Round 5 Pick 174

Latrell Fontaine Sprewell



4x NBA All-Star
1x All NBA (1st Team)
1x All NBA Defensive (2nd Team)

Latrell is a guy I've had my eyes on for the last 30 picks, and I think he is great value here and BPA. I went back and forth on him a bit because of some issues, but I always came back to focusing on how good he was for a pretty decent stretch. He is a very good-great defender at the 2 guard position, adding him with Stockton gives me a very tough backcourt that can defend well. I also think he is a strong fit with Mullin. He is strong going to the basket (something I needed on the wings), and while he isn't a great 3pt shooter he can hit them (career .337%)

Sprewell's biggest knock is that he is inefficient, which I won't argue with. I also think that my team can handle having an inefficient wing because of the positives he brings to my lineup. He will be in between Stockton and Mullin, two of the most efficient players out there. He can score though, and I needed another guy who can get me 20 ppg, something that Spree will be able to do. The other knock on him is that he is crazy, which I also won't argue with. But I think the risk is extremely worth it in this spot (pick 174). Plus if he ever gets out of hand Oakley will bitch slap him.

My team:
PG: John Stockon
SG: Latrell Sprewell
SF: Chris Mullin
PF: Charles Oakley
C: Z

Yea he was 1st in minutes, 2nd in minutes, and third twice in his career.

white/black/white/black/white

it's like a double reverse oreo

i was very skeptical about this team before, but i really like it now because of this addition.

I was shocked looking at Spree's numbers. Everything was so much lower than I remembered. 2nd all time in loss shares? WTF?

D

If you're going to use a John Stockton clone I'd at least put him at the 2 instead of the 3.

I like his team because somehow he managed to pick Stockton twice. Trade bait!

D

huh?

haha ooops

I just want to point out that teams drafting around the end of round 1 could've had a team of:

C Rasheed Wallace
PF Dennis Rodman
SF Ron Artest
SG Latrell Sprewell


I can think of a few PGs still available who would fit in nicely too.

****, 14th in the $50K guaranteed.

Assani,

I think we can all agree that every player should benefit from playing on well rounded stacked teams, and everyone should be more efficient in this format. I have just been surprised at guys like Bill Cartwright, Chris Kaymen, etc... getting taken in the first couple of rounds because they fit in as "efficient position roll players" whereas guys who are very good scorers have dropped far, and when they get picked people take issue with their efficiency etc... At some point I will try to weed through this thread and bring up some specific examples because I know this is vague but it's just a general feeling I have had for a while.

I want that team so badly.

Bill Cartwright is insulted at being compared with Chris Kaman efficiency wise.

I don't like the examples, but yeah this is good. I think two things have been underrated in this draft:

1. toughness
2. the amount that players improve when playing with other great players

Haha I am so glad Spree got taken cuz he is one of the guys I have had in the back of my mind for a long time as a prime example of someone who slipped too far because of personality issues etc... Solid defender, very good scorer, and is exactly the type of player I would expect to have one of the biggest jumps in efficiency due to this format. (although the particular team he is on might detract from this a little bit but you get my point). He dropped too far by quite a bit IMO.

Assani,

That team needs Marbury somehow. I bet if they draft Isiah as coach, it will happen.

D

Yah I haven't done a great job with examples since I need to reference this thread for the discussion points that were brought up and it's so hard to go back through this thread. But I think you guys understand what I mean, and like Colin just pointed out, evaluating/projecting how certain players will improve/mesh with other great players should be one the best ways to get great value in this format and also one of the most fun parts for a basketball enthuiast.

Fair enough. I thought you were directing it partly at my team since I've been one of the biggest guys who has targetted efficiency on offense.

Also Kaman isn't efficient at all, so I think thats a bad example.

BTW, I am not endorsing the pickings of guys like Stackhouse, but I feel like every team needs either 5 guys that are completely unselfish, or multiple guys that can flat out get a bucket by themselves.

why?

in the current NBA, there's only one good team (detroit) that fits the first example, and the team that probably most fits the second example (denver) isn't very good.

Yeah, but the problem with Stackhouse is half the time he's more interested in jacking up ******ed shots than driving. He's sort of the case against the "jump in efficiency with a good team" idea. He's chugged right along at his career average efficiency in Dallas doing whatever the **** he does even though he's playing on one of the best offensive teams of the last decade.

I like the idea of Jamison as a 6th man and had sort of tossed that idea around my head some. Really think I should have gone Rashard Lewis in the 3rd round, but my love of Jamison (from his UNC days) blinded me.

There aren't many full teams in the NBA, but they're good. And by "get a bucket" I'm not talking about completely selfish guys, guys anywhere from Tim Duncan to Latrell Sprewell apply. IE no overload on guys that are just looking to pass and if they get a good look, take it, unless that's your entire team.

To those who commented on pairing Barbosa with Marbury:

What kind of an SG woul have been a better fit? I already know you hate Marbury with a passion, but what would have been a better type of player to go with him?

Barbosa is a great 3-point shooter and super fast. I think it's a pretty good pick considering where Monta Ellis went, almost a round earlier.