Ideal Player Attributes by Position

[Retired Jersey]

If you were a *RealGM* what are the ideal attributes (skill sets) you would look for in each player by position as you looked to build your team and player rotation?

[Retired Jersey]

Starters

PG:
A penetrator. Has to be a pass-1st pg. Preferably at least 6'2" and able to break down his man and create shots for others. 3pt shooting is not really a concern to me. I'd place higher stock in his mental makeup, being a natural leader of men and a guy who keeps his cool, controls the tempo and keeps his teammates involved yet has the ability to take over when needed. Must also be a good defensive player since he's the 1st line of defense when the opposition has the ball.

SG:
A slasher. Must possess elite-level athleticism. Doesn't necessarily have to be a high BBIQ guy, but must be able to overwhelm defenders with his superior athleticism. Preferably someone at least 6'6" and wiry-strong who can run the break and is an explosive finisher. A leaper who disrupts the passing lanes and is a good help defender. Doesn't necessarily have to be a great one-on-one defender though.

SF:
A shooter. An absolute 2-way player. Must be a great one-on-one defender on defense and on offense must be able to knock down the open 3pt shot consistently. Must make defenses pay if they leave him open behind the arc. An intangibles guy who doesn't put up huge numbers but does all the little things. High BBIQ is a must! Preferably at least 6'8" but in a perfect world would stand 6'10" with a long& lean physique.

PF:
A physical specimen. Standing at least 6'11" and ripped sporting world-class athleticism for a bigman. A guy who blocks shots, rebounds and can finish with authority when given the ball down-low or when thrown the alley-oop. Doesn't have to have an ultra-refined back-to-basket game but should at least have a repertoire featuring an effective jumphook. Must be a high-fg% guy who crashes the offensive boards and boxes out, keeping the opposing big man off the offensive glass. Should be able to run the floor. The prototypical new-age PF.

C:
A shotblocker. DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE!!! This guy should stand 7ft and I don't care if he doesn't have a single offensive move. All I want is for this guy to patrol the paint, block shots, alter shots and intimidate on defense. Doesn't need to be a good offensive rebounder but must be a BEAST in coralling defensive rebounds and starting fast breaks (throwing the outlet pass). Doesn't need to run the floor, as ideally he stays back as our last line of defense in case the opposing team attempts to run off our misses. He must have good hands on offense to catch passes from guards who drive and dish to him for open looks. Lives off garbage buckets, put-backs and such.

Bench

G:
The 6th man who is a combo-guard standing at least 6'4" and can flat out score. A volume shooter who pulls the trigger without a conscience. Doesn't need to be a good defender, as long as he lights it up offensively.

SG/SF:
The swingman. A jack-of-all-trades. A skilled ballplayer who has a handle, can pass, can shoot, do a little rebounding and is great inbounding the ball. Not a mistake-prone player. Not really, a scorer but rather a facilitator. At least 6'7"

PF/C:
The banger. Dirty-worker/enforcer type. Isn't athletic but knows how to use his body to box-out and get rebounds. An intelligent/cerebral player who outsmarts more athletically gifted big-men. A good shooter from mid-range. A great post-defender but not necessarily a shot-blocker. A guy who is a veteran with playoff experience. Prefered height is 6'9"

[NyKnicks1714]

I disagree about the 6th man. I think a 6th man should be someone who can do 1 or 2 things greatly. Not someone who does multiple things decently.

[OoAnd1]

C: 10 pts, 10 rebs, 2 blks (6'11-7'2)
PF: 20 pts, 8 rebs, can hit threes (6'8-6'11)
SF: 10 pts, 6 rebs, 1.5 steals, 1.5 blks (6'6-6'9)
SG: 18 pts, 4 rebs, 4 assts, 2 steals (6'4-6'8 )
PG: 14 pts, 6 assists, 1.5 steals (6'0-6'4)

Funny thing, I wasn't even thinking about the Knicks when I came up with that but it's possible to get that with these guys....if coached well...and with time...

