Is Drexler that good? Is he significantly better than another guy who played in his era, with identical height/dunking ability/stats but didn't make the NBA top-50 greatest? Or would they both be first rounders?

lolz

I don't think he's leaps and bounds ahead of today's wing guys like TMac, Pierce, Vince Carter (ugh), etc, but he was a very efficient scorer who carried a great Portland team for a number of years. I don't mind giving him the nod here.

I have a tough time justifying Drexler when Kidd and Payton are still out there.

I think his longevity gives him the edge over those guys.

Also, T-Mac would have been a complete beast if not for the back spasms. We would be talking about him almost like we talk about Kobe, IMO.

Yeah TMac in his prime was at Kobe's Level.
But given that we are taken chronic injuries and motivation into account, not just natural talent, there's a big gap beetween drexler and Tmac.
I'm really curious about where guys like T mac or even Anthony will end up.

Ewings pick was a no brainer, Drexler solid pick too.
You could argue for payton or Kidd, but it's not clear cut and a matter of personnal preference IMO.

I'll try and have a pick up in the next hour or so...I just got out of graduation(YAY DONE WITH COLLEGE) and have dinner with the fam in an hour so I'll try and at least get the pick in before I leave.

dude **** this thread.. go celebrate!

pick someone who graduated college imo

Round #1, Pick #18 Patrick Ewing








How Patrick drops this far is amazing, but gratifying for Noah (Clark). The starting center for the Dream Team, Patrick is without any question one of the greatest centers to ever play the game, and judging by this draft, one of the more underappreciated.

Patrick may well be the poster child for the hard luck superstar in the Jordan era. In 1992 the Ewing-led Knicks were one of only two teams to push the Jordan Bulls to 7 games (the other the Pacers in the final Bulls title season). They lost that game, and lost the following year due to the infamous Charles Smith game, despite having home court. The following year, Jordan in retirement, the Knicks marched to the Finals, only to barely lose in Game 6 and face heartbreak in Game 7 when John Starks lit fire to their title hopes.

Even at an advanced age, with a variety of injury concerns, Ewing helped to get the Knicks to the Finals for a second time, as an 8-seed, where they fell to the Spurs.

Voted one of the 50 greatest players, he's also one of the more underappreciated defensive forces. Never winning DPOY, he certainly had some years that arguably could've qualified. For those who like defensive win shares, he has 5 of the top 27 seasons recorded (including the 4th best ever, which is higher than Duncan, Robinson and Garnett). Prefer defensive rating? He has the 5th best season of anyone in this draft. And obviously, he was a force on offense.

His career statline of 21/10/2/1/2.5 at 50% from the floor and 71% from the line belies just how awesome he was in his prime. PER lovers will like his 11 straight years over 20, including his best year of 1990 where he averaged 27pts, 10rebs, 2assts, 1stl and 4blocks while playing every game and averaging 55% from the floor, but that doesn't tell the story of how much this Hall of Famer dominated.

Honors
Rookie of the Year (1986)
11-time All-Star; One of 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (1996)
All-NBA First Team (1990)
All-NBA Second Team (1988, '89, '91, '92, '93, '97)
NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1988, '89, '92)
2-time Olympic gold medalist (1984, '92)
NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player (1984)
Naismith College Player of the Year in (1985).

No doubt I will tonight...figure I have an hour to kill in the apartment before I see the family again. I don't want to come home and pick like John Starks later though.

Clyde Drexler Round 1 #19



Really gotta go now so

JLTNYK is up

Also I really hate you for taking Ewing...I became convinced early he was going to somehow drop to me at 20.

didn't realize he was the dream team starter.. figured it was Robinson.

I really like the Drexler pick.

PS there are only two players left from the original dream team

Congrats!

Drexler was one of like 5 guys I was considering. But really, it was a no brainer in the end with Patrick.

Drexler vs. some of the other guys who will go next is an interesting choice. I think I'd have taken at least 2 guys over him.

I guess you can give the nod to one of the PGs. Or another SF. But who wants an ugly ******* on their team?

Me?

It pained me to take Patrick over him. Especially in this league format, where I think an argument can be made that the ugly one is even more valuable than he already was due to the number of scorers around and the importance of D. But Patrick is kind of a monster on D in his own right, which really made it too tough to not take him. He could've arguably been taken several picks earlier.

I thought Ewing was a clear cut below the first of the centers taken, but a no brainer where he was.

gogogogo make ur pick already so i can make mine, I have to leave in 30 min

He was my second choice behind Stocton fwiw.

Clark are you in the draft now or just filling in?

Filling in if Noah still wants it. I'll keep running it if he doesn't. Just trying to keep things going. Really, I'm ok with being designated picker for anyone who is slow, but whatever. I'm easy. I just want this over by the end of August (and yes, I enjoy this), and I think it'll be close.

Round 1 Pick 20

Jason Kidd




I narrowed it down to two PGs here and both were pretty close when I looked at a statistical comparison. I gave the nod to Kidd for his more completely well-rounded game. With 111 career triple doubles(11 playoff), Kidd is third to only Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson in that category. With a 14 year career average of 14.2 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 9.3 APG I feel like he's the best player available to build around. If I end up going small/athletic Kidd is the perfect guy to grab the board and start the break on his own. I also feel like he's capable of running a slower paced offense. He's put in a ton of work to improve his offensive game to avoid teams doubling off of him. He's also no defensive slouch often times guarding taller two guards due to his upper body strength. Durability also isn't a major concern as Kidd has battled to remain on the court.

Honors
9 All-Star Teams
5 Time All-NBA First Team, 1 Time All-NBA Second Team
4 Time All-Defensive First Team, 5 Time All-Defensive Second Team
1995 Co-Rookie of the Year
2000 USA Gold Medalist in Sydney (Record of 44-0 with team USA...expected to lead the team in 2008)
1992 High School Player of the Year

EPiPeN11 on the clock

I'm pretty sure Tmac was the only guy other than Jordan to have a PER over 30 for an entire season. Couldn't find a link for it though. He was/is absolutely sick.