Post by fason on May 17, 2018 1:32:00 GMT
Odin did not make this class in 4.0, 20s did so it wasn't as easy to predict. I decided to do things a little differently for this draft preview by picking 15 players and putting them into 5 tiers. This should be one of the deeper we'll have early in 5.0, I'd be very excited if I had a lotto pick.
Hall of Famers
Projected Grades: B- B- C- C C+ A
-Best irl player from this class, his lack of shot blocking won't hurt him like it could have if this were a repeat of 4.0. He's going to be an elite shooter, good scorer, should start with high potential, and because of his age will be eligible for that teenage dream TC. Rebounding and defense could be weak initially, but with how rebounding grows it shouldn't be difficult for him to eventually get to 9-10 boards a game. It make take a little while for him to develop and he'll definitely need upgrades put into his strength and maybe even inside if necessary, but Nowitzki is my pick to be the best in this class.
Antawn Jamison PF 6’8 232 22
Projected Grades: B C D C B- B
-I think Jamison will be really similar to what he was in 4.0,a high scoring and rebounding forward that doesn't play much defense or shoot many threes. Luckily for the league, his weaknesses are huge flaws like they were in 4.0 and scoring power forwards are much more valuable. Jamison was an impressive scorer and good rebounder at UNC, I think Odin will start him with those strengths. Whichever GM drafts him could then put +25 into his shot blocking if it's salvageable, or do what Pete did with Harry G and put a potential +50 into his three point shooting.
Raef Lafrentz C 6’11 240 22
Projected Grades: B- C D B- B- C
-Lafrentz is who I think will be Odin's first's version of an Emeka Okafor, where he beasts a guy right away and gives them better potential than advertised. Looking at Lafrentz' stats there aren't any huge flaws. He scored, shot and rebounded well, he even could shoot threes a little. His defense and shot blocking aren't bad, he should come in averaging close to .5 BPG, a GM probably won't need to use too many of his upgrades to get Lafrentz close to the shot blocking cap. Oh and probably most importantly he's white.
All Stars
-I went back and forth with Vince between putting him as HOF caliber and just useful. I think it will come down to how much of his inside grade is jumping, Jordan was just given a B inside so I can't imagine Vince getting any better of a grade this early in 5.0. I'm not sure he'll ever become elite, if a GM has to use most of Vince's upgrades on inside to increase his scoring volume. He may end up needing those upgrades on his jumper and strength. Unless his grades are awful, he should be the first SG/SF off the board.
Vince Carter SG 6’6 220 21
Projected Grades: B C+ C- C+ C A
-I went back and forth with Vince between putting him as HOF caliber and just useful. I think it will come down to how much of his inside grade is jumping, Jordan was just given a B inside so I can't imagine Vince getting any better of a grade this early in 5.0. I'm not sure he'll ever become elite, if a GM has to use most of Vince's upgrades on inside to increase his scoring volume. He may end up needing those upgrades on his jumper and strength. Unless his grades are awful, he should be the first SG/SF off the board.
Rashard Lewis F 6’10 215 19
Projected Grades: C+ C+ C- C+ C A
-4.0 all time great that I think has a chance to come close to matching what he did in the previous iteration of sim league because of his strengths and he should be eligible to play SF. Lewis should be a good shooter with a decent inside grade because he wasn't a freak athlete. I don't expect him to be a star right away and will be a bit of project at first, but he may start with A true potential since he's a teen. Will probably need his upgrades used on his inside, strength and three point shooting or blocks. Would be worth taking somewhere in the 3-6 range.
Rafer Alston PG 6’2 171 22
Projected Grades: C C+ B C+ D B
-Former Bobcat/Nugget that I remember Odin being fond of, he's also an all-time street ball legend. Alston is my pick to out perform his starting grades and be the top point guard from this class. For all the people around for Odin's run as commish in 4.0, think of Mustafa Shakur. Alston's college stats are even worth posting because he was a mediocre scorer, that put up high assists and decent steals. This is all about Odin liking a player.
Useful
Jason Williams PG 6’1 190 23
Projected Grades: C+ B- B C D B
-Williams put up good college stats during his two-year college career, averaging 15 PPG on impressive shooting splits of 54.9/79.3/39.4 with 6.5 APG and 2.1 SPG. I may have shorted him on the projected defensive grade of C because he did average plenty of steals, but he was never known to play much defense as a pro. I feel like he was an exciting enough player for Odin to remember especially with the White Chocolate nickname. I think at worst he’ll be top 15 starting point guard and third or fourth option on a contending team.
