Evals part 1 (1-5):
1. cmcafeeky - LeBron James, Larry Nance, Robert Parish, Joakim Noah, Kevin Love, Kemba Walker, Kyle Anderson, Ed Davis, Paul Westphal, George Gervin, Caldwell Jones, Terrance Jones
What went right: obviously getting the best player in the SIM is a huge win. Larry Nance and Joakim Noah provide great front court D and allow you to hide a weak defender at PF since they can both switch and allow the PF to cover a SF or C if needed. Robert Parish and Kevin Love fit this role perfectly since their weak D will be hidden. Joakim Noah and Kevin Love provide an assists boost so that you can run Bron at PG. Kyle Anderson fits nicely in to all of that too. I dig all of that.
What might go wrong: is Kemba Bron’s backup all 5 seasons? I don’t really like that. Kemba doesn’t have 5 strong years and that’s going to cause some issues. Are Gervin and Westphal your SG rotation? I’d feel better about both coming off the bench.
If I could do one repick: I would’ve went with Deron Williams or Jrue Holiday over Robert Parish. That would’ve given you an upgrade at SG plus you could flex them to Bron’s backup, and you’d still have a Nance/Love/Noah frontcourt.
2. jhsukow - Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Kyrie Irving, Kobe Bryant, Paul Millsap, Otto Porter, J.R. Smith, Baron Davis, Eddie Jones, Mason Plumlee, Brandon Rush, Marquese Chriss
What went right: Loading up on high usage guards and shooting is a nice way to get the best out of Wilt (and allows you to use his lower usage seasons). Opponents are going to have a hard time figuring out to defend inside or outside with Wilt + shooters. Plumlee and Chriss and Millsap gives you a big rebounding advantage when they’re in.
What might go wrong: Spending a 2nd on Russell (and his low eFG) might put you in too big of a hole. Is Otto Porter playing SF (where you take a hit at rebounding), or SG (where you take a hit on passing)? Are the lower usage Rush and Jones backing up Kobe?
If I could redo one pick: I was tempted to put a Russell repick here but I’m not really sure if there was a better option on the board. I would’ve went with George Gervin over Eddie Jones because he’d be a pretty great Kobe backup.
3. jkaye24 - Steph Curry, Karl-Anthony Towns, Donyell Marshall, Pau Gasol, Paul Pressey, Derrick Favors, Richaun Holmes, Khris Middleton, Toni Kukoc, Jarrett Allen, Ivaka Zubac, Michael Ray Richardson
What went right: You’ve got tons of offense while also alternating string defenders with weak ones. While Steph and KAT aren’t ideal defenders: Donyell and Pressey and Favors and a few others cover nicely for them. Pressey is a great player as long as you have shooting to cover for him and well, you definitely have that covered. Some great late round steals like Zubac and Middleton and Jarrett Allen
What might go wrong: The D might not be strong enough to contend. I know Steph isn’t a horrible defender, but ideally you want him to be the worst defender on your team. Who is backing up Steph?...Michael Ray Richardson?
If I could redo one pick: I just don’t like Pau Gasol for this team. He’s not a strong enough defender to be the 3rd banana on a Steph/KAT team. I would’ve picked Kirilenko instead. He would instantly give you at least an average defense and could’ve helped with the passing too (he and Pressey would give great assists off the wings)
4. tarheel1991 - Shaquille O'Neal, Tyson Chandler, Mookie Blaylock, Jrue Holiday, Mike Conley, Anthony Mason, David West, Yao Ming, Bismack Boyombo, Gordon Hayward, Jonathon Isaac, Will Perdue
What went right: the 4th pick is tough because there’s no real clear cut option but I think you made the right call with Shaq. Looks like you were able to get enough shooting around him to capitalize. Yao is a clever Shaq backup.
What might go wrong: are you starting two PGs (Mookie and/or Jrue and/or Conley)? I don’t think Chandler and Shaq give you enough of a rebounding edge to afford to do that. Not sure if anyone on this squad aside from Shaq is that scary, you might see some double teams.
If I could do one pick over: would’ve went with Kyrie/Drexler at the 3/4 turn instead of Blaylock/Jrue. Still gives you the shooting but with more rebounding.
5. robusk - Dwight Howard, Shawn Marion, Kyle Lowry, Deron Williams, Sidney Moncrief, Chris Andersen, Kyle O'Quinn, Robert Covington, Mitchell Robinson, Chris Gatling, Rudy Gay, Nerlens Noel
What went right: you have lots of guys who need to move around or come of the bench for a season or two, and you’re the perfect owner to pull this puzzle off. Looks like you got enough shooting around Dwight. Between Lowry and Deron, you’ll have 5 great starting seasons at PG. The defense on this team is fantastic. That plus Dwight’s eFG should be a winning formula.
What might go wrong: Can you assemble all of these puzzle pieces in the right order? (Marion can play everywhere from SG to PF, which Marions do you pair with Deron and which ones with Lowry?)
If I could do one pick over: I don’t think I would’ve been able to resist pairing KAT (over Marion) with Dwight for a killer inside-outside combo that would punish teams that went with a weak defender at one of their frontcourt spots.