2019 Hawksquawk Dynasty Draft - Picks and Discussion

[AHF]

DA couple changes underlined below to the rules for this year's draft based on feedback from the group.  So without further ado, here are the rules:

1.  Draft Format: This is a sixteen round snake draft (15 players, 1 coach), so Draft order goes 1,2,3,4,...11, 11, 10, 9, 8...3, 2, 1, 1, 2, 3,..

2. Eligibility: You can Draft anybody that is currently in the league or is or has been draft eligible. So players eligible for the 2019 draft can be drafted as can foreign players drafted in the past or draft eligible in the past who haven't played in the NBA. Players like incoming college freshmen are still not eligible for this draft because they have never been draft eligible and will not be eligible until next year's draft.  As a clarification, you can pick pretty much anyone to coach.

 3. Making Your Picks/Discussion and Debate: When it's your turn to draft, you just post (in bold) the player's name and you should do a writeup on why you chose that player. If you don't have time for a writeup, you can just make your selection to keep Draft moving and then post writeup later when you have time. Your writeup should explain why the player rules and how well they fit with your squad and why your team is now going to dominate the '10s. You should always pm the next person in the list after you pick.
Example:
AHF Team Pick: Joe Johnson
I am taking Joe to bolster my scoring. While he is getting older, he will be playing limited minutes on my roster behind James Harden [note: already picked by me so can be discussed] and will still be able to dominate smaller wings like Avery Bradley [note: already selected so can be named]. Health is a concern but in round 11 there isn’t a lot of depth on the perimeter so this pick makes all the sense in the world.  Next person on the list has been PM'd

Discussion of picks is encouraged but do not discuss undrafted players to avoid influencing future picks. So, for example, if Wilt is picked #1 then it is a breach of draft etiquette to start discussion other available centers or how MJ is still available, etc. If you are explaining why you picked Wilt, you need to just generally address other available players or use the word "Player" as a substitute for someone specific.

 Example: AHF Team Selects:  Dominique Wilkins. I took Nique because he was so dominant in the playoffs, and I don't think that Player would hold up as well as him when guarded by other elite picks. Next person on the list has been PM'd.  (Note:  Nique would not be a good choice at all as explained below).

 We will keep a separate thread with a summary of all picks for easy reference.

 4. Time Frame/Finances: You get the player as they are and their projected potential/output for their projected career from here on out. So if you Draft Joe Johnson, you are getting the 2019-20 Joe Johnson who has a very limited number of years left. If you Draft someone from this years draft you might get a young player who may project to play for 10+ years at a high level. Assume for purposes of this draft that all players get paid 1/15th of your salary cap every year so that you don’t need to bypass Michael Conley for Emmanual Mudiay just because Conley is expensive and you already have several high salaries.  This applies equally to coaches.  

5. Roster: Each team gets 15 players and one coach, no restrictions on positions...draft 15 centers if you want.  Your coach pick must be a current NBA head coach.

6. Evaluation Criteria: Draft as if you are starting a new franchise, so consider how your team will play into the future, not just year one. That said, you can choose to weight immediate success or long-term success as you wish.

7. Trades: Teams are free to trade players, coaches or picks but the total number of incoming and outgoing roster spots must be the same. I.e., you can trade your first round pick and fifth round pick for someone’s second and third round picks but can’t trade your first round pick for a second round pick and a tenth round pick. Trades are subject to review but will only be overturned where both a number of posters and the commish (AHF) feel the trade is so unfair that it could ruin balance. Basically, we want to avoid stacking one team up with lopsided trades but trades for fit or due to different projections of talent are fine.

8. Time Limits: We'll start off with an 8 hour time limit for each pick (see note on nighttime shutdown). So when the person before you picks, you have 8 hours from then to make your selection or you are skipped. If you are skipped, the next person's clock starts and they have 8 hours. You may make up skipped picks at any time. Just post who you want when you get back to the thread. We may decrease time limit if the draft drags to a crawl and people aren’t expected to take that long if they are available. Draft moving smoothly, but we'll decide that as a group.
One Caveat: The clock does not run from 11pm-7am EST. So if team 5 makes a selection at 9pm then team 6 has until 1pm the next day (2 hours until 11pm then 6 hours after 7am.)

