How does every NBA player stack up heading into 2017-18, based solely on the level at which we expect them to play during the upcoming season?

That’s the question 16 NBA Math staff members and contributors sought to answer, ranking each and every player in the sport’s premier league on a 1-to-12 scale and then seeing who emerged with the highest averages. The distant past was irrelevant. Long-term potential doesn’t matter. Only what could come to pass in 2017-18 is factored in, assuming health for those currently healthy and full recoveries from those presently injured. For example, Brandon Knight will still be included in this analysis; we just assumed he’d already completed his rehab for the torn ACL and now has that as a prior portion of his overall injury history.

All players were graded on the following scale by each evaluator, and ties between players with identical averages were broken by sorting the 16 scores from best to worst and propping up the men who had the highest mark at any point in the top-down progression:

1. Shouldn’t Get Minutes
2. End-of-Bench Pieces
3. Depth Pieces
4. High-End Backups
5. Low-End Starters
6. Solid Starters
7. High-End Starters, Non-All-Stars
8. All-Star Candidates
9. All-NBA Candidates, Non-MVP Candidates
10. Lesser MVP Candidates
11. MVP Frontrunners
12. Best Player in the League (only one player could earn this grade on each ballot)

Journey with us team by team as we unveil the entirety of these rankings, culminating in a look at every player set to suit up for the 2017-18 campaign.

Today’s featured squad? The New Orleans Pelicans, who have become the living embodiment of stars-and-scrubs roster construction.

16. Darius Miller: 1.75

• Age at start of 2017-18: 27
• Position: SF
• 2016-17 Stats: 10.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.3 blocks (for Brose Baskets Bamberg)
• Highest Grade: 3 (multiple voters)
• Lowest Grade: 1 (multiple voters)

At least we’re establishing that Kentucky feel right from the start.

Darius Miller played for the New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans during the first three years of his professional career, but the former Wildcat has bounced around since then. Suiting up in the G League and overseas, he’s failed to emerge as an all-around contributor but instead solidified himself as a legitimate three-point marksman. During this past go-round with Brose Baskets Bamberg, Miller took 4.6 triples per game and connected at a 41.4 percent clip—actually his worst efficiency level in three European seasons.

That might not be enough for him to make the big-league roster. But at least he has that Lexington connection to fall back on, joining Rajon Rondo, Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins in that not-at-all-exclusive-because-Kentucky-sends-one-billion-players-to-the-NBA club.

15. Omer Asik: 1.88

• Age at start of 2017-18: 31
• Position: C
• 2016-17 Stats: 2.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.2 steals, 0.3 blocks, minus-30.51 TPA
• Highest Grade: 3 (multiple voters)
• Lowest Grade: 1 (multiple voters)

Remember when Omer Asik was a game-changing defensive force?

The Turkish big man is now coming off a year in which he allowed opponents to shoot 51.1 percent on 4.5 attempts per game while he was stationed at the rim, and that’s simply not going to cut it for such a single-minded player. He can rebound the rock, sure. But without any semblance of scoring ability, bricks for hands when he’s rolling to the hoop and a distinct lack of passing flair or foot speed on the defensive end, he’s never going to earn major minutes unless he can re-assert himself as a stifling rim-protector.

Now that he’s 31, that’s a long-shot.

14. Frank Jackson: 2.00

• Age at start of 2017-18: 19
• Position: PG/SG
• 2016-17 Stats: 10.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.1 blocks, 82.89 TPA (for Duke Blue Devils)
• Highest Grade: 3 (multiple voters)
• Lowest Grade: 1 (multiple voters)

Frank Jackson, taken with the No. 31 pick of the 2017 NBA draft, was an upside play for the Pelicans. He might not be ready to contribute in any significant way until he’s improved his play across the board, but his brief time at Duke certainly makes it seem as if he could eventually become a two-way asset.

First, he has to find a position. The 6’4″ guard isn’t quite as big as most NBA shooting guards, but his knack for scoring off the bounce and as he’s bursting toward the basket could help him make a bigger impact in a non-distributing role. On the flip side, though he looks more like a 1-guard, the passing acumen isn’t quite there. Tweeners are valuable these days, but that’s only when they’re beneficial presences at two different positions rather than youngsters searching for a home at either.

