It was really fun to build a team this way.
I used my own custom roster, which i had edited to have more accurate potentials and ratings (to my perspective anyway).
- Just like i hoped, Malcolm Brogdon was left unprotected so he was my first pick. In my roster he's rated 75 and i think his potential is set at 80 or so. I really like his combo of shooting, defense, and ability to move the ball in real life. I was actually surprised the Bucks left him unprotected, so i was glad to build around him.
I then noticed Norman Powell was left unprotected by the Raptors, so i chose him next, and now i had my starting wings sorted.
Next, drawn by the lure of the novelty, i took Boban Marjanovic. 75 overall. I had him in mind as my starting center, but i would later regret not leaving that opportunity open for others.
Point guard is an important position, and i remember setting Tyler Ulis' potential to 79 or 80, and i remember his ratings were pretty decent (only 72 overall but had nice specialty ratings), so i took him next.
Now there's a hole at our 4 spot. My gamestyle is very pick&pop orientated so i wanted to get someone who can knock down open jumpers at a high rate. So i sorted by "open mid range" and "open 3pt" and Meyers Leonard was at the top of them both, with 90+ in them both. Now i'm not really a huge fan of Leonard's game in real life, and i think i reduced his potential in my roster, but the floor spacing sounded too good to pass up, so i took him next.
For the next few picks i had the future in mind, picking my favourite prospects in a vacuum. I took Malik Bealsey, Ivica Zubac, and Deyonta Davis. All 3 players have their potential at 80 or so in my roster, and are all 19 years old, so there's no pressure to give them starter minutes straight away.
With my frontcourt in a good position, i realized i didn't have a "true" SF, and i also wanted a defensive specialist on the roster somewhere, and the perfect person presented himself: Jerami Grant. He'll be my backup SF and can be my LeBron/Durant/Kawhi/George stopper.
Next i wanted to get a promising PG to share minutes with Ulis, but i noticed the PG crop didn't really have any promising young guys, so i noticed Shaun Livingston sitting there and i started to think about the possibilities of starting him at PG in terms of gameplay. Ulis was gonna be a defensive liability as starter, but now i have strategic advantage having a 6'7" PG. Also, i've always loved Livingston and have wished he could be a starter in the NBA somewhere someday.
So now i have a 10 man rotation. Where to from here?
Well, the previous pick Livingston got me thinking in a new way -- it got me thinking about how the players will fit together in gameplay. I started thinking about how open the paint might be with Leonard getting delivered pick&pops all day, so i figured i need someone who is a strong inside finisher. Boban's inside finishing is okay but his standing layup is only 80. I want someone who is a legit threat with finishing. Then i remember Christiano Felicio was still on the board. I had upped his strength and inside touch to match his real life counterpart a bit better, so he would be the perfect candidate. Despite already having a handful of promising young bigs, i decided to draft him as a piece with gameplay in mind.
At this point i'm starting to wonder who else can help me in gameplay, and decided to draft Dedmon, whose defensive ratings i had upped in my roster. Now feeling less use for Boban, he becomes the first Sonic to be placed on the trade block.
With one pick left, and my team being very big man heavy, i drafted KJ McDaniels to help out on the wing.
PG: Shaun Livingston & Tyler Ulis
SG: Malcolm Brogdon & Norman Powell (will probably play one of them at starting SF tho)
SF: Jerami Grant & KJ McDaniels
PF: Meyers Leonard & Deyonta Davis
C: Boban Majonovic, Dewayne Dedmon, Christiano Felicio, Ivica Zubac.
So yeah, a little heavy on the centers, especially considering Deyonta's skillset is probably more that of a center.
Starting lineup will probably be: 1-Livingston, 2-Brogdon, 3-Powell, 4-Leonard, 5-Felicio.
Probably going to run a pick&roll offense.
Any ideas for offensive or defensive schemes?
What kind of plays would you run with this lineup?Now to play my first 12min qtr game in 2k17...
