Summer 2021 Fantasy Draft: Draft Thread

[Who]

With the 10th pick, the OKC Thunder select …

Christian Wood!

He somewhat has the "put number up on bad team" moniker that can be a bit of a death sentence in these types of games, but the talent is there. Plus a big being able to shoot threes is always valuable.

He is somewhat polarising - Jvalin is a big fan of his, but I'm a bit more sceptical.

You stole Lowry from right under Somebody's nose

I like Christian Wood. I would start him ahead of Draymond Green on that team. I like the double big man combination of Wood and AD together. Two dynamic finishers as lob threats, both guys can pop to three, AD has a money midrange game and both players can drive on the dribble if given some space. They would be much tougher to defend than a lineup with Draymond in there.

I was tempted by Christian Wood for my team but I am not wild about his capacity to fit next to a paint-only big man like Gobert. I feel he needs more open lanes to swoop into on PnRs. A high post big man (like AD) is ideal for Wood at PF.

[tazzmaniac]

With the 12th pick of the 5th round, the Memphis Grizzlies select  Mikal Bridges. 

[gouki88]

With the 12th pick of the 5th round, the Memphis Grizzlies select  Mikal Bridges.

Good fit with his shooting and defence alongside your plethora of offensive stars

[theswitch]

With the 12th pick of the 5th round, the Memphis Grizzlies select  Mikal Bridges.

Oof! One of the guys at the top of my wishlist.

[wdleehi]

The Pacers select Lonzo Ball

Man, your team is probably my favourite at the moment. Besides my own, of course

PG: Lonzo
SG: Paul George
SF: Tatum
PF: Siakam
C: Sabonis

I really liked the first four picks.

I'm not as big of a fan of Lonzo.  I'm just not sure he's ready to be a PG on a good team.  I assume that on wdleehi's team he's essentially going to be a 3&D guy with less initiation of the offense, but I just don't love the kid.

Yeah, I feel like the team could use a point guard who can run the offense, and I'm afraid Ball is a bit too limited to do that.

The plan is likely that Ball isn't going to start.   Looking at who was drafting after me (only one pick before I pick again), I figured the other guy was going to slip through easier then Ball who has the size to play on the swing position.

[Roy H.]

With the 12th pick of the 5th round, the Memphis Grizzlies select  Mikal Bridges.

Good fit with his shooting and defence alongside your plethora of offensive stars

This is something I've talked about with a couple of guys regarding the draft, and then also in the discussion about the IRL Nets.

Does adding a defensive stud make sense if your entire team is built around offense?  How much can one guy do on defense?  Would assets be better spent to maximizing the offense?  Adding facilitators and ultra-efficient finishers?

Now, I think there's an argument that if you have an elite rim-protector and rebounder, that can be justified even if you have four offensive studs (i.e., Who's team).  But, I'm less convinced about defensive guards or wings. 

[tazzmaniac]

With the 12th pick of the 5th round, the Memphis Grizzlies select  Mikal Bridges.

Good fit with his shooting and defence alongside your plethora of offensive stars

Pretty much a perfect fit 3+D guy. 

[theswitch]

With the 12th pick of the 5th round, the Memphis Grizzlies select  Mikal Bridges.

Good fit with his shooting and defence alongside your plethora of offensive stars

This is something I've talked about with a couple of guys regarding the draft, and then also in the discussion about the IRL Nets.

Does adding a defensive stud make sense if your entire team is built around offense?  How much can one guy do on defense?  Would assets be better spent to maximizing the offense?  Adding facilitators and ultra-efficient finishers?

You're making Bridges sound offensively incompetent - he's a hyper-efficient scorer and killer shooter. Sure, he's not the best creator in the world but he's not going to hold you back.

[gouki88]

With the 12th pick of the 5th round, the Memphis Grizzlies select  Mikal Bridges.

Good fit with his shooting and defence alongside your plethora of offensive stars

This is something I've talked about with a couple of guys regarding the draft, and then also in the discussion about the IRL Nets.

Does adding a defensive stud make sense if your entire team is built around offense?  How much can one guy do on defense?  Would assets be better spent to maximizing the offense?  Adding facilitators and ultra-efficient finishers?

I think it depends. If it's a transformative defender at the 5 like Gobert, or Ben Wallace, I think it makes a big difference. That becomes less important on the perimeter, naturally, but I still like the idea of balance. Plus, Bridges is pretty handy with his efficiency

[Who]

With the 12th pick of the 5th round, the Memphis Grizzlies select  Mikal Bridges.

Love it.

I came close to picking Bridges with each of previous two picks.  When I was picking CJ McCollum at the end of the 4th round I was debating between three plans:

Plan A: McCollum
Plan B: Lowry
Plan C: Mikal Bridges

With Anunoby as the early pick in the fifth round to complement any one of these guys -- which had no chance of happening after him being picked 1st overall in this 5th round.

