The Draft Slot NBA

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The NBA might be the greatest "What if?" sports league on the planet. What if the Blazers had picked MJ over Bowie? What if David Stern didn't veto the CP3 trade? What if the cap spike of 2016 was distributed over several seasons? What if Bill Walton's feet hadn't been made of glass? What if Shaq and Kobe had figured out how to coexist? What if OKC didn't foolishly trade Harden? What if Tim Duncan had signed with Orlando?

These are just a few of the MANY examples, any one of which would have had massive downstream effects and changed league history in very fundamental ways. Today, I'm going to exercise my own NBA "What if?" freedom by concocting an even crazier scenario. The NBA expanded for the most recent (and final?) time in 2004, adding the Charlotte Bobcats (now Hornets) to bring the total to 30 franchises. There have been fifteen drafts since the expansion, meaning there have now been enough first-round picks to fill every roster in the league.

So here's the hypothetical premise: what if, instead of being drafted to a specific franchise, each first round pick since 2004 was instead simply assigned to a team made up of players drafted in the same draft slot? What would those teams look like, and how would they fare if they competed against one another?

Obviously, this is all a silly flight of fancy and it's going to be pretty subjective, but even so, it's probably a good idea to establish some ground rules:

1. Again, first round picks only. I know this leaves out a ton of excellent NBA players. Whatever. My game, my rules. Sorry, Draymond, DJ, Middleton, Jokic, and others -- you aren't part of my imaginary league.

2. The numbers listed below are career figures, and obviously the different players on each squad are at different phases of their respective careers, or retired/out of the league altogether. Therefore, when making rotation decisions, I am essentially considering the "peak" version or vintage of the player. Yes, this is unfair to rookies and other young guys, since there is almost certainly going to be a better version of them which has yet to emerge. However, we can only go on the information we have presently, and said information is inherently asymmetrical.

3. I have done my best to create positionally coherent rotations, but it is not always possible. Fit is taken into account in breaking down how competitive each team would be.

The players on each roster are listed below in order of Win Shares per 48 Minutes to create some sort of organizing principle. After that I will select my preferred rotation, provide some analysis, and then power rank each squad from 1 to 30 -- including the delta between the ranking and what we would expect.

Without further ado, I give you the Draft Slot NBA, starting with our plucky underdogs at no. 30.

[Massive thanks to Basketball-Reference.com and their Draft Finder tool for making this dumb exercise possible.]

TEAM 30:

Year	Tm	Player	Pos	G	MP	PTS	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%	FT%	WS	WS/48 ▼
2011	CHI	Jimmy Butler	F-G	479	32.9	16.6	4.9	3.4	1.6	0.5	.454	.345	.832	60.9	.185
2015	GSW	Kevon Looney	F-C	150	12.6	3.8	3.2	0.8	0.4	0.6	.576	.211	.591	6.2	.156
2005	NYK	David Lee	F	829	29.3	13.5	8.8	2.2	0.8	0.4	.535	.034	.772	76.0	.150
2014	SAS	Kyle Anderson	F-G	280	18.9	5.0	3.8	1.8	1.0	0.5	.478	.329	.716	14.0	.127
2016	GSW	Damian Jones	F-C	49	11.9	3.6	2.3	0.6	0.3	0.7	.643		.577	1.5	.126
2012	GSW	Festus Ezeli	C	170	14.1	4.2	4.3	0.4	0.3	1.0	.513		.557	5.9	.119
2017	UTA	Josh Hart	G	87	23.4	8.2	3.9	1.3	0.9	0.3	.465	.396	.696	4.7	.110
2006	POR	Joel Freeland	F-C	151	12.1	3.2	3.4	0.4	0.2	0.4	.459	.000	.728	3.2	.084
2018	ATL	Omari Spellman	F	22	18.2	6.3	4.5	1.0	0.8	0.6	.386	.317	.750	0.5	.065
2008	BOS	J.R. Giddens	G	38	6.5	1.9	1.4	0.3	0.3	0.1	.476	.000	.565	0.1	.027
2010	WAS	Lazar Hayward	F	72	8.2	2.9	1.3	0.5	0.2	0.1	.347	.269	.767	0.2	.020
2009	CLE	Christian Eyenga	F	51	20.6	6.3	2.7	0.8	0.7	0.6	.411	.277	.611	-0.4	-0.020
2013	PHO	Nemanja Nedovic	G	24	5.9	1.1	0.6	0.5	0.0	0.0	.205	.167	.875	-0.4	-0.132
2007	PHI	Petteri Koponen	G

STARTERS:

C: Kevon Looney

F: David Lee

F: Kyle Anderson

G: Jimmy Butler

G: Josh Hart

BENCH:

C: Festus Ezeli

F: Damion Jones

F: Omari Spellman

F: Joel Freeland

Hey, not a bad start! Considering what we would expect from the no. 30 slot, a team featuring two All-Stars (Butler and Lee) and several other very solid role players would do surprisingly well. The guard rotation would be a legitimate problem, but they could always use Slo Mo as a nominal point guard, and it's not as though Jimmy Butler isn't used to playing heavy minutes. A pleasantly competitive roster.

[Note: Team 30 only has 14 players because Minnesota forfeited its first round pick in 2004 due to salary cap violations. Life is unfair for the little guy. You have no idea how badly I wanted to make a "KAAAAAAAHHHNNN!!!" joke about this, but alas, David Kahn didn't become the Wolves' GM until 2009. Things are tough all around.]

Power Rank: 16 (+14)

TEAM 29:

Year	Tm	Player	Pos	G	MP	PTS	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%	FT%	WS	WS/48 ▼
2011	SAS	Cory Joseph	G	470	21.1	7.0	2.5	2.7	0.7	0.2	.451	.338	.761	19.7	.095
2010	ORL	Daniel Orton	C-F	51	10.6	2.8	2.5	0.5	0.4	0.5	.485	.000	.597	1.0	.093
2008	DET	D.J. White	F	138	15.3	5.9	3.2	0.6	0.3	0.4	.507	.333	.720	3.8	.087
2005	MIA	Wayne Simien	F	51	9.9	3.3	1.9	0.2	0.3	0.0	.469		.854	0.9	.083
2009	LAL	Toney Douglas	G	394	19.1	7.6	2.2	2.3	0.9	0.1	.404	.354	.824	12.1	.077
2016	SAS	Dejounte Murray	G	119	17.4	6.6	4.2	2.3	0.9	0.3	.441	.316	.708	3.2	.074
2004	IND	David Harrison	C	189	14.2	5.0	2.9	0.2	0.3	1.0	.530		.525	3.2	.057
2015	BRK	Chris McCullough	F	59	9.0	3.3	1.9	0.3	0.5	0.3	.426	.306	.548	0.6	.054
2007	PHO	Alando Tucker	F	51	8.4	4.1	1.0	0.3	0.1	0.0	.423	.294	.783	0.4	.045
2017	SAS	Derrick White	G	33	14.0	4.5	2.2	1.9	0.4	0.1	.419	.385	.722	0.4	.043
2014	OKC	Josh Huestis	F	76	14.1	2.5	2.4	0.3	0.2	0.6	.346	.312	.240	0.7	.030
2013	OKC	Archie Goodwin	G	165	14.5	6.3	2.0	1.2	0.4	0.2	.429	.236	.700	1.1	.022
2006	NYK	Mardy Collins	G	189	14.7	3.9	1.8	1.7	0.6	0.1	.380	.299	.599	-1.6	-0.027
2012	CHI	Marquis Teague	G	91	10.0	2.4	1.0	1.5	0.3	0.1	.343	.222	.661	-0.9	-0.045
2018	BRK	Dzanan Musa	G-F	7	3.7	1.7	0.4	0.1	0.3	0.0	.429	.000	.000	-0.1	-0.184

STARTERS:

C: David Harrison

F: DJ White

G: Derrick White

G: Dejounte Murray

G: Cory Joseph

BENCH:

G: Toney Douglas

F: Wayne Simien

C: Daniel Orton

F: Chris McCullough

F: Dzanan Musa

Woof. There's no way to polish the turd -- this team would be atrocious. Outside of the triumvirate of competent guards selected by San Antonio (you're going to see a lot of Spurs' players in the early going, for obvious reasons), there is just nothing to work with here. Let's move on.

Power Rank: 30 (-1)

TEAM 28:

Year	Tm	Player	Pos	G	MP	PTS	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%	FT%	WS	WS/48 ▼
2007	SAS	Tiago Splitter	F-C	355	19.2	7.9	5.0	1.2	0.6	0.6	.555	.143	.697	25.3	.178
2005	SAS	Ian Mahinmi	C	559	16.5	5.1	4.3	0.5	0.5	0.7	.539	.071	.609	24.0	.125
2004	SAS	Beno Udrih	G	831	21.9	8.4	2.1	3.4	0.7	0.1	.463	.349	.833	31.4	.083
2016	PHO	Skal Labissiere	F	100	18.9	8.3	4.6	1.0	0.4	0.6	.476	.344	.766	2.7	.068
2010	MEM	Greivis Vasquez	G	401	23.7	9.0	2.5	4.8	0.6	0.1	.418	.349	.817	12.6	.064
2009	MIN	Wayne Ellington	G	608	21.1	8.0	2.2	1.1	0.5	0.1	.410	.381	.851	16.0	.060
2012	OKC	Perry Jones	F	143	11.7	3.4	1.8	0.4	0.3	0.2	.420	.293	.660	1.7	.048
2015	BOS	R.J. Hunter	G	44	8.4	2.6	1.0	0.4	0.4	0.1	.361	.282	.889	0.3	.039
2017	LAL	Tony Bradley	F-C	9	3.2	0.9	1.2	0.1	0.0	0.0	.273	.000	1.000	0.0	.033
2011	CHI	Norris Cole	G	360	22.3	7.0	2.0	2.7	0.8	0.1	.407	.324	.743	3.0	.018
2008	MEM	Donte Greene	F	253	16.8	6.1	2.4	0.7	0.4	0.5	.406	.304	.701	1.5	.017
2014	LAC	C.J. Wilcox	G	66	5.7	2.0	0.5	0.5	0.2	0.1	.370	.333	.813	0.1	.007
2006	DAL	Maurice Ager	G	82	6.2	2.1	0.6	0.2	0.1	0.1	.339	.250	.566	-0.9	-0.089
2018	GSW	Jacob Evans	G-F	17	4.5	0.4	0.4	0.6	0.1	0.1	.188	.250		-0.2	-0.100
2013	SAS	Livio Jean-Charles	F

STARTERS:

C: Ian Mahinmi

F: Tiago Splitter

G/F: Wayne Ellington

G: Greivis Vasquez

G: Beno Udrih

BENCH:

F: Skal Labissiere

G: Norris Cole

F: Perry Jones

F: Tony Bradley

OK, that's a little better. There is at least something resembling a functional NBA roster here. Udrih was an underrated playmaker, the frountcourt would battle, and Ellington, while obviously miscast as a primary scorer, gives them someone who can shoot and put the ball in the hoop with some consistency. It would be an uphill climb, but they would stick it to Team 29, if nothing else.

