Drafting for Stevens ball movement offense

[arctic 3.0]

I don't have a lot of time to flesh this out so here's a brief outline of a though I've been kickin around.
Stevens envisions an offense that involves a lot of ball movement with no dominant playmaker.
(I'm far from a rondo hater but this involves moving on from the general)
Summer plan is to fill our team with good passers at as many positions as possible...
If available draft exum, draft slo mo with 17 or move up for him (17 + future 2nd)
Sign and trade for Stevenson
We would build around good passers with
Exum at 1 Stevenson at 2, slo mo at 3 oly at 4

Trade for defensive center (asik for arguments sake)
D anchored by Stevenson and asik
Use rondo, green, sully as chips to bring in center, Stevenson future talent...
Thoughts?

[manl_lui]

just a random thought because of your post. Always thought about this for a while. Do you build a team to suit a coach's strategy, or you hire a coach to coach a team you are building or currently have. Sorry if this is confusing, or doesn't make sense

[arctic 3.0]

Not confusing.
I think our team is a pretty confusing mismatch of players now. Stevenson was brought in to build the team. I'd assume Danny wants to give him the players that suit his vision /style.

[obnoxiousmime]

DeShawn Stevenson? Is he still in the league?

I know you probably mean Lance Stephenson. I was intrigued by him after his hot start but now that the Pacers locker room seems to be totally dysfunctional I wonder about the knucklehead factor. It's dangerous to make a guy like that your top guy, especially on a team expected to struggle next year. He would instantly become one of the leaders just based on seniority and contract value. Stephenson needs to be on a team with a strong locker room in place and lots of veteran leaders.

Basketball-wise, I think the team you've constructed doesn't have enough shooting. Hayward would be a better fit over Stephenson for those purposes.

[D.o.s.]

I think you draft the best players available, then use free agency and the trade market to find the pieces that suit your offense.

[PhoSita]

I agree that, especially when your team lacks talent, you draft for the best player available and try to make it work from there once you have a few really good players.

That said, all other things being equal, I think the best players for Stevens will be guys who can pass, fill multiple roles on offense, cover multiple positions on defense, and hit the outside shot at a reliable rate.

I think there are a number of players in this draft who fit that bill.

Aaron Gordon, Dante Exum, and Marcus Smart stand out in the 5-7 range where the Celtics are likely to pick.

Later in the first round -- Kyle Anderson seems like a possible fit, as well as Nick Stauskas.

[Evantime34]

I think the best thing for Stevens' offense would be someone who can score by getting to the basket. A 3 point marksmen might create more room for others to get to the hoop. I think Stauskas and PJ Hairston would be good picks with 17 to help the offense.

[slamtheking]

That said, all other things being equal, I think the best players for Stevens will be guys who can pass, fill multiple roles on offense, cover multiple positions on defense, and hit the outside shot at a reliable rate.

This applies to every team no matter who the coach is. 

[slamtheking]

I think the best coaches can coach any style -- but more importantly coach to the style that fits their players. 

Draft BPA and let the coach sort it out.

[D.o.s.]

I think the best coaches can coach any style -- but more importantly coach to the style that fits their players. 

Draft BPA and let the coach sort it out.

I wonder how well this actually bears out -- most of the most successful NBA coaches earned their wins/rings/playoff appearances/accolades by having one specific style of play -- i.e. Nellieball, the Triangle, Larry Brown's molasses pace, etc.

Super busy right now but I bet someone on here could go into this fairly deeply.

[Fafnir]

I think the best coaches can coach any style -- but more importantly coach to the style that fits their players. 

Draft BPA and let the coach sort it out.

I wonder how well this actually bears out -- most of the most successful NBA coaches earned their wins/rings/playoff appearances/accolades by having one specific style of play -- i.e. Nellieball, the Triangle, Larry Brown's molasses pace, etc.

Super busy right now but I bet someone on here could go into this fairly deeply.

I don't think this is true, a lot of great coaches have shown a ton of flexibility in how they coach.

Just among those coaching today Pop, Rivers, and Carlisle pop to mind. Pat Reilly built a roster that plays completely differently than he ever coached as well.

Jackson himself while playing "the triangle" made pretty huge adjustments to it for Jordan, Shaq, and eventually Kobe.

[arctic 3.0]

I think you draft the best players available, then use free agency and the trade market to find the pieces that suit your offense.

There's a darn good chance that exum and Kyle Anderson would be the BPA at our two draft positions

[arctic 3.0]

DeShawn Stevenson? Is he still in the league?

I know you probably mean Lance Stephenson. I was intrigued by him after his hot start but now that the Pacers locker room seems to be totally dysfunctional I wonder about the knucklehead factor. It's dangerous to make a guy like that your top guy, especially on a team expected to struggle next year. He would instantly become one of the leaders just based on seniority and contract value. Stephenson needs to be on a team with a strong locker room in place and lots of veteran leaders.

Basketball-wise, I think the team you've constructed doesn't have enough shooting. Hayward would be a better fit over Stephenson for those purposes.

I hear you on Stephenson, is a great passer though

[arctic 3.0]

I think the best coaches can coach any style -- but more importantly coach to the style that fits their players. 

Draft BPA and let the coach sort it out.

I wonder how well this actually bears out -- most of the most successful NBA coaches earned their wins/rings/playoff appearances/accolades by having one specific style of play -- i.e. Nellieball, the Triangle, Larry Brown's molasses pace, etc.

Super busy right now but I bet someone on here could go into this fairly deeply.

I don't think this is true, a lot of great coaches have shown a ton of flexibility in how they coach.

Just among those coaching today Pop, Rivers, and Carlisle pop to mind. Pat Reilly built a roster that plays completely differently than he ever coached as well.

Jackson himself while playing "the triangle" made pretty huge adjustments to it for Jordan, Shaq, and eventually Kobe.

This, coaches want players who fit their mold. If you are just assembling talent you can get a bunch of mismatched players who don't necessarily play well in one system.

[PhoSita]

That said, all other things being equal, I think the best players for Stevens will be guys who can pass, fill multiple roles on offense, cover multiple positions on defense, and hit the outside shot at a reliable rate.

This applies to every team no matter who the coach is.

Yeah, I guess that's true. But it's especially true in an offense that's all about constant movement and frequent passing, with an emphasis on high efficiency shots.