The NBA fantasy draft season is upon us! With plenty of terrible early projections going on, early drafts are always fun. This is basically going to be a recap of my first RCL draft of the season, with a little of bit of sleeper info thrown in for good measure. I really love the team I got in this league, even though I was sniped on a few picks. Just FYI I’ll be setting up another RCL league in about a week or so – to draft in October – so I hope some more of you guys join me! By then Yahoo’s rankings should be much closer to the ballpark of reason… At any rate, let’s dive in!
| Adam’s Team
(Prestige Worldwide) |
| PG | Jeff Teague |
| SG | Andrew Wiggins |
| G | Monta Ellis |
| SF | Lebron James |
| PF | Blake Griffin |
| F | P.J. Tucker |
| C | Joakim Noah |
| C | Myles Turner |
| UTIL | Deron Williams |
| UTIL | Jordan Clarkson |
| BN | Frank Kaminsky |
| BN | Aaron Gordon |
| BN | Michael Kidd-Gilchrist |
Round 1, Pick 5:
LeBron James SF, PF
Unfortunately, I didn’t squeeze into the top 4 of the draft, and Kevin Durant was promptly snagged a pick ahead of me. This left a big dilemma, since there isn’t a clearly defined order for the rest of the first round. The debate was between LeBron, DeMarcus Cousins, or one of the three elite PGs in Russell Westbrook, John Wall, and Damien Lillard. The point guard position is extremely thin this year, but I ended up settling on Lebron. With Kyrie Irving out to start the year, he should continue to put up his usual excellent numbers, regardless of any restrictions later on.
Round 2, Pick 8:
Blake Griffin PF, C
Another tough pick. With Rudy Gobert and Serge Ibaka off the board, I wanted to grab a big that wouldn’t kill my free throw percentage. At this pick it was a debate between Carmelo Anthony, Blake, or a slight reach on Eric Bledsoe. Blake has an annoying lack of blocks, but other than that, he’s very dependable, so I went safe with my second round pick. I prefer to take more risks in the middle rounds. Moving on!
Round 3, Pick 5:
Jeff Teague PG
Bledsoe was grabbed two picks earlier, and at this point, the point guard rush was about to start. There are other guys I would’ve rather taken at this spot, but he was the only reliable PG left on the board. From that point the position falls off to Reggie Jackson, Mike Conley, and the oft-injured Kyle Lowry. It was a pick by necessity, although I do like Teague.
Round 4, Pick 8:
Andrew Wiggins SG, SF
Ah ha! My first reach, and probably favorite pick of the draft. I debated taking him in round 3, but I decided to hold my breath and wait one more round. This kid can flat out ball! With a little improvement to his long range shooting touch, he could easily move into the elite conversation next year. Regardless, he should easily put up 3rd round plus value with his skill-set. I also am a big fan of Brahma Bull’s pick of Gordon Hayward with the 5th pick of the round. Hayward has been a very consistent 3rd round plus performer in the past, and he continues to improve.
Round 5, Pick 5:
Monta Ellis PG, SG
Form a f@cking wall sniped Kemba Walker two picks in front of me, so I went with the backup plan of Monta Ellis. Ellis is due for a very solid year in the up-tempo Indiana offense, plus he should be the main ball handler. Derrick Rose was also a possibility here, but I just couldn’t justify having my second PG be that injury prone.
Round 6, Pick 8:
Myles Turner!!! C
Yes, his name really does have three exclamation marks attached to the end of it. No, don’t google that to check. If you want my thoughts on him, just check what I already wrote about him here.
Round 7, Pick 5:
Deron Williams PG
In the article attached to my last pick, you can also read my thoughts on D-Will. If he can stay healthy, I think he will be the man in Dallas. As my 3rd PG, he’s a fairly safe gamble at this point. I also love Skynet’s pick of Danilo Gallinari a little later in the round.
Round 8, Pick 8:
In the aforementioned article link, I also talked in length about this young gun. I felt truly privileged to have landed all three of my main sleepers, and to have them all in the same article is just a bonus! Anyway, back to Clarkson! The kid has received rave reviews from everyone in the Lakers organization, and he has really shown a lot of promise in every aspect of the game.
