cj1051: Wilt Chamberlain, Kevin Durant, Pau Gasol, Jose Calderon, J.R. Smith, Bruce Bowen, Muggsy Bogues
What a start! Wilt is without a doubt a top two player in this league. He gives you everything and pairing him with Durant gives cjok1051 a great duo. I am very interested to see what position Durant plays. It has been mentioned that he might play PF which would lead me to believe cjok1051 is trying the mega assist strategy he is currently trying in the DH52. I would personally play Durant at the shooting guard position. Yes he isn't quite at 100% there, but at 99% he gives you so many advantages at guard. With 8 usage points and 56% efg% he is one of the elite scorers in this league and adding a rebounding bonus to that is just unfair. I guess we will see. Regardless, this is a top duo, but there is still a lot of work to be done. cjok1051 must be creative to get enough minutes while still adding talented players. Pau Gasol does a lot of good things. He is a good scorer and rebounder with decent passing and defense. He has a few pretty good seasons to choose from including a particularly tasty partial season. Calderon is an offensive stud, but that sub 40D is going to be a bit of a problem with Durant manning the SG position. Stud opposing guards are going to love playing this team. J.R. Smith will give this team most of the usage it needs when Durant sits. He certainly can score, but doesn't bring much else to the table. Both Bowen and Bogues are great cost effective options. They are both super low usage but bring certain things to the table. Bowen brings 90D and some threes and Muggsy brings some high ast%. Both of those things are very valuable from low cost players. Not sure if there's enough firepower here beyond Wilt and Durant, but that might be enough.

Edit: cjok1051 informed me he is in fact using Durant at SG which I think is a good idea. He still is going to have a hard time getting enough productive minutes however, but that's a tough first two.

Overall:
18962 minutes is way too few! Only one team in the last 6 seasons has won 50+ games with under 19300 minutes and none have advanced past the 2nd round! Of course the one team that did win with less than 19300 did have 67 Wilt, which cures a lot of problems. However, they were still just barely under 19200 and you don't even make it to 19000. That will be a problem. Apart from that, this team looks good. Very efficient with very low fouls and good rebounding/passing numbers although the defense is a little weak. The bench is pretty good, but that actually might mean be a problem. I would have sacrificed some quality bench players for some quality minutes. It's going to be a long season fatigue wise.


dh555: LeBron James, Steve Nash, Dikembe Mutombo, Bo Outlaw, Kevin Love, Carmelo Anthony, Kenny Anderson
LeBron can do it all and is truly an elite player. His 2013 season is one of the two best in the SIM and would be my number 1 overall pick. He gives you so much flexibility going forward, because you don't have to draft elite rebounding and can focus on other areas (although you still need some rebounding of course). He is such an efficient scorer and relatively cheap for an ODL stud too. I love Nash in the Sim and was disappointed he didn't last one more pick. If his defense was higher he would be a perennial first rounder! Pairing him with LeBron in the backcourt covers Nash's big weakness a little bit as LeBron will cover the opposing team's best guard. That is quite the backcourt you have. Dikembe is a perfect pairing with the team you are creating as he gives you another stud defender to cover for Nash. I am really liking this team so far. Outlaw gives you another low usage player who can rebound, pass, and play great D, which is exactly what this team needs. Kevin Love, adds a third scorer to this team and is an excellent rebounder and passer. He is very limited defensively. The hope hear is that Dikembe can guard the best opposing post player and Kevin doesn't get burned to bad on a lesser player. This is going to work against most teams, but anyone with a post-dominant or even guard-dominate (because of Nash) team will be able to exploit match-ups. This makes the bench very important for dh555. Carmelo adds a dynamic bench player for those 10 minutes he is on the court and Anderson is a solid backup point guard.

Overall: 
This is one of my five favorite teams! I think they are going to lead the league in ppg. This team is very efficient, with high rebounding and passing numbers and a good bench. The only problem is defensively where Kevin Love and Steve Nash are both -40D. Against most teams you will be able to hide both of them, but it might be a problem if you get the wrong matchup in the playoffs. That being said, you may just be able to win in a shootout anyways!


uptowngbv: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Donyell Marshall, Horace Grant, Mark Price, George Hill, Joe Dumars, Ruben Patterson
I will always have a soft spot for Kareem after he led me to my first ODL title. I am no longer convinced that he is the automatic third choice, but he is definitely up there and can lead you to the title. Donyell Marshall and Horace Grant both give you huge rebounding advantages at the SG and SF positions which is huge since that is really Kareem's only downside. You still need passing and threes but there are bargains to be had in those categories later and if you can get them you have the makings of a good team. Mark Price is a very good scorer and passer and a bargain price wise. He's not the best defender or rebounder, but is a solid fourth round point guard. George Hill is usually drafted for his excellent partial '15 season. I'm not sure this is the case here. If you are drafting a full season version of Hill, I think there are many players who are much better. However if you are drafting the partial season, I applaud the risk/reward here. Drafting a backup in the fifth round can be risky. You have to hope that a good starter who fits your team is available in the 6th round. In my opinion there are a lot of bargains late, especially with low usage players. Hill most likely would not have been available when you pick in the sixth so it's a good risk to take him here. However, I think there is a much better 14-15 minute guy who was available and would be perfect for this team. He will be discussed in the fifth round observations. Dumars has one decent season for the ODL, but I was under the assumption that Donyell Marshall was the starting SG. That apparently is not the case and takes away a lot of the rebounding advantages this team had. Ruben can score and is a decent passer and rebounder. His D is a little lackluster, but he is a fine role player.

Edit: uptowngbv has stated he is using 94 Grant who will probably not be played at SF, which is fine but takes away some of the rebounding advantage that you would have had. He is also using a cheaper Kareem. In my opinion you don't draft Kareem third if you aren't going to use one of his top seasons. 

Overall:
This team has a few too many minutes, the defense is a little weak, the passing is weak and it will be in the penalty when Kareem sits (although that will only be 2-3 minutes). That being said, Kareem should post monster numbers, this team will control the offensive glass, and it has a very good bench. They are in a very tough division, but could surprise a few people. I still would have liked to see Horace at the SF and Marshall at the SG.


carbonjones: David Robinson, Andre Drummond, Terry Porter, Andre Iguodala, Kevin Johnson, Nic Batum, James Johnson
With over 55% efg% at 26 usage% along with decent rebounding and 100 D, the Admiral is a stud. I don't think he is the fourth best player here, but I don't think it's a stretch. Drummond is a rebounding and efg% beast. It's too bad his defense is middling or he would go way higher every year, but he is a great compliment to Robinson. Porter does a little bit of everything. He is a very solid point guard and I can't say anything negative about him, but I feel there are similar players that always go significantly later. Porter always goes in the late 2nd/early 3rd range so maybe people know something I don't, but it just seems to me like you can get most of his production later. Iguodala gives you almost a bit of everything. The one thing he doesn't give you is threes which is at the moment is a slight problem on this team. There are plenty of shooters to be had in the later rounds however. Kevin Johnson brings great scoring at good usage and very good ast%. That's a great fifth round pick. He is a little weak both defensively and on the boards, however it looks like you mostly have those areas covered. Batum has a very solid full season along with a very good partial season. Whichever one carbonjones is using is going to be a solid 6th rounder. James Johnson is another solid reserve with 60+ efg%.

Overall:
Not quite enough minutes (although barely) and it looks like you will be dealing with a little bit of usage penalties. Your defense is also very weak. That being said, this team is quite efficient with very good passing and pretty good rebounding. Being in the weaker conference should mean being in the thick of the playoff race.


bds9992: Chris Paul, Shawn Kemp, Tom Boerwinkle, Maurice Cheeks, Danny Manning, Jrue Holiday, Jon Barry
I love Chris Paul in the SIM. He is a very good scorer, great passer, great rebounder for a point guard, great defender, and doesn't turn the ball over. However, this is a huge reach. That doesn't mean you can't win after picking him fifth, but it is going to be an uphill battle. bds9992 has talked about his pick a bit in the comments and says he thinks you need to have elite or at least very good passing to win in this league. Why I slightly disagree, I can certainly understand someone placing higher value on a player than I do. These are of course mostly opinions. That being said, if you truly believe Chris Paul is the right pick here, ask to trade down. Someone will give you a deal where you gain extra draft slots later to slide a few picks. Then you still get your guy, and you gain a little extra later. Shawn Kemp and Tom Boerwinkle were both players whom I was targeting. Kemp does so many things well. There are two versions of him that I think are great value picks. This is the first time since I have been apart of the ODL that he has gone in the 2nd round, but it's about time. Sure, he doesn't play a clean game (lots of fouls and turnovers), but he is fantastic at some pretty important things. The Moose is great and gives you 19% ast% at the center position! That's a lot of passing! 30%+ dreb% as well as decent D makes him a very solid third round pick. His only problem is that he can't play any position other than center and so if you play a team with a stud there you won't be able to have Kemp guard him like you would want. Regardless, I really like the top three here. Cheeks is a stud defender and a great fourth round pick who provides some passing and rebounding as well as decent scoring. This team still needs some threes, but there are a lot to be had in the later rounds. Danny Manning is a decent player. He has good usage and efficiency along with decent rebounding, passing, and defense. He's not great at anything, but is decent at almost everything. The one thing he is very below average at is three point shooting which is unfortunately exactly what this team needs most. Not a fan of the Jrue pick. His best seasons include below average efg% at high usage which is a problem. However, as much as I dislike the Jrue pick, I like the Jon Barry pick even more. He is a fantastic reserve in the ODL. I have used him twice and made the finals both times (winning one). He is a very good shooter who comes very cheap.

