RealGM

We are nearing that time....getting close to wrapping this up.

In this thread, you are only allowed ONE POST.

Feel free to edit that post as frequently as you would like to - but do not comment on anything or make multiple posts for your team.

In this thread, you will go all out to convince everyone else why your team is superior to the other 19 teams. While pictures and other flair make it look nice, make sure it is more about substance than flash. You want to make concise arguments for your team and why they would defeat the other 19. Don't write a novel...but make the best points you can to support your team.

This is part of the judgement process.

The cutoff will be Wednesday night at 11:59 PM. At that point, I will begin accepting scoring cards. I will break these score cards down in more detail in the coming days.

Go at it.

THE PHILOSOPHY:
The version of the Chicago Bulls that I attempted to build was based around two key principals: Longevity & Chemistry. I wanted to put together a team that had players with a track record of winning and producing for 10+ years. That alone would not be enough, I wanted to make sure to have a team that could do everything that is needed in a given NBA game and provide match up flexibility.


THE CORE:
Hakeem Olajuwon, Jason Kidd, & Ray Allen.
For my first pick, I wanted to take a guy that stayed consistent for many years and proved that he is a piece that should be built around. Hakeem's two NBA Titles prove that he is certainly worth building around. Not to mention that his skill set is one that has not been duplicated. Effective on both ends of the floor and his post moves are something to be envied by every NBA big man.

Once I had Hakeem, I knew the next thing I had to do was get a guy who knew how to get the ball to him in the right spots. A score first PG was out of the question so I went with one of the greatest floor generals of all time, Jason Kidd. He brings out the best in the players around him...exactly the kind of guy to pair with Hakeem. Kidd also has had a long track record of success, going to 3 NBA Finals and winning 1. Another duel threat, both offensively and defensively gifted.

Clearly the next need was a wing player to spread the floor for Hakeem on the block and Jason to penetrate. Not just that, I wanted someone that could operate without the ball...being that Jason & Hakeem are best when they have the ball in theirs. In NBA history, has anyone ever operated off the ball better than Ray Allen? Deadly shooter, doesn't miss at the line, and in his prime...was much more than just a shooter, averaging over 25ppg in his best years.


HEAD COACH:
For all you need to know about the great coach Alex Hannum, you just need to read what his peers and players said about him during his time as a head coach. Read these quotes and tell me he isn't the perfect fit...

Wilt Chamberlin: "Why did we finally beat Boston? Because we had Alex Hannum as our coach.

Bob Pettit: "He had the guys to try anything. He even tried starting himself over me, the idea being he'd play 8-10 minutes, pick up four fouls and beat up the opposing forward. Then I'd play the rest of the game after he had softened him up."

Ed MacAuley: "It was Alex who had the guts to make the move that both made Cliff Hagan a great player and made us a great team."

"But as a coach, he loomed larger than most, and impressed his will on a variety of teams on which he imparted a variety of styles. He synthesized the Eastern style of give-and-go with a more cerebral offense when that was warranted."

"But his attention to defense, as well as conditioning, helped him post a 471-412 record in the N.B.A. and a 178-152 record in the A.B.A. These marks, and his three championships, led to his election to the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., in 1998."

THE ROLE PLAYERS:

While it is great to be able to put up points, at the end of the day...defense wins championships. That is why I felt the need to add both a dominant wing & post defender. Ben Wallace, a 4 Time DPOY, was a key piece in an NBA Finals run that resulted in a title. Gerald Wallace has been in the league for years and has always been known as a pesky defender that is great at creating steals. Both Ben's blocks & Gerald's steals will create excellent opportunities for Jason Kidd to start his deadly fast breaks.



The Fast-Break will be a critical component to this teams play. Jason Kidd is an excellent decision maker in the open court, so I wanted to put guys around him that would let that skill flourish. Tom Chambers is a guy who flies under the radar in NBA History. A high flying big man who can also stretch the floor on the break is a perfect compliment to Hakeem heading to the rim. Another guy who averaged over 25 ppg in his best seasons gives great flexibility in the front line. Gerald Wallace is obviously a guy that can get out and run after creating turnovers.



Every team needs a guy that is going to be able to get his own shot. Through the 80's, Adrian Dantley managed to average over 30 ppg four seasons in a row (5 total) and was an elite scorer for the entire decade. With those scoring totals, he managed to do it in an EXTREMELY efficient fashion, posting a 15 year CAREER FG% of 54%.

As far as having a spark off the bench, I wanted to get a guy that could play alongside Jason Kidd, as well as run the point for a short amount of time with the second unit. In his prime, World B Free was an elite scorer and play-maker, averaging over 30 ppg. In addition, we have 2 time 6th Man of the Year on the roster in Ricky Pierce. Another efficient scorer, with a career FG% of over 49%...Ricky had 10 years of great production and knows how to come off the bench and be effective.

You need dirt work done, Otis Thorpe is your guy. A true veteran, Otis had 15+ seasons where he contributed on an extremely consistent and efficient level. He was a key piece in Houston winning their first title with Hakeem. The two are a proven tandem that lead to an NBA title, something that is hard to come by in these B-a-T's.



LONGEVITY:
Hakeem Olajuwon: 15 Good Years
Jason Kidd: 16 Good Years
Ray Allen: 17 Good Years
Adrian Dantley: 13 Good Years
Tom Chambers: 11 Good Years
World B Free: 10 Good Years
Ricky Pierce: 10 Good Years
Gerald Wallace: 9 Good Years
Ben Wallace: 8 Good Years
Otis Thorpe: 15 Good Years

SUMMARY:
With every intangible you could ask for...from basketball IQ, heart, and longevity to the ability to finish games off...this version of the Chicago Bulls can undoubtedly contend for at least 10+ seasons. You want offense? Jason Kidd will lead the break with some of the best finishers in the game. It's not there? Set up the half court offense and run a two man game with Jason and Hakeem. On defense...we have a great defender at every positions. The flexibility to match up with any roster out there gives us a leg up in the playoffs. The balance of skill sets on the roster allows for fluid execution orchestrated by Alex Hannum.

PG Jason Kidd (38 MPG) - World B Free (10 MPG)
SG Ray Allen (38 MPG) - Ricky Pierce (8 MPG) - World B Free (2 MPG)
SF Adrian Dantley (32 MPG) - Gerald Wallace (16 MPG)
PF Tom Chambers (32 MPG) - Ben Wallace (16 MPG) - Otis Thorpe (0 MPG)
C Hakeem Olajuwon (38 MPG) - Ben Wallace (10 MPG)

Minutes clearly fluctuate with matchups. A variation of the lineup that could be used frequently is to go small & fast...
PG Jason Kidd
SG World B Free
SF Gerald Wallace
PF Tom Chambers
C Hakeem Olajuwon

Roster/Minutes

Steve Nash(34)/Norm Van Lier(14)
Chris Mullin(32)/Rolando Blackman(16)
Bobby Jones(30)/Kiki Vandeweghe(18)
Dirk Nowitzki(36)/Vlade Divac(9)/Sam Lacey(3)
Tim Duncan(36)/Vlade Divac(9)/Sam Lacey(3)


Starting Lineup:
Steve Nash: An efficient point guard with tremendous court vision and arguably GOAT shooting at his position(hit 90/50/40 percentages in 4 different seasons). Easily makes the players around him better with his precise passing with his leadership and high basketball IQ. Able to lead the fast break as well as play in a halfcourt style. Alsays seems to make the right play at the right time. Very cerebral.

Chris Mullin: One of the greatest shooters of all time. Constantly moving without the ball over screen or cutting. Very efficient player who despite being a deadly jump shooter takes quality shots(above 50% fg) and is able to make the extra pass to his team mate(avg'ed 3+ assts for his career). Very smart and tough defender with quick hands and good anticipation.

Bobby Jones: Ultimate glue guy and great team defender. Good athleticism for a guy his size 6'9. Provides hustle and toughness to the roster. Willing to do the little things such as making the extra pass, fighting for the rebound, diving for loose balls, etc. One of the best defensive small forwards of all time (averaging a rare 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks for his career and 9 time NBA all defense) Hardworking and selfless, doesn't need the ball to affect the game, moves well within the offense, good slasher but also has a solid set mid range jumper to keep defenders honest.

Dirk Nowitzki: Arguably the GOAT shooter at power forward, as well as a deadly and versatile scorer. Also one of the few players to have a 90/50/40 season in his prime. A mismatch nightmare for opposing defenses with his 7 foot frame, ability to shoot over defenders, drive to the rim, and post up smaller players. Works well off the ball with a smart PG but has the ability to create his own shot if needed. Great in the halfcourt set but also deadly in transition due to his pull up three. Proven to be clutch and able to take and make the big shot.

Tim Duncan: The rock. The cornerstone. One of(if not THE) best all around big men the NBA has ever seen. Proven/elite defensive anchor(14 time NBA all defense) with ability to protect the rim, provide help defense, as well as great man to man defender. Great rebounder and one of the most consistent and efficient offensive players the NBA has ever seen. Can post you up, hit the jumper, or take bigger defenders to the rim. Very smart, calm, and poised leader.



Bench:
Norm Van Lier:One of the better defensive point guards in NBA history (9 time NBA All defense) Very pesky and tough defender who pokes away balls, takes charges, and gets the key steal. Very unselfish passer who looks for his teammate first and foremost.

Rolando Blackman: The greatest shooting guard in Dallas Maverick's history and arguably the greatest Maverick behind Nowitzki. Great at slashing/penetrating to the rim while also having a good jumpshot, unselfish and able to work with other big time scorers. Tenacious defender.

Kiki Vandeweghe: An efficient scoring machine(50+ fg% for his career.) Has an array of moves to take defenders off the dribble, at which point he can easily take it to the rim or hit the jumper. Also has legit 3 point range(36% career) Proven to be able to work well with other scorers(Blazer years)

Sam Lacey: One of the better defensive passing centers in NBA history. All around good defender in both help and man defense(averaged 1.3 steals and 1.5 block for his career) Also a great rebounder(averaging 9.7 for his career) Has a legit mid range jumper. One of the better passing centers the league has seen(3.7 assists for his career)

Vlade Divac: GOAT passing big man that has ever stepped on the NBA court. Great court vision and able to make the precise pass from anywhere on the court. A solid defender(invented the flop) and rebounder. Offensively can do a little bit of everything from hitting the long-mid range jumper to going into the paint and scoring with his back to the basket.

Coach Jerry Sloan:The longest tenured coach in NBA history. Great basketball mind, good with the Xs and Os. Tough and hard nosed, expects efficiently run basketball on both sides of the court. Consistency, efficiency, and intelligence are the ideals that come to mind when it comes to his coaching. HOF accolade and well deserved.



Offense/Defense:
Offensively, it's all about spacing and moving without the ball. It will be very pick and roll/pop heavy due to having 3 players who are one of the best at it. Nash running the pick and roll with Nowitzki/Duncan will be deadly, especially with the highly efficient shooters/slashers surrounding them. Pick and roll plus the flex offense(players moving without the ball) will make the opposing defenses work hard forcing them to switch to a mismatch, open up the lane, or get an open jump shot. Add in passing from big men like Vlade and Divac, and you'll see a well oiled scoring machine that can score from a variety of areas on the court due to unsefishness of the system.

Defensively it will be about trusting your teammate. With a great defensive anchor in Duncan guarding the paint(as well as Lacey), perimeter defenders can be more liberal with getting into opposing wing players or helping their fellow teammate. There will probably be more emphasis on zone/man defense moreso than man defense. If any perimeter players manages to get into the point we have 3-4 great shotblockers waiting for them(Duncan, Lacey, Vlade, and Jones) The focus is more on helping each other on the defense rather than leaving anyone on an island.



Chemistry/Fit:
Overall this roster has a bunch of personalities that fit well together. There are no players with big egos or off the court issues on this team. Everyone is as professional as can be and I predict that this roster would have great chemistry in the locker room. Having three great leaders in Duncan/Dirk/Nash helps as well. Good character guys all around, with alot of heart and competitive fire.