If Jackson’s scoring translates with ease, though, these concerns will be rendered irrelevant. Ditto for his quick feet on defense, which allowed him to overcome mental mistakes and foul issues on the preventing end in Durham.

13. Alexis Ajinca: 2.06

• Age at start of 2017-18: 29
• Position: C
• 2016-17 Stats: 5.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.6 blocks, minus-48.89 TPA
• Highest Grade: 3 (multiple voters)
• Lowest Grade: 1 (multiple voters)

Alexis Ajinca is ill-suited for a modern version of the NBA that relies on small-ball proclivities and constant switching from its bigger players. He doesn’t stretch the floor particularly well on offense, instead preferring to operate out of the post, and is—by far—at his best defensively when he’s stationed in and around the painted area, waiting to use his 7’2″ frame to swat away ill-advised field-goal attempts taken in his vicinity.

But in 2016-17, he wasn’t effective in either of his pet areas—partially due to a distinct lack of playing time that saw him fail to ever emerge from the bench on various occasions. He scored just 0.42 points per post-up possession, which left him in the 1.6 percentile. Seriously. Thats’ not an exaggeration. Meanwhile, he allowed opponents to shoot 51.4 percent while he was protecting the basket.

Regression to the mean should help this 29-year-old center, but he’ll need to undergo substantial positive regression to justify the three voters who viewed him as a legitimate depth piece.

12. Perry Jones III: 2.21

• Age at start of 2017-18: 26
• Position: SF/PF
• 2016-17 Stats: 6.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.3 steals, 0.5 blocks (for Iowa Energy)
• Highest Grade: 3 (multiple voters)
• Lowest Grade: 1 (Brian Sampson)

The idea of Perry Jones III—a 6’11” combo forward who can guard numerous positions and use his eye-popping athleticism to his advantage on offense—is still appealing. Rarely do you see guard skills placed into a center’s frame, and Jones could still become a threatening figure if he improved his shot and learned how to finish after creating easy opportunities with his dribbling acumen.

But his performance in the G League should diminish the hype.

Jones, given his status as a walking mismatch, should thrive against lesser competition. But in 24 appearances for the Iowa Energy, he shot just 31.4 percent from the field and 20.2 percent from downtown, giving him declining percentages during every season at that minor-league level. The shot still hasn’t come around and he’s not dominating on defense, which makes it clear the Pelicans are making a desperation play to shore up their injury- and roster-created holes at the forward positions.

11. Cheick Diallo: 2.44

• Age at start of 2017-18: 21
• Position: PF
• 2016-17 Stats: 5.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 0.2 assists, 0.2 steals, 0.4 blocks, minus-22.75 TPA
• Highest Grade: 3 (multiple voters)
• Lowest Grade: 1 (Brian Sampson)

Cheick Diallo only logged 11.7 minutes per game in 17 appearances for the Pelicans as a rookie, but that shouldn’t be surprising. This Kansas product needed to spend plenty of time in the weight room before he could withstand the rigors of the NBA calendar, and throwing him into the fire could’ve shattered his confidence as he got pushed around and bullied on the blocks.

The upside here is still palpable. Diallo is learning his craft as a 21-year-old with limited experience playing high-level ball, and he’s already a competent threat both in the post and while blocking shots on the defensive end. Even in his minuscule run as a first-year player, he held his own defensively and demonstrated a growing understanding of point-preventing fundamentals.

Summer league also hinted at a future breakout, as this 6’9″ up-and-comer often looked like—in his mind, at least—he was the best player on the floor. He took it upon himself to create more offense and force the issue advantageously, leading to plenty of easy finishes around the hoop, catch-and-shoot jumpers and foul-drawing plays. More of the same could allow him to rise up the rotation quicker than originally anticipated.

10. Jordan Crawford: 2.69

• Age at start of 2017-18: 28
• Position: SG
• 2016-17 Stats: 14.1 points, 1.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.1 blocks, minus-3.61 TPA
• Highest Grade: 3 (multiple voters)
• Lowest Grade: 1 (Adam Spinella)

If Jordan Crawford  ever comes across a shot he doesn’t like, that’ll be the first time. And on this particular roster, which needs floor-spacing options on the wings who can take and make three-pointers to provide openings and less defensive resistance for the featured frontcourt options, that’s probably a good thing.

