[Reposting to the top with Updating Rankings as of October 22nd!

This will be the final ranks we put out before the season starts, so cross your fingers these look good when we reflect on them at the end of the year!]

Here it is, folks!  Below is our official Razzball Basketball top 200, which we’ll be updating through the preseason, listed with Yahoo position eligibility and accompanied by a small blurb for my reasonings.  Which isn’t a word?!  What if I have more than one reasoning!?

And as an extra step up from last year, Slim has included his projection for each player.  All in this one, easy to use list!  Slim and I see eye-to-eye on most things fantasy hoops, but he’ll of course have some differences of opinion.  So if you see a Slim projection that looks variant from my rank, you’ll know why!  And as always, we’re both always hitting up the comments and can [attempt to] explain our reasonings… There it is again!  I want it plural, dammit!  Here’s our one stop shop for our 2014-15 Fantasy Basketball Rankings:

Razzball Basketball 2014-2015 Fantasy Basketball Rankings

(updated Oct. 22)

(rankings geared for H2H Leagues)

(stats by FT%/FG%/3PTM/PTS/REB/AST/STL/BLK/TO :MPG)

RANK PLAYER, TEAM POS NOTE
1 Anthony Davis, NOP PF, C Durant injury puts the Brow to numero uno. Viva El Brow!
Slim’s Projection: .510/.780/0.4/23.5/9.8/1.8/1.5/3.0/1.9 :38
↑ 2 Stephen Curry, GSW PG, SG Steady as she blows, big threes and big dimes, with a vault in the latter in 13-14. Kerr as the new coach shouldn’t change anything and Curry still has ThrAGNOF king Klay Thompson to camp for treys.
Slim’s Projection: .465/.900/3.5/24.0/4.1/8.7/1.7/0.2/3.6 :38
↓ 3 Kevin Durant, OKC SF, PF The surgery actually makes me a little confident. I’m of course just out of medical school, but surgeries are more and more effective these days, and I think he’ll be back and at full strength mid-December. Ride the storm until then, make the playoffs, and you have fantasy’s best per-game player to win your league title.
Slim’s Projection: .505/.880/2.2/31.0/7.6/5.0/1.3/0.8/3.5 :38
4 LeBron James, CLE SF, PF Disappearing blocks, regressing boards – especially with Love joining – and arguably the best supporting cast with the best PG he’s played with. Less rock for King!
Slim’s Projection: .550/.750/1.3/25.0/6.4/5.9/1.6/0.4/3.2 :38
5 James Harden, HOU SG, SF Considering the unbelievable post-ASB slash of 27.7/4.7/7.4/1.9/0.3 shooting 47% from the field with three treys a game – and no Jeremy Lin – I see a new career-high in assists for an out-of-position option that should surpass Paul’s output. And you can’t discount the high-volume FT shooting that can win your weekly FTs.
Slim’s Projection: .450/.860/2.5/26.0/4.9/6.4/1.7/0.4/3.7 :38
6 Chris Paul, LAC PG Paul’s category-killing dimes are awesome, but Harden brings slightly more to the table. Including facial hair.
Slim’s Projection: .460/.860/1.2/18.0/4.1/10.6/2.3/0.1/2.2 :36
7 Serge Ibaka, OKC PF, C Iblocka! Plus he should take another baby step forward in FG%, Pts, treys… There’s really nothing not to like.
Slim’s Projection: .525/.770/0.6/17.0/9.3/1.2/0.5/3.0/1.5 :34
8 Russell Westbrook, OKC PG While he should be beastly, these ranks are still for 9-cat H2H, and his FG% and TO are going to be brutal while running the team. Very good chance he goes bonkers though. But remember, you’re drafting for the whole season, not the first month or two.
Slim’s Projection: .440/.820/1.4/23.0/5.2/7.2/1.8/0.2/3.8 :34
9 John Wall, WAS PG If Westbrook goes up, so must Wall! Still think these two are a coin flip, the missed time of Durant vaulting Westy.
Slim’s Projection: .440/.810/1.3/20.5/4.1/9.2/1.8/0.7/3.6 :38
10 DeMarcus Cousins, SAC PF, C There’s just something about his preseason giving me the Anthony Davis vibe from last year. I know it’s preseason and it’s not much of a sample, but edging him up a couple spots from my original rank.
Slim’s Projection: .490/.740/0/24.0/12.0/3.0/1.6/1.3/3.5 :34
11 Kevin Love, CLE PF, C Slim hath swooned me. I wanted Westbrook above Love (alliteration!) now, and still think he and Wall are a coin flip. Plus I’m woogie for Boogie. So had to move Love down.
Slim’s Projection: .465/.820/2.3/21.0/11.2/2.6/0.7/0.4/2.1 :36
12 Carmelo Anthony, NYK SF, PF I don’t expect the career highs in boards and blocks to carry over to 14-15, but will be the same elite scorer for Phil J’s triangle.
