In pursuit of the perfect roster: Dante
With the world watching The Last Dance, the Chicago Bulls and Jerry Krause are at the forefront of our basketball minds. In this series, we’re setting out to build our own championship team and the archetypes we’d like to see.
So far, Lukas and Sean have tried their hand at playing GM and constructing teams to win a championship in today’s NBA. Lukas looked at player archetypes and the exact guys who fit his mould, while Sean focussed on the contracts that all championship teams need to make use of to lift the Larry O’Brien trophy. I’m going to incorporate both of these approaches when building my team. Without further ado, let’s get into it.
PG: Hyper-efficient table-setter
Ideal player: Malcolm Brogdon
I want a lead guard confident with the ball, attuned to his teammates’ needs and able to create for them and himself: a consummate floor general. My guy can shoot a high-percentage but also line teammates up for easy looks, leaving the offensive heavy lifting to the other guys. Acting as the perfect support piece, my point guard can support his teammates by getting them the ball where they like it whilst keeping the defence honest when he’s around the arc. Brogdon logged a 50/40/90 season in 2018/19, shoots 38.5 percent from deep for his career and is averaging a career-high 7.1 assists per game in Indiana. He plays mistake-free basketball and allows his teammates to shine.
SG: Stout defender and opportunistic scorer
Ideal player: Prime Wes Matthews
Two-guards have to face a lot of offensive-minded players, so it’s important that they can hold up against the myriad scorers they’re going to see throughout the season. Whilst I’m never going to entrust a player like this with guarding an opponent’s superstar, there’s immense value in knowing that if peak JR Smith walks in the door, my two-guard is going to keep him quiet.
On the opposite end, I’m never going to run a play for him, but if he can shoot, cut and rebound, he’ll find a way to carve out an offensive niche. In Portland from 2010–2014, Wes Matthews put up 15.3 points per game, subsisting mainly off spot-up threes, smart cuts and driving past closeouts. He posted a 39.4 percent mark from deep and was the perfect role-player alongside Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge.
SF: Dynamic scoring wing
Ideal player: Paul George
I want a guy who can score from all three levels at an elite clip. The kind of guy who can orient an entire offence and take over a game. Working in tandem with my other big wing — to be introduced shortly — this guy will provide the type of scoring needed for my team to run an efficient, dangerous offence.
Paul George is the perfect fit for this role because he’s perfectly adapted to life as a solo-star or life as a second star. He can dominate the ball, create for others and hunt his shot or he can slide to the side, provide a threat from deep and slink to the basket when attacking closeouts. Because of his versatility, he’s almost like a superstar role player, and the perfect player to compliment the guy next to him in the lineup.
PF: Basketball deity
Ideal player: Kevin Durant
My Hall of Fame-level talent is the queen on the chessboard. They’ve got an answer for every move another piece can make, and they can move in ways totally unique to them. This guy will anchor the offence, pour in points, create for others and provide decision-making down the stretch.
Some like Durant provides the perfect alpha mentality for this team, and his fit alongside Paul George is seamless. They can alternate roles, replicate each other’s skill sets and diversify them when needed. Durant has two Finals MVPs and a decade-long history of getting it done when it matters, and I’m happy putting my fate in his all-world hands.
C: Facilitating big man
Ideal player: Peak Joakim Noah
A big body to defend the paint on one end and act as a high-post hub on the other. My guy Joakim was never the fastest or most explosive defender, but he became a Defensive Player of the Year with his smarts, quick hands and hard-nosed disposition.
On offence, he could post up at the elbow, initiate a dribble handoff or pivot into a face-up and dissect a defence with his passing. He was a proto-Jokic on offence, part of a group of big men including Al Horford and Marc Gasol who could pick a defence apart with their passing.
Reserves
A top-heavy team is a vulnerable team, so I want to make sure my team has a deep and versatile bench crew. The Clippers’ bench for the last few seasons have been a mainstay of their team, ensuring there’s little dropoff when their stars sit, and a team like the Grizzlies made use of a strong bench to supplement the efforts of their young starters.
While some championship teams have won without much of a bench to speak of (I’m looking at you, Big Three Heat), I don’t want to skirt that line, so I’m going to run through a few ways to construct the strongest bench possible.
Some teams, like the Lou Williams/Montrezl Harrell Clippers bench mob, opt for scoring and not much else with their bench. It can be effective, the Clippers have led the league in bench scoring each of the past two seasons, with Williams picking up two straight Sixth Man of the Year awards. That unit saw that the Williams/Harrell pick and roll was its fulcrum, and so surrounded them with shooters.
The Grizzlies, on the other hand, saw two young guards, one the heady Tyus Jones and the other the handy De’Anthony Melton, and gave the keys to the bench to them. Surrounding them with veteran wings, playing tough defence and encouraging a fast-paced style of play, the bench thrived. Jones is a traditional point guard, but Melton is a long-armed defensive menace who thrives in transition. The Grizzlies led all benches in assists and steals this season, swiping the ball and getting out in transition for easy baskets.
The Bucks, who led all benches in plus/minus and rebounding, took yet another approach to building their bench. With mascot-maniac Robin Lopez anchoring the middle the way his twin brother Brook does with the starters, the Bucks have paired George Hill — now apparently the best shooter in the league — with the electric Donte DiVincenzo in the backcourt. Two nifty scorers with enough punch between them to keep the bench chugging along. On the wings, Pat Connaughton and Sterling Brown are the definitions of opportunistic; grabbing rebounds, cutting from the weak side and draining spot-up threes whilst playing tight defence the whole way. Two finesse players, two scavengers and one defensive enforcer and you have one of the best benches in the league.
The takeaway from this exercise is that whilst I know exactly what kind of team I want with my starters, the bench can take myriad forms. Sometimes it takes a shrewd GM to acquire the right bench pieces, and sometimes a plugged-in coach to figure out how to maximise bench pieces. Whatever way it works out, there’s more than one way to make an omelette. Starting lineups, now that’s a different story.
