Pick Me: Drafting the NBA All-Star Rosters
Who will LeBron James and Stephen Curry pick for their All-Star teams?
The most exciting day of the NBA year comes in June….that’s right, the NBA Draft! Well, it’s either the Draft or the start of free agency. Or Opening Night. Or Christmas. Or the Trade Deadline. Possibly Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In fact it’s definitely MLK day, because there is basketball all-day without the family demands of Christmas.
But regardless, the NBA Draft is one of the most exciting events on the NBA calendar. Fans love the mystery of seeing what players will go where, what teams do, and how it changes teams moving forward. That same excitement is what commissioner Adam Silver hopes will inject the NBA All-Star Game with some much-needed interest.
This season the Conference lines will be wiped clean and two captains will pick the All-Star rosters, playground style. For the first time ever players in one conference can play alongside their cross-country cohorts. With only two All-Stars having made a game in a different conference (Kevin Love and Jimmy Butler) that will mean plenty of new partnerships.
LeBron James, as the player with the most All-Star fan votes, will pick first from the starters; Stephen Curry will pick the other team. Once the starters have been selected, Curry will pick first from the reserves.
With the league refusing to televise the draft, or even reveal the order players are picked in, the event will happen behind closed doors on a conference call. LeBron, Steph, Adam Silver and a nervous grunt with a whiteboard and magnetic heads, assigning the players as they are picked.
While we may never know the exact order of picks (come on Woj, don’t fail us now) we will find out the rosters Thursday night on TNT. Before the fun is spoiled, let’s take a guess at how things might go down on the conference call. Which players will go when, and what extra-basketball dynamics will be at play?
Team LeBron: Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors
LeBron James takes the best player on the board in Kevin Durant, the first non-FIBA time these players will be on the same team. Although Durant’s move to the Warriors has sparked an increased rivalry between the two, historically Durant has always been the kid-brother to LeBron, the best non-LeBron forward in the league. There has been respect and affection even in the midst of competition between the two.
Team Curry: Kyrie Irving, Boston Celtics
Boom! Steph Curry is going to approach this draft from a mischievous point-of-view, desiring to make things as fun as possible. If he takes Kyrie Irving here, all anyone else will know is that LeBron didn’t take him — not when he was selected. For all fans will know (or theoretically Kyrie) LeBron could have left him until last. By taking his fellow point guard Curry immediately stirs the pot and creates drama.
Team LeBron: James Harden, Houston Rockets
Thus begins the next subplot of this All-Star draft; the LeBron recruitment phase. With free agency pending, James will use the All-Star Game as a low-key information-gathering opportunity. He can subtly interview Harden, evaluate their connection on the court, and add an entry to the “Should I sign with Houston?” file in his free agency file cabinet. It doesn’t hurt that Harden is an elite guard and with Kyrie gone this team needs one.
Team Curry: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
Not that it matters, but now Curry gets a player with the size to guard either LeBron or Durant. Antetokounmpo is skyrocketing into international relevance, and his playing at an elite level in so many aspects of his game. He’s also proven to be a fun-loving type of player with the media, always a good piece to add for an exhibition game. In addition to being a worthy pick, by taking the Greek Freak now Curry can ensure he doesn’t get dunked on by him in this year’s All-Star Game.
Team LeBron: DeMarcus Cousins, New Orleans Pelicans
LeBron doesn’t waste anything, including an opportunity to try out yet another player. Cousins is having a monstrous offensive season for the Pelicans, and was a deserving choice as a starter. As a pending free agent for a fringe playoff team, he has also been mentioned in trade rumors. Would the Cavaliers consider bringing in the big man to increase their ceiling going into the playoffs? Not without the King’s go ahead, and he can feel out Cousins in L.A. at All-Star Weekend.
Team Curry: Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
Curry needs a big man, and he takes a great one here in Anthony Davis. The Brow is another of Curry’s postseason conquests, dating back to the 2015 playoff series where Davis was nearly unstoppable but didn’t get the team support he needed in a 4–0 sweep. Although no team should truly scare the Warriors, the sheer size of the Pelicans would make them a tricky first-round opponent. Before they have to be enemies in the playoffs they can be buddies at All-Star Weekend, swapping stories of former-Warriors and current-Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry. And if the rumors of Davis coming to the Warriors in a couple of seasons have any legs, Curry can just gather some information here as well.
Team LeBron: Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
Drafting Embiid here ensures that neither he nor Durant have to guard a big man when the starting lineups take the court; in fact LeBron now gets to play the 2-guard and potentially defend Kyrie Irving — that’s exciting! It also means LeBron can feel out another rumored destination this summer, the 76ers. Sensing a trend? LeBron is always calculated in everything he does, and the All-Star Draft is no exception.