Slim’s Projection: .455/.830/2.2/27.0/6.8/3.5/1.0/0.5/2.6 :38
13 Paul Millsap, ATL PF, C A bit of a reach, but his best month of scoring/treys in 13-14 was with Horford on the court, and will continue to develop the perimeter game with Horford establishing the paint.
Slim’s Projection: .465/.740/1.0/19.0/8.7/3.1/1.8/1.0/2.5 :36
↑ 14 Al Jefferson, CHA PF, C I just seem to trust him more with the clock against me in the early 2nd round. Had an unreal run in the second half of 13-14, going 25.2/11.4/2.3/1/1 from Jan. 14 to the end of the year.
Slim’s Projection: .490/.730/0/20.0/10.0/2.0/1.0/1.0/1.7 :34
15 Al Horford, ATL PF, C Was having a career season until the pec injury. Same argument as Millsap – another perimeter threat will help Horford down low.
Slim’s Projection: .540/.720/0/18.0/8.9/3.0/1.0/1.3/2.2 :34
16 LaMarcus Aldridge, POR PF, C The FG% from a big is no fun, but a sneaky multi-cat contributor.
Slim’s Projection: .455/.810/0/22.0/9.8/2.5/0.9/0.9/1.9 :36
17 Kawhi Leonard, SAS SG, SF The risk is only in usage both in role and minutes, but Pop had an encouraging quote citing he will be coaching Kawhi consistency to be in the upper echelon of players. But even his floor is a pretty nasty multi-cat game.
Slim’s Projection: .490/.810/1.4/15.0/6.8/2.2/1.9/0.8/1.5 :34
18 Dirk Nowitzki, DAL PF, C The age is the question, but I don’t see much of a fall off. That said, boards are trending down.
Slim’s Projection: .475/.880/1.4/21.0/6.2/2.6/0.9/0.6/1.5 :34
19 Blake Griffin, LAC PF, C A breakout last year, I think he replicates his 13-14. But why in the name of Mutumbo can this guy not block more shots?!
Slim’s Projection: .530/.720/0/24.0/9.4/4.0/1.2/0.6/2.7 :36
20 Damian Lillard, POR PG Opening the run on PGs, Lillard gives you elite 3s/FT%/consistency. Should be third straight season of solid-ness.
Slim’s Projection: .430/.870/2.8/22.0/3.5/6.5/1.0/0.2/2.4 :36
21 Goran Dragic, PHO PG, SG One of my big crushes this year, the FG% from a PG is elite. I see dimes going up and an even better follow-up after his 13-14 breakout, despite IT2 joining the G party in Phoenix.
Slim’s Projection: .480/.770/1.4/18.0/3.1/6.2/1.4/0.3/2.7 :34
22 Kyle Lowry, TOR PG A monster breakout last year, I think he can do it again.  Injury-risk after having career-long issues are still a concern.
Slim’s Projection: .420/.800/2.1/17.0/4.4/7.2/1.5/0.2/2.4 :34
23 Kyrie Irving, CLE PG, SG It’s all postulation, but I think Kyrie can surprise with ratios, get more assists than most (Slim!) expects, but at the expense of a few points.
Slim’s Projection: .440/.860/1.6/18.0/3.4/5.2/1.5/0.3/2.4 :34
24 Chris Bosh, MIA PF, C No LeBron, time to own! I’m still not reaching too too hard, but I’ve moved him up a few spots from his original 30ish rank.
Slim’s Projection: .495/.820/0.7/18.0/7.4/2.2/0.9/1.0/1.9 :34
25 Nicolas Batum, POR SG, SF Safe, reliable, multi-cat goodness. Should replicate 13-14 with relative ease.
Slim’s Projection: .465/.820/2.0/13.5/7.2/5.0/1.0/0.8/2.4 :36
26 Nikola Vucevic, ORL PF, C Has always been underrated, should have another 1+ 5-cat line with his minutes bouncing back up and terrific %s.
Slim’s Projection: .510/.770/0/16.0/11.8/1.9/1.0/1.0/2.0 :34
27 Ricky Rubio, MIN PG The offense continues to be muy mal, but another elite ast/stl season is worth the price of admission.
Slim’s Projection: .390/.800/0.8/12.0/4.2/8.9/2.4/0.1/3.0 :34
28 Mike Conley, MEM PG Is the anti-Rubio, safer on all fronts, but without the category-killing upside.
Slim’s Projection: .450/.820/1.4/17.0/2.8/6.1/1.7/0.2/2.1 :34
↓ 29 Ty Lawson, DEN PG Injury concerns just continue to mount… Bad ankle and now a bum hammy. I know a special product in Denver that might help though!
Slim’s Projection: .440/.790/1.2/18.0/3.4/8.8/1.5/0.2/3.2 :36
30 Andre Drummond, DET PF, C A lot of people are still reaching, but while I’m not getting him close to top 20, I needed to move him up a smidge from where I had him at first. Probably not ending up on a lot of my teams, but if he’s there in my third round when I had the 6th or 7th pick, definitely taking him.
