nba fantasy basketball draft: my picks
for people who want to know what it's like to be an nba team owner, a fantasy league is the closest answer. and with me following nba news so much, i once again signed up for a new team over at CBS Sports.draft day came and this is what i got for the 2008-09 nba fantasy basketball season:
1. chris paul (g)- i could have picked lebron over cp3 since i had the first pick in the draft. but, since it's a head-to-head league where assists are worth two points, i assumed that chris paul's mad passing skills would overcome james' rebounding numbers. plus, chris paul is the main reason why i won the championship in our league last year so i want an encore. hehe
2. jose calderon (g)- last year, i picked up calderon from the waivers and his assists numbers was so impressive that i just had to take him back, even if it means grabbing him while tim duncan, chris bosh, chris kaman, and rudy gay are still on the board. i just hope that calderon's ankle would heal properly.
3. greg oden (c)- with dwight howard, amare stoudemire, and al jefferson gone, i settled for greg oden although (as stated above) chris kaman, and pau gasol are still on the board. i'm still nervous about this pick since portland's got a very talented lineup with brandon roy and lamarcus aldridge so oden might not get a lot of shots in his first year. on the flipside, oden could be a monster on the boards and although projected to have about 12 points and 8 rebounds in his first year, i think he can grab a 20-10 on some nights.
4. lamarcus aldridge (f)- i was surprised to see aldridge still on the boards in the fourth round. being in need of a forward, i drafted him immediately. lamarcus was good last year and could only get better. my only concern about him albeit a small one is if greg oden plays like an all-star it would mean less touches for aldridge. if that happens then, i still have oden. haha
5. al thornton (f)- the sophomore from the clippers may have been flying under the radar of other team owners since i still got him in the fifth round. last year, he was inconsistent but when he's on fire, he's really on fire. thornton is another guy along with paul and calderon i had in my lineup last year and i think he will get better this season as brand is gone and he should get more minutes this season than tim thomas. i'm also counting on him being baron davis' stephen jackson on the clippers.
6. john salmons (g)- last year, i also picked up salmons from the waivers and boy he delivered. without bibby, martin, and artest early last season, salmons showed he can ball with the best of them. with the return of martin, his playing time was reduced and he was no longer as productive as early in the season. so why did i draft salmons when martin is still with the kings? well, artest is gone and that could mean more playing time for salmons.
7. ramon sessions (g)- ramon who? sure, kevin martin, manu ginobili, monta ellis, al horford, and gilbert arenas were still available in the seventh round but i just had to have sessions, he played amazing basketball towards the end of last season for the bucks which caught my attention. with mo williams now with the cavs, sessions would only have to beat luke ridnour for the starting job in milwaukee.
8. rudy fernandez (g)- with four guards, a center and two forwards, you might think that i would have gone for a center or a forward for my eighth pick. but i did not pick andrei kirilenko (even though he was part of my last year's team), boris diaw, nor jamario moon but drafted portland's rudy fernandez. why? i think he's good and ready for the nba. while brandon roy would have to be the blazers' go-to-guy, i think rudy can be a really good addition to any team especially the talented-laden blazers team. with aldridge down low, i think rudy can rack up a lot of assists for the team.
9. kenyon martin (f)- sure he's 30 and has been on the operating table alot but he's not done. with marcus camby out of denver, who would fill in the rebounding void for the nuggets? nene? i don't really think so. k-mart will be the one. add to that the fact that kenyon martin can really score.
10. francisco garcia (f)- needing a forward, i searched down the list for any good forwards left. i noticed garcia and for the reason that artest will no longer be donning the kings jersey this coming season, i drafted the guy. i had garcia on the team last year and he was good when given the minutes so i'm counting on him to be better this season.
11. kevin love (f)- while some people think that love does not have an nba-ready body, i think he can thrive in minnesota with al jefferson. sure, al would have the most touches but don't count out love and his mid-range shooting. it might be even possible that he will get the starting job of center while al jefferson slides to power forward. that would mean a couple of blocks or so a game and more rebounds.
12. antonio mcdyess (f)- the diceman was part of my original lineup last season but i had to let him go to clear space. i can't remember who i got after i dumped mcdyess but it might have been shaq. but i do remember that i regret letting this guy go after posting good numbers last season. this year, he's once again on my reserve list and i'm thinking about lettting him go again if that was the reason why i won last year (hehehe), or keep him so i don't regret letting him go again (more hehe).
13. andrea bargnani (c)- without a reserved center (kevin love still does not count), i had to pick bargnani. his upside: he could be playing small forward this season which means more playing time since jermaine o'neal would surely start as center. i just hope that this season will be the breakout year for this number 1 draft pick in 2006.
so that's it for my lineup. do you think it's any good? do i need to trade someone away? am i right in taking chris paul over lebron james? was the ramon sessions decision any good? or is it plain dumb? hehehe. is rudy fernandez ready for the nba to help portland and my fantasy team? please, i'm running out of questions here, so any feedback would do.
