Here are a few to keep everyone busy while we're waiting on the rest of the real evals.
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1. jcred5 - Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Walton, Gary Payton, Nicolas Batum, Clarence Weatherspoon, Ed Davis, Mike Miller
I like the pairing of Walton with Wilt. Two high-value players that together average out to about two regular starters worth of minutes. Some good partial-minutes rebounders fell all the way through the draft so finding a good backup for Bill should be easy. I’m a bit at bay on Payton. Looks great on paper except that he’s one of those guys with high usage but mediocre-at-best efg. The rest of the dudes are sim staples but I’m not quite feeling the parts come together into a cohesive whole. Mainly I’m thinking this bunch could be low on usage and FTAs (the latter despite the number Wilt will throw up). Solid, but not scary.
2. hoopsdude - Shaquille O'Neal, Donyell Marshall, Tracy McGrady, Jerry Lucas, Fat Lever, David West, Jason Richardson
Yeah, this is too early for O’Neal, but when you’ve been investing in this league a few times a year for a few years, you’ve more than earned the right to spend your money on what you want. And waiting around season after season to be able to build around a particular player is a very imprecise science. Shaq is a consensus top 10 pick and that’s good enough. Donyell is just about the perfect SF to run alongside him. I’m not wild about the McGrady pick since he could take shots from Shaq and not make as many as one would like (probably shooting his team out of a handful of games), but he fills up the box score and does pretty much everything you want from a SG except make more of his shots. Lucas is a fine PF for this bunch (assuming the right season is used), especially given that he used to be a second round lock. The wheels start to wobble a bit with the addition of Lever, who is one of my favorite real-life players but not the right kind of PG to trot out with Shaw in my honest opinion. I’d look for someone who can help space the floor. I’m not sure that Donyell and Tracy will chuck up enough 3s to keep defenses honest. There is probably just enough ast% in the rest of the starting lineup to compensate for the fact that Lever doesn’t bring enough of that stat for a conventional starting PG in this league. I’m kinda meh about the 6th round picks. I’m sensing first round playoff exit for this bunch, but they might surprise me.
3. jhsukow - LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Love, Bo Outlaw, Larry Sanders, Bob Lanier, Michael Smith
dh’s analysis improved my opinion of this team, since I was definitely among those who thought Love was the wrong guy. I do think the overall team defense quotient should be just enough to keep his matador-tendencies from ruining the picnic (especially since I once won this league with Troy Murphy as my starting PF). That said, I would not use the highest-usage version of Love since then there really won’t be enough shots to go around and he’s probably taking shots from much more efficient scorers. Outlaw, Sanders and Smith are great role players for this crew. I’m with dh in really not understanding the Lanier pick. I’m higher on Lanier in this league than some owners are, but if he’s playing starter-level minutes than he really tips the usage scales out of whack. He seems to be the solution to a problem that didn’t really exist, especially since he’s not enough of a paint scorer to discourage defenses from gravitating to the perimeter. A much more compelling problem is how to back up that high-octane backcourt. I think a possible solution or two did fall through the draft, but I’ll be curious to see what jh has come up with.
4. cjok1051 - Elton Brand, Amare Stoudemire, Tom Boerwinkle, Kevin Johnson, Nate McMillan, Jason Terry, Paul Pierce
This is a curious bunch. All players I like in this sim, but I’m not sure about the complementarity. It looks like Brand is the lead scorer. I’m not sure I see enough FTAs or defense, and I’d have grabbed a rebounding big man to back up Boe and/or Amare in the sixth round if not even the fifth. This is one of the teams whose fate can’t be assessed on the basis of seven draft picks…it matters who plays where and who else was drafted to fill in the gaps.
5. ysw128 - Michael Jordan, Hassan Whiteside, Marques Johnson, Mark Price, Charles Oakley, Joel Przybilla, Grant Hill
I actually really like this team, at least through six picks. I’d definitely use the version of Jordan that shoots some 3s, and the high-rebounding Marques. Pryzbilla is a great backup for Whiteside. The Hill pick throws me for a loop. If he’s a monster sub who effectively plays starter’s minutes, it’s a good thing he does a little of everything (except make 3s). I guess if nothing else he’s the high-usage MJ backup, but I’ll be curious to see how this works on the court.
6. thomcat - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Julius Erving, Klay Thompson, Emeka Okafor, Mark Jackson, Jonas Valanciunas, Jon Barry
I almost really like this team. I’m cautious about straight-up 3D players in this sim because they require careful team architecture to fill in gaps in areas where they don’t contribute much, and Klay is now the cream of that crop. I could wish for a little more rebounding from somewhere on this team, but overall they look well-constructed and ready to fight for a playoff spot. My only clear reservation is Jackson, who doesn’t fit any of the PG molds I have in mind when building a team in this league. He passes like Rondo but that version of Jackson is a poor defender, doesn’t shoot particularly well and doesn’t do much else. Despite Klay’s presence I think the starting lineup is short on the amount of 3s needed to keep defenses from crowded around Kareem.
