RCL Draft Recap – Like A Virgin

There’s a few players who throw my drafts off course every year for no particular reason. Wesley Matthews. Jose Calderon. Al Horford. Regardless of where it happens, or whether it’s a good pick or not, when I end up taking one or more of these players, the wheels start to come off.

The three aforementioned players actually pale in comparison to my ultimate draft killer: Andre Iguodala. I really have a hard time rating him – either I see him as so overrated he’s underrated or so underrated he’s overrated.

Obviously I’m feeling self-conscious about my first RCL draft. It’s kind of like taking your shirt off at the beach after you’ve spent the winter gorging on pizza and ice cream.

All right, time to suck it up and show off my man boobs:

Round 1, Pick 8 – Paul George – I hyped PG from the end of the Eastern Conference Finals to the last thing I wrote for Razzball. I couldn’t even listen to The Beatles without thinking of him. But when I drew George’s spot at No. 8, I was kind of hoping he’d be off the board already and I wouldn’t have to draft him. I still foresee 20 ppg, 7-8 boards per game, a block per game and 2-plus three’s per game. But before the draft started I also saw his abysmal FG percentage, and I started thinking George might be better in real life than in fantasy. Love me do? Not so sure.

Round 2, Pick 17 – Ricky Rubio – In years past I would have almost definitely gone big here with a LaMarcus Aldridge, or a Larry Sanders, or maybe I would have even reached to get my beloved Nikola Vucevic. But something made me want to zag here instead of zigging, so I went with the potential magic of Rubio over something else surefire. I stand by the pick even if he busts.

Round 3, Pick 32 – DeMarcus Cousins – I started going ga-ga for DeMarcus while writing this little slice of insanity. I always loved his potential but never bothered with him during his crazy days. While I’ve been projecting he could and should start moving up to the fourth round, I was thrilled to get him here to go along with Rubio and George.

Round 4, Pick 41 – Brook Lopez – Another pick I was psyched about. If he can start rebounding, Lopez is at the very least a poor man’s Tim Duncan, if not a middle class man’s Tim Duncan. That might just make him a younger Tim Duncan. Anyway, I was sold on Lopez even before I read this article where Kevin Garnett said he was “in awe” of Lopez. Now I’m all in.

Round 5, Pick 56 – Andre Iguodala – Man I hate having this guy on my team. Makes me think of the squandered (and probably overly optimistic) promise of the Doug Collins era in Philadelphia, makes me think of Iggy trying to be a scorer even though he’s not and, most of all, makes me think of the worst moment in 76ers history: The Andrew Bynum Disaster. Iggy, of course, was part of that deal, going to Denver while Bynum came to Philly and never played and literally blew up the franchise. This seemed horrible at the time, but then again … Iggy is having a great preseason, and even racked up 14 assists, 7 rebounds and 5 steals in limited action in a game in China. He’ll have plenty of scorers to pass to, most notably Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. He could get some triple doubles. Even though this could end up being a solid pick, at the time it drove me nuts and led to …

Round 6, Pick 65 – Andrew Bynum – So my reaction to getting pissed about the Andrew Bynum trade is to take Andrew Bynum? Yes, yes it is. I did this knowing full well that he is a head case who can barely move and probably doesn’t even want to play basketball. At first I felt OK about it because I saw JB also took Bynum in the sixth round of his draft. Then I remembered JB was autodrafting [editor’s note – emergencies happen!] and probably ended up with Bynum by accident. So basically I picked nothing in the sixth round. But then again … turns out Bynum can move around, and he’s starting to play in scrimmages, and is actually talking about playing in preseason games. So maybe this isn’t the worst thing at the world, but at the time it drove me nuts and led to …

Round 7, Pick 80 – Evan Turner – I told myself I was going to draft Turner in one of my leagues. But after getting Iguodala and Bynum I didn’t want it to be here. Then I remembered that Turner was the No. 2 pick in an actual NBA draft, and although he’s been a pseudo-bust, he’s no Bo Kimble, and those 20-point preseason games sprinkled with ample assist and rebound numbers show some promise.

Round 8, Pick 89 – Gerald Henderson – I’m noticing a trend here, and I’m realizing that it was totally subconscious that I picked yet another guy with a 76ers connection. But enough whining. The son of the three-point shooting whiz who played for Philly in the ’80s has a nice makeup and the Bobcats appear to finally be serious about competing. Note that I said competing, not winning.

Round 9, Pick 104 – Robin Lopez – Well winner-winner chicken dinner – I ended up with the Lopez brothers! OK, he looks like a dope with that hair. I showed a picture of him to my wife during the draft and asked “How would you like this guy on your team?” and her answer was “I wouldn’t.” But Lopez has actually looked strong with the Blazers so far, and I think you could do worse with a later-round center.

Round 10, Pick 113 – Maurice Harkless – Yep, he was involved in the Bynum trade. Just going to leave it there. This guy’s game is still raw but I like it. It looks like he’ll get a chance to start at small forward, and even if he ends up coming off the bench he’ll still get as ton of minutes.

Round 11, Pick 128 – Gerald Wallace – Hard to believe this is Wallace’s 15^th year in the league. Even though he’s long in the tooth, highly combustible and hasn’t had a great preseason, I was pleased with snagging Wallace this late. His most recent preseason game was solid, as he scored 16 points. Plus, he’ll start for the C’s and have the green light to shoot all year.

Round 12, Pick 137 – Anthony Bennett – There’s clearly something wrong with the NBA when the No. 1 pick in the real draft falls this far in a fantasy draft. I’m kind of wondering if he would have been picked at all if I hadn’t grabbed him here. This of course speaks to the fact that college kids are coming out way too early and therefore arrive as projects instead of dudes who can help right away. However, I think Bennett can and will contribute right away. The Cavs frontcourt will be a revolving door all year, with Varejao and Bynum taking turns missing time.

Round 13, Pick 152 – Bismack Biyombo – I went out on a limb for this guy on Razzball, so I had to take him when he was there at the end of the RCL. Prepare for the Big Smack!

I’m not thrilled, but I’m almost never thrilled with my drafts unless I end up with LeBron or Durant. I’m ready to roll with my first three picks and we’ll worry about the rest later. As for the rest of you, rip away…