Second Caveat:  If you miss your pick and make everyone wait 8 hours, if you haven't made that next pick you will only have 1 hour for your next pick. Once you are current on your picks, you will get a full 8 hours again.

9. PM The Next Pick: You should PM the person after you and/or tag them with an @name when you make your pick so they know it's their turn. However, everyone should also follow along with the thread and know when they are up soon. Please make sure you have set your preferences to receive emails when you are PM’d.

10. Anticipated Absences – Advance Picks: If your pick is coming up soon and you'll be away, just ask in thread who will take your pm and be around to post it when it's your turn. I like to pm someone picking after me, and ideally someone that I have 2 picks before they go again so I can pm them 2 choices in case my top choice gets selected.

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Simulations - If anyone wants to run simulations or fantasy results, I am sure people would enjoy seeing them for discussion so have at it.

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@Buzzard is free to start picking now but time will officially start to run at 7 a.m. EST Thursday (July 18) morning.  Good luck!

 

Pick #	Team	Player Selected
1	Buzzard	Trae Young
2	bleachkit	Giannis Antetokounmpo
3	capstone21	Anthony Davis
4	lethalweapon3	Joel Embiid
5	IheartVolt	Steph Curry
6	pimp	Kawhi Leonard
7	AHF	James Harden
8	LucastheThird	Nikola Jokic
9	JayBirdHawk	Karl Anthony-Towns
10	Spud2nique	Luka Doncic
11	Spud2nique	Zion Williamson
12	JayBirdHawk	Kyrie Irving
13	LucastheThird	Paul George
14	AHF	Rudy Gobert
15	pimp	Damian Lillard
16	IheartVolt	John Collins
17	lethalweapon3	Kemba Walker
18	capstone21	Devin Booker
19	bleachkit	Ben Simmons
20	Buzzard	DeAndre Ayton
21	Buzzard	Jaren Jackson, Jr.
22	bleachkit	Bradley Beal
23	capstone21	Jrue Holiday
24	lethalweapon3	Jimmy Butler
25	IheartVolt	Donovan Mitchell
26	pimp	Kevin Durant
27	AHF	LeBron James
28	LucastheThird	Klay Thompson
29	JayBirdHawk	Russell Westbrook
30	Spud2nique	Jayson Tatum
31	Spud2nique	Ja Morant
32	JayBirdHawk	Victor Oladipo
33	LucastheThird	Draymond Green
34	AHF	De'Aaron Fox
35	pimp	Kristaps Porzingis
36	IheartVolt	COACH Mike Budenholzer
37	lethalweapon3	Pascal Siakam
38	capstone21	Myles Turner
39	bleachkit	R.J. Barrett
40	Buzzard	Zach LaVine
41	Buzzard	Marvin Bagley
42	bleachkit	Nikola Vucevic
43	capstone21	Khris Middleton
44	lethalweapon3	COACH Nick Nurse
45	IheartVolt	Tobias Harris
46	pimp	Montrezl Harrell
47	AHF	Blake Griffin
48	LucastheThird	Mike Conley
49	JayBirdHawk	Josh Richardson
50	Spud2nique	Domantas Sabonis
51	Spud2nique	Kevin Huerter
52	JayBirdHawk	COACH Gregg Popovich
53	LucastheThird	D'Angelo Russell
54	AHF	Otto Porter
55	pimp	Buddy Hield
56	IheartVolt	LaMarcus Aldridge
57	lethalweapon3	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
