The Toronto Raptors thus far, still missing a SG, but we have a few in mind. Overall, we think we will be able to outscore everyone, even with the guy that may be the worst offensive player on any team manning the middle. We especially like the versatility that our 6th man brings to the big man rotation as he is a nice complement to both starters.
Guards - Tiny Archibald
Wings - Peja Stojakovic
Bigs - Karl Malone, Ben Wallace, Spencer Haywood
A 2 Time MVP, an ABA MVP, a 4 time DPOY, the only man in history to lead league in points and assists in same year, and one of the most lethal shooters ever. Love the talent and think the fit is pretty darn good as well.
This team has all the pieces. I tend to love the teams Moranis puts together, but this is the classic archetype of an NBA team to me:
An attacking PG who can also pass
A shooter
Strong two-way big men
If Toronto adds a strong ball-handler who can also shoot and defend at SG, it’s my idea of a perfect team.
The only question is, is it too classic? Are traditional bigs dinosaurs in a modern game? I think everybody knows my answer.
I think Malone would have adapted quite well to the modern game. Even back in the day he wasn't afraid to shoot from 3. He wouldn't shoot a lot of 3's, but he did have 3 seasons of 0.5 attempts and hit them at 37.2, 26.8, and 40.0 in those seasons and was never really afraid to shoot them. He also took a lot of long 2's and hit them pretty well. On bball-ref they started keeping track of those in the 96-97 season and Malone had 34.4% of his attempts from 16' to the 3 point line over the rest of his career (the most of any distance) and he hit those at 45.2% which is quite good. Obviously a modern Mailman isn't going to be as polished down low, but I think he would have easily stretched out to the 3 point line and would have hit them a pretty good percentage because he hit long 2's at such a good percentage. He was also an athletic physical specimen. Obviously not the player Lebron is, but they have very similar body structure, and I can absolutely envision Malone having a game more like Lebron had he come up more recently as opposed to the more traditional PF he was in the 80's and 90's.
Wallace is obviously a bad shooter, but plenty of modern teams have bad shooters on the floor. I mean look at guys like Deandre Jordan and Rudy Gobert. They basically don't leave 3 feet of the basket (Gobert for his career has attempted 81% of his shots from 0 to 3 feet, Jordan is even greater at 82.9%). Those guys play just fine in the modern game and that is what I think Wallace would be, except a better rebounder and shot blocker, though a worse offensive player. And that said, Wallace I think was a better passer than either Gobert or Jordan is.
Haywood was 6'8" and again another one of those athletic specimens. Moved very well yet very strong. Excellent shooting touch (and an excellent foul shooter). Pretty solid passer as well. I think he would have fit just fine in the modern game. One of the reasons I went with him instead of filling out the starting roster, was that I think he would fit so well in the Malone or Wallace role on the team allowing me to play him with either and really being able to play end of game match-ups.
At the end of the day, I just don't think teams are going to be able to guard my team. I think I have too much offensive versatility. I obviously need a solid wing defender or two in my rotation, but I like where I'm at so far.
Topic: 2021 Historical Draft: How Does My Team Look? (Read 65768 times)