Overall:
This team is a little low on offensive efficiency, but with the best passing team in the league, you should be fine in that respect. You are a little low on threes and don't have the best shooters, but with good rebounding and great defense to go along with that excellent passing, this team should cruise in the weak Central division. 


ysw128: Moses Malone, Klay Thompson, Tyson Chandler, Derek Harper, Tree Rollins, Jerry West, Paul Pressey
Moses Gives you incredible O-boards, good efg% and usage%, and good defense. He is a great player to build a team around. Klay Thompson can score and play D and adds a ton of threes. He is the perfect role player! I'm not convinced he's a second round pick though. He's a poor rebounder and doesn't pass much and I just think in the first two rounds you need to come away with two players who excel at one or both of those things. Tyson Chandler is limited, but what he does well he does really well. Great defense and very high efg% make him the perfect role player to go along with Moses and Klay. Derek Harper is a solid fourth round point guard who can pass, play D and score a little. The best thing about him are his really low turnovers. Tree Rollins is an excellent backup to Tyson Chandler. He brings great defense, efficiency and good rebounding. The only problem here is that his best seasons have lots of minutes meaning he is going to be backing up Moses too. That's fine, but it does mean you still need more usage% and it is very hard to find players with good usage% and efficiency in the 6th round and among undrafted players. Jerry West gives you the usage% you need. He usually goes higher in the ODL or not at all, but is a good fit here. He is a little expensive for a sixth round pick and I will be interested to see how you can round out the rest of the roster with his high price tag. Pressey is a solid 6th round pick.

Overall:
This is one of the best defensive teams around, and at first glance is a very solid team. It is very balanced and isn't really weak in a single thing. That being said, aside from defense, it's not very strong in too many areas either. Should compete for the Central bye, but probably falls short.

98average: Dwight Howard, Rudy Gobert, Tracy McGrady, Rajon Rondo, Brandon Rush, Derrick Rose, Reggie Evans
Dwight will put up lots of efficient points and lots of boards while playing great defense. What more do you want in a top 10 pick? The Stifle Tower is the perfect compliment to Dwight in the front court. Low usage% but very high efg%, great boards and great defense all at a pretty cheap price.. Teams are going to have a hard time scoring on 98! McGrady does a lot of good things, but with that insane amount of usage I would need higher efg%. Especially with Dwight on the team I would have liked him to be the guy shooting the most shots. However, with the great rebounding in place, hopefully some of those McGrady misses can be put back in. Rondo is another fantastic fourth round point guard. He gives great D, great assists, good rebounding, and even scores somewhat efficiently in one season. I think you still need a fair amount of ast% to make up for all of McGrady's misses, but Rondo was a good start towards that. Brandon Rush is a very solid late round pick. He gives great efg%, decent rebounding from the SG position, good defense, and best of all he is pretty cheap. I am not a fan of Derrick Rose in the Sim. I think every advantage he gives you is nullified by his low efg% and high usage%. He is very expensive for all those missed shots. Reggie Evans on the other hand is very cheap for all those rebounds! He is a nice role player to grab.

Overall:
A little high on minutes (although just barely), and I am not crazy about T-Mac and Derrick Rose taking up the majority of your possessions. However, this team is solid. Very good rebounding, good passing, great defense, and a great bench. Also has very good bulk numbers. This team would probably be the 2nd best team in the East, but in the tough Western Conference, will have to settle for just outside the top tier of teams. Should easily be a playoff team though, and as the last few seasons have shown, top seeds don't mean as much in the ODL as in other leagues.


amerk1180: Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Larry Nance, Charlie Ward, Erick Dampier, Antonio McDyess, Alvin Robertson
At #8, the GOAT is a good get. It's not quite a steal, but anyone who can give you 8 usage points, 55% efg%, great defense, great rebounding for a guard, and good passing belongs somewhere near the top. Now the only challenge is picking which of the great Jordan seasons you use! Hakeem is always a challenge fitting in to an ODL team salary wise. He costs a lot, and he doesn't have an obvious season to pick from. With his best rebounding seasons, you have to sacrifice a bunch of efg% to the point where he is almost poison, and with his best scoring seasons you have to sacrifice a bunch of rebounding. There is one season season where you only have to sacrifice a bit of both and it's probably his best season, but it's just so expensive. That being said, he gives you 100D, good rebounding and passing, and at least decent scoring. I think it's a risk pairing him with MJ, because you still need a lot of things and don't have much cap, but if you can fit in everything you need and end up with enough minutes you will be tough. Larry Nance brings another 100D guy and is a very good boarder at the small forward, but amerk1180 just added another guy with an $8 million + price tag (with Nance's usually used season). I'm a little worried about how he is going to fit all that in to the cap and get enough minutes. Charlie Ward is a very cheap option and the perfect point guard for this team. 86D along with solid efficiency, boards, and assists, Charlie will play for almost 30 minutes a game at under $5 million. That's a bargain! Dampier is a solid backup big who brings a decent amount to the table and most importantly for this team is very cheap for the amount of minutes he has. McDyess and Robertson both bring a decent amount to the table, McDyess with boards and Robertson with fantastic D.

Overall:
19104 minutes is near suicide in the ODL and even the GOAT won't be able to save this season. This team has below average efficiency led by a poison version of Hakeem, and a very weak bench. It has high turnovers and fouls and with only 152 3's, will be easy to guard. That being said, its starting lineup will boast the best defense in the league and it will be one of the best rebounding teams. Those things may be able to redeem this team, but with such few minutes, I am betting not.


thomcat: Shaquille O'Neal, Oscar Robertson, Buck Williams, Rodney McCray, Ray Allen, George T. Johnson, Johnny Moore
Shaq is a scoring machine who can play D, get some boards, and pass a little. It's too bad he can't hit a free throw. Oscar is so expensive for the ODL, but if you can make the minutes work in the end he's worth it. He can score, pass, rebound, and play D. The only issue with him is making sure you pick the right season. There are a few that work with different types of teams. Buck is another player with a bunch of usable seasons. He has one low usage/high efg%/ 90D season, but also some higher usage seasons where he rebounds a little better, but is a little less efficient with less D. You're going to have to compromise a bit no matter which season you take, but it's a solid pick. Rodney McCray is a decent forward who does a little bit of everything. However he doesn't shoot any threes which this team needs and you could have gotten him much later. As a previously undrafted player, you could easily have gotten him in the sixth round and grabbed someone else you want who won't be there next round. Ray Allen on the other hand is a steal in the fifth round. With very good scoring, lots of threes, decent rebounding, decent passing, and decent D, Allen is an excellent player. Johnson and Moore are both fine players with decent D, although I am a little confused as to the season you are using for Moore. Moore is usually used for his high ast%, but you are using a version with significantly less. If the small defensive bump was what you were after, then I think there are other players who could have given you moore.