Power Rank: 29 (-1)

TEAM 27:

Year	Tm	Player	Pos	G	MP	PTS	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%	FT%	WS	WS/48 ▼
2018	BOS	Robert Williams	F	9	3.7	1.4	1.2	0.1	0.0	0.7	.750		.500	0.2	.316
2013	DEN	Rudy Gobert	C	350	28.3	10.4	10.2	1.2	0.7	2.2	.622	.000	.626	42.5	.206
2016	TOR	Pascal Siakam	F	162	20.5	7.4	4.4	1.5	0.7	0.6	.537	.245	.695	9.7	.141
2015	LAL	Larry Nance Jr.	F-C	214	21.7	7.2	6.0	1.3	1.2	0.5	.543	.263	.690	12.8	.132
2012	MIA	Arnett Moultrie	F	59	12.4	3.6	3.1	0.2	0.4	0.2	.547		.667	1.7	.113
2009	MEM	DeMarre Carroll	F	502	23.9	8.9	4.2	1.2	1.0	0.3	.434	.362	.744	26.4	.106
2004	LAL	Sasha Vujacic	G	581	15.3	5.3	1.9	1.3	0.6	0.1	.390	.367	.858	16.0	.086
2005	POR	Linas Kleiza	F	409	20.0	8.7	3.6	0.8	0.4	0.2	.435	.335	.763	13.6	.080
2017	BRK	Kyle Kuzma	F	101	31.2	16.3	6.1	1.9	0.6	0.5	.455	.352	.714	5.2	.080
2007	DET	Arron Afflalo	G	762	27.3	10.8	2.9	1.8	0.4	0.2	.450	.386	.825	33.5	.077
2014	PHO	Bogdan Bogdanovic	G	90	27.6	12.2	2.9	3.3	0.9	0.2	.446	.393	.857	3.6	.070
2008	NOH	Darrell Arthur	F	503	17.8	6.5	3.5	0.8	0.6	0.6	.444	.352	.765	12.3	.066
2010	NJN	Jordan Crawford	G	281	24.4	12.2	2.5	3.1	0.7	0.1	.411	.317	.826	6.3	.044
2006	PHO	Sergio Rodriguez	G	353	15.0	4.9	1.5	3.4	0.6	0.0	.409	.337	.739	4.3	.039
2011	NJN	JaJuan Johnson	F	36	8.3	3.2	1.6	0.2	0.1	0.4	.446		.667	0.2	.032

STARTERS:

C: Rudy Gobert

F: Pascal Siakam

F: DeMarre Carroll

G: Arron Afflalo

G: Bogdan Bogdanovic

BENCH:

F: Kyle Kuzma

F/C: Larry Nance, Jr.

G: Sasha Vujacic

F: Linas Kleiza

G: Jordan Crawford

F: Darrell Arthur

Look at that frontcourt depth! Ball handling and playmaking would for sure be a struggle, but this squad has a lot of smart, rugged dudes who would make more talented teams work for it, and if all else failed, they'd still have the Stifle Tower waiting at the rim. Color me intrigued.

Power Rank: 15 (+12)

TEAM 26:

Year	Tm	Player	Pos	G	MP	PTS	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%	FT%	WS	WS/48
2008	SAS	George Hill	G	679	28.7	11.6	3.1	3.3	0.9	0.3	.455	.384	.801	57.7	.142
2004	SAC	Kevin Martin	G	714	30.2	17.4	3.2	1.9	0.9	0.1	.437	.384	.870	61.3	.137
2009	CHI	Taj Gibson	F	692	26.1	9.8	6.4	1.0	0.6	1.1	.507	.228	.703	46.9	.125
2013	MIN	Andre Roberson	G-F	295	22.5	4.6	4.0	0.9	0.9	0.7	.482	.257	.467	12.7	.092
2012	IND	Miles Plumlee	C-F	344	16.4	4.9	4.5	0.5	0.4	0.7	.542		.546	10.6	.090
2005	DET	Jason Maxiell	F	618	18.4	5.6	4.2	0.4	0.4	0.8	.495	.000	.564	20.3	.086
2018	PHI	Landry Shamet	G	26	21.2	8.0	1.3	1.0	0.5	0.1	.432	.378	.846	1.0	.086
2010	OKC	Quincy Pondexter	G-F	322	16.7	4.8	1.9	0.8	0.4	0.1	.420	.354	.745	9.3	.083
2016	PHI	Furkan Korkmaz	G	32	9.0	3.3	1.3	0.8	0.4	0.0	.359	.295	.778	0.5	.076
2007	HOU	Aaron Brooks	G	645	20.8	9.7	1.7	3.0	0.6	0.1	.413	.370	.837	19.2	.069
2011	DAL	Jordan Hamilton	G-F	151	13.9	5.9	2.8	0.8	0.5	0.2	.408	.357	.670	3.0	.069
2006	LAL	Jordan Farmar	G	504	19.5	7.7	1.9	2.9	0.8	0.1	.423	.374	.739	13.9	.068
2014	MIA	P.J. Hairston	G-F	111	18.0	6.0	2.4	0.5	0.5	0.2	.343	.295	.810	0.9	.021
2017	POR	Caleb Swanigan	F	37	7.8	2.3	2.5	0.5	0.2	0.1	.366	.167	.696	-0.2	-0.027
2015	SAS	Nikola Milutinov	C

STARTERS:

C/F: Jason Maxiell

F: Taj Gibson

F: Andre Roberson

G: Kevin Martin

G: George Hill

BENCH:

G: Aaron Brooks

G: Jordan Farmar

C: Miles Plumlee

F: Quincy Pondexter

G: Landry Shamet

Team Role Player. Martin would naturally be the lead dog on offense for this star-less squad, but they would overcome their lack of size and frontline talent with tenacious, on-a-string defense and solid professionalism. They wouldn't win a lot, but they would force the upper echelon teams to bring a real effort or potentially get embarrassed.

Power Rank: 22 (+4)

TEAM 25:

Year	Tm	Player	Pos	G	MP	PTS	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%	FT%	WS	WS/48
2014	HOU	Clint Capela	C	251	23.7	11.3	8.5	0.9	0.6	1.5	.635	.000	.495	24.3	.196
2008	HOU	Nicolas Batum	F-G	716	31.6	12.0	5.3	3.8	1.0	0.6	.435	.355	.839	51.5	.109
2004	BOS	Tony Allen	G-F	820	22.0	8.1	3.5	1.3	1.4	0.4	.475	.282	.709	38.7	.103
2013	LAC	Reggie Bullock	G-F	227	17.1	5.8	1.9	0.9	0.5	0.1	.439	.395	.821	7.6	.094
2009	OKC	Rodrigue Beaubois	G	182	15.9	7.1	1.9	2.1	0.7	0.3	.439	.325	.810	4.8	.079
2016	LAC	Brice Johnson	F	21	5.1	2.2	1.6	0.1	0.5	0.3	.449	.000	.600	0.1	.062
2006	CLE	Shannon Brown	G	408	18.0	7.6	1.9	1.1	0.7	0.2	.420	.332	.807	9.2	.060
2011	BOS	MarShon Brooks	G-F	191	17.5	8.1	2.2	1.5	0.6	0.2	.445	.354	.759	3.3	.047
2015	MEM	Jarell Martin	F	156	17.6	5.9	3.8	0.7	0.4	0.4	.432	.324	.768	2.7	.047
2005	SEA	Johan Petro	C	473	15.4	4.7	3.9	0.5	0.4	0.5	.462	.154	.678	5.5	.037
2010	MEM	Dominique Jones	G	80	9.3	3.1	1.4	1.8	0.4	0.1	.366	.095	.729	0.3	.017
2007	UTA	Morris Almond	G	38	9.5	3.1	1.2	0.3	0.3	0.1	.381	.292	.743	0.0	.005
2018	LAL	Moritz Wagner	F-C	4	4.3	2.5	1.0	0.8	0.3	0.0	.273	.333	1.000	0.0	-0.063
2012	MEM	Tony Wroten	G	145	21.2	11.1	2.5	3.0	0.9	0.2	.413	.231	.647	-1.3	-0.021
2017	ORL	Anzejs Pasecniks	C

STARTERS: 

C: Clint Capela

F: Nicolas Batum

F: Reggie Bullock

G: Tony Allen

G: Roddy Beaubois

BENCH:

G: Shannon Brown

F: Jarell Martin

G: MarShon Brooks

C: Johan Petro

G: Tony Wroten

Team 25 would have a tough time handling size and a really tough time getting buckets consistently, so it's hard to see them having much success. Capela/Allen/young Batum would make it a grind for opposing offenses, but this team would struggle.

Power Rank: 26 (-1)

TEAM 24:

Year	Tm	Player	Pos	G	MP	PTS	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%	FT%	WS	WS/48
2017	UTA	Tyler Lydon	F	8	3.5	2.0	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	.750	.750	.500	0.1	.196
2006	MEM	Kyle Lowry	G	816	31.2	14.5	4.2	6.0	1.3	0.3	.425	.369	.804	83.3	.157
2008	SEA	Serge Ibaka	F-C	704	28.8	12.2	7.2	0.7	0.4	2.2	.514	.363	.763	60.3	.142
2007	PHO	Rudy Fernandez	G	249	24.0	9.1	2.4	2.2	1.0	0.2	.399	.360	.840	14.2	.114
2011	OKC	Reggie Jackson	G	470	24.9	12.6	3.0	4.4	0.7	0.1	.428	.321	.858	24.7	.101
2004	BOS	Delonte West	G	432	27.4	9.7	2.9	3.6	1.1	0.4	.448	.372	.826	24.5	.099
2005	HOU	Luther Head	G	348	22.4	8.2	2.4	2.1	0.7	0.1	.423	.388	.773	14.7	.090
2015	CLE	Tyus Jones	G	203	16.0	4.4	1.4	2.8	1.0	0.1	.410	.333	.802	5.8	.086
2013	NYK	Tim Hardaway	G	362	25.6	12.8	2.5	1.8	0.6	0.2	.422	.346	.812	14.7	.076
2014	CHH	Shabazz Napier	G	255	15.7	5.9	1.7	1.9	0.8	0.1	.393	.364	.807	5.0	.059
2016	PHI	Timothe Luwawu	F	135	15.6	5.8	1.8	1.0	0.4	0.1	.387	.319	.829	1.7	.038
2012	CLE	Jared Cunningham	G	84	7.2	2.3	0.7	0.5	0.3	0.0	.347	.306	.674	0.2	.017
2009	DAL	Byron Mullens	C	189	18.2	7.4	4.2	0.8	0.4	0.5	.408	.319	.706	0.6	.008
2018	POR	Anfernee Simons	G	5	6.8	2.2	1.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	.333	.000	.250	-0.2	-0.244
2010	ATL	Damion James	G-F	39	16.0	3.8	3.4	0.7	0.6	0.5	.415	.000	.667	0.0	-0.001

STARTERS:

C: Serge Ibaka

F: Tim Hardaway, Jr.

G: Rudy Fernandez

G: Reggie Jackson

G: Kyle Lowry

BENCH:

G: Delonte West

G: Tyus Jones

G: Shabazz Napier

G: Luther Head

F: Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot

Obviously this team would be WAY too guard-heavy, but the overall talent is pretty decent. Despite being far too reliant on Ibaka for rim protection and rebounding, they would be able to stay in games by turning it into a track meet and trying to outscore more talented opponents. A fun fake League Pass team.

