NBA Draft Kit: Atlantic Division Position Battles

Have the teams in the Atlantic improved enough to challenge Cleveland? They certainly have improved. A flurry of activity, especially by New York, Boston and Philadelphia, has resulted in shuffled rosters that require deep fantasy analysis. Let's look at the more hotly contested position battles on each Atlantic team.

Boston Celtics

Coach Brad Stevens will again have his hands full trying to both win now and develop young talent. The addition of stalwart Al Horford solidifies the center position. But who will play besides Big Al at power forward? And with Evan Turner gone, who will be the sixth man?

Power Forward: Amir Johnson, Kelly Olynyk, Jonas Jerebko, Jordan Mickey, Jaylen Brown

Johnson started 76 games last season, playing a mix of power forward and center, often alongside the vertically challenged Jared Sullinger, who is now in Toronto. Johnson was the only Celtic to offer much rim protection (except for occasional spurts from Tyler Zeller) while producing modest scoring and rebounding numbers. With Horford now aboard, the plot thickens. Priority one at PF is to find someone who plays well with Horford. In Atlanta, Horford succeeded with 3-4 hybrid Paul Millsap, who could spread the floor by scoring inside and out. It's possible that Jerebko or Olynyk are better fits for Horford's style of play.

One thing is for sure: coach Stevens will experiment with many different lineups. Johnson will probably get first crack at starting, but Stevens will mix and match lineups to exploit opponents' weaknesses. Jordan Mickey will provide excellent defense off the bench, but the fight for minutes will be fierce. Rookie Jaylen Brown will also see some time at the four when Boston goes small. Power forward could be a revolving door.

Sixth Man: Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Terry Rozier, Gerald Green

There is a reason Portland threw $70 million at Evan Turner to be their new starting small forward. In Boston, Turner was the calming influence off the bench during crunch time. He knew when to push the pace, when to slow things down and score on his own. There were many times last season that the Celtics' offense looked lost, and then Turner would come in and fix it.

But Boston has too much young talent to overpay Turner. Who among that young talent will fill Turner's shoes? Smart seems like the obvious choice, except his game has always been predicated on fierce defense. He's not afraid to take the big shot, but his woeful 34.8 percent shooting from the field last year indicates he probably shouldn't. Brown would certainly please management if he could quickly fill the scoring-off-the-bench role. His position versatility (he can guard 2s, 3s and 4s) helps, and he averaged an impressive 16.0 points and 6.2 rebounds in 29 minutes per game during summer league. Much will be expected of the no. 3 overall pick from this year's draft, but remember, he turns 20 in December. Brown is a work in progress who Stevens will probably try to protect early in the season.

That leaves Rozier and Green as the two other first-off-the-bench options. Rozier faces the same issues as Smart: he's a defense-first player with shooting struggles. Rozier shot a worse-than-Smart 27.4 percent from the field last year. Green was expected to fulfill the Vinnie "the Microwave" Johnson role for Miami last year, but personal issues and disappointing play often stuck him deep on the bench. Expect the same in Boston.

Brooklyn Nets

Well, kudos to Brooklyn for finally ditching the "win now" approach and shifting to a long-term plan. The additions of Trevor Booker, Jeremy Lin and rookies Caris LeVert and Isaiah Whitehead (both draft day trades) are certainly not earth shattering, but they at least imply steady improvement with an eye to the future.

Other than Brook Lopez at center and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson at small forward, no position is really a lock. But the biggest toss up is probably who will work next to Lopez:

Power Forward: Trevor Booker, Luis Scola, Chris McCullough, Anthony Bennett

Booker's two year, $18 million contract implies that he should get the nod as the starter. Expect a lot of unexciting 8/7/1 games from Booker. At age 36, Scola can't possibly be part of Brooklyn's build for the future. McCullough is the real mystery man in this battle after missing most of his rookie season due to right ACL issues. The largely unknown sophomore has the rare potential to both block shots (he averaged two blocks per game during his one season at Syracuse) and drain threes. He's a name to keep in mind for deep keeper leagues. Finally, I only list Bennett to answer the inevitable "what the heck ever happened to Anthony Bennett?" questions and to desperately appeal to our Canadian NHL subscribers. He will see very little playing time and might not make the team, but is certainly a low risk signing.

New York Knicks

As someone naturally inclined to dislike NYC sports, it's encouraging to see the Knicks return to their "sign big names" ways. Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah may drive ticket sales and temporarily appease the rabid fan base, but do you really expect either to make it through 60+ games this season? That said, the biggest playing time battle is probably at the two.

Shooting Guard:Courtney Lee, Justin Holiday, Sasha Vujacic, Brandon Jennings

That is not a very appealing collection of ballers, especially when you consider Jennings will probably get more minutes backing up Rose at point guard. Lee is pretty unexciting – how is he an improvement over Arron Afflalo (now in SAC)? Each signed for $12.5 million per year this summer, though Lee's deal is for two years and Afflalo's is for four. Lee started 65 games last year, so he probably gets the initial starting nod. Holiday is a defense-oriented two who's on his fifth team in three years – never a good sign. The dream scenario in NY is Derrick Rose magically exploding for 72+ games, allowing Jennings to grab a ton of minutes at shooting guard. The dilemma with that plan, other than Rose's obvious injury history, is that Jennings is a career 39 percent shooter over eight seasons. It's too late for that to improve. All of this points to Vujacic possibly repeating his 15 minutes per game for NY, which is scary to think about. The main lesson here is to grab Lee in the very late rounds of your drafts because he will be forced to play some monster minutes.

