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kangaeru · 06-27-2005, 04:39 PM

Pick Team Selection Our choice
Skinny

Philadelphia
Allen Iverson
Kobe Bryant In one of the great draft moves in history, the Lakers traded Vlade Divac to Charlotte for Bryant, who the Hornets had just selected with the No. 13 pick. Normally one would say L.A. overpaid by giving up Divac for a mid-first-rounder, but not in this case. Meanwhile, the Sixers passed up the chance to keep Kobe in his hometown.

Toronto
Marcus Camby
Allen Iverson Beats out Bryant in MVPs, scoring titles and jersey sales but lags well behind in the things that win games. Iverson's 41.8 percent shooting can't match Kobe's 45.2 percent, and Kobe's advantage in True Shooting Percentage is even greater.

Vancouver
(Memphis)
Shareef Abdur-Rahim
Ray Allen The Bucks traded Stephon Marbury to get the "lesser" player in Allen, but I doubt they're upset about the trade. He's been a reliable All-Star-caliber performer but amazingly was only the third-best shooting guard in his class.

Milwaukee
Stephon Marbury
Jermaine O'Neal O'Neal's best seasons are slightly better than Allen's, but he's had far fewer of them because he was stuck on the pine in Portland for so long. Still, it's rare for the best big man in a draft class to be selected with the 17th overall pick, so kudos to the Blazers for that.

Minnesota
Ray Allen
Stephon Marbury Players No. 5 through 9 on this list may surprise you, because they run counter to how the players are perceived today. In general, it's best to understand the rankings not by asking "Who is better right now?" but rather "Who has been better to have since 1996?"

For instance, Steve Nash was undeniably better than Marbury last season. But for the first five years of his career, Nash was a secondary player while Marbury was a star. So would you rather draft Marbury and get 18 and 8 right away or take Nash and wait six years for him to become an All-Star? Marbury outrated Nash in his first five seasons, and in four of them the difference was enormous. His career PER still comfortably tops Nash, and he's been more durable, too.

Boston
Antoine Walker
Shareef Abdur-Rahim This may surprise you even more than the Marbury rating, but Abdur-Rahim produced immediately (18.7 ppg as a rookie), stayed at a high level (career averages of 19.8 ppg and 8.1 rpg) and, until last year, never got hurt. As a result, he has a higher career PER than all but the top three players on the 1996 list and ranks fourth from his class in minutes played. 'Reef takes a lot of unfair abuse for not making the playoffs, but he wasn't the one choosing his teammates.

L.A. Clippers
Lorenzen Wright
Steve Nash His past three seasons are better than anything that Marbury and Abdur-Rahim have done, but his overall contribution still falls short compared to theirs. If I were Minnesota and had today's salary cap rules on my side (so that Marbury couldn't have forced his way out so easily), I still would have preferred the immediate juice from Marbury to the long lag time with Nash.

New Jersey
Kerry Kittles
Peja Stojakovic From 1996 to 2001, a few smart teams realized they could draft international players in the first round and get huge talents at discount prices. Stojakovic, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Dirk Nowitzki, Andrei Kirilenko, Manu Ginobili, Primoz Brezec, Hedo Turkoglu, Marko Jaric, Pau Gasol and Vladimir Radmanovic were all obtained this way, but the trend suddenly careened off the tracks with the selection of Nikoloz Tskitishvili in 2002.

Dallas
Samaki Walker
Ben Wallace Big Ben went undrafted, but that was clearly an oversight. The three-time defensive player of the year could arguably rank higher – and probably would but for his miserable offensive output. Nonetheless, it's safe to say Dallas would have preferred Wallace at No. 9 to its actual pick – Samaki Walker.

Indiana
Erick Dampier
Zydrunas Ilgauskas Yet another All-Star-caliber player from the 1996 draft and the third star big man to be snubbed in the lottery. Ilgauskas went 20th overall to the Cavs in '96 and he wasn't even their favorite pick – Cleveland had taken Vitaly Potapenko at No. 12.

Golden State
Todd Fuller
Antoine Walker It's unusual for a three-time All-Star to only be the 11th-best player from a draft class. But then again, it's rare for a single draft to produce 11 All-Stars, and Walker is pretty clearly the worst of the 11.

Cleveland
Vitaly Potapenko
Marcus Camby On a per-minute basis, Walker can't light a candle to Camby. Unfortunately, Camby's availability has been an issue. Since the Raptors selected him with the second overall pick, Cotton Camby has barely played half as many minutes as Walker thanks to a stunning variety of injuries.

Charlotte
(New Orleans)
Kobe Bryant
Kerry Kittles The eighth overall pick, Kittles would have justified that selection in almost any other draft. He beat out several other quality players – including Erick Dampier, Malik Rose, Jerome Williams and Derek Fisher – to grab the final lottery spot in this exercise.

