Round 4 , Pick 148
Bill Cartwright
I fleshed out my back court with my first three picks, and now it's time to get a front court together. With that in mind, I choose Bill Cartwright. First, let's get the negatives out of the way. Injuries. He missed his entire age 27 season with a broken foot, and played only 2 games of his age 28 season as well. Now, I know my stance on injuries is not shared by all, but even I'm willing to concede that a big man with foot injuries is not a freak injury. So, while he might not get hurt the exact same way, he's almost assured to have foot problems at some point in his new career. However, with Tracy McGrady's bad back also an issue, I need to build for the short term more than the long, and I should get several productive seasons at the very least.
Now, the good. First of all, he is one of the most efficient players left on the board. His career TS% was .588. In his prime, he was regularly over .600, topping out at .637 pre-foot injuries. This efficiency is not due to an Andris Biedrins type of usage though, as at his peak he had a usage rate of between 20-21%, which is the role I forsee him playing on this team. He also holds the distinction of being an above average free throw shooter while using
this form, which might be the most impressive part of his game.
Raw numbers wise, he averaged 13 and 6, but much higher at the beginning of his careeer, putting up 20 and 8 the two season before I get him. On the negative side, his defense is nothing to write home about, with a pedestrian defensive rating and defensive win shares and an underwhelming rebound percentage for a big man. However, at this stage of the draft, there are no complete players available, especially at center, and so I went with scoring efficiency over a defensive whiz and offensive liability. My next pick will have to pick up the slack in that area.
For now:
PG Tony Parker
SG Hersey Hawkins
SF Tracy McGrady
PF
C Bill Cartwright