The goal was to create the team that would win the most championships over the next 3 seasons (2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22)
The teams have been created and we need you, the posters and lurkers of the d2jsp Basketball subforum, to decide who did the best job.
Current injuries and injury history are to be taken into account, please vote as honestly as you can.
The names of the users have been withheld for this portion in an effort to prevent voter bias.
Here are the teams and rosters in no particular order.
Balls is Hot
PG: Kemba Walker | Derrick Rose | DJ Augustin
SG: Danny Green | Joe Ingles
SF: Draymond Green | Brandon Ingram | PJ Tucker
PF: Anthony Davis | Lauri Markannen
C: Karl-Anthony Towns | Jonas Valanciunas
Starting 5 is an absolute force to be reckoned with. Defense is the 1st thing that might come to mind when looking at this team that includes 2 top tier perimeter defenders in green and green. Pair that with davis a 3x all defense and 3x block leaders and towns who is quietly coming off a monster defensive season and good luck scoring on this squad.
On the offensive end we have the luxury of both bigs being able to extend out to the 3pt line and be a legitimate threat. On the wings you have draymond who can be plugged into any system and contribute at a high level. Also playing the perimeter game is Danny who is an absolute assassin from the 3pt line. The main course though is how dominant Kemba will be playing PnR with Davis and towns. Not even going to break it down just good luck stopping it.
The bench is filled with players that can get their own bucket at any time along with others that will fill in and do the dirty work. Rose and Ingram are the primary bench scorers with tucker and ingles providing the grit and hustle any top tier bench unit needs.
Ball So Hard
PG: Jrue Holiday | Kyle Lowry
SG: Victor Oladipo | Zach LaVine | Seth Curry
SF: Kawhi Leonard | Otto Porter Jr.
PF: Pascal Siakim | Justise Winslow | Davis Bertans
C: Brook Lopez | Hassan Whiteside
Starting lineup from 1-5 has All-Defensive Team calibre defenders. Jrue, Oladipo and Kawhi being on in the past two years, Siakim and Lopez being well regarded by defensive statistics. Offensively, there is little to no weakness; Holiday, Oladipo and Leonard are all capable of creating on their own while Lopez and Siakim can effectively score (both inside and out) as looks are created for them by the three ball-handlers.
Off the bench is more of the same – Kyle Lowry is a capable defender and well-rounded talent, LaVine provides ball dominant scoring while Curry, Porter Jr., Winslow and Bertans are the platonic ideal for 3&D players that fit perfectly around the myriad of slashers that cause the defense to collapse, creating open looks all around. Whiteside fulfills the niche role of rim protection and rebounding when needed.
A variety of lineups can be made, ranging from small ball lineups with Siakim or Bertans as a stretch 5, to even something as zany as a two-seven footer lineup with Lopez at the 4 and Whiteside at the 5. Potential-wise, the team should have no discernible drop over the course of three years. Lowry is the most liable to decline and due to his skill set, will likely not decline dramatically. Younger players, Oladipo and Siakim especially, are liable to become even more dominant over three years. With the best two-way player in basketball and a collection of well-rounded players with no true weaknesses, this team will be nearly impossible to topple.
Road To Zion
PG: De’Aaron Fox | Mike Conley | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
SG: Klay Thompson (ACL)/Lou Williams
SF: Robert Covington | Trevor Ariza
PF: LeBron James | Zion Williamson
C: Steven Adams | Marc Gasol | DeAndre Jordan
Elite defensive starting lineup with several wings who can defend the 1-4. Good mixture of playoff experienced veteran leadership with LBJ/Klay/Gasol/Conley and promising young players in Fox/Zion/SGA. Elite spacing, especially with Gasol in. Great situation for Zion to flourish with elite passers/help defenders around him. Biggest weakness is the interior post and well....this isn’t the 90s anymore.
Fox year 3 likely break out superstar year, great trade pieces in SGA/RoCo/Adams if teams come calling. This team is built for the now and the future, and you’d be hard pressed to find a stronger lineup.
The Monstars
PG: Steph Curry | Lonzo Ball
SG: Jamal Murray | Patrick Beverley
SF: Jimmy Butler | Danilo Gallinari | Royce O'Neale
PF: Jayson Tatum | Jaren Jackson Jr. | Nemanja Bjelica
C: Al Horford | Mitchell Robinson
Strengths:
Three point shooting
- only 3 guys shot below league average in 3P%
- 2 in the top 5 (Steph and Gallinari)
Versatility
- Plethora of 2-way wings (7 players who can play the 2-3 and most defend well!)
