2025 CelticsBlog Fantasy Draft: '05-'25 Edition

[Who]

So is Milwaukee playing without a pure PG?

G: B Roy
G: T-Mac
F: Draymond
F: Dirk
C: Dwight

Ha! The 3Ds in the frontcourt.

Actually, I love that team if Draymond moves to the bench (for a PG). T-Mac at SF. B Roy at SG. That team would be tough to play against.

[RodyTur10]

Love Brandon Roy. Would've drafted him by now if I didn't feel like SGA was too good to pass on at #14. Didn't like the fit, but love the talent of BRoy, his top seasons are up there with the best.

This is the second time that Dons picked the guy I wanted one pick before me under my nose.
First time it was Draymond Green and now Brandon Roy.
I'm online so I'll be making my picks shortly.
Need a few minutes to reconsider my options...

[Moranis]

I would have taken Kidd had we finalized the trade. I would have used a NJ season though. I feel by 2010 he was mostly washed defensively.  Still an elite passer and his shooting was better, but he could no longer defend at a high level. 

I was hoping Roy was going to fall to end of next round. I liked his game a lot and feel like he'd be a great 6th man.

[Moranis]

Happy with my team so far.  Everyone is massive for their position and only 1 poor defender.  I think the roles will be fairly well defined as well so there should be nice cohesion.  I like the inside/outside game of Wemby and Shaq and each covers the others weakness on both ends.  Good big man balance.  I think wing/guard trio of LeBron, Luka, and Brown should work well together and JB and LBJ can cover Luka on defense somewhat with 2 elite shot blocker behind them. 

[snively]

I was debating Brown vs. Granger (and a few others) for my bench swing forward spot. JB's volume from 3 + speed in transition and attacking closeouts + man D was very appealing.

[smokeablount]

I would have taken Kidd had we finalized the trade. I would have used a NJ season though. I feel by 2010 he was mostly washed defensively.  Still an elite passer and his shooting was better, but he could no longer defend at a high level. 

I was hoping Roy was going to fall to end of next round. I liked his game a lot and feel like he'd be a great 6th man.

I am still not 100% final on the Kidd season unlike my other starters, but I think his 35% on 3's in NJ vs his 42% in 09-10 where he was one of the best players in the league, seals the deal.

Also, he was absolutely not washed defensively in 2011, let alone 09-10. In the playoffs when they won it all it was Kidd, not Marion, who was the best defender on Lebron and Kobe in the finals, and on Kobe leading up to that.

He was behind only Rondo, Wade, and Felton in defensive win shares in 09-10 and still elite. At his peak he was maybe the best defensive PG ever and at 35-36 years old he was still elite until probably 2011-12. He was certainly the most transformative defensive PG ever:

https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=2365925

I had no idea how all over the leader boards he was in 2009-10, behind mostly top 20 guys:

https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2010_leaders.html

[Who]

I would have taken Kidd had we finalized the trade. I would have used a NJ season though. I feel by 2010 he was mostly washed defensively.  Still an elite passer and his shooting was better, but he could no longer defend at a high level. 

I was hoping Roy was going to fall to end of next round. I liked his game a lot and feel like he'd be a great 6th man.

I don't think Kidd could defend at a top level in any season under this format. 2005 onwards. He had that microfracture surgery after the 2004 playoffs. Never had the lateral quickness to be a high level man defender on PGs after that. So the cut-off point for this draft just misses his top defensive campaigns.

Even though Kidd's man defense dropped off at PG, he was still a high level team defender / help defender at PG and a net positive defensively overall because of it. And a very good man defender on wings. He still had enough lateral quickness (post microfracture) to check those guys combined with his great strength at 6-4 220lbs. In today's switching defenses, he'd be even more valuable defensively than he was in 2005-10.

[snively]

I would have taken Kidd had we finalized the trade. I would have used a NJ season though. I feel by 2010 he was mostly washed defensively.  Still an elite passer and his shooting was better, but he could no longer defend at a high level. 

I was hoping Roy was going to fall to end of next round. I liked his game a lot and feel like he'd be a great 6th man.

I don't think Kidd could defend at a top level in any season under this format. 2005 onwards. He had that microfracture surgery after the 2004 playoffs. Never had the lateral quickness to be a high level man defender on PGs after that. So the cut-off point for this draft just misses his top defensive campaigns.

Even though Kidd's man defense dropped off at PG, he was still a high level team defender / help defender at PG and a net positive defensively overall because of it. And a very good man defender on wings. He still had enough lateral quickness (post microfracture) to check those guys combined with his great strength at 6-4 220lbs. In today's switching defenses, he'd be even more valuable defensively than he was in 2005-10.

Plus you get the improved spot-up J of the later Kidd.

[Jvalin]

I had a hard time with Lillard.  Bad defensively and fairly ball dominant. Incredibly great shooter, but just wasn't sure how he'd do in a 3rd or 4th scorer type role.

