IP's Thoughts On The Bucks:
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Wow, thanks IP for the very thorough evaluation. Let me try to do it justice...
Guards: K Irving / I Thomas / L Stephenson
Forwards: R Anderson / H Barnes / T Harris / D Cunningham / M Teletovic
Bigs: Bynum / G Smith / T Zeller
Ever since I spied on the CB draft this past summer (yeah, I was a lurker), I've been a huge fan of Kyrie Irving. In fact, IP and I considered a swap of franchises at the start of this (since the Hawks were still on the board at my pick) and I almost went through with it because I think he's a legit star in this league. He's obviously your foundation.
Truth be told, if I somehow got the Cavs to fall to me, I was going to make the same choices in keepers that IP made: Irving and Thompson. Though Thompson's defense has underwhelmed, he does a lot of things right and I think as the third big on a contender he could flourish. That said, IP wasn't going to become a contender unless he moved Thompson, because he'd probably have trouble getting star big men with a late pick in the draft rounds.
Ok, so now onto evaluations...
I love: Kyrie (as I said), Barnes, and Harris. Like Kyrie, Barnes is a very talented young player. I think he has the potential to develop into a top-10 SF in the league some years down the road. He's a talented scorer, a good rebounder, and he's smart. I love Harris because he was a great value pick for you so late in the draft. I considered him at a few points, but I felt I already had two serviceable SFs in Ariza and Webster.
I like: Anderson, Thomas. I don't love Anderson because he just doesn't seem like he has a position in the NBA. Personal opinion, he's a little too soft to be a PF, and a little too slow to be a SF. That said, he's a fantastic scorer and a good rebounder and that can't be ignored. Thomas is a great scorer off the bench, and can keep up the pace that Kyrie initiates at the start of every game.
Neutral: Stephenson, Smith, Zeller. My friend at school is a Pacers fan, and the general consensus among Pacers fans is that Stephenson is a little boneheaded. Perhaps Kyrie's smarts will be able to counterbalance that (or even rub off on him) but I wouldn't know until they actually played. Smith and Zeller, while good prospects, are not really good enough to be the backups on a contender. Much like Stiemsma and Hollins for the Celtics last year; they'll get the job done, but there are better options.
His own paragraph: Bynum. I think it was a super high-risk high-reward type move for you to make in trading for him, and I know a lot of people disagreed with it, but to be a contender in this league (unless youre the cHeat) you have to take risks, especially coming out of the middle of the pack as you were. A team centered around Kyrie and Thomas won't contend; a team centered around Kyrie and Bynum at least has a chance.
Dislike: Teletovic. This guy is not the sharpest tool in the shed (yeah I was listening to Smash Mouth as I wrote this... deal with it!) and I really would have liked to see you pick up a bruiser to offset Ryan Anderson's aforementioned softness.
Success with Bynum: a true contender, with talent at every position and a team that anyone would be scared to play in the playoffs.
Success without Bynum: see the real-life Sixers, with Jrue and Turner's talent packaged into Kyrie.
Overall: one of my favorite teams in this draft. There are tougher teams out there, sure, but I think this team would be extremely exciting to watch.