Celticsstrong 2021 Historical Draft - VOTES ARE IN

[Who]

Kawhi was my #3 guy. I thought he was the best / easiest two way force to build around in this draft. He gives you so many options to build around him. More than anyone else in the draft.

I preferred the two old guys over a modern player - plus I felt Kawhi was similar to Durant who I had in the last draft and wanted somebody with a different style of play this time around.

[Somebody]

With the 6th pick in the Historical Draft, the Houston Rockets select:

Kawhi Leonard

That was my #5 guy. Nice pick.

He was actually in my top 2 - I had him, Giannis, Kobe and a guy who I believe is an offensive GOAT candidate rounding out my top 4 with the two Malones at #5 and #6. Shame that we can't use Doc's ABA years - he would've been right there with those 4 if those seasons were eligible.

[gouki88]

Knew it’d be Kawhi. Last of the two-way forces of that calibre remaining. Can shoot from 3 levels, plays elite defence, rebounds, is an improved passer and is clutch. Good pick

I rate his 2020 season very highly - his jump as a passer really impressed me, he definitely jumped into the upper echelon of MVP candidates with his improvements last season (think LeBron/Curry/Durant/Giannis/AD).

Yeah, me too. He also showed up in the playoffs, despite most of his team hanging him out to dry. Plus, he’s a fun guy

[Darth_Yoda]

Its painful waiting for your pick.

I would not make a good GM in real life, well maybe I would, but I would have alot of Ulcers.

[Somebody]

Knew it’d be Kawhi. Last of the two-way forces of that calibre remaining. Can shoot from 3 levels, plays elite defence, rebounds, is an improved passer and is clutch. Good pick

I rate his 2020 season very highly - his jump as a passer really impressed me, he definitely jumped into the upper echelon of MVP candidates with his improvements last season (think LeBron/Curry/Durant/Giannis/AD).

Yeah, me too. He also showed up in the playoffs, despite most of his team hanging him out to dry. Plus, he’s a fun guy

[Moranis]

I was debating on Kawhi, but ultimately took the guy that I can count on to play in all 82 games, statistically is better, and has the better regular season hardware.  It ultimately was hard for me to justify the 5th pick on a guy that missed 27% of the team games, even if he ended up winning the Finals MVP and his skill set is well suited to this sort of environment.

[Celtic Fan Forever]

Still entertaining the possibility of some trades, but if nothing finalizes I will pick shortly

[RPGenerate]

This is where things get interesting, as I think this is where my 2nd tier of talent starts. I think things get unpredictable after Kawhi.

[nickagneta]

This is where things get interesting, as I think this is where my 2nd tier of talent starts. I think things get unpredictable after Kawhi.

I always Tier out my players. On my board, Tier 1 is done and we are into Tier 2, which has, IMHO, maybe one round of players in it. I an hoping a Tier 2 guy falls to me in round 2.

[Darth_Yoda]

This is where things get interesting, as I think this is where my 2nd tier of talent starts. I think things get unpredictable after Kawhi.

I always Tier out my players. On my board, Tier 1 is done and we are into Tier 2, which has, IMHO, maybe one round of players in it. I an hoping a Tier 2 guy falls to me in round 2.

Hearing talk like this makes me question my ability to evaluate players.

 

[RPGenerate]

Kawhi was my #3 guy. I thought he was the best / easiest two way force to build around in this draft. He gives you so many options to build around him. More than anyone else in the draft.

I preferred the two old guys over a modern player - plus I felt Kawhi was similar to Durant who I had in the last draft and wanted somebody with a different style of play this time around.

This is an interesting thought, as each of my drafts have started of with calm, collected all-time greats center. First with Kareem, than Duncan, and now Moses. Guess I have a type 

[Moranis]

To me Moses was the clear #1 pick just based on the dearth of great centers available.  I mean he is the only top 10 all time center in this, which just isn't true at any other position.

But is the gap between him and the second rung of centres in this draft that great? Sure the centre position is a bit thinner than other positions, but it's not like there aren't any centres who were top 10-15 players during their time available in this draft, and there's another historical giant who might be close to his level (emphasis on might) if you think highly enough of his game.

Yes the gap is that great. You've pretty consistently underrated how good Moses is. Moses was an absolute monster.  The best player in the world for several seasons and probably the only guy available in this entire draft that can make that claim for more than 1 year (and that is only if you think Giannis is currently the best player in the world).  Impossible to guard and a top of the line rebounder on top of that. And a good enough defender that you will be fine with him on both ends.

Thinking that he was the best player in the world for any season in the late 70s/early 80s when Kareem and Bird existed is probably looking at Moses quite highly, much less a good chunk of that stretch . His offence was great but not game-changing (Houston dropped off a bit on that end as soon as their cast wasn't loaded with offensive talent) and his defence was good but not great. What makes his peak notably better than players like Erving, Kobe and Giannis? He was a great player, don't get me wrong, but being a box score monster doesn't make you a sui generis force among other all time greats, those players also had incredible box stats.

We had this same debate last historical draft, and it wasn't just me that was consistently telling you that Moses was that good.  Moses was the best player in the world for a 3 or 4 year period.  He just was.  The MVP awards he won were well earned.  His impact to winning was undeniable as the Rockets went from 46 wins to 14 and the Sixers became one of the greatest teams in league history winning 65 games and going 12-1 in the playoffs including sweeping the defending champion Lakers in the Finals.  Moses was an incredible scorer and rebounder and he held his own defensively.  He consistently outperformed Kareem in their head to head match-ups during that period, both statistically and team record wise, despite Kareem having better teammates (at least while Moses was in Houston). 

[Celtic Fan Forever]

Well, my last 2 historical drafts I picked LeBron and Kobe with my first round pick, and it was an uphill battle making sure I could get the right guys to fit around them.

Now, I'm happy to pick one of the most unselfish guys ever, and someone who doesn't need the spotlight.

He doesn't have the gaudy numbers or MVP awards of the guys picked before him, but he would thrive in any era and I love the idea of building a team around him.

With 1(7)- the Washington Wizards select John Stockton

[gouki88]

There goes our first PG!

Should be able to surround him with suitable talent easily, given he made a lot out of little.

[Somebody]

This is where things get interesting, as I think this is where my 2nd tier of talent starts. I think things get unpredictable after Kawhi.

I always Tier out my players. On my board, Tier 1 is done and we are into Tier 2, which has, IMHO, maybe one round of players in it. I an hoping a Tier 2 guy falls to me in round 2.

Hearing talk like this makes me question my ability to evaluate players.

 

There are still a couple of game-changing talents (one tier 1 and one tier 2) left according to my draft board, so at least you're not alone