Slim’s Projection: .600/.440/0/14.5/12.9/0.5/1.4/1.7/1.5 :34
31 Marc Gasol, MEM C 19th overall player final two months, and that’s after recovering from a bad MCL sprain. Started slow under the Joerger regime, I’m stoked if Gasol falls to me here.
Slim’s Projection: .480/.780/0/15.0/7.8/3.8/1.0/1.4/1.9 :34
32 Joakim Noah, CHI PF, C Had a career season without Rose, obvious regression to hit and lengthy track record of lingering injuries scares me.
Slim’s Projection: .490/.740/0/12.0/10.4/3.8/1.2/1.6/2.1 :34
33 Jrue Holiday, NOP PG The Pelicans are turning into a really interesting team if they can stay healthy, with Jrue the true PG running the show. December slash of 16.3/4.6/9/1.4/0.4 while finally gelling with the offense pre-injury shows you the upside.
Slim’s Projection: .440/.780/1.0/15.0/4.2/7.8/1.6/0.4/3.3 :34
↑ 34 Monta Ellis, DAL PG, SG A rock-solid safety pick, and he should have no problem duplicating 13-14 with maybe even a tad more upside with Dallas’ downgrade at PG.  Finding myself very happy with him on teams with big men that aren’t huge scorers.
Slim’s Projection: .440/775/0.8/19.0/3.7/5.9/1.5/0.2/3.1 :36
35 Victor Oladipo, ORL PG, SG Edit: Broke his face.  Literally!  Rough Rough offseason for RainbOladipo. I’ll give an estimate on his rank when there’s a little more news, but if I were drafting this second, I’d avoid.  I’m hoping to get RainbOladipo on all of my teams – Orlando has cleared out the annoying G vets and given him the keys. Lost 20 pounds and is ready for a big breakout.
Slim’s Projection: .440/.790/1.2/17.5/4.7/4.8/1.8/0.6/3.2 :34
36 Kemba Walker, CHA PG Late-January ankle sprain lingered through the end of the season, improving AST:TO ratio while shooting tremendously pre-injury could make a draft day steal.
Slim’s Projection: .410/.820/1.6/18.0/4.2/6.4/1.4/0.4/2.4 :36
37 Chandler Parsons, DAL SF, PF Immediately makes me a Mavs fan, and he’s still in a high-powered offense.
Slim’s Projection: .470/.750/1.7/15.5/5.6/3.9/1.2/0.4/1.8 :36
38 Derrick Favors, UTA PF, C So, so underrated. Shot 52.2% from the field last year, and with a terrible supporting cast, was creating his own post opportunities. Played only 30 MPG in 13-14, will get expanded if he can cut down the fouls and boost the board and blocks.
Slim’s Projection: .505/.690/0/16.0/9.6/1.4/1.1/1.8/2.0 :34
↓ 39 Michael Carter-Williams, PHI  PG Still really like him, but shoulder issue seems to keep lingering and lingering…  It’s not going to be that long though!
Slim’s Projection: .410/.710/1.0/18.0/6.4/6.7/2.0/0.7/3.6 :36
40 Rudy Gay, SAC SF, PF Through mocks and a few drafts, he just isn’t appealing to me in the 30s. Serviceable, but boring.
Slim’s Projection: .445/.790/0.7/19.0/5.5/2.8/1.3/0.6/2.8 :34
41 DeAndre Jordan, LAC C Played 3 minutes less a game post-ASB, and getting benched late is a worry for me. No way he plays 35 per in 14-15. I think we see more hack-a-Dre.
Slim’s Projection: .650/.440/0/9.5/11.7/0.8/0.9/2.1/1.3 :32
42 Eric Bledsoe, PHX PG, SG I expect to be one of the lowest rankers on E Bled, finished only 52nd in per-game last year. While contract is hammered out, injury-risk still there, and he turned the ball over way too much in his first season as a full-time starter.
Slim’s Projection: .465/.780/1.2/17.5/4.8/5.6/1.6/0.4/3.4 :34
43 Kobe Bryant, LAL PG, SG Incredibly polarizing – upside is huge, downside is he gets hurt again early on. I feel good with the risk here.
Slim’s Projection: .430/.840/1.3/19.0/4.6/5.0/1.1/0.2/2.0 :34
44 Derrick Rose, CHI PG I’m likely passing on D-Rose in all leagues, I think he’s lost too much with the knee injuries and I don’t like the risk.
Slim’s Projection: .420/.820/1.6/18.0/3.2/6.3/0.8/0.4/3.4 :32
45 Wesley Matthews, POR SG, SF Definition of a safe pick, has played in every game in 4 of his 5 seasons, microscopic TOs, a perfect compliment to a high volume TO PG who doesn’t make enough 3s.
Slim’s Projection: .440/.830/2.4/16.0/3.4/2.4/1.1/0.2/1.4 :34
46 Gordon Hayward, UTA SG, SF His shooting from the field has consistently gone down in more minutes, Exum/Burke are not going to help FG% and TOs. Some slumps are going to be tough to bear, but overall slash should be solid.