On the court the pieces were tailor made for each other. Sloan is a perfect coach for a smart PG like Nash in a pick and roll system with the consistent/efficient Dirk and Tim. Add to that efficient shooters/slashers/defenders who know their role, and the players fit together perfectly on both sides of the ball to create a tough hard nosed team.

Longevity:
The core three of Nash/Duncan/Nowitzki have had long productive careers performing at high/peak levels. The rest of the roster for the most part have had 10+ seasons of NBA action and have performed consistently and efficiently throughout their careers. This is the type of team that can contend for nearly a decade due to the main core and surrounding pieces. Due to having an elite play maker in Nash, elite shooter/scorer in Nowitzki, and an elite rebounding/defending big in Duncan, this type of team is one that has a great potential to become a dynasty.

Thank you if you have read all of this.

Starting Line Up:
Magic Johnson
Clyde Drexler
Jamal Wilkes
Bob McAdoo
Bill Laimbeer

Bench:
Baron Davis
Gail Goodrich
Jamal Mashburn
Zach Randolph
Pau Gasol

Head Coach: Rudy Tomjonavich

Philosophy:
My team is build with Magic in mind. They are all players that have had a long career and have a tradition of winning. Each of those players can also run the floor well and may of them do not need the ball to be effective.
The chemistry with this team should work great.

Starters
As mentioned my team is built a round Magic. This team has the ability to run the floor and play the half court as well. All of these players also are good at catching the ball and have no problem distributing it as well.
For my clutch player I have Mr. Clyde and Magic. During late game situations these guys would take over. Jamal Wilkes is a hustle guy that has great intangibles and will do all the dirty work. The same goes with bill he can post up, shoot the open jumper and on the defensive side he is invaluable. He can rough it up with other centers and is not afraid to enforce. Mr Mcadoo is an offensive machine averaging 30 points against some of the greatest centers to play the game (Wilt). He was automatic near the paint. His jumper was unblockable.
Each of our players can play defense, but our best defenders are Bill, Clyde and Wilkes.

Coach:
Rudy Tomjonavich is a players coach. He will make all of these stars play well together. He is one of few coaches that have won back to back championships. he has experience coaching Clyde. He will run the Showtime offense and during late game situations he can turn it into the half court.

Bench:

The bench was made with a little more half court in mind and ball spreading.
Pau Gasol can be put in for Bill Laimbeer and his passing is amazing as well as his finesse for posting up other guys.
When Magic and Clyde are tired Baron Davis and Gail Goodrich will be inserted together. They will both share ball handling duties (ala West/Goodrich) with Baron Being the primary guard. Gail Goodrich can light it up like no other. Hew worked well playing with another PG(West). If the offense needs some three point shooting, Mashburn will be inserted to spread the floor. He is a great shooter that shot the 3 ball exceptionally well. Zach Randolph would be inserted in the line up to give Mcadoo some rest as well as to post the ball more.

Longevity
Every player with the exception of Mashburn has had a long sucessful career. Mashburn will be ask to do very little. he is basically inserted to shoot the three/jumper.

Winning:
Championships :17

All star Games:37

MVP:4

Finals MVP:3

Hall of Famers:6

All NBA:11

Defense:
Magic 2x nba steal leader
Wilkes: 2x all defense
Baron: 2x nba steal leader

The Team Accolades

16 x NBA Champion / 2 x ABA Champion
2 x Finals MVP
47 x NBA All-Star Appearances / 6 x ABA All-Star Appearences
7 x All-NBA First Team
13 x All-NBA Defensive First Team

An extremely impressive bounty of effectiveness for having the 18th pick in the draft. Every player in my team besides Luol Deng and Dominique Wilkins have won a championship of some sort, all of them have winning pedigree and desire.

The Starters:



Tony Parker has 2 years of french basketball, and 12 years of NBA experience under his belt, he's shown no signs of slowing down and has been wildly effective ever since he entered the league. He doesn't need the ball in his hands all of the time, works well with screens, can throw simple entry passes, has a steady jumper, a perfect floater, and most of all, he relishes the challenge of playing against other top point guards - make no mistakes, he will outwork, outhustle, and outplay your point guard, no matter how good - it's a fact.



"I bet 5 guys in a phone booth with the Pearl, couldn't cover him."

Earl Monroe had 13 years of NBA experience, averaging double digits in all but his final year. Playing off the ball, but sharing equal ball handling responsibility with his backcourt mate Tony Parker, Earl Brings a flamboyant, effective style where he will be able to make plays all over the court with his team. The Yin and Yang of Tony Parker and Earl Monroe will attempt to mirror Frazier and Earl, widely considered one of the greatest backcourts of all time. Earl is a highly effective scorer and he also has experience playing with Wes Unseld, our starting center. He should feel right at home playing on this team.



Scottie Pippen. What more can you say about Pip? Widely considered one of the best defensive wings ever, capable of guarding ones, twos, threes, and even fours - Pippen is the lynchpin and the motor for this team. In a B-A-T where wing scorers are bountiful, Pippen will lock-down at least one of them per-team and still give you 19/6/5+ every season. Pippen played 17 years, and thrived on being on a loaded team - he will have tons of opportunity on this team to be even more spectacular. His coach, Phil Jackson, is a friendly face and somebody that he flourished under.



Kevin McHale is often forgot about as a player now that he is a coach, but he's one of the greatest of all time. Charles Barkley said Kevin McHale was the greatest big man he's ever gone against. Kevin McHale played 13 years in the NBA, and made the playoffs every single one of those 13 years. Forgotten as well is his defensive prowess, he made 3 all NBA defensive first teams, and 3 all NBA defensive second teams. Not to mention, he has a series of moves called THE TORTURE CHAMBER - who wants to go against him? Kevin McHale said himself ""When I was healthy, I always felt I could score," McHale once told reporters. "When it went into what I called 'The torture chamber,' I knew it was in." With Monroe and Parker zipping all over the court, McHale will have plenty of time to work his magic on the block.



Wes Unseld. He is the glue that will enable the team to operate with effectiveness. When you have a team full of so much talent, you need players that specialize in areas that other teams lack. Wes Unseld is known for his extremely effective/hard picks that will get other players open and his superb rebounding and outlet passes that will ignite a fast break. Although short in stature, him and McHale can flop positions on the defensive end depending on who they will be playing on the particular evening. Wes Unseld played 13 years in the NBA, averaging double digit rebounding in every season except one and also averaged 4 assists for his career. He will clean up many a mess in the offensive and defensive end.

The Bench



Off the bench we'll have somebody that averaged 25+ points for 11 seasons. Nuff said. Seriously. With Wes Unseld igniting the fast breaks, Earl Monroe and Tony Parker and Norm Nixon will find Nique around the rim all of the time.



As a backup center, we have another player that averaged [b]20+ PPG in 12 of 15 seasons. Wes, McHale and Gus will be manning up on the defensive end, while Issel brings a different dimension off of the bench. Our defense and offensive guys play extremely well off of each other. He only missed 24 games in his career.



Only played 10 years, but compared to some of these backup guards, Nixon played a pivotal role in 2 championships and can run an offense. He averaged 7 - 11 assists for most of his career, topping out at a whopping 11 assists one year.



Deng is a relative newbie compared to all of my other players, but for 10 years now he has played extremely valuable ball ever since he entered the league. An extremely underrated defender, he will bring some of the same things to the game that Pippen does when Pip is taking a break. Obviously not as potent, but still just as capable. Your wings will not rest during the entire game, they will constantly be tested.




Honeycomb will bring intensity, talent, and offense and defense from the bench. One of the top 60 NBA players in history, IMO. If his career was a little longer, he would have ranked higher but for where I got him, he was an absolute steal. HONEYCOMB has played with Unseld and Monroe, two players on my squad - another link that will make this team stronger.

From his wiki: Johnson was among the most effective two-way players of his time. His scoring moves around the basket were comparable to those of his peers Elgin Baylor and Connie Hawkins. Yet, however effective as Johnson was a post-up player, with his medium-range jump shot, and on the fast break, he was even more effective as a very sticky defender and a rugged rebounder throughout his time in the NBA. Indeed, he was one of the select few players who was quick enough to be paired against backcourt great Oscar Robertson, yet strong enough to hold his own against the taller forwards of the NBA in the front line.



One of the greatest coaches of all time coaches our team, Phil Jackson. Effective, winner - he knows not to tinker with the emotions of the team until they need it.


Minute Allocation:

Parker (34) / Monroe (8) / NIxon (5)
Monroe (28) / Wilkins (18)
Pippen (37) / Wilkins (6) / Deng (5)
McHale (36) / Honeycomb (12)
Unseld (32) / Honeycomb (6) / Issel (10)

PG Carl Craig
SG Laurent Garnier
SF Richie Hawtin
PF Derrick May
C Dave Clarke

Bench

Trentemoller
Eskmo
Ricardo Villalobos
Eric Volta
Agoria
Guy J
Guy Gerber

Honorable mention: Hernán Cattáneo

EDIT: I wasn't aware of this, nice! It won't let me delete the post or leave it blank so give a little room for my expansion team.

Charlotte Hornets




POINT GUARD: DENNIS JOHNSON



Ranked #53 on SLAM's 500 greatest players of all time

Honors:
Hall of Fame Inductee
3x NBA champion (1979, '84, '86)
5x NBA All-Star 1979-82, '85)
NBA Finals MVP (1979)
All-NBA First Team (1981)
All-NBA Second Team (1980)
6x All-Defensive First Team (1979-83, '87)
3x All-Defensive Second Team (1984-86)


Career Stats
PPG: 14.1
RPG: 3.9
APG: 5.0
SPG: 1.6
BPG: 0.6

"In Sports Illustrated, teammate Bird, who was not known for lightly tossing around compliments, called Johnson 'the best I've ever played with.'" -NBA.com

Dennis Johnson is the most underrated player of all time according to Joseph Fafinski's '50 Most Underrated NBA Players in History'.

Dennis Johnson is one of the greatest guards to ever play the game, but doesn't get the respect he deserves, primarily because his best work was done on the defensive side of the ball. He played shooting guard for half of his career, but flourished as a point guard when he was traded to Boston. DJ was the best backcourt defender of all-time, as said by Magic Johnson himself. He was named the most valuable player of the 1979 NBA finals, as he led the Sonics to take their only league championship.

Dennis Johnson was a leader on the court and a favorite teammate of Larry Bird. He was the 11th player in NBA history to total 15,000 points and 5,000 assists.

Role on Team: Dennis Johnson's lockdown defense will be crucial for guarding the opponent's best guard. He is the team's secondary ball-handler, as he demonstrated the pass well and make others better while he was a point guard in Boston. He is the 5th scoring option in the starting line-up, with his defense and leadership as his crucial strengths.

SHOOTING GUARD: DAVID THOMPSON



Ranked #63 on SLAM's 500 greatest players of all time

Honors:
Hall of Fame Inductee
4× NBA All-Star (1977–1979, 1983)
ABA All-Star (1976)
2× All-NBA First Team (1977, 1978)
NBA All-Star Game MVP (1979)
ABA All-Star Game MVP (1976)
All-ABA Second Team (1976)
ABA Rookie of the Year (1976)
ABA All-Rookie First Team (1976)

PPG: 24.9
RPG: 4.1
APG: 3.3
SPG: 1.0
BPG: 0.9

"When Thompson was on, perhaps only Julius Erving was a more explosive player. With a 44-inch vertical leap and laser-quick moves, "the Skywalker" was one of the most exciting and acrobatic players the league has ever seen. Like "Dr. J," Thompson could score from anywhere on the court-and within the blink of an eye. But it was his ability to soar and hang in the air that awed people and dogged opponents the most. The story goes that while Thompson was playing at North Carolina State, he could snag a quarter off the top of the backboard. If anybody could do it, Thompson could." -NBA.com

"He was the guy I looked up to" -Michael Jordan

"David Thompson was Michael Jordan before there was a Michael Jordan." -Larry Brown

Known as the best player in ACC history, David Thompson is one of the greatest athletes to ever pick up a basketball. Thompson was a dominant scorer during his years in the NBA (and a single year in the ABA), that could not only explode to the rim, but had the ability to score anywhere on the court. His name is often dampened by his drug addiction, which was sadly a bit of a staple of his era, but were it not for that his amazing achievements would have been even greater.

