Shaquille O’Neal is one of the greatest players in NBA history and has gone down as arguably the most dominant force the league has ever seen. As part of his “Build Around” segment, JJ Redick recently tried his hand at building the perfect team around O’Neal, using only today’s players, and here is how he went about it.
Redick has set a salary cap of sorts of $195 million by taking the average of the five highest payrolls in the league today. Michael Jordan was the subject of Redick’s last segment and none of the players he picked there could make this team. With that out of the way, let’s look at the nine-man rotation that he came up with.
Starting Lineup: Stephen Curry ($51 million), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ($14 million), Lu Dort ($15.2 million), Lauri Markkanen ($18 million), Shaquille O’Neal ($51 million; same as the highest-paid player in the NBA today)
Bench: Tyus Jones ($14 million), Daniel Gafford ($12 million), Trey Murphy ($3.5 million), Kenrich Williams ($6 million)
Redick stated O’Neal would dominate in the low post and the team would play through him at times. Meanwhile, on defense, he would be a drop-coverage big like Brook Lopez and Rudy Gobert.
With that in mind, Redick felt he needed shooting and perimeter defense around O’Neal. His first pick was Stephen Curry, as their two-man action, pick and rolls, dribble handoffs, and pin-downs would be deadly. Redick then went with Lauri Markkanen as he excels at catch-and-shoot, attacking closeouts, and rebounding.
Redick’s next two picks were Lu Dort and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, two wing defenders who can shoot well from beyond the arc. He would have Caldwell-Pope guarding the primary ball-handler for the opponent while Dort would guard wings and bigger players as well.
Getting to the bench, Redick wanted a ball-handler who could play next to Curry, and he went with Tyus Jones. Daniel Gafford was the next selection, for his screen-setting, rim finishing, and defense.
Having spent so much already, Redick needed a player on a rookie deal who could shoot well and he went with Trey Murphy. His last pick was Kenrich Williams as he wanted another strong defender who could shoot in his rotation.
How Dominant Would This Team Be?
I think any team with O’Neal and Curry would prove to be a real headache to deal with for the opposition. The two are able to dominate the game in two very different ways and there would really be no good way to guard a pick and roll that they would run.
You also have three good shooters around them in Markkanen, Caldwell-Pope, and Dort, which means teams would have to think twice about sending the double team. Caldwell-Pope and Dort are excellent perimeter defenders as well, and O’Neal was a fine rim protector at his peak too.
While many bases are covered, one slight issue for me with this starting five is the lack of a secondary ball-handler and playmaker. Curry is the only one there and while Tyus Jones fills that role off the bench, you may need another starter who can do that. Still, this team would win the championship this season fairly easily.
Redick posed the question at the end of whether this team would win or the one he built around Jordan. I would give the edge to Jordan’s, as you have Nikola Jokic, Mikal Bridges, and Derrick White next to the Bulls icon. It would be a fascinating matchup though.
