Staff Roundtable – Build Your Matt Painter Dream Team for $15

It’s making the rounds on Twitter.

It’s always fun to get the staff together and go over a fun question to see how everyone approaches something. If you’ve been on Purdue twitter over the last week or so you might have noticed one of those “build your” team images going around. If you’re not familiar with them I think the best way to explain it is just to show you. Now, keep in mind I saw this first from Rapheal Davis but I later learned the image was actually created by twitter user Money Matt Painter so all credit should go to him.

So it’s pretty simple, you get $15 to spend. You need 5 players. Build your team spending $15 and see who wins. Pretty simple right? Well I asked the staff for theirs and I wanted to share their answers. Share yours in the comments and let us know which of us built the best team.

Ledman:

Okay, so this feels like there’s any number of ways to do this, but below is my team by position with cost.

1 – Braden Smith – Cost- $5

2- Ryan Cline – Cost – $1

3- Mason Gillis – Cost-$1

4 – Carl Landry – Cost $3

5 – Zach Edey – Cost- $5

I think that Mason Gillis is the absolute steal of the board here. Just $1 for a guy like Gillis who dives on the ball, gets rebounds, putbacks, and plays great defense? Give me that for $1 all day. Then, of course, I spent $10 on Smith and Edey because reuniting them is guaranteed to make your team fantastic. That leaves me with a need for some shooting, yes Gillis can hit threes at a mighty clip, and so can Braden, but I wanted another shooter and so I grabbed Ryan Cline with $1. Icewater in his veins. With my final spot I went with a sentimental favotire in Carl Landry. Landry helped dig Purdue out of the hole they were in when he and David Teague came back from their knee injuries. So that’s my team, and I don’t think anyone is beating me.

Travis:

Oh man, this is a tough one. I am going to splurge though:

$5 – Braden Smith

$5 – Zach Edey

$3 – Vince Edwards

$1 – Mason Gillis

$1 – Ryan Cline

We all saw what the pick and roll with Smith and Edey can do, so it is worth the $10, especially if we get senior year Smith and Senior year Edey. I’ll take Vince as my versatile forward/wing, Gillis as my glue guy that can shoot open threes all day along with Cline.

Ryan:

Edey, Smith, Vince Edwards, Cline, Gillis.

You may be asking why I took Vince over Loyer, which would have compiled 4 major contributors that took Purdue to the National Championship. The way I see it is Vince has size and defense over Loyer, and this fantasy lineup already has a sharpshooter in Ryan Cline. For that matter, every single one of the five I selected was a career 39% 3-point shooter or better (yes, that includes Edey who was a 50% 3-point shooter in college). Vince would be the weak link from beyond the arc as he *only* shot 39.2% from deep. Cline and Gillis both shot 40.7% while at Purdue (we don’t count the Duke year) so after Zach can eat the rebounds with help from Vince, Mason, and even Braden, he can get it out to a shooter or do what he does best and dominate down low. On defense, opposing teams can count down Edey for lane violations he doesn’t commit, and the other 4 just need to stay somewhat in front of their guys / not allow back cuts. Vince and Gillis both bring toughness and grit to the squad while Braden and Cline bring some swagger. Also, funny enough, the worst free throw shooter of these five would be Cline, which is not what I would have expected, but I also completely forgot that he only shot 63 free throws in four seasons. For context, Mason had the second fewest attempts with 175 while Zach shot 942.

Drew:

The obvious answer to this question is to take Zach, surround him with four shooters, and call it a day.

I’m going to change things up a little and try to build the best Purdue roster without featuring the most decorated player in Purdue history.

C – Matt Haarms – 1$

I want to spread the floor and let my guards and shooters operate in space. I need a center who allows me to play five out, run dribble handoffs, and protect the rim on defense.

PF – Carl Landry – 3$

Haarms can’t score and isn’t much of a rebounder. I need to balance that because I want a post scorer and rebounder, and it just so happens that the Purdue player with the best NBA resume (as of today) on the list is available for a steal.

SF – Ray Davis – 2$

I’m picking up an elite defender for two dollars, and since there is only one ball, the fact that he doesn’t require shots to be effective is a plus.

SG – E’Twaun Moore – 4$

If Carl Landry doesn’t have the best NBA resume on the current list, E’Twaun Moore does. I’m taking one of the smoothest operators in Purdue history to do whatever needs to be done in the offense. He can play on or off the ball, hit 3’s, and get to the rim. He’s a solid, if not good, defender who should give the other team hell when paired with Ray.

PG – Carsen Edwards – 5$

I’ve built this roster around Edwards. I’ve intentionally gone with guys who don’t have to score to contribute because Carsen is going to be gunning straight out of the gate. We’re going to push the tempo on offense, pick up the pressure on defense and see what happens.

Truth be told, this isn’t the “best” team I could have assembled, but I think it would be a fun team, and I’m ok with that.

Kyle:

My starting 5….

PJ

Carsen

Ray

Trevion

Edey

Trevion with his point forward skills would unleash this lineup. There are plenty of shooters with PJ, Carsen and Ray.

Trevion would stretch the floor enough at the 4 to allow Edey more one on one’s in the post and Carsen is Carsen, he will get his.

A senior Zach Edey and a Junior year Carsen would simply be unstoppable.

Davis guards the best perimeter player while Edey provides the needed rim protection.

PJ for a dollar is sneaky. You get your Coach on the court and one of the best assist to turnover PGs of all time under CMP.