Official Discuss your CB Draft team

[RebusRankin]

Seattle discuss why you are the clear team of the future over Memphis?

[indeedproceed]

I haven't done a full analysis, but some of the "win now" teams that I like the best (in no particular order):

Toronto
New York
Milwaukee
Chicago
Atlanta
Washington
Utah
Sacramento
Dallas

Obviously, some of these assessments will change drastically in the coming rounds.  For instance, I think Sacramento will probably end up falling in my rankings, because of their lack of future draft picks.  Chicago could potentially drop out due to the thinness of their roster, although their top-two talent is tough to beat.  

Some of the borderline teams, that I think could contend if they make good trades or find excellent value later on:

Miami
Indiana
Denver
Phoenix
LA Clippers
Golden State
Houston

Then, there are a lot of very talented rosters, where I just don't necessarily like some of the key pieces (for instance, Boston, Cleveland, Orlando, etc.)  These are the "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" types of teams, where I can't see my mind changing, but others could really like their team.

If I was forced to pick, after a *very* cursory analysis, I'd say my Finals picks right now would be Philadelphia and Utah.

Sleeping on LeBron and Amare, and not giving IP the benefit of the doubt in the 6th, 7th, and 8th rounds=bad Roy.

[Roy H.]

I haven't done a full analysis, but some of the "win now" teams that I like the best (in no particular order):

Toronto
New York
Milwaukee
Chicago
Atlanta
Washington
Utah
Sacramento
Dallas

Obviously, some of these assessments will change drastically in the coming rounds.  For instance, I think Sacramento will probably end up falling in my rankings, because of their lack of future draft picks.  Chicago could potentially drop out due to the thinness of their roster, although their top-two talent is tough to beat.  

Some of the borderline teams, that I think could contend if they make good trades or find excellent value later on:

Miami
Indiana
Denver
Phoenix
LA Clippers
Golden State
Houston

Then, there are a lot of very talented rosters, where I just don't necessarily like some of the key pieces (for instance, Boston, Cleveland, Orlando, etc.)  These are the "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" types of teams, where I can't see my mind changing, but others could really like their team.

If I was forced to pick, after a *very* cursory analysis, I'd say my Finals picks right now would be Philadelphia and Utah.

Sleeping on LeBron and Amare, and not giving IP the benefit of the doubt in the 6th, 7th, and 8th rounds=bad Roy.

I have Chicago as contenders, but I definitely wouldn't call you the favorite right now.  In a league like this, two elite guys + a bunch of role players might not be enough.

[nickagneta]

I haven't done a full analysis, but some of the "win now" teams that I like the best (in no particular order):

Toronto
New York
Milwaukee
Chicago
Atlanta
Washington
Utah
Sacramento
Dallas

Obviously, some of these assessments will change drastically in the coming rounds.  For instance, I think Sacramento will probably end up falling in my rankings, because of their lack of future draft picks.  Chicago could potentially drop out due to the thinness of their roster, although their top-two talent is tough to beat.  

Some of the borderline teams, that I think could contend if they make good trades or find excellent value later on:

Miami
Indiana
Denver
Phoenix
LA Clippers
Golden State
Houston

Then, there are a lot of very talented rosters, where I just don't necessarily like some of the key pieces (for instance, Boston, Cleveland, Orlando, etc.)  These are the "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" types of teams, where I can't see my mind changing, but others could really like their team.

If I was forced to pick, after a *very* cursory analysis, I'd say my Finals picks right now would be Philadelphia and Utah.

Sleeping on LeBron and Amare, and not giving IP the benefit of the doubt in the 6th, 7th, and 8th rounds=bad Roy.

Roy needs to explain the  "Philadelphia vs Utah" pick in the Finals.

Utah has a nice team but I still have to have a wait and see thing with Yao's injury. I'm more confident that he will be ready to contribute before such players as Przybilla, Oden and Perkins, but to the extent that he used to contribute? I will still need some convincing on that part.

I also am not a huge Jose Calderon fan. His numbers are flashy but his game has never seemed to add up to winning basketball and now he is sitting behind Jarrett Jack on the depth charts. Something there sends up warning flags to me. I can't argue his statistical production, It's formidable. But it just has never translated into making his team mates or team as a whole much better.

All things considered, Utah is good, just not Finals good to me.

