I can start off by saying that I didn't get away with what I did last year. But then again, my picks last year was, in my opinion, ahead of the curve. Despite having joined a more knowledge league, I did well pretty well building my roster for this season. Let's begin.
Round 1:
With the 9th pick in the draft I was aiming for DeMarcus Cousins. I thought to be in a good position to get a big time player. With the 9th position, out of 10 teams, there wouldn't be any pressure to make a guaranteed pick. If I couldn't land Cousins I had a backup plan. I had to resort to my backup plan. That back up plan was Kevin Durant. I'll refrain from mentioned the mock draft positions I've seen. If you have to ask why I took Durant, I ask you this, "How can you go wrong with this pick when you're at the bottom of the order?". I guess the wise answer would be "What if Durant ends up being out for the majority of the season?|". I say "Bump that!". He's worth the risk. Young bones heal fast. Given what I've read about the "Jones" fracture, Durant has been playing with it until it came to the point where it was unbearable. He probably took action here, at the right time, to correct the issue. I think my pick here was brilliant. Besides, I will have another pick 3 spots later.
Round 2:
Round 2:
With my 2nd pick I selected Damian Lillard. I went after a specialist. A 3-point specialist. Lillard is discretely the next best 3 point shooter outside of the Splash brothers, Curry and Thompson. I know Thompson was still available, but he's not he's not as well rounded as Lillard. I have drafted Lillard on my every team I've had since he's been in the league. As you should all know, he produces. I get the idea that Lillard will be playing with a chip on his shoulder this year, having not been selected on the USA Mens's FIBA basketball team this summer. Portland is a deeper team and I anticipate the similar success they experienced last year again. When it comes to Lillard, I anticipate 22ppg, 7ast, 2 3's a game.
Round 3:
Round 3:
It's in the 3rd round where I start thinking about how to mold my roster. With my 3rd pick I went after a big man, and a multi productive one, in Joakim Noah. The Chicago Bulls have, what looks to be, a deeper and talented roster this year. This is not going to matter in terms of Noah's production. He will still be a defensive beast, a monster on the glass, and a great interior passer. Seeing Coach Thibs is striving to build his own system, a-la Coach Popovich, Noah will be able to find ways to score whether it be a 2nd chance point or off a pick n' roll. I'm really high on the Bulls this year.
IRound 4:
IRound 4:
With my 4th pick I went with Paul Millsap. He really surprised me last year. He had perhaps his best season and added 3 point shooting in his repertoire. He doesn't look to force anything in his game which is a hidden bonus in fantasy play. The Atlanta Hawks are a team that no one really seems to talk about, and with reason. The franchise doesn't have any flare. With the balance shift in the Eastern Conference, I would expect a team like the Atlanta Hawks to be even hungrier this year and seeing there chances of getting deeper in the playoffs are on the upside. This will all start with the Hawks "new" big 3 in Jeff Teague, Al Horford and Paul "Trill"sap himself. Millsap proved to be one of the best valued player not named Dirk Novitski. Having made his 1st All-star appearance last season, I don't imagine that his will regress much, if at all, this season.
Round 5:
Round 5:
Good and reliable Tony Parker was my 5th pick . Point guards are valuable and few are as valuable as Parker. He's continues to get better and will again be the San Antonio Spurs leading scorer on perhaps the best team in the league. Parker continues to shoot a high percentage at his position, which is a bonus, and is the anchor of the Spurs offense. Barring injury, and many "old" DNPs status', he'll continue to have another strong season.
Round 6:
Round 6:
I haven't gotten around to picking up a Shooting guard at this point. This may come to be a problem later on. There were some guys I wanted to make sure I have on my team this year. Having seen someone take Jabari Parker in the 5 round, someone who is a ROY candidate, I decided to grab one myself. Nerlens Noel. Noel at one point was thought to be a #1 pick in last year's draft, prior to his injury while playing at Kentucky. I watched a few summer league games and Noel is definitely as advertised. A long and athletic player who is capable of defending as well as Anthony Davis. That kind of a player are few and far between so I had to snatch him up.