The 28-year-old shooting guard finally returned to the NBA in 2016-17, playing 19 games with the Pelicans after nearly two years away from the Association. And he didn’t need much time to adjust, immediately chipping in with 21.7 points and 4.6 assists per 36 minutes. Better still, he did so while shooting 48.2 percent from the field, 38.9 percent from downtown and 76.9 percent at the stripe.

If he’s improved his shooting stroke that significantly—he slashed 405/30.6/82.8 in his four NBA seasons prior to this last one—then he’ll make even our most optimistic voters look like they’re selling him short.

9. Ian Clark: 3.13

• Age at start of 2017-18: 26
• Position: PG/SG
• 2016-17 Stats: 6.8 points, 1.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.1 blocks, minus-47.28 TPA (for Golden State Warriors)
• Highest Grade: 4 (multiple voters)
• Lowest Grade: 2 (Andrew Bailey)

At times, Ian Clark looked like a threatening presence off the Golden State Warriors’ bench. He could catch fire from the perimeter and create his own shots with aplomb, throwing up quick explosions of points in efficient fashion before disappearing for lengthy stretches. But once defenses started playing him tighter and daring him to drive by them, his production declined.

Clark can capably play at either guard position. He’s best as a spot-up threat operating at the 2, but his size (6’3″, 175 pounds) almost demands that he spend significant time at the point. That’s fine, so long as he’s asked to serve in distributing fashion for only short spurts.

The Pelicans might have found a steal if Clark is able to feast on a defense that compresses around the talented towers in the middle. But they also run the risk of this Belmont product forgetting he can do much more than shoot from the perimeter, since that limited output makes it easier for the opposition to focus on shutting down his strengths and turning him into an overmatched gunner.

8. Dante Cunningham: 3.31

• Age at start of 2017-18: 30
• Position: SF/PF
• 2016-17 Stats: 6.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.4 blocks, minus-16.84 TPA
• Highest Grade: 5 (Tim Stubbs)
• Lowest Grade: 2 (multiple voters)

Here’s the good news: Dante Cunningham blossomed into something of a three-and-D contributor during his age-29 season, becoming more comfortable letting fly from beyond the arc while settling in as a capable wing defender who could use his size to thrive in off-ball settings. Despite only starting to take triples with any semblance of consistency in 2015-16, he hit 39.2 percent of his looks while taking 2.7 per game in 2016-17.

Only seven other qualified players matched that volume/efficiency combination while submitting a positive defensive box plus/minus last year: Jae Crowder, Manu Ginobili, Gordon Hayward, Serge Ibaka, Joe Ingles, Chris Paul and Otto Porter.

But here’s the bad news: Cunningham remains a limited presence who prefers operating outside of the paint. He’s a horrid rebounder for a 6’8″ forward, and asking him to play at a bigger position hinders what New Orleans can do defensively for fear of leaving him alone as the last line of defense. These limitations aren’t going away as his age continues to advance.

7. Solomon Hill: 3.50

• Age at start of 2017-18: 26
• Position: SF
• 2016-17 Stats: 7.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.4 blocks, minus-14.54 TPA
• Highest Grade: 5 (Andrew Bailey)
• Lowest Grade: 1 (Tim Stubbs)

Remember, we’re grading healthy versions of these players.

Solomon Hill’s torn hamstring required surgery and could keep him out of action for the vast majority of the 2017-18 season. But we’re assigning him scores as if he’s fully rehabbed the injury and is now playing with it in the past. Though operating with that history could hamper his production, he’s at least on the floor in this hypothetical world, which explains how nine voters still viewed him as an upper-tier backup or, in one case, better.

When this small forward does recover, he should be able to resume functioning as a hot-and-cold forward who can either create his own offense off the dribble against opposing 3s or line up as a stretch 4 in small-ball situations. He still hasn’t proved that his shot is actually improved (just 34.8 percent from downtown last year), but his willingness to take open jumpers is beneficial in and of itself.