1. chris paul (g)- i could have picked lebron over cp3 since i had the first pick in the draft. but, since it's a head-to-head league where assists are worth two points, i assumed that chris paul's mad passing skills would overcome james' rebounding numbers. plus, chris paul is the main reason why i won the championship in our league last year so i want an encore. hehe
2. jose calderon (g)- last year, i picked up calderon from the waivers and his assists numbers was so impressive that i just had to take him back, even if it means grabbing him while tim duncan, chris bosh, chris kaman, and rudy gay are still on the board. i just hope that calderon's ankle would heal properly.
3. greg oden (c)- with dwight howard, amare stoudemire, and al jefferson gone, i settled for greg oden although (as stated above) chris kaman, and pau gasol are still on the board. i'm still nervous about this pick since portland's got a very talented lineup with brandon roy and lamarcus aldridge so oden might not get a lot of shots in his first year. on the flipside, oden could be a monster on the boards and although projected to have about 12 points and 8 rebounds in his first year, i think he can grab a 20-10 on some nights.
4. lamarcus aldridge (f)- i was surprised to see aldridge still on the boards in the fourth round. being in need of a forward, i drafted him immediately. lamarcus was good last year and could only get better. my only concern about him albeit a small one is if greg oden plays like an all-star it would mean less touches for aldridge. if that happens then, i still have oden. haha
5. al thornton (f)- the sophomore from the clippers may have been flying under the radar of other team owners since i still got him in the fifth round. last year, he was inconsistent but when he's on fire, he's really on fire. thornton is another guy along with paul and calderon i had in my lineup last year and i think he will get better this season as brand is gone and he should get more minutes this season than tim thomas. i'm also counting on him being baron davis' stephen jackson on the clippers.
6. john salmons (g)- last year, i also picked up salmons from the waivers and boy he delivered. without bibby, martin, and artest early last season, salmons showed he can ball with the best of them. with the return of martin, his playing time was reduced and he was no longer as productive as early in the season. so why did i draft salmons when martin is still with the kings? well, artest is gone and that could mean more playing time for salmons.
7. ramon sessions (g)- ramon who? sure, kevin martin, manu ginobili, monta ellis, al horford, and gilbert arenas were still available in the seventh round but i just had to have sessions, he played amazing basketball towards the end of last season for the bucks which caught my attention. with mo williams now with the cavs, sessions would only have to beat luke ridnour for the starting job in milwaukee.
8. rudy fernandez (g)- with four guards, a center and two forwards, you might think that i would have gone for a center or a forward for my eighth pick. but i did not pick andrei kirilenko (even though he was part of my last year's team), boris diaw, nor jamario moon but drafted portland's rudy fernandez. why? i think he's good and ready for the nba. while brandon roy would have to be the blazers' go-to-guy, i think rudy can be a really good addition to any team especially the talented-laden blazers team. with aldridge down low, i think rudy can rack up a lot of assists for the team.
9. kenyon martin (f)- sure he's 30 and has been on the operating table alot but he's not done. with marcus camby out of denver, who would fill in the rebounding void for the nuggets? nene? i don't really think so. k-mart will be the one. add to that the fact that kenyon martin can really score.
10. francisco garcia (f)- needing a forward, i searched down the list for any good forwards left. i noticed garcia and for the reason that artest will no longer be donning the kings jersey this coming season, i drafted the guy. i had garcia on the team last year and he was good when given the minutes so i'm counting on him to be better this season.
11. kevin love (f)- while some people think that love does not have an nba-ready body, i think he can thrive in minnesota with al jefferson. sure, al would have the most touches but don't count out love and his mid-range shooting. it might be even possible that he will get the starting job of center while al jefferson slides to power forward. that would mean a couple of blocks or so a game and more rebounds.
12. antonio mcdyess (f)- the diceman was part of my original lineup last season but i had to let him go to clear space. i can't remember who i got after i dumped mcdyess but it might have been shaq. but i do remember that i regret letting this guy go after posting good numbers last season. this year, he's once again on my reserve list and i'm thinking about lettting him go again if that was the reason why i won last year (hehehe), or keep him so i don't regret letting him go again (more hehe).
13. andrea bargnani (c)- without a reserved center (kevin love still does not count), i had to pick bargnani. his upside: he could be playing small forward this season which means more playing time since jermaine o'neal would surely start as center. i just hope that this season will be the breakout year for this number 1 draft pick in 2006.
so that's it for my lineup. do you think it's any good? do i need to trade someone away? am i right in taking chris paul over lebron james? was the ramon sessions decision any good? or is it plain dumb? hehehe. is rudy fernandez ready for the nba to help portland and my fantasy team? please, i'm running out of questions here, so any feedback would do.