Role on team: David Thompson provides an offensive threat that is difficult for most defenses to stop. Although the 3-pt shot was not a rule for most of his career, his ability to score from anywhere suggested that he would have been able to develop a good shot from beyond the arch with modern rules. In addition to his ability to defend well and play above the rim, his outside shooting is key for players like Chamberlain and Hayes to kick out to. He is the team's 2nd scoring option.

SMALL FORWARD: RICK BARRY



Ranked #21 on SLAM's 500 greatest players of all time

Honors
Hall of Fame Inductee
NBA champion (1975)
NBA Finals MVP (1975)
ABA champion (1969)
8× NBA All-Star (1966–1967 1973–1978)
NBA All-Star Game MVP (1967)
4× ABA All-Star (1969–1972)
5x All-NBA First Team (1966–1968, 1974–1976)
All-NBA Second Team (1973)
4× All-ABA First Team (1969–1972)
NBA Rookie of the Year (1966)
NBA All-Rookie First Team (1966)

PPG: 23.2
RPG: 6.5
APG: 5.1
SPG: 2.0
BPG: 0.5

"Hall of Fame forward Rick Barry is the only player ever to lead the NCAA, NBA, and ABA in scoring. His name appears near the top of every all-time offensive list. He scored more than 25,000 points in his professional career and in four different seasons averaged more than 30 points. He was named to 12 All-Star teams, four All-NBA First Teams, and five All-ABA First Teams. Barry was a nearly unstoppable offensive juggernaut, a passionate competitor with an untempered desire to win." - NBA.com

"Few of basketball’s all-time legends come as under-appreciated as Rick Barry...A great jump shooter with endless range, Barry was an even better free throw shooter. Perhaps the best in the history of basketball." -Curtis Harris, Prohoopshistory.com

"Barry is considered by many veteran basketball observers to be one of the greatest pure small forwards of all time as a result of his excellent outside shot, court vision, knowledge and execution of team defense principles, a demanding will to win, and an unorthodox but accurate underhanded free throw shooting." -ESPN.com

Rick Barry was one of the smartest and most talented players to ever play the game, and cared about little more than being perfect at the game of basketball. He was an elite scorer and shooter, but managed to be an excellent passer as well, and consistently demonstrated an extremely high basketball IQ. Barry managed to lead the Warriors to a championship in 1975, playing for a team that was seen as lacking talent.

Role on Team: Barry is the team's primary ball handler, a job he did superbly during his tenure with the Warriors. His outstanding basketball IQ will allow him to run the offense and make the proper reads. Barry was excellent at making inside passes, which should make Chamberlain and Hayes even better. In addition, Barry was a fantastic shooter, and will be able to provide outside shooting for the Hornets. He is the team's 3rd scoring option.

POWER FORWARD: ELVIN HAYES



Ranked #2 on SLAM's 500 greatest players of all time

PPG: 21.0
RPG: 12.5
APG: 1.8
SPG: 1.0
BPG: 2.0

HONORS:
Hall of Fame Inductee
NBA champion (1978)
12× NBA All-Star (1969–1980)
NBA scoring champion (1969)
3× All-NBA First Team (1975, 1977, 1979)
3× All-NBA Second Team (1973, 1974, 1976)
2× NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1974–1975)

"One of the most talented power forwards ever to play the game, Elvin Hayes used his trademark turnaround jumper and aggressive defense to win a secure place in the NBA record books. Fourth on the all-time list in games (1,303) and second in minutes played (50,000), he missed only nine contests in his 16 years in the league, a tribute to his durability and conditioning. An All-Star for each of his first 12 seasons, he scored more points (27,313) than any other player in NBA history except for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, and Moses Malone, and he still ranks fourth on the league's all-time rebounding list with 16,279 boards." -NBA.com

"Elvin Hayes as a player was a legitimate all-time great and wholly deserving of his 1990 Hall of Fame induction. An elite scorer who led the league in points per game as a rookie, he was also one of the most dominant rebounding power forwards in the league's history." -Thomas Pruitt, bulletsforever.com

#9 all-time in defensive win shares.

Hayes was not only known for having an unstoppable turn-around jumped, but he was also elite as a rebounder and defender. Hayes was extremely consistent and only missed 9 games during his 16 year career, a highlight to his durability and longevity. He is considered by many to be one of the most underrated players in NBA history.

Role on team: Elvin Hayes, who was a spectacular rebounder and defender, will be able to lock down opponent's big men and make sure the Hornets are getting a ton of boards. In addition, his mid-range jump shot will be key when Chamberlain or Barry is getting double-teamed. He is the team's 4th scoring option, with his defense and rebounding being his most important contributions.

CENTER: WILT CHAMBERLAIN



PPG: 30.1
RPG: 22.9
APG: 4.4
SPG: 1.5 (rough conservative estimate)
BPG: 5.0 (rough conservative estimate)

Honors:
Hall of Fame Inductee
2× NBA champion (1967, 1972)
NBA Finals MVP (1972)
4× NBA Most Valuable Player (1960, 1966–1968)
13× NBA All-Star (1960–1969, 1971–1973)
NBA All-Star Game MVP (1960)
NBA Rookie of the Year (1960)
7× NBA scoring champion (1960–1966)
11× NBA rebounding champion (1960–1963, 1966–1969, 1971–1973)
7× All-NBA First Team (1960–1962, 1964, 1965–1968)
3× All-NBA Second Team (1963, 1966, 1972)
2× NBA All-Defensive First Team (1972–1973)\

" He was basketball's unstoppable force, the most awesome offensive force the game has ever seen. Asked to name the greatest players ever to play basketball, most fans and aficionados would put Wilt Chamberlain at or near the top of the list. Dominating the game as few players in any sport ever have, Chamberlain seemed capable of scoring and rebounding at will, despite the double- and triple-teams and constant fouling tactics that opposing teams used to try to shut him down" -Nba.com

"He was the most unbelievable center to ever play the game in terms of domination and intimidation. There's no one that's ever played the game better than Wilt Chamberlain. This was a man for all ages." -Jerry West

"Wilt. Me. Mike." -Kobe Bryant, ordering the greatest players of all time.

Wilt Chamberlain is by most accounts, the most dominant basketball player to ever play the game. He holds or shares 72 NBA records. There is not a statistic nor area of the game that he did not excel in. Chamberlain was a physical freak, a track star in high school, and professional volleyball player even after has retirement. But most of all, he was nearly unstoppable with a basketball for most of his career. It is easy to knock The Stilt for playing in a different era, but when it comes down to it, there has never been a basketball player as good as Wilt.

Role on Team: Wilt Chamberlain is the team's main scoring option. Although Barry is the team's primary ball handler, the offense will run through Chamberlain, forcing opposing defenses to either adjust to the dominant big man or leave another player open. In addition, he will be able to shore up an enormous amount of rebounds using his height and freakish athleticism, and he will be able to defend any opposing big man. Chamberlain is the focal point of the team.

Coach Bill Fitch



Recipient of Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award

#3 in NBA.com's greatest coaches of all time

"Fitch anchored everything, meticulously putting all the puzzle pieces together. Every challenge was an opportunity to become better, no matter how bad or how hopeless it seemed. It was Fitch’s trademark throughout his career in the NBA—turning every team he coached into a playoff contender." -Jess Matthew Beltran

Bill Fitch was a coach who knew how to make teams good, no matter the circumstance. His record reflects the number of shambled teams he took control of, but Fitch did an extraordinary job of turning them into contenders. He is one of the first coaches to start using video tape to study other teams and players.

Hornets starting line-up:

Combined PPG: 113.3
Combined RPG: 49.9
Combined APG: 19.6
Combined SPG: 7.1
Combined BPG: 9.0

Where the starting line-up of the Hornets excel in each category:

-Quality of Talent: Each of the players on the team is in the Hall of Fame. In SLAM basketball's list of the the 500 greatest players of all team, my starting line-up ranked 2nd, 21st, 23rd, 53rd, and 63rd respectively. There is an enormous amount of talent on this team.

-Team Chemistry: This team is, first and foremost, defensive minded. Guys like Dennis Johnson, Elvin Hayes, and Wilt Chamberlain were some of the best defenders to ever play their position. The entire team is extremely athletic and will be able to stay with even the quickest of players. On offense, Chamberlain in the post is the focal point of the offense, but the team is full of players who are capable of passing. Wilt, DJ, and Barry all showcased excellent passing during their careers, which should greatly boost the team's chemistry and ability to play together. When Chamberlain is being locked down and double teamed, the Hornets will be able to find outside shooting from David Thompson and Rick Barry, as well as mid-rand shooting from Elvin Hayes and Dennis Johnson. Hayes and Chamberlain both posted outstanding rebounding numbers during their career, and should ensure a huge amount of defensive and offensive rebounds.

-Longevity: My team had amazing longevity. Elvin Hayes is the defenition of Mr. Consistent, putting up consistent averages through his 16 year career and only missing 9 games. Chamberlain was a force for 15 years as well, and stayed consistently healthy during his career. Dennis Johnson and Rick Barry were great during their entire careers as well and showcased great longevity. David Thompson is the only player who somewhat falters in this aspect because of the fact that he only played for 9 years due to drug issues, but he was great during those years, and the rest of my team more than makes up for that.

Intangibles: My team is full of players who know how to win. Every player in the starting line-up was an NBA champion outside of David Thompson. Dennis Johnson is the glue that holds the team together, just as he was during his tenure with the Boston Celtics, another team littered with Hall of Famers. If he was able to be a mentor and leader while surrounded by Larry Bird, Kevin Mchale, Robert Parish, and Bill Walton, he can do it for my team as well. Players like Rick Barry are perfectionists and completely determined to win, as evidenced from his ridiculous looking but unbelievably effective underhand free throws. In addition players like him, Dennis Johnson, and David Thompson had extremely high basketball IQ, and knew the game inside and out. Elvin Hayes and Wilt Chamber both led teams to championships, and their career longevity is a testament to their dedication to staying in prime physical shape.

-Offense: The combined 113.3 points per game of my team shows just how good they were on offense. Each player is an effective scoring option, with Barry as the primary ball handler and Chamberlain being the primary scorer. Rick Barry, Dennis Johnson, and Wilt Chamberlain were very good passers during their career, which will allow for a smooth running of our team's offense. Just as he did during his career, Chamberlain should be able to use his post moves and physical advantages to score efficiently. If Chamberlain is having he will be able to kick it out to David Thompson, the second scoring option. Thompson was a complete offensive player, and could shoot from anywhere and drive to the rim with ease. Barry and Hayes were also great shooters, and should make for a very difficult offense to stop.

-Defense: My defensive players are some of the best to ever play the game. Wilt Chamberlain and Elvin Hayes were both extraordinary defensive stoppers, which should prevent other teams from scoring inside. Dennis Johnson can guard just about any wing, and David Thompson was an athletic freak who was nearly impossible to beat.

Bench
PG Rajon Rondo



NBA champion (2008)
4× NBA All-Star (2010–2013)
All-NBA Third Team (2012)
2× NBA All-Defensive First Team (2010–2011)
2× NBA All-Defensive Second Team (2009, 2012)
NBA All-Rookie Second Team (2007)
2× NBA assists leader (2012-2013)
NBA steals leader (2010)

When Barry is not on the court, Rondo is the primary ball handler. Rondo is a player who thrives when being surrounded by good players, and his court vision and defense is essential coming off the bench.

SG Paul Westphal



Honors:
NBA champion (1974)
5× NBA All-Star (1977–1981)
3× All-NBA First Team (1977, 1979–1980)
All-NBA Second Team (1978)

Westphal was a great scorer, but also served as a head coach after his playing career, showing off his basketball IQ and ability to lead on the court.

