Like LTB, I think the Billups pick is absolutely insane.. I seriously don't understand what that was all about. But I guess we'll see the master plan in the coming rounds..

I also thought Shaq was too early.

So many guys still out there, I'm not quite sure who to pick.

The Billups pick is one that, under ordinary circumstances, I would also think is insane. A lot of it depends on if I can build the team I want to build - I have sort of an interesting concept, and I'm sure people will think I'm insane even if I manage to complete it.


But Billups really brings a unique skill set, something I've come to appreciate over the last couple months. His combo of 80 def at the 1/2, good assists w/ low turnovers, good scoring with very good 3pt attempts/percentage and great ft attempts/percentage is something that is very difficult to replicate at his position (consider this a futile defense of the pick, lol). The only thing that he really lacks is steals, but those are easy to find elsewhere.

Billups is worth a first round pick in a $42 million league. I'm not sure he's worthy of being the 2nd point guard selected, but consider what he brings you in fta per 48, 3pa per 48 (and the made %), 30+ ast% with probably the lowest tov% of any of the top 30 point guards in the sim (maybe someone, who hasn't been drafted so I can't say their name, is lower but it's close if so). He'll shoot 45%+ from the field (around 50 if you have 70% or more ast%), and will almost guaranteed give you 50% from beyond the arc.

The only downfalls that I've experienced are that he gets streaky, and you can play 8 or 10 games in a row where he's shooting 30% (but he'll make up for it - unless you're in a 7 game series and are out of it before he gets hot), and that turnovers are not the priority they once were.

Nonetheless, I like Billups. I like Billups in the first round. But I like him more around 22 or 23, where you can quickly get someone to make up for the one thing he gives you absolutely nothing of (rebounding). Though you can get rebounding later very cheaply. So, yeah...

Haven't had Bird on a team forever. Didn't even put him on any of my teams in BOWIS. I noticed 84-85 version that I will use is tearing up the 47M draft league, so hopefully I can get enough cheapskates to make it work. Don't usually like the 9M guys in a 42M league. Looks like my bench won't be as strong as usual.

for my last open league team i used billups for the first time....i was very impressed....we won the title and billups was very steady force at the point...averaged well above his rl assist totals and got to the line a ton for a pg...was consistent with scoring 15-20 points and every now and then threw in a big 30 point game....big fan of his work

not sure why banditone took shaq over moses....i guess hes had moses before and is tired of him?

omegax got a top 3 talent in lebron at 11...hes the ultimate stat sheet stuffer

as for the rest:

You can't argue with Wilt at #1. Actually, you can, because Moses is hands down the best value and best player in the sim for a $42 million league. The only person close to Moses is Rodman, and he brings different values to the table. But Wilt will be amazing for you, no matter what Wilt you use (well, almost).

I think Shaq went too high, but he's a top 10 imo for the way I build teams in a $42 million atmosphere, so I can't say too much about it. But Moses is pretty much number one for just about any team you build in a $42 million league, so the pick is questionable to me. Another shaq issue is position inflexibility. He plays Center. That's it. Makes drafting later a little awkward.

Moses at 3 is a steal. Everybody knows why.

dh said something about Jordan not being the best SG in the sim anymore. That's wrong. He's just not your typical SG in the sim. Remember, he can also play the 3 and the 1 depending on the season. He's the best way to smash the cookie in an OL and he's good in this league. Building the right supporting cast in a draft league like this is what's hard.

I like Magic at #5. I think overall you'd be better taking Lebron and building around him at this spot, but still, magic brings some serious boards from a pg, high ast%, great number of ftas at a high%, and if you draft the right Magic, you get some 3s, too.

oh cp3 went at 6. I missed that. He was the one I was referring to in my previous post. He's expensive. That's the only downfall. Luckily, to win in a $42 million league, you don't have to spend a lot of money on important things.

Kareem. He grabs some rebounds, shoots alot and at a high percentage. Doesn't get to the line as much as Shaq, but he hits way more, so it ends up about the same (except for getting opponent in foul trouble). Blocks a lot of shots, has a decent tov%, doesn't foul too much. Some seasons he's a force in the paint, most seasons he gives you a lot there and in midrange. Only downfall is that you're stuck with not drafting a center the rest of the way, as he doesn't play 100% at PF for any seasons worth drafting him in this spot.