I really wanted Bridges as a 6-6/6-7 long thin versatile wing defender. I thought he'd be a good fit next to Luka. I was picturing him taking the toughest guard assignment, LaVine taking the lesser one. Then Anunoby taking the toughest forward assignment and Luka taking the lesser forward. Something like that. I liked the defensive versatility of the four of them. Four mid-sized players who can interchange defensively next to Gobert. That was that idea anyway.

Then I was looking at Lowry vs McCollum. I liked Lowry better as a PG but I did not really need a PG with Luka there so I decided a score first combo guard was a better fit with Luka so I went with McCollum over Lowry.

And I went with McCollum over Mikal Bridges because I was worried about the lack of offensive firepower in Bridges, Anunoby and Gobert relative to some of these other teams in this league which are loaded with scoring.



Then in the 5th round Mikal Bridges was a finalist again alongside Harrison Barnes and Michael Porter Jr. I was looking at the big forwards in this league and I was worried about Luka defending most of them and was unsure about the quality available by the next pick so I went with a bigger forward (H.Barnes, MPJ) over the smaller wing in Bridges.

I went with MPJ over H.Barnes because I feel MPJ can be a difference maker. H.Barnes is one of those steady players who never hurts you but rarely elevates you either. He just does his job steadily. MPJ is more hit or miss. He can elevate your team with incredible offensive play but on other times he can hurt you with lousy D. I went with the risky hit or miss option in MPJ.

[Roy H.]

With the 12th pick of the 5th round, the Memphis Grizzlies select  Mikal Bridges.

Good fit with his shooting and defence alongside your plethora of offensive stars

This is something I've talked about with a couple of guys regarding the draft, and then also in the discussion about the IRL Nets.

Does adding a defensive stud make sense if your entire team is built around offense?  How much can one guy do on defense?  Would assets be better spent to maximizing the offense?  Adding facilitators and ultra-efficient finishers?

I think it depends. If it's a transformative defender at the 5 like Gobert, or Ben Wallace, I think it makes a big difference. That becomes less important on the perimeter, naturally, but I still like the idea of balance. Plus, Bridges is pretty handy with his efficiency

I added an edit above that clarified that elite defensive centers are individual difference makers.  I agree with you there.

Bridges is very efficient, but he's not much of a volume guy, and he doesn't add a ton rebounding or passing, either.

Jvalin and I had a similar conversation via PMs.  I'm just not sure if he adds a ton.  If you accept that an individual perimeter player surrounded by four sub-par defenders won't make much of a difference on a team's defense, then does it make sense to add a low volume shooter?  I don't think so.

You're making Bridges sound offensively incompetent - he's a hyper-efficient scorer and killer shooter. Sure, he's not the best creator in the world but he's not going to hold you back.

He won't hold you back, but he'll add less than probably two dozen players offensively, at least.  If his defense is marginalized, then is there a good reason to not go for the best offensive player available?

To over-simplify, at this point the die has been cast.  Some teams are offense-only, some are defense-oriented, and some go both ways.  This deep into the draft, I think that teams should play to their strengths.

[Who]

With the 12th pick of the 5th round, the Memphis Grizzlies select  Mikal Bridges.

Good fit with his shooting and defence alongside your plethora of offensive stars

This is something I've talked about with a couple of guys regarding the draft, and then also in the discussion about the IRL Nets.

Does adding a defensive stud make sense if your entire team is built around offense?  How much can one guy do on defense?  Would assets be better spent to maximizing the offense?  Adding facilitators and ultra-efficient finishers?

I think it depends. If it's a transformative defender at the 5 like Gobert, or Ben Wallace, I think it makes a big difference. That becomes less important on the perimeter, naturally, but I still like the idea of balance. Plus, Bridges is pretty handy with his efficiency

Mikal Bridges offensive numbers are freaky. The shooting is bloody impressive but the low figure of turnovers and strong assist to turnover ratio gives him an extra edge over other high level shooters. His scoring numbers in transition offense and in off ball cuts rank highly as well. It really separates him from a lot of other 3 point shooters.

The transition scoring, off ball cutting and good passing gives him a multi-faceted offensive game for a 3+D player.

[Who]

With the 12th pick of the 5th round, the Memphis Grizzlies select  Mikal Bridges.

Good fit with his shooting and defence alongside your plethora of offensive stars

This is something I've talked about with a couple of guys regarding the draft, and then also in the discussion about the IRL Nets.

Does adding a defensive stud make sense if your entire team is built around offense?  How much can one guy do on defense?  Would assets be better spent to maximizing the offense?  Adding facilitators and ultra-efficient finishers?

I think it depends. If it's a transformative defender at the 5 like Gobert, or Ben Wallace, I think it makes a big difference. That becomes less important on the perimeter, naturally, but I still like the idea of balance. Plus, Bridges is pretty handy with his efficiency

I added an edit above that clarified that elite defensive centers are individual difference makers.  I agree with you there.

