The ill-advised, totally foolproof 4-punt B.I.G. strategy.

A disclaimer to start this all off: I don't recommend the strategy I'm about to lay out. It's the height of folly and hubris to think that a league can be won on a 4-punt strategy. To do so while focusing so narrowly on "bigs" and ignoring points, which correlates to so many other categories only amplifies the absurdity.

But then, warnings aside, what is the 4-punt B.I.G. strategy? Here goes:

1. Assume this is a 10 team league, with default starting positions (PG, SG, SF, PF, C, G, F, Util, Util).

2. We'll approximate an auction budget of $200. This strategy becomes incrementally harder for a snake draft, but could work for a team with a back end pick.

3. We're going to win by dominating 5 categories and punting (*deep breath*): Points, Assists, FT%, and 3PT.

And with those ground rules, our draft/auction/targets:

The foundational center: Gobert or Drummond $30-35

This bid is about grabbing the anchor, and in this punt build, Drummond and Gobert are the top two players. League wide. More valuable than Harden, more valuable than AD.

Point guard play: Ben Simmons $25

Simmons is the only top-50 point guard in this build. If you don't grab him here, it's a long way down.

The all important PF: Mitchell Robinson or Clint Capela $20-30

Robinson and Capela are both top 5 players in this punt build. Get one of them.

Small forward: Robert Covington $25

Covington is good in any build. But he's great here.

Shooting guard: Delon Wright, Danny Green, and Derrick White $5-10

I like all three of these SGs as top 100 players in this build. Grab the cheapest option.

Guards and Forwards: Jonathan Isaac, Derrick Favors, Kyle Anderson, Montrezl Harrell, Mikal Bridges, Andre Roberson. $5-15

These options are all top 100 players in this build. And many are going to come cheap. Bridges is a particularly helpful player here given his high steal rate.

Utility BIGs (2) : Hassan Whiteside, Steven Adams, Kevon Looney, Javale McGee $5-20

This is where the punt strategy really shines, as each of these options is a top 20 player for our purposes. Which makes these players fantastic value. Grab as many as you can.

At this point, filling out your starting lineup should come with a cost of around $150-170. Which means that the bench can be filled out with additionally players from above with relative ease. Other options to target on include Jacob Poelt, Nerlens, Noel, Larry Nance, Miles Bridges, Josh Richardson, and Gary Harris.

We can run the result of our good work through the draft assist tool to see how the team stacks up. Almost every permutation comes out with fantastically strong FG%, rebound, steal, block, and TO numbers. Pulling from the set of players above, mine came in a full 15 rebounds, 1.7 steals, 6.3 blocks, .050 FG%, and 3 TOs higher than the target. And despite punting points, that category looks somewhat competitive - call it a soft punt - only 28 points shy of my target.

This strategy has weaknesses. Punting 4 categories leaves little room for error. And Ben Simmons is a crucial target given how thin the other PG options are. But for teams looking to try something different, the 4 Punt B.I.G. strategy may be just the thing.