58	capstone21	Aaron Gordon
59	bleachkit	Julius Randle
60	Buzzard	CJ McCollum
61	Buzzard	Jamal Murray
62	bleachkit	Lonzo Ball
63	capstone21	Eric Bledsoe
64	lethalweapon3	De'Andre Hunter
65	IheartVolt	Derrick Favors
66	pimp	Andre Drummond
67	AHF	Lauri Markkanen
68	LucastheThird	Mitchell Robinson
69	JayBirdHawk	Jarrett Allen
70	Spud2nique	Marcus Smart
71	Spud2nique	Clint Capela
72	JayBirdHawk	Lonnie Walker
73	LucastheThird	Robert Covington
74	AHF	Wendell Carter, Jr.
75	pimp	DeMar DeRozan
76	IheartVolt	Chris Paul
77	lethalweapon3	Malcolm Brogdon
78	capstone21	Jaylen Brown
79	bleachkit	Kevin Love
80	Buzzard	T.J. Warren
81	Buzzard	Kyle Kuzma
82	bleachkit	Al Horford
83	capstone21	Steven Adams
84	lethalweapon3	Dewayne Dedmon
85	IheartVolt	Jusuf Nurkic
86	pimp	Lou Williams
87	AHF	Darius Garland
88	LucastheThird	Gordon Hayward
89	JayBirdHawk	Jonathan Isaac
90	Spud2nique	Cam Reddish
91	Spud2nique	Brandon Ingram
92	JayBirdHawk	Bam Adebayo
93	LucastheThird	Paul Millsap
94	AHF	Kyle Lowry
95	pimp	Mo Bamba
96	IheartVolt	Gary Harris
97	lethalweapon3	Joe Harris
98	capstone21	Harrison Barnes
99	bleachkit	Danilo Gallinari
100	Buzzard	Jaxson Hayes
101	Buzzard	Rui Hachimura
102	bleachkit	Bojan Bogdanovic
103	capstone21	Dario Saric
104	lethalweapon3	Jeremy Lamb
105	IheartVolt	Joe Ingles
106	pimp	Bol Bol
107	AHF	Jarrett Culver
108	LucastheThird	DeMarcus Cousins
109	JayBirdHawk	Justise Winslow
110	Spud2nique	Luka Samanic
111	Spud2nique	COACH Lloyd Pierce
112	JayBirdHawk	Mikal Bridges
113	LucastheThird	Patrick Beverley
114	AHF	Jonas Valanciunas
115	pimp	Caris LeVert
116	IheartVolt	Alex Len
117	lethalweapon3	Brandon Clarke
118	capstone21	OG Anunoby
119	bleachkit	Tyler Herro
120	Buzzard	Collin Sexton
121	Buzzard	Harry Giles
122	bleachkit	Taurean Prince
123	capstone21	Terry Rozier
124	lethalweapon3	Dejounte Murray
125	IheartVolt	Miles Bridges
126	pimp	Coby White
127	AHF	Sekou Doumbouya
128	LucastheThird	DeAndre' Bembry
129	JayBirdHawk	Derrick White
130	Spud2nique	Josh Okogie
131	Spud2nique	Zach Collins
132	JayBirdHawk	Rodions Kurucs
133	LucastheThird	Jae Crowder
134	AHF	Luke Kennard
135	pimp	Nickeil Alexander-Walker
136	IheartVolt	JJ Redick
137	lethalweapon3	Terrence Ross
138	capstone21	Dwight Powell
139	bleachkit	Cedi Osman
140	Buzzard	Keldon Johnson
141	Buzzard	COACH Quin Snyder
142	bleachkit	COACH Steve Kerr
143	capstone21	Josh Hart
144	lethalweapon3	Maxi Kleber
145	IheartVolt	Nikola Mirotic
146	pimp	Thomas Bryant
147	AHF	Michael Porter
148	LucastheThird	Jerami Grant
149	JayBirdHawk	Jabari Parker
150	Spud2nique	Mfiondu Kabengele
151	Spud2nique	Landry Shamet
152	JayBirdHawk	Danny Green
153	LucastheThird	COACH Doc Rivers
154	AHF	COACH Erik Spoelstra
155	pimp	COACH Tim Duncan
156	IheartVolt	Goran Dragic
157	lethalweapon3	Ivica Zubac
158	capstone21	COACH Brad Stevens
159	bleachkit	Thaddeus Young
160	Buzzard	Grant Williams