Power Rank: 14 (+10)

TEAM 23:

Year	Tm	Player	Pos	G	MP	PTS	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%	FT%	WS	WS/48
2011	HOU	Nikola Mirotic	F	295	24.3	12.3	6.0	1.3	0.8	0.7	.424	.358	.805	19.6	.131
2016	BOS	Ante Zizic	F-C	49	7.6	3.6	2.2	0.2	0.1	0.3	.640		.679	1.0	.127
2008	UTA	Kosta Koufos	C	653	16.7	5.8	5.1	0.5	0.4	0.8	.537	.000	.587	27.9	.123
2010	MIN	Trevor Booker	F	532	20.4	6.9	5.5	1.1	0.7	0.5	.515	.305	.636	26.2	.116
2006	NJN	Josh Boone	F-C	256	17.5	5.2	4.9	0.5	0.4	0.7	.544		.445	9.1	.097
2014	UTA	Rodney Hood	G-F	272	27.6	13.0	3.0	2.0	0.8	0.2	.420	.369	.836	14.3	.092
2017	TOR	OG Anunoby	F	94	20.2	6.4	2.5	0.7	0.7	0.2	.466	.352	.570	3.5	.089
2018	IND	Aaron Holiday	G	14	11.9	6.4	1.8	1.4	0.4	0.1	.446	.270	.813	0.3	.087
2015	POR	Rondae Hollis-Jefferson	F	197	24.4	10.1	6.1	2.0	1.0	0.6	.450	.227	.752	8.3	.083
2009	SAC	Omri Casspi	F	569	20.5	7.9	4.0	1.1	0.6	0.2	.452	.369	.674	18.9	.078
2005	SAC	Francisco Garcia	F-G	549	21.6	7.9	2.6	1.4	0.8	0.7	.427	.357	.799	18.2	.074
2012	ATL	John Jenkins	G	145	12.8	5.1	1.5	0.8	0.2	0.1	.448	.364	.849	2.7	.071
2007	NYK	Wilson Chandler	F	604	31.0	13.3	5.4	1.8	0.7	0.6	.445	.342	.767	27.2	.070
2013	IND	Solomon Hill	F	275	23.0	6.0	3.3	1.6	0.7	0.2	.394	.327	.810	8.7	.066
2004	POR	Sergei Monia	F	26	13.2	3.0	2.0	0.7	0.3	0.2	.333	.265	.714	-0.2	-0.025

STARTERS:

C: Kosta Koufos

F: Nikola Mirotic

F: Wilson Chandler

G: Rodney Hood

G: Aaron Holiday

BENCH:

F: Trevor Booker

F: OG Anunoby

F: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson

G: Francisco Garcia

F: Omri Casspi

Another super-lopsided roster. Playmaking would be a major problem with their lack of guard depth. The long, active bench unit could be kind of fun, but beyond Mirotic bombing away with impunity, it's hard to see where consistent scoring would come from on this team.

Power Rank: 20 (+3)

TEAM 22:

Year	Tm	Player	Pos	G	MP	PTS	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%	FT%	WS	WS/48
2011	DEN	Kenneth Faried	F	449	24.6	11.3	8.1	1.0	0.7	0.8	.544	.100	.654	36.1	.157
2017	BRK	Jarrett Allen	F-C	96	22.0	9.2	6.1	0.9	0.4	1.3	.586	.235	.746	6.6	.150
2013	BRK	Mason Plumlee	C-F	413	22.0	8.5	6.2	2.0	0.8	1.0	.568	.050	.561	26.8	.141
2007	CHA	Jared Dudley	F-G	814	23.4	7.8	3.3	1.6	0.8	0.2	.464	.392	.732	40.5	.102
2015	CHI	Bobby Portis	F	203	19.0	9.3	5.8	1.1	0.5	0.3	.462	.343	.731	7.4	.092
2008	ORL	Courtney Lee	G	754	28.1	10.0	2.7	1.7	1.0	0.3	.451	.389	.856	38.3	.087
2005	DEN	Jarrett Jack	G	867	27.8	10.8	2.9	4.6	0.8	0.1	.440	.343	.855	36.8	.073
2014	MEM	Jordan Adams	G	32	8.2	3.2	0.9	0.6	0.6	0.2	.402	.385	.607	0.4	.070
2004	NJN	Viktor Khryapa	F	143	16.4	4.5	3.4	1.0	0.6	0.3	.443	.292	.658	2.0	.041
2010	POR	Elliot Williams	G	109	13.5	4.9	1.5	0.9	0.4	0.1	.421	.310	.669	0.7	.024
2012	BOS	Fab Melo	C	6	6.0	1.2	0.5	0.0	0.3	0.3	.500		.250	0.0	.021
2018	CHI	Chandler Hutchison	G	21	18.5	4.5	4.1	0.7	0.6	0.2	.420	.227	.652	0.1	.013
2009	POR	Victor Claver	F	80	13.4	3.2	2.2	0.7	0.4	0.2	.398	.293	.585	0.2	.011
2016	CHO	Malachi Richardson	G	60	9.8	3.1	1.1	0.4	0.3	0.0	.358	.289	.773	-0.2	-0.013
2006	NJN	Marcus Williams	G	203	15.2	5.6	1.8	2.8	0.4	0.0	.386	.321	.767	0.0	-0.001

STARTERS:

C: Mason Plumlee

F: Kenneth Faried

F: Jared Dudley

G: Courtney Lee

G: Jarrett Jack

BENCH:

C: Jarrett Allen

F: Bobby Portis

G: Chandler Hutchison

G: Malachi Richardson

Another team of capable role players with nothing to bring them together. Consummate pros Jack and Dudley would maximize the strengths of the group, but there just isn't a whole lot to work with here offensively. Way too many busts on this roster, resulting in a super-young bench which would probably get worked most nights.

Power Rank: 25 (-3)

TEAM 21:

Year	Tm	Player	Pos	G	MP	PTS	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%	FT%	WS	WS/48
2008	NJN	Ryan Anderson	F	637	26.2	12.5	5.3	0.9	0.5	0.3	.422	.380	.854	46.8	.134
2012	BOS	Jared Sullinger	F	269	24.3	10.8	7.5	1.8	0.7	0.6	.436	.272	.723	15.3	.113
2009	NOH	Darren Collison	G	656	29.5	12.6	2.6	4.9	1.1	0.2	.471	.391	.852	44.7	.111
2013	UTA	Gorgui Dieng	C	401	23.8	8.1	6.5	1.4	0.8	1.0	.504	.313	.786	22.1	.111
2006	PHO	Rajon Rondo	G	790	31.7	10.4	4.8	8.5	1.7	0.1	.463	.311	.604	57.5	.110
2014	OKC	Mitch McGary	F-C	52	10.7	4.4	3.5	0.3	0.3	0.3	.527	.000	.580	1.3	.108
2005	PHO	Nate Robinson	G	618	22.5	11.0	2.3	3.0	0.9	0.1	.423	.360	.796	27.8	.096
2015	DAL	Justin Anderson	G	176	14.0	5.8	2.7	0.7	0.5	0.3	.422	.293	.788	4.3	.085
2017	OKC	Terrance Ferguson	G-F	78	14.6	3.3	1.0	0.4	0.4	0.2	.399	.315	.875	1.6	.066
2007	PHI	Daequan Cook	G	328	18.3	6.4	2.1	0.7	0.4	0.1	.369	.359	.813	4.9	.039
2016	ATL	DeAndre Bembry	F	89	15.8	5.0	2.7	1.6	0.7	0.4	.427	.287	.559	0.0	.002
2004	UTA	Pavel Podkolzin	C	6	4.7	0.7	1.5	0.0	0.0	0.2	.000		.500	-0.1	-0.163
2010	OKC	Craig Brackins	F	17	7.1	1.8	1.1	0.5	0.1	0.1	.265	.214	.500	-0.2	-0.089
2018	UTA	Grayson Allen	G	14	10.5	4.6	0.2	0.4	0.1	0.0	.345	.286	.696	-0.1	-0.048
2011	POR	Nolan Smith	G	84	9.9	3.3	1.0	1.2	0.3	0.0	.371	.260	.714	-0.8	-0.047

STARTERS:

C: Gorgui Dieng

F: Jared Sullinger

F: Ryan Anderson

G: Darren Collison

G: Rajon Rondo

BENCH:

G: Nate Robinson

G: Justin Anderson

G/F: Terrance "Turd" Ferguson

F: DeAndre' Bembry

A moderately intriguing starting lineup that wouldn't be able to stop anyone. Lousy bench. Hard to believe these teams aren't getting much better yet.

Power Rank: 23 (-2)

TEAM 20:

Year	Tm	Player	Pos	G	MP	PTS	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%	FT%	WS	WS/48
2015	TOR	Delon Wright	G	144	17.0	6.5	2.2	2.2	0.8	0.4	.454	.375	.811	7.0	.137
2006	NYK	Renaldo Balkman	F	221	13.9	4.0	3.5	0.6	0.7	0.5	.510	.172	.542	7.2	.113
2004	DEN	Jameer Nelson	G	878	27.9	11.3	3.0	5.1	0.9	0.1	.436	.368	.810	48.3	.094
2008	CHA	Alexis Ajinca	C	293	13.3	5.3	3.9	0.5	0.3	0.6	.503	.286	.797	7.5	.093
2011	MIN	Donatas Motiejunas	F-C	248	18.4	7.4	3.8	1.1	0.5	0.3	.469	.300	.600	7.2	.076
2012	DEN	Evan Fournier	G-F	401	27.4	13.3	2.7	2.4	0.8	0.1	.446	.374	.802	16.7	.073
2007	MIA	Jason Smith	F-C	608	16.4	6.2	3.4	0.7	0.3	0.7	.469	.335	.782	14.1	.068
2016	IND	Caris LeVert	G-F	142	24.8	11.1	3.6	3.2	1.0	0.2	.446	.333	.716	5.0	.068
2013	CHI	Tony Snell	G-F	391	22.3	6.3	2.4	1.0	0.5	0.2	.421	.379	.816	11.3	.062
2009	UTA	Eric Maynor	G	267	14.6	4.3	1.3	2.8	0.4	0.1	.392	.350	.721	3.3	.041
2010	SAS	James Anderson	G-F	247	17.5	5.8	2.3	1.2	0.5	0.2	.411	.321	.755	3.3	.037
2018	MIN	Josh Okogie	G	17	20.0	7.3	3.3	1.0	0.9	0.3	.381	.306	.760	0.1	.021
2017	POR	Harry Giles	F-C	18	10.3	5.4	3.1	1.2	0.7	0.2	.468	.000	.476	0.0	.013
2005	DEN	Julius Hodge	G	23	4.3	1.2	0.7	0.8	0.3	0.0	.440		.500	0.0	.003
2014	TOR	Bruno Caboclo	F	35	6.1	1.5	1.0	0.3	0.2	0.2	.282	.242	.833	-0.4	-0.080

STARTERS:

C: Donatas Motiejunas

F: Caris LeVert

F: Evan Fournier

G: Delon Wright

G: Jameer Nelson

BENCH:

F: Tony Snell

C: Alexis Ajinca

G: Eric Maynor

G: Josh Okogie

C: Harry Giles

C/F: Jason Smith

A strange team. They would probably have enough scoring to stay competitive, but how the pieces would fit together -- and if they could get any stops -- is anybody's guess. Much like team totem Bruno Caboclo, this squad might forever be two years away from being two years away. Despite not being any good, Renaldo Balkman would end up in the rotation somehow.

