I feel like it’s still a little early for the Bucks preview since we don’t know who they’re going to get for Yi Jianlian (or, if somehow, he actually plays for them *cough*stupidestpickever*cough*), but since they were the 3rd worst team last year… here we go!
With the exception of the aformentioned boneheaded pick, the Bucks are pretty much still the same team they were last season. That makes things pretty easy for me, I guess.
In a 10 Team x 13 Player Draft:
Michael Redd - 2nd round
Mo Williams - 4th or 5th round. Depends on if you have another PG in place already. He’d actually make a pretty decent 1st PG on a fantasy team with 17 pts, 6.1 assists, 4.3 rebounds, with 1.2 threes, 44% FG, 85% FT, 1.3 steals, and 3 turnovers. The turnovers aren’t too high considering everything else he’s giving you. And his backup is Earl Boykins, who really seemed to play the PG spot a lot, while Mo slid to the 2 (they both played more than 33 minutes a game in MIL).
Charlie Bell - 8th round. This is where the Bucks talent starts to get fairly mediocre. Bell, Boykins, Patterson, and Bogut are all decent players and are worth drafting, but they’re the mid-to-late round guys that you pick up hoping that maybe someone will get injured and they’ll break out. The one good thing they have going is that - aside from Villanueva, and the Jianlian (or whovever he becomes) - there’s no one else to challenge them for PT.
Earl Boykins - 8th round
Ruben Patterson - 8th to 10th round
Andrew Bogut - 9th to 13th round. Bogut played FC last season on Yahoo (at least), so he is slightly more valuable because of that. His FT percentage went from salvagable to just pretty awful last season, though, and his assists only barely make up for his lack of blocks. If you’ve got a shot-blocker at another position, well, you’re probably doing something wrong, but you can take Bogut if you need a second Center, or a back-up Center.
Charlie Villanueva - 9th to 13th round. I’m probably fabricating this entirely, but I feel like Charlie V is ready for a breakout. His numbers over 39 games last season don’t really indicate that, but he can give you some extra threes from the F or PF position, and has a good FT% if you play him as a big man as well. Of course, his blocks and rebounds are more SF or even SG-like, so it’s a tough call. Like I said, I feel like he’s ready to bust out, but I’m not going to stake my team on it by taking him in the 7th or 8th round.
I’ll update this when the draft pick situation is resolved… in the mean time, let’s get on with it.
Ruben Patterson and Earl Boykins are no longer with the team.
Desmond Mason will be joining the team.
-Jeramey-
The Bratwurst
Comment by Jeramey Jannene — July 17, 2007 @ 2:19 pm
Here I was going to post a link to 20 Second Timeout about the Yi situation, and I find out that my fantasy analysis if pretty much worthless. Thanks.
Now, do we have actual proof that Boykins and Patterson are gone? Or are they just free agents who probably won’t be resigned? Cause I’m looking on Yahoo and the Bucks site on NBA.com, and they’re still listed there. But, I’m not going to disagree with someone who writes a Bucks blog.
The Desmond Mason thing was pretty recent, though. I’m just getting tossed about like a tiny boat in a bathtub.
Comment by Nels — July 18, 2007 @ 8:30 am
Okay, so if Ruben Patterson leaves, to be replaced by Desmond Mason, I’m slating Mason in as “don’t pick.” He was somewhere between 200 and 300 last season, and that’s not good enough if you’re going 130 players deep. He played a lot of minutes for the Hornets and only had a decent FG%, a mediocre number of rebounds, and an average number of points. Patterson at least had a high FG% and 1.3 steals per game.
Good luck with that, Milwaukee. I hope the Bucks can turn Yi into someone who will actually play for them.
Comment by Nels — July 18, 2007 @ 8:37 am
Boykins opted out. The Bucks are replacing Patterson with Mason.
I wouldn’t draft Mason, you’ll be able to pick him up in free agency in your leagues if his numbers improve (which I think they will, but very slightly).
Look for another solid year from Redd, improvement from Bogut.
Players to watch? Charlie Villanueva. If he stays healthy he’s going to score a decent amount and grab quite a few rebounds (because someone on the court has to). He was hampered by health issues all last year, even when he was playing. He’s had surgery and should be good to go now.
Bobby Simmons, who missed all of last year with ankle issues, should also be running on new legs. He’ll start at small forward (even though I would start Mason and use Simmons as the 6th man), and he has a big body. Expect solid rebounding, points in bunches, and a couple assists a night out of him. He’s going to make this Bucks team look a lot better.
Health is the key thing for the Bucks this year.
Comment by Jeramey Jannene — July 19, 2007 @ 3:12 am
We’d also greatly appreciate a sidebar link, I’ll throw one up for you guys. I like your fantasy analysis.
Comment by Jeramey Jannene — July 19, 2007 @ 3:14 am