Overall:
This team has middling efficiency led by a poison version of Oscar. It has decent rebounding, passing, and defense, but has a weak bench, too few 3's, and high turnovers. The Eastern conference will allow this team to compete for a playoff spot, but a lot would have to go right for it to advance very far.


thohoops: Karl Malone, Mookie Blaylock, Kyle Korver, Anderson Varejao, Connie Hawkins, Jason Williams, Sam Bowie
I love the Mailman in the SIM. I have won more titles with 97 Karl Malone as my main guy than I have with any other player. He is unique in the data base as the only player with 8 usage points, 54% efg%, 20 dreb%, and 10 ast%. Add a little extra passing to that along with 90 D and you make a great player even better! Mookie plays good D and has decent rebounding and passing numbers, but has middling efg% which is dangerous considering his 4 point usage (in his most commonly used season -other seasons have less usage or more efg% but are lacking in other things). Mookie is okay, but I've never thought he was a second rounder and I don't like the fit with Karl. You don't want anyone with any usage to be inefficient on a Mailman team, because your taking away from his biggest asset (8 point usage and 55% efg%). Korver is an incredible shooter. 221 threes at almost 50%? Yes please! Add in some decent passing, rebounding, and defense and you have a good player. But is he worth taking in the third round? I don't think so. As good as he is at shooting, there are a bunch of players who will be available in the 5th and 6th rounds (and even undrafted) who can provide much of what Korver brings to the table. In my opinion you would be better off grabbing one of them later and drafting someone who fills other needs in the third. Plus, you probably could have got him with your fourth pick. Varejao is a solid player, but he is almost always a sixth round pick. You probably could have gotten both Korver and Varejao and added a stud in the third round. Hawkins is a very decent player. He is one of those jack of all trades, master of none type players who bring some versatility to any team. Both Jason Williams and Sam Bowie are decent reserves however neither really addresses this teams biggest issue. There is no usage% when Karl Malone sits! You are going to have to make this a priority among your undrafted players. Unfortunately, usage% is very expensive so it might be hard to find bargains that also fit with your teams minutes needs.

Overall:
This team has a few too many minutes, meaning you could have spent more money on other things. This will be a good rebounding team and a very good passing one with excellent defense. The bench is weak and the efficiency isn't the best, but you will compete for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. 


benhoidal: Deron Williams, Anthony Davis, Clifford Ray, Kawhi Leonard, Brent Barry, Bobby Phills, Hassan Whiteside
Ooh oh, no studs for me! Wow, trading back twice was risky and I did't quite get who I was targeting. That being said, I think I am going to be super deep with quality players and both Williams and The Brow are certainly quality. Williams is an efficient scorer, great passer and good defender, and Davis, while not being quite the efficient scorer I would like, plays such a clean game. Three consecutive third round picks give me three very good but not great players. They are all cost effective and add significantly to two or three important categories. Having five players before half the teams even have three is going to give me significant depth that others simply do not have, but I'm worried some stud is going to kill me in the playoffs. Honest question: Has anyone ever had 4 third round picks before (basically 5 third rounders if you count the last pick in the second)? Bobby Phills is a very underrated player in the ODL and always goes later than he should. He has decent scoring, good rebounding and passing, very good rebounding, and adds lots of threes all at a cheap cost. Hassan Whiteside is one of the most unique players in the Sim, and I will talk about him at length in the observation section.

Overall:
No stars to carry the load and low rebounding (at least total), but this is the deepest team in the league. Very good rebounding and passing percentages throughout the lineup along with solid defense all the way through. One of the top five teams in the league (although I am of course quite biased.


robocoach: Steph Curry, Elton Brand, Kevin McHale, Troy Murphy, Darrell Armstrong, Tim Hardaway, Omer Asik
Curry is without a doubt the best three point shooter in the SIM. He adds very good passing, good rebounding, and good defense, to his great scoring. While I think he is somewhere between 13-19 as far as best players go, I can't fault robocoach for snagging him at 12. Every single 50 win team in the last 6 seasons* has had at least 400 total threes on the roster! Let me repeat that. Every single 50 win team in the last 6 seasons* has had at least 400 total threes on the roster! Yes 400 is an arbitrary number, but the point is that you need threes in the ODL and robocoach just got 286 of them! Robocoach trades up to take back to back picks and takes two good ones in Brand and McHale. Brand's ability to play SF at 100% is huge and because of this he has enough rebounding to make up for McHale. Kevin is a scoring machine with 99 defense but that low rebounding is always a huge negative for him. These two balance out each other nicely. Normally I would say that drafting a SF who can't shoot 3's is a huge problem, but robocoach should be covered with Curry. He's got his usage pretty much taken care of after three rounds and now just needs some specialists. Troy Murphy adds lots of rebounding and lots of threes at a good percentage which is very unique. Unfortunately he is quite poor defensively. Hopefully McHale and Brand can cover for him up front. I also think you could have gotten him with one of your 6th round picks. Both Armstrong and Hardaway add a lot of ast%, but they both have too low efg% for their usage% in my opinion. Asik is a solid reserve.

*I have only been keeping track of this for the last 6 seasons. For all I know, it probably has been going on longer.

Overall:
19189 minutes is way too few in this league, and I think the reason you don't have enough minutes is because you spent way too much on unneeded usage. Darrell Armstrong and Hardaway are going to take shots away from your starters (although I like Hardaway as your backup), and I don't know what the heck Wendell Ladner is doing playing 1155 minutes of pure poison in your lineup. This is going to kill your teams playoff hopes in a very tough Western Conference and it is too bad. This had the makings of a very strong team. Strong rebounding with very good passing, decent rebounding and a ton of 3's give this team some big advantages. 715 3's may have made you predictable to guard against a tough playoff owner, but will carry you a long way in the regular season. If you can somehow survive the fatigue that awaits you, you will have a tough team, but you are going to be fighting the fatigue battle all season long.

jhsukow: Dennis Rodman, Bill Walton, Nate McMillain, Patrick Ewing, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Shane Battier
The Worm is a truly unique player in the SIM. With so much boards you are set in one of the most important categories and can focus on other things. Plus Rodman's ability to play small forward allows you to grab a huge rebounding advantage over any and every opponent at that position. The main problem I have seen with many Rodman teams is that they pair him with a guard who doesn't shoot threes and before they know it they are only rolling out 200-250 total threes on their team. There is no easier way to pick up a win than being able to play -2 defense against a team that can't shoot from deep! jhsukow still definitely needs some scoring and passing, but don't forget a few threes! I absolutely love the Bill Walton pick. I was hoping he would fall two more picks to me but alas! Walton is awesome and adding another 90D/30dreb% player is huge. jhsukow still needs a lot of scoring, but there are bargains to be had later with scorers (especially those who don't rebound the best which won't be an issue on this team). Nate McMillan is a great option at point guard giving you great defense, rebounding and assists. His low efg% doesn't matter as much with his low usage%. Patrick and Kobe bring the much needed usage to this squad. Patrick does it at a high efg% and adds great defense. His lower rebounding % is often a deterrent but it won't matter on this team. Kobe is usually poison in the sim and the '06 version jhsukow has said he is using is one of the most poisonous players in the entire database. That being said, if any team can survive that it's this one. The rest of the starters will gobble up a bunch of those misses. This is good value for Kobe, but I'm worried you're paying a bit too much for all those misses. Not sure which Odom you are using. His best seasons are easily his most expensive seasons, but I doubt you have the cap for any of those so I am guessing you are using a low usage partial minute season. His efg% is very low in this season but it won't matter with his low usage% and the rest of the stats are great. Battier is always a very solid late pick as he gives you great D and efg% at a very low price.

Overall:
19666 is a waste of salary, the offense is badly distributed, you picked the wrong versions of Odom, Walton (arguable, but 77 Walton is the way to go in my opinion), and McMillan, you have terrible passing (probably the worst in the league), you have high turnovers, and your bench is average at best. Alright, got that out of the way. Now here is why despite all of that, this team will make the playoffs. First, you are in the East. In the West, a playoff birth would be a long shot, but in the East you will be right in the midst of a playoff battle for the last 3 or 4 seeds. Second, this is one of the top defensive squads in the league if not the best. Third, this is the best rebounding team in the league bar none. It won't matter how many shots Kobe and Lamar miss, this team will gobble them up. Despite it's flaws (and there are many), I think this team will snag one of the last playoff spots. If it does (no guarantee it will), this team could be a matchup nightmare come playoff time.


jkaye24: Dwyane Wade, Marcus Camby, Jerry Lucas, Nick Anderson, Hot Rod Williams, Ryan Anderson, Rodrique Beaubois
Dwyane always goes way before I take him, but owners are oftentimes successful with him. 100 D and great rebounding is hard to find from a high usage guard and he throws in good ast% too. However, that super high usage% along with middling efg% is poison in this league. He is way better of in the DH52 where there is a higher cap as all that usage costs a ton of money! Camby is a low usage rebounding and defensive stud. I actually like his partial seasons even better but he has some very good full seasons as well. Someone has to rebound all of Dwyane's misses! Lucas does a bit of everything. Despite low usage% he has an efg% at 56.7%, has great rebounding numbers (12.2/26.8), can pass (11.1 ast%), and plays a little D (50). He is a great role player who continues the excellent rebounding of this team. Nick Anderson is a valuable role player doing a bit of everything. He's a jack of all trades, master of none type player. While those players are always very valuable, theres a bunch of them who you can get in the sixth round so I think it was a bit of a reach. Hot Rod is a standout defender who doesn't do much else, but doesn't do anything poorly either. This team needs some more firepower. Ryan Anderson adds a ton of threes, and Beaubois is a great 9 minute a game backup for Wade.

