I'm assuming that by now everyone has read my previous article, and obviously the next step is to do the same thing with NBA rosters. Fortunately for you, I already have! So here's the best possible NBA team under $65 million (based on '14 costs, but current status, so e.g. Paul George doesn't make it).
PGs: Ricky Rubio ($4.003 million), Damian Lillard ($3.203), Isaiah Thomas ($0.885).
Rubio's my starter. He's not the strongest shooter, but he's a great passer and defender, and with our starting unit he won't exactly be carrying the offense. Lillard is more of an offensive spark off the bench, which will help our second unit. And Thomas is a depth guy, but he's capable and fun to watch for a few minutes a game.
SGs: Klay Thompson ($2.318), Goran Dragic ($7.5), Lance Stephenson ($1.005).
Thompson is starting over the superior Dragic for two reasons. First, I value his defense more as part of the starting unit. Second, Dragic's offensive skills are more valuable to me off the bench than as part of the starting unit. Stephenson is competent and will get some playing time.
SF: LeBron James ($19.068), Kawhi Leonard ($1.888), Chandler Parsons ($0.927).
This one probably has some people scratching their heads. Sure, if I left LeBron off the team I'd be able to spend a lot more money on other positions. But consider the following three facts: LeBron James is the best basketball player in the world. It isn't close. And the NBA's cap on individual player salaries guarantees that he, more than any other player in the league, is being massively underpaid at $19 million a year. The value that James brings to this team--and to any team that he happens to play on--so far outstrips the relative cost (in this case ~29% of our salary cap) that he's easily worth the money. Kawhi is like James Junior (this was Paul George before his injury), and he can play all over the floor. Parsons is depth.
PF: Anthony Davis ($5.376), Greg Monroe ($4.086), Kenneth Faried ($1.368).
I know Davis isn't really a power forward, but the starting lineup I get with him at the 4 is so exciting that I'm going to make him play there anywhere. He's talented enough to make it work. And by "talented enough," I mean he's one of the three best big men in the league at the age of 21. I'm younger than him, but just barely. Ahem. Monroe is a solid player off the bench, and Faried is depth. I know my analysis gets more and more perfunctory as we get down the depth chart, but no NBA team is actually going to play 15 guys, so it doesn't really matter how much thought I put into the last few spots.
C: DeMarcus Cousins ($4.917), Andre Drummond ($2.463), Larry Sanders ($3.054).
Yeah, I'm one of the guys who was so impressed by that one Larry Sanders stretch (from 11/30/12 to 1/9/13 he averaged 8.5 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 4.1 blocks, and even as late as 3/4/13 he averaged 9.5/9.9 with 3.6 blocks) that I'm willing to give him a spot on the bench. It's a deep spot, though, and odds are he won't be playing more than a few minutes a night. Cousins and Drummond are both basically dominant big men, so I don't feel like I need to explain a lot here.
STARTERS: Rubio, Thompson, James, Davis, Cousins.
BACKUPS: Lillard, Dragic, Leonard, Monroe, Drummond.
DEPTH: Thomas, Stephenson, Parsons, Faried, Sanders.
Total Cost: $62.061 million.
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