Power Rank: 27 (-7)

TEAM 19:

Year	Tm	Player	Pos	G	MP	PTS	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%	FT%	WS	WS/48
2017	ATL	John Collins	F	84	24.5	11.3	7.4	1.5	0.6	1.0	.585	.294	.723	6.1	.143
2009	ATL	Jeff Teague	G	689	27.7	12.7	2.5	5.7	1.2	0.3	.445	.355	.845	47.2	.119
2011	CHA	Tobias Harris	F	488	29.9	14.9	5.8	1.8	0.7	0.5	.469	.360	.814	34.7	.114
2004	MIA	Dorell Wright	F-G	549	22.4	8.4	3.8	1.5	0.8	0.5	.424	.365	.806	25.9	.101
2005	MEM	Hakim Warrick	F	526	20.2	9.4	4.0	0.8	0.4	0.3	.490	.191	.726	20.4	.092
2014	CHI	Gary Harris	G	276	28.7	12.6	2.6	2.2	1.3	0.2	.466	.366	.801	15.1	.091
2008	CLE	J.J. Hickson	F-C	534	22.3	9.5	6.8	0.8	0.5	0.6	.505	.000	.617	21.9	.088
2015	WAS	Jerian Grant	G	238	18.8	6.4	2.0	3.1	0.8	0.1	.408	.318	.773	7.0	.075
2016	DEN	Malik Beasley	G	108	11.1	4.3	1.3	0.6	0.3	0.1	.444	.368	.714	1.5	.060
2010	BOS	Avery Bradley	G	477	28.5	12.2	3.0	1.7	1.1	0.2	.437	.364	.771	13.9	.049
2012	ORL	Andrew Nicholson	F	285	14.3	6.0	3.0	0.4	0.3	0.3	.467	.321	.773	3.8	.045
2013	CLE	Sergey Karasev	G-F	95	11.7	3.0	1.5	0.9	0.3	0.0	.395	.282	.842	0.8	.036
2018	ATL	Kevin Huerter	G	24	20.9	6.1	3.3	2.1	0.6	0.3	.405	.389	.750	0.4	.035
2007	LAL	Javaris Crittenton	G	113	16.4	5.3	2.4	1.8	0.5	0.1	.442	.231	.638	0.1	.002
2006	SAC	Quincy Douby	G	143	10.7	4.1	1.1	0.7	0.3	0.1	.389	.312	.884	0.0	.000

STARTERS:

C: J.J. Hickson

F: John Collins

F: Tobias Harris

G: Gary Harris

G: Jeff Teague

BENCH:

G: Avery Bradley

F/G: Dorell Wright

G: Malik Beasley

G: Kevin Huerter

F: Hakim Warrick

I can get behind this roster. There would be athleticism up front, along with balanced scoring from behind the arc, off the bounce, and out of the pick-and-roll. The names don't jump off the page, but the rotation would be full of competent pros, and it would probably fit together well. A sleeper to outplay their position. Javaris Crittenton is preemptively banned from their locker room.

Power Rank: 12 (+7)

TEAM 18:

Year	Tm	Player	Pos	G	MP	PTS	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%	FT%	WS	WS/48
2008	WAS	JaVale McGee	C	582	17.0	7.7	4.8	0.4	0.4	1.5	.563	.105	.586	28.1	.136
2012	HOU	Terrence Jones	F	232	24.0	10.5	5.7	1.0	0.6	1.2	.501	.299	.622	14.8	.128
2009	MIN	Ty Lawson	G	551	29.2	12.7	2.7	6.0	1.2	0.1	.460	.359	.770	42.1	.126
2010	OKC	Eric Bledsoe	G	515	27.8	13.9	3.8	4.7	1.5	0.5	.453	.339	.797	31.8	.107
2015	HOU	Sam Dekker	F	162	15.3	5.3	3.0	0.8	0.5	0.2	.480	.288	.619	4.6	.090
2004	NOH	J.R. Smith	G-F	971	27.0	12.5	3.2	2.1	1.0	0.2	.419	.373	.732	46.5	.085
2007	GSW	Marco Belinelli	G-F	748	23.2	9.9	2.0	1.7	0.6	0.1	.424	.375	.842	27.3	.076
2005	BOS	Gerald Green	G-F	604	19.7	9.7	2.5	0.9	0.5	0.3	.418	.360	.816	16.7	.068
2017	IND	T.J. Leaf	F	67	8.3	2.7	1.5	0.2	0.1	0.1	.453	.385	.625	0.8	.068
2013	ATL	Shane Larkin	G	256	19.1	5.5	1.9	2.9	0.9	0.1	.422	.336	.777	4.4	.044
2011	WAS	Chris Singleton	F	148	17.6	4.1	3.2	0.6	0.8	0.4	.376	.319	.633	2.3	.042
2014	PHO	Tyler Ennis	G	186	12.6	4.2	1.3	1.9	0.5	0.1	.419	.317	.768	1.3	.026
2006	WAS	Oleksiy Pecherov	C	111	9.4	3.9	2.4	0.2	0.2	0.2	.386	.290	.793	0.5	.025
2016	DET	Henry Ellenson	F	58	8.3	3.8	2.2	0.5	0.1	0.0	.363	.320	.795	0.0	-0.003
2018	SAS	Lonnie Walker	G

STARTERS:

C: JaVale McGee

F: Terrence Jones

G: J.R. Smith

G: Eric Bledsoe

G: Ty Lawson

BENCH:

G/F: Marco Belinelli

G/F: Gerald Green

G: Shane Larkin

F: Sam Dekker

This team would not be good, but it would be unbelievably entertaining to follow them on social media and watch the locker room gradually come apart at the seams. I mean, they legitimately go six deep with knuckleheads. These are the Wizards of Draft Slot NBA, which is appropriate, since the IRL Wizards drafted three of the dudes on this roster. Art imitating life, or something like that.

Power Rank: 28 (-10)

TEAM 17:

Year	Tm	Player	Pos	G	MP	PTS	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%	FT%	WS	WS/48
2005	IND	Danny Granger	F	586	31.5	16.8	4.9	1.9	1.0	0.8	.434	.380	.848	48.5	.126
2012	DAL	Tyler Zeller	F-C	406	17.6	7.0	4.4	0.9	0.3	0.6	.508	.294	.764	16.8	.112
2008	TOR	Roy Hibbert	C	662	24.8	10.0	6.3	1.3	0.4	1.7	.465	.250	.755	35.9	.105
2009	PHI	Jrue Holiday	G	611	32.9	15.2	3.7	6.3	1.5	0.5	.451	.355	.785	35.9	.086
2004	ATL	Josh Smith	F	894	32.4	14.5	7.4	3.1	1.2	1.9	.452	.285	.632	51.0	.084
2017	MIL	D.J. Wilson	F	23	3.3	1.2	0.4	0.1	0.2	0.0	.579	.500	.500	0.1	.082
2007	NJN	Sean Williams	C-F	137	14.4	4.2	3.4	0.3	0.3	1.2	.511	.000	.624	3.0	.073
2018	MIL	Donte DiVincenzo	G	18	17.1	5.6	2.7	1.4	0.5	0.1	.409	.262	.818	0.4	.069
2013	ATL	Dennis Schroder	G	375	24.1	13.1	2.6	4.8	0.8	0.1	.433	.323	.829	11.5	.061
2006	IND	Shawne Williams	F	314	17.1	5.6	3.0	0.7	0.4	0.5	.403	.339	.755	6.7	.060
2011	NYK	Iman Shumpert	G	404	25.4	7.4	3.4	1.9	1.2	0.2	.398	.343	.769	12.7	.059
2014	BOS	James Young	G-F	95	8.5	2.3	1.0	0.3	0.3	0.1	.367	.277	.563	0.8	.046
2010	CHI	Kevin Seraphin	F	423	15.2	5.9	3.5	0.6	0.2	0.7	.489	.000	.715	5.9	.044
2016	MEM	Wade Baldwin	G	48	11.0	3.1	1.2	1.5	0.4	0.2	.351	.258	.787	-0.3	-0.026
2015	MIL	Rashad Vaughn	G	139	12.0	3.0	1.1	0.5	0.4	0.2	.337	.313	.692	-0.6	-0.017

STARTERS:

C: Roy Hibbert

F: Josh Smith

F: Danny Granger

G: Jrue Holiday

G: Dennis Schroder

BENCH:

G: Iman Shumpert

C: Tyler Zeller

G: Donte DiVincenzo

F: Sean/Shawne Williams (is there a difference?)

Shooting would be a real problem, but this team could be FIERCE on defense. Prime Danny Granger was a legit scorer (25.8 ppg in '08-'09), and he would have a much better roster around him (plus verticality enthusiast Roy Hibbert; he's still there). Holiday/Schroder is an interesting backcourt, and J-Smoove would be there to do J-Smoove things (i.e. jack crooked jumpers while doing most everything else pretty well). A little bit of sleeper potential here.

Power Rank: 11 (+6)

TEAM 16:

Year	Tm	Player	Pos	G	MP	PTS	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%	FT%	WS	WS/48
2013	BOS	Lucas Nogueira	C	141	12.4	3.2	2.8	0.5	0.6	1.0	.632	.265	.640	6.0	.165
2017	CHI	Justin Patton	C	1	4.0	2.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	.500			0.0	.151
2011	PHI	Nikola Vucevic	C	481	29.9	15.1	9.9	2.3	0.8	0.9	.502	.329	.737	35.1	.117
2008	PHI	Marreese Speights	C-F	705	15.1	7.9	4.1	0.7	0.3	0.5	.459	.356	.797	25.8	.116
2016	BOS	Guerschon Yabusele	F	45	6.5	2.3	1.5	0.4	0.1	0.1	.393	.304	.733	0.7	.116
2009	CHI	James Johnson	F	555	20.6	8.0	3.6	2.1	0.8	0.9	.479	.301	.696	21.9	.092
2014	CHI	Jusuf Nurkic	C	262	22.0	10.8	7.6	1.6	0.8	1.2	.488	.088	.632	11.1	.092
2015	BOS	Terry Rozier	G	216	19.2	7.3	3.5	2.1	0.7	0.2	.377	.355	.765	7.5	.086
2010	MIN	Luke Babbitt	F	381	14.0	4.8	2.2	0.6	0.2	0.2	.408	.402	.747	7.2	.065
2006	CHI	Rodney Carney	F	299	15.4	5.9	2.0	0.4	0.5	0.3	.422	.338	.704	6.2	.064
2004	UTA	Kirk Snyder	G	211	16.8	6.3	2.3	1.1	0.4	0.3	.438	.327	.699	4.5	.061
2005	TOR	Joey Graham	F	377	16.2	5.9	2.8	0.5	0.4	0.1	.483	.300	.815	7.8	.061
2007	WAS	Nick Young	G-F	716	22.9	11.4	2.0	1.0	0.6	0.2	.418	.376	.836	18.6	.054
2012	HOU	Royce White	F	3	3.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	.000			0.0	-0.121
2018	PHO	Zhaire Smith	G

STARTERS:

C: Jusuf Nurkic

C/F: Nikola Vucevic

F: James Johnson

G: Nick Young

G: Terry Rozier

BENCH: 

F: Marreese Speights

F: Luke Babbitt

C: Bebe Nogueira

G: Zhaire Smith, I guess?

Meh. This team is way too big-man heavy and doesn't have a ton of upside. Vooch/Rozier could be a solid PnR combination, and they would bring a level of toughness to the floor (The Bosnian Bear, Bloodsport, and Scary Terry are not nicknames bestowed upon the undeserving). Overall, the talent level just isn't high enough to be more than an irritant, especially compared to what's next. Also, it violates the sacred "Never have more than one Balkan guy on your roster at a time" tenet of NBA team-building.

