2017 Dynasty Draft - Pick Selection and Discussion Thread

[lethalweapon3]

With somewhere around the 4^th pick of the 2017 Hawksquawk Summer Dynasty Draft, the Lethal Flexibility selects:

 

Now, don’t you go trying to die out there on the field, Stephen Curry (Point Guard / Shooting Guard, 6’3”, 190 lbs., Age 29 as of 10/1/2017)! Take those pads off, son; we’re getting you a basketball!

It’s all about building Super Teams these days in the Summer Dynasty League. Yes, Stephen Curry is about to cross into the dreaded Wrong Side of Thirty next year. However, like several blue-chip prospects in this draft, Steph has a game and a reasonably healthy body that should age decently, well toward his 40s if he so chooses. And no one has a better grasp of managing the super-sized expectations of a Super Team than the Second-Team All-NBAer, two-time former MVP, and four-time All-Star guard.

Adding another otherworldly talent to his roster last summer was supposed to dim the production of what was, in 2016, the league’s strongest offensive threat. That turned out to be the case during the regular season. His Win Shares and related efficiencies more closely resembled his initial All-Star season of 2013-14. His signature marksmanship dropped to a career-low 41.1 3FG%, his assist rates were the lowest of his All-Star era, and he no longer led his league in steals.

Yet his per-game production improved over the months, as he grew acclimated to his fellow ex-MVP and All-Star sidekick, and to their opponents’ adjustments. Curry remains great enough to help guide his teams smoothly into the postseason, and it is there, where it counts most, where he shined the best.

Along the path to his second league title this past summer, Steph shot near his career-best beyond the 3-point arc (41.9 3FG%) and, thanks to the extra floor-spacing, established himself as a reliable finisher within it (56.4 2FG%). He established playoff season-highs in free throws made, points, rebounds, and steals, and nearly a career-low for turnovers per game, as his star-studded team cruised to a 16-1 record.

The highest-volume three-point shooter, and maker, over each of the past five seasons, Curry can add value to his champion persona by finding better balance as a point guard and returning to his days of being among the league’s top passers. As it stands, though, he remains among the Top 10 active players in per game points, assists, and steals; in true shooting percentage, assist percentage and steal percentage; in offensive rating, per-48 win shares, and offensive box plus/minus.

At a time when offensive efficiency and production perhaps never meant more to championship-contending basketball, Curry provides an ideal foundation for the L-Flex to build around. The Baby-Faced Assassin will look, and feel, less cherubic as the years go by. But his ebullient production on the court, and persona off the court, makes him just the person that other top-notch players will gravitate toward in the seasons to come.

I submit the remainder of my time to the indubitable @LucastheThird!

THE LETHAL FLEXIBILITY

PG: Wardell Stephen Curry II

SG: 

SF: 

PF: 

C: 

~lw3

[AHF]

@jy23 remains free to make his pick at any time as well.

[LucastheThird]

With the 5th pick I sekect: 

LeBron James 

 

He's the best player in the world right now and still has a few more good years left in him. Nothing else needs to be said. @Diesel is up next.

[lethalweapon3]

Hey, in keeping with the spirit of not mentioning player names... should everybody who has last year's rosters in their profile signatures, as Chris Hardwick would say, "wipe-wipe-wipe-wipe-wipe"?

~lw3

[LucastheThird]

Sure can 

[capstone21]

2 hours ago, Buzzard said:

With the 3^rd pick in the Squawk Dynasty Draft, the Flocking Buzzards select Karl -“The Man” - Anthony Towns.

This young center from the University of Kentucky really upped his game in his 2^nd season. His scoring average jumped almost 7 points a game putting him in the 12^th spot and tied with the all world small forward just taken ahead of him. He also improved his range with these stats bearing this out:  increased 3pt attempts per game, increased 3pt %, and increased ft attempts per game, and increased ft%.

Every offensive category improved. Karl’s rebounding also put him squarely in the top 10 in the league as one of only 6 players to average 12 or more rebounds per game.

We do not see a weakness in this young man’s game and at just 21 years old; we expect him to be a pillar we can base our franchise on for the next decade. Welcome to the Flock Young Mr. Towns

 

@lethalweapon3is up!

Would have been my first pick too ... he is the real deal

[Buzzard]

1 hour ago, capstone21 said:

Would have been my first pick too ... he is the real deal

Yes, 12th in PPG, 6th in RPG and doing that in just his second year. Now add in his FT shooting and range, there might be a 1/2 dozen bigs in the modern era who showed that much promise in just their 2nd season.

Truly unreal when you think about him being only 21. Hell of a pick for the Timberwolves; and they deserve a good one after so many bust and so so picks.

