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If there is a worse spot to be in a 12-team draft this season than 8th overall, I do not want to know what that spot is. In the GMTR Mock Draft Dirk Nowitzki went at 8, but lucky for me, he was off the board in this draft. I say that somewhat sarcastically since I really don’t like having Dirk on my fantasy teams, but with him gone, it left me having to choose between Dwyane Wade, Kevin Garnett, and Caron Butler. Garnett would probably have been the wisest choice, but would have consigned me to a Big Ball strategy with which I didn’t do so incredibly well in my previous real life draft. I don’t feel like Caron Butler is really worthy of a number 8 pick, but I am also very unsure if Wade will be either. Wade can play two positions, though, and that won me over in the end.
1. (8) Dwyane Wade PG,SG
After deciding on my Small Ball strategy, I needed someone to help out Wade’s only decent FT%.
2. (17) Chauncey Billups PG
Chauncey is a great FT% building block, and he also helps support Wade and forms a pretty formidable back court. I’ve been down on Chauncey for years for no particular reason, and finally got enough feedback about him this year that I psyched myself into seeing what happened if I took him. So, this pick was really for everyone who’s ever left a comment on GMTR.
3. (32) Paul Pierce SG,SF
I am very happy with this pick because Pierce gives me a SF (or just a regular F) who is excellent in PTS, STL, FT%, 3PTM, and decent in AST for a Forward.
4. (41) Rasheed Wallace PF,C
I was also fairly elated with this pick. I knew I needed either Sheed or Mehmet Okur in the 4th round. Okur was taken two picks before my pick, so I felt pretty lucky to have at least gotten one of the two (I was secretly hoping for both, but figured that wouldn’t happen - not with the crazy level of competition that was already evident in this league).
5. (56) Ray Allen SG
Here I decided to bide my time for two rounds to wait for Troy Murphy or Al Harrington (or, again, both of them would be even better). I’m not over the moon with Allen, but he’s good in 3PTM and FT%, and good enough in PTS and STL. His AST definitely leave something to be desired, especially for a Guard. I’m hoping that Wade, Billups, and Pierce are enough to keep me up there in AST.
6. (65) Jamal Crawford PG,SG
This was my first (and I believe only) truly bonehead pick. I mean, it wasn’t like I took Yao Ming in the 3rd round, but Crawford’s preseason hasn’t been all that positive. I’m just hoping that he learns to play in D’Antoni’s offense (you would think it would cater to his propensity to chuck threes (6 per game last season!) would fit right in. Evidently he likes to dribble too much. Hopefully he’ll realize that less dribble = more PT.
7. (80) Troy Murphy PF,C
Considering that Al Harrington was drafted only 7 picks after Crawford, I probably should have just gone ahead and taken him at that spot. I had him ranked at 82 or 83 on my pre-rankings, though, so I was waiting and hoping to get Murphy and Harrington with 80 and 89. Once again, at least I got one of them. This was absolutely crucial. Murphy is one of (as should be obvious from reading all this) the few Centers who perfectly complement a Small Ball strategy.
8. (89) Marvin Williams SF,PF
After losing out on Al Harrington, I desperately needed someone who could play PF. Williams was a pretty good compromise in that he can play the PF position, and he has a good FT% and good STL. His PTS are pretty decent compared to the other guys going in the 8th round.
9. (104) Grant Hill SG,SF
Just trying to balance the roster with this pick. I like Hill in general, and always feel like he’s got some upside potential. He’s helping me in STL and FT%, pretty decent for PTS, just below average in AST for a Guard, and will at least make a few threes. He might even help me in FG% if Jamal Crawford doesn’t single-handedly destroy that category for me.
10. (113) Derrick Rose PG
When I got to this point, I was completely rational, and knowing, of course, that Rose was ranked at 112.5 on the Give Me The Rock Big Board, I selected him at precisely that position.
NO HOMER!
In truth: I got Joakim Noah and Drew Gooden in my previous draft (that of the Big Ball strategy for the Battle of the Bloggers League), and was not satisfied, even in spite of the Goggles and the Spiky Goatee.
Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images
Honestly, the last three rounds I was kind of clutching at straws. Everybody else started taking their sleeper picks and taking guys who weren’t supposed to be up for another 20 picks. I got a little distracted. There wasn’t really anyone else I wanted to pick. Maybe some Derrick Rose letdown or something.
11. (128) Derek Fisher PG
STL, FT%, 3PTM. Some AST and PTS. Good enough.
12. (137) Andres Nocioni SF,PF
Felt like I needed a backup PF, so I went with the guy with the highest FT% among the remaining PFs who were draftable. It helps that he has good 3s and upside in PTS.
13. (152) DeShawn Stevenson SG
Since I wasn’t in the market for Andray Blatche, I went with the other Washington Wizard who should see some slightly higher numbers than their season averages from 07-08 might indicate. DeShawn only averages 11 PPG, but has 12-13 during the time Arenas was out. His 3PTM for the season was only 1.9, but again, with Arenas gone, he went from 1.1 to 2.8, 3.1, and 2.1 in the months before Arenas’ return.
In summary, here’s a visual breakdown:
Regular text are solid picks
Bold are picks I’m very happy about
Strikethrough are picks I’m upset with
Italics are picks I’m just sort of kind of OK with
1. (8) Dwyane Wade PG,SG
2. (17) Chauncey Billups PG
3. (32) Paul Pierce SG,SF
4. (41) Rasheed Wallace PF,C
5. (56) Ray Allen SG
6. (65) Jamal Crawford PG,SG
7. (80) Troy Murphy PF,C
8. (89) Marvin Williams SF,PF
9. (104) Grant Hill SG,SF
10. (113) Derrick Rose PG
11. (128) Derek Fisher PG
12. (137) Andres Nocioni SF,PF
13. (152) DeShawn Stevenson SG
Now that you’ve read through all that, you can read more at Fantasy Basketball Jedi, Points in the Paint, or 2nd Round Reach, and see the rosters for the entire league here. (Thanks seanlb!)
