2023 CS Historic Draft - How's My Team?

[Kernewek]

"My favorite thing about him early was the dude can run, and he can catch," [Jameer] Nelson said on the "Knuckleheads" podcast. "After that, like we're gonna figure it out. You can throw him bounce passes, chest passes, over the top, or whatever. His hands was crazy. And then defensively, I tell people all the time, because they see Dwight as silly and playful and joyful. The dude was the smartest defender I've ever been on a team with."

On the other hand, Jameer Nelson, defensive specialist is not a phrase you hear that often.

[gouki88]

As far as I am concerned, people are more than welcome to shoot me through votes starting now. That applies to both players and others I'll post a similar message in the draft thread too.

[Kernewek]

So ranked 1-11 for participants, 1-12 for non-participants?

I’ll have to send mine in tomorrow, but presuming it’s just favourite to least favourite?

[gouki88]

So ranked 1-11 for participants, 1-12 for non-participants?

I’ll have to send mine in tomorrow, but presuming it’s just favourite to least favourite?

I do it as a sort of hybrid of ranking which team I view as most likely to win a title + which team I like the most. I think it's open to interpretation

[action781]

PG: Tim Hardaway Sr. / Gilbert Arenas / Jason Williams
SG: Alvin Robertson / Tony Allen
SF: Glen Rice / Mark Aguirre
PF: Rasheed Wallace / Carlos Boozer / Derrick Coleman
C: Joakim Noah / Arvydas Sabonis

Any thought to playing Rasheed at center and putting one of your prolific scoring PFs in the starting lineup?  Is yours the most emotionally explosive team in the league?

I am not sure how well Sheed could play the five in this league. He was more of a PF/SF in his early Portland years than a PF/C he was in his Detroit years. He was thinner. Not as strong physically. He could struggle with the more physical PFs in the league like Karl Malone. That is what Portland had Brian Grant for. To handle those sorts of guys. Sheed was a secondary defensive option on them.

I forget where exactly his body was in 2001. Somewhere between too small (POR early years late 90s) and fully developed heft (DET years, late POR years). So this idea is not that precise ... but my expectation is that Sheed could play part time center in this league. That he could work against certain matchups and not others. Therefore would be a bad full time option at starting center.

For me its more just about the two great centers that this team has.  If I had 48 minutes at PF and 48 minutes at C to divy up on this team, it would be something like:
Sheed 30 / Boozer + Coleman 18
Noah 24 / Sabonis 24
I wouldn't give Boozer any more minutes coming from Noah or Sabonis.

[theswitch]

Question for the group -- since we didn't actually see any real trades happen, what's one deal you wish you had seen?

[action781]

Question for the group -- since we didn't actually see any real trades happen, what's one deal you wish you had seen?

Great question!  Never thought about this...

Rondo for Mo Cheeks?  I love imagining Rondo running that horns offense with Amare and Pau. Pau just a brilliantly smart player, can spread the floor (like Garnett), and Amare an elite rim runner catching perfect passes from Rondo.

Rondo for Deron Williams I kind of like too.  Yeah Deron Williams was a 10+ apg guy.  But it felt like over half of those were to Boozer in a pnr.  I like Rondo's ability to spread the ball out 2-5 with a new kind of unexpected pass every time down the floor.  I think he could set up TMac better than Deron, especially in transition.  Rondo can be the best player in a playoff series in this league.

Lamarcus Aldridge for Larry Johnson?  I like the talent and floor spacing LJ would bring alongside Yao.  I think LMA would be a nice PF to spell Bosh on that Utah team.  They could also play LMA and Bosh together at times.

[gouki88]

Question for the group -- since we didn't actually see any real trades happen, what's one deal you wish you had seen?

Andrew Bogut for Dwight Howard

[Who]

Man, these teams are tough to rank.

I rank them. I think I am happy with it. I look at it again and I want the change the order all over again.

[gouki88]

Man, these teams are tough to rank.

I rank them. I think I am happy with it. I look at it again and I want the change the order all over again.

Totally agree. In the 5 ballots I've received thus far, nobody has the same top two nor bottom two. Going to be tight!

[celticinorlando]

Like others, this was hard to rank for me. Very subjective. Changes every time I look at them. Overall, teams are very balanced and good. Appreciate all the hard work everyone did on this.

[Moranis]

I will try to do this tonight, but have my fantasy football draft and those are sometimes fast and sometimes very long.

[Kernewek]

Like others, this was hard to rank for me. Very subjective. Changes every time I look at them. Overall, teams are very balanced and good. Appreciate all the hard work everyone did on this.

Yeah. I just wound up going by expected success based on an imagined double-round-robin table (Premier League style), to be honest. The aesthetics of the game across the board (my preferred ranking 99% of the time) were largely a wash.

[Who]

Interesting forum debate on where Sheed rates All-Time at the PF position over at RealGM.

https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1965786

Many have Sheed as top 20 All-Time alongside some others from this draft like Kemp, Aldridge, B Griffin. Some have Pau and C-Webb as top ten. Not sure if I saw Elton Brand mentioned or not. Cummings the odd mention. Jermaine O'Neal some but more as peak rather than career. A little Z-Bo. Mo Lucas maybe one mention.


So with (1) Webber moving over to C and (2) with Pau starting alongside Amare, I have Pau at center and Amare at PF because that is how teams will matchup against them. That leaves the debate for best PF in the league down to Kemp vs Sheed for me.

I see Kemp as having the higher individual qualities but Sheed being more cerebral and better able to fit into any system / set of teammates. Not sure which way I go with that. Very close. They are my two favourite PFs here.

[theswitch]

From one interesting post from that thread...I'm trying to retrace steps and figure out how Portland screwed up such an immaculate bigs situation. They go to the Western Conference Finals with a bunch of veterans -- Rasheed and Sabonis at power forward and center -- and a young, evolving Jermaine O'Neal on the bench. In the offseason they decide the best move is to trade for an aging Shawn Kemp and a Dale Davis who is past his prime. It's not a disaster but the team loses its high end potential as guys like Pippen, Steve Smith, et al roll off.

Then they get Zach Randolph. The first year they think he can start, they trade Rasheed Wallace and they start to stink after that. Is that right?

What a missed opportunity to play a Rasheed - Jermaine combination as a power forward and center instead of that Kemp / Davis trade. And then to groom Randolph.

Rasheed and JO as a combination in the early-to-mid 2000s frontline would've been so cool.