Pick #    Team    Player Selected
1    Buzzard    Trae Young
2    bleachkit    Giannis Antetokounmpo
3    capstone21    Anthony Davis
4    lethalweapon3    Joel Embiid
5    IheartVolt    Steph Curry
6    pimp    Kawhi Leonard
7    AHF    James Harden
8    LucastheThird    Nikola Jokic
9    JayBirdHawk    Karl Anthony-Towns
10    Spud2nique    Luka Doncic
11    Spud2nique    Zion Williamson
12    JayBirdHawk    Kyrie Irving
13    LucastheThird    Paul George
14    AHF    Rudy Gobert
15    pimp    Damian Lillard
16    IheartVolt    John Collins
17    lethalweapon3    Kemba Walker
18    capstone21    Devin Booker
19    bleachkit    Ben Simmons
20    Buzzard    DeAndre Ayton
21    Buzzard    Jaren Jackson, Jr.
22    bleachkit    Bradley Beal
23    capstone21    Jrue Holiday
24    lethalweapon3    Jimmy Butler
25    IheartVolt    Donovan Mitchell
26    pimp    Kevin Durant
27    AHF    LeBron James
28    LucastheThird    Klay Thompson
29    JayBirdHawk    Russell Westbrook
30    Spud2nique    Jayson Tatum
31    Spud2nique    Ja Morant
32    JayBirdHawk    Victor Oladipo
33    LucastheThird    Draymond Green
34    AHF    De'Aaron Fox
35    pimp    Kristaps Porzingis
36    IheartVolt  COACH Mike Budenholzer  
37    lethalweapon3    Pascal Siakam
38    capstone21    Myles Turner
39    bleachkit    R.J. Barrett
40    Buzzard    Zach LaVine
41    Buzzard    Marvin Bagley
42    bleachkit    Nikola Vucevic
43    capstone21    Khris Middleton
44    lethalweapon3    COACH Nick Nurse
45    IheartVolt    Tobias Harris
46    pimp    Montrezl Harrell
47    AHF    Blake Griffin
48    LucastheThird    Mike Conley
49    JayBirdHawk    Josh Richardson
50    Spud2nique    Domantas Sabonis
51    Spud2nique    Kevin Huerter
52    JayBirdHawk    COACH Gregg Popovich
53    LucastheThird    D'Angelo Russell
54    AHF    Otto Porter
55    pimp    Buddy Hield
56    IheartVolt    LaMarcus Aldridge
57    lethalweapon3    Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
58    capstone21    Aaron Gordon
59    bleachkit    Julius Randle
60    Buzzard    CJ McCollum
61    Buzzard    Jamal Murray
62    bleachkit    Lonzo Ball
63    capstone21    Eric Bledsoe
64    lethalweapon3    De'Andre Hunter
65    IheartVolt    Derrick Favors
66    pimp    Andre Drummond
67    AHF    Lauri Markkanen
68    LucastheThird    Mitchell Robinson
69    JayBirdHawk    Jarrett Allen
70    Spud2nique    Marcus Smart
71    Spud2nique    Clint Capela
72    JayBirdHawk    Lonnie Walker
73    LucastheThird    Robert Covington
74    AHF    Wendell Carter, Jr.
75    pimp    DeMar DeRozan
76    IheartVolt    Chris Paul
77    lethalweapon3    Malcolm Brogdon
78    capstone21    Jaylen Brown
79    bleachkit    Kevin Love
80    Buzzard    T.J. Warren
81    Buzzard    Kyle Kuzma
82    bleachkit    Al Horford
83    capstone21    Steven Adams
84    lethalweapon3    Dewayne Dedmon
85    IheartVolt    Jusuf Nurkic
86    pimp    Lou Williams
87    AHF    Darius Garland
88    LucastheThird    Gordon Hayward
89    JayBirdHawk    Jonathan Isaac
90    Spud2nique    Cam Reddish
91    Spud2nique    Brandon Ingram
92    JayBirdHawk    Bam Adebayo
93    LucastheThird    Paul Millsap
94    AHF    Kyle Lowry
95    pimp    Mo Bamba
96    IheartVolt    Gary Harris
97    lethalweapon3    Joe Harris
98    capstone21    Harrison Barnes
99    bleachkit    Danilo Gallinari
100    Buzzard    Jaxson Hayes
101    Buzzard    Rui Hachimura
102    bleachkit    Bojan Bogdanovic
103    capstone21    Dario Saric
104    lethalweapon3    Jeremy Lamb
105    IheartVolt    Joe Ingles
106    pimp    Bol Bol
107    AHF    Jarrett Culver
108    LucastheThird    DeMarcus Cousins
109    JayBirdHawk    Justise Winslow
110    Spud2nique    Luka Samanic
111    Spud2nique    COACH Lloyd Pierce
112    JayBirdHawk    Mikal Bridges
113    LucastheThird    Patrick Beverley
114    AHF    Jonas Valanciunas
115    pimp    Caris LeVert
116    IheartVolt    Alex Len
117    lethalweapon3    Brandon Clarke
118    capstone21    OG Anunoby
119    bleachkit    Tyler Herro
120    Buzzard    Collin Sexton
121    Buzzard    Harry Giles
122    bleachkit    Taurean Prince
123    capstone21    Terry Rozier
124    lethalweapon3    Dejounte Murray
125    IheartVolt    Miles Bridges
126    pimp    Coby White
127    AHF    Sekou Doumbouya
128    LucastheThird    DeAndre' Bembry
129    JayBirdHawk    Derrick White
130    Spud2nique    Josh Okogie
131    Spud2nique    Zach Collins
132    JayBirdHawk    Rodions Kurucs
133    LucastheThird    Jae Crowder
134    AHF    Luke Kennard
135    pimp    Nickeil Alexander-Walker
136    IheartVolt    JJ Redick
137    lethalweapon3    Terrence Ross
138    capstone21    Dwight Powell
139    bleachkit     Cedi Osman
140    Buzzard    Keldon Johnson
141    Buzzard    COACH Quin Snyder
142    bleachkit    COACH Steve Kerr
143    capstone21    Josh Hart
144    lethalweapon3    Maxi Kleber
145    IheartVolt    Nikola Mirotic
146    pimp    Thomas Bryant
147    AHF    Michael Porter
148    LucastheThird    Jerami Grant
149    JayBirdHawk    Jabari Parker
150    Spud2nique    Mfiondu Kabengele
151    Spud2nique    Landry Shamet
152    JayBirdHawk    Danny Green
153    LucastheThird    COACH Doc Rivers
154    AHF    COACH Erik Spoelstra
155    pimp    COACH Tim Duncan
156    IheartVolt    Goran Dragic
157    lethalweapon3    Ivica Zubac
158    capstone21    COACH Brad Stevens
159    bleachkit    Thaddeus Young
160    Buzzard    Grant Williams