Thabeet
Randolph
Balkman
Artest
Marbury

One last note, also noticed the Lakers have that basic formula..only real difference is Kobe is even greater than the high standards I listed for the SG.

Bynum
Gasol
Odom
Kobe
Fisher

[NyKnicks1714]

Thabeet
Randolph
Balkman
Artest
Marbury

Yeah that lineup actually looks pretty horrible.

[OoAnd1]

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Yeah that lineup actually looks pretty horrible.

How is it horrible? It's all dependent on how the players progress and are coached but I believe...

Thabeet can be a 10, 10, 2 blks guy in the NBA.
We all know Zach can score and rebound.
Balkman can possibly avg 10, 6 rebs, 1.5 stels, 1.5 blks, IF given mins.
Artest is a baller. Awesome 2-way player.
And Marbury is still highly skilled.

We'd have 3 "problems" there but again, it all depends on how they are coached. This squad could be good. 3 guys in the lineup are tough defensively in different, complementing ways and a different set of 3 guys would be offensively active.

[o hai]

the only thing I'd change is that I think both backcourt guards should be able to hit the three with some consistency. outside shooting is pretty important to an offense I'd say.

[pakula's pizza]

I would focus first on BB IQ....Play larry brown basketball and for sure would make the playoffs every year.
players like nate, crawford, gerald green, jr smith, ben gordon will never win anything

[o hai]

I meant change as in change to the op's original post, not to our lineup. I don't think a backcourt of purely just 3-point shooters would work. and obviously undersized guards like nate and ben gordon would only be used as 6th men in an "ideal" lineup. but I don't think you can succeed in today's nba without 3-point shooting. it's a key part of defeating most double teams.

[Retired Jersey]

I meant change as in change to the op's original post, not to our lineup. I don't think a backcourt of purely just 3-point shooters would work. and obviously undersized guards like nate and ben gordon would only be used as 6th men in an "ideal" lineup. but I don't think you can succeed in today's nba without 3-point shooting. it's a key part of defeating most double teams.

In my ideal lineup the SF is the three-point threat. The PG & SG are capable of hitting the occaisional 3pt'er but that is not their strength. 3PT shooting is only essential if you plan on running your offense through the post. However, in my model the offense would be a motion offense based of backdoor cuts, PG penetration and pick and rolls. This is a much more fluid offense that shuns the predictability and stagnation of an offense that runs through the post. That's why my PF and C are not having major back-to-basket skills listed in their attributes. I'd rather my PF/C to be in the mold of Dwight Howard & Marcus Camby. Howard can post up occaisionally but that's not his strength. It's his athleticism, and mobility that makes him effective. Too many post-players also clog up the paint by making defenses sag and making it easy to double-team. Shooters would not be essential in my ideal lineup.

[o hai]

-= original quote snipped =-



In my ideal lineup the SF is the three-point threat. The PG & SG are capable of hitting the occaisional 3pt'er but that is not their strength. 3PT shooting is only essential if you plan on running your offense through the post. However, in my model the offense would be a motion offense based of backdoor cuts, PG penetration and pick and rolls. This is a much more fluid offense that shuns the predictability and stagnation of an offense that runs through the post. That's why my PF and C are not having major back-to-basket skills listed in their attributes. I'd rather my PF/C to be in the mold of Dwight Howard & Marcus Camby. Howard can post up occaisionally but that's not his strength. It's his athleticism, and mobility that makes him effective. Too many post-players also clog up the paint by making defenses sag and making it easy to double-team. Shooters would not be essential in my ideal lineup.

outside shooters are important to guard penetration too though, where you break down the defense and kick it out to someone. that's why the lakers complement kobe with shooters like farmar, fisher, vujacic and vlad rad. houston, golden state, phoenix, dallas and even san antonio like to have shooters on the floor to open things up and for spacing purposes.

if you see steve nash or chris paul on the pick and roll, if the guy goes under the pick they take the open three.

it's not the be-all-end-all but it's definitely an important weapon in the arsenal. plus outside shots can be big momentum changers.