Defense
- 10/12 players are plus-defenders (Gallinari and Murray only negatives)
Mix of Youth and Experience
- 7/12 players under 30, 11/12 under 32
Leadership
- Steph and Horford are both known as great locker-room presences with a lot of playoff experience between them
Two greatest indicators of teams making playoffs last season were the ability to hit and defend the three at a high rate, my team excels at both.
4/5 of my bigs can stretch the floor and all 5 are solid defenders. Mitchell Robinson was 2nd in the league in blocked shots at 20 mpg, and will only get better as he grows as a player.
Weakest point in a 3-season league is Al Horford's age, but I believe his stretch 5/tough interior defender game will age well and allow him to still be effective down the line.
+ Jaren Jackson waiting in the wings (has been compared to a young KG)
+ Mitchell Robinson looking like the next Dikembe
Overall: Solid team with very few weaknesses, a lot of growing potential, excellent spacing/scoring, star power, etc.
Joker, Smoker, Mile High Toker
PG: Eric Bledsoe | Dejounte Murray
SG: Donovan Mitchell | Devin Booker
SF: Luka Doncic | Terrence Ross
PF: Kevin Love | Kyle Kuzma | Jerami Grant
C: Nikola Jokic | Montrezl Harrell | Bam Adabeyo
When constructing my team, my main objective was too build a very versatile team that would flow regardless of who was on the floor. My team may struggle at times on the defensive end, but the offensive firepower should more than make up for it - even against the stronger defensive teams. An extremely deadly pick & roll game led by Doncic/Jokic would be borderline impossible to defend, given their high IQ’s and great feel for the game no matter where they are on the court. When opposing teams try to collapse, there will be some of the best scorers in the game licking their chops for spot up jumpers in Mitchell, Booker, Love etc.
Defensively, we are led by 3 very strong on ball defenders in Eric Bledsoe, DeJounte Murray (MIP Candidate this year - book it) and Jerami Grant.
My starting lineup would be Bledsoe, Mitchell, Doncic, Love and Jokic with arguably the best 6th man in this tournament in Booker coming off the bench for instant buckets. Kuz & Harrell would be great bench pieces to use and create mismatches against teams that lack the bench depth I feel I have created.
This team has untapped potential which is something I took into consideration given the 3 year window of this draft. We’ve only seen the surface of what guys like Jokic, Doncic, Booker, Mitchell, Harrell and Kuz can do. I see plenty of room for growth on both sides of the ball for this team and perennial MVP candidates for years to come.
Team 5
PG: Kyrie Irving | Dennis Schroder
SG: Bradley Beal | Marcus Smart | Eric Gordon
SF: Bojan Bogdanovic | OG Anunoby
PF: Giannis Antetokounmpo | Domantas Sabonis | Marcus Morris
C: Myles Turner | Marvin Bagley III
Team 7
PG: Russell Westbrok | Spencer Dinwiddie
SG: James Harden | Josh Richardson | Malik Beasley
SF: Khris Middleton | Aaron Gordon | Joe Harris
PF: Tobias Harris | Harrison Barnes
C: Nikola Vucevic | DeMarcus Cousins
Team 8
PG: Ben Simmons | Malcolm Brogdon | Collin Sexton
SG: Buddy Hield | Jaylen Brown
SF: Paul George | Caris LeVert | Kelly Oubre Jr
PF: Kristaps Porzingis | Derrick Favors
C: Andre Drummond | Deandre Ayton
Team 9
PG: Trae Young | Ja Morant | Fred Van Vleet
SG: CJ McCollum | D'Angelo Russell
SF: Kevin Durant (Achilles) | Andre Roberson
PF: Juliuis Randle | John Collins | Bobby Portis
C: Rudy Gobert | Clint Capela
Team 10
PG: Damian Lillard | Chris Paul | John Wall (Achilles) | Derrick White
SG: DeMar DeRozan | Gary Harris | Jeremy Lamb
SF: Gordon Hayward
PF: Blake Griffin | LaMarcus Aldridge
C:Joel Embiid | Jusuf Nurkic (broken leg)
I will be posting round by round surveys where two teams will be voted on head-to-head. There will be a new thread for each round and I will post the results here. A round of voting lasts 48 hours
This post was edited by dis505 on Aug 9 2019 10:50am