Rodman at 8. Rodman could be the number 2 pick in this league. Many people go with the kitchen sink theory for high draft picks. That's not necessarily wrong, but you cannot get everything Rodman brings you with anybody else in the sim, even combining lower salary/lower minute players. And scoring is cheap. Great pick, great value.

Shawn Marion at 9. Could be the 2nd best option at the three in the sim (in $42 league). Forget his defense. He brings you good boards, some threes, high ft% (but not a lot of trips to the line), decent efg%. Now remember his defense. UVA's dominated with him before, he knows all of this and pulled the trigger. Marion is a true top 10 pick.

Charles Barkley at 10. Nobody that knows me is surprised by this pick... not only is he my favorite player of all time in real life, he works incredibly well in the sim. He's in the upper echelon of an incredibly short list of paint scorers. He's one of five guys that has a 70%+ paint scoring rating with a usage of 22.1% or greater (moses, shaq, wilt and dwight howard being the others). He does this at 60% or greater from the field. And he brings lots of offensive boards, tons of ftas (at a decent make percentage), blocks some shots, creates some turnovers, and helps make others around him shoot better. And there are several viable seasons in which he does all of this. The best one is a risky one because of a) turnovers and b) fouls, but it's almost always worth the risk. Oh, and he can play the 3 or the 4.

11) Lebron at 11 is a steal. Plain and simple. He brings the kitchen sink, rebounds like a 3 should, gives you decent 3s, tons of ftas, doesn't foul, steals and blocks a lot... and allows you to draft a lower ast% pg. His 08-09 season is a top 5 pick, though expensive for the minutes. And he has two 3300 minute seasons that work really well in 42-million leagues, too. And the 07-08 season is insane as well. Basically, the guy is a stud. We all know this.

12) The admiral is a great pick here. If you take my 70/22.1 club and change it to 60/22.1 club, he (along with Kareem) makes it for several of his seasons. And he doesn't turn the ball over as much, either. He also doesn't do other stuff as well, and is more expensive, but he's definitely worth building around no matter what cap you're playing with. Only downfall is that for those seasons, you're stuck with him at center, making other draft picks less flexible. His most expensive season, however, can be pf or c, and is definitely worth it.

13) Dwight Howard. He's Barkley that can play the 4/5 instead. He also doesn't shoot as much or pass as well, but he hits the defensive glass with an intensity. 10/30 rebounds isn't something you're playing around with. Great building block, and this is about where he should be drafted.

14) Bill Russell. Few players in this sim will give you better than a combined 44.6% rebounding. He also passes, blocks and steals well while playing huge minutes (big in a $42) while not fouling. He will not turn the ball over as much as it says he will, and he'll shoot about 4% better than it says he will from the field (assuming you run up-tempo and have enough assists). This is, imo, about where he should be drafted in this league. You have to be careful with who you put around him, though.

15) Kevin Garnett. Scud surprised me with this pick, as I've seen him be hard on people for him before. But if I recall correctly, it was who he paired him with. What does Garnett bring to the table? For starters, depending on the season, he can play the 3, 4 or 5. He gives you a lot of defensive boards and a not insubstantial amount of offensive boards. He makes everyone shoot better with his high (for position) ast%. He blocks some, has a good tov%, doesn't foul too much. He doesn't get to the line as much as some guys, but he hits a high %. Good midrange scorer.

16) Bird at 16 is an atrocity. He's Lebron without as many ftas (but higher %) or blocks. Or points. He's actually not Lebron at all. But he does a lot of the same things well. Most people make a mistake when building his supporting cast (by drafting more ast% than they need, not drafting enough boards or threes), but most people don't get Bird this low.

17) Chauncey - I already broke this down.

18) Peja - he's worth a first round pick in this league. Scoring is cheap. Threes are cheap. But you can't get everything he gives you in one guy (sheer amount of threes, the % made, low tov%, number of ftas, high % made, usage, low fouls, decent dreb%), at these minutes (3200+), in any combination of players in the sim. That being said, you can get reasonably close (usually just suffer the ft%), so maybe it's not worth a first round pick. It all depends on your style, and 98's style is to get as many of the cookie cutter as possible, so there you go. The cookie works for a reason...

