2013 Pick 2 Draft: How's my team look?

[KGs Knee]

http://m.deadspin.com/5988117/the-philadelphia-district-attorney-trolled-andrew-bynums-bum-knees

Philly DA speculated Andrew Bynums knees warrant a grand jury investigation.

I'm consoling myself with one of the most perfect movies ever made; Grosse Point Blanc.

Action, humor, compelling character growth, and examination of what it means to happy, fulfilled, or ultimately empty.

Great movie, terrible knees.

Not sure if he has the height, but I know one man who fits the description:

I said 'Rrrrrrrobert'

Nope.  If they ever make a movie about Andrew Bynum, there is only one man for the job.

[RebusRankin]

I have a fever and the only cure is more discussion about how fantastic Portland is.

[StartOrien]

Who needs a write up when Shane Battier is the NEW 3 pt king?

[ronaldo943]

Who needs a write up when Shane Battier is the NEW 3 pt king?

i do

[KCattheStripe]

Who needs a write up when Shane Battier is the NEW 3 pt king?

[indeedproceed]

I'll do more tomorrow. StartOrien and Who are due, theyve commented on other people's rosters as much as anyone. If you want me to do one for you, do a real in depth one (or more) about someone else.

[KCattheStripe]

Chandler. Parsons.

[indeedproceed]

Parsons was balllllllllin tonight.

[KCattheStripe]

The New Detroit Player Intro Music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQ6VStjxhBs

[indeedproceed]

The Pick Dos Cavaliers: The Unquestioned Team Of The Future
A Presentation In 5 Missile Points (Because Bullet Points Are For Sissies)

My Team:

Pick 2 Cavs
Guards: K Irving/I Thomas/L Stephenson/W Ellington
Forwards: R Anderson/H Barnes/T Harris/D Cunningham/M Teletovic
Bigs: A Bynum/T Zeller/G Smith
IR/Etc: J Richardson/Nikola Mirotic
Total Salary: 52.3m

1) Kyrie Irving: The best prospect in the NBA, already an All-Star, not a headcase, still just 21 yrs old, with lots of room in his game to improve. Also, has embraced the role of leader already, one of the few young guns who you don't think, 'I really wish he had a mentor on the team'. If you had to build a team to be a contender in 2 years, the picks would go LeBron, Durant, Irving.

2) Young Production Abounds: Ryan Anderson, Lance Stephenson, Wayne Ellington, Dante Cunningham, Isaiah Thomas, Tyler Zeller, Greg Smith. None of them are particularly sexy names right now, but they're all one of starting, playing rotation minutes on a playoff team, producing way above where it was thought they'd be, or all three. Even Mirza Teletovic, who is producing below where it was thought he'd be right now, looks like a great bet to improve significantly next season. And all of them are signed at least through 2014, most longer, and on cheap contracts for their production. Which brings us to number 3.

3) My Money Is Potent, Y'all!:

Basically it breaks down like this; because of the contract situations of my guys, Im in zero danger of losing any of my players because someone is able to offer them more through at least 2015. And when I have to start paying Irving his first max contract, Jason Richardson's money is coming off the books. Even with an as yet unnamed player's extension.

4) I Got Them High-End Prospects Too, Homie: Aside from the oodles of affordable and likely improving talent I've populated my team with, I have the very high ceiling guys a young team needs. Irving notwithstanding, I also have Harrison Barnes, the highest potential 3 in the league right now. He's not playing like an elite player right now, but he's been compared to Paul Pierce on more than one occasion, and he'll get the minutes, the security, and the confidence from ownership he needs to have a shot at getting there. He's got an excellent coach in Rick Carlisle (big ups Northern Ny). He's got a running partner to help him advance in Irving, he'll be in as good a situation to reach his potential as he'll get anywhere in the league.

And finally, I've got Nikola Mirotic. He is, if you were not aware, the best overseas prospect in the world. Not just in his draft class. Not just among players already drafted. Among those known to be draft eligible, and those whose rights are already owned. He's the closest thing to a guaranteed impact player Europe can offer right now. The Bulls, who own his rights, have made him virtually untouchable unless another high draft pick or elite prospect is coming back. He's a 6'10 PF who has legitimate 3 pt range and can bang in the paint as well while starring on one of Europe's best teams, Real Madrid. And he's got a buyout clause in his contract. Probably not coming over before 2014, but it's a possibility unless I misunderstood the pieces I read. If you're unfamiliar with him, check this out. Also this one.

5) Bynum? Hell, I Already Bought 'Em: and, I have Andrew Bynum. No, I don't know if he'll play again this season. No, I don't know of he'll make a full recovery from this injury (although that seems more certain than uncertain).

But I do know that he has shown he's still the best center prospect in the NBA being just 24 years old. I know when he's healthy, he's the second best center in the NBA, and the most dominant scorer from the 5. If he were healthy this season, Id argue my team a fringe contender based on my depth and Irving/Anderson/Bynum alone. I've put all the pieces around him to make sure when he's on the court, he's in a position to dominate. I've given him two capable backups so that his minutes during the regular season can be monitored. I didn't put him next to Kobe, so he won't cry as much. This season, obviously he's an iffy proposition to even play, but going forward, he's still a very promising prospect.