Power Rank: 19 (-3)

TEAM 15:

Year	Tm	Player	Pos	G	MP	PTS	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%	FT%	WS	WS/48
2011	IND	Kawhi Leonard	F	427	30.6	16.8	6.3	2.3	1.8	0.7	.494	.385	.847	59.5	.219
2013	MIL	Giannis Antetokounmpo	F-G	415	32.8	17.7	7.8	3.9	1.2	1.3	.511	.270	.741	42.7	.151
2004	BOS	Al Jefferson	C-F	915	28.7	15.7	8.4	1.5	0.7	1.2	.499	.121	.711	71.0	.130
2008	PHO	Robin Lopez	C	710	23.0	8.9	5.3	0.8	0.3	1.2	.527	.222	.760	40.3	.118
2016	DEN	Juan Hernangomez	F	110	15.6	5.5	3.3	0.5	0.4	0.2	.455	.399	.770	4.1	.114
2010	MIL	Larry Sanders	C-F	238	19.5	6.4	5.7	0.7	0.6	1.8	.480	.000	.553	10.3	.107
2012	PHI	Maurice Harkless	F-G	427	22.8	7.2	3.6	0.9	1.0	0.7	.472	.329	.608	16.0	.079
2018	WAS	Troy Brown	G-F	12	6.3	2.8	1.6	0.8	0.3	0.0	.414	.400	.875	0.1	.079
2007	DET	Rodney Stuckey	G	651	27.5	12.6	2.9	3.6	0.9	0.1	.423	.300	.824	28.7	.077
2015	ATL	Kelly Oubre	F	248	20.7	8.1	3.5	0.7	0.7	0.3	.414	.322	.784	6.8	.064
2009	DET	Austin Daye	F	293	14.1	5.2	2.6	0.7	0.4	0.4	.402	.351	.778	4.5	.053
2017	POR	Justin Jackson	G-F	90	21.8	6.7	2.8	1.2	0.4	0.2	.444	.317	.724	1.8	.043
2005	NJN	Antoine Wright	G-F	297	19.2	5.4	2.3	1.0	0.5	0.2	.412	.304	.674	3.1	.026
2006	NOK	Cedric Simmons	F	75	9.4	2.2	1.9	0.2	0.1	0.4	.409		.390	0.1	.005
2014	ATL	Adreian Payne	F-C	107	13.1	4.0	2.9	0.6	0.4	0.3	.406	.254	.680	-0.6	-0.019

STARTERS:

C: Robin Lopez

F: Al Jefferson

F: Giannis Antetokounmpo

G: Kawhi Leonard

G: Rodney Stuckey

BENCH:

F: Mo Harkless

G: Kelly Oubre

F: Juancho Hernangomez

C: Larry Sanders

Now we're talking! Sure, I'm fudging the crap out of the positional designations, but whatever. The talent level here is WAY too high for their draft position -- Kawhi tumbling to 15 in the 2011 Draft remains inexplicable even without the hindsight of what he's become -- and it would be a blast to watch this team play. The guard situation is obviously not good -- having a catch-and-shoot type in Stuckey's place would be ideal -- but the playmaking and scoring will naturally be handled by Kawhi and Giannis anyway. Their spacing would be poor, but Professor Jefferson schooling punks in the post as a third option would be fun, and Lopez is the perfect garbageman for this roster. And did I mention they have Kawhi and Giannis?? It's going to be a while before we get a combo close to this potent, so be warned. This team is one of our big risers.

Power Rank: 7 (+8)

TEAM 14:

Year	Tm	Player	Pos	G	MP	PTS	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%	FT%	WS	WS/48
2017	MIA	Bam Adebayo	C-F	92	19.6	7.1	5.9	1.4	0.5	0.7	.519	.000	.715	5.7	.150
2006	UTA	Ronnie Brewer	G-F	502	23.0	7.8	2.8	1.6	1.2	0.2	.490	.254	.675	30.4	.127
2012	MIL	John Henson	C-F	405	20.1	7.8	5.4	1.1	0.5	1.5	.539	.273	.572	19.3	.114
2010	HOU	Patrick Patterson	F	582	22.5	7.2	4.3	1.1	0.6	0.5	.451	.367	.751	28.1	.103
2004	UTA	Kris Humphries	F-C	800	17.8	6.7	5.4	0.7	0.4	0.6	.463	.293	.700	30.3	.102
2014	PHO	T.J. Warren	F	238	27.2	14.0	4.1	1.1	0.9	0.5	.501	.320	.763	12.2	.090
2011	HOU	Marcus Morris	F	492	26.3	11.3	4.5	1.5	0.7	0.2	.431	.362	.737	23.9	.089
2013	UTA	Shabazz Muhammad	F-G	278	17.2	9.0	2.8	0.5	0.3	0.1	.473	.319	.751	8.5	.085
2008	GSW	Anthony Randolph	F	252	15.2	7.1	4.3	0.7	0.6	0.9	.453	.241	.740	5.8	.072
2016	CHI	Denzel Valentine	G	134	22.9	8.0	4.1	2.3	0.7	0.1	.399	.374	.754	3.1	.048
2015	OKC	Cameron Payne	G	136	16.0	5.9	1.8	2.5	0.7	0.2	.389	.330	.789	2.0	.043
2009	PHO	Earl Clark	F	261	13.9	4.4	3.0	0.5	0.3	0.5	.403	.328	.664	2.9	.038
2005	MIN	Rashad McCants	G	249	20.2	10.0	2.0	1.3	0.7	0.2	.431	.368	.741	3.6	.035
2007	LAC	Al Thornton	F	296	28.0	11.9	4.2	1.2	0.6	0.5	.452	.293	.747	6.1	.035
2018	DEN	Michael Porter	F

STARTERS:

C: Bam Adebayo

F: Marcus Morris

F: T.J. Warren

G: Ronnie Brewer

G: ???

BENCH:

F: John Henson

F: Patrick Patterson

F: Kris Humphries

G: Denzel Valentine

As if to prove my point about what an outlier the previous team was, we get this motley crew of journeymen and busts. There are no true point guards you'd actually want to insert into a game on the roster (sorry not sorry to Cam Payne; he isn't good), and if T.J. Warren and Marcus Morris are your primary scorers, you're gonna have a bad time. Just ugly.

Power Rank: 24 (-10)

TEAM 13:

Year	Tm	Player	Pos	G	MP	PTS	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%	FT%	WS	WS/48
2010	TOR	Ed Davis	F	585	20.4	6.6	6.6	0.8	0.5	0.9	.566	.000	.579	37.3	.150
2009	IND	Tyler Hansbrough	F	428	16.9	6.7	4.2	0.4	0.5	0.2	.439	.136	.738	20.2	.134
2013	DAL	Kelly Olynyk	C-F	376	21.2	9.8	4.9	1.9	0.7	0.5	.480	.371	.751	21.4	.129
2006	PHI	Thabo Sefolosha	G-F	789	23.0	6.0	3.9	1.5	1.1	0.4	.449	.346	.738	37.3	.099
2018	LAC	Jerome Robinson	G	8	5.0	2.9	0.4	0.1	0.0	0.0	.500	.556		0.1	.098
2017	DEN	Donovan Mitchell	G	100	33.2	20.6	3.6	3.7	1.5	0.3	.435	.331	.805	5.9	.085
2011	PHO	Markieff Morris	F	545	26.4	11.9	5.6	1.7	0.9	0.6	.451	.339	.780	23.0	.077
2005	CHA	Sean May	F	119	15.7	6.9	4.0	1.0	0.4	0.4	.458	.231	.746	2.6	.068
2007	NOK	Julian Wright	F	231	13.2	3.9	2.3	0.8	0.6	0.3	.499	.262	.584	3.9	.061
2008	POR	Brandon Rush	G-F	481	22.0	6.8	2.9	1.0	0.5	0.5	.426	.402	.706	11.2	.051
2016	PHO	Georgios Papagiannis	C	39	12.2	4.1	3.2	0.7	0.2	0.6	.514	.000	.857	0.4	.044
2015	PHO	Devin Booker	G	227	32.5	20.1	3.3	3.7	0.8	0.3	.427	.358	.848	6.6	.043
2014	MIN	Zach LaVine	G	254	29.4	15.0	3.2	3.4	0.8	0.2	.437	.365	.830	5.8	.037
2004	POR	Sebastian Telfair	G	564	21.5	7.4	1.6	3.5	0.7	0.1	.390	.319	.777	5.0	.020
2012	PHO	Kendall Marshall	G	160	19.3	5.0	1.6	4.9	0.7	0.1	.399	.370	.611	1.0	.015

STARTERS:

C: Kelly Olynyk

F: Markieff Morris

G: Devin Booker

G: Zach LaVine

G: Donovan Mitchell

BENCH:

F: Ed Davis

F: Thabo Sefolosha

G/F: Brandon Rush

G: Bassy Telfair

F: Tyler Hansbrough

The "There's Only One Ball" All-Stars. This team would shoot a metric shit-ton of threes, Ed Davis would set an NBA record for offensive rebounding rate, and Sefolosha would go insane trying to get everyone else to play a lick of defense. They would be a fake League Pass delight, and people who don't know better would be super confused at season's end about why they weren't better.

Power Rank: 14 (-1) 

TEAM 12:

Year	Tm	Player	Pos	G	MP	PTS	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%	FT%	WS	WS/48
2013	OKC	Steven Adams	C	409	25.9	9.1	7.1	0.9	0.8	1.0	.587	.000	.565	32.8	.149
2018	LAC	Miles Bridges	G-F	23	20.6	8.0	4.0	1.0	0.7	0.7	.500	.361	.708	1.2	.121
2012	HOU	Jeremy Lamb	G-F	380	19.3	9.5	3.4	1.4	0.6	0.3	.445	.340	.843	17.4	.114
2007	PHI	Thaddeus Young	F	844	30.7	13.3	5.9	1.6	1.5	0.4	.498	.323	.672	53.9	.100
2015	UTA	Trey Lyles	F	248	17.8	7.7	4.0	1.0	0.4	0.3	.437	.349	.699	7.5	.082
2017	DET	Luke Kennard	G	78	19.6	7.4	2.3	1.6	0.6	0.2	.441	.404	.855	2.5	.080
2014	ORL	Dario Saric	F	183	27.7	13.3	6.4	2.3	0.6	0.3	.427	.351	.827	8.3	.079
2008	SAC	Jason Thompson	F-C	588	25.2	8.9	6.6	1.1	0.5	0.7	.496	.143	.657	23.8	.077
2011	UTA	Alec Burks	G	386	20.8	9.6	2.9	1.6	0.6	0.2	.424	.351	.770	11.9	.071
2009	CHA	Gerald Henderson	G	535	25.9	11.2	3.2	1.9	0.7	0.3	.440	.327	.793	18.3	.063
2006	NOK	Hilton Armstrong	F-C	292	11.6	3.0	2.6	0.3	0.3	0.5	.501	.286	.582	3.9	.055
2004	SEA	Robert Swift	C	97	15.5	4.3	3.9	0.2	0.3	0.9	.506		.610	1.7	.054
2016	UTA	Taurean Prince	F	162	25.0	11.2	3.9	2.0	0.9	0.5	.422	.372	.826	3.2	.038
2010	MEM	Xavier Henry	G	185	15.7	5.7	1.9	0.6	0.5	0.1	.406	.325	.635	0.8	.013
2005	LAC	Yaroslav Korolev	F	34	4.9	1.1	0.5	0.4	0.2	0.0	.283	.250	.625	-0.1	-0.024

STARTERS:

C: Steven Adams

F: Dario Saric

F: Thaddeus Young

G: Jeremy Lamb

G: Gerald Henderson

BENCH:

G/F: Miles Bridges

F: Trey Lyles

F: Taurean Prince

C: Jason Thompson

G: Luke Kennard

How is a team of no. 12 draft picks not better than this? There's a ton of competence on this roster, but outside of Steven Adams -- AKA my beloved Dothraki son -- not much more. They would get some buckets and stops by the power of sheer professionalism, and the bench could have some juice, but it's kind of a big 'Meh' for how high we are in the rankings. Pass.