Slim’s Projection: .430/.820/1.4/18.0/5.2/5.3/1.4/0.5/2.6 :36
47 Nerlens Noel, PHI PF, C This should put him on nearly all of my teams. Immense upside, more polished offensive game than he gets credit for – the probable minutes limitation does make it a gamble.
Slim’s Projection: .510/.680/0/10.5/7.4/1.3/1.5/2.6/1.9 :28
48 Thaddeus Young, MIN SF, PF Succumbing a little bit to the consensus and to comments, I think I had him an iota too low earlier in the offseason. The steals are coming a little down, and I don’t think the perimeter game is going to carry over as much (K-Mart can only shoot 3s!), but solid here.
Slim’s Projection: .460/.710/0.9/16.5/6.0/2.1/1.7/0.5/2.0 :34
49 Marcin Gortat, WAS C Huge season in Wizards debut, should have no problem having a comparable encore.
Slim’s Projection: .545/.680/0/13.0/9.4/1.5/0.5/1.4/1.5 :32
50 DeMar DeRozan, TOR SG, SF As I mentioned before, for as high-volume a scorer he is, TOs very manageable. Solid FT shooter, assists have consistently gone up for his career, he can plug a lot of holes for roster comp early in the mid-rounds.
Slim’s Projection: .430/.820/0.5/23.0/4.1/3.9/0.9/0.3/2.1 :36
51 Pau Gasol, CHI PF, C While my original blurb before holds true (FG% should jump back up on a better team, out-of-position dimes are huge, chips in blocks still as well… Not much to not like other than injury risk), like Gay, I just never end up getting him so moved him down a little. I don’t want no boring! Is looking great in preseason though…
Slim’s Projection: .500/.750/0/16.0/8.4/2.9/0.4/1.3/1.8 :30
↓ 52 Jabari Parker, MIL SF I think I had him too high, but I’m still reaching for the rookie – I think counting stats will be reliable and have a pretty consistent 34ish minute role.
Slim’s Projection: .460/.760/0.7/14.5/7.8/1.0/0.9/0.7/2.8 :30
53 Tim Duncan, SAS PF, C Despite losing minutes and a racking up a couple DNPs, finished top-40 last year.
Slim’s Projection: .480/.740/0/14.0/8.9/2.5/0.5/1.5/1.8 :28
54 Rajon Rondo, BOS PG A broken hand originally was set to cost him 10ish games, but looking like he’ll beat that timetable.
Slim’s Projection: .445/.630/0.7/12.0/5.3/9.6/1.5/0.1/3.2 :32
55 Dwight Howard, HOU PF, C FT shooting kills him in 9-cat, would be near elite in non-FT/non-TO leagues. Ultimate league settings-variable pick.
Slim’s Projection: .580/.550/0/18.0/11.9/1.6/0.9/1.9/2.9 :34
56 Trevor Ariza, HOU SG, SF Big breakout in 13-14 minimized with move to Houston, but 3s with low-TOs should yield another solid season.
Slim’s Projection: .450/.770/1.9/13.0/6.1/2.4/1.6/0.3/1.7 :34
↑ 57 Jose Calderon, NYK PG PG depth issues move the next two guys up a smidge. I’m buying a decent Ast resurgence in the triangle O, with similar 3s output and low TOs. Was a surprising value last year.
Slim’s Projection: .450/.840/2.3/11.0/2.4/6.1/0.9/0.1/1.6 :32
↑ 58 Jeff Teague, ATL PG Was so brutal in January last year, I’m worried by his streakiness.  But PG is running thin by this point and should be solid if Horford and Millsap stay healthy.
Slim’s Projection: .455/.840/1.0/17.0/2.7/6.6/1.3/0.3/2.8 :34
↑ 59 Kenneth Faried, DEN PF If he’s here this late, yeah I’m all-in now.
Slim’s Projection: .540/.700/0/19.0/10.4/1.6/1.1/0.9/2.3 :32
60 David Lee, GSW PF, C Boring Pts/Reb guy, solid %s and high-floor keep him top-60.
Slim’s Projection: .510/.780/0/17.0/8.9/2.4/0.7/0.3/2.1 :30
61 Klay Thompson, GSW SG, SF Poster boy of ThrAGNOF – don’t overpay for high-volume threes and low TOs while he does nothing else special.
Slim’s Projection: .445/.800/2.7/18.0/3.1/2.1/0.9/0.4/1.6 :36
62 Andrew Wiggins, MIN SF Uncertain role that seems likely to begin off the bench, upside of the second half keeps him a mid-round reach.
Slim’s Projection: .440/.770/0.9/13.5/4.7/1.2/1.2/0.9/2.4 :30
63 Ryan Anderson, NOP PF, C Out-of-position treys with virtually no TOs makes him a good pair with the bigger name PGs. While spinal injury last year is scary, I think he’ll bounce back and be healthy.
Slim’s Projection: .430/.850/2.4/15.0/6.2/1.0/0.4/0.3/0.9 :28
↓ 64 Deron Williams, BKN PG I just never seem to want him at all… Minutes will be down again and injuries always seem to derail him, but still has some upside. Worth the gamble on his ankles at this point.
