I just want you guys to know that this Paul George thing is definitely going to work this time. Having him next to/backing up Durant is the key. I swear.

And now begins the run on the players I should have taken but didn't. I actually had typed in Donyell's name, then deleted it and went with Mookie because I was paranoid about finding a strong 3 and D guy in later rounds to put in the backcourt with Nash.

I had a wild idea to start Donyell at the four. Good thing that never came to fruition

I had a wild idea to start Marshall at the 3 with Marion as my 4. Probably good that it won’t happen

Posted by hoopsdude on 12/9/2019 9:04:00 PM (view original):
I had a wild idea to start Marshall at the 3 with Marion as my 4. Probably good that it won’t happen

Actually I like that a lot. I have to try it at some point

yes, you should.... {or should you?}

Posted by bds9992 on 12/9/2019 9:10:00 PM (view original):

Posted by hoopsdude on 12/9/2019 9:04:00 PM (view original):
I had a wild idea to start Marshall at the 3 with Marion as my 4. Probably good that it won’t happen

Actually I like that a lot. I have to try it at some point

If you have 5 that’s a good rebounder with decent usage (KAJ or Howard maybe?) it could work, but my starting 5 is Bob McAdoo. Not necessarily the most fearsome C in this league

Moses might work because where you'd come up light would be the O boards

To make my life easier with evaluations later, I’m going to start by evaluating everyone’s “big 3”, in groups of 8 now.

Draft positions 1-8:

1 - Pennsylvania: Wilt, Brent Barry, Bobby Jones. I don’t hate this trio. Barry and Jones are great role players who can compliment Wilt nicely. There are still a few holes but there are plenty of players left who can help fill them. Way too early prediction: ~35 wins

2 - redbooda: Steph, Hakeem, Mo Cheeks. Man, I usually have Hakeem on a “do not draft list” but I actually kind of like the idea of pairing him with Steph. Cheeks can feed both of them and play good D. He also gets help at his worst trait (shooting) from Steph. That said, Cheeks is more of a late 4th round than an early 3rd type of player to me. The next two picks could very well change this but way too early prediction: ~35 wins. Definitely could become a strong playoff team if certain players fall to him though.

3 - JCred: LeBron, Dr J, Capela. If Bron plays PG and Dr J plays SG, this could be a crazy rebounding team. Just gotta get the shooting at the F spots plus fill a few other holes. Way too early prediction: borderline playoff team.

4 - ysw: Shaq, Deron, Bill Russell. I think Deron and Russell were both reaches, to be honest. I never count out any Shaq team though. A lot of Russell’s value comes from his ability to switch between PF/C but he can’t do that with Shaq unable to play any PF. I would’ve went a different direction but I’m interested to see what the rest of the starting 5 looks like. Way too early prediction: competitive but misses the playoffs.

5 - longtallbrad: Dwight, Nash, Mookie. Love the first two picks. Not a big Mookie fan. However, I see a lot of eFG and assists and that’s a winning formula. Way too early prediction: playoffs.

6 - mikee1: Kareem, CP3, ???. Looks like he traded picks to move up and grab Paul. Hard to argue against a Chris Paul and Kareem duo. Especially with how deep the talent pool has gotten with the new seasons added. He can fill out a roster around them even without a 2nd or 3rd round pick. Way too early prediction: playoffs...possible contender depending on who else makes the squad.

7 - ronsouth1: MJ, Chauncey, Elton. If it were me I would run 88 Jordan at PG, but Chauncey is a great player so I don’t hate it. I don’t know if I like the efficiency, all three of those guys are kinda average at scoring efficiency. I do like the passing and the potential for rebounding with Brand plus two bigs possibly. Way too early prediction: ~35 wins.

8 - gerryred. Karl Malone, Drummond, Donyell. That’s a nasty frontline. There are plenty of guards left to fill out the roster. Rebounding will be good. Efficiency is good. 3 point shooting and passing should be good with the options available. Way too early prediction: playoffs.

Don’t get mad. It’s hard to judge off of three picks. Just some early takes. I’ll work on the other 16 soon.

In theory, A. Davis, B. Walton and Ginobili are all three good players. I think I have managed the cap poorly, severely underspending where I should be at right now and not maximizing my resources. I think I misplayed this.

Posted by robusk on 12/10/2019 9:27:00 PM (view original):
In theory, A. Davis, B. Walton and Ginobili are all three good players. I think I have managed the cap poorly, severely underspending where I should be at right now and not maximizing my resources. I think I misplayed this.

I think your trio is fantastic. I was trying desperately to trade up for Manu.

More Big 3 Evals.

Teams 9-16 (draft order):

9 - tarheel1991: Durant. PG. Dikembe. I’m pretty high on KD. I won the title with him last season and I think this is a decent spot for him to go. PG is an interesting running mate but I personally would’ve tried to shore up ORB first. You’ll have plenty of 3s. Decent passing with your TBA PG plus George and KD. Great D. I like it but don’t completely love it due to rebounding issues and Dikembe/PG both being a little inefficient on O. Way too early prediction: possible playoffs

10 - hoopsdude: Marion, McAdoo, Lowry, Webber. Hmmm...I feel like you got good assets back for your first rounder but then I don’t think you quite capitalized on those assets. I like the Marion/McAdoo pairing, but I’m not sure who is playing what position. I know Marion has some SG years. That might be interesting. If McAdoo and Webber is your frontcourt, I’m not sure if it’s enough. Interested to see what the end result is. Way too early prediction: decent team that misses the playoffs.