Overall:
This team has great defense and rebounding and plays an incredibly clean game (low to's/low fouls). However, it has slightly too few minutes, has a very poor distribution of offense, has a weak bench, and will be in the possession penalty almost every time Wade sits. There is a lot to like with this team, but those negatives are huge and will probably cause them to miss the playoffs (although they will be fighting for a spot).


eleibowitz: John Stockton, Alonzo Mourning, Chris Webber, Emeka Okafor, Andrew Bynum, Dan Majerle, Enes Kanter
Everyone here knows I love Stockton and I don't know if there's really anything more I can say about him other than elebowitz has already won one ship with him so watch out! I love the Zo pick. He will score a lot on this team with his 28.1 usage% and his 55.1 efg% (which will look even better with Stockton spoon feeding him layups). He's a middling rebounder so eleibowitz is going to have to stack up on some boards but with that scoring and 94 defense, I think this was a great pick! Webber is an underrated ODL player. He has good usage to go with good efg% and adds great passing and defense. He has decent rebounding, but that looks to be eleibowitz's biggest issue going forward. I think you could have got Webber with your next pick pretty easily, but I don't think it was a big reach. He is a very good player. I am a bit worried about the lack of boards so far, but you should be able to get some bargains later if you are savvy. Okafor is a solid pick at this point of the draft and makes this a very solid big man rotation. Still going to need solid rebounding from the wings, but there are always a few very good wings who fall to the sixth round. Bynum is an excellent backup big who provides solid rebounding and defense with excellent efficient scoring. Eleibowitz certainly has his post players covered. Thunder Dan is a great low usage option who can gobble up a bunch of minutes on the cheap. Kanter is one of the only high usage%/high efg% players who can rebound that were still available.

Overall:
One of the 5 best teams in the league, it's hard to find a negative with this team. The only thing I can find is that it looks like they will be starting Webber at 97% at SF. This team has good efficiency, good rebounding, very good passing, good defense, and a good bench. They should cruise through the East.


jt7king: Charles Barkley, Chauncey Billups, Gary Payton, Mark Eaton, Kris Humphries, Samuel Dalembert, Jordan Farmar
Steal of the draft. High usage with 60+ efg% and great boards, Sir Charles is without a doubt a top 10 player in my opinion. That middling defense always drops him, but if you play him at the small forward (99% in the best version, although 100% in 91), not only do you get huge rebounding advantages, but you oftentimes can hide him against a weaker opponent (especially if you grab a good defender at power forward who can guard small forwards). Chauncey is a solid second round point guard who plays good D, hits his shots and does a little of everything else. Plus his price tag is reasonable (which is good, since Barkley is pricey!). Payton has a couple of good seasons with great defense, decent passing and decent scoring. He is a solid pick at this point of the draft. You still need some good bigs, but it's lucky you have most of your usage covered. The big man bargains are almost always low usage guys. Mark Eaton is perfect for this team. 100D and lots of blocks to go with good efficiency, the only thing he is really lacking in is boards. Luckily Barkley will have most of that covered though a good rebounding PF would fit in great as a fifth round pick. Humphries is the perfect fifth round pick for this team. He is a monster rebounder who can score a bit and plays decent defense. This team is going to need some threes and maybe a decent bench scorer, but I like the starting five! Dalembert and Farmar are two of the better backups in the SIM, but I am a little worked about this team having enough usage when Barkley sits.

Overall:
This team is pretty solid. It doesn't have many weaknesses. It does have a few too many turnovers, its' bench is a little weak defensively and it doesn't have one particular thing where it excels. However, it is very solid throughout. Should grab a 3 or 4 seed in the East.


hardened: Larry Legend, Joakim Noah, James Harden, Wes Unseld, Mike Miller, Eddy Cury, Jalen Rose
So many great options here with the Basketball Jesus. Do you go with the slightly less efficient Bird with 90D or one of the two super efficient versions with slightly less D? Either way, the Hick from French Lick is a stud. Joakim Noah is a unique player in the sim, but this was way too early for him. He always makes his way into at least the mid third round. If your heart was set on him you could easily have traded back and gained better picks later. That being said, a center with 20+ ast%, good rebounding and 90D is special. Unfortunately that efg% is a little sour. Harden can certainly fill up a stat sheet, but that 51.1 efg% at 31.3% usage is almost poison. It's good that you have some great passers in the front court, because Harden is going to need it. Unseld went undrafted last year and that would normally constitute a huge reach in the fourth round. However, I think this time it was more of a huge slip up last season. As evidenced by the outcry from multiple owners when he was drafted, Wes is a very useful player who should be drafted every year. Mike Miller brings a lot to the table. He scores efficiently, and is very good at both passing and rebounding. The only thing he doesn't bring is defense, which might be a bit of a problem with this team. hardened is going to need some good backup defenders and maybe a post scoring presence as well. Curry is a great scorer of the bench, although limited in other areas, and Jalen Rose is an assist machine off the bench. hardened took care of the post scoring presence, but his defense will leave some to be desired.

Overall:
This team is very talented offensively. Despite high turnovers I expect them to be right among the highest scoring offenses in the league. It also rebounds the ball very well defensively. However, there are some glaring holes on this team as well. 19702 is too many minutes. You won't use all of them, and that precious salary could have been spent on something else. Like Defense! This team is the worst defending team in the league. I know that defense is not as important in the SIM as it is in real life, but it is still intrinsic to a winning team in the ODL. The defense, along with a weak bench will keep this team out of the highly competitive Western Conference playoff race.


mikee1: Tim Duncan, Shawn Marion, Walt Frazier, Terrell Brandon, Clarence Weatherspoon, Amare Stoudemire, Jim Les
Timmy D does a bit of everything. He can score (28.4/54.7), rebound (9.4/25.8), pass (13.3), and play D (90). What's not to love? Shawn Marion gives you 21.1 dreb% at the small forward, while scoring very efficiently and playing 89D. This team is going to need some good guards and definitely will need another scorer, but with the Big Fundamental and The Matrix, it's a good start. Please keep drafting players with good nicknames! Clyde adds 90D, decent passing, rebounding, and scoring, and another great nickname! He is a very solid third round pick. For his usage, Brandon's efg% is way too low for my taste, but he is a stud at everything else. He has very good defense, rebounding and assists, and turns the ball over very infrequently for a point guard with such high ast%. I'm very disappointed he doesn't have a good nickname though. Clarence brings a few unique seasons including one where he adds great rebounding at SG. From the makeup of this team it's looking like he will have to play some PF. I think that is a mistake, but he does have one pretty decent PF season. I just think there were better players available. Amare is a heck of a 6th round steal, and Jim Les is a 6th round staple. Two great picks here to round off the roster.

Overall:
This team has a strong top 7 with good rebounding, tremendous defense, low turnovers, and mostly good efficiency. However, the bench is really weak after the top 7, there are a few too few 3's which will make them easier to guard, and as good as the top 7 is, it's not good enough to carry the rest of the team. They should fight for the 6th playoff spot in the West, but it will be tough going.

copernicus: Jason Kidd, Bob McAdoo, Marques Johnson, Danny Green, Bob Lanier, Eric Bledsoe, Anthony Carter
Kidd is very efficient, hits a lot of threes, passes and rebounds very well, and doesn't turn the ball over much. He doesn't score a ton and his usage is low for a first round pick, but that also means his price tag is low and he is a huge bargain. Throw in a couple of scorers to the mix and you have the start of a very good team! I think this is a bit too early for Bob. He is a good scorer with decent defense and rebounding, but I think there are better options available who do pretty much the same thing. Marques gives you a lot of versatility. Do you go with great usage/great efg%? Do you go with 20% Dreb% at SF or do you put him at SG with good good usage/good efg% and good boards/passing? Lots of good options here. Danny Green is a very good role player, but he almost always goes late in the 5th or in the early 6th round. I think you could have got him with your next pick pretty easily. That being said, a wing who plays 80+D along with shooting the lights out is a solid starter. Lanier can score, rebound, pass, and play D. I wish his efg% was a little better for his usage, but he is a solid fifth round pick and a good fit for this team. '14 Bledsoe is a monster off the bench and Carter is decent. No backup bigs, means you are going to have to strike some undrafted gold!