I am not sure there are many teams Lillard would be a 4th option. The guy can flat out score. From anywhere.

Lillard will be the 2nd option on that Indiana team behind Jokic. He will be ahead of Ant, Tatum, PG13 in the pecking order offensively. More ball-handling, more self-creation, more range, more shot variety. Awesome 2 man game with Jokic that will be unstoppable.

then you basically mute Edwards though and neither one of them have elite defense or passing.  I just think the fit of Lillard is very hard.

Yeah, I don't disagree about fit. That is why I wanted a passing PG like Nash or Kidd rather than a scoring PG like Lillard.

I got Jokic though, so I definitely needed a score-first PG. The Lillard-Jokic PnR would be unstoppable. Even more lethal than the Nuggets PnR with Jokic and his real life sidekick.

I'd argue Ant is a rich man's Jaylen Brown. Not sure why he cannot play in a secondary role. He's a high volume 3pt shooter (=floor spacer) averaging north of 10 attempts per game last season. More imporatanly, we know for a fact he can coexist with multiple stars from his spell with team USA. The 2024 team was featuring Steph, LeBron, KD, Embiid, Tatum, AD, among others. The lower the usage for Ant, the higher his efficiency. In fact, he was averaging 58% from the field and 48% from 3 during the Olympics.

[smokeablount]

Devin Booker was a binkie of mine back when he was young. I hoped to get him later

[Who]

I still had Kidd well ranked on defense in this draft despite the drop-off post-microfracture.

That was mainly due to (1) his team D (2) most of the other PGs in this thing were average to below average defensively. Like my guy Nash. Or Lillard. Or Steph.

Jrue Holiday is the only PG I would consider a top level defensive PG taken so far. And he is sharing the backcourt with Steph. He is not even the clear PG. He will have to defend SGs most of the time because Steph won't be able to.

Then I have Chauncey, CP3, Rondo along with Kidd. I consider each of them above average defenders more than high level defensive PGs.

[smokeablount]

Timdawg has until 11:16 to make both his picks- 9 minutes- or else he is at risk of being skipped

[Who]

I had a hard time with Lillard.  Bad defensively and fairly ball dominant. Incredibly great shooter, but just wasn't sure how he'd do in a 3rd or 4th scorer type role.

I am not sure there are many teams Lillard would be a 4th option. The guy can flat out score. From anywhere.

Lillard will be the 2nd option on that Indiana team behind Jokic. He will be ahead of Ant, Tatum, PG13 in the pecking order offensively. More ball-handling, more self-creation, more range, more shot variety. Awesome 2 man game with Jokic that will be unstoppable.

then you basically mute Edwards though and neither one of them have elite defense or passing.  I just think the fit of Lillard is very hard.

Yeah, I don't disagree about fit. That is why I wanted a passing PG like Nash or Kidd rather than a scoring PG like Lillard.

I got Jokic though, so I definitely needed a score-first PG. The Lillard-Jokic PnR would be unstoppable. Even more lethal than the Nuggets PnR with Jokic and his real life sidekick.

I'd argue Ant is a rich man's Jaylen Brown. Not sure why he cannot play in a secondary role. He's a high volume 3pt shooter (=floor spacer) averaging north of 10 attempts per game last season. More imporatanly, we know for a fact he can coexist with multiple stars from his spell with team USA. The 2024 team was featuring Steph, LeBron, KD, Embiid, Tatum, AD, among others. The lower the usage for Ant, the higher his efficiency. In fact, he was averaging 58% from the field and 48% from 3 on 4.2 attempts per game during the Olympics.

I agree with you. Your team fits together beautifully.

I was making more of a general statement on Lillard and scoring PGs in this format. That said, I love Lillard on your team. Jokic and Lillard is a phenomenal 1-2 punch.

I am not as down on Ant as Moranis. He is a very good defender. He is a very good shooter. He has handles. Some passing. Probably the 3rd or 4th best defensive SG behind Wade, Jrue & maybe Kobe (either on par with Kobe or behind Kobe). Ant's defense was the main reason I was interested in drafting him in this draft.

I think Ant will be the 3rd option on the team. He is more assertive than Tatum or PG13. That is not a bad thing. He is a good scorer. I like his assertiveness. He showed that on Team USA. I also like him as a better driver than Tatum or PG13.

Jokic is going to make everything work. Jokic is a genius. It is like having Kidd or Nash. He will bring everyone together and keep them all happy. His passing and teamwork will create unity. Jokic makes the scoring PG work.

At this point, I'd say it is pretty clear cut that this is the top offensive team in the CB league.

[Who]

Kyle Lowry measured out very well on my rankings. Mr Intangibles. Defense. Toughness. Shooting. Some passing. Some scoring. Well rounded PG.

Nice to see him get a starting gig.

[Roy H.]

No Tim sightings?