Build your best team under realistic parameters

[Owly]

can't believe my guy Barea has over 100 starts. Was for sure he was going to be my sneaky tier E

50 games is a pretty brutal low bar - not wrongly, it should be hard to find a good "realistic" 10th and 11th man.

I was like ... well Fred Hoiberg had a nice final year before the heart condition stopped his career, he was supposed to be a hustler, I think his teams trended better with him on the court ... I don't think he was often a starter ... 61 starts. "Hot Plate" Williams had a nice career start before the injuries and the weight ... 87 starts (now he's not minutes viable anyhow ... same applies for Tarpley ... 57 starts, too many minutes). Maybe Larry Sanders ... no 113 starts (he does get under 20mpg). Scott Burrell 122 (he does qualify on the minutes side).

And as a couple of the above get to, even if you sneak below the starts barrier in a shorter career (Šarūnas Marčiulionis, 30 starts) 20 mpg catches you.

[SilentA]

Not 100% happy with what I came up with but just for fun:

A: Kobe Bryant, Larry Bird
B: Tyson Chandler
C: Dorian Finney-Smith, Derrick White (Derek Fisher if not eligible)
D: Alex Caruso, Cam Johnson, Robert Horry, Nemanja Bjelica, John Salley
E: Vasilije Micic, Gary Payton II, Steve Kerr

Starting 5 concept:
- Play through 09-10 "believed in his teammates" champion Kobe and Bird at the 4. Of course there's also some P&R potential on this lineup and it would be interesting to see Bird doing some modern-day post playmaking.
- White (or Fisher) and DFS are obvious defensive 3/D oriented, with a defensive anchor + rim runner Tyson Chandler.
- I was considering taking Dwyane Wade (I like defensively more than Kobe and better rim finisher) + a shooting B-tier big (Laimbeer, Lopez) to make up for Wade's worse shooting instead of Kobe + Chandler, but decided on this. Tough call though.

Bench (D):
- Alex Caruso will be getting solid backcourt minutes for obvious reasons as long as there's another ball handler on the court (at the 1 or 2).
- Cam Johnson and Robert Horry part of the rotation for some switchable defending and some scoring (Cam more shooting, Horry more size, whatever is needed).
- For a big, 2022 Warriors playoff rotation Bjelica if we want more shooting and Pistons John Salley if we want an incredibly underrated backup rim protector.

Bench (E):
- Micic is kind of cheating with just under 20mpg and one season having less than 50 games started, but he does qualify as this in the NBA. Looks like an experienced and smart player. I am gambling on the Euroleague MVP to put it together and sneak in a few minutes as a primary ball handler and initiator when Kobe is on the bench.
- GPII probably won't get many minutes but he's there.
- Steve Kerr if you need a shot (only started in 30 games, surprisingly).

[rebirthoftheM]

Tier A:
David Robinson
Jerry West

Tier B:
Baron Davis

Tier C:
Lamar Odom
Shane Battier

Tier D:
Robert Horry
Alex Caruso
Nate McMillan
JaVale McGee

Tier E:
Steve Kerr
Chris Boucher
Chris Andersen

PG: Davis/McMillan
SG: West/Caruso/Kerr
SF: Battier/Boucher
PF: Odom/Horry/Andersen
C: Robinson/McGee

My starting 5 is perfectly balanced with no egoes fit for team meshing. Have spacing, slashing, off-ball play, defense and versality on both sides.

D-Rob struggled at scoring as a #1 in the PS but here he'd have a supporting cast elite enough to take defensive pressure away from him. His defense was of course elite. He'd thrive on both sides with this cast.

West gives me elite shooting, off-ball play, playmaking and defense. Can switch 1-2 when needed. No ego team-first player who rose in the PS & clutch.

As reliable RAPM data shows, Davis was an underrated high impact player who would work well within this cast. I particularly rate the pressure his athleticism, slashing and playmaking had on teams.

Odom as a role player is absolutely perfect on both sides as his 08-11 Laker run showed.

Battier ideal 3 & D player for this cast. Another team-first player not driven by ego.

Bench is solid enough given parameters. Outside of garbage time, I'd have 2 of West/Davis/D-Rob on the court for offense.

[Saints14]

Tier A:
- Jokic
- Curry

These players might not be outside the top 10 at the end of the day but this is my favorite hypothetical star pairing of all time so I wanted to build around them for this exercise. Pretty much guaranteed an ATG offense regardless of who else is on this team


Tier B:
- Ron Artest

One of the best two-way players in his prime with one ASG to his resume, Artest brings elite defense and tertiary scoring to the Jokic/Curry core


Tier C:
- Danny Green
- Lamar Odom

Two of the best role players for championship teams of all time, Green as a 3&D wing that will feast on open 3s from Jokic passes and the gravity his team creates, and Odom as a Swiss army knife forward who brings more defense and can play backup C when Jokic sits.


Tier D:
- Robert Horry
- Joe Ingles
- Brent Barry
- Patty Mills

Bringing elite shooting off my bench. Horry is one of the best values in this exercise, as having played for several title teams he fits in the bench criteria but is one of the best 3&D players of all time. Ingles will thrive playing off of Curry and Jokic and can knock down open 3s, Barry is a pure shooter and Mills is a championship level, heady backup PG who can also shoot.


Tier E:
- Jordan Farmar
- Georges Niang
- Mike Muscala

Farmar is an emergency PG with championship experience, Muscala is an emergency big with some skill and decent advanced numbers. Niang is a solid role playing wing who could qualify off of tier E but at age 30 with 29 starts he felt like a safe inclusion.