Give Me The Rock

Wake up grandma, cause Brandon Funston has his first Fantasy Basketball Big Board up on Yahoo. Actually, he had it up on May 30th, which seems ridiculously early to coherently think about next season, but Brandon Funston has the largest set of balls on the Interwebs.* Personally, I’d wait until at least until after the draft before creating such a list. John Hollinger just definitively rated Michael Beasley as the best big man to enter the draft since 2002, so, maybe, just maybe he’s deserving of being in that top 50. It’s tough to be sure, because he’s NOT IN THE NBA YET.

Anyway, here are some of Funston’s picks with my comments below.

1. Chris Paul, NO, PG: Fantasy, reality … whatever. CP3 got my MVP vote

Can’t argue with Paul at #1. In fact, if anyone starts telling you that Paul is not the consensus number 1 next year, just give them a quick punch to the face to let them know what you think of their opinion.

2. Amare Stoudemire, Pho, FC: Why #2? Maturing game, freak athleticism, healthy, C-eligibile, Nash

Ranking Amare above both Kobe and Lebron? Funston does have a large set. I actually like this move. Amare is C eligible, he’s young enough to still be getting better, the Matrix is history, and how many games is Shaq going to actually play? 35? Signs point to a big year from Amare.

7. Marcus Camby, Den, C: No. 4 in Y! game has played 70+ games in two straight seasons
8. Baron Davis, GS, PG: What health concerns? 99 straight games (at very high level)

Sooooo, Camby and Davis at 7 and 8? Sure, both guys have looked healthy of late, but talk about buying high. Davis played like gangbusters last year and finished #10 on the GMTR player rater. It’s like betting on heads after heads came up the past three flips.

15. Josh Smith, Atl, GF: 22-year-old defensive dynamo (2.8 blk, 1.5 stl) No. 19 in Y!

Josh Smith (38 on the GMTR rater to end the year) will never be a top 20 guy until he learns how to shoot either from the field or the line (preferably both).

22. Jason Richardson, Cha, GF: 1st season away from Golden St. was his best ever in roto

Little known fact: Jason Richardson played 82 games and finished the year ranked number 12 on the rater. He could end up a steal at #22, although I wouldn’t rank him any higher either.

27. Caron Butler, Was, F: Once again showed top 10 roto skills, once again piled up DNPs

Ok, I have a serious problem with Funston’s reasoning here. He’s cool with putting Camby and Davis at 7 and 8 and even puts 50-game a year Ming at #18, but all of a sudden has a problem with Butler’s health? Butler has missed a bunch of games over his career, but he’s the second best small forward in the league behind Lebron and on a per game basis, was the 6th best fantasy player in the league in 07/08. No way he slips past the second round in drafts.

32. Manu Ginobili, SA, SG: Efficient all-around game doesn’t get enough love — No. 17 in Y!

Doesn’t get enough love indeed! The dude finish 15th on the rater, put him higher.

46. Mike Dunleavy, Ind, F: Mr. Key to Success came out of nowhere to rank No. 21 in Y! game

Really, I wouldn’t know what the hell to do with Mike Dunleavy either. Is he really a top 25 player, or more like 46 or 86? Did he figure things out or put together a career year? I have no idea. He’s a guy I’ll be staying away from in drafts.

47. Kevin Durant, Sea, GF: Should be an ‘08-’09 member of 1+ Stl/Blk/3 club w/ 20+ pts

I can see why you’d want to stick Durant in a top 50 list, but I’d be a little nervous picking there. He’s still only 20 years old and about 120 pounds. Compare him to someone like Tracy McGrady, who had a decent age 20 season, but really busted out for the Magic after he turned 21. Expect the same with Durant.

* I have no first hand knowledge of Funston’s balls