Slim’s Projection: .440/.810/1.4/15.0/2.6/6.6/1.1/0.2/2.5 :32
65 Darren Collison, SAC PG The Kings gave Colly starting money and he’ll have the keys. He and Sessions can play together; should facilitate well with low TOs.  Extraordinarily under-ranked in several places.
Slim’s Projection: .460/.840/1.3/14.0/2.8/5.9/1.4/0.2/2.1 :32
66 Brandon Knight, MIL PG, SG Numbers were stellar once he was fully back from the early hammy issues, playmakers like Parker and Giannis along with Kidd at the helm give him further breakout upside.
Slim’s Projection: .425/.790/1.6/19.0/3.6/5.1/1.0/0.2/2.7 :34
67 Jimmy Butler, CHI SG, SF Fantastic preseason, and the thumb injury is OK so we can breath a sigh of relief. Some cold water though – shot under 40% last year and should see lower scoring with Rose back. Love his real-life game; 13-14 numbers slightly inflated by 38:39 MPG which is likely to go down a bit.
Slim’s Projection: .420/.770/1.3/14.0/5.2/2.7/2.0/0.6/1.5 :36
68 Luol Deng, MIA SF, PF I see a good resurgence in Miami, was having a really big year in Chicago before being awful post-trade. He fits better in South Beach.
Slim’s Projection: .430/.770/0.9/16.0/5.4/2.6/1.0/0.2/1.5 :34
69 Tony Parker, SAS PG DNPs, injuries, minutes restrictions, oh my! Wicked witch of the Alamo…
Slim’s Projection: .490/.810/0.4/16.0/2.3/5.8/0.6/0.1/2.2 :30
70 Dwyane Wade, MIA PG, SG DNPs, injuries, minutes restrictions, oh my! Wicked witch of having bad knees…
Slim’s Projection: .495/.740/0.3/20.0/4.5/4.8/1.4/0.5/2.9 :32
71 Robin Lopez, POR C Played 82 games past two years, and low TOs help the overall seasonal-ranking. I probably should be higher, but just can’t get over how not great at basketball he is…
Slim’s Projection: .540/.810/0/11.0/8.6/0.8/0.4/1.6/1.0 :32
72 Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL SG, SF 1.7:1.7 AST:TO pre-ASB to 2.3:1.5 post showed huge improvement with the ball, going to get a starting role, offers upside in all 9 cats. A huge Razzball favorite.
Slim’s Projection: .460/.740/1.0/13.5/6.2/2.4/1.0/1.0/2.2 :32
73 Isaiah Thomas, PHO PG “I thought IT2 was going to be an interesting sleeper, but he’s getting ranked obscenely high.” That was when Yahoo had him 48.  Now rankers have him closer to 100 making him a value (99 in Y!).  Nice dimes/Pts/3s later in the draft.
Slim’s Projection: .450/.850/1.5/16.0/2.4/5.3/1.0/0.1/2.4 :28
74 Markieff Morris, PHO PF, C Per-36 26/11.3/3.4/1.6/1.4 with 0.8 treys a game last year, and looking at a role close to those minutes.  Hype the past few weeks has caught up to him, as opposed to when we had 50 spots ahead of several rankers/ADPs.
Slim’s Projection: .480/.790/0.8/17.0/6.8/2.2/1.0/0.9/2.2 :34
75 Terrence Jones, HOU SF, PF See second sentence of Morris, Markieff.
Slim’s Projection: .520/.630/0.6/14.0/7.6/1.3/0.9/1.4/1.1 :30
76 Jonas Valanciunas, TOR C Vastly improved post-ASB, especially with FG% from 50 to 58, and maybe had some sophomore-slump-itis or an injury most of last year. Upside to bounce back, but I can’t reach after being burnt last year.
Slim’s Projection: .540/.780/0/13.5/9.0/0.8/0.4/1.1/1.8 :30
↑ 77 Greg Monroe, DET PF, C Maintaining some ridiculously strong play through preseason. Is suspended the first two for wetting his pants (did he get a public urination charge?), but all we care about is fantasy stats and a golden shower. I mean golden trophy.
Slim’s Projection: .490/.680/0/16.5/9.6/2.4/1.2/0.7/1.8 :34
78 Kyle Korver, ATL SG, SF Not reaching for the ThrAGNOF, but another year of big minutes, big treys, and no TOs are in store. Plus he’s got sharp, oh so sharp talons.
Slim’s Projection: .470/.920/2.6/12.0/4.0/3.0/0.9/0.3/1.5 :34
79 Kevin Martin, MIN SG, SF No more Love makes K-Mart the main offensive threat and should hit a bajillion treys.  And don’t forget that purdy FT%.
Slim’s Projection: .430/.890/1.7/19.0/3.0/1.8/1.0/0.1/1.7 :32
80 Elfrid Payton, ORL PG Nothing’s changed with him being a horrible FT shooter for a PG and he’s going to turn the ball over way too much, but as I’ve found in drafts, PG dries up ridiculously fast. He’s the last option for assists upside.