6. E’Twaun Moore: 3.63

• Age at start of 2017-18: 28
• Position: SG
• 2016-17 Stats: 9.6 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.4 blocks, minus-48.31 TPA
• Highest Grade: 5 (multiple voters)
• Lowest Grade: 2 (Nick Birdsong)

Though E’Twaun Moore can play point guard in a pinch, he’s far better at working off the ball and leveraging his scoring chops before cross-matching (if necessary) on the defensive end. This 6’4″ backcourt member is capable of buckling down against either type of guard and playing bigger than his frame would indicate against small forwards, which gives the NOLA coaching staff plenty of flexibility.

“We’ve talked about it a little bit,” Moore explained after Hill’s injury, per Pelicans.com’s Jim Eichenhofer. “Some of the coaches have said, ‘You might have to play small forward some.’ Offensively, we’re mostly interchangeable [between the wing positions], but on the defensive end, it means you’ll probably have to guard bigger guys. I’ve done it the past couple years, so it’s not new. It’s fun and I look forward to it.”

If he can provide that type of willing switchability while continuing to connect on at least 37 percent of his threes, he’ll be a legitimate asset for the Pelicans.

5. Rajon Rondo: 3.81

• Age at start of 2017-18: 31
• Position: PG
• 2016-17 Stats: 78 points, 5.1 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 1.4 steals, 0.2 blocks, 10.98 TPA (for Chicago Bulls)
• Highest Grade: 5 (multiple voters)
• Lowest Grade: 2 (multiple voters)

Rajon Rondo is no longer the same player he was during his prime years.

He remains a gifted passer who, though his work as a table-setter often outweighs any missed opportunities as a scorer, can sometimes forget to take easy shots around the basket because he’s chasing assists. Rondo is one of those “pure” point guards who genuinely makes life easier for his teammates with his phenomenal distributing, so you live with some of the bad that allows for that skill to exist. He’s also a tremendous rebounding guard who continues to hold his own on defense…just only in on-ball situations, these days.

Rondo is no longer the All-Defensive threat he was during his prime years, particularly because he forgets he’s supposed to try when placed away from the primary action. He’s also a limited scorer who struggles to finish plays around the basket. But as he moves into his 30s, he’s canceling out some of his flaws with an improved shooting stroke.

In 2015-16, Rondo took 2.4 treys per game and hit 36.5 percent of them. This past season, those numbers grew to 2.6 and 37.6, respectively. He’s no longer a complete floor-spacing liability, and that could serve NOLA rather well.

4. Tony Allen: 4.00

• Age at start of 2017-18: 35
• Position: SG
• 2016-17 Stats: 9.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.6 steals, 0.4 blocks, 22.08 TPA (for Memphis Grizzlies)
• Highest Grade: 5 (multiple voters)
• Lowest Grade: 3 (multiple voters)

Tony Allen is ready to bring some grit-and-grind to the bayou. But as Rohan Nadkarni wrote for Sports Illustrated, that’s both a good and bad thing for the team’s hopes of playoff contention in the brutal Western Conference:

In Allen, the Pelicans are getting one of the most tenacious defenders in the league. He’s the man who made the phrase “First-Team All Defense” a legitimate way to trash talk opponents. And he still put opponents in his trademark vise grip last season, making the All-Defense team for the sixth time in seven years. Allen is now 35, but he still figures to see a healthy amount of playing time for the Pelicans, who are particularly thin at small forward after a hamstring injury to Solomon Hill.

Allen immediately becomes New Orleans’s best defensive stopper, but his value mostly stops there. Allen can charitably be described as an adventure on offense, where he’s always been a shaky shooter at best. That‘s a serious issue for the Pelicans, who are already seriously strapped when it comes to three-point marksmen. If New Orleans plays Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins with Allen, Rajon Rondo and Jrue Holiday, Davis and Cousins could end up being the biggest three-point threats on the court, which is not exactly what the team expected when creating its frontcourt tandem.

At this late stage of his career, Allen simply isn’t developing a better offensive game. He is who he is, for better and for worse.

