Everybody Wants a Point Guard

Categorized as: Author: Nels, Fantasy Basketball, Fantasy Draft Guide Mojo 2008
Posted on: June 28th, 2008

That’s right folks, Chris Paul and Deron Williams have singlehandedly ushered in a new era in the NBA. For lack of a better term, let’s call it the Everybody Wants a Point Guard Era. I, of course, am hoping that Derrick Rose will be the next step in the evolution of this era. Patrick is hoping that the piece of the puzzle is actually Rajon Rondo. The Trailblazers are hoping that Jerryd Bayless is the PG of the Era, anchoring their new “Youngstown” lineup.

So, let’s take a look at the PGs in the NBA from a fantasy perspective. This would probably have taken me about a million years to write just trying to figure out which of the rookies is actually on which team… but…

I asked Patrick to contribute something to this article, and mentioned the draft, and it was a good thing I was that specific because if you read what follows, he might have just written the whole thing without me if I’d just said I was writing about the Everybody Wants a Point Guard Era.

Patrick:

Have we reached the era of the point guard? Well, for all his Canadian charm, Steve Nash has not been able to lead the Suns to the promise land, the most interesting thing about Tony Parker is his wife, and Jason Kidd to Dallas worked out about as well as Mike Myers’ The Love Guru. But those guys are the old guard (literally). It’s the young PGs in the league that are not only fun to watch, but easily make their teams significantly better. Both Chris Paul and Deron Williams led teams that had legitimate shots at the championship THIS year and that will be contenders through the next decade. Boston won the finals with (not despite of) Rajon Rondo running the point and Jordan Farmar was one of the only bright spots for the Lakers in the finals.

And now, thanks to the draft, the NBA is adding some significant PG talent to the league. Starting with Derrick Rose, there are some talented point guards entering the NBA.

Derrick Rose – So, I guess this is the end of the Kirk Hinrich era in Chicago. I’m sure that you’re going to miss it, right Nels? Unlike a lot of lottery teams, the Bulls are actually a good team – at least they have the talent to be – so unlike a Kevin Durant, Rose won’t be asked to lead this team right from the start. I’ve heard Rose compared to someone like Deron Williams, which if he follows William’s career path, would mean that he’s in for one season of adjustment to the NBA game (think 10-12 points/5 assists) before he begins his quick journey to the elite group of PGs. This year, I’d put him in the 3rd/4th tier of PGs, in with the likes of Jameer Nelson and Anthony Carter.

O.J. Mayo – Heads to Memphis were it appears they will install him as their shooting guard and keep Conley at the point. I still have him in the PG rundown because Memphis sucks and Mayo should get plenty of opportunity on the offensive end. As a result, I think he has an excellent shot at rookie of the year. I expect Mayo and Michael Beasley to have the 2 best fantasy seasons among all rookies. He won’t play much defense or score efficiently, but the counting stats will be there.

Russell Westbrook – Goes to Seattle, a team who is current in an arms race with Portland to see who can build the youngest team in the league. Westbrook apparently has Tremendous. Upside. Potential. But when I hear the words, “lockdown defender” and “has some work to do offensively” and “has the chance to be like Rajon Rondo” I’m going to pass for fantasy purposes for this year. Let him develop that offensive game on someone else’s fantasy team.

D.J. Augustin – I don’t think it needs to be said, but Michael Jordan is not a good NBA executive. I hear Charlotte is shopping Raymond Felton around, so of course, they decide to go and draft the same type of player in D.J. Augustin. If Felton gets traded, maybe I’d think about drafting Augustin in the late rounds, otherwise I’d avoid him this year because I don’t think the minutes will be there.

Jerryd Bayless – Very Nice pick for the Blazers (via Indiana). Portland sent Jarret Jack as a part of this trade, so Bayless’ competition at the point is currently Steve Blake and Sergio Rodriguez. I like those odds. Bayless could side into the starting lineup this year and while he might not get big minutes right away, but he’ll be worth taking a flyer on in drafts just to see what kind of minutes he gets.

George Hill – The Spurs drafted this 3rd year combo-guard because he can step right in next year and play a reserve role on an aging championship caliber team. If that sounds interesting to you, maybe fantasy basketball isn’t your thing.

I was going to write more about either the draft or the list of Point Guards that follows, but Patrick pretty much covered the former, and it’s a pretty long list down there… so, feel free to have a look, and leave a comment if you want me to expand on my thoughts regarding a particular player. Yes, there are other Point Guards in the league who are not on this list. That’s all I have to say about that, really.

* This projection assumes he gets traded
** This is the optimistic “Stephon gets benched” projection

PS: Thank you to WordPress for the preview post feature. Believe it or not, even professional web developers don’t always make tables right on the first try.

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