Slim’s Projection: .465/.650/0.5/9.0/5.7/7.1/1.7/0.5/3.4 :32
81 Jeremy Lin, LAL PG, SG Low-upside, but Kobe to take the pressure off and a change of scenery could make him sneaky value. Don’t discount those steals!
Slim’s Projection: .440/.790/1.2/14.0/2.8/6.2/1.3/0.4/2.7 :30
82 George Hill, IND PG, SG Knee injury to cost him at least 3 weeks to start the year.  Letting someone else deal with that, I would move him way down into the 130-140 range.  Again low-upside, but could get back to 12-13 numbers with Paul George being out.  Had some nice lines in preseason.
Slim’s Projection: .440/.800/1.3/12.0/3.7/4.4/1.0/0.3/1.5 :32
83 Reggie Jackson, OKC PG, SG Sprained his ankle in practice and looks pretty serious.  Moving him down into the 100s.  Not a drastic move up with the Durant injury, but deserves to be right into the mix of this mini-PG eligible run.
Slim’s Projection: .450/.880/1.3/15.0/4.5/4.7/1.3/0.2/2.1 :32
84 Tyreke Evans, NOP SG, SF While his post-ASB play was astounding, a lot had to do with Jrue Holiday being hurt. Lingering knee issues led to a hamstring strain that kept him out of some preseason action. Back now, but still a little scurred.
Slim’s Projection: .450/.770/0.5/17.0/4.8/4.4/1.3/0.4/2.6 :30
85 Larry Sanders, MIL PF, C So hard to rank, so hard to like as a person, but upside is still there and his contract means he’s going to at least get a shot. Henson might start, however Sanders was still a monster in 12-13 at 27 MPG. I’m not reaching; that said, not explicitly passing either.
Slim’s Projection: .490/.560/0/9.0/8.1/1.1/0.9/2.3/1.2 :28
↑ 86 Tobias Harris, ORL SF, PF Having a phenomenal preseason – if not a little under the radar. Frye is hurt with the MCL, Magic are saying they have plans for him long-term, I think I was just a little clouded with just how bad last year started with his original rank.
Slim’s Projection: .475/.800/0.8/17.0/7.2/1.4/1.0/0.6/1.4 :30
87 Josh Smith, DET SF, PF This rank is hoping Stan Van Gundy gets through to him and Smith improves the terrible %s and TOs. If he becomes a sixth man, I think he can maintain big Stl/Blk numbers even in reduced minutes.
Slim’s Projection: .430/.560/0.7/15.0/6.6/3.1/1.2/1.4/2.4 :32
↓ 88 Brook Lopez, BKN C Was 12th overall in per-game value in a short 13-14 sample. Key part is “short”. Ailing with a foot sprain right now, and these foot issues keep cutting into any optimism you could have.
Slim’s Projection: .510/.790/0/18.0/6.0/1.0/0.5/1.6/1.7 :30
89 Arron Afflalo, DEN SG, SF Never been a fan, but the Nuggets needed a more consistent wing last year and he’ll be playing with the best PG he’s ever been paired with.
Slim’s Projection: .455/.820/1.7/16.5/3.4/3.3/0.6/0.2/1.9 :34
↑ 90 Jordan Hill, LAL PF, C 13/8.9/0.8/0.5/1.1 in 32 starts last year, and still in under 25 minutes a game. Needs the role, but I find myself wanting him top 100 for the blocks and great boards. I think the role is going to be there.
Slim’s Projection: .530/.720/0/14.0/8.3/0.9/0.7/1.4/1.6 :28
91 Taj Gibson, CHI PF, C Durable, and even as a 6th man should get to 30 minutes especially behind brittle bigs. Underrated blocker.
Slim’s Projection: .490/.730/0/14.0/7.2/1.2/0.5/1.5/1.8 :30
92 Patrick Beverley, HOU PG, SG More minutes with Lin gone, his metric-friendly 3s/low TOs should carry over with good steals. Nothing too exciting, but value will add up.
Slim’s Projection: .430/.810/1.8/12.5/3.8/3.1/1.5/0.5/1.4 :34
93 Draymond Green, GSW SF #OccupyDraymondGreen! A monster last year in a low-minutes role, has a shot to start the 3 with Iggy off the bench. Multi-cat upside all over the place!  Like TJones and Kieff, our 50+ spots higher rank has gotten caught up with.
Slim’s Projection: .430/.740/0.9/10.0/6.2/2.7/1.7/0.9/1.4 :28
↓ 94 David West, IND PF Underrated last year with a 46th overall finish, but suffered a bad ankle sprain a few days ago putting some regular season time in jeopardy. He’s a big dude too. A little scary.
Slim’s Projection: .480/.790/0/15.5/7.2/2.8/0.8/0.8/1.9 :30
95 John Henson, MIL PF, C Even if Sanders starts, we can be productive. Poor man’s FT-punt big! Give him the minutes or give me death!
Slim’s Projection: .530/.530/0/12.0/7.9/1.7/ 0.7/1.7/1.7 :28
96 Lance Stephenson, CHA SG, SF TOs should go down, but so should the boards. Like PBev, nothing exciting.  But the sheer volume should accrue value.