Round 7:
Round 7:
At this point I'm thinking about being strong in certain categories of my 8 CAT league. I went with Kyle Korver with my 7th selection. Korver had a decent season last year. His name doesn't stand out in fantasy, but with him you do know what you're getting. He'll shoot a good percentage on the floor, on the line, as well as being a league leader in 3's made including 14ppg. At this point I know that scoring is going to become a problem, but I got to be smart here. This is an 8 CAT league. Right now I know I am close in becoming dominate in the 3 point category in my league.
Round 8:
Round 8:
Right now I'm looking to stock pile my roster with special talents. I've accepted that my drafting expectations will not be as strong. I will admit that I was reaching with my 8th pick, Ricky Rubio. Rubio is not a greater shooter and may end up hurting me in the scoring and FG% at times in my league. The thing about Rubio is that he's equally as strong in other areas as he is weak in some. With the new structure in Minneapolis more responsibility will be asked to be taken by Rubio. With Rubio playing for a contract he'll be reaching within himself to prove worthy of a sizable contract. Rubio will continue to be a league leader in AST and STL as he has been ever since entering the league. Personally, I hope to see the Rubio that we were all excited about prior to his knee injury in his rookie season.
Round 9:
Round 9:
Arron Afflalo was pick in the 9th round. Afflalo had himself a good season with the lowly Orlando Magic team. He has continued to be more of a scorer every season. Not much can be said here about Afflalo. I am just trying to establish consistent players on my roster so they can used as potential trading piece. For now, although Afflalo won't be asked to bear much of the scoring load now that he is on a better team, will be an efficient player.
Round 10:
Round 10:
Like I, just before, I'm looking to pick up potential trading pieces. This is where the freakish talent of Giannis Antetokounmpo comes in. There are some expectations for Giannis this year. The new head coach for the Milwaukee Bucks, Coach Jason Kidd, wants to slowly bring Giannis along as a primary ball distributor for the Bucks. This should allow for more playing time for Giannis and the opportunity to grow. Having played in the FIBA tournament this summer, I anticipate Giannis will be ready for the season and continue to play his Nicolas Batum - Scottie Pippen modeled game.
Round 11:
Round 11:
My goal towards picking up freakish talent and/or probable good trading pieces continue with this pick of Gorqui Dieng. It's easy to say now that I thought Dieng would be a player in the NBA. But I did. I was convinced when I saw him in perhaps one of the best NCAA championship games in recent years, Louisville vs. Michigan (2013). Dieng really started to create a buzz in the 2nd half of the season, last year, by posting some big numbers in scoring, rebounding and defensive stats. That kind of productivity was comparable to that of Andre Drummond. With a young Timber wolves team, Dieng should get an opportunity to play more often. I know that fantasy league play are about statistics, but Dieng does have the potential to play for a long time. He can shoot from the top of the key, play good defensive and shows to be a smart player. This is why I am I'm all in on Dieng with my 12th pick.
Round 12:
Round 12:
John Henson was my sleeper pick last season. This year my sleeper pick is Omer Asik. How easy it is to forget Asik after a year where he was surely at times pretending to injured. Asik was a revelation when he left Chicago to go to Houston as part of "phase 1" of Daryl Morley's experiment. Asik was a statistical machine when he joined the Rockets. Now having joined the Pelicans, I will now use a quote from Jalen Rose and Bill Simmons. "Block Party!!". What a great acquisition for New Orleans. They instantly become a top front court duo having picked up Asik. I expect Asik to rejuvenate his young career and continue to be the monster he once was with the Rockets.
Round 13:
Round 13:
Do I need to explain any reason for why I selected a 13th pick? If so, my answer is simply chance. Tim Hardaway Jr. proved to be a nice player. I don't doubt that he may end up being one of my waiver options, but if he does step up in the ever so "cursed" sophomore season, I would put his ceiling as a 15ppg scorer and 40% 3 point shooter.