Poll: Celticsblog "fake" draft: team of the future?

[Roy Hobbs]

We've talked about doing a "team of the future" poll for the Celticsblog "fake" draft for ages now, so here it finally is.

In my humble opinion, there are three clear favorites for the title of "team of the future": Las Vegas, Minnesota, and Portland (in alphabetical order).  There are other strong teams, though.  Vote above on which team you like best.

Boston:

Oden (25)
Scola (28)
Galinari (20)
Barbosa (25)
Harris (25)

Bench: Korver (27), Bargnani (22), Bargnani (22), Petro (26)

Golden State:

Dwight Howard (22)
Yi Jianlian (20)
Al Thornton (24)
Eric Gordon (19)
Sergio Rodriguez (22)


Las Vegas:

Darko Milicic(23)
Chris Bosh (24)
Kevin Durant (19)
O.J. Mayo (20)
Chris Duhon (25)

Bench: Rashard McCants (23), Luke Walton (28), Nick Fazekas (23), Nathan Jawai (21)
Europe: Delfino (25), Tomic (21), Zabelin (20), Koponen (20)

Memphis:

Andrew Bynum (20)
David Lee (25)
Rudy Fernandez (23)
Randy Foye (25)
Gilbert Arenas (26)

Bench: Russell Westbrook (20), Anthony Randolph (19), J.J. Hickson (20), Dragic (22)

Minnesota:

Andris Biedrins (22)
Amir Johnson (21)
Lebron James (23)
Ronnie Brewer (23)
Jose Calderon (27)

Bench: Nick Batum (19), Javale McGee (20), Keyon Dooling (28), Aaron Gray (23)

Phoenix:

Kendrick Perkins (23)
Nene Hilario (25)
Caron Butler (28)
Brandon Roy (24)
Mike Conley, Jr. (20)

Bench: Channing Frye (25), Morris Almond (23), Trevor Ariza (23), Donte Greene (20)

Portland:

Amare Stoudemire(25)
Al Horford (22)
Rudy Gay (22)
Andre Iguodala (24)
T.J. Ford (25)

Bench: Udonis Haslem (28), Martell Webster (21), Steve Blake (28), Brandan Wright (20), Quinton Ross (27), Roko Ukic (23)
Europe: Pekovic (22), Asik (22), Erden (22), Barac (22), Diamantidis (28)

[indeedproceed]

I was completely objective in my vote.

[Roy Hobbs]

I'm going to rank them:

1. Portland -- too much depth, and Amare is dominant (especially after committing himself to defense)

2. Las Vegas -- the three-headed monster of Bosh/Durant/Mayo may be the best in the league.

3. Minnesota -- Lebron, plus Biedrins, Brewer, and Calderon are very strong supporting players.

4. Memphis -- I'm not sure how they'll gel, but Rudy looks like a stud.

5. Boston -- Injuries to Oden and Galinari push this team down.

6. Golden State -- Howard alone puts this team on the list.  The rest of the team has shown flashes.

7. Phoenix -- A very good team, but the big men could use some work (as much as I love Perk.)

[Roy Hobbs]

I keep flip-flopping between Minnesota and Las Vegas for second place.  Both are outstanding young teams.

Minnesota's team may be slightly better put together, but Las Vegas has three potential superstars.  Hard to say.

[Donoghus]

I honestly think this poll should've been done back in late August/early Sept.

[Roy Hobbs]

I honestly think this poll should've been done back in late August/early Sept.

Probably...  but people weren't exactly clamoring to take the initiative. 

[Fan from VT]

I have no real idea what this is for, but what the heck. I think it comes down to Portland and Minnesota.

-Biedrens < Amare
Biedrens is the better defender and rebounder. Considering the season he's having, this isn't exactly as huge a mismatch as it first seems.

-Amir << Horford
Horford is awesome. Amir is a big question mark, could be good.

-Lebron >>>> Gay
Lebron is incredible. I really like that he's surrounded by good defenders on this team. If this were a playoff series, he'd play big minutes (42+), and no one could really lock him down. Iguadala is a good defender, but Lebron is too much for him.

-Brewer < Iguodala
But it's close. Iguodala has a lot of hype, but he's not as good as that hype and Brewer is a bit underrated.

-Calderon > Ford
Plus Ford is a big injury concerns.

-Bench Minn < Bench Port
Webster, Haslem, and Wright are all good bench players. But McGee and Gray are big and have shown promise, and Dooling is a valuable bench player.

I think Portland would post a better regular season record but Minny would win in the playoffs. Lebron is just so dominant in that scenario. Look what he almost did to boston with his Cavs roster and there's no way Portland defends as well as last year's C's. Portland would be a pretty bad defensive teams, but with Brewer and Biedrins, Minny would be a good defensive team.

Think of it this way: Portland is based around Amare. How does Amare/Horford/Gay/Iggy/Ford compare to Amare/Marion/Richardson/Johnson/Nash? Then think about how Biedrins/Johnson/James/Brewer/Calderon compares to Ilgauskas/Wallace/James/Wally/Williams?

Considering that both the above "real" rosters were deep playoff teams, then considering that Lebron's new team seems much better than his old compared to Amare's improvement (maybe) over his old team, and I have to go with Minnesota.