Bridges is very efficient, but he's not much of a volume guy, and he doesn't add a ton rebounding or passing, either.

Jvalin and I had a similar conversation via PMs.  I'm just not sure if he adds a ton.  If you accept that an individual perimeter player surrounded by four sub-par defenders won't make much of a difference on a team's defense, then does it make sense to add a low volume shooter?  I don't think so.

You're making Bridges sound offensively incompetent - he's a hyper-efficient scorer and killer shooter. Sure, he's not the best creator in the world but he's not going to hold you back.

He won't hold you back, but he'll add less than probably two dozen players offensively, at least.  If his defense is marginalized, then is there a good reason to not go for the best offensive player available?

To over-simplify, at this point the die has been cast.  Some teams are offense-only, some are defense-oriented, and some go both ways.  This deep into the draft, I think that teams should play to their strengths.

I would look at it a bit differently with Mikal Bridges' offense. I would look at it in terms of efficiency rather than total scoring and total assists. Does he elevate my team's offensive efficiency as a fifth wheel and low volume offensive player more than a higher volume lower efficiency offensive player does?

That would be how I would look at his offense.

I would worry about how much a 5th option can add when he is standing in a queue behind Lillard, Towns, SGA and Randle. How many touches will that 5th option really get? How many shots?

A low volume high efficiency guy could add more to that lineup's offense than a higher volume but lower efficiency guy can.

In that light, I look at Mikal Bridges as a great fit offensively.

[tazzmaniac]

With the 12th pick of the 5th round, the Memphis Grizzlies select  Mikal Bridges.

Good fit with his shooting and defence alongside your plethora of offensive stars

This is something I've talked about with a couple of guys regarding the draft, and then also in the discussion about the IRL Nets.

Does adding a defensive stud make sense if your entire team is built around offense?  How much can one guy do on defense?  Would assets be better spent to maximizing the offense?  Adding facilitators and ultra-efficient finishers?

You need to look at his offensive numbers.  I think he does maximize my offense.  There are few better 3+D players in the league.  I've already got 4 good facilitators.  Everyone one talks about 5 out.  You're not going to find a better 5 out team and 4 of the 5 are good at getting to the free throw line. 

As for defense, I don't think my team is that bad.  Bridges is very good.  Randle is good on-ball at the least.  Shai is average, maybe above average.  As for Dame, I'm not sure where he rates amongst all the other poor defensive PGs in the league.  Townes isn't a good defender but he's not that bad. 

[tazzmaniac]

With the 12th pick of the 5th round, the Memphis Grizzlies select  Mikal Bridges.

Good fit with his shooting and defence alongside your plethora of offensive stars

This is something I've talked about with a couple of guys regarding the draft, and then also in the discussion about the IRL Nets.

Does adding a defensive stud make sense if your entire team is built around offense?  How much can one guy do on defense?  Would assets be better spent to maximizing the offense?  Adding facilitators and ultra-efficient finishers?

I think it depends. If it's a transformative defender at the 5 like Gobert, or Ben Wallace, I think it makes a big difference. That becomes less important on the perimeter, naturally, but I still like the idea of balance. Plus, Bridges is pretty handy with his efficiency

I added an edit above that clarified that elite defensive centers are individual difference makers.  I agree with you there.

Bridges is very efficient, but he's not much of a volume guy, and he doesn't add a ton rebounding or passing, either.

Jvalin and I had a similar conversation via PMs.  I'm just not sure if he adds a ton.  If you accept that an individual perimeter player surrounded by four sub-par defenders won't make much of a difference on a team's defense, then does it make sense to add a low volume shooter?  I don't think so.

You're making Bridges sound offensively incompetent - he's a hyper-efficient scorer and killer shooter. Sure, he's not the best creator in the world but he's not going to hold you back.

He won't hold you back, but he'll add less than probably two dozen players offensively, at least.  If his defense is marginalized, then is there a good reason to not go for the best offensive player available?

To over-simplify, at this point the die has been cast.  Some teams are offense-only, some are defense-oriented, and some go both ways.  This deep into the draft, I think that teams should play to their strengths.

I would look at it a bit differently with Mikal Bridges' offense. I would look at it in terms of efficiency rather than total scoring and total assists. Does he elevate my team's offensive efficiency as a fifth wheel and low volume offensive player more than a higher volume lower efficiency offensive player does?

That would be how I would look at his offense.

I would worry about how much a 5th option can add when he is standing in a queue behind Lillard, Towns, SGA and Randle. How many touches will that 5th option really get? How many shots?

A low volume high efficiency guy could add more to that lineup's offense than a higher volume but lower efficiency guy can.

In that light, I look at Mikal Bridges as a great fit offensively.

Exactly.  Bridges can be 100% himself.  It may look great on paper to stick a bunch of 30% usage guys together but few if any of them are going to be able to play close to their 100%.