2025 CelticsBlog Fantasy Draft: '05-'25 Edition

[Who]

Moranis (Cavs) -

PG: Luka Doncic
SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Lebron James (MVP), Carmelo Anthony
PF: Victor Wembanyama, Gerald Wallace
C: Shaquille ONeal (prior MVP), Joakim Noah (DPOY)

This team has a sweet small ball lineup with Melo slotting in there instead of Wemby. 4 smalls. 4 perimeter guys around Shaq. Loads of floor spacing. Loads of slashers. Shooting.

And they are all big wings. LeBron, Luka, Melo true forwards (SF/PF). Jaylen a SF/SG.

[Moranis]

All of the advanced metrics, including defensively favor Noah pretty significantly over Chandler in part because Noah was a significantly better steal creator (they are similar shot blockers in their primes). Noah also only took about half his shots at the rim while Chandler took 4 out of 5 from inside 3 feet. Noah took over 18% of his shots from longer than 16 feet and hit them at about 40% (enough shots and a high enough % to keep teams honest).  Chandler also barely shot the ball having just 1 season of over 7 fga, while Noah averaged 7 2 fga his 9 years in Chicago topping out at 10. They are just different types of players.

An outlier. Every jump shot Joakim Noah takes is a victory for his opponents.

Noah is not a competent jump-shooter.

It wasn't an outlier for 5 straight years for long 2"s, Noah averaged 39.7%.  For the DPOY year and the 2 years prior he was 40.1% with 16.6% of his attempts from that range.  He had an ugly jump shot, but he hit it enough to keep teams honest. 

[Who]

Dons (Bucks)

PG: Tony Parker
SG: Brandon Roy
SF: Tracy McGrady, Tayshaun Prince
PF: Dirk Nowitzki (MVP), Draymond Green (DPOY)
C: Dwight Howard, Ben Wallace (DPOY)

Something feels a little off to me about the perimeter trio. T Parker, B Roy and McGrady. They all want the ball. All want to be the guy who makes the play.

I thought B Roy was one of the more ball dominant SGs. In comparison to someone like Ray Allen who did some stuff on-ball but spent most of his time off-ball. Roy was more of an offensive fulcrum. The team revolved around his ball-handling & playmaking. He was functionally the PG on those Blazers teams. Roy has the shooting to play off-ball but his main value is his on-ball creation.

Tony Parker was an on-ball creative PG. His so-so shooting limiting his off ball value. So the offense often revolved around his driving game.

I wonder if those two are the right fits for one another. I feel Parker would be better with more of an off-ball SG (like Ray Allen or Klay Thompson) and that B Roy would be better with a PG that was more comfortable spending time off-ball.

There is overlap there.

I love the Tony Parker pickup value wise. I love his fit with Dirk & Dwight. Parker's driving game would be a nightmare with all the defensive attention they command. Dirk for his shooting. Dwight for his finishing rolling to the rim. Loads of space for Parker to wreck havoc.

I wonder whether one of T Parker or B Roy should come off the bench though. Whether there is enough time on the ball / opportunities to keep everyone satisfied / playing their best. Whether it would be a situation like in San Antonio were they found more value in splitting Parker and Manu up. Having Manu as the 6th man. Then having the two of them finish games together. Or vice versa. Roy starts and Parker comes off the bench.

[Roy H.]

I'm not ready to rank teams overall, because I want to see how they come together.

But, to fill the time, I'm going to rank them based upon enjoyment factor.  Which of these teams would I like to watch as a fan?

1.  Boston Celtics

PG: Steph Curry (MVP)
SG: Jrue Holiday, Victor Oladipo
SF: Hedo Turkoglu
PF: Giannis Antetokounmpo (MVP, DPOY)
C: Krystaps Porzingis, Elton Brand

First, I built it:  these are my guys.  Second, it's the Celtics.  Case closed from a personal standpoint.

2.  New York Knicks

PG: Steve Nash (MVP)
SG: Manu Ginobili, Joe Johnson
SF: Andre Iguodala, Khris Middleton
PF: Kevin Garnett (prior MVP, DPOY), Jaren Jackson Jr
C: Joel Embiid (MVP)

I really dislike Embiid, but Ginobili, Iguodala and KG probably make my top-10 in terms of favorite guys to watch in this draft.  Nash led some beautiful offensive basketball.