Philadelphia 76ers

Things are finally looking up in Philly, though it's shocking they still haven't dealt to one of their bigs for help in the backcourt. Surely Danny Ainge has a mix of assets worthy of Nerlens Noel, right? (Full disclosure, my Celtic fandom is getting in the way here). With the current roster, minutes battles exist everywhere, but lets focus on three spots.

Point Guard:Jerryd Bayless, T.J. McConnell, Sergio Rodriguez

Point guard, for the second year in a row, was a dumpster fire for Philly. Bayless, a reliable bench player, instantly upgrades the spot to "not terrible." Exciting, huh? But is Bayless a true PG? Despite playing 29 minutes per game for the Bucks last year, he still only averaged 3.1 assists. McConnell started a frightening 18 games for the Sixers last year. Presumably he'll improve on his 6.1 points, 4.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game from last year. Rodriguez is an intriguing pass-first option for Philly, averaging 5.8 assists per game for Real Madrid last year.

Shooting Guard:Gerald Henderson, Hollis Thompson, Nik Stauskas, Jerryd Bayless

The list above is proof that Philly must deal one of its big men for two reasons: 1. clear up minutes for the high-ceiling bigs they decide to keep and 2. get a legitimate outside shooter to spread things out, so your talented bigs have some room to operate inside. Henderson hit 35.6 percent of his threes (0.7 per game) last year, both career-highs and worthy of the nice raise he got from Philly (two years, $18 million). The improvement is nice, but nobody is confusing Henderson with Klay Thompson. Hollis Thompson played an undeserved 28 minutes per game last season for the Sixers. Yes, he hit threes, but he did little else, hinting that Henderson should certainly have the PT advantage. But it's very possible that Bayless sees more minutes at SG than PG. That screams "logjam of mediocrity."© (I've decided to copyright that phrase for t-shirt sales.) Speaking of mediocre (which might be generous), Stauskas, er, Sauce Castillo has a very legitimate chance of being cut this preseason (insert joke about terrible Sacramento draft picks here). Yes, Stauskas was a top-10 draft choice two years ago.

Power Forward: Ben Simmons, Nerlens Noel, Jerami Grant, Dario Saric

For now, let's assume that Jahlil Okafor and a miraculously healthy Joel Embiid share time at center. Let's also admit that Noel is too darn skinny to bang with legit centers. That assumption points to an awfully crowded situation at power forward. Noel is a defensive game changer (1.8 steals and 1.5 blocks per game) who deserves major minutes. Expect more blocks next season. And ring the liberty bell, because Saric is finally ready to play in the NBA. At 6-foot-10, one initially assumes Saric will play power forward, but his nifty passing and outside shooting (40.3 percent from three land last year) might mean he sees more time at the three (sorry Robert Covington).

But the how heck did I get this far into the Sixers without mentioning Simmons? Is there such a thing as "point-power-forward"? Simmons poor shooting also puts more emphasis on the need for a sniper at the two (see above). Early indications are that the 6-10 Simmons will start at PF, leaving serious questions about how they'll develop Noel. Frankly, Simmons' dazzling passing skills help explain a Bayless-at-PG approach. Here are your required viewing Ben Simmons summer league highlights:

The Philly situation is messy. It will require constant observation. Sheer math says that coach Brett Brown will have to sour on at least one big name. The sneaky fantasy move will be to pick up in January whoever is NOT getting minutes, with the expectation that a trade deadline deal will quickly open minutes for that player either in Philly or elsewhere.

Toronto Raptors

Not much has changed in Toronto, unless you consider the addition of Jared Sullinger big news. Also, Bismack Biyombo signed a giant contract with Orlando, so the minutes debate is all about the bigs:

Center & Power Forward: Jared Sullinger, Patrick Patterson, Jakob Poeltl, Jonas Valanciunas, Lucas Nogueira

Sullinger can expect to see big minutes as the starter at power forward, enabling Patterson to stick with his successful juice-off-the-bench approach. Sullinger saw his minutes dip to 23.6 per game last year in Boston, but that should return the 27-29 minute level in Toronto. Valanciunas will still be the unquestioned starter, though for reasons unknown, Dwane Casey does NOT like to play Big V in crunch time. Sullinger will also see some small-ball minutes at the five, as he did in Boston. But there is a real opening to be V's back-up, with Nogueira and Poeltl needing to fill the void. The third-year Brazilian with the crazy hair, Nogueira is penciled in as the backup center, for now, even though he's only appeared in 35 games over the last two years. Poeltl was the ninth-overall pick in this year's draft, but coach Casey has already admitted the raw 20-year-old could spend lots of time with their D-League affiliate.

Here, for your enjoyment, is Nogueira and his big hair (you're welcome):

#Raptors have recalled @Bebe92 from @TheMadAnts of the @nbadleague: http://t.co/CqX9fyMqKa#WeTheNorthpic.twitter.com/gjCqbYxXvb

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) March 26, 2015