Slim’s Projection: .475/.710/1.2/14.5/7.2/4.2/0.8/0.1/2.6 :36
97 Jameer Nelson, DAL PG Been saying all offseason he will end up the starter, and with Raymond Felton suffering a high ankle sprain that can linger (think Tobias Harris and Ersan Ilyasova last year), huge minutes should be there.
Slim’s Projection: .410/.830/2.1/11.0/3.2/5.8/0.7/0.1/2.1 :30
98 Bradley Beal, WAS SG Broken wrist will cost him at least the first few weeks of the season.
Slim’s Projection: .420/.800/1.9/18.0/3.8/3.5/1.0/0.2/1.8 :36
↑ 99 Spencer Hawes, LAC PF, C Looking really, really good lately in preseason. A revelation last year, should still get must-own minutes as Clips’ backup PF/C.
Slim’s Projection: .465/.770/1.4/11.5/7.4/2.3/0.4/1.0/1.7 :28
100 Zach Randolph, MEM PF, C Consistency! And Pts/Reb! And that’s it…
Slim’s Projection: .465/.750/0/16.0/9.4/2.3/0.7/0.3/2.1 :32
101 Andrew Bogut, GSW C Always ends up finishing higher that you’d expect in value, but always ends up as hurt as you’d expect…
Slim’s Projection: .570/.450/0/7.5/9.5/1.6/0.6/1.6/1.4 :26
102 Tyson Chandler, DAL C Return to Dallas will solidify a nice late Reb/Blk contribution.
Slim’s Projection: .600/.660/0/8.0/9.4/1.0/0.6/1.1/1.2 :30
103 J.J. Redick, LAC SG In an injury-riddled campaign, was actually 67th in per-game last year. A great fit in the Clips O for sneaky value. Plus, this is an appropriate time to start ThrAGNOF!
Slim’s Projection: .440/.900/2.2/15.0/2.3/2.4/0.7/0.1/1.2 :30
104 Joe Johnson, BKN SG, SF Had some big spikes when D-Will got hurt, but D-Will will have some injury stretches again…
Slim’s Projection: .440/.820/1.8/14.5/3.3/2.9/0.6/0.1/1.6 :32
↑ 105 Jared Sullinger, BOS PF, C 13.9/9/1.8/0.5/0.8 with 0.8 treys in 44 starts last year, in 29:33 a game. Markieff Morris-lite.
Slim’s Projection: .440/.780/1.0/15.0/8.4/1.8/0.6/0.7/1.9 :30
↑ 106 Mason Plumlee, BKN PF, C Lopez already having foot issues, Prof. Plum is having some ridiculous preseason lines. Gonna play some way or another…
Slim’s Projection: .550/.650/0/13.5/8.3/1.3/1.0/1.2/2.1 :28
107 Gorgui Dieng, MIN C Pekovic is going to be limited to 26-27 minutes a game, which means gimme the Dieng train! If he’s routinely over 20 MPG, on top of the really realistic shot at numerous starts behind brittle Pek, he needs to be drafted aggressively. Last 18 games last year (15 starts) 12/11.3/1.5/1.1/1.5 shooting 53% FG 71% FT only 1.8 TO. Gimme the Dieng train!
Slim’s Projection: .510/.680/0/8.5/8.6/ 1.1/0.7/1.1/1.1 :24
108 Brandon Jennings, DET PG Horrific last year, and Stan Van emphasizing rotations and defense isn’t going to help. But still upside; he’s a talented player.
Slim’s Projection: .390/.780/1.8/15.0/2.9/7.4/1.3/0.1/2.6 :32
109 Rodney Stuckey, IND PG, SG George Hill isn’t a passer and Stuckey might be the main offensive catalyst. While on an offensively-challenged team, still think he can surprise.
Slim’s Projection: .425/.830/0.5/15.5/3.2/3.8/0.9/0.2/2.1 :32
↑ 110 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, DET SG With Meeks out, should be a pretty big-minute starter. Some might overreach – I love him obviously – but 3s and steals and very low TOs are about all you get. Which is great as a last pick or two sleeper.
Slim’s Projection: .420/.770/1.5/13.5/3.1/1.4/1.5/0.3/1.2 :30
111 DeMarre Carroll, ATL SF, PF Was a much better player after Horford injury so I won’t reach for value he gave in 13-14.
Slim’s Projection: .465/.770/1.3/11.0/5.6/1.8/1.4/0.3/1.1 :32
112 Paul Pierce, WAS SF, PF Age obviously up there, and the Wiz are loaded at SF. A healthy, big-minute season would make this way wrong, but I’m hedging against it.
Slim’s Projection: .440/.820/1.4/13.0/4.4/2.2/1.0/0.3/2.0 :28
113 Roy Hibbert, IND C I’m not touching Hibbert unless he falls way down and I need blocks.
Slim’s Projection: .450/.760/0/12.0/7.1/1.3/0.4/2.1/1.9 :28
114 Henry Sims, PHI C 13.1/7.7/2/0.9/0.4 with only 1.4 TO in final 19 games last year, and should start for most of the year until Embiid is 100% ready. Nothing has sounded too optimistic for Embiid and Sims is ready to provide solid big man stats, but he’s not a blocker. You have to figure that in with your roster comp.