 

[Buzzard]

I am about ready. Do I make my pick in this thread or the other one? Never mind, I see this ones title is picks and discussions lol

Edited July 16, 2019 by Buzzard

[Buzzard]

With the 1st pick in the 2019 Squawk Dynasty Draft the Flocking Buzzards select Trae Young. This is a reach by most standards but the gut feeling is Trae would not get back around to us at 22. Basing our optimism on his post all-star break performance in which he averaged: 24.8 PTS, 9.1 AST, 4.7 boards, 0.9 STL and 2.5 3PT on a 45/36/88 shooting line, we think there may not ever be another field general quite like Trae. I think he was hands down the best and most dynamic PG in the Eastern Conference from January through April. No one else compared! With no further ado, please welcome the 20 Years Young. Mr. Trae Young to the Flock!

All Heart Trae! Go Hawks!

 

@bleachkit is up!

I sent Bleachkit a PM.

[Buzzard]

I can't add a image

[lethalweapon3]

1 hour ago, Buzzard said:

I can't add a image

No worries, I gotcha!

~lw3

[bleachkit]

I have a question. Is this like fantasy football, but with basketball? How does the scoring work?

Edited July 17, 2019 by bleachkit

[lethalweapon3]

18 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

I have a question. Is this like fantasy football, but with basketball? How does the scoring work?

Consider Dynasty Draft evaluations to be qualitative rather than quantitative! We simply pick players either for a short-term title contender, or a team that develops into one over the next four or five years, or some hybrid of those, however you choose, As you pick your players, and finally at the end of the draft, you get to share with the other SquawkGMs why/how your squad will compete, and you can use stats or intangibles as you wish for justification.