06-27-2005, 04:39 PM	#4 (permalink)
kangaeru Crazy Location: on the road to where I want to be...	Pick Team Selection Our choice Skinny Philadelphia Allen Iverson Kobe Bryant In one of the great draft moves in history, the Lakers traded Vlade Divac to Charlotte for Bryant, who the Hornets had just selected with the No. 13 pick. Normally one would say L.A. overpaid by giving up Divac for a mid-first-rounder, but not in this case. Meanwhile, the Sixers passed up the chance to keep Kobe in his hometown. Toronto Marcus Camby Allen Iverson Beats out Bryant in MVPs, scoring titles and jersey sales but lags well behind in the things that win games. Iverson's 41.8 percent shooting can't match Kobe's 45.2 percent, and Kobe's advantage in True Shooting Percentage is even greater. Vancouver (Memphis) Shareef Abdur-Rahim Ray Allen The Bucks traded Stephon Marbury to get the "lesser" player in Allen, but I doubt they're upset about the trade. He's been a reliable All-Star-caliber performer but amazingly was only the third-best shooting guard in his class. Milwaukee Stephon Marbury Jermaine O'Neal O'Neal's best seasons are slightly better than Allen's, but he's had far fewer of them because he was stuck on the pine in Portland for so long. Still, it's rare for the best big man in a draft class to be selected with the 17th overall pick, so kudos to the Blazers for that. Minnesota Ray Allen Stephon Marbury Players No. 5 through 9 on this list may surprise you, because they run counter to how the players are perceived today. In general, it's best to understand the rankings not by asking "Who is better right now?" but rather "Who has been better to have since 1996?" For instance, Steve Nash was undeniably better than Marbury last season. But for the first five years of his career, Nash was a secondary player while Marbury was a star. So would you rather draft Marbury and get 18 and 8 right away or take Nash and wait six years for him to become an All-Star? Marbury outrated Nash in his first five seasons, and in four of them the difference was enormous. His career PER still comfortably tops Nash, and he's been more durable, too. Boston Antoine Walker Shareef Abdur-Rahim This may surprise you even more than the Marbury rating, but Abdur-Rahim produced immediately (18.7 ppg as a rookie), stayed at a high level (career averages of 19.8 ppg and 8.1 rpg) and, until last year, never got hurt. As a result, he has a higher career PER than all but the top three players on the 1996 list and ranks fourth from his class in minutes played. 'Reef takes a lot of unfair abuse for not making the playoffs, but he wasn't the one choosing his teammates. L.A. Clippers Lorenzen Wright Steve Nash His past three seasons are better than anything that Marbury and Abdur-Rahim have done, but his overall contribution still falls short compared to theirs. If I were Minnesota and had today's salary cap rules on my side (so that Marbury couldn't have forced his way out so easily), I still would have preferred the immediate juice from Marbury to the long lag time with Nash. New Jersey Kerry Kittles Peja Stojakovic From 1996 to 2001, a few smart teams realized they could draft international players in the first round and get huge talents at discount prices. Stojakovic, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Dirk Nowitzki, Andrei Kirilenko, Manu Ginobili, Primoz Brezec, Hedo Turkoglu, Marko Jaric, Pau Gasol and Vladimir Radmanovic were all obtained this way, but the trend suddenly careened off the tracks with the selection of Nikoloz Tskitishvili in 2002. Dallas Samaki Walker Ben Wallace Big Ben went undrafted, but that was clearly an oversight. The three-time defensive player of the year could arguably rank higher – and probably would but for his miserable offensive output. Nonetheless, it's safe to say Dallas would have preferred Wallace at No. 9 to its actual pick – Samaki Walker. Indiana Erick Dampier Zydrunas Ilgauskas Yet another All-Star-caliber player from the 1996 draft and the third star big man to be snubbed in the lottery. Ilgauskas went 20th overall to the Cavs in '96 and he wasn't even their favorite pick – Cleveland had taken Vitaly Potapenko at No. 12. Golden State Todd Fuller Antoine Walker It's unusual for a three-time All-Star to only be the 11th-best player from a draft class. But then again, it's rare for a single draft to produce 11 All-Stars, and Walker is pretty clearly the worst of the 11. Cleveland Vitaly Potapenko Marcus Camby On a per-minute basis, Walker can't light a candle to Camby. Unfortunately, Camby's availability has been an issue. Since the Raptors selected him with the second overall pick, Cotton Camby has barely played half as many minutes as Walker thanks to a stunning variety of injuries. Charlotte (New Orleans) Kobe Bryant Kerry Kittles The eighth overall pick, Kittles would have justified that selection in almost any other draft. He beat out several other quality players – including Erick Dampier, Malik Rose, Jerome Williams and Derek Fisher – to grab the final lottery spot in this exercise.