I'm probably going to be less involved in this year's draft than last year's - this is hitting at a much busier time for me at work than the last one - so here are some detailed thoughts no one really cares about on my draft position and opening pick before I get too distracted.
First - I was kinda disappointed to get pick 6 again. Same pick as last season. Now, to be fair, I can't be mad about it - I still think picking at the top of this draft is the best place to be. But picking sixth meant (1) the possibility of having to make the same kinds of decisions on the same groups of players as I did last time, and (2) picking right after what I thought was the cutoff for the elite tier of picks in the league (the three blacklisted players plus Kareem and Shaq). There was a possibility someone would go for a guy outside that tier (I thought Curry was the most likely to drop down, the way Shaq dropped down to 4 last year) but as it turns out it didn't happen. So, stuck picking at a spot where I think there's truly not much differentiation between, say, picks 6-13 or so, but I have the worst 2nd and 3rd round picks of the bunch.
Why did I stay in the slot? (1) I think the concern about picking in the same slot is lessened somewhat by both the addition of the previously blacklisted players and the fact that this league is so new; while the first 2-3 rounds might not be too different; I expect significant variation in draft positions after that point as people realize certain players are more valuable and others less so; (2) I still got to pick a great player, albeit one who was better in real life than in the SIM; (3) I had no idea we started the draft and suddenly it was my turn to pick and I didn't want to hold things up to trade slots.
As for Jordan: I had him #7 on my board but picked him sixth. Party for sentimental reasons - there is one guy who I think probably would have been a "better" SIM pick - but I also think there is a legitimate argument that MJ deserves to go this high. The negatives first: (1) he's a midrange-heavy scorer, a demographic that often underperforms in the SIM; (2) many of his best seasons have very few threes, which presents a real team-building challenge, particularly because (3) for reasons known only to WIS programmers, most of his seasons are only 100% at SG, not PG or SF; (4) some of his seasons have more fouls than you would prefer from a top pick; (5) he generally is very efficient for a tier-1 usage player, but can't match the efficiency of the guys who went in front of him (hence the reason I think those five are in their own tier).
Now for the good: (1) Remarkable consistency to build around - no matter which seasons I pick (88-89, 89-90, and 90-91 are locks, I'm about 90% sure I'll use 95-96, and a few others are in contention), every single one will provide Tier 1 usage (did they set the Tier 1 usage threshold based on MJ seasons? I wouldn't be surprised), good to very good efg%, high FT volume and percentage, 90+ defense, and 3000+ minutes; (2) good perimeter D is hard to come by, and the number of players who provide good perimeter D paired with efficient Tier 1 or 2 usage across multiple seasons can be counted on one hand; (3) good to great assist/rebound numbers for a SG. It just takes so much pressure off of my other picks, especially PG and SF, to check multiple boxes, and lets me focus on covering for MJ's weaknesses.