Overall:
This team can board and play defense which will keep it very competitive. However, there are a few holes to this team. You won't use all of your minutes, you may be in the usage penalty for small parts of each game, and your efficiency is just okay. They will compete for a playoff spot in the West.


seapilots: Magic Johnson, DeAndre Jordan, Andrei Kirilenko, Gerald Wallace, Gerald Green, Andre Miller, Andrew Bogut
Magic always drops because of his defense, but he gives you so much else it doesn't matter too much (plus one of the two best Magic's gives you 78 D and is pretty cheap!). He was huge for me in the playoffs this year and along with Penny gave me the best backcourt in the league. I think he always drops a little too far and is a great pickup by seapilots here. DeAndre is a low usage beast. So much rebounding and efg% along with 90 defense. The only problem is that some of that efg% is wasted on his low usage%, but he should contend to lead the league in fg%, especially with Magic throwing him the ball. Andrei has a couple of absolutely great partial seasons to choose from. 100 (or near 100)D along with decent Dreb%, ast%, and efg% is very hard to find. I'm a little worried about the lack of usage so far, but I am sure seapilots will rectify that soon. Gerald Wallace is very expensive for a low usage guy, but he is worth it. 55% efg% with 19.4 usage % along with great rebounding (6.6/18.1) for a SG are nice, but add that to 100D and you have a stud. I'm a little worried about outside shooting on this team, but if you can load up in the later rounds and with undrafted players this is one of my favorite teams so far. Gerald Green brings a lot of threes which this team desperately needs and is a very good scorer. However, he doesn't add a ton of other things. Hopefully the surplus of rebounding among the other positions covers for him. Andre Miller can provide some low usage assists for cheap and Bogut has a number of great backup seasons.

Overall:
This is one of the five best teams in the league. Great rebounding and defense along with a solid bench, good efficiency and great bulk numbers. The passing could be higher, and I don't like the season of Kirilenko you used, but, I am picking nits.


jcred5: Artis Gilmore, Manu Ginobili, Draymond Green, Serge Ibaka, Chris Gatling, Kyrie Irving, Mark Jackson
Artis is a great first round anchor for a team. There are a couple of different seasons you can use for him, but whether you want the slightly higher scoring and better defending version or one of the more efficient versions, he is a great start for a team. Manu can score, rebound and pass well all while playing decent defense. And he comes relatively cheap! He seems to always get drafted in the late 20's which is probably just about right for him. I'm torn on Draymond. The 90 D is great and at this point of the draft getting 20.8/13.5 dreb%/ast% is great. However his efg% is only middling and despite giving you lots of threes, he doesn't actually shoot them that well. For some reason he is only 99% at SF, which hurts a little (although not too much). Ibaka in the fourth round is a huge steal. 10.5/15.7 rebounding at SF is great and add to that 98D and very efficient offense and you have a solid third round pick that fell to you in the fourth. Gatling is a monster sub who brings great scoring and rebounding. This team still needs a few good guards, but there should be two good ones available in the sixth round. Kyrie and Mark Jackson are two very good guards who provide different things. Kyrie will give this team a great scorer to complement Manu, and Jackson is going to feed the team some much needed assists.

Overall:
This team has more minutes than you need, slightly high turnovers and fouls, and could have better passing. However, it is very efficient with good defense and a very strong bench. They will be in the heart of the Western Conference playoff race, and have a good chance to get in.


slymonium: Anfernee Hardaway, Ben Wallace, Bobby Jones, Clyde Drexler, Carlos Boozer, Al Horford, Greg Anthony
The last time slymonium got Penny, he won 67 games! That is by far the highest win total of any team in the 11 seasons I have been with the ODL. He got upset in the playoffs (which seems to be a trend for the top teams lately) but truly had a great team. Much of that was due to Penny. He is a star without a star's price tag and to me, a no brainer 1st round pick. He is usually the steal of the second round but belongs here at the back end of the 1st. Big Ben gives you 30+ dreb% and 100 D. Do you know how many other players do that in the sim? ZERO! He is the perfect complimentary player and a great second round pick. I love Bobby Jones. 60% efg% and 100D along with some other goodies makes him a great third round pick. Sure, his rebounding isn't the best for a PF, but Big Ben will take care of that. Pairing him with Penny makes this team very similar to the defending champs. Still need some usage and some other things, but it's a good (and cheap) first 3. Drexler is a solid fourth rounder. He adds good passing,  rebounding, and D with decent efg% for a relatively high usage player. I'm a bit worried about the outside shooting so far, but I like all four players. If Boozer could play defense he would be a first round pick. That's excellent value in the fifth round. He can score, board, and pass, but his sub 40D scares people off every year. Big Ben and Bobby should cover for him in that aspect though. Horford has one of the best partial seasons in the Sim and Greg Anthony has a good backup season as well. I think this team still needs a fair amount of threes from undrafted players, but if it gets them this team will be really tough. 

Edit: Sly is playing Bobby Jones at the SF which gives him another big rebounding advantage. However, none of his three wing players are that great at shooting which may make him easy to guard if he can't add some outside shooters later. 

Overall:
One of the five best teams in the league, this team will be very tough. Very high rebounding, high efficiency, good defense, and a plays a clean game, with only  a few small flaws: it's a little low on passing and 3's. This is a championship contender.


scudmissle: Kevin Garnett, Scottie Pippen, Willis Reed, Robert Parish, Kirk Hinrich, Jamal Tinsley, Jameer Nelson
What do you do when you have the 23rd pick and all 22 no-brainer first rounders are gone? You swing for the fences. 03 KG is an incredibly unique SIM player. If his efg% was just a bit higher he would be a top 10 guy without a doubt. Scud will have his work cut out for him raising that efg%, but if he can manage it, his team will be tough. Scottie gives you a bunch of everything. Along with Garnett, this duo has a ton of rebounds for a shooting guard/small forward combo and a ton of assists along with two 90 defenders. The only problem here is going to be offensive efficiency as is always the problem with 03 Garnett, however with some good picks later on Scud can shore up that weakness. This is a very interesting top 2 to me. Willis is a very decent player, but I think you could have gotten him much later. He was a sixth round pick last year (142), and I don't see him as a third round pick. If you were dead set on him for your team, you easily could have traded down with your fourth pick for him and made up ground later. Robert Parish is a steal in the fourth round and adds to your stash of 90 defenders. This team is going to be able to play defense and board with the best of them. I'm a little worried about salary cap issues and shooting however. Hinrich, Tinsley, and Nelson come together to make a very good point guard by committee. Their defensive shortcomings will be covered by the four 90 defenders and their lack of rebounding will be covered as well. These three all fit very well on this team.

Overall:
This team has good rebounding, passing, and defense, but it's efficiency is below average, and I am confused about the Parish season you selected. The strong bench and solid rebounding and passing stats will help this team compete heavily for a playoff spot in the tough West, but I think with the best Parish season, you would have locked up a playoff birth.


banditone: Bill Russell, Julius Erving, Pooh Richardson, Peja Stojakovic, John Beasley, Chris Mullin, Wayman Tisdale
Russell brings a ton to the table but I doubt I'd ever draft anyone with 43% efg% in the first round. The Doctor is a 100 defender with good rebounding and good assists. Too many people who draft Erving seem to select the wrong season. There are a bunch of seasons where he has excellent rebounding and assists, but you have to sacrifice some of that to take the efficient version. Because of his very high usage, it becomes really important to grab his 54.7 efg% season. Pairing him with Russell gives you two great defenders who both bring good rebounds and passing. Still need another efficient scorer, more passing, and lots of threes. You could have got Pooh Richardson in the sixth round or even taken him as an undrafted player so I don't understand this pick. There are better players available who literally better at everything. Peja is another player who could have been drafted in the 6th round. He is a pretty good scorer, but weak at mostly everything else. Currently you have two 2nd rounders and 2 6th rounders. John Beasley and Wayman Tisdale both do a few things alright, and Mullin is a great 6th pick. He has a number of good seasons both full and partial. 

Overall:
You have way too many minutes you will never use, you have the worst efficiency in the league, the second worst defense, low 3's, and weak passing. You do have a good bench and decent rebounding numbers.

