Very mixed feelings about my team.
First of all, I HATE some of the people I drafted. Antoine Walker and Jalen Rose, mainly.
Second, darn bums. Kept taking my players.
First, with Kidd down, I really wanted a top flight pg. A G preferrably. Top on my draft board was Allen Iverson, who's now listed as a SG, but should get PG status once the season starts. With Kidd out, he'd be my pg. When Kidd gets back, he'd be my SG. He was perfect for my team. And I really thought with him missing so much time and having a negative connotation on this board he'd be there at 6. But doggonit pg's flew off like trees this year.
My 2nd option was Francis. He wasn't going to be able to play sg, so when Kidd came back I'd have a problem. But he's going to be the best fantasy pg in the game this year, bar none. I truely expect him to go back to 21/7/7 with 1.5 3ptm and 1.7 steals/game you used to be able to penci him in as prior to van gundy. That's a top 15 fantasy player, easily. and with Kidd not playing probably the best pg in the game. But alas, he was taken #1.
Once those 2 were gone I was really hoping to get Baron Davis, the last of teh stud pg' s available. But he went second. At that point I was willing to wait until the 4th round to fill the pg spot, hoping one of marbury, cassell, bibby, wade or billups would slide.
I then went with what fit my team best once Kidd gets backup. Having pg spot taken, as well as sf or pf (depending on whatever I get to compliment KG) I needed either a 2 or a 5. I would have taken B Miller if Kidd had been healthy, but with him being down I decided I needed to go BPA rather than a positional need, so I added Redd. Adding Redd really helps cover up the weaknesses of Kidd and KG's outside games. Plus, he's the undisputed leader of that team, and is playing for a contract.
Now, onto the 4th round. I was really hoping Maggette would slip. Bigtime points and free throws. But...true to form, he went next.Then, all the available pg's went right before me. Literally, Bibby, Wade and Billups went the 3 picks before me. I wasn't too thrilled with Arenas (too many turnovers, too many games missed) to go with in round 4, but would have taken him if he slipped to me at 5 (of course, true to form, he went 3 picks before me). So....Having pg, sg, pf filled up, I went with versatility, and made the first pick I really don't like (personality wise, at least).
Antoine Walker. Another F (combined with a western conference F in KG should help me fill up my lineup constantly). This goes along with my 3rd round pick, Redd. Antoine's gonna be a fantays stud, and I think people lose track of that because of how bad of a real player he actually is. You put him at the SF and he'll give you 22 pts, 8 boards, 5 assists, 2.5 3ptm. Studly All those #'s are great #'s for a SF. How many 3's average 22 pts? How many 3's average 8 boards? Is there a better passing (fantasy wise) tandem in the league than KG at the 4 and Walker at the 3, both capable of giving you 5 dimes a game?. Being the man, as he will unquestionably be in Atlanta, has actually served him well. In Boston, before Pierce showed up, he actually shot around 43% from the field and 33-34% from downtown. Not great, but certainly not bad enough to offset all the great stats he puts up across the board.
So now I've gotta go with a Center or pg, badly. I don't have either that will be active once the season starts. Arenas goes off the board. Now for my pg's I have 3 sleepers I liked, Hinrich and Tony Parker (who isn't a sleeper, but was still available) and Gary Payton, who I thought would last to me at least one more round. I excluded Andre Miller (who would have absolutely taken me out of 3pt%) and Jason Terry (not sure of what his role will be in Dallas), so I'm looking squarely at Center, with Bosh, Ilgauskas and Magloire the top options (I was hoping to land Okafor a few rounds later). I ended up taking Ilgauskas mainly because I'm not certain Bosh will explode quite yet (still think he's a year away), and he has some of the same weaknesses as big Z (not a great rebounder for a c). So I went proven. I wasn't sure what Magloire will do in the West (although I have a hunch I'm going to regret passing on him during the season).