Round 9, Pick 5:
Joakim Noah C
Kicking off the round at pick 97, Star Diver managed to get Dwyane Wade, which is somewhat criminal. I’m not quite sure how we all let him drop that far, but congrats on the steal Star! I really don’t want to talk about my pick here, but I guess that’s what this article is about, so here goes. All of the reliable centers were off the board at this point, and I had one more C spot to fill, so my hand was somewhat forced. I’m a big fan of Noah’s talent, however, his durability is a major concern. Plus, his role in the Chicago offense is limited at this point. A pretty meh pick over all.
Round 10, Pick 8:
P.J. Tucker SG, SF
Getting back on track! I was thrilled to see Tucker still on the board this late, since he gives solid stat production in every category. My full thoughts on Tucker are already written in my last article. So give that a look if you feel like it!
Round 11, Pick 5:
Frank Kaminsky C
Nearing the end now, so I’m willing to take some bigger gambles. Talent-wise, I like Kristaps Porzingis more, but for the short-term, I see Frank the Tank having a bigger role. He looked very polished in summer league, and I think he’ll surprise a few people this season. Plus I desperately needed some big man depth.
Round 12, Pick 8:
Aaron Gordon PF
SLEEPER ALERT! Aaron is likely a starter for Orlando this year, and his upside is close to limitless. A freak athlete, with point-forward abilities, he’s definitely a sexy pick. His main problem is going to be his questionable FT shooting, and general uncertainty with his role. This late in the draft he’s a no-brainer.
Round 13, Pick 5:
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist SF
He’s struggled with injuries on and off so far in his young career, but better days are likely ahead. His offense seems to improve every year, and the defensive stats from a SF are fantasy gold. The Hornets have made it clear that he is a cornerstone for the future, so as a late round pick, he makes a lot of sense to gamble on.
That wraps up my team! Let me know what you all think! I probably need one more big, but with my excess of PGs, I should be able to trade for one without a problem. I’m going to do a quick summary of the leagues other teams below, so hopefully they’ll be willing to comment on some of their picks in the comment section, and whether they agree or disagree with my assessments! Over all it was a great draft, and aside from the one auto-drafted team, everyone definitely knew what they were doing, and didn’t make it easy to take advantage of early Yahoo ranks!
Let’s get into the teams!
(Here’s a link to the final rosters)
Star Diver – Started out strong with the deadly big man duo of Anthony Davis and DeAndre Jordan, and he continued to support his strong big man group with Al Jefferson and Greg Monroe in rounds 4 and 5. The rest of the team turned out strong as well, but the PG position turned shallow quickly, and he will likely need a trade to be relevant in the assist category with only Rajon Rondo and Elfrid Payton on the roster at PG.
Oh My Bosh – Grabbed Steph Curry with the second pick and built a well rounded team around him. No real points to comment on, except that he got a very solid pick of Jonas Valanciunas in the 7th round.
for a f@ckin wall! – Killed it with his first 5 picks, and sniped a lot of guys out from under me during that part of the draft. Things went a little downhill in the last few rounds, but it shouldn’t matter too much with some good waiver wire work. I do love the Meyers Leonard pick in the 10th round.
Walkers Wingmen – Had a great draft, with a nice pick of Stanley Johnson in the 12th round. However, he also got left out of the PG rush and was left with Brandon Knight as the only legitimate PG on the roster.
UNLEASH THE MANIMAL – Had a well rounded draft as well. Most notable pick was probably Alec Burks in the 11th round. Definitely a great price for him.
Gold State – Started with the dynamic duo of Cousins and Ibaka, followed by 3 straight PG picks. Given the scarcity at the position, I highly endorse this strategy. At the very worst it provides great trade bait when other teams start to panic.
The Brahma Bulls – Made a nice pick of Hayward in the 4th, however, the Nerlens Noel pick in the 3rd was definitely on the gutsy side. A great looking roster, but he could get into trouble, given the injury histories of Ricky Rubio and CP3, his only point guards.
Team Skynet – Made great picks of Gallinari in the 7th round and Dennis Schroeder in the 11th. Nothing else of major note, just a very solid team.
Jacob’s Team – Started strong with Damien Lillard, Klay Thompson, and Hassan Whiteside in the first 3 rounds. Followed that up with solid picks.
Lane’s Team – Went with a lot of the under-drafted vets that fell due to younger players being the rage. If they stay healthy, this might just pay off.
BUborder – Had an absolutely brilliant autodraft, and cleaned up all the injury prone PGs.
That wraps up this summary! Feel free to question, criticize, or critique! Like I said before, if you own one of the above teams, it’d definitely be cool if you’d comment a bit on your own picks, or you can just criticize my analysis. Totally up to you!