SF Marques Johnson



Honors:
5× NBA All-Star (1979–1981, 1983, 1986)
All-NBA First Team (1979)
2× All-NBA Second Team (1980–1981)
NBA All-Rookie First Team (1978)

Johnson is another player I love because of his ability to pass and correctly run a play. He was the first to use the term "point forward" after being the primary ball handler in 1984. Marques Johnson is an extremely underrated player with a high basketball IQ.

PF Kevin Love



Honors:
2× NBA All-Star (2011–2012)
NBA Most Improved Player (2011)
All-NBA Second Team (2012)
NBA rebounding champion (2011)
NBA Three-Point Shootout champion (2012)
NBA All-Rookie Second Team (2009)

Love will not only be able to provide the Hornets with 3-pt shooting off the bench, but he is an excellent rebounder as well. Both of those things make Love extremely valuable off the bench.

C Žydrūnas Ilgauskas


Honors:
2× NBA All-Star (2003, 2005)
NBA All-Rookie First Team (1998)
T-Mobile Rookie Challenge MVP (1998)

"Big Z" will be able to provide the Hornets with inside scoring off the bench. He played for 17 years and was a consistently good player during his career.

-----

That does it for my team, here's a gif of a girl fitting into her jeans.

Insight: I wanted to build a team that would be the best rebounding team, with strong defensive anchors and efficient high character scorers to glue it all together. I believe I succeeded, and this is the team to beat for years to come. In a draft filled with stars you need a team that is versatile, know their roles and has an edge in either defense or rebounding because everyone has great offensive firepower.

Atlanta Hawks present:

Coach: John Kundla
Awards & Honors: Inducted into the Hall of fame in 1995. Led his team to 5x NBA titles in six seasons creating the first 3peat. He coached his team into the playoffs 10 times in his 11 year coaching career compiling a 423-302 (.583) record and a dominating 60-35 (.632) in the playoffs.

The General: Maurice Cheeks
Awards & Honors: 1x NBA champion, 4x NBA All-Defensive First Team, 1x NBA ALL-Defensive second Team.

SG: Tracy Mcgrady
Award & Honors: 7× NBA All-Star, NBA Most Improved Player, 2× NBA scoring champion, 2× All-NBA First Team (2002–2003)

SF: Alex English
Awards & Honors: 8x NBA All-Star, 1x NBA scoring champion, 3x All-NBA Second Team.

PF: Dennis The Worm Rodman
Awards and Honors: 5x NBA Champion, 2x NBA Defensive Player of the Year, 2x NBA All-star, 2x All-NBA Third Team, 7x All-Defensive First Team, 7x NBA rebounding champion.

C: Moses Malone
Awards & Honors: HOF player, 1x NBA Champion, 1x Finals MVP, 3x MVP, 14x NBA All-Star, 4x All-NBA First Team, 4x All-NBA Second Team, 6x NBA rebounding champion, 1x NBA All-Defensive First Team.

& The Second Unit:

PG: Dave Bing
Awards & Honors: HOF player, 7x NBA All-Star, 2× All-NBA First Team, 2x All-NBA First Team.

SG: Michael Redd
Awards & Honors: 1x NBA All-star, 1x All-NBA third team

SF: Detlef Schremp
Awards & Honors: 3× NBA All-Star, 2× Sixth Man of the Year, All-NBA Third Team

PF: Dale Davis
Awards & Honors: 1x NBA All-star.

C: Bill Cartwright
Awards & Honors: 3× NBA champion, NBA All-Star.

Coaching & Talent:

When you have several superstars on one team you want a coach that can not only handle the heightened pressure of winning it every year, but you also need a coach who will utilize the talent to its best ability. John Kundla is the perfect coach to lead this team to several championships, because not only was John a great X's-and-O's coach, but he was also an absolute master at handling the egos, a super psychologist (Without the Zen). The blueprint of this team also started with a dominant big man Moses Malone, and in building the NBA’s first true dynasty, Kundla preached the value of a dominant big man in the post—that man being Hall of Fame center George Mikan. John will build the offense around Moses Malone to create a team that will be hard to stop.

All the teams ATL will be facing have tremendously talented players. Our team has two of the best rebounders at the 4 & 5 spot, one of the most dominant centers, two great floor generals and some of the most efficient explosive scorers on our team. The key though is our versatility we can adapt to most lineups.

Chemistry:

To have great chemistry a teams players need to know what their job is.

Floor generals:

Let´s start with the floor general Mo Cheeks. When you´ve got three scorers out there like Malone, English and Mcgrady, you´d better have someone who can bring the ball upcourt, make the plays and control the pace of the game. Cheeks can do this instinctively. With a dominant center like Malone, you don´t need a lot of set plays, but you do need a lot of options.

Cheeks is the floor leader who decides what those options will be. Dave Bing will do the same thing off the bench with more emphasis on scoring.

Boom goes the dynamite role:

T-Mac & English will be the dynamic scoring duo to start the game, both being efficient team players will have no trouble mimicking the Vandeweghe & English high scoring of the 80s. What makes this duo so cohesive is because of their similar elegant, effortless and unbound way of consistently putting the ball in the basket.

Schrempf & Redd: Schrempf already used to and excelling as a spark of the bench will be helped by Redd´s spacing & his ability to iso.

The Enforcers:

Rodman´s role will be like the one with his former championship teams, rebound and be the backbone of this defense.

Dale Davis role is the enforcer and bruiser every team needs to step in. DD was great at setting hard picks which will get our efficient winds wide open looks at the basket.

Bill Cartwright is going to help us elbow our way to the top meanwhile being the stalwart defender of the bench.

Dominant center:

To combat the other all time great centers we have Moses Malone. Moses Malone will out-rebound and go to battle against any center.

Longevity:

Maurice Cheeks:

Prime: PPG 15.4 RPG 2,9 APG 9.2 SPG 2.5 BPG 0.3 FG % .537
Career: 15 years

Tracy Mcgrady:

Prime: PPG 32.1 RPG 6.5 APG 5.5 SPG 1.7 BPG 0.8 FG % .487
Career: 11 great years prior to debilitating injuries

Alex English:

Prime: PPG 28.4 RPG 7.3 APG 4.8 SPG 1.4 BPG 1.5 FG % .516
Career: 16 years

Dennis Rodman

Prime: PPG 9.8 RPG 18.7 APG 2.3 SPG 0.8 BPG 0.9 FG% .540
Career: 13 years

Moses Malone

Prime: PPG: 31.1 RPG: 14.7 APG: 1.8 SPG: 0.9 BPG: 1.5 FG% .519
Career: 21 years

Dave Bing:
Prime: PPG 27 RPG 4.4 APG 5 FG% .467
Career: 12 years

Michael Redd:
Prime: PPG 25.4 RPG 4.3 APG 2.9 SPG 1.2 BPG 0.1 FG% .450
Career: 11 years

Detlef Schrempf:
Prime: PPG: 19.1 RPG: 9.5 APG: 6.0 SPG 1.0 BPG: 0.3 FG% .476
Career: 18 years

Dale Davis:
Career: 16 years

Bill Cartwright
Prime: PPG: 21.7 RPG 8.9 APG: 2.0 SPG: 0.6 BPG: 1.2 FG% .547
Career: 15 years

The Playbook:

Offense:
Our offense will primarily go through Malone with the guards cutting to the basket for easy dunks, or short/mid-range jumpers. This offense however depends upon scoring from the outside provided by Cheeks, T-mac, Redd and Schrempf.

The fast break will also be a big part of our game with Cheeks being the kind of playmaker whose passes lead to a fast break or quick basket underneath the basket. Offensive rebounding will also be key considering we have two of the greatest rebounders under the basket they´ll be springing their teammates loose for shots and keep the ball alive off the boards.

Defense:
We will control the game on the other end with our rebounding and defensive rotations spearheaded by the Master Thief Mo Cheeks and defensive beast Rodman.

Head Coach Gregg Popovich



Point Guard Isiah Thomas



Shooting Guard Dale Ellis



Small Forward Grant Hill




Power Forward Rasheed Wallace



Center Patrick Ewing



Bench

Bill Walton



Fat Lever


Antawn Jamison



Glenn Robinson



Reggie Theus

Bullets



PG: Deron WIlliams is ranked by Slam in 2011 as the 128th best player in the NBA out of 500 and was a 2 time all NBA 2nd team and has a Career Average of 17.8 points and 9 assists.

Backup PG: Stephon Marbury is ranked by Slam in 2011 as the 197th Best Player and was a 2 time all NBA 3rd team and has career average 19.3 points and 7.6 assists.

SG: Hal Greer is ranked as the 59th best player by Slam in 2011 and was a 7 time all NBA 2nd team and averaged 19.2 points 5 rebounds 4 assists for his Career which didnt have a 3 point line. he was considered one of the best shooters of all time and was deadly from 15-20 feet. he had speed, and quicks and strength even though he is now considered Undersized for the position in todays NBA. they say he was arguebky the 3rd best guard in his Eara behind only West and Robertson.

Backup SG: James Harden was an NBA 6th man of the year and all nba 3rd team. all though his Numbers are super glitzy because the thunder player him as a 6th man he does have a Career average 16.8 points 3.8 boards and 3.3 assists and is one of the better shooters in the nba today leading the league last year in True Shooting Percentage.

SF: Lebron James is the 31st best player according to Slam in 2011(pretty sure hes rated top 25 now after them 2 rings) and is a 4 time MVP, 2 time All-star Game MVP, 2 time Finals MVP, not to mention 7time all 1st team NBA, 2 2nd team All NBA, and 5 time all defensive 1st team. he has a career average of 27.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 6.9 assists, 1.7 steals and .8 blocked shots.

Backup SF: Peja Stojakovic

PF: Mehmet Okur

Backup PF: Antoine Walker

C: Dwight Howard

Starting C: Mark Eaton

Boston Celtics:



Head Coach: George Karl

PG: Gary Payton, Archie Clark
SG: Alvin Robertson, Steve Smith
SF: Vince Carter, Glen Rice
PF: Charles Barkley, Buck Williams
C: Yao Ming, Tyson Chandler

Personal Accolade Totals:
1 MVP
3 Defensive Players of the Year
48 total All Star Appearances
2 All Star Game MVPs
7 First Team NBA Selections
17 Second Team All NBA Selections
8 Third Team All NBA Selections
16 All Defensive Team Selections
13 All Defensive Second Team Selections
Slam Dunk Champion
3 Point Contest Champion

The Rundown

Coach: Chuck Daly
Honors: Coach of the Dream Team, made the NBA playoffs each year he was head coach (1983–1992), as well as reaching the NBA finals three times, winning two consecutive NBA championships in 1989 and 1990. He compiled a 564–379 (.598) career record.

PG: Oscar Robertson
Honors: Elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (1980); NBA champion (1971); NBA MVP (1964); Nine-time All-NBA First Team (1961-69); All NBA Second Team (1970, '71); Rookie of the Year (1961); 12-time NBA All-Star (1961-72); All-Star MVP (1961, '64, '69); One of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (1996); Olympic gold medalist (1960).

PG: Micheal Ray Richardson
Honors: 4× NBA All-Star (1980–1982, 1985), 2× NBA All-Defensive First Team (1980–1981), NBA assists leader (1980)

SG: Sidney Moncrief
Honors: Two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Four-time All-NBA First Team, Five-time NBA All-Defensive Team, Five-time All-Star.

SG: Latrell Sprewell
Honors: 4× NBA All-Star (1994–1995, 1997, 2001), All-NBA First Team (1994), NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1994), NBA All-Rookie Second Team (1993).

SF: Elgin Baylor
Honors: Elected to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (1977); All-NBA First Team (1959, '60, '61, '62, '63, '64, '65, '67, '68, '69); Rookie of the Year (1959); 11-time NBA All-Star; All-Star co-MVP (1959).

SF: Lou Hudson
Honors: 6× NBA All-Star (1969–1974), All-NBA Second Team (1970), NBA All-Rookie First Team (1967).