My best players are all 25 or younger and I have the cap space to keep them together. I have already capable and likely to improve role players. I've assembled a team with pieces that fit and compliment each other. It is the team of the future.

[Atzar]

Not to nitpick, but I never did understand the Barnes-Pierce comparisons.  I don't see much resemblance there, other than the fact that they both play the 3. 

I'd say Barnes reminds me more of Luol Deng.  Not that being compared to Deng is a bad thing.  I just don't see the "highest upside of any SF in the league" that many people see. 

[Who]

Not to nitpick, but I never did understand the Barnes-Pierce comparisons.  I don't see much resemblance there, other than the fact that they both play the 3. 

I'd say Barnes reminds me more of Luol Deng.  Not that being compared to Deng is a bad thing.  I just don't see the "highest upside of any SF in the league" that many people see.

I like the Danny Granger comparisons for Harrison Barnes.

[StartOrien]

Reworking my write up

[jgod213]

Cousins v. Bynum
Thad Young v. Anderson
MKG v. Barnes
Beal v. Stephenson
Lawson v. Irving

What a great basketball game that would be (assuming health).  A lot of similarities between the two starting lineups.

In 2 games in 2013, Kyrie averaged 27/4/7 against Lawson and the Nuggets while Lawson averaged 12/4/7 on 27% shooting.  Ultimately that's the difference in the matchup between the two teams.

[StartOrien]

PICK 2: BOSTON CELTICS
SELF EVALUATION

ROSTER

C: Tim Duncan
PF: Kevin Garnett
SF: Shane Battier
SG: Jared Dudley
PG: Jeremy Lin

JR Smith, Jason Kidd, Chris Kaman
Epke Udoh, Alan Anderson
Rashard Lewis, Tyshawn Taylor

So admittedly, I've been pretty disappointed with a lot of the 'this is Garnett and Duncan and a huge drop-off.' I think statements like that discount how incredible this combination could be: TWO 7 footers who are strong post players, elite mid range jump shooters, legendary passers, and unparalleled drive to win. While on the defensive side creating nightmares for anyone who even thinks of driving in the paint.

I see other teams consider declare them 'by far the best', but I ask what in the world they could do to stop these two monters in the post in a 7 game series.

During the Sloan Conference, Stan Van Gundy used JJ Reddick as an example of a player who could be an elite defensive player despite his obvious athletic limitations. Citing that while Reddick wasn't individually a great defender, he bought into the system and was great in his role.

That's how I view my perimeter players. Individually, they're not elite. But in an offense that runs itself through Garnett and Duncan, they could be elite in their role.

I'm asking Jeremy Lin, Harvard Basketball alumni, to be smart and shoulder less work than he's used to: Moving the ball side to side (something he's done well in Houston) to get the ball into the post, or occasionally creating through pick and roll (something he did extremely well in New York) when getting the ball in the post proves to be a challenge.

I've used the Memphis Grizzlies as an example a few times - They're a team that pounces on the mismatches that having two elite post players provides. And because that's how they run their offense, they don't necessarily need a Rudy Gay on the wing. While he might be an elite player, his ability to shot create certainly is - he's not elite in the role. Because what the Grizzlies need is a smart player who can stand in the corner, hit open 3's, make smart passes, and occasionally make a smart cut to create an easy layup.

In a system with Garnett & Duncan, overall skillset isn't as important as your ability to do one or two things really well. That's where I think guys like Battier and Dudley excel: They've proven before that they can flourish in this role. 

I'm sure I've ran long enough that pretty much no one's reading so I'll try to keep the bench players short -

JR Smith is JR Smith. He can get really hot, he's really good in catch and shoot opportunities, and has some ability to create for himself if I feel the offense needs that. He's also a pretty underrated defender, and for some reason he's really rebounding the ball well right now.

Getting Jason Kidd was important to me - anyone whose watched enough Knicks games know that his presence brings that 'make the extra pass' culture. It's kind fo crazy the difference in the team when he is and isn't playing.

I wanted to get Kaman to give me the ability to be relentless with pushing the ball int he post. And since I don't want to stretch Duncan and KG in the regular season I thought he'd be a great addition.

Udoh's a wild animal I can release for 5-10 minutes to use his athleticism. Alan Anderson is a reliable 2-3 I can use if Kidd is hurt or for spot minutes if JR Smith is being bad JR Smith. Rashard Lewis gives me the ability to stretch the floor in the second unit. And I really like Tyshawn Taylor as a prospect.

SALARIES

GREEN player option
RED qualifying option
GREY unguaranteed

So, pretty proud of this. Two years of competing, then everyone's pretty much off the books. I don't think I need to embellish too far on this, just wanna say 'Hey' to my friend Kyrie.

After the first season I'm probably looking at bringing back JR Smith and Chris Kaman on lucrative one year deals.

The one trouble I had was that I did want to add some B-level prospects to the roster, but I felt specific roles on the bench needed to be filled out. And because of it I don't really have any young guys who might pan out.