A couple years ago, I began providing a post-draft summation of the newest CARMELO values developed by fivethirtyeight.com (we call it SUM-MELO on here) for each Dynasty Draft team, just for entertainment purposes for those of us who dig the quantitative stuff (they've added a "5-Year Market Value" for each NBA player, if that interests you). But ultimately, based on scores or stats or not, "winning" is in the eye of the beholder!

~lw3

[bleachkit]

5 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Consider Dynasty Draft evaluations to be qualitative rather than quantitative! We simply pick players either for a short-term title contender, or a team that develops into one over the next four or five years, or some hybrid of those, however you choose, As you pick your players, and finally at the end of the draft, you get to share with the other SquawkGMs why/how your squad will compete, and you can use stats or intangibles as you wish for justification.

A couple years ago, I began providing a post-draft summation of the newest CARMELO values developed by fivethirtyeight.com (we call it SUM-MELO on here) for each Dynasty Draft team, just for entertainment purposes for those of us who dig the quantitative stuff (they've added a "5-Year Market Value" for each NBA player, if that interests you). But ultimately, based on scores or stats or not, "winning" is in the eye of the beholder!

~lw3

So are all players available? What about players taken last year, etc?

[lethalweapon3]

Just now, bleachkit said:

So are all players available? What about players taken last year, etc?

Yep, any player as noted in AHF's guidelines up top. As long as they have been drafted, including the new 2019 class, at some point, or even undrafted but signed to a guaranteed contract of some type in the league. You can even go rogue and take, say, a currently inactive player that was a bust from an old draft that you believe will soon make a grand re-entrance into the league. Or a draft-and-stash guy, or a perennial G-Leaguer or two-way player, so long as they at some point were eligible to be in an NBA draft in a year before 2020.

~lw3

[Buzzard]

13 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

So are all players available? What about players taken last year, etc?

All active players are available. Its a draft do over every year just like any other fantasy league. Difference is you can go back over the years and look how you did.

[lethalweapon3]

He's a movin' on up! Spud took Trae Young last year at #56 (Round 5).

~lw3

[Buzzard]

Just now, lethalweapon3 said:

He's a movin' on up! Spud took Trae Young last year at #56 (Round 5).

~lw3

Dynasty draft, I had to grab him. He is going in the top 30 in most mock fantasy drafts already. Trae is getting the hype and its well deserved.

[bleachkit]

Well I'm not sure who to take, but I guess at #2 I'll go with the should-have-been-a-Hawk, the Greek Freak, Giannis Antetokounmpo. 

[pimp]

30 minutes ago, Buzzard said:

Dynasty draft, I had to grab him. He is going in the top 30 in most mock fantasy drafts already. Trae is getting the hype and its well deserved.

Wow ,  Trae going #1 is a surprise . Espn and fox sports are gonna be calling for your job after taking Trae #1
I know Skip Bayless is tearing you a new one on twitter right now 

 

I hope you prove that fool wrong!

I took Trae in the fantasy draft last year. It looked like i made a mistake in November, but by Jan. Trae had become the best pick of my draft.

[lethalweapon3]

9 hours ago, bleachkit said:

Well I'm not sure who to take, but I guess at #2 I'll go with the should-have-been-a-Hawk, the Greek Freak, Giannis Antetokounmpo. 

Another superb selecton!

We're still in the Squawkatorium for a final day, but as a force of habit, don't forget once you've made your pick to send a PM message (using the Messenger icon on the top of the page) to the next SquawkGM in the queue (in this round, it's @capstone21; next round it'll be Buzzard), and then to let us know that he/she has been PM'd. After today, the PM confirmations will officially "start the clock" for the next GM.

~lw3

[Buzzard]

9 hours ago, pimp said:

Wow ,  Trae going #1 is a surprise . Espn and fox sports are gonna be calling for your job after taking Trae #1
I know Skip Bayless is tearing you a new one on twitter right now 

 

I hope you prove that fool wrong!

I took Trae in the fantasy draft last year. It looked like i made a mistake in November, but by Jan. Trae had become the best pick of my draft.