Michael Olowokandi C 7’0 269 22
Projected Grades: B F+ D B- B- A
-Woof at that career 46.6% free throw percentage, he could very well end up being the next Udoka Azubuike. However I think Odin will do all he can to make him as good as he can and give him high enough potential to keep with theme of suck in 4.0, good in 5.0. During his junior year Olowokandi averaged 11.2 RPG and 2.9 BPG, so he should be well rounded enough to make up for whatever offensive shortcomings he may have initially, it just may take a little time for him to develop offensively. He should go somewhere within the back half of the top 10.
Bonzi Wells SF 6’5 SF 210 22
Projected Grades: C+ C D+ B- B- B
-Wells had impressive college stats against weaker competition in the MAC, but he still should have good looking all around grades. Those 3.8 bleals and 7.3 RPG for his college career are elite for a wing, he also averaged 21 PPG. He does have two seemingly major flaws that will require plenty of attention in the lab. The poor shooting percentages and high turnovers are kind of scary and could hold him back from ever being any more than third a wing.
Honorable Mention to Keon Clark, he could be made as D/R big similar to Karim Shabazz.
Disappointing
Mike Bibby PG 6’1 190 20
Projected Grades: C B- B- C+ D A
-I have Bibby in the disappointing category because I’m not expecting him to live up to the hype of likely being the first PG chosen and probable top 5 pick. His college stats aren’t that exciting for an irl #2 overall pick and he wasn’t a superstar like some of the other players in this draft. His defense will probably be suspect and he likely will need plenty of upgrades put into his inside and strength to get his scoring volume up. I do think he’ll be a good shooter and have decent handles so there will be skills to work with.
Larry Hughes SG 6’5 184 20
Projected Grades: C+ C C+ C+ C B
-At first glance Hughes put up some nice stats in college, averaging 21 PPG, 2.2 SPG and 5 RPG. But on a closer look you’ll notice he had poor shooting splits of 41.5/69.2/29. Hard to imagine his outside grade being any higher than a C, and with Odin trying to keep grades down for now, I don’t think his inside grade will be high enough to compensate. He’ll probably need all of his upgrades used on his jumper, inside and threes if his outside shooting is even salvageable. I could see Odin making him similar to the current Juan Keaney though, which would bump him up to the useful category.
Al Harrington F 6’9 230 19
Projected Grades: B- C C- C+ C+ B
-Somebody’s likely going to take Harrington’s ninja turtle looking ass higher than they should with the hopes he’s built like a do it all forward because of his size, age and what should be SF eligibility. His game doesn’t seem to translate to sim league that well in that he didn’t provide much defense and wasn’t a great outside shooter. Odin could give him potential that is 90+ which would give him the chance to be very good, but I wouldn’t count on it. He should be chosen somewhere in the 15-20 range.
Busts
Paul Pierce SF 6’7 235 21
Projected Grades: B- B- C C+ C B
-Likely hall of famer irl that should have some of the best starting grades in this class because of his impressive stats as a do it all forward while at Kansas. His junior year he scored 20 a game on decent percentages, rebounded well and averaged 2.2 bleals. Problem is, I think Odin busts him because he wasn’t fun to watch as a player and sucks as an analyst. Who knows if Odin watches much NBA coverage on ESPN, but I’m getting flashbacks of Odin busting Jalen Rose in 4.0 because he didn’t appreciate Rose saying Chris Bosh was a hall of famer.
Tryonn Lue PG 6’0 175 21
Projected Grades: C B- C+ C+ D+ C
-One of the greatest players in 4.0’s history and he will probably be taken too high because of this. 20s beasted Lue because of the GBR factor, Odin doesn’t care about that and isn’t sentimental. This is 5.0, where the 4.0 greats suck and the bums are great.
(Sorry I didn't have a screenshot of Lue's stats, you get the point with him though.)
Robert “Tractor” Traylor PF 6’8 284 21
Projected Grades: B- D+ D+ C B B
-If there were a boom or bust category, Traylor would definitely be at the top of that list. Maybe Odin makes him really good because of the nickname, but I have him as a bust because the weaknesses in his real-life game, scoring volume, poor free throw shooting and mediocre defense are tough to overcome in sim league. Good news is I expect him to be at top the of the draft combine list for strongest players. Bad news is that he’ll likely need to go to a GM that is ready to put upgrades into his jumper, blocks and maybe even inside very early.