And Philly?!?!

I find it hard to believe a team with Zach Randolph, Rudy Gay and Jamal Crawford as their best three players comes even close to the Finals. Not on this blog. Three explosive offensive players for sure. But do any of them know what defense is or how to play team defense, which they would need to excel at since none of them are very good individual defenders?

[stoyko]

Sleeping on LeBron and Amare, and not giving IP the benefit of the doubt in the 6th, 7th, and 8th rounds=bad Roy.
[/quote]

Also IP we'll see this year how good Amare is without Nash. As we've seen with Qrich and even Diaw life post Nash isn't always so rosy. He'll still be playing in D'antoni system but there a big difference between Nash and Felton. Your team still looks good but Amare may not deliver his past stats.

[Roy H.]

I haven't done a full analysis, but some of the "win now" teams that I like the best (in no particular order):

Toronto
New York
Milwaukee
Chicago
Atlanta
Washington
Utah
Sacramento
Dallas

Obviously, some of these assessments will change drastically in the coming rounds.  For instance, I think Sacramento will probably end up falling in my rankings, because of their lack of future draft picks.  Chicago could potentially drop out due to the thinness of their roster, although their top-two talent is tough to beat.  

Some of the borderline teams, that I think could contend if they make good trades or find excellent value later on:

Miami
Indiana
Denver
Phoenix
LA Clippers
Golden State
Houston

Then, there are a lot of very talented rosters, where I just don't necessarily like some of the key pieces (for instance, Boston, Cleveland, Orlando, etc.)  These are the "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" types of teams, where I can't see my mind changing, but others could really like their team.

If I was forced to pick, after a *very* cursory analysis, I'd say my Finals picks right now would be Philadelphia and Utah.

Sleeping on LeBron and Amare, and not giving IP the benefit of the doubt in the 6th, 7th, and 8th rounds=bad Roy.

Roy needs to explain the  "Philadelphia vs Utah" pick in the Finals.

Utah has a nice team but I still have to have a wait and see thing with Yao's injury. I'm more confident that he will be ready to contribute before such players as Przybilla, Oden and Perkins, but to the extent that he used to contribute? I will still need some convincing on that part.

I also am not a huge Jose Calderon fan. His numbers are flashy but his game has never seemed to add up to winning basketball and now he is sitting behind Jarrett Jack on the depth charts. Something there sends up warning flags to me. I can't argue his statistical production, It's formidable. But it just has never translated into making his team mates or team as a whole much better.

All things considered, Utah is good, just not Finals good to me.

And Philly?!?!

I find it hard to believe a team with Zach Randolph, Rudy Gay and Jamal Crawford as their best three players comes even close to the Finals. Not on this blog. Three explosive offensive players for sure. But do any of them know what defense is or how to play team defense, which they would need to excel at since none of them are very good individual defenders?

I picked Utah by default.  I think the Western Conference is very weak, and I think Utah has the best collection of talent and fit in that conference, by far.  As just about everyone on the blog knows, I'm a huge fan of Gasol and Calderon, and I'm generally willing to overlook injuries so long as the current health prognosis is okay.  I think Sacramento *should* be the favorite in the West, but their chances recently went the way of the dodo via the Parker/Rose trade.

As for Philly...  OOPS.  I meant Kwhit's team.  He was Philly last year, right?  I'll go edit that to the Hawks right now.

(I will say, though, that I'm fine with Rudy Gay and Jamal Crawford as players.  In fact, I would have picked Crawford at 5.2 if I was still managing the Kings.)

[Kwhit10]

I haven't done a full analysis, but some of the "win now" teams that I like the best (in no particular order):

Toronto
New York
Milwaukee
Chicago
Atlanta
Washington
Utah
Sacramento
Dallas

Obviously, some of these assessments will change drastically in the coming rounds.  For instance, I think Sacramento will probably end up falling in my rankings, because of their lack of future draft picks.  Chicago could potentially drop out due to the thinness of their roster, although their top-two talent is tough to beat.  

Some of the borderline teams, that I think could contend if they make good trades or find excellent value later on:

Miami
Indiana
Denver
Phoenix
LA Clippers
Golden State
Houston

Then, there are a lot of very talented rosters, where I just don't necessarily like some of the key pieces (for instance, Boston, Cleveland, Orlando, etc.)  These are the "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" types of teams, where I can't see my mind changing, but others could really like their team.