PF: Dave DeBusschere
Honors: Elected to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (1983); NBA champion (1970, '73); Six-time All-Defensive First Team (1969-74); All-Rookie team (1963); Eight-time NBA All-Star (1966-68, '70-73); All-NBA Second Team (1969); One of 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (1996).

PF: George McGinnis
Honors: 2× ABA Champion (1972–1973), ABA Playoffs Most Valuable Player (1973), ABA Most Valuable Player (1975), 3× ABA All-Star (1973–1975), 3× NBA All-Star (1976–1977, 1979), 2× All-ABA First Team (1975–1975), All-ABA Second Team (1973), All-NBA First Team (1976), All-NBA Second Team (1977), ABA All-Rookie First Team (1972), ABA All-Time Team.

C: Bob Lanier
Honors: Elected to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (1992); Six-time All-Star; All-Star MVP (1974); All-Rookie Team ('71); J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award (1978).

C: Sidney Wicks
Honors: 4× NBA All-Star (1972–1975), NBA Rookie of the Year (1972), NBA All-Rookie First Team (1972).

Quality of talent:
Lets face it, all of these teams participating have a ton of talent, their compromised of All-Star players. When looking at my roster, it's littered with talented players at every position. It has two players in the NBA top fifty team. He has players who have lead the league in assists and steals. There is a guy who has averaged a triple double over the course of a season, someone who led the league in steals and assists in the same year, All-NBA defensive first teams who are praised for putting the team first. It has first first class citizens, we have NBA union leaders, there's not a thing this team lacks in terms of quality of talent. We have guys that just stuff the stat sheet across the board.

Chemistry:
When looking at these rosters, the first thing that makes me curious is can the coach handle the personalities and ego's of the team? Well my coach has been able to lead the Bad Boy Pistons to back to back titles, handled the Dream Team roster, created the Jordan Rules and has been regarded as one of the top ten coaches in NBA History. So with all that being said, I think Chuck Daly will be able to fully maximize the abilities of this team and make everyone work.

Oscar is regarded as the greatest all around player ever. He is universally credited as being one of the hardest workers on the court, on both defense and offense.
Richardson could control the pace of the game with either his scoring, facilitating of defense. Routinely sought out to guard the best opposing player.
Moncrief is simply the greatest perimeter defender in NBA history right next to Pippen. He has the highest Win Shares Per 48 ranking ever.
Sprewell was a nice perimeter defender, made the hustle plays and routinely came up with steals. He could score, dish and rebound.
Baylor and West formed one the greatest 1-2 punches ever, I think he could that with Oscar...
Hudson is regarded as one of the sweetest shooters ever, knows how to play off the ball with Pistol Pete.
If you look up "Ultimate Team Player" it will say DeBusschere.
McGinnis put the power in PF, he can grab the board, dribble it the entire court and make a slick pass. Just incredibly strong, there was no answer for him.
Lanier was admired for his solid work habits and willingness to play through pain. His greatest crimes were his injuries and playing in a tough NBA time.
Wicks was a dominant 20/10 big man who has a bad rep because his teams had a void of talent.

Looking at how all these players could fit together, we have two guys who could completely lock up the perimeter in Moncrief and Richardson. We have dominant scorers in Oscar and Baylor, we have low post scorers in Lanier, Wicks and McGinnis. We have guys who embody hustle in Sprewell and DeBusschere. We have knock down shooters in Hudson and Oscar. One thing that critics might point out are Wicks and Sprewell being potential wildcards, I ask you once again... Could Chuck Daly handle these two players? Sprewell played under control under Van Gundy and Wicks was criticized for not wanting to play with guys who weren't good, something that wouldn't be a problem here. At UCLA he waited for his time and became one of the greatest players during the UCLA dynasty.

Longevity/Peaks:
Oscar peaked at 30.3 points, 10.6 assists and 10.4 boards in a period of five years. He dominated for over a decade.
Richardson peaked at 15.7 points, 7.3 assists, 2.75 steals over seven years. His career battled with cocaine.
Moncrief peaked at 19.85 points, 4.4 assists, 5.7 boards over six years. His career was slowed down with injuries.
Sprewell peaked at 19.8 points, 4.2 assists, 4.2 boards over nine years. He was great for over a decade.
Baylor peaked at 28.6 points, 4.3 assists, 13.7 boards over twelve years. He dominated for over a decade.
Hudson peaked at 24.7 points, 3.4 assists, 5.3 boards over seven years. He also has five other good years.
DeBusschere peaked at 16.1 points, 2.87 assists, 11 boards over eleven years. I took out his second year.
McGinnis peaked at 21.8 points, 4 assists, 11.4 boards over four dominant NBA years. 25 points, 3.5 assists, 12.8 rebounds over four dominant ABA years.
Lanier peaked at 23.3 points, 3.4 assists, 11.9 boards, 1.43 blocks over nine years. Great player for over a decade.
Wicks peaked at 20.1 points, 3.5 assists, 10 boards over seven years.

Offense:
"Offense is spacing...spacing is offense."

On offense we have guys who can move the ball at every position, we have guys that have lead the league in assists. We have guys that can stretch the floor, but our mentality is to take effective and quality shots. We have guys that love to get to the rim, we have guys whose bread and butter are mid range games.

Our offense is going to flow through three guys, Oscar, Baylor and Lanier. Both Sidney and DeBusschere are going to make sure that we get these three guys are getting their touches. Richardson and Baylor invented about half of the basketball shots that we see today from pump fakes, head fakes, fade a ways amongst a few others. Off our bench we have guys that really like to push the ball and put on the pressure of the opposing team. All five guys off the bench love to get out there and run, both big men can take the ball from one end and go coast to coast. Richardson, McGinnis and Sprewell are frightening on the fast break, Hudson is the trailer when the fast break collapses.

Defense:
"By slowing it down, we could frustrate the rest of the league. Our identity was going to be our defense. On offense we wanted to establish a half-court game that could produce about 100 points a night. Our goal was to play every game as if it were a playoff game."

With a rotation of Oscar/Richardson and Moncrief/Sprewell we certainly have enough perimeter defense to frustrate and disrupt the flow of the opposing teams offense. Down low we have one of the greatest and hardest worker in DeBusschere to annoy the opposing team. Lanier while not a defensive stall-worth, is certainly no slouch. With our perimeter defense teams are going to be forced to beat us inside out, which is not something a lot of teams are going to have success with.

Chuck believed that defense was the one thing that can stay consistent from game to game, where as offense can go hot and cold. Chuck wanted to control the game with defense and rebounding, something we have a ton of. Daly was credited for having brilliant defensive strategies that were ever adjusting to suit the flow of the game. He's also credited as one of the few guys that could shut down Michael Jordan, the Jordan Rules.

-If Michael was at the point, we forced him left and doubled him. If he was on the left wing, we went immediately to a double team from the top. If he was on the right wing, we went to a slow double team. He could hurt you equally from either wing—hell, he could hurt you from the hot-dog stand—but we just wanted to vary the look. And if he was on the box, we doubled with a big guy.

-The other rule was, any time he went by you, you had to nail him. If he was coming off a screen, nail him. We didn't want to be dirty—I know some people thought we were—but we had to make contact and be very physical.

We have all the pieces to be an elite defense and be a team that truly embodied the spirit of what Chuck wanted to do.

Intangibles:

Clutch Shooting? Elgin Baylor and Oscar Robertson were damn clutch, stepped up huge in the playoffs.
Playmaking Ability and Vision? Oscar and Baylor created basketball moves. Oscar and MRR led the league in assists and could run an offense like a well tuned symphony.
Toughness? Lanier, DeBusschere and Moncrief are regarded as some of the toughest players around. Baylor and Oscar came up during the civil rights era, damn tough. Baylor played a basketball season while being an Army Reserve... damn tough.
Hustle? Moncrief and DeBusschere have their faces here. MRR had a nose for steals and Sprewell would try to make all the hustle plays.
Knowledge? We have a coach who truly loved the game of basketball and read every book there was on coaching. Pair that up with my starting five... oh my!
Intensity? DeBusschere had so much intensity he makes KG look like a kitten.
Finesse? We have guys who created basketball moves that are still used today.
Leadership? Oscar Robertson and Bob Lanier were Union Leaders, DeBusschere was an ABA commissioner.

The case for the Warriors:

-Kareem and Havlicek might be the best top-two of any of our teams.

-Throw in Frazier, one of the greatest PG's of all-time. This is a backcourt with exceptional size, speed, passing ability and a ton of all-defense team honors. Two of the greatest back court defenders of all time, together.

- Bernard King is probably the greatest scorer coming off anyone's bench. Gives me a great change of pace second unit that will create match up nightmares.

-Bosh is a great compliment to Kareem as a floor spacer and proven rebounder with All-star talent who's shown a willingness to take a back seat to better players.

-Oakley is my enforcer who also happens to be one of the greatest rebounders of all time and has experience playing with great centers and elite talent. And again, defense.

-Artest is one of the greatest defenders of his era, and maybe the only player available that has proven his meddle against the likes of Lebron, Durant, Melo, Kobe, etc. I don't know what other player available I'd rather have to throw at those guys.

Also impacts the game wiithout the ball, much like a Rodman. Can also shoot 3's, so he's dangerous anywhere on the court, with or without the ball.

- Cliff Robinson is another versatile player who can stretch the floor, rebound and swat shots at three different positions.

-Cassell, like everyone else above, regularly played on winning teams, at times as their best player and leader, and at other times coming off the bench as a spark.

-Dandridge is my X-factor, an elite shooter who was a clutch guy on title teams and again, was a stellar defender of multiple postions. He could start if needed, depending on the matchup.

-And then there's Kareem Abdul Jabbar. He's brought along his former head coach, Larry Costello, who he won a title with in Milwaukee.

Everyone on my team has played at least second fiddle to someone else at some point in their career, rather than needing their team built around them.

My team can score, defend, pass, shoot, rebound and run at an elite level. There's an exceeding amount of professionalism and work-ethic, with a little dose of attitude sprinkled in. It's about as well balanced, versatile and efficient as you can get. No egos or sluggish players. Everyone played for a long time and is battle tested, while also experienced in playing on star-studded teams. There's no reason they shouldn't be expected to win a title against other All-Stars.

PG Walt Frazier

Position: Guard ▪ Shoots: Right
Height: 6-4 ▪ Weight: 200 lbs.
13 Seasons



It's Clyde's ball," teammate and Knicks captain Willis Reed told Sport magazine at the height of the Frazier era in New York. "He just lets us play with it once in a while."




SG/SF John Havlicek

Position: Forward-Guard ▪ Shoots: Right
Height: 6-5 ▪ Weight: 203 lbs.
16 Seasons




"A star at both forward and guard, Havlicek's versatility made him perhaps the finest all-around player in the history of the NBA, according to Sports Illustrated."



SG/SF Bobby Dandridge

Position: Forward-Guard ▪ Shoots: Right
Height: 6-6 ▪ Weight: 195 lbs.
13 Seasons



"His sweet j ranks with Sam Jones, Dave Bing, Lou Hudson, Jerry West and Joe Dumars." -Ralph Wiley, ESPN



SF Bernard King

Position: Forward ▪ Shoots: Right
Height: 6-7 ▪ Weight: 205 lbs.
16 Seasons



"If we're judging guys simply by how great they were at their apex, then Bernard has to be considered one of the five unstoppable scorers of post-Russell era along with MJ, Kobe, Gervin and Shaq." -Bill Simmons, ESPN



PF Charles Oakley

Position: Forward-Center ▪ Shoots: Right
Height: 6-8 ▪ Weight: 225 lbs.
19 Seasons



PF Chris Bosh

Position: Forward-Center ▪ Shoots: Left
Height: 6-10 ▪ Weight: 228 lbs.
10 Seasons




C Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Position: Center ▪ Shoots: Right
Height: 7-2 ▪ Weight: 225 lbs.
20 Seasons



"Five guys on the court working together can achieve more than five talented individuals who come and go as individuals."

