Has anyone already come up with the nickname “Oak Tree” for Emeka Okafor? If not, please drop a foot note to this page any time you use that one in the future.
Last year’s rankings of this year’s players:
26 - Gerald Wallace
32 - Emeka Okafor
56 - Jason Richardson
101 - Matt Carroll
103 - Raymond Felton
120 - Derek Anderson
122 - Sean May
152 - Walter Herrmann
316 - Adam Morrison
344 - Primoz Brezec
355 - Jeff McInnis
421 - Ryan Hollins
434 - Othella Harrington
NR - Jermareo Davidson
NR - Jared Dudley
Wow. I’m really not all that interested here. And I’ve seriously been thinking about this for a while now.
So… with J-Rich joining the club, I’d say Oak Tree has probably reached a plateau in scoring. He shot 53% last season and only got to 14 points. If he could start making a few more free throws, maybe there’d be something there, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.
Raymond Felton, on the other hand, has probably not reached his potential in scoring. He shot only 38% last season and got to 14 points on that. One would think that with Jason Richardson on the team, he would maintain his assist numbers and also get more open looks. And the turnovers can’t get much higher, really. So, I’d put Felton at right about 75. He’s kind of an Andre Miller type player, but you trade a rebound a game for a three a game (could be the reason for that shooting percentage).
J-Rich will be J-Rich. I don’t see his game changing much with the move across the country. He’s going to get his and end up in the 50s somewhere.
Since the Bobcats waived Brevin Knight (anyone know why they did that?), Yahoo has Matt Carroll listed as the backup PG. I’m not really sure what the Bobcats rotation was like last season, but Carroll had 26 minutes a game, presumably at the SG and SF positions. He was efficient enough to end up at 101 on the Player Rater, but with Jason Richardson filling in that SG position, I don’t see much room for Carroll to increase his minutes. He might be able to crack the top 100, but that’s about it.
Then there’s Gerald Wallace. I was a GDub believer when I saw him flying through Sacramento, but his severely limited PT made me lose faith. I’m just waiting for Crash to crash now… It’s been 3 seasons of stellar fantasy play now, and a career high 72 games last season… but I still wouldn’t be able to bring myself to draft him. I just feel he is still overrated, even though logic - and the Player Rater - say otherwise. Splitting balls with Jason Richardson may hurt his overall scoring, but he will still be drafted in the 3rd round, and there’s nothing you or anyone else can do about it.
Finally, Walter Herrmann. What he did at the end of the season can’t be readily discounted. But it can be price declined. If you look at the game log, you’ve got Miami without Wade twice, Injured Washington twice, The Milwaukee Tanks twice, Indiana and The Only Quality Opponent: Chicago. He’s a definite sleepr.* But I’m not willing to put him much higher than about 90. At best, I see him playing like Al Harrington, which puts him squarely at 100.
10/12 Team Draft Positions:
Gerald Wallace - 3rd round or 4th round / 3rd round
Emeka Okafor - 4th round /3rd or 4th round
Jason Richardson - 5th round / 4th round
Raymond Felton - 7th round / 6th round
Matt Carroll - 10th round / 8th or 9th round
Walter Herrmann - 11th round / 10th round (remember, he’s a sleeper, so we’re trying to draft him lower than he could actually end up)
Sean May - 12th or 13th round / 10th round
* Sleepr is the Web 2.0 version of a sleeper
The Bobcats have signed Jeff McInnis. Not sure that really makes much difference. Evidently he played 18 minutes a game last season, but only played in 38 games. That’s good enough for 355 on the Player Rater. Yeah.
Comment by Nels — August 30, 2007 @ 7:58 am
After years of disrespecting, I’m starting to come around on Gerald Wallace. It certainly not good that his career high in games is 72. But he plays hard and he’s a stats monster when he’s not injured. I’d draft him if he were sitting there at the end of the 3rd round, but I’ve been know to have my little heart broken on more than one occasion.
Comment by Patrick — August 30, 2007 @ 9:08 am
I think your instincts on Gdub are correct — after all, last year was a contract year, and he showed just how shrewd of a negotiator he is with the whole “I want to go to Miami” thing. I expect him to take a step back in terms of intensity. When you combine the presence of J-Rich with his new-found job security, it’s pretty fair to say Gerald will be a mid-level fantasy player.
Comment by No Blood No Foul — August 30, 2007 @ 11:30 am
NBNF - say it ain’t so! Crash doesn’t turn down the intensity. He turns down the number of games he plays in, sure, but not the intensity. Wallace can be my wingman anyday… I bet we see 70+ games from him. Any takers?
(Damn, I’m going to get burned…)
Comment by Patrick — August 30, 2007 @ 7:25 pm
NBNF - say it ain’t so! Crash doesn’t turn down the intensity. He turns down the number of games he plays in, sure, but not the intensity. Wallace can be my wingman any day… I bet we see 70+ games from him. Any takers?
(Damn, I’m going to get burned…)
Comment by Patrick — August 30, 2007 @ 7:26 pm
I like the Wallace and Richardson projections (even though I think Wallace goes higher due to his fantasy rep).
I think the Okafor and Felton picks are way off. Okafor tries to beat out Camby for the frailty award every year now and his freethrow %, well let’s just say him and Shaq would take a while in a race to 100 makes. The only thing he has going for him is that he is C eligible. Felton is being tagged as one of the best sleepers, therefore he will go a lot higher than he should. His %’s are horrible, but if they improve he could find himself in a very elite class. I’m not saying that Felton deserves to go higher but he will.
I think Herman will be a great sleeper. By the time he starting tearing it up last year, many leagues had been decided and inactive players didn’t get to see the talent.
BTW looks like our own “fantasy” basketball with the Stags is going well. Good job on the coaching!!!
Comment by HoopStarBasketball.com — August 30, 2007 @ 10:11 pm