If I was forced to pick, after a *very* cursory analysis, I'd say my Finals picks right now would be Philadelphia and Utah.

Sleeping on LeBron and Amare, and not giving IP the benefit of the doubt in the 6th, 7th, and 8th rounds=bad Roy.

Roy needs to explain the  "Philadelphia vs Utah" pick in the Finals.

Utah has a nice team but I still have to have a wait and see thing with Yao's injury. I'm more confident that he will be ready to contribute before such players as Przybilla, Oden and Perkins, but to the extent that he used to contribute? I will still need some convincing on that part.

I also am not a huge Jose Calderon fan. His numbers are flashy but his game has never seemed to add up to winning basketball and now he is sitting behind Jarrett Jack on the depth charts. Something there sends up warning flags to me. I can't argue his statistical production, It's formidable. But it just has never translated into making his team mates or team as a whole much better.

All things considered, Utah is good, just not Finals good to me.

And Philly?!?!

I find it hard to believe a team with Zach Randolph, Rudy Gay and Jamal Crawford as their best three players comes even close to the Finals. Not on this blog. Three explosive offensive players for sure. But do any of them know what defense is or how to play team defense, which they would need to excel at since none of them are very good individual defenders?

I think he meant Atlanta.  He mentioned in a post responding to my team he had me coming out of the East.  Philly was my team the last two years.

[nickagneta]

I haven't done a full analysis, but some of the "win now" teams that I like the best (in no particular order):

Toronto
New York
Milwaukee
Chicago
Atlanta
Washington
Utah
Sacramento
Dallas

Obviously, some of these assessments will change drastically in the coming rounds.  For instance, I think Sacramento will probably end up falling in my rankings, because of their lack of future draft picks.  Chicago could potentially drop out due to the thinness of their roster, although their top-two talent is tough to beat.  

Some of the borderline teams, that I think could contend if they make good trades or find excellent value later on:

Miami
Indiana
Denver
Phoenix
LA Clippers
Golden State
Houston

Then, there are a lot of very talented rosters, where I just don't necessarily like some of the key pieces (for instance, Boston, Cleveland, Orlando, etc.)  These are the "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" types of teams, where I can't see my mind changing, but others could really like their team.

If I was forced to pick, after a *very* cursory analysis, I'd say my Finals picks right now would be Philadelphia and Utah.

Sleeping on LeBron and Amare, and not giving IP the benefit of the doubt in the 6th, 7th, and 8th rounds=bad Roy.

Roy needs to explain the  "Philadelphia vs Utah" pick in the Finals.

Utah has a nice team but I still have to have a wait and see thing with Yao's injury. I'm more confident that he will be ready to contribute before such players as Przybilla, Oden and Perkins, but to the extent that he used to contribute? I will still need some convincing on that part.

I also am not a huge Jose Calderon fan. His numbers are flashy but his game has never seemed to add up to winning basketball and now he is sitting behind Jarrett Jack on the depth charts. Something there sends up warning flags to me. I can't argue his statistical production, It's formidable. But it just has never translated into making his team mates or team as a whole much better.

All things considered, Utah is good, just not Finals good to me.

And Philly?!?!

I find it hard to believe a team with Zach Randolph, Rudy Gay and Jamal Crawford as their best three players comes even close to the Finals. Not on this blog. Three explosive offensive players for sure. But do any of them know what defense is or how to play team defense, which they would need to excel at since none of them are very good individual defenders?

I picked Utah by default.  I think the Western Conference is very weak, and I think Utah has the best collection of talent and fit in that conference, by far.  As just about everyone on the blog knows, I'm a huge fan of Gasol and Calderon, and I'm generally willing to overlook injuries so long as the current health prognosis is okay.  I think Sacramento *should* be the favorite in the West, but their chances recently went the way of the dodo via the Parker/Rose trade.

As for Philly...  OOPS.  I meant Kwhit's team.  He was Philly last year, right?  I'll go edit that to the Hawks right now.

That makes sense. Honestly, I haven't looked in depth as to where the best teams are, EC or WC that is. You might be right about Utah and the WC at which point I would have to agree with you.