- Kareem Abdul Jabbar


PG Sam Cassell
Position: Guard ▪ Shoots: Right
Height: 6-3 ▪ Weight: 185 lbs.
15 Seasons



"… you gonna cuss me out, and I’m gonna cuss you out. If I do something wrong, you straighten me. If you do something wrong, I’m gonna straighten you. And everybody else gonna fall in line here.” - Sam Cassell



SF Metta World Peace

Position: Forward ▪ Shoots: Right
Height: 6-6 ▪ Weight: 244 lbs.

"I'm backwards. I put on my shoes first, then hat, then brush my teeth. Then I put on my shirt, eat breakfast, then my pants. No briefs. Weird?"

-Metta World Peace

14 Seasons




SF/PF/C Clifford Robinson

Position: Forward-Center ▪ Shoots: Right
Height: 6-10 ▪ Weight: 225 lbs.
18 Seasons

Points 19,591
Rebounds 6,306
Assists 3,094
3pt 1,253
Blocks 1,390
Steals 1,402

Team Philosophy: We tried to build a team not only around longevity and chemistry, but also around playing style. We feel as a team that we bring every facet to the table - halfcourt sets, fastbreak, shooting, passing, basketball IQ, team play, defense, etc.

Core players: Michael Jordan, Paul Pierce and Robert Parish.
Jordan at #1 was a no brainer. I mean, I could've taken Kareem or a big, but I just thought Jordan was the most complete not only as far as basketball tangibles, but mental intangibles as well.

After I took MJ I wanted him to have that Pippen type next to him, and after Scottie and Havlicek were taken, though Pierce was the best available to play that role and bring defense, passing and hustle to the table. Pierce brings this and more as a secondary scorer and is an even better perimeter shooter.

When I drafted Parish there were a few other big men left on the board, but I wanted to keep it as new school as possible, and I felt some of the remaining big men were somewhat overrated while Parish was always very underrated in my book. Parish is a 9x allstar who in his best year (1981) posted 19 and 10 with 2.6 blocks per and posting a 25+ PER, while being very good post scorer, and could also hit the turnaround or catch and shoot from 12-15 feet. To me the ultimate 3rd option scoring big man, that can hustle and defend.

Role Players:
Mark Price - The "John Stockton of the Eastern Conference". One of the best PGs of the early 90s NBA. Can push the tempo, feed the post, defend, and most importantly knock down the open 3. One of the best shooters in history. Career shortened by injuries, but still a 4x Allstar and still had an impressive 7 year stretch.

Elton Brand - Came in the league and posted 20/10/2 as a rookie and won ROY. Played on bad teams for the majority of his career, but had a nice 7-8 year run and peaking out at 26 and 10, posting a 26.5 PER. Very complete PF, can bang and block shots, and can also consistently knock down the 18 footer.

Key Reserves:
Terry Porter - Kindof in the same mold of a Chauncey Billups, before Chauncey. Not as methodical in the half court, but is a big PG that can defend and knock down the spot up 3s. Started at PG on those early 90s Blazers who made 2 Finals, while having gone through some battles in the early 90s playoffs against some of the best PGs of that era. Had a nice 6-7 year career and can take over for Price when he goes down.

Horace Grant - One of the best role playing PFs of his era and imo underrated. Very consistent 7-8 year stretch, and gives me a little versatility being less of a guy who needs the ball in his hands, while still giving me a guy who can defend the post and rebound very well and set picks for my scorers.


Coach: Hubie Brown - Unfortunately Hubie was never able to coach any championship caliber teams, but there's no denying Hubie as not only one of the greatest coaches ever, but one of the best basketball minds, even at this stage of his life. One of only a couple to be 2x COY.

Starting Lineup

PG- John Stockton

1987-88 NBA All-NBA (2nd)
1988-89 NBA All-Defensive (2nd)
1988-89 NBA All-NBA (2nd)
1989-90 NBA All-NBA (2nd)
1990-91 NBA All-Defensive (2nd)
1990-91 NBA All-NBA (3rd)
1991-92 NBA All-Defensive (2nd)
1991-92 NBA All-NBA (2nd)
1992-93 NBA All-NBA (2nd)
1993-94 NBA All-NBA (1st)
1994-95 NBA All-Defensive (2nd)
1994-95 NBA All-NBA (1st)
1995-96 NBA All-NBA (2nd)
1996-97 NBA All-Defensive (2nd)
1996-97 NBA All-NBA (3rd)
1998-99 NBA All-NBA (3rd)
10x All- Star
Career Games Played: 1504 (3)
Career Games Missed: 22

SG- Joe Dumars

1985-86 NBA All-Rookie (1st)
1988-89 NBA All-Defensive (1st)
1989-90 NBA All-Defensive (1st)
1989-90 NBA All-NBA (3rd)
1990-91 NBA All-Defensive (2nd)
1990-91 NBA All-NBA (3rd)
1991-92 NBA All-Defensive (1st)
1992-93 NBA All-Defensive (1st)
1992-93 NBA All-NBA (2nd)
6x All-Star
2x Champion
1x Finals MVP

SF- James Worthy

1982-83 NBA All-Rookie (1st)
1989-90 NBA All-NBA (3rd)
1990-91 NBA All-NBA (3rd)
7x All-Star
3x Champion
1x Finals MVP

PF- Jerry Lucas

1963-64 NBA All-NBA (2nd)
1963-64 NBA All-Rookie (1st)
1964-65 NBA All-NBA (1st)
1965-66 NBA All-NBA (1st)
1966-67 NBA All-NBA (2nd)
1967-68 NBA All-NBA (1st)
7x All-Star
Two 20/20 Seasons

C- David Robinson

1989-90 NBA All-NBA (3rd)
1989-90 NBA All-Rookie (1st)
1990-91 NBA All-Defensive (1st)
1990-91 NBA All-NBA (1st)
1991-92 NBA All-Defensive (1st)
1991-92 NBA All-NBA (1st)
1992-93 NBA All-Defensive (2nd)
1992-93 NBA All-NBA (3rd)
1993-94 NBA All-Defensive (2nd)
1993-94 NBA All-NBA (2nd)
1994-95 NBA All-Defensive (1st)
1994-95 NBA All-NBA (1st)
1995-96 NBA All-Defensive (1st)
1995-96 NBA All-NBA (1st)
1997-98 NBA All-Defensive (2nd)
1997-98 NBA All-NBA (2nd)
1999-00 NBA All-NBA (3rd)
2000-01 NBA All-NBA (3rd)
1989-90 Rookie of the Year
1x Defensive Player of the Year
1x MVP
10x All-Star
2x Champion

Coach: Pat Riley

1982 NBA Champion
1985 NBA Champion
1987 NBA Champion
1988 NBA Champion
2006 NBA Champion
1990 NBA Coach Of The Year
1993 NBA Coach Of The Year
1997 NBA Coach Of The Year
Top 10 Coach in NBA History

Discussion Pts:

Chemistry
As soon as we saw we were picking last we knew that our strategy would be straight forward. We needed to build the team with the most longevity and chemistry to have any shot. Going in to our first two selections we wanted to cover two things, we wanted a player who could anchor our defense (David Robinson) and a player that we could run our offense thru (John Stockton). From then on out we knew the exact type of players around that we needed a shooter and defender at the two guard one of the best defenders ever( Joe Dumars), we need a slasher scorer and finisher that could provide offense on the break and in the half court(James Worthy), and we need a stretch 4 who could shoot efficiently from outside and rebound (Jerry Lucas). Filling out the bench was the same we got a excellent value in Marion who was one of the best fast break players ever (which we are gonna do with Stockton) and a great defender. Jerry Stackhouse a lights out shooter and perimeter scorer off bench. Dan Roundsfield a defensive big that could backup the Admiral. Terry Cummings who was a great scorer and player on those underrated bucks teams of late 80s. Russell Westbrook who can backup Stockton and create some offense when Stockton is out. And last but certainly not least we needed a coach that could use a great PG and a defensive and offensive center with complimentary pieces to win so we chose the great Pat Riley the man at the helm of the great showtime Lakers.

Offense:
As stated before the offense we want to emulate is the great one of the Showtime lakers, fast paced and deadly. That begins and ends with one player John Stockton the greatest PG to ever play. No one in NBA history made better decisions with the ball in his hands. He could do miraculous things with the ball he could make pinpoint passes and he could score at will when he wanted too. He is the glue, the guy with arguably the best intangibles he can get along with any teammate. A quote from his hall of fame speech " I do know I played 30 years competitively 3 at St. Aloysius, 4 at Gonzaga prep, 4 at Gonzaga university and 19 with the Utah Jazz and all those years, not once, never was I the best player on my team." He never put himself above the team. I am 100% comfortable leaving him the reins because not only of those reasons above but also because he was the ultimate iron man missing only 22 game in 19 year career 18 coming in one season with a broken leg. Along with John we were able to get a lot of offensively gifted players. David Robinson who had a great post and faceup game if worst comes to worst we can dump it into him in the post and we know we are gonna get a decent shot. Big Game James Worthy will be our finisher with him on the other block hitting mid range jumpers posting up and blowing by people with the fastest first step in NBA history will be deadly, not to mention when we get running Stockton will always have a reliable finisher to receive the sensational passes. Joe Dumars will be our spot up shooter when penetration occurs and can do a little scoring in his own regard and Jerry Lucas to hit open 3s off pick and pops and penetration, also he brings a incredible knack for getting offensive rebounds. Our bench fills out just like the starting lineup where we have players that can hit open shots on the break and in transition as well as players who can penetrate.

Defense:
You don't win in the NBA unless you can play defense and rebound. Like I stated above when we were making our first pick we picked the Admiral to be our defensive anchor and to control the paint. Averaging 3 blks for his career is just a start, he earned defensive player of the year in 1992 and made 8 all defensive teams (4 first teams, 4 second teams) in the toughest big man era in NBA history. Locking down the paint is one thing but the first line of defense will always be the perimeter, if you can successfully stop penetration or at least make it hard it is a big step to a great defense and we believe we have that. It starts with Joe Dumars who some people thought might have been a reach in the 4th round but i saw it as an essential step. Dumars might have been the best perimeter defender there has ever been. He was a critical part of the Jordan Rules developed by the Pistons to shut down the great Michael Jordan and Michael even said he was the toughest defender he ever went against. I am confident if he can shut down the great Jordan he can guard anyone including PGs and SGs. He won 5 total defensive teams (4 firsts 1 second). With the Dumars selection it takes a lot of pressure off of the PG Stockton who wasn't known as a great defender. Stockton in his own right got every bit of defensive talent out of himself being tough and never backing down. He was one of the best ever reading passing lanes racking up the most steals in NBA history. He made 5 second team defensive teams. Worthy was a very underrated defender never getting proper credit but was strong in his own way he definitely has the athletism and size to stay with the scoring SFs. Last but certainly not least is Jerry Lucas who completes the defensive strategy we want to emulate, as our great coach said Rebounds win Rings. He is currently 16 on the all time rebounding list and that was his identity attacking the glass and had quite a knack for rebounding(He had 2 20 RPG seasons and 2 19RPG seasons). This allows David Robinson to take more risks on defense and blocking shots while taking the rebounding pressure off him. Off the bench we also have more defense and rebounding. This starts with Shawn Marion who was very athletic and a very strong defender and could grab rebounds from SF position. Dan Roundsfield (5 defensive teams 3 firsts 2 seconds) and Terry Cummings are also capable defenders and rebounders.

Longevity:
John Stockton- 11 peak years 19 solid years 19 total
Joe Dumars - 7 peak years 12 solid years 14 total
James Worthy- 9 peak years 11 solid years 12 total
Jerry Lucas- 9 peak years 11 solid years 12 total
David Robinson- 10 peak years 13 solid years 14 total
Bench:
Shawn Marion- 7 peak years 10 solid years
Terry Cummings- 8 peak years 10 solid years 19 total years
Jerry Stackhouse -7 peak years 12 solid years 19 total years
Dan Roundfield- 7 peak years 9 solid years 11 total years
Russell Westbrook- 3 peak years 5 solid years 5 total years

Roster:
PG Mark Jackson (28)/ Derrick Rose (20)
SG Mitch Richmond (34)/ Eddie Jones (14)
SF Kevin Durant (38)/ Reggie Lewis (10)
PF Shawn Kemp (38)/ Derrick Coleman (10)
Cc Dikembe Mutombo (38)/ Brad Daugherty (10)


"The Visionary, The Overseer" Head Coach Glenn "Doc" Rivers
Responsibilities: To use his natural born leadership ability to form, mold, communicate, relate to, and teach the players how to trust, how to execute, how to focus, how to build, how to believe, how to compete, and ultimately how to win an NBA Championship. Rivers communication skills are second to none and having been a former player he understands what it takes for guys and players to maintain an uninterrupted focus on competing at a high level.