Power Rank: 17 (-5)

TEAM 11:

Year	Tm	Player	Pos	G	MP	PTS	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%	FT%	WS	WS/48
2010	NOH	Cole Aldrich	C	339	10.0	3.1	3.3	0.5	0.4	0.7	.527		.738	9.6	.135
2004	GSW	Andris Biedrins	C	516	21.6	6.3	7.0	0.9	0.6	1.1	.594	.000	.500	30.7	.132
2006	ORL	J.J. Redick	G	786	25.5	12.6	2.0	2.0	0.5	0.1	.449	.413	.892	55.0	.132
2015	IND	Myles Turner	C-F	229	27.8	12.6	6.5	1.2	0.6	1.9	.496	.331	.778	17.1	.129
2011	GSW	Klay Thompson	G-F	563	33.0	19.4	3.4	2.3	0.9	0.5	.458	.418	.849	42.4	.109
2012	POR	Meyers Leonard	C-F	353	15.5	5.5	3.8	0.8	0.2	0.3	.471	.382	.826	11.6	.101
2016	ORL	Domantas Sabonis	F-C	178	22.6	9.4	6.1	1.7	0.5	0.4	.492	.342	.734	8.3	.099
2018	CHO	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	G	24	27.6	10.7	3.3	3.0	1.0	0.8	.467	.361	.814	1.1	.080
2008	IND	Jerryd Bayless	G	552	21.4	8.5	2.1	2.8	0.6	0.1	.414	.366	.824	18.7	.076
2014	DEN	Doug McDermott	F	288	20.4	7.9	2.2	0.8	0.2	0.1	.455	.405	.825	9.1	.074
2007	ATL	Acie Law	G	188	12.7	3.9	1.0	1.6	0.4	0.0	.413	.235	.778	1.6	.032
2013	PHI	Michael Carter-Williams	G	301	26.6	11.1	4.6	4.7	1.4	0.6	.401	.252	.700	4.3	.026
2017	CHO	Malik Monk	G	86	15.1	7.7	1.2	1.6	0.4	0.2	.363	.332	.873	0.2	.007
2009	NJN	Terrence Williams	F	153	19.1	7.1	3.6	2.4	0.5	0.1	.412	.317	.659	-0.2	-0.004
2005	ORL	Fran Vazquez

STARTERS:

C: Andris Biedrins

F: Domantas Sabonis

F: Klay Thompson

G: JJ Redick

G: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

BENCH:

C: Myles Turner

F: Doug McDermott

G: Malik Monk

G: Jerryd Bayless

This team would probably be mediocre, but a few interesting notes:

-Cole Aldrich and Andris Biedrins "leading" the team in WS/48 helps illustrate the potential pitfalls of that particular statistic;

-Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis can't escape each other, even in dumb internet thought exercises;

-This squad might shoot even more threes than Team 13, and would undoubtedly have less internecine squabbling.

Power Rank: 13 (-2)

TEAM 10:

Year	Tm	Player	Pos	G	MP	PTS	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%	FT%	WS	WS/48
2005	LAL	Andrew Bynum	C	418	25.6	11.5	7.7	1.2	0.3	1.6	.556	.111	.690	37.4	.168
2010	IND	Paul George	F	550	33.4	18.9	6.3	3.2	1.7	0.5	.432	.375	.844	56.5	.147
2008	NJN	Brook Lopez	C	659	31.1	17.7	6.7	1.5	0.6	1.7	.500	.341	.789	54.9	.129
2013	POR	CJ McCollum	G	365	29.5	17.5	3.0	2.9	0.9	0.3	.455	.405	.841	23.9	.106
2009	MIL	Brandon Jennings	G	555	30.3	14.1	3.0	5.7	1.2	0.2	.387	.345	.796	29.9	.085
2016	MIL	Thon Maker	F-C	146	13.6	4.5	2.6	0.5	0.3	0.6	.427	.335	.665	3.2	.078
2007	SAC	Spencer Hawes	C-F	684	22.7	8.7	5.7	1.9	0.4	1.0	.457	.350	.716	22.6	.070
2014	PHI	Elfrid Payton	G	306	29.4	11.1	4.3	6.4	1.3	0.3	.457	.301	.620	12.0	.064
2017	SAC	Zach Collins	C-F	90	16.7	5.3	3.6	0.8	0.3	0.6	.434	.318	.753	1.6	.053
2006	SEA	Mouhamed Sene	C-F	47	5.5	2.2	1.6	0.0	0.1	0.5	.427		.589	0.3	.052
2015	MIA	Justise Winslow	F	183	27.7	7.7	5.3	2.1	0.9	0.4	.404	.318	.659	5.1	.048
2011	MIL	Jimmer Fredette	G	235	13.4	6.0	1.0	1.4	0.4	0.0	.412	.381	.876	2.4	.037
2012	NOH	Austin Rivers	G	433	24.2	9.3	2.0	2.4	0.7	0.2	.418	.351	.648	7.6	.035
2018	PHI	Mikal Bridges	G	24	22.0	6.8	2.1	1.1	1.4	0.3	.413	.307	.846	0.3	.029
2004	CLE	Luke Jackson	F	73	9.9	3.5	1.2	0.8	0.3	0.0	.357	.360	.732	0.2	.010

STARTERS:

C: Andrew Bynum

F: Brook Lopez

F: Paul George

G: CJ McCollum

G: Brandon Jennings

BENCH:

C: Zach Collins

G: Elfrid Payton

F: Justise Winslow

G/F: Mikal Bridges

G: Austin Rivers

C/F: Spencer Hawes

Deep, versatile, and talented. This team would make it tough for those above them in the pecking order. Their point guard rotation is troublesome, and the bigs would have a difficult time guarding in space, but a Bynum/George/McCollum top three is intriguing. If nothing else, they would score in bunches.

Power Rank: 8 (+2)

TEAM 9:

Year	Tm	Player	Pos	G	MP	PTS	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%	FT%	WS	WS/48
2016	TOR	Jakob Poeltl	C	157	15.4	5.4	4.1	0.6	0.4	0.8	.643	.500	.588	8.3	.165
2007	CHI	Joakim Noah	C	626	28.6	8.9	9.3	2.9	0.8	1.3	.490	.000	.699	59.6	.160
2012	DET	Andre Drummond	C	485	30.5	13.8	13.5	1.1	1.3	1.5	.543	.167	.424	48.5	.158
2010	UTA	Gordon Hayward	F-G	538	31.1	15.5	4.2	3.4	1.0	0.4	.443	.366	.822	44.7	.128
2004	PHI	Andre Iguodala	G-F	1064	33.8	12.4	5.1	4.4	1.5	0.5	.464	.333	.712	93.0	.124
2009	TOR	DeMar DeRozan	G-F	700	34.1	19.9	4.1	3.2	1.0	0.3	.449	.285	.829	56.0	.113
2011	CHA	Kemba Walker	G	547	34.0	19.3	3.8	5.4	1.3	0.4	.416	.358	.832	43.9	.113
2005	GSW	Ike Diogu	F	225	12.4	6.0	3.1	0.3	0.2	0.3	.509	.500	.786	6.5	.112
2008	CHA	D.J. Augustin	G	751	23.7	9.6	1.8	3.9	0.6	0.0	.408	.379	.863	37.0	.100
2015	CHO	Frank Kaminsky	F-C	248	22.8	9.8	4.0	1.6	0.5	0.4	.414	.347	.764	9.5	.081
2014	CHH	Noah Vonleh	F	256	16.4	4.6	5.0	0.5	0.4	0.4	.452	.333	.679	6.7	.077
2013	MIN	Trey Burke	G	324	24.2	10.9	2.1	3.7	0.6	0.1	.405	.340	.792	9.0	.055
2006	GSW	Patrick O'Bryant	C	90	5.8	2.1	1.4	0.3	0.2	0.4	.494	.000	.583	0.5	.046
2018	NYK	Kevin Knox	F	18	19.6	8.6	3.2	0.8	0.5	0.4	.338	.328	.667	-0.3	-0.043
2017	DAL	Dennis Smith	G	89	29.4	14.8	3.6	5.0	1.1	0.3	.403	.321	.688	-0.5	-0.009

STARTERS:

C: Joakim Noah

F: Gordon Hayward

F: Andre Iguodala

G: DeMar DeRozan

G: Kemba Walker

BENCH:

C: Andre Drummond

G: D.J. Augustin

C: Jakob Poeltl

F: Frank Kaminsky

F: Noah Vonleh

G: Trey Burke

Projects: Kevin Knox and Dennis Smith, Jr.

Shots fired! This team wouldn't space the floor all that well, but athletically it would be a MONSTER. I had to legitimately stop and think about whether Noah or Drummond would start at center, but '13-'14 Noah was DPOY/1st Team All-Defense/4th in MVP voting, and having yet another playmaker on the floor would make this offense unguardable, so he gets the nod. The depth of playmaking and basketball IQ are remarkable here, and they could easily stagger the minutes of the star wings to keep bench units humming. I REALLY like this team.

Power Rank: 5 (+4)

TEAM 8:

Year	Tm	Player	Pos	G	MP	PTS	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%	FT%	WS	WS/48
2007	CHA	Brandan Wright	F-C	428	16.2	7.0	3.6	0.5	0.5	1.0	.607	.000	.674	26.2	.181
2009	NYK	Jordan Hill	C-F	409	18.8	7.9	5.8	0.8	0.4	0.7	.497	.136	.699	16.4	.102
2005	NYK	Channing Frye	C-F	860	22.6	8.9	4.6	1.0	0.5	0.6	.442	.388	.823	38.8	.096
2006	HOU	Rudy Gay	F	831	34.4	17.8	5.9	2.2	1.3	0.8	.454	.347	.795	51.7	.087
2013	DET	Kentavious Caldwell-Pope	G	412	30.2	11.8	3.4	1.6	1.2	0.2	.408	.344	.794	20.7	.080
2010	LAC	Al-Farouq Aminu	F	613	25.0	7.6	6.0	1.2	1.0	0.6	.422	.337	.732	23.2	.073
2012	TOR	Terrence Ross	F-G	436	23.9	9.9	2.7	1.0	0.8	0.3	.424	.373	.803	15.9	.073
2011	DET	Brandon Knight	G	382	31.3	15.2	3.3	4.3	0.9	0.2	.415	.357	.812	11.6	.047
2016	SAC	Marquese Chriss	F	163	20.4	8.1	4.6	0.9	0.7	0.9	.437	.305	.617	2.4	.035
2008	MIL	Joe Alexander	F	67	11.1	4.2	1.8	0.7	0.2	0.4	.410	.340	.698	0.5	.030
2015	DET	Stanley Johnson	F	240	22.7	7.2	3.5	1.5	1.0	0.2	.373	.294	.763	3.3	.029
2014	SAC	Nik Stauskas	G	291	20.8	7.0	2.1	1.6	0.4	0.3	.389	.352	.809	3.3	.026
2017	NYK	Frank Ntilikina	G	101	22.2	5.9	2.2	3.1	0.8	0.3	.357	.300	.762	-1.3	-0.028
2004	TOR	Rafael Araujo	C	139	11.4	2.8	2.8	0.3	0.4	0.1	.405	.250	.679	-0.4	-0.013
2018	CLE	Collin Sexton	G	24	29.2	14.8	3.2	2.5	0.4	0.1	.444	.462	.891	0.0	-0.001

STARTERS:

C: Channing Frye

F: Al-Farouq Aminu

F: Rudy Gay

G: Terrence Ross

G: Brandon Knight

BENCH:

F: Brandan Wright

C: Jordan Hill

G: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

F: Stanley Johnson

G: Frank Ntilikina

Wait, what happened? Is Rudy Gay seriously the best 8th pick of the last fifteen years? How is this possible? I always liked Brandan Wright and thought he got a bum deal, and there's some decent shooting and young talent here, but what the hell? This squad would get absolutely shit-stomped by Team 9. Weird.