The Atlanta pick makes more sense. I can see that.

[Celtic Fan Forever]

Feel free to discuss your opinions of my team:

Dallas Mavericks:

C: Tim Duncan
PF: Charlie Villanueva
SF: Trevor Ariza
SG: Stephen Jackson
PG: Andre Miller

[Lucky17]

I'll put mine under the scope as well, despite the fact I do not yet have a full starting five:

Guards: Tony Parker
Forwards: Danny Granger, Troy Murphy, JJ Hickson
Centers: Samuel Dalembert

I envision stretches when Hickson will play as PF alongside either Murphy or Dalembert.

It's tough to judge this startine lineup without a SG in place.  Parker is a pick and roll player, who plays it with him?  Hickson?  I'd like to see that.  I don't particularly like Murphy as a player.  Trade him for a SG that can shoot and defend and you're in good shape.

I think you're going to see 20+10 from Hickson this season.

I like

Parker
?
Granger
Hickson
Murphy

with no true center better than splitting time with Murphy and Hickson at the 4.

The more I think about it, the more I like moving Murphy to the 5, with Hickson starting. Still gives me a good inside-outside combination.

Dalembert will still get his 25+ minutes a game at C, to sub for Murphy, or to move Troy over to PF to give Hickson a rest.

I think my depth, flexibility, and combined skills at the 4/5 is one of my team's strengths.

[indeedproceed]

Sleeping on LeBron and Amare, and not giving IP the benefit of the doubt in the 6th, 7th, and 8th rounds=bad Roy.

Also IP we'll see this year how good Amare is without Nash. As we've seen with Qrich and even Diaw life post Nash isn't always so rosy. He'll still be playing in D'antoni system but there a big difference between Nash and Felton. Your team still looks good but Amare may not deliver his past stats.

But the fun thing is...that's not really relevant here.

I'd argue that

1) How Amare deals with Raymond Felton as his PG and as the #1 scoring option on his team without Nash really has nothing to do with me. Raymond Felton isn't my pg, and Amare isn't the #1 scoring option.

2) A LeBron and Amare combo is something we've never seen. We've never seen how LeBron can play with a big man that is as physically gifted as Amare and with Amare's particular skill set (transition, high TS%, solid mid-range game, adept pick and roll player as well as a pick and pop).

3) LeBron James is the best passing small forward since...I don know, Larry Bird maybe? The last time that LeBron James didn't lead the NBA in assists per game by a small forward? That'd be 2002/2003. Jamal Mashburn led the league and LeBron was winning a state title in high school.

I think as long as I have a competent PG, I have no worries about how Amare will manage without Steve Nash as long as he has LeBron.

[Fafnir]

The Seattle Supersonics:

Guards: Brandon Jennings, Courtney Lee
Forwards: Shane Battier, Blake Griffin, Dejaun Blair
Center; Joakim Noah.

We consider ourselves the clear favorites for team of the future, because of the surprising amount of playoff experience of the young players have and their overall talent. We also consider ourselves to have a shot at the playoffs.

I don't think you'll sniff the playoffs unless you get a very high quality back up PG to handle when Jennings is ineffective.

You also need to get some insurance in the front court as right now all your F/Cs have been injured recently and Battier is old.

You've been touting Jenning's ineffectiveness all draft, isn't it possible that he was *gasp* a rookie and hit the rookie wall only to rebound and almost single handedly beat the Hawks?

Rookie wall? He shot below 40% from the field for a full five months of the season. Look at his splits:
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/jennibr01/splits/2010/

He hit the wall early and never really got back up, he's a streaky player. Without a quality veteran to help level out the team's offense he's in trouble.

Jennings has plenty of potential but he didn't almost single handedly beat the Hawks. I don't even think he was the Bucks best player for much of that playoff series.

I'm not pretending his a future MVP because of a few high scoring games, I'm saying he can easily be the best player on a legitimate playoff team because, frankly, he just was. He was a streaky rookie, does that mean he can't level off and up his consistency? Lord knows players never grow out of their bad habits and mature, especially if they show the leadership and competitiveness that Jennings showed in the playoffs. Nope, that never happens.

But these are all legitimate concerns, all I've said throughout is that he needs a veteran backup to help out.