19) DWade - holy crap. I think people are still sleeping on his 08-09 season. I'm not even going to talk about the amount of insanity he brings in that year. It's like Lebron's 08-09, only you can use it at the 2. Seriously should be a top 10 pick, close to a top 5.

agreed jordans value goes up due to the fact he can play point...but for my uptempo style id rather keep him at the 2 and have a pg that dishes as well so i dont have to worry too much about assists from my frontcourt....i still think lebron is a better 2 though....more assists and 3s...less fouls and turnovers(using jordans 88-89 season)...either way you cant go wrong, im really just splitting hairs here....and your right on with wade being right behind them...havent had the pleasure of using him yet but ive been beaten enough by him to know his worth

Peja was definitely going to be my second pick; I guess I will go to plan G now aha

There are Jordan seasons I prefer over the 88-89, depending on what I'm doing. 89-90 and 95-96 are my two favorites (unless I'm using Jordan at the point, then I have to go 88-89). The 95-96 season is incredibly efficient (but the other things might make up for the lack of efficiency - it ultimately depends on my other draft picks).

for reference (sorry for formatting):

Name Team Pos Usage% 2pt%# 3pt%# eFG% OReb% DReb% Ast% Stl% Blk%
Michael Jordan 88-89 Bulls SG 32.1 55.0 28.0 54.6 5.1 16.4 22.8 3.1 1.1
Michael Jordan 89-90 Bulls SG 33.7 54.5 37.9 55.0 5.0 15.1 18.1 3.1 1.0
Michael Jordan 95-96 Bulls SG 33.3 50.4 42.3 52.5 5.3 14.2 13.7 2.7 0.8
LeBron James 08-09 Cavaliers SF 34.1 53.2 34.1 53.0 4.0 17.9 25.2 2.1 1.9

and as for tov%:

88-89 Jordan 11.9%
89-90 Jordan 9.8%
95-96 Jordan 8.4%
08-09 Lebron 11.0%

Sooo... yah.

clearly jordan is a cut above; just based upon stl% and effective %

14) Bill Russell. Few players in this sim will give you better than a combined 44.6% rebounding. He also passes, blocks and steals well while playing huge minutes (big in a $42) while not fouling. He will not turn the ball over as much as it says he will, and he'll shoot about 4% better than it says he will from the field (assuming you run up-tempo and have enough assists). This is, imo, about where he should be drafted in this league. You have to be careful with who you put around him, though.


Agree with all of that including struggling who I'm going to put around him..... He's score 13-15 pts a game but is horribly inefficent. Though about Bird and Wade but felt reboudning is a priority in this league

Quote: Originally posted by eleibowitz on 2/08/201014) Bill Russell. Few players in this sim will give you better than a combined 44.6% rebounding. He also passes, blocks and steals well while playing huge minutes (big in a $42) while not fouling. He will not turn the ball over as much as it says he will, and he'll shoot about 4% better than it says he will from the field (assuming you run up-tempo and have enough assists). This is, imo, about where he should be drafted in this league. You have to be careful with who you put around him, though.
Agree with all of that including struggling who I'm going to put around him.....  He's score 13-15 pts a game but is horribly inefficent.  Though about Bird and Wade but felt reboudning is a priority in this league 

If you have enough possessions, he'll score around 12ppg at 47% shooting and 2.3 topg.

Quote: Originally posted by xxevilivexx on 2/08/2010clearly jordan is a cut above; just based upon stl% and effective %

I wouldn't go so far as to say that. And the tov% to me is what's really impressive. You also pay more for 2 of those 3 Jordan's.

Quote: Originally Posted By ashamael on 2/08/2010

Quote: Originally posted by eleibowitz on 2/08/2010
14) Bill Russell. Few players in this sim will give you better than a combined 44.6% rebounding. He also passes, blocks and steals well while playing huge minutes (big in a $42) while not fouling. He will not turn the ball over as much as it says he will, and he'll shoot about 4% better than it says he will from the field (assuming you run up-tempo and have enough assists). This is, imo, about where he should be drafted in this league. You have to be careful with who you put around him, though.


Agree with all of that including struggling who I'm going to put around him..... He's score 13-15 pts a game but is horribly inefficent. Though about Bird and Wade but felt reboudning is a priority in this league

If you have enough possessions, he'll score around 12ppg at 47% shooting and 2.3 topg.

I'll take that.....