Power Rank: 18 (-10)

TEAM 7:

Year	Tm	Player	Pos	G	MP	PTS	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%	FT%	WS	WS/48
2009	GSW	Stephen Curry	G	640	34.4	23.3	4.4	6.7	1.8	0.2	.479	.438	.904	95.9	.209
2010	DET	Greg Monroe	C-F	600	28.5	13.6	8.5	2.2	1.1	0.6	.515	.000	.706	48.7	.137
2004	PHO	Luol Deng	F	883	34.6	15.0	6.1	2.3	1.0	0.5	.455	.331	.770	73.2	.115
2014	LAL	Julius Randle	F-C	264	27.7	14.0	8.9	2.6	0.6	0.5	.500	.277	.716	14.1	.093
2011	SAC	Bismack Biyombo	C-F	539	20.6	4.9	6.4	0.5	0.3	1.4	.514	.000	.565	21.0	.091
2018	CHI	Wendell Carter	C	25	26.0	11.4	7.4	2.2	0.6	1.6	.470	.208	.813	1.2	.091
2012	GSW	Harrison Barnes	F	482	30.4	13.3	4.9	1.5	0.7	0.2	.449	.369	.789	27.0	.088
2005	TOR	Charlie Villanueva	F	656	20.7	10.4	4.6	0.8	0.5	0.5	.435	.341	.772	22.6	.080
2008	LAC	Eric Gordon	G	581	33.2	16.7	2.5	3.0	0.9	0.3	.428	.373	.815	31.1	.077
2016	DEN	Jamal Murray	G	187	27.6	13.9	3.3	3.0	0.8	0.3	.430	.354	.891	8.2	.076
2017	MIN	Lauri Markkanen	F-C	70	29.7	15.2	7.5	1.1	0.6	0.6	.429	.362	.843	3.2	.073
2006	BOS	Randy Foye	G	752	25.6	10.3	2.2	2.8	0.7	0.3	.401	.366	.852	23.5	.058
2007	MIN	Corey Brewer	F-G	783	23.3	8.9	2.8	1.5	1.3	0.3	.425	.283	.713	21.5	.057
2013	SAC	Ben McLemore	G	356	24.2	8.9	2.5	1.1	0.7	0.2	.416	.351	.782	4.3	.024
2015	DEN	Emmanuel Mudiay	G	205	25.0	10.9	3.0	4.1	0.8	0.3	.381	.321	.730	-1.4	-0.013

STARTERS:

C: Greg Monroe

F: Julius Randle

F: Luol Deng

G: Jamal Murray

G: Steph Curry

BENCH:

F: Harrison Barnes

G: Eric Gordon

F/C: Lauri Markkanen

C: Wendell Carter

F: Charlie Villanueva

F/G: Corey Brewer

Deeeeep. Team 7 wouldn't stop anyone, but they wouldn't have to. They would be able to score from every level of the floor with endless waves of shooting and playmaking, and their bench would be a legit problem for opposing teams. And oh yeah, they also have that Curry guy you may have heard something about. Fake League Pass darlings.

Power Rank: 6 (+1)

TEAM 6:

Year	Tm	Player	Pos	G	MP	PTS	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%	FT%	WS	WS/48
2012	POR	Damian Lillard	G	493	36.4	23.3	4.1	6.2	0.9	0.3	.432	.367	.885	61.8	.166
2006	MIN	Brandon Roy	G	326	35.5	18.8	4.3	4.7	1.0	0.2	.459	.348	.800	37.4	.155
2008	NYK	Danilo Gallinari	F	504	31.2	15.5	4.7	2.0	0.8	0.4	.420	.372	.868	45.2	.138
2018	ORL	Mohamed Bamba	C	25	16.9	6.7	4.5	1.1	0.3	1.3	.507	.372	.600	1.1	.125
2004	ATL	Josh Childress	G-F	391	26.7	9.1	4.7	1.6	0.9	0.5	.522	.329	.779	25.7	.118
2013	NOH	Nerlens Noel	C-F	245	24.9	9.0	7.1	1.3	1.5	1.4	.518	.250	.630	14.2	.112
2015	SAC	Willie Cauley-Stein	F-C	237	23.3	9.9	5.9	1.4	0.9	0.8	.526	.235	.619	12.1	.105
2005	POR	Martell Webster	G-F	580	24.0	8.7	3.1	1.0	0.5	0.3	.418	.382	.791	24.7	.085
2010	GSW	Ekpe Udoh	C-F	349	15.6	3.6	2.9	0.7	0.5	1.2	.440	.000	.723	9.0	.080
2011	WAS	Jan Vesely	F	162	15.2	3.6	3.5	0.6	0.7	0.5	.521	.000	.408	4.0	.078
2014	BOS	Marcus Smart	G	284	28.3	9.2	3.6	3.9	1.5	0.4	.362	.296	.757	12.4	.074
2016	NOP	Buddy Hield	G	185	25.0	12.8	3.8	1.8	0.7	0.2	.443	.413	.855	5.2	.054
2017	ORL	Jonathan Isaac	F	46	21.2	6.7	4.3	0.8	1.0	1.1	.412	.315	.788	1.1	.052
2007	MIL	Yi Jianlian	F	272	22.2	7.9	4.9	0.7	0.5	0.7	.404	.333	.780	3.1	.025
2009	MIN	Jonny Flynn	G	163	22.9	9.2	1.9	3.9	0.7	0.0	.400	.338	.809	-1.1	-0.015

STARTERS:

C: Willie Cauley-Stein

F: Danilo Gallinari

F: Josh Childress

G: Brandon Roy

G: Damian Lillard

BENCH:

G: Marcus Smart

G: Buddy Hield

F: Martell Webster

C: Mo Bamba

F: Jonathan Isaac

I expected a little better here, but the Roy/Lillard backcourt would be nasty. The frontcourt is weak, and the bench will look a lot better three years from now, but c'est la vie. The roster fits together decently well, so maybe the whole would be greater than the sum of the parts, but still kind of disappointing.

Power Rank: 9 (-3)

TEAM 5:

Year	Tm	Player	Pos	G	MP	PTS	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%	FT%	WS	WS/48
2008	MEM	Kevin Love	F	639	32.2	18.3	11.3	2.3	0.7	0.5	.443	.370	.824	77.1	.180
2011	TOR	Jonas Valanciunas	C	466	25.1	11.7	8.4	0.8	0.4	1.0	.559	.375	.788	43.7	.179
2010	SAC	DeMarcus Cousins	C-F	535	32.3	21.5	11.0	3.2	1.4	1.2	.460	.338	.737	41.6	.115
2004	WAS	Devin Harris	G	930	24.8	11.0	2.2	4.0	1.0	0.2	.434	.327	.797	53.9	.112
2009	MIN	Ricky Rubio	G	455	31.2	10.9	4.3	7.8	2.0	0.1	.385	.325	.836	29.3	.099
2013	PHO	Alex Len	C	358	19.9	7.4	6.4	0.8	0.4	1.0	.486	.304	.703	12.8	.087
2006	ATL	Shelden Williams	F	361	15.5	4.5	4.3	0.5	0.5	0.5	.462	.222	.740	9.9	.085
2007	BOS	Jeff Green	F	806	30.1	13.2	4.6	1.6	0.7	0.5	.439	.331	.801	37.5	.074
2005	CHA	Raymond Felton	G	951	30.1	11.3	3.0	5.3	1.2	0.2	.412	.327	.789	39.6	.066
2012	SAC	Thomas Robinson	F	313	13.4	4.9	4.8	0.6	0.5	0.4	.470	.000	.505	4.6	.053
2014	UTA	Dante Exum	G	186	19.7	5.8	1.8	2.2	0.4	0.2	.393	.304	.753	1.8	.024
2015	ORL	Mario Hezonja	F-G	242	18.5	7.0	2.8	1.3	0.7	0.3	.414	.324	.815	2.0	.022
2016	MIN	Kris Dunn	G	131	22.0	7.6	3.0	3.9	1.4	0.5	.411	.308	.694	0.8	.014
2017	SAC	De'Aaron Fox	G	96	28.9	12.9	3.0	5.1	1.1	0.3	.424	.330	.715	0.8	.013
2018	DAL	Trae Young	G	25	29.2	15.7	2.8	7.3	0.7	0.3	.377	.239	.784	-0.9	-0.059

STARTERS:

C: DeMarcus Cousins

F: Kevin Love

F: Jeff Green (can't believe I'm typing that)

G: Devin Harris

G: De'Aaron Fox

BENCH:

G: Ricky Rubio

C: Jonas Valanciunas

G: Ray Felton, non-fat edition

F: Thomas Robinson, I guess?

G: Trae Young

This team starts out so full of promise. At first glance, you say, "Sweet, Boogie and Love -- great start. They're gonna be dope." Then, as you peruse the remainder of the roster, your reaction changes to "Wait, whaaaaat?"  The guards are kind of interchangeable; I chose how I did because Harris has had a better career than most realize and was an All-Star that one time (21.3/3.3/6.9 in '08-'09), and I'm a prisoner of the moment and have really liked what I've seen out of Fox so far this season. The wing depth is non-existent, and any semi-regular reader of mine knows I refuse to put any faith in a team relying heavily on Jeff Green. Besides budding star Fox and whatever Trae Young might one day become, this pick has been a weird sinkhole since about 2012, and it drastically lowers the ceiling of our theoretical team.

Power Rank: 10 (-5)

TEAM 4:

Year	Tm	Player	Pos	G	MP	PTS	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%	FT%	WS	WS/48
2005	NOH	Chris Paul	G	910	35.3	18.7	4.5	9.7	2.2	0.1	.471	.371	.868	166.4	.249
2008	SEA	Russell Westbrook	G	763	34.3	23.0	6.7	8.2	1.7	0.3	.436	.308	.811	92.0	.168
2018	MEM	Jaren Jackson	F	23	25.5	13.9	4.6	1.3	1.0	2.0	.519	.345	.787	1.9	.156
2013	CHA	Cody Zeller	C-F	335	22.6	8.0	5.6	1.3	0.7	0.7	.509	.269	.738	22.0	.140
2007	MEM	Mike Conley	G	741	32.6	14.5	2.9	5.7	1.5	0.2	.441	.376	.815	65.8	.131
2011	CLE	Tristan Thompson	F-C	543	28.0	9.2	8.6	0.9	0.5	0.7	.519	.000	.608	39.4	.124
2015	NYK	Kristaps Porzingis	F-C	186	31.0	17.8	7.1	1.3	0.7	2.0	.437	.361	.804	12.1	.100
2014	ORL	Aaron Gordon	F	286	26.6	11.8	6.0	1.8	0.8	0.6	.454	.317	.698	14.6	.092
2004	LAC	Shaun Livingston	G	786	21.0	6.4	2.4	3.1	0.7	0.4	.484	.181	.794	28.5	.083
2006	POR	Tyrus Thomas	F	402	19.7	7.7	4.8	0.9	0.8	1.3	.438	.235	.732	13.0	.078
2009	SAC	Tyreke Evans	G-F	548	31.6	16.2	4.7	5.0	1.3	0.4	.442	.321	.759	28.1	.078
2010	MIN	Wesley Johnson	F-G	591	22.5	7.1	3.2	1.1	0.8	0.7	.406	.339	.744	11.1	.040
2012	CLE	Dion Waiters	G	365	28.7	13.3	2.7	2.8	1.0	0.3	.412	.341	.701	7.5	.034
2017	PHO	Josh Jackson	F-G	101	24.0	12.0	4.2	1.6	1.0	0.5	.414	.261	.634	-1.7	-0.034
2016	PHO	Dragan Bender	F	133	20.2	5.2	3.6	1.2	0.2	0.6	.377	.342	.712	-0.3	-0.005

STARTERS:

C: Kristaps Porzingis

F: Jaren Jackson, Jr.

