By Dalton Del Don – Senior Writer
The following is my main league’s fantasy hoops draft that took place last week, rounds 1-10. One huge thing to remember here is that we don’t count free throw percentage or turnovers, so it’s unique in that aspect. Also, we use weighted categories, with points, rebounds and assists worth the most, blocks and steals in between and 3PT/FG% worth the least. Here are the results:
ROUND ONE
1. LeBron James
2. Kevin Garnett
3. Kobe Bryant
4. Shawn Marion
5. Gilbert Arenas
6. Josh Smith
7. Yao Ming
8. Dirk Nowitzki
9. Steve Nash
10. Dwight Howard
My Pick: Here are J-Smoove’s numbers from after the All-Star break last year: 18.9 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.3 spg and 3.1 bpg. He’s 21 years old.
Best Pick: Not that any were bad picks, but I especially liked Steve Nash at No. 9 and Dwight Howard at No. 10. With our league specifics, Howard wouldn’t have been an unreasonable pick at No. 5. He’s already the NBA’s best rebounder.
Worst Pick: Hard to argue with any of these top-10.
ROUND TWO
11. Tim Duncan
12. Amare Stoudemire
13. Jason Kidd
14. Al Jefferson
15. Pau Gasol
16. Marcus Camby
17. Chris Paul
18. Chris Bosh
19. Andre Iguodala
20. Dwayne Wade
My Pick: I really wanted Kidd or Jefferson to fall to me, and the latter likely would have in most leagues, but instead, I went with Gasol. His assist numbers are terrific for someone center-eligible, but I’m not in love with the fact he’s already dealing with an ankle injury.
Best Pick: If Kidd can stay healthy, he’s officially become the most underrated fantasy player alive. The guy nearly averages a triple-double yet continuously falls into the second round.
Worst Pick: Since this isn’t a head-to-head league, I think Wade went a little too early here. He might miss the first six weeks and who knows how close to full strength he’ll be when he does return. Obviously, there’s an argument that he’s the No. 1 fantasy player when healthy, but there’s just too much risk here.
ROUND THREE
21. Paul Pierce
22. Jermaine O’Neal
23. Vince Carter
24. Deron Williams
25. Gerald Wallace
26. Emeka Okafor
27. Baron Davis
28. Carlos Boozer
29. Allen Iverson
30. Tracy McGrady
My Pick: I’m not thrilled with Okafor’s propensity to get injured, but I wanted two bigs early, and my center position is quite strong with Okafor and Gasol. Moreover, blocks is probably the scarcest category, and I’ve got three major contributors right off the bat. Sorry for the noise fellas, but I’ll be throwing a block party all year long – BYOB.
Best Pick: I like Deron Williams this round because there’s a precipitous drop at point guard after him, but I’ll pick Tracy McGrady here. He averaged a career-high in assists last season, and Rick Adelman’s newly installed offense should boost his stats. He’s a steal at No. 30.
Worst Pick: Considering Jermaine O’Neal’s ADP is 40, I’m going the injury-prone center here.
ROUND FOUR
31. Chauncey Billups
32. Joe Johnson
33. Carmelo Anthony
34. Jason Richardson
35. Lamar Odom
36. Rashard Lewis
37. Ray Allen
38. Caron Butler
39. Antawn Jamison
40. Michael Redd
My Pick: I always seem to end up with Odom every year, and I have no problem with getting him here, despite the concerns with his shoulder. I find it hard to believe there are 34 more valuable players than someone who averages 10.0 rpg, 5.0 apg with a steal and a 3PT.
Best Pick: Ray Allen isn’t as valuable in this format with 3PT devalued, but still, he slipped a bit too far.
Worst Pick: I really have no problem with any of these picks.
ROUND FIVE
41. Kevin Durant
42. Ron Artest
43. Josh Howard
44. Tyson Chandler
45. Corey Maggette
46. Mo Williams
47. Brandon Roy
48. Kevin Martin
49. Luol Deng
50. Andrei Kirilenko
My Pick: Ugh. I really wanted Durant, Artest and Maggette to fall to me but to no avail. I also almost took Roy, but his heel concerns made me ultimately pass. Mo Williams had an underrated season last year, but I wasn’t thrilled with this selection.
Best Pick: I think Durant is going to be huge, and the same goes for Maggette (although his FT prowess goes for naught in this league). Additionally, I expect a big bounce back year from AK-47, and I got greedy expecting him to fall even further like he has in so many other leagues. I had plenty of blockers on my team anyway, but Kirilenko is going to be the steal of many fantasy drafts this season.