1st Round
1. cjok1051 - Wilt Chamberlain
2. dh555 - LeBron James
3. uptowngbv - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
4. carbonjones - David Robinson
5. bds9992 - Chris Paul
6. ysw128 - Moses Malone
7. 98average - Dwight Howard
8. amerk1180 - Michael Jordan
9. thomcat - Shaquille O'Neal
10. thohoops - Karl Malone
11. cjok1051 (via benhoidal) - Kevin Durant 
12. robocoach - Stephen Curry
13. jhsukow - Dennis Rodman
14. jkaye24 - Dwyane Wade
15. eleibowitz - John Stockton
16. jt7king - Charles Barkley
17. hardened - Larry Legend
18. mikee1 - Tim Duncan
19. copernicus - Jason Kidd
20. seapilots - Magic Johnson
21. jcred5 - Artis Gilmore
22. slymonium - Anfernee Hardaway
23. scudmissle - Kevin Garnett
24. banditone - Bill Russell

Observations
1. The Great Point Guard Debate
I briefly covered this the last time I did evals, but after Chris Paul went fifth, I think it needs to be covered again. Especially since last time I did evals the 2015 players hadn't been added yet. So who is the best point guard in the ODL (after LeBron)? Let's meet the candidates!

Chris Paul: Before the 2015 players were added, I concluded that while I could understand why owners valued CP3 over Stockton, I would take Stockton every time. That needs to be re-evaluated since Paul's 2015 season is his best. Now that his efg% is 54.5% his high usage becomes a huge plus. He is no longer a second tier usage guy, but with the added efficiency this is his best version. 90 defense and super low to% to go along with 35.9 ast% and 11.9 dreb%? Yes please!

Stephen Curry: Best shooter in the sim, and after his stellar 2015 season he joins the conversation for best point guard. He's not quite the passer that some of these other guys are but he's by far the best scorer. 

John Stockton: Still the standard bearer for ast% and efg% he may not be the scorer that Curry or even CP3 is but he improves the rest of your team the most. His turnovers are a bit high especially compared to Paul's but he adds good 3's and good defense to the table as well.

Jason Kidd: Low usage poor man's Stockton. However, he is a great rebounder with less turnovers and he might be the best bargain for the dollar of all these guys.

Magic Johnson: There's two very good versions of Magic that are quite different, but both very good. He gives you lots of reb% and ast% no matter what and varying degrees of efficiency and defense.

Anfernee Hardaway: Dark horse candidate who almost always goes in the 2nd round, but should always go in the first. He may not be quite as good as the rest of these guys, but can score well and play D all while adding a little passing and rebounding and not taking too much off the table.

The Verdict: If we are going with best value in the ODL then here is my list: Stockton, Kidd, Magic, Penny, CP3, Curry. This is taking into account where these guys are normally drafted. I'm a firm believer that there are 11 super studs in the ODL (With LeBron and Wilt actually being super duper studs). None of these guys are in that top 11. They might be close, but every season both CP3 and Curry go before a top guy and the team that reaches to grab one of these guys struggles. A Chris Paul led team has done better than a Stockton team just once in my 11 seasons in the ODL. That's not necessarily because Stockton is better, but most likely because Paul is taken too early every year.

However, if we are not going by value but instead going strictly by how good these players are and the order where I personally would draft them here it is: 

My 1st round point guard list:
Tier 1: LeBron James
Tier 2: John Stockton then Chris Paul then Steph Curry
Tier 3: Jason Kidd then Magic Johnson
Tier 4: Anfernee Hardaway

I would still take Stockton over both Paul and Curry. I get the arguments for both the other players and won't disagree with you much if you prefer Paul or Curry, but that 60.7/42.9 is just so mind blowing. He is the perfect complementary piece to every team and makes the rest of the draft so much easier. That being said, I would probably take him no earlier than 13th.

Let the debates begin!

2. The trade!
I will always discuss each trade in my evals. It just so happens that this one involves me!

Trade A
cjok1051 gets picks: 11(Kevin Durant), 148
benhoidal gets picks: 48, 49

I have traded up to grab a second first round pick once to great success and traded up to get a very high second round pick to greater success (my first championship), but have never traded out of the first round and wanted to try it. So far there have been 8 times since I have been apart of this league where a trade like this has happened and only two of those 16 teams have even made the playoffs. The first one was my Wilt/Duncan 53 win team and then one team that traded out of the first round squeaked in a couple of seasons ago. Why have these trades been mostly so unsuccessful for both parties involved? Well in my opinion owners with the two firsts have really struggled hitting on their later players and the owners without a first have all grabbed a poison player. It is intrinsically important to hit your picks after making these trades and any mistake kills your team.

cjok1051 grabbed Wilt and Durant. Personally, I think I would have rolled with LeBron and Barkley, but it's hard to find too much fault with this combo. If cjok1051 can get good role players in the later rounds he is the early favorite. He might struggle with some salary cap and minutes issues but it's a great start. It also has to be mentioned that cjok1051 has had two top picks before (LeBron and Rodman) and failed to make the playoffs.

I made up 68 total picks in this trade, but of course don't have a stud now. I don't have room for error, but could have the deepest squad in the league.

Verdict: Undecided. Probably cjok1051 for now, but I will reserve judgement until after both teams are finalized.

3. The Fall of the Worm
Before the last few seasons Dennis Rodman always seemed to go somewhere between 3 and 6 yet the last 3 seasons he has gone 13th, 11th, and 15th. Rodman is the hardest player for me to place among the obvious first rounders, but there is no way he should fall to double digits. This guy gives you 90 D to go along with 31.6 dreb% and 17.1 oreb% at the small forward. Wow! Sure he can't score or pass and you need to address that later but this guy single handedly gives you a huge rebounding advantage over every single opponent. He is one of the top 11 guys for certain. Sure, I understand the want to grab a guy with high usage% and high efg% with the first pick and all of the other 10 in my top 11 do so, but the Worm is just so unique. There might be 7 or 8 better picks than him, but he is no lower than that and might be as high as the 3rd best player available.

4. Welcome back to the first round Penny!
Anfernee Hardaway is without a doubt a top 24 player in this league and I personally have him somewhere from 20-22, yet somehow he always falls to the second round. Both times I have been lucky to grab him in the second I won the title! This is only the third time since I have been in the league where he has been a first round pick. The first time? Sly rode him to 67 wins! The next season he was taken too early as the 16th pick but with slymonium back in charge, everyone better watch out!

5. Steals: 
Dennis Rodman (13)
Charles Barkley (16)
Biggest Steal: Barkley

6. Reaches
Chris Paul (5)
Dwyane Wade (14)
Biggest Reach: CP3

I choose my steals and reaches (at least for the first round) based on a tier system I have. For instance, I think there are 11 tier 1 players, 8 tier 2 players, and 3 other players who in my opinion are automatic first rounders. If you drafted a tier 2 player 5th, I am going to call it a reach. However, if you drafted a tier 2 player with the 11th pick, I am probably not despite there being two players I would personally take that are left on the board. At that point it's just a preference and not a reach. Same goes with steals.

These are of course just my opinions so feel free to disagree, however please do so civilly. I try to make these observations as objective as possible. If you disagree with something I say please feel free to comment, but above all prove me wrong once the season starts! 

2nd Round
25. banditone - Julius Erving
26. scudmissle - Scottie Pippen
27. slymonium - Ben Wallace
28. jcred5 - Manu Ginobili
29. seapilots - DeAndre Jordan
30. copernicus - Bob McAdoo
31. mikee1 - Shawn Marion
32. hardened - Joakim Noah
33. jt7king - Chauncey Billups
34. eleibowitz - Alonzo Mourning
35. jkaye24 -Marcus Camby
36. jhsukow - Bill Walton
37. robocoach - Elton Brand
38. robocoach (via benhoidal) - Kevin McHale
39. thohoops - Mookie Blaylock
40. thomcat - Oscar Robertson
41. amerk1180 - Hakeem Olajuwon
42. 98average - Rudy Gobert
43. ysw128 - Klay Thompson
44. bds9992 - Shawn Kemp
45. carbonjones - Andre Drummond
46. uptowngbv - Donyell Marshall
47. dh555 - Steve Nash
48. benhoidal (via cjok1051) - Deron Williams 

Observations
1. Trade
I will discuss every trade made

Trade B
robocoach gets picks: 38 (Kevin McHale), 147
benhoidal gets picks: 60 (Kawhi Leonard), 85 (traded)

robocoach moves up and grabs Kevin McHale to pair with Curry and Brand. He gives up some picks later, but I think McHale is worth moving up for especially when you can grab someone like Brand who perfectly makes up for McHale's lack of rebounds.

I keep moving back and adding depth, but I like this trade for me as well. I didn't have a guy I really wanted who would be going at this point in the draft and I was able to get a few players I wanted later.

