Draft Assistant

10.7 AST from a center is the entire draft case — nothing else on the board hands you a lead guard's assists on top of 12.9 REB, so almost any build works beside him. BLK (0.8) is the only category he loses, so punt it and use R2 on a shooter who widens the lead instead of trying to beat Wemby at his game. If Curry slides on his 42-GP injury cloud, take him: 4.45 3PM and .920 FT% turn Jokic's lighter cats into wins, and his 0.4 BLK fits the punt. Jamal Murray is the safer play — 3.3 3PM, .887 FT%, and a low 2.3 TO across a full 75, the same shooting stack with a lower ceiling.

3.1 BLK is a category win on its own — no other center is close — and Wemby is the rare big who adds 1.9 3PM without denting his .512 FG. The only hole is AST (3.1), so punt it and draft scoring that doesn't need the ball. Kawhi is the slot-2 target: his 1.9 STL and .892 FT reinforce cats Wemby is only average in, and a 3.6 AST can't drag a category you've conceded — 55 GP is the gamble. Safer is Karl-Anthony Towns, whose 11.9 REB stacks to ~23 a night with 1.5 3PM along for the ride. Kawhi for the ceiling, KAT for the rebounding floor.

31 PPG on .555 FG is a scoring line with no efficiency cost — the rare guard who lifts your percentages instead of taxing them. The catch is a mid 1.7 3PM and a profile that thins toward the frontcourt (4.3 REB, 0.8 BLK), so punt 3PM and pair a low-3PM big who backfills both. Chet Holmgren is the clean fit and an OKC teammate: 1.9 BLK and 8.9 REB cover the holes, his .555 FG mirrors Shai's, and 1.3 3PM keeps the punt intact. Anthony Davis is the swing — 1.7 BLK and 10 REB make three cats untouchable, but you're bearing a hefty risk.

33 a night with 4.0 3PM and a guard-rare 7.7 REB — Luka competes everywhere but turnovers (4.0, league-worst). Punt that one cat, keep the rest afloat. Kevin Durant is the glue: his .874 FT and .520 FG prop up Luka's soft percentages, 2.4 3PM stacks the shooting, and 26PTS a night keeps everything balanced. Anthony Davis is the swing if you'd rather bank the bigs now — 1.7 BLK and 10 REB on .512 FG, at the cost of his 51-game health. Durant to stay afloat, Davis to press the frontcourt early.

9.9 AST runs the entire Detroit offense — but the volume comes with a .461 FG and 3.7 TO, so the build picks itself: a backcourt nuke that concedes FG% and TO to sweep everything else. If James Harden slides to 20, grab him — 8.0 AST pushes the combined dimes past 17, 3.1 3PM and .884 FT pile on, and his .434 FG and 3.5 TO fall inside the punt. Kevin Durant is the safer alt: punt TO now and keep other categories balanced.

3.4 3PM at nearly 29 a night is a scorer who never leaves the floor in Minnesota — but 3.7 AST is thin for a lead guard, so punt it and stack scorers who don't need to create. Kevin Durant is the natural pair: 26 PPG and 2.4 3PM reinforce exactly what Ant wins, his 4.8 AST sits idle in the punt. Karl-Anthony Towns is the pivot — 11.9 REB and .501 FG swap the scoring stack for a rebounding edge, .858 FT along for the ride. Either way you double down on production and refuse to pay for playmaking.

The .624 FG / .650 FT split is the whole decision: the field-goal mark is a weekly win, but .650 FT on 11 attempts is nearly four missed freebies a night — enough to sink the category by itself. You could refuse to punt and load up on .900 shooters, but it takes two or three just to offset him, and now you've spent the roster patching one cat. Punt FT% instead; his 3.2 TO and 0.4 3PM make three concessions that free every other pick for production. Just remember you're ignoring FT%, not trying to be bad at it — don't reach for a weaker player because his broken stroke 'fits' the punt. Take the best pick and let the category fall where it lands. James Harden fills the gap that matters — 3.1 3PM answers the shooting, 8.0 AST piles on, and his 3.5 TO live inside the punt. Chet Holmgren is the alt, pushing the pair past 18 boards a night with rim protection.

10.3 REB and 7.9 AST from a forward is point-guard playmaking on a power forward's frame — Johnson runs the offense at 24, and the line points to punting TO (3.4) and FT% (.788, a soft concession you can steal on a good week). Karl-Anthony Towns overwhelms the strength: 11.9 REB pushes the pair past 22 boards, with .501 FG and 1.5 3PM positive and his .858 FT idle in the punt. Chet Holmgren goes the other way — 1.9 BLK erases Johnson's one thin cat (0.4) and 8.9 REB deepens the glass. Towns to bury the boards, Chet to round out the profile.

LeBron and Jaylen Brown arriving in Philadelphia pull the ball out of Maxey's hands, so his scoring and usage come down from last year's highs. That barely dents the fantasy case: elite free-throw shooting is a skill that holds at any volume, and his steals and three-point shooting stay strong whether he's the first option or the third. The one lasting leak is a below-average FG% on real volume, so punt FG% and build a backcourt that wins the shooting cats. If Curry slides to 16, he's the dream — 4.45 3PM and a .920 FT% make the pair a weekly sweep, and his own .469 FG is already inside the punt. LaMelo Ball fits cleaner still: his .407 FG aligns with the punt while 3.8 3PM, 7.1 AST, and .899 FT stack the guard cats. Either way, backcourt firepower.

No punt required — 28 a night with 3.2 3PM, 1.5 STL, and .865 FT and no category sinkhole, which is rare this early. The one soft spot is BLK (0.3), so R2 is about the frontcourt. Cooper Flagg is the natural fit at 15: 6.9 REB, 1.2 STL, and 0.9 BLK patch exactly what Mitchell lacks without forcing a build. Stephen Curry is the pivot if he falls — 4.45 3PM and .920 FT% turn the pair into a shooting juggernaut, but you trade the block fix for a 42-game gamble. Flagg to stay balanced, Curry to press the shooting edge.

Two straight years of mid-40s FG% and near-zero blocks (0.2–0.5) make the build obvious: punt FG% and BLK, then run the seven cats a healthy Tatum sweeps — PTS, REB, AST, 3PM, FT%, STL, TO. Tyrese Haliburton is the ideal partner: his only weak cats, a .468 FG and 0.6 BLK, are the exact two you're punting, so nothing's wasted, while 8.8 AST fills Tatum's gap and 2.8 3PM, .848 FT, and an elite 2.1 TO all stack. You reach a round early at 14 and take on Haliburton's Achilles return, but the fit is seamless. James Harden is the safer floor — the same .434 FG / 0.4 BLK alignment plus 8.0 AST and 3.1 3PM across a full 70.

1.4 STL and 1.4 BLK from one forward is a defensive daily double almost no one offers — and Barnes delivers it on .507 FG, elite everywhere but shooting (0.85 3PM). Punt 3PM and let the defense, efficiency, and playmaking carry six cats. Slot 12 is a rough R1 draw, but pick 13 is the best R2 on the board — spend it on the scoring he lacks. Kevin Durant is the target: 26 PPG and .520 FG patch the hole while 0.9 BLK stacks the defense. Cooper Flagg is the alt — 1.2 STL, 0.9 BLK, and a punt-aligned 1.0 3PM double down on two-way production if you'd rather not chase pure offense.