1. dh555 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Chauncey Billups - I'm big on Big Shot and always have been. He was my goto PG back in the early days... his combination of ast%, 3s, fouled%, defense, and low tov% made him a super clean player. That was then; this is now. He's still a top notch guy and has several really nice seasons to choose from in this format. Makes a great partner with Kareem. I like it. I had Billups as a mid-late 2nd round grade.
2. copernicus - Michael Jordan, Mookie Blaylock - Well this might be the scariest defensive back court we see. Mookie gives dimes, threes, defense, and decent tov% to pair with Mike. You doubled down on a strength, and I like it. I had Mookie as a mid-late 2nd round grade.
3. bds9992 - Karl Malone, Nikola Jokic - Nick Young .gif
4. kinoa1 - Shaquille O'Neal, Walt Frazier - "Clyde" is super smooth and helps in a lot of ways. I would be using him as a SG in this format, and he excels there. I'm not in love with pairing him with Shaq, however; I always try and get a bomber with Shaq at the two. Still, he gives you everything else and helps your versatility going further. I had Frazier as a late 2nd-early 3rd grade but expected him to fall further.
5. 24kpyrite - Chris Paul, Bill Russell - I almost took Russell (ahead of all the "superior" board lords that came before) at the top of round 2. You've got veritable buffet of seasons to choose from that are all 3200+ minutes (most are 3400+ or 3500+) with 70+ Def, 40ish or higher crb%, decent dimes, and low(er) usage so his poor efg% doesn't hurt as bad. Nice 3000 minute season, too, but would be hard to pick that as one of the five probably. I like the fit with CP3. The thing I wonder: Where's the offense going to come from? I had Russell as a early-mid 2nd round grade.
6. tarheel1991 - Kevin Durant, Tyson Chandler - Chandler is better on orb% than drb% for the most part, which makes him a perfect fit with KD. Excellent efg% (at negligible usage), most seasons are above 35% crb, most seasons are 70 or better defense. No huge minute seasons, but all are at around a decent amount. Good pairing. I Chandler as a mid-late 2nd.
7. jpevans31 - Dwight Howard, Ben Wallace - Well, this is a ******* nightmare. Remember what Ben said about doing the same thing as other teams but with worse players? This is what he meant. Jesus. Board superiority & dominant defense up front. I'm real interested to see how you flesh out the squad. I had Ben as an early-mid 2nd grade.
8. samuelyork93 - John Stockton, Dirk Nowitzki - I like Dirk... in progs. I hate him in draft leagues. This is somewhat proggy, so that's to your favor, but it's also somewhat drafty. Dirk gives solid (less stellar than you would think) efg% at a nice usg% and low tov%. Decent drb% but horrid orb%. You get threes in the front court. I had Dirk as a do not draft in first five rounds grade.
9. gerryred - David Robinson,Shawn Marion - I could swear that I've seen this combo so many times in so many draft leagues! Matrix is such a clean player: def, solid (some seasons excellent) efg% at a variable (tier 3/4) usage rate, low low low tov%, and solid reb% depending on the position/season. Also has a lot of minutes. Nice pairing with Admiral. I had Matrix as an early-mid 2nd.
10. dskantor - Moses Malone, Paul George, Pau Gasol - I forgot Paul George existed. Looking at him now, I understand why he didn't come up on any of my searches - I pretty much knew I was going to end up with Klay once I traded back so wasn't looking at too many SGs - but he's actually really, really good. Solid efg% + usg% + def combo with nice boards in the back court. Won't kill you on tov%. All in all, solid.
Gasol is one of those guys that so many people are always high on, and I never have been, but then they just win with him over and over, so I have clearly always been wrong. He doesn't seem to rebound enough for a big in any of his big minute, decent offensive seasons. He doesn't have amazing efg% or great defense (at least in the same season). He does have decent tov%. But teams with him seem to do well. I've just never got it. I'd love for someone to explain it to me.
11. pexetera - Charles Barkley, Shawn Kemp, Andrei Kirilenko - Kemp gives you a lot: defense, boards, good offense (some seasons). He also gives you a lot of fouls & turnovers. Combined with Chuck's high tendency on those, this looks like it could be a sneaky sabotage to an otherwise fantastic start. I had Kemp as a mid-late 2nd grade.