3. Jrue Holiday: 6.38

• Age at start of 2017-18: 27
• Position: PG
• 2016-17 Stats: 15.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.7 blocks, 76.02 TPA
• Highest Grade: 7 (multiple voters)
• Lowest Grade: 5 (multiple voters)

If Jrue Holiday can stay healthy, he’ll be capable of justifying the eight voters who viewed him as a high-end starter falling just short of All-Star contention. So long as his body is in working order, he’s a bulldog of a defender in on-ball situations, a talented distributor who eschews turnovers and a capable scorer who can knock down shots from most zones within the half-court set.

Holiday isn’t a particularly dangerous outside sniper these days, and he’s had trouble finishing around the hoop at elite levels. But he’s able to get into the paint whenever he wants off the pick-and-roll, which opens things up for the rest of his teammates. Asking him to play a drive-and-kick game while the starting bigs help space out the floor should work nicely, and it’s telling that New Orleans was already outscoring foes by 3.9 points per 100 possessions while he, DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis were still building initial chemistry levels.

That number might only go up if Holiday is able to stave off that pesky little injury imp and play in at least 70 contests for the first time since 2012-13, when he made the All-Star squad in his final season with the Philadelphia 76ers.

2. DeMarcus Cousins: 8.88

• Age at start of 2017-18: 27
• Position: C
• 2016-17 Stats: 27.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.3 blocks, 319.12 TPA (for Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans)
• Highest Grade: 10 (Arjun Baradwaj)
• Lowest Grade: 8 (multiple voters)

Some players take advantage of their physical superiority and play bully-ball on both ends of the floor. Others have noteworthy levels of finesse, dancing around their opponents on the blocks, pulling the chair when playing defense and displaying soft touch both as a shooter and facilitator. DeMarcus Cousins fits into both roles, mixing together brawn and basketball beauty better than perhaps anyone since Shaquille O’Neal’s prime years.

The artist known as “Boogie” showed substantial strides during the 2016-17 season, which finally saw him escape the Sacramento Kings after years of trade rumors with a midseason deal to New Orleans. Not only did he continue to serve as an offensive hub who could hit cutters from the elbows or bring up the ball in transition, but he blossomed into a legitimate three-point marksman, hitting his five deep attempts per game at a 36.1 percent clip.

But Cousins still has one big blemish on his resume, and it’s the one he’ll be seeking to erase in 2017-18. He’s only produced big numbers on bad teams, and he needs to prove he can maintain them while dragging his troops into the playoff picture. Right now, he’s the career leader in TPA among all players who have yet to log a single postseason minute since the start of 1973-74.

1. Anthony Davis: 9.75

• Age at start of 2017-18: 24
• Position: PF/C
• 2016-17 Stats: 28.0 points, 11.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.3 steals, 2.2 blocks, 204.56 TPA
• Highest Grade: 10 (multiple voters)
• Lowest Grade: 9 (multiple voters)

Is this the year Anthony Davis puts all the pieces together and becomes a legitimate MVP candidate?

Not one of our voters thought he was anything worse than an All-NBA contender, while 12 of the 16 panelists thought he’d work his way into the fringes of the conversation for the league’s premier individual award. And those are perfectly justifiable takes, since Davis has continued to improve his defensive discipline while dominating in just about every facet of the game.

His three-point stroke isn’t quite there, and he sometimes struggles creating his own offense around the hoop. But other than injuries, those are his biggest flaws—both of which could be fixed by a 24-year-old mega-talent who works hard at his game every offseason. So long as he stays healthy, he should assert himself yet again as a one-man wrecking ball on both ends.

Lest we forget, the 2016-17 Pelicans saw their net rating decline by a staggering 9.4 points per 100 possessions when the unibrowed big man was on the pine.

Who’s rated too high? Who are we selling short? Join the conversation using #CrystalBasketball on Twitter.

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Unless otherwise indicated, all stats are from NBA Math or NBA.com.

Many thanks to our entire panel of voters: Andrew Bailey, Arjun Baradwaj, Nick Birdsong, Michael Brock, Tony East, Dan Favale, Adam Fromal, Ryan Jarvis, Jordan McGillis, Tom Rende, Brian Sampson, Adam Spinella, Eric Spyropolous, Tim Stubbs, Frank Urbina, Louis Vicchiollo