[Retired Jersey]

-= original quote snipped =-



outside shooters are important to guard penetration too though, where you break down the defense and kick it out to someone. that's why the lakers complement kobe with shooters like farmar, fisher, vujacic and vlad rad. houston, golden state, phoenix, dallas and even san antonio like to have shooters on the floor to open things up and for spacing purposes.

if you see steve nash or chris paul on the pick and roll, if the guy goes under the pick they take the open three.

it's not the be-all-end-all but it's definitely an important weapon in the arsenal. plus outside shots can be big momentum changers.

I don't really view Chris Paul as a bonafide 3pt threat. His game is penetration and a lil midrange J. Also, upon penetration when the defense collapses it's always a higher % shot to pass to the interior cutter as opposed to kicking it back out for the trey.

[o hai]

-= original quote snipped =-



I don't really view Chris Paul as a bonafide 3pt threat. His game is penetration and a lil midrange J. Also, upon penetration when the defense collapses it's always a higher % shot to pass to the interior cutter as opposed to kicking it back out for the trey.

ah ok you're right about chris paul- for some reason I thought he was hitting more threes this season than he is. but yeah, ideally you'd get mostly cutters because it's a higher percentage shot but then the defense could also clog the lanes so you'd need some outside shooting to keep defenses honest. also, a wide-open shot should be considered a high percentage shot for a guard imho.

[NoLayupRule]

I dont disagree with your list, Retired Jersey

this is how Id build a team

PG - ball handler, play maker, defender, rebounder
SG - shooter, defender
SF - slasher, defender, rebounder
PF - rebounder, defender, post up offense, mid range game, runs the floor {in todays game athletic and long is a must}
C - Defender, shot blocker, rebounder, scores in the paint

6th man - either flat out scorer, lock down defender or pure energy big off the bench. preferably all 3 come in as 6,7,8 players

[pakula's pizza]

PG-Deron or Chris Paul
SG-Raja Bell (shooter, defense)
SF-Tay Prince(fits the bill from defense to 3pt)
PF-Elton Brand
C-Sam Dalembert

6th and 7th
Jamal crawford and david lee

This team would be incredible

[OoAnd1]

I dont disagree with your list, Retired Jersey

this is how Id build a team

PG - ball handler, play maker, defender, rebounder
SG - shooter, defender
SF - slasher, defender, rebounder
PF - rebounder, defender, post up offense, mid range game, runs the floor {in todays game athletic and long is a must}
C - Defender, shot blocker, rebounder, scores in the paint

6th man - either flat out scorer, lock down defender or pure energy big off the bench. preferably all 3 come in as 6,7,8 players

Every position is a defender?

I thought this was supposed to be realistic...might as well say..

PG-Allstar
SG-Allstar
SF-Allstar
PF-Superstar
C-HallofFamer

[wambam78]

Depending on defense and leadership the ranges of each position as far as Points/stats per game should look like...

PG: 9 Pts 7 Assts 2 stls per game - 15.5 pts 5.5 assts 1.5 stls per game
SG: 16 pts 4 assts 5 boards - 20 pts 3 asts 4 boards
SF: 11 pts 2 assts 7 boards - 22 pts 3 assts 5 boards
PF: 10 pts 8 boards 1 assts - 15 pts 6.5 boards 1 block/1assist
C: 6.5 pts 12 boards 2 blocks - 11 pts 13 boards 2 blocks

[o hai]

hmm yeah I guess if we're being realistic, outside shooting isn't as important for a pg as passing ability and defense. I got swept up by the "ideal" in the title, but I guess if that were the case everyone would have 50" verticals, the ability to make 40-foot jumpshots and be able to make behind-the-back no-look cross-court passes between defenders. anyway yeah, in a realistic scenario I'd be happy with a pass-first pg like andre miller, tj ford/jose calderon or that type of guy who isn't really an outside shooter. deron williams, chris paul or derrick rose wouldn't be bad options either