3.  Orlando Magic

PG: CP3
SG: Ray Allen, OG Anunoby
SF: Paul Pierce, Gordon Hayward
PF: Chris Bosh
C: Tim Duncan (prior MVP), Andrew Bogut

Pierce, Ray and Duncan all rank really highly for me in terms of watchability and enjoyment.

4.  Indiana Pacers

PG: Damian Lillard, Derrick White
SG: Jalen Williams, Anthony Edwards
SF: Paul George
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Nikola Jokic (MVP)

I might have taken Jokic #1 in this draft, just because I think he would have been fun to build around.  Giving him weapons around like like George, Tatum and Lillard would be exciting to watch.

5.  Milwaukee Bucks

PG: Tony Parker
SG: Brandon Roy
SF: Tracy McGrady, Tayshaun Prince
PF: Dirk Nowitzki (MVP), Draymond Green (DPOY)
C: Dwight Howard, Ben Wallace (DPOY)

One thing I like is that I get the sense that this won't be a "bombs away" offense.  I enjoyed old-school basketball more than I do watching modern teams.  And, Dirk, Parker and Roy were always entertaining.  That said, they've got "paint your face, clown" Dwight and Draymond beside him.  Those dudes are hard to root for.

6.  OKC Thunder

PG: SGA 24-25 (MVP), Jason Kidd ?
SG: Klay Thompson 14-15
SF: Kevin Durant 13-14 (MVP), Vince Carter 04-05
PF: Evan Mobley 24-25 (DPOY)
C: Rudy Gobert 18-19 (DPOY), KAT (17-18)

I can't say that I like (again, on a personal level) any of the bigs, but watching the defensive beating they put on teams would be fun.  Then there are two lethat scorers, with Durant being less insufferable in 2014 than he is now.  I'm deducting points for Jason Kidd:  great player, lousy human.

7.  Philadelphia 76ers

PG: Rajon Rondo, Russell Westbrook (MVP)
SG: James Harden (MVP)
SF: Andrei Kirilenko
PF: Amare Stoudamire, Kevin Love
C: Anthony Davis, Marcus Camby (DPOY)

A mixed bag for me here.  There are several guys I liked a lot, and Camby really added to the watchability factor.  But, Harden and Westbrook are hard for me to take.  That said, very early in their careers, I liked both guys, so maybe I'm over hards on the Sixers.

8. Toronto Raptors 

PG: Kyle Lowry
SG: Dwayne Wade, Devin Booker
SF: Kawhi Leonard, Shawn Marion
PF: Paul Millsap,
C: Marc Gasol, Robert Williams

For me, personally, there's no guy here that I loved rooting for, outside of Timelord.  I liked Gasol and Millsap, but didn't love them.  I really enjoyed Leonard before he became a diva.  But Wade?  I still haven't forgiven him for injuring Rondo.

9.  Cleveland Cavaliers

PG: Luka Doncic
SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Lebron James (MVP), Carmelo Anthony
PF: Victor Wembanyama, Gerald Wallace
C: Shaquille ONeal (prior MVP), Joakim Noah (DPOY)

I like Shaq a lot.  Fat Shaq wasn't as much fun to watch, but I always like the guy, despite being a Laker.  But, this team is just full of guys I never rooted for.  Even a guy who *should* be likeable -- like Crash -- left a sour taste in my mouth about how he griped about his time in Boston.  JB -- a player whose game I defend -- annoys me immensely off the court.  Lebron...  He's a guy I'll appreciate more when I watch highlights of him in 20 years.  Amazing player, but it's hard to enjoy watching a hated rival.

10.  Chicago Bulls

PG: Chauncey Billups, Deron Williams
SG: Kobe Bryant (MVP)
SF: Jimmy Butler, Danny Granger
PF: Pau Gasol, Al Horford
C: Yao Ming, Tyson Chandler (DPOY)

I apologize, but not that much because these rankings are meaningless and won't be indicative of how I vote.  But, in terms of hateability, the Kobe + Jimmy team is at the top of my list.