Verdict: Even

2. Wacky Draft?
It has been stated that this is a wacky draft in the thread and I agree. Why? Almost every single season, it seems that multiple owners are taking major reaches and one can never really predict where anyone will get drafted. There always seems to be one or two really good players that for no conceivable reason keep dropping through owner after owner. This season, the draft has mostly gone to script. There have only been a few reaches and almost no steals making my job of evaluating reaches and steals much easier! So yes, this draft is wacky. It is wacky because of its normalcy.

3. Best Duos after round two (listed in order of first round pick):
i. Wilt and Durant - Incredible top two but is it too expensive?
ii. LeBron and Nash - What a back court!
iii. Curry, Brand, McHale - I know I'm cheating and this is a trio, but I really like it!
iv. Worm and Bill Walton - My favorite duo, needs a ton of work but it's a great foundation
v. Stockton and Zo - best point guard (in my opinion) with a stud center
vi. Barkley, Chauncey - Steal of the first round plus a solid second rounder
vii. Magic and DeAndre - Can Magic win two ships in a row?
viii. Penny and Big Ben - Two cheaper players who are great at what they do.

Yes I know I just named one third of the league, but I just think there are some fantastic duos taken so far.

4. Is playing players with less than 100% efficiency at a position worth it?
This is often a highly contested point. If a player is 99% or 98% effective at a position why would you play them there? Often times it's to get a rebound huge rebound advantage. For example, if you take the best Barkley season he is 100% at PF, but only 99% at SF. He has 13.5 OReb% and 20.0 DReb%. For a power forward that 20% is good, but certainly not great. However, if you play him at small forward he has 19.8% DReb%. That is great rebounding and gives you a huge advantage on the boards. Sure, you give up 1% of his other stats, but with a player like Barkley you aren't losing much to get that huge advantage. In short, you have to decide if the huge rebounding bonus is worth the slight loss in other stats. In my opinion it often times is.

5. Steals:
None.
What? I don't think there was anyone who really fell this season. At least not yet. People seem to be taking players where they normally go.

6. Reaches: 
Joakim Noah (32)

Round 3
49. benhoidal (via cjok1051) - Anthony Davis
50. dh555 - Dikembe Mutombo
51. uptowngbv - Horace Grant
52. carbonjones - Terry Porter
53. bds9992 - Tom Boerwinkle
54. ysw128 - Tyson Chandler
55. 98average - Tracy McGrady
56. amerk1180 - Larry Nance
57. thomcat - Buck Williams
58. thohoops - Kyle Korver
59. benhoidal - Clifford Ray
60. benhoidal (viarobocoach) - Kawhi Leonard 
61. benhoidal (via jhsukow) - Brent Barry
62. jkaye24 - Jerry Lucas
63. eleibowitz - Chris Webber
64. jt7king - Gary Payton
65. hardened - James Harden
66. mikee1 - Walt Frazier
67. copernicus - Marques Johnson
68. seapilots - Andrei Kirilenko
69. jcred5 - Draymond Green
70. slymonium - Bobby Jones
71. scudmissle - Willis Reed
72. banditone - Pooh Richardson

Observations
1. Trade
Am I the only one making trades this year?!

jhsukow gets picks: 85, 86
benhoidal gets picks: 61(Brent Barry), 109

I move up to take my third pick in a row. Barry was drafted after the picks I traded last year which would usually be a huge no no, but he usually goes earlier than that and I didn't want to take the risk. I am fairly confident I will be able to draft the guys I want with my 107 and 109 picks so there wasn't much of a risk for me here. jhsukow gains some picks later, but is moving up 23 picks worth moving down 24 picks earlier? Probably not. Usually the person moving up earlier has to give more later and jhsukow could maybe have gotten more from someone else who had more to give. That being said, jhsukow will have three picks in a row in the fourth round which is nice to have as no one can interrupt your plan mid-plan.

Verdict: Slight edge to benhoidal

2. High usage%/low efg%: third round gold or poison?
Tracy McGrady and James Harden are usually selected either in the third round or sometimes the second. There is another popular second/third rounder who has not been selected who also fits this criteria along with a player or two who go before or after this round. Can you win the ODL championship with a player with super high usage and relatively low efg%? Yes, but it's worth noting that it hasn't happened in 13 seasons and has only happened 3 times in recorded history. Tarheel1991 has done it twice (Wade/McGrady) and scudmissle has done it once (as of yet undrafted). In my opinion, it is so incredibly hard to win with these guys. Sure they score a lot and usually add a lot of other good things, but they miss so many shots I don't think it's worth it. It is really hard to win when you are playing opponents whose top guys are shooting 60% and yours are barely hitting 50%. 

3. Another previously undrafted player drafted in the third round this season!
Now four of the previous six ODL drafts have seen a player who was not even drafted in the previous season get taken as early as the third round. I don't get this. You can get these players in the sixth round so even if you feel like there is only one specific player that meets your teams needs, taking them before the sixth is a huge reach. Take another player who won't be there in the sixth with your third or fourth pick and then go grab that special player later.

4. Steals:
None
Again, I don't think really any players have fallen through the cracks. This continues to be a weirdly normal draft.

5. Reaches:
Pooh Richardson (72)
Kyle Korver (58)
Willis Reed (71)
Biggest Reach: Pooh

Round 4
73. banditone - Peja Stojakovic
74. scudmissle - Robert Parish
75. slymonium - Clyde Drexler
76. jcred5 - Serge Ibaka
77. seapilots - Gerald Wallace
78. copernicus - Danny Green
79. mikee1 - Terrell Brandon
80. hardened - Wes Unseld
81. jt7king - Mark Eaton
82. eleibowitz - Emeka Okafor
83. jkaye24 - Nick Anderson
84. jhsukow - Nate McMillan
85. jhsukow (via benhoidal via robocoach) - Patrick Ewing
86. jhsukow (via benhoidal) - Kobe Bryant
87. thohoops - Anderson Varejao
88. thomcat - Rodney McCray
89. amerk1180 - Charlie Ward
90. 98average - Rajon Rondo
91. ysw128 - Derek Harper
92 - bds9992 - Maurice Cheeks
93. carbonjones - Andre Iguodala
94. uptowngbv - Mark Price
95. dh555 - Bo Outlaw
96. cjok1051 - Pau Gasol

Observations
1. Is it better to have 2 first round picks, 5 third round picks or 1 pick in each round?
Many people are often cautious about trading in this league which is quite understandable. Much of this cautious attitude has to do with our inability thus far to answer this question. Owners who have made big trades in this league have mostly been unsuccessful with a few notable exceptions. This year this question will most certainly be tested. I think I have a ton of depth, and despite not having a top 47 pick, I think I will be very competitive this year. cjok1051 has two studs and could be very competitive if he puts together the right role players. I think this question is one we are going to be asking for a number of seasons and unfortunately I think owners are going to remain very cautious. I love the intrigue trades bring to a draft and hope to see more trades in future seasons.

2. Quit drafting previously undrafted players in the 4th round!
This happens in every single draft and I just have to scratch my head each time. These players will be there in the 6th round!!! There is no excuse for drafting one of these guys in the fourth round. You can get them later and use that very valuable 4th rounder on someone else useful who won't be there later. At the very least trade your pick back and gain some valuable draft position later. This also goes for players previously drafted in the 6th round. Those guys will be there in the 5th so save your 4th round pick or at the very least trade back!

3. Most Intriguing Selection: Kobe Bryant - jhsukow
Kobe is usually Sim poison in the ODL, especially the season that jhsukow is planning on using. However, with all that rebounding on this team, it might not matter as much. Regardless, Kobe is likely to lead the league in scoring.

4. Steals:
Robert Parish (74)
Serge Ibaka (76)
Patrick Ewing (85)
Biggest Steal: Ewing

5. Reaches:
Peja Stojakovic (73)
Nick Anderson (83)
Anderson Varejao (87)
Rodney McCray (88)
Biggest Reach: Peja

Round 5
97. cjok1051 - Jose Calderon
98. dh555 - Kevin Love
99. uptowngbv - George Hill
100. carbonjones - Kevin Johnson
101. bds9992 - Danny Manning
102. ysw128 - Tree Rollins
103. 98average - Brandon Rush
104. amerk1180 - Erick Dampier
105. thomcat - Ray Allen
106. thohoops - Connie Hawkins
107. benhoidal - Bobby Phills
108. robocoach - Troy Murphy
109. benhoidal (via jhsukow) - Hassan Whiteside
110. jkaye24 - Hot Rod Williams
111. elebowitz - Andrew Bynum
112. jt7king - Kris Humphries
113. hardened - Mike Miller
114. mikee1 - Clarence Weatherspoon
115. copernicus - Bob Lanier
116. seapilots - Gerald Green
117. jcred5 - Chris Gatling
118. slymonium - Carlos Boozer
119. scudmissle - Kirk Hinrich
120. banditone - John Beasley

Observations
1. 14 Minutes of Gold
The 2015 player class was highly anticipated and for good reason. A number of players posted their best statistical seasons and have been consistently drafted in the ODL. This includes two perennial first rounders (Chris Paul & Steph Curry) along with a number of other good to very good players (DeAndre Jordan, James Harden, Klay Thompson, Rudy Gobert, Draymond Green, Kyle Korver etc.). So after two ODL seasons with the '15 players being eligible, it is a little surprising that only one player from the 2015 player database has an ODL championship. What is more than a little surprising is that that player is... Hassan Whiteside!