Worst Pick: He was given a $52 million contract, but Williams went nearly undrafted in the 2003 NBA Draft, so there’s not a great pedigree here. I’m a little worried and always jump at the chance to be self-deprecating.
ROUND SIX
51. Raymond Felton
52. Zach Randolph
53. Kirk Hinrich
54. LaMarcus Aldridge
55. Andre Miller
56. Ricky Davis
57. Rasheed Wallace
58. Ben Wallace
59. Tony Parker
60. Samuel Dalembert
My Pick: After waiting on the position, I’m glad I got two solid point guards, especially ones who won’t kill your FG%, something becoming increasingly rare.
Best Pick: Felton has major upside with Brevin Knight gone, but he’ll need to drastically improve his shooting to reach it. I’ll take Randolph here – I expect a big season with the move to the inferior East.
Worst Pick: This was 100 percent not the owner’s fault because the trade hadn’t occurred yet, but in hindsight, Ricky Davis went too high now that he’ll be sharing the ball in Miami. His value will really take a hit once Wade returns.
ROUND SEVEN
61. Andris Biedrins
62. Shaquille O’Neal
63. Andrea Bargnani
64. Mehmet Okur
65. T.J. Ford
66. Rudy Gay
67. Stephen Jackson
68. Ben Gordon
69. David West
70. Mike Miller
My Pick: I’ve hyped him up, so I might as well back it up.
Best Pick: Shaq O’Neal gets a big boost in this format, but he’s still on the decline and injury-prone. If T.J. Ford plays 80 games, he’ll go down as the best pick this round, and if Mike Miller produces the same stats as he did last season, then he’ll be a major steal here as well.
Worst Pick: None.
ROUND EIGHT
71. Stephon Marbury
72. Mike Bibby
73. Ruben Patterson
74. Rajon Rondo
75. Randy Foye
76. Jameer Nelson
77. Monta Ellis
78. Manu Ginobili
79. Leandro Barbosa
80. Danny Granger
My Pick: I took a stab here, but Foye’s role isn’t too established right now. The way I see it, Bassy Telfair has to be considered one of the weakest competitions in the league, right? Foye has to win that job.
Best Pick: Marbury has been falling too late in drafts, Rondo could lead the league in steals, but I especially liked the Ginobili and Granger picks.
Worst Pick: Bibby wasn’t hurt when that pick occurred, obviously, so you can’t fault that one. Ruben Patterson was probably the biggest surprise of the entire draft for me, but really, he’s a pretty underrated performer when he gets minutes, and there are opportunities in LA with no Elton Brand. Barbosa strikes me as a bust with Grant Hill joining the fold and an improved Boris Diaw this year.
ROUND NINE
81. Andrew Bogut
82. Devin Harris
83. Mike Conley Jr.
84. Jamaal Tinsley
85. Chris Wilcox
86. Al Harrington
87. Darko Milicic
88. Jason Terry
89. Chris Kaman
90. Brad Miller
My Pick: I really didn’t want to deal with Don Nelson’s lineup changes this season, but with Harrington center-eligible and early glowing reports from training camp, I had to pull the trigger.
Best Pick: This might sound surprising, but I’ll actually take Jamaal Tinsley as my favorite of the round. The new offensive freedom could do wonders for him; expect him to be among the league-leaders in dimes when he’s healthy enough to play.
Worst Pick: Considering Mike Conley Jr. has been named the team’s No. 3 point guard, he probably went a little too early. Darko!!!
ROUND TEN
91. Richard Hamilton
92. Richard Jefferson
93. Eddy Curry
94. Andres Nocioni
95. Raja Bell
96. Zydrunas Ilgauskas
97. Andrew Bynum
98. Boris Diaw
99. Tyrus Thomas
100. Tayshaun Prince
My Pick: A big help in threes, a category I felt I needed to specifically address.
Best Pick: Remember when Nocioni was going ahead of Luol Deng last year? I like Bynum and Thomas’ upside here the most.
Worst Pick: None.
My Final Roster
PG – Mo Williams
SG – Randy Foye
G – Andre Miller
G – Raja Bell
SF – Josh Smith
PF – Lamar Odom
F – Rudy Gay
F – Al Harrington
C – Pau Gasol
C – Emeka Okafor
Util – Jamal Crawford
Util – David Lee
Bench – Peja Stojakovic
Bench – Brevin Knight
Bench – Tony Allen
Bench – Bonzi Wells
Bench – Kwame Brown
Bench – Theo Ratliff
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