Bogut was there best player till he got hurt, then they managed to stay in the playoffs. To say Jennings was the best player on a playoff team is inaccurate. Without Bogut playing the majority of the season they weren't a playoff team.

Beyond that I don't think they had a best player during that series. It was a very uneven series. Delfino, Salmons, Jennings all had monster games and some really awful games.

But these are all legitimate concerns, all I've said throughout is that he needs a veteran backup to help out.


With some Hyperbole that I met with scorn.



Bogut was there best player till he got hurt, then they managed to stay in the playoffs. To say Jennings was the best player on a playoff team is inaccurate. Without Bogut playing the majority of the season they weren't a playoff team.

Beyond that I don't think they had a best player during that series. It was a very uneven series. Delfino, Salmons, Jennings all had monster games and some really awful games.


I meant the actual team in the playoffs and as they took the Hawks to 7 games I think that makes them legitimate. You could argue Salmons was the better player, but I would argue that Salmons had never even sniffed the playoffs let alone be productive in them without playing with a dynamic pg like Rose or Jennings. Salmons is a clearly better player when he's alongside a good PG. Meanwhile, the arrival of another dominant wing scorer may have slowed Jennings ability to recover from his slump.

Point out the hyperbole then. Point out where I've been wrong to raise concerns.

Jennings had three great games, four bad ones IIRC in they playoffs, and I love his potential. But if you're just going
to attack instead of address the concerns, what's the point?

Instead you deflect to Salmons (based on the comment about his and Deflfino's play in one series), which is completely off the point.

[Fafnir]

With some Hyperbole that I met with scorn.

And I'll also reiterate something that this comment brought to mind:

* * '10 Celticsblog Draft Rules Thread  * *
3) In case rule two isn't clear enough: we will have no tolerance for open GM scuffles, vote spiking, or any of the other hyper-competitive crap that happened last year. If I or Roy Hobbs see anything like that this year we are going to just throw people out.

If you're going to be scornful of other GMs/Observers comments about your team, you aren't going to be around in the game very long.

Nothing in the rest of your comments crossed the line (or even approached it), but the sentiment behind your quote isn't good.

I will absolutely toss the first GM who gets anywhere near the venom and nastiness that occurred last year.

[stoyko]

Touche IP. It's interesting (if not particular relevant) to note that Stoudamire and Lebron played together on 2004 USA Olympic that "won" the bronze. I would argue that the main players on that team were Duncan and Anthony. Granted that was 6 years ago and Lebron was a nowhere near where he is today.

We'll also get a glimpse on how LBJ plays with an elite big man on the Heat.

Amare and Lebron will be unmatched on the open court, I just wonder how Okafor will be able to keep up. TP for the discussion. I'm just wondering out loud.  

[Greenbean]

I think the Thunder Grizz should be in the running for team of the future. I also think if I darft some defensive versatility as well as some scoring off the bench, my team could be a playoff contender.

PG: Collison
SG: OJ Mayo
SF: ??
PF Jermaine O'Neal
C: Marc Gasol


Gasol, Mayo, and Collison will take major strides this season.

Mayo is an explosive shooter who is looking to diversify his skills this year. He can handle the ball when Collison is out of the game and can D up pgs. To this point he has been a bit one dimensional but he has tools and the work ethic to become a ball handling SG who can defend his position. In his third year, OJ Mayo will be an all star.

Collison as a starter last year basically put up a 20 and 10 season. He is a surprisingly efficient scorer. As a 2nd year player he is only going to get better. He is a star in the making at the PG position. He can also play some D.

Gasol has suprised everyone since his first game 2 years ago. He continues to get better. He is solid in all phases f th game. He has not elite in anything yet but this is the year where he steps into the All Star center category. He is trending up and a 18 ppg 11rpg and 2 bpg is very possible if not likely. Right now he is Spain's go to guy and has turned into quite the leader as well. Surrounding his post presence with phenomenal shooters will only enhance his game.

Add in another good shooter in O'Neal who is also still a good defensive presence inside and there is some nice inside outside balance on this team. Look for JO to have a major bounce back year. He has something to prove. He hasnt played for a real contender in years.

With 4 picks between 6.26 and 7.5 I have the tools to fill this roster out with versatlie defenders. My backcourt is a little undersized but I plan on addressing that very soon.

Stay tuned and do NOT count out OKC!