Here's the pick I like the most. I kinda figured Parker would be gone by my next pick, leaving me with the options of Hinrick and Payton. I ended up having my choice of the 3. Payton (like Okafor the round before) I thought I might be able to get a bit later, plus he hurt me in the areas I was previously trying to strengthen myself in (3ptm, 3pt%, free throws), so I waited on him. And I honestly had Hinrick rated higher than Parker. It really comes down to whether you want fg% (parker) or 3pt%, 3ptm and assists (hinrich). I went with Hinrich. Look at his post-all star game stats (when he started beating crawford out for the pg spot). 14.1 pts, 8.0 assists (to 2.5 turnovers), 4 rebounds, 2.2 3ptm @ 40.1%, 1.5 steals). those are terrific 6 cat stats. Now he's the undisputed pg in that system, the pride of the bulls, and should only improve. Great replacement for Kidd until he comes back, and a great backup once Kidd does return.
After that, I wanted to go pg again. But I also didn't want to overload on pg's where I couldn't use them once Kidd came back. So I wanted a 'G'. Couldn't take Gordon anymore, since I already had hinrich. Pretty much left me with.....
Jalen Rose. Another player I hate. But another nice fantasy player. All his attributes are desperately needed in Toronto, scoring, playmaking, shooting and ballhandling. I fully expect him to get around 16-18 pts, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, hitting about a 3 and a half a game, and shoot fairly decent clip from the field (44.3% from the field and 34.7% from the arc for his career). That, plus his ability be be a backup pg and sg (and I needed a backup pg with Kidd out and only having hinrich) is nice.
I then just started going BPA. I was hoping Eddy Curry would last until my next pick, but he went 2 before me. So I went with Joe Johnson. He was absolutely studly last year after penny was traded, and I have no idea how he fell this far. His teammate Quentin Richardson was taken earlier, and Q's coming off the bench and puts up worse fantasy stats. This boy put up 17.2 pts, 4.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.1 3's (at 32%), 43.5% fg, and 1.1 steals as a starter last year. Again, look at those stats for a 2 guard, did it all. Rebounded well for a 2, distributed well for a 2, broke 40% from the field (which, sadly, is good for a 2), and hits 3's. He's gotten better with every year. Q's here now, so his minutes might decrease a tad. But there's been talk of playing Q at the 2, JJ at the 3, Marion at the 4 and Amare at center for portions of the game, so not only do I still expect him to get 35+ mpg, but I expect him to get GF eligibility.
next pick was a boom-bust pick. Before Chandler was injured last year he was an FC putting up an easy double double. He's got a ton of all-around fantasy potential, and is a hard worker in a contract year. Ka-ching.
Hayes I think will be quite improved this year, I was impressed the few times I saw him in preseason. LaFrentz was a need pick, who could have a very high ceiling for an 11th round pick. And I think Nocioni is going to be a flat-out steal. I've seen this kid play a few times and he could contend for ROY. He reminds me of a G/F version of Kirilenko. And could put up solid stats in all cats this year. Word has it he's beaten Gordon out for the starting spot along with Deng at the 2/3. Who knows, maybe he even gets GF status.
Hurt taking 3 Bulls players (Hinrick, Chandler, Nocioni) because I like to spread it out more. But I took them based on value.
Overall, I'm semi-happy with my draft. Not ecstatic, that's for sure. With the Kidd development then what happened in the first round (not getting Iverson, Francis or Davis) I couldn't be too happy. I also think I took some chances on unreliable guys like Walker, Rose, Ilguaskas.
I pretty much conceded TO's, and might have conceded fg% as well. But I think I should be almost unbeatable in turnovers, especially once Kidd gets back. It's conceivable I could throw out a lineup that includes 9 assists at the pg (Kidd), 5 assists at the 2 (either Rose or JJ), 5 assists at the 3 (Walker) and 5 assists at the 4 (KG), with 8 assists from the util (hinrich). That could make a quick comeback if I'm ever down in that cat. I should also do superb in points (3 20 pt/game scorers in my starting lineup, with my C getting 17-18). And good in rebounds (great rebounding forwards, 12+ from Garnett and 8 from Walker). Good in 3ptm as well (Hinrich, Redd, Walker, JJ, Rose), and should be able to hold my own in 3pt%.
Really, I'm only overly worried about to's and fg%. Once I get Kidd backup I'm really happy. Right now I'm a little short on pg's (2 on roster) and C's (2 on roster), so will look to pick one of them up once Kidd can be placed on IR.