Edited August 3, 2017 by Buzzard

[capstone21]

1 hour ago, Buzzard said:

Yes, 12th in PPG, 6th in RPG and doing that in just his second year. Now add in his FT shooting and range, there might be a 1/2 dozen bigs in the modern era who showed that much promise in just their 2nd season.

Truly unreal when you think about him being only 21. Hell of a pick for the Timberwolves; and they deserve a good one after so many bust and so so picks.

Yup ... I picked number one overall in last years dynasty draft for those very reasons and he is only going to get better

[Diesel]

With the next pick in the draft, the Atlanta Ganstaslappas Select:

League MVP...

 

Russell Westbrook.

Capstone is next up. 

[capstone21]

This might surprise a few but

Capstone's Crew selects

Giannis Ante... lets just say The Greek Freak

6'11 SF/PF/SG/PG/C 222lbs 22 yrs old

This is the next big star in The league and we are very very ecstatic to get him.  At 6'11 with crazy  athleticism and bbiq, Giannis is a freak of nature. This kid can do everything on the court from playing and defending the point guard to playing/defending the center position (and every position in between). 

 On offense, G is just dangerous ... this past season he had a 22 ppg season shooting at a 522 clip with almost 9 rebounds!  

Getting more then 5 assists a game, freak is a total team player.   He loves to get his teammates involved.  This is Important to the crew as we are going to play a ball moving game. 

let's not forget this kid's Defense ... on that end of the court he is fierce and pure intimidation... 1.6 steals and almost 2 blocks a game is just crazy ...  

The one word I use to describe this kid is 'Complete'!  

His 3 point shooting is a work in progress but he has been working hard to improve that.  He did shoot 40% from 3 in the playoffs.  

The crew has potentially next season's MVP and we are very excited to have him starting off this roster

Welcome to the team G!

 

@AHF you are up

[AHF]

@jy23 - you are killing me!

[capstone21]

44 minutes ago, AHF said:

@jy23 - you are killing me!

[Buzzard]

1 hour ago, AHF said:

@jy23 - you are killing me!

It does not hurt to give him a chance; but once your time is up AHF, we should just keep things rolling.

[HopefulHawksFan]

I'm waiting on AHF and ready to pick!  

[AHF]

So many good choices on the board right now, that is is pretty hard to pick but when facing the choice between several dominant players I'll use two-way dominance, age and consistency to break my tie.  I've got to go with the guy who has been top 3 in MVP voting and first team All-NBA the last two seasons, has been 4 time All-NBA defense, and who put up 26 ppg on  over .600% TS%.  Having just finished his age 25 season, he should have a long runway ahead of him while he polishes his NBA Finals MVP trophy.  With the 8th pick of the Squawk 2017 draft, the U-Niques select:

Kawhi Leonard

@HopefulHawksFan is on the clock

 

[HopefulHawksFan]

5 minutes ago, AHF said:

So many good choices on the board right now, that is is pretty hard to pick but when facing the choice between several dominant players I'll use two-way dominance, age and consistency to break my tie.  I've got to go with the guy who has been top 3 in MVP voting and first team All-NBA the last two seasons, has been 4 time All-NBA defense, and who put up 26 ppg on  over .600% TS%.  Having just finished his age 25 season, he should have a long runway ahead of him while he polishes his NBA Finals MVP trophy.  With the 8th pick of the Squawk 2017 draft, the U-Niques select:

Kawhi Leonard

@HopefulHawksFan is on the clock

 

Literally dying over here...of course this was my pick.  Back to the drawing board...

[Buzzard]

6 minutes ago, HopefulHawksFan said:

Literally dying over here...of course this was my pick.  Back to the drawing board...

The first round is stacked. So much talent in the NBA.

[HopefulHawksFan]

13 minutes ago, Buzzard said:

The first round is stacked. So much talent in the NBA.

This is absolutely true.  However, I have this thing where I can't pick players I don't like. Maybe it's because I'm a woman and I hold a grudge...

Edited August 3, 2017 by HopefulHawksFan

[HopefulHawksFan]

With the 9^th pick, I select…

 

Jimmy Butler

 

In the 2016-17 season, Jimmy Butler averaged career highs in PPG (23.9), Rebounds (6.2) and Assists (5.5).  He is a consistent player on both ends of the floor.  He can create his own offense, knocking down jumpers consistently.  He is only going to get better when surrounded by other efficient players which will create much-needed floor spacing.  At 27 years old, he’s the perfect balance of experience and potential to lead this team. 

[Buzzard]

 

@HopefulHawksFan

 

You should not mention players not picked yet :) Hide that post please.

Edited August 3, 2017 by Buzzard