Bump them two fools! Last season I got trapped after getting the #1 pick and no PG options I really liked later on as they kept getting nabbed. I was determined to not let that happen again this year. I am sure there is some homerism mixed in; but take the top five PG's 25 and under and I like Trae the best. So he was my pick.

@bleachkit The Freak is a keeper. Nice pick!

[capstone21]

Anthony Davis ... not feeling the greatest so will do a write up later.

@lethalweapon3 is up

[bleachkit]

36 minutes ago, capstone21 said:

Anthony Davis ... not feeling the greatest so will do a write up later.

@lethalweapon3 is up

Just out of curiosity, would you have taken AD at #2? I was torn between the two.

[lethalweapon3]

With the 4th Pick in the Opening Round of the 2019 Hawksquawk Summer Dynasty Draft, Lethal Nas X will select:

Ah, there he is. Joel Hans Embiid (Center, 7’0”, 250 lbs., Age 25 as of 10/1/2019), always the strong, silent type. A little more of the former than the latter!

 

Maddening, or endearing? Many of the traits and habits that so frustrate Summer Dynasty League fans about Joel Embiid may also be viewed as encouraging signs of growth.

One need not mistake his tears, brought forth by a 2019 Playoff campaign that ended abruptly short, for a player devoid of the passion (or, perhaps TOO passionate) to win, and win big.

Much to the chagrin of Tough Guy Twitter, the seven-footer spends a notoriously inordinate amount of time flopping to the hardwood floor, but that’s by design.

Embiid is all about big-man longevity, and sustainability for him means not over-stressing his surgically-repaired foot, one that he sat out the first two seasons of his career in order to get SDL-ready. At the first hint of a possible lower-limb strain, he has trained himself to Hit The Floor, spread the impact across his body, and let chips fall where they may.

He’s seeing the floor an awful lot, but we have yet to witness his ceiling.

Load management being the new name of the game, Embiid was in action for just 64 out of 82 regular-season games in 2018-19, a slight improvement over his breakout sophomore and injury-shortened rookie seasons (63 and 31 games played, respectively). Even so, while averaging a career-best 33.7 per-game minutes, he managed to be the only SDL player to finish this past season Top-5 in both points and rebounds per game. In The Process, Embiid amassed more made free throws than all except the league’s most notorious foul-sponge.

Despite the limited appearances, Joel also was among just four players to rank Top-10 in total blocks and total rebounds. His defensive acumen in the post and on switches was rewarded with his second consecutive All-Defensive Second-Team selection at center. The race for First Team would likely be closer, if he were to stay impactful on the floor a bit more frequently.

As he has done this past season by becoming a more reliable free throw shooter (80.4 FT% in 2018-19, pretty good relative to many of the league’s bricklaying bigs), Embiid is committed to rounding out his game to become a more “complete” full-court player, as he says himself. Last season was the first in which he produced more assists (3.7 APG) than turnovers (3.5 TOs/game). For a player who has been Top-3 in Usage% for two straight seasons, continued improvement with ball-handling and decision-making on offense is a surefire way to leave a lasting imprint.

Embiid also seeks to better balance his ability to bully around the offensive paint with the skill to become a reliable pick-and-pop, perimeter-shooting big man (30.0 3FG% regular-season, 30.8% in the playoffs), as has become the trend in this day and age. Trying to keep up with pivots more skilled in this area was part of his downfall in the postseason. But as he improves his own mechanics and decision-making outside the paint, hopefully, he will also have some co-starters at his disposal that are willing-and-able to take those shots.

Embiid's game is still growing, and to channel that growth into prosperity for Lethal Nas X, he needs to demonstrate better leadership on and off the court. This summer, his offseason diet and conditioning are bearing out his acknowledgement. Still, as he approaches his prime, Joel will need a coach and complementary players that are willing to positively evolve alongside him.

 

Find you someone in life who can love you as much as @IheartVolt loves shocking yellowish-green uniform colors. He has been PM’d, and is now free to pick to his heart’s content!

 

~lw3

[Spud2nique]

Sticking with the Philly roots. Nice pick.