Thoughts on the second round of the draft: botched opportunity for me, I was too fixated on getting the best possible player to form my duo than look at possible alternatives that would’ve resulted in a more well-rounded team overall. Teams made good to decent picks overall, and the ones I have issues with are just minor quibbles.
1. Good pick. Oscar had a “strong MVP” calibre peak that had him spearheading elite offenses on subpar teams, and shows strong evidence that his game is at least slightly portable with his work in Milwaukee (although it’s important to note that his efficiency and scoring volume both dropped off after joining a stacked Milwaukee compared to his Cincinnati days, so while he can scale building a stacked team around him in terms of offensive prowess might result in diminishing marginal returns).
2. Going to toot my horn a bit here, but imo Kevin Garnett was a great pick. His game is perfect in a modern setting with his video game skillset of elite passing and defense at the PF position, especially in an all-time draft-his only blemish was the lack of a “resilient” offensive game (basically an offensive game that won’t be affected much by changes in the quality of a defense, usually because the offensive game already involves making a lot of tough shots), which can be covered by other all-time greats with the aforementioned offensive games. His high post offense is another plus for his scalability-it spaces the floor enough for isolation heavy players to do their work, or allow for a plodding low post savant to work inside.
3. Excellent pick. Durant’s scoring is incredibly rare-his combination of volume and efficiency for a wing player is among the greats like Jordan, only with a more modern shot profile. His portability is superb for a top flight scorer-his skillset allows him to still thrive next to ball dominant stars with his spot up shooting, and can propel the offense to greater heights with his isolation game. Only concern is his lack of strong passing skills, which prevents him from reaching all time great level offensively (84-88 Larry Bird comes to mind as a big forward who’s all time great offensively).
4. Decent pick. This is the pick I regretted making-I was so fixated on getting the best possible player that I missed the fact that there was a very steep drop off at the center position after Russell/Wilt/Kareem/Hakeem/Robinson/Shaq. I’m still happy with Curry-his 2016 season is one of the best offensive performances of all time due to his scorching efficiency from 3 on high volume, and is still a good fit with Garnett.
5. Iffy on this one, but I woke up feeling better about it. I can understand Yoki’s reasoning-Hondo is one of the most scalable star forwards available-his off ball game is fantastic for any ball dominant superstar who can create at an elite level, and his defense and passing are great additive skills to have on a stacked team. Only concern would be that he didn’t have the highest peak to be the guy that can be a floor raiser next to Kawhi, but I do get that there are still many rounds left in the draft to select a floor raiser (I think a certain playmaker who contrary to public perception had strong MVP impact at the peak of his powers would be perfect for them).
6. Steal of the second round imo. West was the gold standard for offense in the 60s-he scored 25-32 PPG on very high efficiency for his era, and was an amazing foul drawer (had 11 consecutive seasons with 8 or more FTAs). Add disruptive defense and good passing to the mix, and you have the catalyst to one of the best pre 3 point line offenses ever.
7. Decent pick. Not much to say about Moses-his amazing finishing and offensive rebounding makes him a good fit with Magic, who can feed him a ton as well as cover up his limitations in passing. Would like to see how Moranis builds his team to fix the defense-or go completely gung ho on offense.
8. Interesting pick. Dirk’s offense is a great fit with Wilt’s, as his shooting and isolation game will likely space the floor for Wilt (as well as give him a great teammate to pass to, with Dirk’s offense being very resilient at his best). The tactic of fitting Dirk next to an elite rim protector is tried and tested too-the Mavericks had at least average defenses when they paired interior defenders like **** and another guy who I can’t name because he might get drafted next to him. I do have my reservations about such a frontcourt facing a lengthy and athletic frontline with skill, but their offense should probably be able to power through most frontcourts.
9. Good pick. Walton’s peak was extraordinary-he left a huge impact footprint in his prime run with Portland, posting one of the best WOWY scores during his run in Portland (
http://www.backpicks.com/2016/08/24/i-historical-impact-wowy-score-update/). His passing makes him a great pivot next to Jordan in the triangle as well.
10. Decent pick on paper, but pretty weird fit wise for Dallas. The Doctor was best at floor raising-his combination of efficient volume scoring but “only” moderate playmaking was most suited for teams that were staunch defensively but lacked offensive talent, as he could raise the offense to league average levels. But with one of the most efficient inside volume scorers ever in Kareem, how will the Doctor get enough touches to avoid diminishing marginal returns? I like the pick on paper, but the fit is a bit iffy.
11. Another steal in the second round. David was ranked #9 on my draft board, only behind Russell/Shaq/Hakeem/Kareem. He was dominant on both ends of the floor-he was an all-time defender who was strong in both man and team defense (held all-star centers 1.1 PPG and 5% TS below their averages when he was guarding them, and anchored dominant Spurs defenses for years), and had great scoring seasons with high volume and efficiency. His offensive numbers overstate his scoring game a bit as it wasn’t the best against stingier defenses in the playoffs (his face up/garbage man game wasn’t the most resilient offense to get points against tough defense), but it makes him the perfect running mate next to a transcendent usage inhaler who can create and score at an elite level, which happens to be what LeBron James exactly is. Out of all big men in the history of the league, the Admiral is one of the select few that I’d be confident in retaining his superstar value (or even enhancing it ever so slightly) next to LeBron James.
12. Good pick. Malone doesn’t have the highest peak when compared to all-time greats, but his skillset is surprisingly effective as a floor raiser. He arguably achieved better results than Hakeem with a similar scoring profile (high volume, moderate efficiency) by being able to zip high leverage passes to bridge the gap between Utah’s poor spacing and Houston’s 1 in-4 out offense, churning out offenses almost a point better than Houston’s due to Hakeem’s “only” moderate passing. Him and Bird as options to be the pop man in a PnP is insane, and Bird's off-ball excellence doesn't present the same problem as Kareem and Dr. J.