Team Curry: DeMar DeRozan, Toronto Raptors
The L.A. native ends up last here, but he will be a crowd favorite at the game with no player from either Los Angeles team making the All-Star rosters. While DeRozan has been to multiple All-Star games, he has deserved to make it this year like no other as he and the Raptors are playing at new heights.
Picking the Reserves:
Team Curry: Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors
Picking first among the reserves, Curry makes sure to get at least one of his teammates on the roster. Draymond and his sense of humor are a perfect fit in an All-Star locker room.
Team LeBron: Jimmy Butler, Minnesota Timberwolves
Butler is a dude off the beaten path, and he’s a competitor who built himself up from a low prospect to an All-NBA player. LeBron will enjoy having him in the locker room, the first player he has chosen whom he has teamed up with at an All-Star Game before.
Team Curry: Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves
The obvious pick here would be Russell Westbrook. But as much as Curry is a fun-loving guy who gets along with everyone, Westbrook is as close to an enemy as he has in the league. The two genuinely don’t like each other. So Curry goes with KAT, another young guy to bolster the frontcourt.
Team LeBron: Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City
Bringing back the old OKC boys! Westbrook, Durant and Harden back on the same team again. LeBron is only too happy to get Curry’s foil and unleash him.
Team Curry: Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors
Curry wants to sow seeds of trust and camaraderie among his current teammates, so he takes Klay. That also ensures the sharpshooter doesn’t approach last-picked territory.
Team LeBron: Al Horford, Boston Celtics
Horford is a workhorse, the kind of player not designed for a no-defense shooting-show at the All-Star Game. But LeBron takes him here to gather some information on how Kyrie is truly doing in Boston…and if it also shows he didn’t avoid Kyrie because he was on a rival, that’s not a bad side effect for James.
Team Curry: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
Curry is just fine running around off-ball in the All-Star Game, so he takes another ball-handler here. Team Curry is shaping up to be a run-and-gun collection of guards and athletic forwards.
Team LeBron: John Wall, Washington Wizards
LeBron adds another ball-handler himself. The King is big on proven veterans, players who have earned his respect. Wall may have made the All-Star Game more on reputation than production, but that counts in LeBron’s book.
Team Curry: Kristaps Porzingis, New York Knicks
Cognizant of the fact his team is beginning to weigh towards the West, Curry zags back to the East Coast. The Unicorn (not Uknickorn — never that) teams up with Giannis Antetokounmpo to form a fun young-Euro vibe on the team.
Team LeBron: LaMarcus Aldridge, San Antonio Spurs
With Kawhi Leonard in-and-out of the lineup, Aldridge has been the engine for a Spurs team still in the thick of the race for home-court in the West. LeBron wants another big man, and this is his last chance for one.
Team Curry: Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards
Another sniper for Team Curry. Imagine Beal, Curry and Klay all spaced around a Giannis — Anthony Davis pick-and-roll.
Team LeBron: Victor Oladipo, Indiana Pacers
Based on how his team is constructed, it would make the most sense to take Kevin Love here. Curry gave his fellow captain every opportunity to do so. But LeBron is using this as a way of telling Love he is not lovingly (sorry) accepted as a co-star on the Cavs. Don’t “fit out” or something like that. Oladipo is having a great season and deserves to not be in the final round.
Team Curry: Kevin Love, Cleveland Cavaliers
Curry obliges LeBron and takes Love, causing more intrigue by splitting LeBron from both members of the 2016 title team. Love is yet another floor spacer, matching exactly the team Curry is putting together. Defense doesn’t matter here anyway.
Team LeBron: Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors
A Raptor is taken last in both rounds. No respect for Toronto! Sneer (at) the North! The Raptors are perennially good and yet no one seems to care. Once the order is leaked, except the Raptors to rip off 10 straight.
Final Rosters:
Team LeBron:
James Harden, G
LeBron James, F
Kevin Durant, F
Joel Embiid, F
DeMarcus Cousins, F
—
Russell Westbrook, G
Jimmy Butler, G
John Wall, G
Victor Oladipo, G
Kyle Lowry, G
Al Horford, F
LaMarcus Aldridge, F
Team Curry:
Steph Curry, G
Kyrie Irving, G
DeMar DeRozan, G
Giannis Antetokounmpo, F
Anthony Davis, F
—
Damian Lillard, G
Klay Thompson, G
Bradley Beal, G
Draymond Green, F
Karl-Anthony Towns, F
Kristaps Porzingis, F
Kevin Love, F