"The Scorer, The Franchise" 6'10" SF Kevin Durant

Responsibilities: To shoulder the weight of being the main offensive option whether on the fastbreak or halfcourt sets, the 6'10" Durant is the current pre-iminent nightmare perimeter matchup of the entire NBA due to his height, length, and shooting ability and we feel this would hold true regardless of era, regardless of defender. He is the player this team is molded around and will lead this franchise for years to come.


"The Tower of Defense" 7'2" C Dikembe Mutombo

Responsibilities: Dikembe Mutombo's sole purpose now and throughout his entire NBA career has been to play the Two Pillars of Defense, defense and rebounding, a role which he has relished in and in my opinion may also be the single most intimidating defensive presence in all of NBA history. He will be the last line of defense where he will protect the rim, the paint, and his teammates.


"The Finisher" 6'10" PF Shawn Kemp

Spoiler:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fGnwvkumTQ[/youtube]

Responsibilities: The Reign Man Shawn Kemp is the ultimate weakside offensive and defensive player as he was able to cut back door or down the lane for some of the most ferocious finishes in NBA history. He was a lob catching machine with the ability to get to the basket and finish plays off of put backs, off the dribble, and also developed a very reliable 15 foot shot. He had the length and frame to body offensive players, the speed to guard perimeter wing players, the quick hands to get steals or tips, and the hops to block shots into the 3rd row with ease.


"The Bailout, The Other Star" 6'5" SG Mitch Richmond

Spoiler:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuXs8KMFJ58[/youtube]

Responsibilities: When you need a bucket when the franchise player is getting double and triple teamed, who ya gonna call? Mitch Richmond. The guy scored buckets and scored them at an unreal rate and was the clear cut 2nd best SG in a decade dominated by the other #23, Michael Jordan and Mitch Richmond garnered the respect of his peers by being an immovable, steady force on the offensive end, "The Rock" as his game was as solid as one and he's the perfect compliment and teammate to hit those big bailout buckets when things get tight during the course of a game.


"The Facilitator, The Extension, The Floor General" 6'3" PG Mark Jackson

Responsibilities: Mark Jackson is the perfect extension of Head Coach Doc Rivers as he will be able to run the Bucks offense down to a science as he was always a pass first PG who knew when to not only get the Superstar/ Franchise player the ball in prime and pertinent situations, but he also knew exactly when to get the secondary, third, and of course the bigs who work hard on the other end of the floor the rock to keep them happy. He also knew when to shoulder the offensive load by taking the open shot or the post up opportunities when they came.

Sixth Man

"The Explosion, The Attacker, The Future" 6'3" PG Derrick Rose

Spoiler:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrZ8wiTsBrA[/youtube]

Responsibilities: To enter the game and to attack and create on the offensive end like no other had done prior to his entrance into the NBA. With the speed to get by any defender, the leaping ability to get his shot off, and the aggressive explosiveness to attack and finish at the rim, PG Derrick Rose has the primary objective of shouldering the offensive load as the leader of the bench team while also being able to form an incredibly difficult matchup for teams athletically when he unites oncourt with Kevin Durant.

The Offense: We will run Standard Offense which will feature Kevin Durant on the wings in Pick situations with Dikembe Mutombo where he will be able to use his ultimate scoring advantage against defenders who switch on him by either attacking slower footed bigs or smaller wing players off the dribble or pulling up over them. During this set we will have Shawn Kemp crashing from the weakside. We will run clear out isolation plays on the opposite wing for Mitch Richmond where he was able to use his craftiness and skill as a scorer to get points by either pulling up or posting up smaller to sometimes bigger defenders. Kemp will also be used as the weakside offensive board crasher. We will run Pick n Roll and Pick n Pop plays between Mark Jackson and Shawn Kemp with the occasional clear out iso for Shawn or PG postup for Mark Jackson depending on matchup during these plays (except postup) we will have Mutombo flash to the lane for easy opportunities near the hoop with an occassional post opportunity for Deke.
We will run an uptempo fastbreaking isolation offense for Derrick Rose once he enters the game where we will bring in shooter defender Eddie Jones to spot up for corner 3 balls while going with a lineup of Rose Jones Durant Kemp Mutombo.

The Defense: With more than capable defenders on the perimeter in Mark Jackson, Mitch Richmond, and Kevin Durant, it'll allow Shawn Kemp to sag off his man (depending on matchup) where he'll be able to double and help force turnovers (mainly w Durant) as we feel their length and quickness will give them a clear cut advantage against the more unathletic and less capable ballhandlers from some of the earlier eras where we hope to contain them offensively out on the perimeter, if they do manage to make it past our defenders (Rose Eddie Jones and Reggie Lewis as well who were/ are all quick, wiry, rangy, or solidly built defenders) offensive players will then have to contend with our last line of defense, 4x Defensive Player of The Year 7'2" Mt. Mutombo in the paint while having a high flying shot blocking Shawn Kemp coming from the weakside to help.

Our goal is to use our length as our advantage, our speed to get out on the fastbreak, and our mental toughness from the Head Coach and some of our players to be able to compete with the stellar teams that were put together in this competition and though I acknowledge we may not be the best team talent or rather name-wise, we are a very highly talented team whose main core pieces fit very well together and will not clash on the court with overlapping skillsets.

76ers...

Overview:

My goal was to put together a group of unselfish players who enjoy playing defense, and are versatile offensively. I believe I succeeded in bringing together a nice blend of talent that compliments one another. Getting the perfect coach for this plan was also a success.


Starters:

Chris Paul: One of the most efficient, and skilled point guards in NBA history. I'm going to provide just a couple of things backing that statement up. Especially when criticized for taking him in the 2nd rd. He has been a superstar since the beginning of his NBA career. This link is showing Paul's superior #'s to all the legendary point guards after their first 7 game series... http://www.nba.com/playoffs2008/header_ ... reats.html

Instead of posting more #'s..This next quote is from ESPN's DJ Foster in 2011...

Paul truly has a chance to retire as the best point guard to ever play. Take a look at Paul's numbers compared to those of Magic Johnson, John Stockton and Isiah Thomas across their first five years in the league.

At this point in their careers, Paul is better than Magic, Stockton and Isiah in Player Efficiency Rating, offensive rating, win-shares, 3-point shooting, free throw shooting, turnovers and turnover rate. He also ranks second in points per 36 minutes, assist rate, total rebounding percentage and steals per 36 minutes.

If you put nostalgia aside and just looked at their stats, you could easily make the argument for Paul as the best of the bunch. He's a superior long-range shooter and takes care of the ball better than Magic did, he's a better rebounder and scorer than Stockton, and he's a better distributor than Isiah. Chris Paul, to this point in his career, has been better than three of the best point guards to ever play.

With that said, he is the perfect pg to have for the team I constructed. His commitment to defense (3x all defensive 1st team, 2x all defensive 2nd team) along with his crafty wizardry running the offense, and killer instinct make him the perfect floor general. He's the ideal extension for any coach on the floor...especially Red.


Manu Ginobili: This is another crafty wizard type player who does it all, and has that killer instinct to boot. He played a huge part (dropped 30pts) in the defeat of Team USA in 2004 (which contained players such as Iverson & Duncan) and went on to win a Gold medal. He also brings defense, intensity, hustle, and an unselfish offensive game. He is even capable of running the offense himself. Manu (like Cp3) is the definition of a team player.


Dan Majerle: Thunder Dan was a member of Dream Team II for a good reason. He has a great all around game. He's a team player who steps up on defense (2 time All Nba Defensive 2nd team) and is deadly from long range...like really long range...he consistently shot and made shots from 5 ft beyond the arc. Not only was Majerle good at delivering when set up by his teammates, but he was just as good setting up his teammates.


Karl Malone: Dream Team player. Is considered the best pf of all time...until Duncan came along. However, Karl and many others believe Duncan is really a center forced to play the 4 because of DRob. Malone played in a Flex offense, and he saw as everyone knows, plenty of the pick and roll game with Stockton. This could surely be duplicated at times with Cp3, and be just as effective. He is a beast physically, and uses that on the defensive end (where he dominates just as much as he does on offense)...with several All Defensive 1st team selections.


Willis Reed: A defensive beast who was the anchor for the Knicks during their championships seasons. We all know his famous moment limping out of the locker room for Game 7 of the NBA Finals against Chamberlin and Jerry West to win the title. He was one tough s.o.b. This guy single handedly beat up the entire Laker bench by himself too..literally. It's been said that Kareem feared playing against him because he was afraid he'd be hit any moment. Despite his toughness, he had nice skills on the offensive end. He had a sweet jump shot, was quick, and lite on his feet which allowed him to run the floor and get around defenders too. Very effective at setting picks for the guards as well with his big body.


Offense:


This team would run a fundamental free flowing offense based on ball movement, and team play. It also consists of the occasional fast breaks created by our top notch defense. Auerbach really only ran about 7 plays at the most, and they were basic. The emphasis is on the word team. Everyone is considered equal, and treated as such. Whether it's Cp3 and Malone dominating on basic pick and rolls, or Majerle hitting clutch 3's, or Reed setting screens for Rip's curls, every player plays their part, and is an integral part of the whole engine.

The offense doesn't miss a beat with the amount of creators this squad has to ensure ball movement. Kenny Anderson has the skills, play making ability, and understanding of his teammates preferences to be able to take over for Cp3. Even Manu has the ability run the point efficiently if Hamilton(6th man) comes in.

The frontcourt is tough both on the starting unit, and second unit. Karl, and Willis would be a problem for any team in the post, as well as mid range. The passing ability of Malone with the mid range game of Reed would make it impossible to double. Same could be said about Jermaine and Gasol. With Marc's range, he can create space for O'Neal to go to work in the post, and vice versa. Marc is an excellent passer which makes it even more of a perfect marriage.

In the clutch, there are so many options. Cp3 can take over alone, as can Manu, and Malone. Majerle, Starks, Rip and Manu have the ability to be deadly from outside if needed. Whoever is open is perfectly capable of taking the shot or creating one...the good thing about having versatile two-way players. Especially players who move so well without the ball...ie: Manu, Rip, Majerle.


Defense:


Again, every player I draft is a two-way player. No one dimensional guys meaning everyone on this squad can handle their own. They're all physically, and mentally tough. Therefore man to man defense is the plan. Help defense on picks, and screens of course is always something to be considered, and this team has the personnel to take care of that. This is a group of guys who has plenty of first and second all defensive team honors, as well as DPOY's, shot blockers, and league leaders in steals. No doubt the opposing players feel the pressure. The dirty defense of Malone and Reed certainly come in handy here as well.


Closing:

I touched on the chemistry when explaining the "team" concept. This is Red's forte. He is best known for his ability to get his players to believe in this...after all, that was the Celtic mystique. ...

Auerbach said that the Celtics represent a philosophy that in its simplest form maintains that victory belongs to the team. "Individual honors are nice, but no Celtic has ever gone out of his way to achieve them," he said. "We have never had the league's top scorer. In fact, we won seven league championships without placing even one among the league's top 10 scorers. Our pride was never rooted in statistics."

The intangibles ...this is clear when looking at guys like Cp3, Manu, Malone, Reed etc...these guys do the little things it takes to win. Whether it's playing injured on one leg in game 7 (Willis) or carrying your team all alone to within just one game of the WCF against a dynasty (Cp3 vs Spurs 08') hitting clutch shots after clutch shots (Majerle) or sacrificing your body left and right for a title (Manu) this team has it covered.