Now, for some throwback scrolling text from the CB Draft days:

These are not power rankings.  They're just my own prejudiced feelings about how much I liked watching certain guys, and some completely subjective feeling related to personalities.

[Who]

All of the advanced metrics, including defensively favor Noah pretty significantly over Chandler in part because Noah was a significantly better steal creator (they are similar shot blockers in their primes). Noah also only took about half his shots at the rim while Chandler took 4 out of 5 from inside 3 feet. Noah took over 18% of his shots from longer than 16 feet and hit them at about 40% (enough shots and a high enough % to keep teams honest).  Chandler also barely shot the ball having just 1 season of over 7 fga, while Noah averaged 7 2 fga his 9 years in Chicago topping out at 10. They are just different types of players.

An outlier. Every jump shot Joakim Noah takes is a victory for his opponents.

Noah is not a competent jump-shooter.

It wasn't an outlier for 5 straight years for long 2"s, Noah averaged 39.7%.  For the DPOY year and the 2 years prior he was 40.1% with 16.6% of his attempts from that range.  He had an ugly jump shot, but he hit it enough to keep teams honest.

In all those years of Boston battling Chicago, do you ever remember being worried about defending Joakim Noah's jump-shot?

It is not a thing.

Every time he shot it, it was a victory for our team's defense.

[Donoghus]

Somewhere Edgar is smiling right now.

[Roy H.]

All of the advanced metrics, including defensively favor Noah pretty significantly over Chandler in part because Noah was a significantly better steal creator (they are similar shot blockers in their primes). Noah also only took about half his shots at the rim while Chandler took 4 out of 5 from inside 3 feet. Noah took over 18% of his shots from longer than 16 feet and hit them at about 40% (enough shots and a high enough % to keep teams honest).  Chandler also barely shot the ball having just 1 season of over 7 fga, while Noah averaged 7 2 fga his 9 years in Chicago topping out at 10. They are just different types of players.

An outlier. Every jump shot Joakim Noah takes is a victory for his opponents.

Noah is not a competent jump-shooter.

It wasn't an outlier for 5 straight years for long 2"s, Noah averaged 39.7%.  For the DPOY year and the 2 years prior he was 40.1% with 16.6% of his attempts from that range.  He had an ugly jump shot, but he hit it enough to keep teams honest.

In all those years of Boston battling Chicago, do you ever remember being worried about defending Joakim Noah's jump-shot?

It is not a thing.

Every time he shot it, it was a victory for our team's defense.

It's hard to know for certain, but I think that's probably right.  I'm not sure how much access there is to advanced stats / player tracking from that time, but my guess is that almost all of Noah's jumpshots from 15 feet were uncontested.

[smokeablount]

I'm not ready to rank teams overall, because I want to see how they come together.

But, to fill the time, I'm going to rank them based upon enjoyment factor.  Which of these teams would I like to watch as a fan?

6.  OKC Thunder

PG: SGA 24-25 (MVP), Jason Kidd ?
SG: Klay Thompson 14-15
SF: Kevin Durant 13-14 (MVP), Vince Carter 04-05
PF: Evan Mobley 24-25 (DPOY)
C: Rudy Gobert 18-19 (DPOY), KAT (17-18)

I can't say that I like (again, on a personal level) any of the bigs, but watching the defensive beating they put on teams would be fun.  Then there are two lethal scorers, with Durant being less insufferable in 2014 than he is now.  I'm deducting points for Jason Kidd:  great player, lousy human.

Now, for some throwback scrolling text from the CB Draft days:

These are not power rankings.  They're just my own prejudiced feelings about how much I liked watching certain guys, and some completely subjective feeling related to personalities.

What Roy, Klay getting an NBA record 37 points in 1 quarter doesn't get him a 3rd lethal scorer nod?

Love the scrolling disclaimer by the way

[Moranis]

All of the advanced metrics, including defensively favor Noah pretty significantly over Chandler in part because Noah was a significantly better steal creator (they are similar shot blockers in their primes). Noah also only took about half his shots at the rim while Chandler took 4 out of 5 from inside 3 feet. Noah took over 18% of his shots from longer than 16 feet and hit them at about 40% (enough shots and a high enough % to keep teams honest).  Chandler also barely shot the ball having just 1 season of over 7 fga, while Noah averaged 7 2 fga his 9 years in Chicago topping out at 10. They are just different types of players.

