Gasol (12-13) / Serge Ibaka (13-14)

Do your top four bigs -- particularly your starters -- provide enough offense?  Where's the spacing coming from overall?

Thanks for the questions, Roy. I'm surprised there's a question on spacing, to be honest -- Marc Gasol at this point in his career was already efficient from 20-24 feet and then once he started taking threes a couple years later, he nailed them immediately at a 39% clip. So I'm not too worried about him being able to do so in this league. Serge Ibaka was already at a 39% clip at this point. Bobby Jones and Jermaine aren't going to provide that, but I think that's okay. You can get away with the spacing from everyone else on the court (Penny, Fat Lever, Brandon, Pressey, Westphal, Johnson, Granger, Gasol, Ibaka, Kiki all provide spacing and are all proven shooters). I honestly think I have potentially the most spacing in the league.

The other question on bigs I think is fair. I clearly leaned into backcourt and my frontcourt is defense-oriented. Now, there's a whole dialogue around Jermaine O'Neal. I posted about it already in the other thread. O'Neal is a guy who has proven he can score 20-25 points per game. There's a debate around his efficiency, but I'll go to the mat arguing that it's a product of his team having all-time bad ball movement (Tinsley, Miller, Artest). The years before, he shot 48% which is respectable when he had at least some ball movement. The passing and spacing on this team will help with that.

So when I look at other power forwards, I don't see much of an issue. Maybe there's an efficiency argument, but in terms of pure 20-25 point scoring that's where Blake, Bosh, Aldridge, Manning, Cummings, Brand all are. I think most of those are better scorers because of efficiency but in terms of brute scoring, he's there. Other guys (Rasheed, Lucas, Buck Williams, Kemp) don't get there in terms of production. Amare has more. So there's an efficiency argument which I think my team helps with, but overall I have to look at that and say JO is middle of the pack.

On to center. Marc Gasol offensively is the best combination of shooting and passing in the starting 12 centers other than his brother and maybe Webber. But if we're talking about scoring, he put up 15 this year and 20 later on which shows me that if you wanted him to score more, he could. But whatever, let's stick to mid-to-high teens. Other centers: Lanier, Gilmore, Yao, Zo, Dwight, Webber, Pau are clearly more accomplished scorers. Joakim, Vlade, Dikembe, Ben Wallace don't get to his production. So here, bottom end of the middle of the pack but provides the spacing and passing that the others don't.

Let's be advanced about it. Marc had 6.1 OWS that year. Noah didn't get above 5. Wallace didn't. Dikembe got up to 5.6. Vlade 5.3. I won't argue Pau, Webber, Gilmore although Artis wouldn't have the spacing. Dwight maxed at 6.7. Zo 7.3 but only really for one year. Yao 6.5 max. Lanier had 7.5 but he missed 1/4 of the year. So again he's basically middle of the pack-ish.

So I add all that up to -- hey, it's not my strength, for sure, but if your weakness is middle of the pack compared to everyone else, that's not so bad. It's actually pretty good considering how much DPOY-level talent is in that rotation.

[smokeablount]

A question for each squad, harkening back to the "press conferences" of the CB Draft.

Chicago (smokeablount):
PG: Deron Williams (07-08) / Micheal Ray Richardson (80-81) / John Wall (16-17)
SG: David Thompson (77-78) / Hersey Hawkins (96-97)
SF: Tracy McGrady (02-03) / Tayshaun Prince (04-05)
PF: Larry Nance Sr (91-92) / Blake Griffin (13-14)
C: Bob Lanier (76-77) / Brad Daugherty (92-93) / Marcus Camby (06-07)

If I'm not overlooking somebody, Williams, McGrady and Hawkins are your only reliable outside shooters.  Is that a problem?

Also, why the 1997 season for Hawkins?

When my final seasons are selected, there will be 5-6 guys:

DWill 39%+
TMac 38%+
Hawkins 40%+
Prince 38%+
Wall 33%

And then Thompson would definitely be shooting 3’s today. He shot 36%+ the first year it was recorded 1-2 years later.

I picked 97 for Hawk because it was close to 50-40-88 with the appropriate usage he’d get on this team, and it was his high in Win Shares.