Current injuries and injury history are to be taken into account when voting.
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 โ 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.
Joker, Smoker, Mile High Toker
PG: Eric Bledsoe | Dejounte Murray
SG: Donovan Mitchell | Devin Booker
SF: Luka Doncic | Kyle Kuzma | Terrence Ross
PF: Jerami Grant | Kevin Love
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 IQโs 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 is Bledsoe, Mitchell, Doncic, Grant 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. Weโve 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.