7. copernicus - Moses Malone, Terry Porter, Mookie Blaylock, Andrew Bynum, Kenneth Faried, Swen Nater, Bernard King
This is pretty close to a classic copernicus team, with good boardwork, decent to very good scoring efficiency, very few errors, and Kenneth Faried. All that’s missing is Boerwinkle and this would feel like a reunion. The second round seems a tad early for Porter, but I like the backcourt duo. SG is definitely Mookie’s best spot in this league in my opinion. I’m a bit indifferent about Bynum as a starter, but he’s sort of a low-minutes, higher-usage version of Jerry Lucas if I’m thinking of the right season. I’m guessing playoffs for this bunch, with a second round exit.
8. uptowngbv - Dennis Rodman, Anthony Davis, James Harden, Carlos Boozer, Goran Dragic, Yao Ming, Sergio Rodriguez
As a rule of thumb I prefer Davis at SF since I want my PF to be more of a board lord, but with Rodman at SF you can cheat elsewhere a bit on rebounds. Of course then you’re bleeding away the rebounding advantage that is – let’s be clear – the only reason to draft Rodman this high. So, I’m a bit suspicious here. Harden is now basically a McGrady who passes more. His addition makes up some ground; he’s a good choice for a team that starts with the Worm. Boozer is a particularly nice fit next to Rodman, which means that Davis slides to C. The last three picks are unspectacular but solid, rounding out a squad that should challenge for the playoffs.
9. samuelyork93 - Larry Bird, Bill Russell, Andre Drummond, Rajon Rondo, Chris Mullin, Kenny Anderson, Jalen Rose
Love Bird, and I’m a fan of going straight at winning the battle of the boards. I’m with dh, though, in suspecting that the 2nd is a round too high for Russell given his low efficiency and the sim’s nerfing of his legendary D. If his name weren’t Bill Russell, this bundle of player stats might be a fourth round lock. Not many 3s with this bunch, but that’s probably okay since there’s not much paint scoring per se. Mullin – or some other high-scoring, do-a-lot-of-good-things SG – was a must after the Rondo pick. I’m not inspired by the sixth rounders. My guess is that this bunch misses the playoffs, unless the stars align and Mullin scores 25 ppg.
10. mikee1 - Karl Malone, Deron Williams, Dikembe Mutombo, Terrell Brandon, Wesley Person, Charlie Edge, Blake Griffin
A fine crop of sim studs. I really like the opening trio of Mailman, Deron and Deke. Brandon seems like an awkward fit given his deceptively high usage. I’m guessing Brandon backs up both Deron and Person, and Edge and Griffin platoon at SF. If that’s the case, then this makes sense at the end of the day even if the pick by pick analysis was a bit bewildering. Depending on how the assets are deployed, I could see this team missing the playoffs or making it to the second round.
11. milest - David Robinson, Kawhi Leonard, Chris Webber, Clifford Ray, Pau Gasol, Alvin Robertson, Al Horford
I’m stumped on this one. I don’t see a starting PG. I mean, I know Alvin can play there, but if he and Kawhi are the starting guards (with Webber at SF) then this team better spend the season in slow-down mode because now way are there enough assists to take full advantage of the scoring options drafted. I love the start with the Admiral and Leonard, and Webber can play either forward spot. (I’m not a fan of Chris in this league, but several better owners than me are.) Ray is a very nice fit between Robinson and Kawhi. Gasol is in the Webber basket for me…some like him, but I wish he boarded better. But really, how do all these bigs fit together? I have to conclude that Webber and Leonard are indeed the SF and SG, respectively. If both Ray and Webber are starters, then maybe there is enough ast% to keep the pilot light lit. I dunno, though. I’ve never had much success with rolling out teams without a conventional PG as lead passer. Then again, most of what I try in this league doesn’t work, so who am I to talk?
12. eleibowitz - Dwight Howard, Manu Ginobili, Marcus Camby, Serge Ibaka, Kyle Lowry, Tony Parker, John Henson
I love Dwight in this league, and I like Manu and Marcus. Add in the Ibaka/Henson duo at SF and you’re doing well with rebounding, defense, and efficiency. Lowry (the right season) is needed to bring enough assists and 3s. I prefer Dwight’s 10-11 season, but I’m guessing that Manu’s presence means we’ll see the 07-08 vintage, which is perfectly legitimate and should still be strong. I’m not feeling the Parker addition, but I can see a decent role for him backing up both starting guards. Not a contender, in my mind, but this is a sound team that could go some distance in the playoffs.