26-27 Yahoo! Friends and Family League Recap

Kyrie at 43 was simply too much upside to pass up. So that must get my “best pick” nod. When he’s active, we’re talking about a player who can produce back end of the first round or beginning of the second, so once we were through the 30s, the potential return simply outweighed the obvious risks. In a draft this sweaty, against a room full of analysts where genuine value is hard to find, getting that sort of ceiling in the fourth round felt like a swing I had to take.

Conversely, my “worst pick” would have to be Isaiah Hartenstein. It’s not a knock on iHart or his play – quite the opposite. I specifically wanted a big who could generate assists and complement the build, and Hartenstein fits that profile. The issue was the price. I took him above his ADP because I wasn’t convinced he’d make it back to me, particularly with a run of centres looming and several managers likely targeting the same tier. So, it wasn’t a bad pick as much as an early one. Looking back at the board, it was probably the selection where I sacrificed the most potential value to secure a positional fit.

I’m happy with how the roster came together. It feels balanced without being overly safe, although it’s also a team I’d want to be active with in the trade market as the season develops. I love the young flier core of AJ Dybantsa and Morez Johnson Jr., while Paul George and Jakob Poeltl represented nice value. Later, adding wings such as Cam Johnson and Tobias Harris quite late gave me scoring, solid percentages and some additional rebounding without compromising the build. I was also thrilled to scoop Isaiah Jackson off the wire once news broke that he’d be starting for the Clippers. I’d initially drafted Brook Lopez with that opportunity in mind, so being able to pivot quickly gave the roster another potential source of value.

Kelder’s Take: Good point about the value being hard to find. It was a sweaty draft. My palms were sweaty, knees weak, arms heavy as I logged into this with all these guys that I read and listen to. Luckily, although we did eat spaghetti that night, I didn’t vomit it on my sweater. The middle rounds were BRUTAL, and took adjustment. Later in the draft had to pivot and just get the guy. That’s what Matty G did with Hartenstein. Wouldn’t call it a bad pick at all! He may have wanted to wait in retrospect since the big man run came a couple rounds later.

With this being a 14-team league, I always have to remind myself that I’m not going to like my roster as much as I typically might in a 10 or 12-teamer. Still, I won’t complain about a Wembanyama-Booker-Sengun start, even if I was hoping to land some more upside in Round 2. My team should be strong at center with traditional big-man stats — the advantage Wembanyama provides in blocks, alone, is massive in a categories league. But going big-man-heavy early on will leave me light in threes and assists.

My favorite pick: Cedric Coward in Round 7. I’m higher than market on Coward, who quietly had a really nice rookie year while playing reduced minutes. Even if he doesn’t take a massive leap as a player (I think he will), simply moving to a 30-to-33-minute role would provide a major boost in value. Cam Boozer may be the top priority in Memphis, but Coward is a lottery pick in his own right who should function as the No. 2 option.

My least-favorite pick: Ivica Zubac in Round 5. I don’t hate this pick from a value perspective, but at that point in the draft I already had Wembanyama, Sengun and Boozer. So while I added more rebounds and further bolstered my FG%, the pick was ultimately pretty redundant — especially given that Zubac is not a major shot-blocker. In retrospect, I wish I would’ve targeted Matas Buzelis or Kon Knueppel instead.

Kelder’s Take: Wonder if he woulda still targeted Kneuppel after the hamstring thing? Well-written write-up and the Coward pick looks prescient. I also agree with the Zubac pick, he probably didn’t NEED it but he could be assembling a large team of rebounders and good percentages. Time and the standings well tell the tale!

Stan Son, Razzball Alumni, currently the Athletic

Best pick: Brandin Podziemski – Rd 9 – Nick’s Nifty Team. Entering fourth season, the usage rate and points have increased in every season while he’s always been a good rebounder for his size. I’ve got him down for 30 mpg and around 80th overall.

Worst pick: Brandon Ingram – Rd 6 – Jay’s Agreeable Team. Ingram played 77 games last season and 79 his rookie season. In between, he failed to hit 60 games in five of eight seasons and never sniffed 70. He just had surgery to fix a heel and partially torn Achilles tendon. Uh, yeah. Finally, the Clippers won’t be contenders so there’s no motivation for him to play much this season.

I like how my team looks, considering I started with Giannis Antetokounmpo at pick 10. My one regret was not scooping up another big in the 4-5 area , but I made a conscious effort to try and be good in steals. That’s always been my weakness with this particular build.

Kelder’s Take:

NBA Fantasy Bible

I liked getting Steph at pick 27.
Worst looks to be Strus at 170 (now injured).
My team is strong. Anchored by Jokic, I have a combination of exciting youth (Ware, Day’Ron Sharpe, Ajay Mitchell) and experience (Jokic, Steph, Harden).

Kelder’s Take: Man, I have to disagree here. The experience is a euphamism for elderly and injury prone, and the young guys aren’t proven. I wouldn’t do this build. You need the old guys to stay healthy and good, and the kids to all pop. It can work, but only if you’re as smart as NBA Fantasy Bible is!