An outlier. Every jump shot Joakim Noah takes is a victory for his opponents.

Noah is not a competent jump-shooter.

It wasn't an outlier for 5 straight years for long 2"s, Noah averaged 39.7%.  For the DPOY year and the 2 years prior he was 40.1% with 16.6% of his attempts from that range.  He had an ugly jump shot, but he hit it enough to keep teams honest.

In all those years of Boston battling Chicago, do you ever remember being worried about defending Joakim Noah's jump-shot?

It is not a thing.

Every time he shot it, it was a victory for our team's defense.

he hit the long 2 more than Jimmy Butler.  I think your memory and perception is not matching the actual data. 

That said, I absolutely remember Noah hitting some long shots and me being annoyed by it thinking how the heck does that go in. My memory of that is why I looked at him and the data showed he was better at them than I thought.  He was not good from 10-16 feet though.  Really just inside and the long 2. 

[Roy H.]

Somewhere Edgar is smiling right now.

Edgar is one of the human beings in this world who brings me joy.

[Roy H.]

All of the advanced metrics, including defensively favor Noah pretty significantly over Chandler in part because Noah was a significantly better steal creator (they are similar shot blockers in their primes). Noah also only took about half his shots at the rim while Chandler took 4 out of 5 from inside 3 feet. Noah took over 18% of his shots from longer than 16 feet and hit them at about 40% (enough shots and a high enough % to keep teams honest).  Chandler also barely shot the ball having just 1 season of over 7 fga, while Noah averaged 7 2 fga his 9 years in Chicago topping out at 10. They are just different types of players.

An outlier. Every jump shot Joakim Noah takes is a victory for his opponents.

Noah is not a competent jump-shooter.

It wasn't an outlier for 5 straight years for long 2"s, Noah averaged 39.7%.  For the DPOY year and the 2 years prior he was 40.1% with 16.6% of his attempts from that range.  He had an ugly jump shot, but he hit it enough to keep teams honest.

In all those years of Boston battling Chicago, do you ever remember being worried about defending Joakim Noah's jump-shot?

It is not a thing.

Every time he shot it, it was a victory for our team's defense.

he hit the long 2 more than Jimmy Butler.  I think your memory and perception is not matching the actual data. 

That said, I absolutely remember Noah hitting some long shots and me being annoyed by it thinking how the heck does that go in. My memory of that is why I looked at him and the data showed he was better at them than I thought.  He was not good from 10-16 feet though.  Really just inside and the long 2.

I think you guys might be arguing different things.

1.  Could he hit that shot at 40% efficiency?  Yes.

2.  Is that a shot the defense bothered covering?  Usually not.

[snively]

The Bulls accept your hate, Roy. It makes us grow stronger.

[Roy H.]

The Bulls accept your hate, Roy. It makes us grow stronger.

[smokeablount]

The Bulls accept your hate, Roy. It makes us grow stronger.

I like your starting lineup Snively. But switch Jimmy and Granger and I might like the B squad better than the starters in the modern game. Deron, Jimmy, Al, Chandler would be a nasty group with a lot of efficiency, defense and spacing, and a lot of passing from Deron/Jimmy/Al, shot creation from Deron and Jimmy, and finishing from Al and Tyson

[snively]

The Bulls accept your hate, Roy. It makes us grow stronger.

I like your starting lineup Snively. But switch Jimmy and Granger and I might like the B squad better than the starters in the modern game. Deron, Jimmy, Al, Chandler would be a nasty group with a lot of efficiency, defense and spacing, and a lot of passing from Deron/Jimmy/Al, shot creation from Deron and Jimmy, and finishing from Al and Tyson

Definitely something to that, but my defense of my old school line-up + Jimmy vs the modern age will center on the Lakers' destruction of the Magic in 2009. The 09 Magic were very close to the modern prototype of 4 out with a rim-running hyperathletic 5. And the Lakers rolled out a starting line-up with similar shooting constraints.  Their 2010 group too.

D-Will, Granger and Horford (and to some extent Chandler) are there to give modernized flavor as needed, but a core tenet of this roster is that old school can still beat new school to some degree.