11 - samyork: Harden, Camby, Horace Grant. So even though I think Harden was a big reach at 11...I really like who you’ve paired him up with so far. If you keep building this well around him, you’ll be a tough out. Horace and Camby are the perfect supporting cast for him. Way too early prediction: playoffs.

12 - bds: Rodman, Vucevic, Klay. This might be the most unique team. 3s + rebounding is a solid combo and you have potential for decent passing with Vuc at PF/C. Looks like you have something up your sleeve and I won’t go against it. Way too early prediction: possible playoffs.

13 - Vancem: Giannis, Penny, Tyson. This is probably my favorite team thus far. Giannis should go top-8 IMO and Penny and Tyson are great complimentary players. Excited to see the rest of the squad. Way too early prediction: contender.

14 - dh555: DRob, Pippen, Shawn Kemp. Love the mid-90s vibe. This team will have lots of rebounding and defense. That’s always a combo that will get you to the playoffs but I’m not sure if it will be enough to make a deep run. However, I think your holes will be some of the easiest to fill based on what’s left on the board. There’s a chance you get a filthy starting 5. Way too early prediction: possible playoffs.

15 - uptowngbv: Moses, D Wade, Oladipo. I like all of these players individually...but I don’t like them together. I think you probably won’t have enough outside shooting unless you sacrifice other areas to get it. We’ll see how the rest of the draft goes- maybe the right pieces will fall. But until then, way too early prediction: decent team that misses playoffs.

16 - Robusk: AD, Walton, Manu. This is a great trio. You’re going to have to hope you can get some big-minute players who don’t suck later in the draft BUT, you will have one of the best big 3s in the league for the limited minutes that they’re on the court. Way too early prediction: playoffs with a chance at being a contender if the rest of the draft goes right.

Yeah, this is going to be interesting. Wanted to try it - not sure how well it will actually work

Posted by robusk on 12/10/2019 9:27:00 PM (view original):
In theory, A. Davis, B. Walton and Ginobili are all three good players. I think I have managed the cap poorly, severely underspending where I should be at right now and not maximizing my resources. I think I misplayed this.

Maybe. But given the rising stock of very recent players, especially those with shiny efg%, loads of 3s, and low mistakes, it seems like every season more and more really solid seasons fall into the 5th and 6th rounds. You might be sitting right to snatch up a stud or two whom none of the rest of us can afford.

The final Big 3 evals

Draft positions 17-24

17 - mptrey: Barkley, Kidd, Irving. Love the first two picks. Would’ve went a different direction with the 3rd. However, you’re set on 3s, passing and scoring. Need some D and rebounding. Not in a bad position to be in. I’m not a fan of 2 PG lineups but I could see this one working. Barkley is a beast. Way too early prediction: playoffs.

18 - benhoidal: Gobert, Draymond, Mourning. Uh...who let Ben in this league and why? He’s going to make it harder to win now :( This is a monster frontcourt and it’s not like there’s a shortage of guards available to fill out the roster. Way too early prediction: firm playoff team that could be a contender.

19 - Copernicus: DeAndre Jordan, KAT, Nance. This is almost like Ben’s frontcourt but without Dray’s passing and 3s. However, the rebounding and efficiency is there. Just like I said in Ben’s eval, drafting your 3 frontcourt players with your first three picks is smart because there are plenty of guards left. Way too early prediction: possible playoffs.

20 - thomcat: Bird, Magic, Noah. I like the Bird/Magic duo but I feel like Noah was the wrong 3rd banana. You already had plenty of passing but could’ve used more efficiency, not less. I could be wrong but I think this team will fail to beat the more modern, high eFG teams that will be around this year. Way too early prediction: ~35 wins.

21 - dBKC: Stockton, Whiteside, Amare. Three 60 eFG guys. 2 of them are great defenders. One is an elite passer and one is an elite rebounder. Despite that, I still have some big holes. Namely 3s and a secondary passer. That said, I’m making the playoffs ;)

22 - Midge: KG, Kawhi, Jokic. Wow, that’s different. The only flaw to Leonard is he puts you in a hole with passing but KG and Jokic make up for that. I like this trio a lot. Your holes should be fairly easy to fill too. Way too early prediction: playoffs.

23 - amerk: McHale, Gilmore, Payton. Amerk is a great owner but I don’t know about this squad. They won’t be horrible, but they’ll be less efficient than most teams and I don’t see a big strength right now aside from pretty good D. Way too early prediction: decent team that misses playoffs.

24 - Sappy: Ben Wallace, Tim Duncan, Terry Porter. Duncan and Wallace is a monster frountcourt! Great D and low TOs and fouls, which are underrated components. I don’t know how good the efficiency will be but overall they should be competitive. Way too early prediction: possible playoffs.