Hassan may only give 14 minutes, but what a 14 minutes it is: 62.8 efg% at 21.1 usage%, 14.5/32.7 rebounding %, and 88 D. Wow! He is an absolute stud for 14 minutes a game. No one is questioning how good he is. The big question with Whiteside is where he should be drafted. He has now gone in the 5th round all 3 seasons. After he was selected in each of the first two seasons, the pick was panned heavily. The prevailing opinion was that you can't spend a 5th round pick on a guy playing less than 15 minutes a game. I completely disagree.

There are plenty of starter worthy players who last until the 6th round (or go undrafted) and picking up a super sub a little early isn't a bad idea. Whiteside, won't last very far into the 6th round anyways so drafting him in the 5th locks in a very good player. It does come with a bit of a risk (the starter you are targeting may get drafted) but I say it's well worth it.

2. 10 undrafted players selected in the 5th round
This isn't as big of a deal as in previous rounds, as there are a number of undrafted players who should be drafted every year. However, I find it interesting just how much turnover there is between years. That so many players who were drafted the previous season go undrafted the next season is fascinating. Is it because these players didn't do well for there owners and therefor no one wants to repeat previous mistakes?

3. Most Intriguing Selection: George Hill - uptowngbv
Is uptowngbv using the partial season Hill? If so this again brings up the risk/reward of drafting backups in the fifth. Hill probably wouldn't have been there for uptowngbv in the sixth so if he can get the starter he was looking for the risk will pay off and then some.

4. Audience Vote! - Best Value Pick: Bobby Phills (107)
Maybe I am biased here, but 52+ efg% with 21+ usage%, 10+ dreb%, 15+ ast%, 80D, and 30+ mpg doesn't sound like it should be under $6 million to me.

5. Steals: 
Ray Allen (105)
Carlos Boozer (118)
Biggest Steal: Jesus Shuttlesworth

6. Reaches: 
None
I'm a firm believer that in the 5th and 6th round there are no reaches. Everyone has different needs for their team and only they know what they have planned for the rest of their roster.

Round 6
121. banditone - Chris Mullin
122. banditone - Wayman Tisdale
123. scudmissle - Jamal Tinsley
124. scudmissle - Jameer Nelson
125. slymonium - Al Horford
126. slymonium - Greg Anthony
127. jcred5 - Kyrie Irving
128. jcred5 - Mark Jackson
129. seapilots - Andre Miller
130. seapilots - Andrew Bogut
131. copernicus - Eric Bledsoe
132. copernicus - Anthony Carter
133. mikee1 - Amare Stoudemire
134. mikee1 - Jim Les
135. hardened - Eddy Curry
136. hardened - Jalen Rose
137. jt7king - Samuel Dalembert
138. jt7king - Jordan Farmer
139. eleibowitz - Dan Majerle
140. eleibowitz - Enes Kanter
141. jkaye24 - Ryan Anderson
142. jkaye24 - Rodrique Beaubois
143. jhsukow - Lamar Odom
144. jhsukow - Shane Battier
145. robocoach - Darrell Armstrong
146. robocoach - Tim Hardaway
147. robocoach - Amer Asik
148. cjok1051 - J.R. Smith
149. thohoops - Jason Williams
150. thohoops - Sam Bowie
151. thomcat - George T. Johnson
152. thomcat - Johnny Moore
153. amerk1180 - Antonio McDyess
154. amerk1180 - Alvin Robertson
155. 98average - Derrick Rose
156. 98average - Reggie Evans
157. ysw128 - Jerry West
158. ysw128 - Paul Pressey
159. bds9992 - Jrue Holiday
160. bds9992 - Jon Barry
161. carbonjones - Nic Batum
162. carbonjones - James Johnson
163. uptowngbv - Joe Dumars
164. uptowngbv - Ruben Patterson
165. dh555 - Carmelo Anthony
166. dh555 - Kenny Anderson
167. cjok1051 - Bruce Bowen
168. cjok1051 - Muggsy Bogues

Observations
1. 5 top 75 players from last season go undrafted!
Wow, this has to be a record. Sure, maybe a couple of these guys shouldn't have been drafted so high the season before, but how can players considered to be in top 75 one season not even be in the top 168 the next season? People are either really screwing up by drafting these guys last season or screwing up by not drafting them now. I think it's mostly the former.

2. Audience Vote!
Let me know what you want discussed and it shall be done!

3. Steals:
Al Horford (125)
Amare Stoudemire (133)
Biggest Steal: Amare

4. Reaches:
None. Everyone has very different needs at this point so there are never really any reaches in the 6th.

I had a lot of fun doing these ranking again, but just a reminder: please do not get upset with me over these rankings. They are as objective as I could make them. If you disagree with how I ranked your team, please prove me wrong during the season! There is so much parody in this league and I am sure this season will bring many surprises. I hope you guys had fun reading these evals, and I wish you all luck for the upcoming season. Now, on to some predictions!

Predictions:

Atlantic
Eleibowitz gets the bye
jt7king makes the playoffs
carbonjones, jkaye24, and thohoops fight for the playoffs
amerk1180 struggles

Central
bds9992 and ysw128 fight for the bye
thomcat, jhsukow, and cjok1051 fight for the playoffs
banditone struggles

Midwest
dh555 and slymonium fight for the bye
jcred5, and copernicus fight for the playoffs
robocoach and hardened don't struggle, but are just below the playoff race

Pacific
seapilots and benhoidal fight for the bye
98average makes the playoffs
mikee1, scudmissle and uptowngbv fight for the playoffs


10 Bold predictions!

10. Eleibowitz handily gets the #1 seed in the East
I see this race getting wrapped up early. Eleibowitz just has the best team in the conference. However...

9. 5 Year is real thing!
You may have head of odd year (2000's San Antonio Spurs win ships in 03, 05, and 07). You may have heard of even year (San Francisco Giants win World Series in 10, 12, and 14). But have you heard of 5 Year? In the ODL, this is becoming a thing! Eleibowitz has won the championship in ODL 40, 45, 50, and 55, and no other season! I am not one to tempt fate, and so despite having what I believe is a clear path to the finals... (spoiler alert!) eleibowitz will not win ODL 58. He will have to wait two more seasons.
 
8. Both divisional races in the west go down to the last 3 games of the season
4 of the best 5 teams in some order will be fighting for the extra rest. dh555 and slymonium play on the third to last game of the season, and seapilots and benhoidal play on the second to last day. This should add some excitement to the final week beyond the playoff bubble.

7. dh555 leads the league in ppg by a solid margin
Other contenders: 
carbonjones
cjok1051
robocoach
benhoidal

6. The Pacific will have the best overall record
I am of course biased, but I think this is the best division top to bottom. This could be the 7th season in a row where I am in the toughest division. 3 or 4 out of 7 is just bad luck, but this is getting ridiculous. I need some randomization luck starting next season!

5. A non division winner will win the whole thing! For the fifth consecutive season!
It's happened four straight seasons now. While getting the bye is still huge and gives you the best chance to win the whole thing, it is no longer a guarantee. 

4. Playoff Seeding:

East                    West
1. eleibowitz       1. dh555
2. bds9992          2. benhoidal
3. jt7king             3. slymonium
4. ysw128           4. seapilots
5. jhsukow           5. 98average
6. thohoops         6. jcred5

3. Quarter-Finals!
eleibowitz over jhsukow in 5
bds9992 over jt7king in 7
seapilots over dh555 in 6
slymonium over benhoidal in 7

2. Semi-Finals!
eleibowitz over bds9992 in 6 
slymonium over seapilots in 6

1. Slymonium wins the championship! (About time sly) 
slymonium over eleibowitz in 7

CP3 er?----ly?

Posted by copernicus on 10/9/2015 9:42:00 PM (view original):
CP3 er?----ly?

we'll see.

thought about Shaq, but I had to get CP3 for my specific plan. if it goes smoothly, i won't regret the pick.