In dynasty league, who’s the better talent?

Context:

> Wendell Carter Jr.: “I know I’m pissed. Not to talk about my past, but me coming from a winning culture and then last year wasn’t so good for us and then this year, it bothers me. I don’t even care about my stats. Because none of that matters if we’re not winning.”

> More Wendell: “Everybody has got to look in the mirror and say, ‘I’m bought into this team. Whether I play good or I don’t play good, as long as we win, that’s all that matters.’ If everybody can say that in the room, we’re going to be successful.”

https://twitter.com/kcjhoop/status/1191944408238895106?s=21

Just in case anyone was curious whose voice is behind our favorite demonic board game host, remember to be respectful, but if you get a chance give him a shout out.

Voice123 profile-https://voice123.com/profiles/wendelljohnson/

Official Site-https://www.wendelljohnsonvoiceover.com/

https://preview.redd.it/y614sne74kj11.jpg?width=984&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b83aa74528a8fda903b3e49a7976fc2670aa2285

There have been rumors of a possible expansion, so let’s imagine it does happen, but the NBA decides to only add one new team to the league (sorry Vegas), bringing back the beloved Seattle Supersonics. The Sonics are back babbyyyyyyyy!

Now the Sonics need to build their team from ground up, starting with the expansion draft, and following it with signing players in the off-season.

Here are some simplified terms of the expansion draft:

1. All 30 NBA teams will have the right to protect 8 players on their roster. Anyone on the current roster is protectable, including restricted free agents. If a restricted free agent is left unprotected by his former team, he is available for selection by the Supersonics, who would then hold his Bird Rights for the up-coming off-season. Teams will typically have 4-7 players unprotected. Unrestricted free agents can neither be protected from nor selected in the expansion draft -- they are essentially ignored.
   Players who are likely to be left unprotected by their former teams include aging, overpaid veterans, unproven bench players, players who do not fit in financially with their team, or who disrupt team chemistry.
2. The Sonics may only select 1 player per team.
3. The Sonics must work within 2/3 of the normal rules of the NBA salary cap, so there will be salary-related restrictions which apply to the team's selections. The team’s salary cap for the 2022-2023 season will only be 2/3 of the league cap (112.414 million), meaning 74.93 million. The minimum team salary is also 2/3 of the leagues' minimum team salary (101.173 million), meaning 67.449 million.
   The expansion draft occurs after the conclusion of the 2022 NBA Finals, but prior to the 2022 NBA Draft. The Sonics do not participate in the lottery, but automatically get the 5th and the 35th pick of the draft.
4. There are no restrictions on player positions during the draft.
5. The Sonics must select at least 14 players.
6. Here is a list of the players that each NBA team are, in my opinion, likely to protect, and a list of those who may be left unprotected (not all players are listed, but most of them, and all that have any chance of being drafted by an expansion team):

Atlanta Hawks:

Protected:

1. Trae Young
2. John Collins
3. Clint Capela
4. Kevin Huerter
5. De’Andre Hunter
6. Onyeka Okongwu
7. Bogdan Bogdanovic
8. Cam Reddish

Unprotected (Salary this year, Years left on the contract)

1. Jalen Johnson (2.6 million, 3 years)

Article

Couple Things to Note from Vecenie:

Draft Order Most Likely Will be the Biggest Factor for Who will Go 1st:

> Right now, the team that gets the No. 1 overall pick will have an immense influence on who goes No. 1. This is not a draft that currently has a no-doubter guy at the top, a la Zion Williamson, Cade Cunningham or Anthony Davis. Rather, I would say there is a good group of four players at the top in Jabari Smith Jr., Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren and Jaden Ivey. Team needs will play a role, given the preponderance of big men in that group. And simply put, it’ll be an eye-of-the-beholder situation.

Why You Might See Some Players You Know/Like In This Mock Draft:

> I tried my best to realistically project who will declare and who won’t, but we obviously have nothing in the way of answers there yet. In that vein, if you don’t see a player here, that doesn’t necessarily mean that I think said player is bad. Rather, I may have just decided not to push said underclassman through to the draft.

Draft Order:

> The draft order is based on league-wide rankings as of Jan. 3. Team needs are not accounted for, although if there was something of an interesting fit, I did make sure to note that. There are 58 picks in the 2022 NBA Draft, as the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks have forfeited their second-round picks this year due to free-agency tomfoolery and shenanigans.

Mock Draft:

Only including excerpts for the Top 15 + Jaden Hardey at 21st (Since both Jovic & Hardey were mentioned in the Top 13 of the Mid-season Consensus Board on this sub)

1. Detroit Pistons - Jabari Smith Jr

> I have Smith at No. 1 entering the new year, but it’s a razor-thin margin between him, Banchero and Holmgren. Why Smith? I think his upside is juuuuust a bit higher than the other two if everything breaks right with his game...Smith profiles well as a good team’s second-best scoring option who can also be a strong defensive player. That’s a scalable player to winning situations, and he fits exceedingly well in Detroit given the Pistons’ disastrous shooting this year.

2. Orlando Magic - Paolo Banchero

> He’s still very strongly in the mix to go No. 1. He’s as polished a mismatch