F: Aaron Gordon

G: Russell Westbrook

G: Chris Paul

BENCH:

G: Mike Conley

C: Tristan Thompson

C: Cody Zeller

G/F: Tyreke Evans

G: Shaun Livingston

There we go. This feels more like the kind of team we should be seeing this close to the end-game. The wing depth is still an issue -- besides Team 9, where are all the good wings? -- but you can't argue with those guards, combined with two unicorns in the starting lineup and two more dependable, mistake-free bigs off the bench. This would be a tough team to beat.

Power Rank: 4 (--)

TEAM 3:

Year	Tm	Player	Pos	G	MP	PTS	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%	FT%	WS	WS/48
2009	OKC	James Harden	G	707	33.9	23.2	5.1	6.1	1.5	0.5	.443	.365	.853	109.5	.219
2007	ATL	Al Horford	C-F	739	33.1	14.1	8.5	3.2	0.8	1.2	.523	.367	.749	80.2	.157
2014	PHI	Joel Embiid	C	120	29.9	23.0	10.7	3.0	0.7	2.0	.474	.317	.778	11.5	.154
2011	UTA	Enes Kanter	C	541	22.2	11.8	7.5	0.8	0.4	0.5	.539	.292	.781	36.3	.145
2010	NJN	Derrick Favors	F-C	580	25.9	11.5	7.2	1.1	0.8	1.3	.520	.226	.661	43.6	.139
2017	BOS	Jayson Tatum	F	103	30.7	14.4	5.4	1.7	1.0	0.7	.467	.423	.830	9.1	.138
2013	WAS	Otto Porter	F	366	26.7	10.6	4.9	1.4	1.2	0.4	.487	.400	.788	27.3	.134
2005	UTA	Deron Williams	G	845	34.2	16.3	3.1	8.1	1.0	0.2	.445	.357	.822	77.3	.129
2012	WAS	Bradley Beal	G	431	34.0	18.9	3.8	3.4	1.1	0.4	.447	.389	.793	30.6	.100
2004	CHI	Ben Gordon	G	744	27.4	14.9	2.5	2.5	0.7	0.2	.432	.401	.857	33.3	.078
2016	BOS	Jaylen Brown	F-G	167	24.1	10.4	3.9	1.2	0.7	0.3	.452	.360	.654	6.2	.074
2018	ATL	Luka Doncic	G-F	22	32.6	18.1	6.5	4.3	1.0	0.4	.438	.382	.787	1.0	.070
2008	MIN	O.J. Mayo	G	547	30.9	13.8	3.1	2.9	1.0	0.3	.429	.373	.820	21.8	.062
2015	PHI	Jahlil Okafor	C-F	143	22.0	12.1	5.0	1.0	0.3	0.9	.515	.200	.687	3.1	.047
2006	CHA	Adam Morrison	F	161	20.4	7.5	2.1	1.4	0.2	0.1	.373	.331	.710	-1.4	-0.021

STARTERS:

C: Joel Embiid

F: Al Horford

F: Jayson Tatum

G: James Harden

G: Deron Williams

BENCH:

G: Bradley Beal

F: Otto Porter

G/F: Luka Doncic

C: Enes Kanter

G: Ben Gordon

G/F: Jaylen Brown

Sweet Jesus, this team COOKS. Five All-Stars, plus at least two more guys (Tatum and Doncic) who will inevitably get there before long. Chicago Ben Gordon was better than you remember, and we used to earnestly debate if Deron Williams was better than Chris Paul. This team is freaking stacked. They would do absolutely everything at an elite level, and no players would ever deserve their "Did Not Dress" designations in the box score more than OJ Mayo, Jah Okafor, and Adam Morrison. They even excel at unintentionally hilarious benchwarmers.

Power Rank: 1 (+2)

TEAM 2:

Year	Tm	Player	Pos	G	MP	PTS	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%	FT%	WS	WS/48
2007	SEA	Kevin Durant	F-G	797	37.1	27.2	7.1	4.0	1.1	1.1	.491	.382	.884	134.8	.219
2006	CHI	LaMarcus Aldridge	F-C	894	34.6	19.4	8.4	1.9	0.7	1.1	.488	.282	.807	98.9	.153
2004	CHA	Emeka Okafor	C-F	616	30.9	12.0	9.7	0.8	0.7	1.6	.512	.000	.586	45.3	.114
2005	ATL	Marvin Williams	F	962	28.6	10.5	5.3	1.3	0.8	0.5	.444	.360	.806	59.9	.105
2009	MEM	Hasheem Thabeet	C	224	10.5	2.2	2.7	0.1	0.3	0.8	.567		.578	4.8	.099
2012	CHA	Michael Kidd-Gilchrist	F	375	26.4	9.1	5.9	1.2	0.7	0.7	.478	.255	.708	19.9	.097
2013	ORL	Victor Oladipo	G	382	33.3	17.5	4.6	3.9	1.7	0.5	.445	.352	.796	23.2	.088
2018	SAC	Marvin Bagley	F	21	24.1	13.0	6.8	0.9	0.5	1.2	.510	.304	.648	0.9	.088
2011	MIN	Derrick Williams	F	428	20.7	8.9	4.0	0.7	0.5	0.3	.434	.300	.710	14.1	.076
2014	MIL	Jabari Parker	F	208	30.9	15.4	5.7	2.1	0.9	0.4	.486	.338	.743	10.1	.076
2017	LAL	Lonzo Ball	G	76	32.2	9.5	6.4	6.4	1.6	0.6	.369	.312	.473	2.8	.055
2008	MIA	Michael Beasley	F	592	23.1	12.5	4.8	1.3	0.6	0.5	.465	.352	.761	15.4	.054
2010	PHI	Evan Turner	G	636	27.8	10.2	4.8	3.5	0.8	0.3	.434	.297	.782	19.0	.052
2016	LAL	Brandon Ingram	F	158	30.8	12.6	4.5	2.8	0.7	0.6	.443	.328	.651	2.9	.028
2015	LAL	D'Angelo Russell	G	217	27.9	15.0	3.6	4.5	1.2	0.2	.409	.346	.753	2.5	.020

STARTERS:

C: Emeka Okafor

F: LaMarcus Aldridge

F: Kevin Durant

G: Victor Oladipo

G: Lonzo Ball

BENCH:

F: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist

F: Marvin Williams

G: Evan Turner

F: Brandon Ingram

F: Marvin Bagley

F Jabari Parker

Here's an incredible thought: when you take every no.2 pick for the last 15 years, and cull the very best version of each of those guys, you still get a team which would probably lose to Kevin Durant's real-life team. Sure, Durant/Aldridge/Oladipo would be a fun top three, and they would be balanced and talented enough to hang in almost every game, but what an underwhelming rest of the roster. They certainly wouldn't be favored against Team 3, nor against the next group...

Power Rank: 3 (-1)

TEAM 1:

Year	Tm	Player	Pos	G	MP	PTS	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%	FT%	WS	WS/48
2012	NOH	Anthony Davis	F-C	432	34.9	23.7	10.4	2.0	1.4	2.4	.517	.314	.797	66.8	.213
2015	MIN	Karl-Anthony Towns	C-F	271	34.7	21.5	11.7	2.4	0.7	1.5	.538	.391	.840	37.5	.191
2007	POR	Greg Oden	C	105	19.3	8.0	6.2	0.5	0.4	1.2	.574		.658	7.3	.174
2009	LAC	Blake Griffin	F	551	35.1	21.6	9.2	4.4	0.9	0.5	.506	.331	.686	69.7	.173
2004	ORL	Dwight Howard	C	1044	34.5	17.4	12.6	1.5	0.9	2.0	.583	.095	.567	128.9	.172
2011	CLE	Kyrie Irving	G	463	33.8	22.0	3.5	5.5	1.3	0.3	.463	.388	.873	52.2	.160
2016	PHI	Ben Simmons	G-F	106	33.6	15.7	8.3	8.1	1.6	0.8	.549	.000	.571	11.8	.159
2018	PHO	Deandre Ayton	C	24	31.3	16.0	10.2	2.5	0.6	0.8	.600	.000	.783	2.1	.134
2005	MIL	Andrew Bogut	C	694	28.4	9.8	8.7	2.2	0.6	1.6	.535	.120	.556	50.3	.122
2010	WAS	John Wall	G	565	35.9	19.0	4.3	9.2	1.7	0.7	.433	.326	.781	44.2	.105
2008	CHI	Derrick Rose	G	518	33.6	18.9	3.6	5.7	0.8	0.3	.453	.307	.822	36.1	.100
2006	TOR	Andrea Bargnani	F-C	550	28.7	14.3	4.6	1.2	0.4	0.9	.439	.354	.824	18.9	.057
2014	CLE	Andrew Wiggins	F-G	348	36.0	19.5	4.1	2.1	1.0	0.5	.444	.334	.740	12.5	.048
2017	PHI	Markelle Fultz	G	33	20.6	7.7	3.4	3.4	0.9	0.3	.414	.267	.534	0.6	.042
2013	CLE	Anthony Bennett	F	151	12.6	4.4	3.1	0.5	0.4	0.2	.392	.261	.670	0.5	.013

STARTERS:

C: Dwight Howard

F: Anthony Davis

F: Blake Griffin

G: Derrick Rose

G: Kyrie Irving

BENCH:

F/C: Karl-Anthony Towns

G: John Wall

G: Ben Simmons

C: Andrew Bogut

C: Deandre Ayton

At long last, it's Team Golden Boy. There are some undeniable fit issues here -- primarily, the only true wing on the roster is Wiggins, and the odds of him ever taking off his warm-ups are about the same as he and Jimmy Butler starring in a buddy comedy together -- but you can't argue with the talent level. The defensive paint would be an absolute no-fly zone, and depending which vintages you selected, the spacing could be more manageable than it might at first seem. They would also dominate the paint offensively (look at those FG%'s), and there is a near-endless number of devastating pick-and-roll combinations they could deploy. Naturally, LeBron would have been the thing to tie this roster together, but alas, he missed the 2004 cutoff by one season. It would clearly be a nightmare trying to keep this squad away from the rim, but would that interior dominance be enough to counter the balanced roster of Team 3? I say no.

Power Rank: 2 (-1)

There you have it. The hypothetical Draft Slot NBA World Champions are the no.3 picks. As if Luka Doncic needed any more accolades this early in his career.

Hope you enjoyed this exercise, and please feel free to share your feedback on the rankings!