[celticmaestro]

For me Las Vegas is the winner, I thought that based on potential before the season started; but seeing Mayo play this good, Bosh nothing short of dominant and Durant transforming into a complete player as well as Duhon playing very well for the Knicks, I think Vegas is the team to beat in the future of our NBA.

[celticmaestro]

PS. Thanks to Roy for starting this thread.

My second team was initially the Blazers (still is) but Minnesota are quickly knocking on the door.

[Roy Hobbs]

For me Las Vegas is the winner, I thought that based on potential before the season started; but seeing Mayo play this good, Bosh nothing short of dominant and Durant transforming into a complete player as well as Duhon playing very well for the Knicks, I think Vegas is the team to beat in the future of our NBA.

The questions are:

1) Can you rely on Duhon and Darko, and

2) Are three superstars (none of whom has ever been anything other than the best player on his team) going to want to share shots?  Are they too young to buy into "ubuntu"?

I'm not sure about the second question.  In regard to #1, I think Darko gets torched by Amare, and Duhon would be dominated by Ford or Calderon. 

Of course, really, any of those top three teams could win this.  It depends who gets hot in the playoffs.

[The Walker Wiggle]

I never expected to see this!?!

In my opinion, based on early returns:

Boston: Oden and Galinari both off to bad starts. Barbosa can't earn more the 20-25 mpg in Phoenix. Bargnani shoots well one night, block shots aggressively, next night goes scoreless, grabs two rebounds... anointing them would be premature.

Golden State: Ought to be in the conversation... Howard's line last night: 30 points, 19 rebounds, 10 blocks, 1 TO. Yi showing more promise than I would've expected. Thornton one of the few bright spots for Clippers. Gordon keeps on keeping on despite murky situation in Chicago.

Las Vegas: Bosh playing his best basketball yet. Mayo already first option on offense in Memphis. Durant. Only problem is Milicic, who is never going to find himself in a thinner front court or a more favorable situation but still can't get starter's minutes. This will be Duhon's best season. (I mean that both as a vote of confidence and a put down.)

Memphis: Alright, Foye is off to a shaky start and David Lee is struggling against bone spurs and D'Antoni's infatuation with Wilson Chandler. But Bynum has looked strong. Fernandez and Westbrook are making me look like a very astute judge of rookie talent. Door is now open for Randolph to do the same. Dragic also looks like he belongs. Who knows what to expect from Arenas when he gets back...

Minnesota: LBJ. Biedrins has made strides, having his best year. Same for Brewer who's showing some range, better ball handling, might make the leap... McGee and Batum both look very promising. Aaron Gray earning minutes in Chicago. But Amir Johnson remains classic example of per minute stats gone wrong.

Phoenix: Toughest young front court? Roy delivering under pressure. Butler has struggled along with the rest of the 1-6 Wizards but I'm not worried about him. Ariza is also playing well for the Lakers, maybe even playing himself into the starting gig. Conversely, Conley waiting to make the jump next season. Frye, Almond, and Greene all crowded out so far.

Portland: Stoudemire justifying all Hobbs confidence, silencing doubters. And Ford looks great. But then there are WARNING SIGNS Roy is glossing over. Both Gay and Iguodala are under-performing, shooting the ball terribly, and often driftless when forced to play as second options. Also, as predicted, no one on Portland is hitting threes. Fernandez and Outlaw are taking Webster's job while he's injured. Jury is out on Wright.

I was completely objective in my vote.

So was Roy. So was I.

[Roy Hobbs]

jured. Jury

I was completely objective in my vote.

So was Roy. So was I.

Haha.  Well, I tried to be at least marginally objective. 

Really, all of these teams have very good futures, and it's probably possible to find some justification for ranking any of them #1.  While I see a "top three", I think your squad could be right there, too.

I love the Amare/Horford front line, and Gay and Iggy are better than they've shown, as both are struggling with their shot (much like the entire Celtics roster -- I expect all concerned to get better).  Iggy has been contributing in other ways, though, in terms of passing, rebounding, and defending.  Gay is still averaging 20 points per game, is defending well, and hit a clutch game-winner already.  Ford, as expected, was a third-round steal.

(And yeah...  shooting has been a concern, as stated.  Blake is shooting well, but he's about the only guy hitting threes consistently.  Still, Webster will help with that, and Amare, Horford, and Haslem have all been stretching the floor from the front court.)

And finally, Brandan Wright is showing some promise.  At least as much as Amir Johnson, really.  Go Wright!  Love that kid.

[Big Ticket]

I am flattered that people are warming up to my team.  And honestly, I'm really not trying to compete with Portland.  I genuinely am not trying to sound bitter at all here, but just based on the way pre/in-draft trades went down, it would be very difficult for a team getting one player per round, like I did, to match up on paper with what Roy made.  Again, not trying to sound bitter, and more power to those people that crammed our PM Boxes with trade requests... I just had no idea that would go down and wasn't prepared for it.  And I still don't get what's with all those "overseas" players... I thought it was pretty clear that it was 15 players, but down to 12 at some date... never saw anything about "sending people overseas" until the draft was well underway.

[Roy Hobbs]

I just had no idea that would go down and wasn't prepared for it. 

Next year you'll be a vet, and can take advantage of all the newbies. 

[KCattheStripe]

I just had no idea that would go down and wasn't prepared for it. 

Next year you'll be a vet, and can take advantage of all the newbies. 

No idea what you're talking about Roy.