AK47 I have never been high on. He's just absolutely not someone I would ever draft... in a *draft* league. The proggy nature of this changes my mind somewhat, as he has SEVERAL excellent supporting seasons. I just don't see him as a good option at the 3, and a few of his better seasons are not really usable at the 2. And I usually look for something else at the 2. He's also kind of a mess with turnovers in many seasons. I understand your evaluation of my team much better now.
12. dbkc - James Harden, Rudy Gobert, Alonzo Mourning - so what do you pair with a mega-usage monster like James Harden? How 'bout an elite board lord with elite defense and elite efg%? I am not sure there was a more perfect pick in the 2nd round than this (maybe Ben Wallace to pair with Dwight). The only negative I can say about Gobert is that there isn't more of him (minutes). I had him as an early-mid 2nd with emphasis on early.
Zo gives you more elite defense (GL scoring in the paint, boys), solid to very good efg% (depending on season) + nice usage balance. His boards are not spectacular, but they're not as bad as people think - you're not going to get many guys with five 40%+ crb seasons in this format - and you do happen to have Gobert & Harden (excellent boards in the back court) already on board. I briefly considered Zo at the top of the third round because I valued him as a late 2nd/early 3rd and wanted some elite post defense - and possibly should have taken him. The run on SFs had not begun and is a position I likely could get quality at in round 5/6/7. This goes down as one of the teams to watch for me. Absolutely scary.
13. ysw128 - Deandre Jordan, Andre Drummond, Kobe Bryant - as is this one. The rich get richer - adding Drummond to Deandre is not only outright wrong, it's downright evil. Deandre covers every weakness of Drummond, and you have the foundation to DOMINATE the boards. Drummond also gives you very solid efg% + usg% (for four seasons; one season is tier 5 usage but I don't think that's going to be a problem for you with who you got in round 3). Seriously, that's a frightening combination. I actually had Drummond as a late 1st/early 2nd.
Kobe is someone I'm not a huge fan of in the sim normally, but in this format, yeah, actually, I am. Elite defense? Check. Solid ast% from the 2? Check. He covers your usage shortage from the first round (and that one Drummond season). He has solid efg% for that usage. Decent tov%. Decent boards in the back court. He gives you a bunch of threes. This team is frightening. Between you & dbkc, it looks like the middle was a sweet spot to draft this thing. I had Kobe as mid-late 2nd.
14. pharrop - Larry Bird, Marcus Camby, Robert Parish - Camby is great and gives you good stuff, don't get me wrong, but there were better ones available still... Gobert, Wallace, Russell, Chandler (would have made a great fit with Bird) and Drummond all feel like they should have gone before him. I had Camby as a late 2nd/early 3rd grade. Without a cap, I don't get picking him over literally any of the other guys I just named. That doesn't mean it's bad... I just don't understand the logic.
Parish, however, I get. He's extremely versatile as he has a metric **** ton of seasons, and many, many of them are good. He's actually like two different players: defensive quasi-board-lord type, or offensive quasi-board-lord type. This is some nice flexibility; I really, really like the pick. I had Parish as a late 2nd/early 3rd grade and strongly considered him at the top of round 3.
15. robusk - Artis Gilmore, Kawhi Leonard, Al Horford - Kawhi was the only two-guard I considered instead of Klay. The minutes & the lack of consistent usage over five seasons were the major reason I didn't, but he gives you so much good and very, very little bad/inconvenience. I had Kawhi as a late 1st/early 2nd.
I had to go look at Horford, as he never came up on any of my searches. I don't really get the pick or what you intend to do with him. He at least has pretty clean tov% and some promise in several very different areas in several very different seasons.
16. amerk1180 - Tim Duncan, Dikembe Mutombo, Ray Allen
17. mptrey - Magic Johnson, Kevin McHale, Manu Ginobili
18. 20ks - Kevin Garnett, Karl Anthony Towns, Draymond Green
19. jcred5 - Giannis Antetokounmpo, Gary Payton, Kyle Lowry
20. goetz93 - Scottie Pippen, Jason Kidd, Walt Bellamy
21. longtallbrad - Dennis Rodman, Dwyane Wade, Buck Williams
22. jhsukow - Anthony Davis, Steve Nash, Larry Nance
23. ashamael - Klay Thompson, Oscar Robertson, Elton Brand
24. benhoidal - Hakeem Olajuwon, Julius Erving, Hassan Whiteside