Lastly is longevity....All these guys have had over 8 years of professional ball. Not sure how long we expect them to play together, but that's plenty. Those who haven't been in the NBA for all that time...(Gasol, 4 years in Spain, 5 years in NBA) have been playing a vital role in winning Gold medals overseas.

First of english is not my mother language so there might be some typos are weird sentences.

Starters


PG: Chauncey Billups
1x ALL-NBA 2nd
2x ALL-NBA 3rd
2x All-Defense 2nd
Finals MVP 1987
NBA CHampion
5x All-STar


SG: Dwyane Wade
NBA Champion (2006)
7x NBA All-Star
2x All-NBA First Team
3 All-NBA Second Team
1x All-NBA Third Team
3x All-NBA Defensive Second Team
2010 All-Star Game MVP
2006 NBA Finals MVP


SF: Danny Granger
1xNba allstar



PF: Kevin Garnett
# NBA Champion (2009)
# NBA MVP (2004)
# 4x All-NBA First Team Selection (2000,2003-2004, 2008)
# 3x All-NBA Second Team Selection (2001-2002, 2005)
# 2x All-NBA Third Team Selection (1999, 2007)
# NBA Defensive Player of the Year (2008)
# 9x NBA All-Defensive First Team Selection (2000-2005, 2008-2009, 2011)
# 2x NBA All-Defensive Second Team Selection (2006-2007)
# 14x All-Star
# NBA All-Star Game MVP (2004)


C: Artis Gilmore
ABA MVP 1972
ABA Champion 1975
ABA Playoff MVP 1975
5x All-ABA 1st Team
4x ABA All-Defense 1st Team
1x NBA All-Defense 2nd Team
ABA All-Star Game MVP 1974
5xABA All-Star
6xNBA All-Star
ABA Rookie of the Year 1972
Hall of Fame 2011

Bench

6th man George Gervin
5x All-NBA 1st team
2x All-NBA 2nd team
2x All-ABA 2nd Team
12x All-Star (3 ABA, 9 NBA)
All-Star MVP (1980)
Hall of Fame (1996)

Andrei Kirilenko
NBA All-Star (2004)
All-Defensive First Team (2006)
2× All-Defensive Second Team (2004–2005)
NBA blocks leader (2005)
NBA All-Rookie First Team (2002)
EuroBasket MVP (2007)
2× FIBA Europe Player of the Year (2007, 2012)
Euroscar (2012)
All-Europeans Player of the Year (2012)
Euroleague MVP (2012)
All-Euroleague First Team (2012)
Euroleague Defensive Player of the Year (2012)
Russian League MVP (2000)
VTB United League MVP (2012)
VTB United League Final Four MVP (2012)

Jack Sikma
NBA champion (1979)
7× NBA All-Star (1979–1985)
NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1982)
NBA All-Rookie First Team (1978)

Hersey Hawkins
Career highlights and awards
NBA All-Star (1990)
NBA All-Rookie First Team (1989)
NBA Sportsmanship Award (1999)

David West
2× NBA All-Star (2008–2009)
AP National Player of the Year (2003)
Oscar Robertson Trophy winner (2003)

Defense

The team is really big and versatile but lets start with the players.

Kevin Garnett might be top 5 defensive player ever, excellente pick and roll defender. Really tall but can guard players from SF to Centers effectively. He was the defensive Anchor on Boston Celtics one of the best defensive teams ever and with out him, they really fall apart. Here is some qoute from poster Drza which shows his impact:
. I spent some time looking through 82games.com's 5-man units and this is what it told me about how the Rondo/Allen/Pierce units have played with every combination of big man the Celtics have had:

Garnett and Perkins: 112.4 points/100 possessions, 97.3 points allowed/100 poss
Garnett w/o Perkins: 111.9 points/100 possessions, 99.3 points allowed/100 poss
Perkins w/o Garnett: 109.5 points/100 possessions, 112.1 points allowed/100 poss

Now, let me be clear. Since Garnett arrived in 2007, the Celtics' main starting group (Rondo, Ray Allen, Pierce, and Perkins) in a Tom Thibideaux defense have given up 112.1 points/100 possessions when any other player besides Garnett was the 5th player on the floor with them. Just for clarity, the worst defense in the NBA this year gave up 112.7 points/100 possessions. And again, we're talking huge sample sizes here, from well over 200 games that Garnett has played in and 60 that he hasn't over the past 4 years. Conversely, with Garnett in the the line-up (with or without Perkins) the starting unit has given up 13 - 15 fewer points per 100 possessions.

Thats shows humongus impact on the defensive end, without him they are the worst defensive team in the league. Thats Bill Russellesque. He is like Tim Duncan in a sense that both of them should have way more defensive player of the year awards.

Then There is the Center Artis Gilmore. He will be the rim protector, He‘s been known by many to be the strongest player they ever played against, he was 4 time Aba defensive player of the year (1973-1976 ) and nba all defensive second team 1978

Dwyane Wade is an elite defender aswell, has been 3 times all defensive second team ( 2005, 2009-2010) He finished third in the defensive player of the year only behind Dwight and Lebron James. He is one of the best shotblocking guards of alltime. Can guard both pointguards and shooting guards and some SFs
Chauncey billups has been two times on nba defensive second team (2005 – 2006 ) And was a part of great detroit Pistons defense.

Andrei Kirilenko. Has been All defensive first team 2006 and two times all defensive second team (2004 -2005) and let the league in blocks in 2005 and he is a shootforward, thats impressive considering that he is blocking more than all the centers. He can guard plenty of positions from shooting guard to power forwards.

Jack Sikma has been nba all defensive second team in 1982. So he is solid defender. David west is solid defender and big part of great indiana pacers defense.
Hersey hawkins is one of best stealers with about 1,65 steals per game and is really quick and can guard pointguards.
Danny granger is solid defender but I guess my only nothing special defender is George Gervin but even he did become the first guard in nba to block 100 blocks over one season.

Defensive rebounding: we probably have the best defensive rebounding team in the league. I will post defensive rebounding % because if I use just rebounds then some guys back in the day avereged a lot more rebounds due to higher pace.

Kevin Garnett is at 10 place alltime with 25,73 dr% artis at 14 place at 24,93 and sikma at the 15 place with 24,79. All of them are better defensive rebounders like some alltime greats, like ewing, hakeem, shaq, David robinson and other great players. 4 guys ahead of my guys are on no teams so in our league my guys are like in the 6th 10th and 11th place. So If someone thought they could bully my team in the paint. Think again it aint happening.
Defense overall. It is extremely veratile with few players who can guard many positions like KG, Andrei kirilenko and Dwyane Wade. Players who are excellente at their position. Artis can take on the big centers like Shaq and Wilt. Andrei kirilenko against great shootforwards like lebron, carmello, Magic and durant. Dwyane wade against shooting guards like jordan and Kobe. Hersey hawkins at quick pointguards.

I am not saying they will shut down any player but I have capable defenders at all positions and will make it really difficult to score on my team.

We have great defenders on the bench like Kirilenko, Jack Sikma, David West and Hersey Hawkins. That makes sure that our team at alltime will have excellent defense and my startes don‘t have to think to much about foultrouble because our bench players will just step in.
Then we have an great defensive coach in Rick Carlisle who coached detroit pistons, indiana pacers and Dallas mavericks. With Dallas he did great with the zone defense.


offense

I will take it in step by step

I think in the modern game of basketball you really need to have great spacing for your team to become good offensively othervise teams can just pack the paint and play zone defense. Most of my players are great shooters. My Bigs: Kevin Garnett, Jack Sikma and David west are all great midrange shooters. My guards and shootforwards: Solid shooters in Dwyane Wade, Gervin and Andrei but superp shooters in Billups, Hersey Hawkins and Danny granger. They are excellent 3 point shooters. Hawkins with . 3943% , Billups with .3881% and Granger with .3836 for their careers.

There are no bad scorers in my team. Every single one of them has high ts%. Billups .5808; Hawkins .5852 ; Kirilenko .5728; Wade .5669; Gervin .5638; KG .5485 ; Dwest .5432; J Sikma .5397; Granger .563 and then the alltime leader in TS% volume scorer Artis Gilmore at .6227.

This means there are no inefficient chuckers in my team. Everyone takes qouality shot.

My team has lots of great passers like Billups, Wade, Kevin Garnett and Andrei Kirilenko.

Lets now show you guys How my offense works. Lots of ball movement and teamplay. There wont be just one player domintating the ball the whole time. So most of my guys will be great contributers but my main scorers are going to be Dwyane Wade, George Gervin and Artis Gilmore. Wade is probably going to be the main ball handler and to maxemise his talents he needs great shooters around him. Thats why billups and Granger will be in the starting lineup with him to spread the floor for him. He is going to be in the role of a scoring pointguard.

KG is an excellent Screener( so good screens that people are complaining about illegal screens ), Has good midrange shoot, one of the best big man passers ever and will work perfectly with wade in pick and roll situations and then KG can pass the ball to the 3pt shooters or a cutting wade or gervin, or dump the ball to the other member of the twin tower in Artis Gilmore who will most likely score if he is close to the basket or just score by himself.
George Gervin is one of the best scorers of alltime and will be the sixth man of this team.

Intangibles and Chemistry

My team has great teammates. And it can be hard to predict how great players will play with other stars but we know about some situations.

KG could go from being the only superstar in Minny and main scorer and go to the Boston Celtics with other stars and there was no problem even though it meant lesser role on the offensive side. Billups played with Piston team filled with stars and did well, And he was excellent as an second option in Denver. Dwyane Wade has been willing to let Lebron be the main guy and step back. Same With Danny Granger who said recently that the indiana pacers are now Paul George team. Kirilenko is willing to play for the Brooklyn nets for small amount of money and probably be an backup player to either pierce or KG. So most of my guys are more than willing to take lesser roles and just be a part of a winning team. Artis Gilmore was called the Gentle Giant, he is just a good guy.
None of my players are headcases or primadonnas. I tried to avoid drafting players with drug problems or locker room cancers.

KG,Billups and Dwyane Wade are great leaders and unselfish and their teammates love playing with them.
Then lets talk about the little things that my players do that does result in wins for the team.

KG plays with Intensity and gets his teammates to play with intensity, is like a coach on the floor and gets every teammate to play better defense. Has one of the best at setting screens and then he gets under the skin of other players like Carmello Anthony (honey nut incident) and Lamar Odom. Dwyane Wade and Billups get to the line at will ( might in some case be floping but it gets the other teams in foul trouble ).

Most of my guys have high BBIq and are tough guys that wont be intimidated by other teams or players.
Here are some advanced stats + - how much players contribute to offense and defense

You can see in plenty of years Kevin Garnett leads those categories. Andrei, Billups and Wade are really high in plenty of them. Here is the link

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmPhwdboN7NzdFg5cWxlWVlCN3ZLX3JUbjdCZXdiTEE#gid=9

Longevity

Most of my players have excellent longevity. The shortest ones Are Dwyane Wade, Danny Granger and David West which are still playing and not close to be done as players. The others have played a lot longer.

summary
Rick Carlisle my coach has been excellent defensive coach. the results are one of the best defenses in Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers and a really solid defense with Dallas Mavericks ( great zone defense ). He won the title with the Dallas as huge underdog in every series. Made great adjustment each time and just came through. Rick Carlisle will make sure my team will have excellent defense and great offense.
Most of my players have proven they want to win and are willing to take lesser roles in order to have greater chances at winning. There are no headcases, primadonnas or drug addicts in my team. So the Chemistry should be excellent. the team is really versatile. On the offensive side we have superb spacing, great slashers in D Wade and Gervin, All around players in KG and AK 47 and highest tS% player of alltime in Artis Gilmore. non of my players are chuckers and all of them have really high ts% so no one takes stupid shots. on the defensive side we are also versatile. KG, Ak, Wade can Guard few positions and then we have great rim protector in artis Gilmore and the rest are solid defenders.