Slim’s Projection: .500/.750/0/12.0/7.2/1.8/0.9/0.5/1.4 :28
115 Channing Frye, ORL PF, C MCL strain doesn’t sound too serious, but it doesn’t really bode well for his vibe. I’m all about a hippie approach to rankings this year. His aura is not cleansed.
Slim’s Projection: .430/.810/2.0/11.0/5.6/1.2/0.7/0.8/1.0 :30
116 Amir Johnson, TOR PF, C Lingering ankle issue and Raptors PF depth scare me.
Slim’s Projection: .560/.680/0.3/12.0/7.6/1.6/0.9/1.4/1.7 :30
117 Andre Iguodala, GSW SG, SF I think he’s going to lead the second unit, which might not be the worst thing.  Assists early until Livingston is full strength could come in bunches.
Slim’s Projection: .460/.660/0.9/10.0/4.4/3.9/1.3/0.3/1.5 :30
118 Nikola Pekovic, MIN C Minutes reduction is an absolute killer. Gave you his previous output through volume, and really only scores and rebounds. Yikes.
Slim’s Projection: .530/.740/0/14.0/7.7/0.8/0.5/0.5/1.4 :26
119 Danny Green, SAS SG, SF Took off after the ASB, shooting 6% better and upping treys from 1.5 to 2.6. Pop will make him frustrating, but will end up a value.
Slim’s Projection: .440/.800/2.1/10.0/3.3/1.6/0.9/0.8/1.2 :26
120 Danilo Gallinari, DEN SF Will be a forgotten name in many draft rooms, still offers a pretty good fantasy line if he’s healthy.
Slim’s Projection: .410/.800/1.6/13.5/4.7/2.2/0.8/0.4/1.4 :28
121 Jamal Crawford, LAC PG, SG Spiked in dimes while CP3 was hurt, minutes and points to regress and late nagging injuries last year scare me.
Slim’s Projection: .410/.870/2.0/16.0/1.9/2.7/0.8/0.1/1.8 :28
122 Timofey Mozgov, DEN C I thought about moving him down, but McGee still won’t be play big minutes even if 100% healthy and who knows how effective Hickson will be….
Slim’s Projection: .530/.750/0/11.0/8.2/1.0/0.5/1.5/1.8 :26
123 Jeff Green, BOS SG, SF One of the “busts of the year” for 13-14, really nothing indicates he’ll be any better in 14-15.
Slim’s Projection: .425/.800/1.4/15.0/4.5/1.5/0.6/0.6/1.9 :32
124 Anderson Varejao, CLE PF, C Big rebounds and not too much else in a sub-30 MPG role, does sneak in a steal a game for you from a big.
Slim’s Projection: .500/.670/0/8.0/9.2/2.0/1.0/0.6/1.1 :26
125 Nene Hilario, WAS PF, C Worth a reach if punting FT or TO, would be higher if he wasn’t so old and injury prone.
Slim’s Projection: .500/.660/0/13.0/5.8/2.6/1.1/0.8/1.9 :28
126 Enes Kanter, UTA C I maintain he’s terrible on defense and was much better against second units last year, but the move to PF with Favors to C fits his game so much better, and sheer volume of minutes will give him value.
Slim’s Projection: .490/.740/0/13.0/7.6/1.0/0.4/0.6/1.9 :28
127 Trey Burke, UTA PG Anemic steals, horrible FG%, but is the last big minute PG on the board if you need some upside.
Slim’s Projection: .400/.870/1.7/13.5/3.1/5.9/0.8/0.1/2.0 :32
128 Josh McRoberts, MIA PF, C Recovery from toe surgery sounds like it will keep him out of the opener, shouldn’t miss too much time, but I haven’t wanted to draft him until this late, at best.
Slim’s Projection: .440/.730/1.3/10.0/5.6/3.9/0.8/0.6/1.1 :30
129 Manu Ginobili, SAS SG, SF Finished 98th in under 23 minutes a game last year, should come close to repeat but game-to-game will be maddening to own.
Slim’s Projection: .450/.840/1.4/12.5/3.1/4.1/0.9/0.2/2.0 :24
130 J.R. Smith, NYK SG, SF Career-high assists last year with horrible Felton at PG, those will go down, treys to regress, never been a JR fan.
Slim’s Projection: .420/.720/2.5/15.5/3.8/2.6/1.0/0.2/1.5 :32
↑ 131 Otto Porter, WAS SF Washington SG dropping like flies, Rice out with an ankle, Beal for the first few weeks, and Otto P will get Pierce’s backup minutes. A rapid riser through preseason.
Slim’s Projection: .410/.750/0.9/10.0/3.6/0.5/0.5/0.3/1.0 :24
↓ 132 Corey Brewer, MIN SG, SF Yeah, I just had him too high… Awesome for steals, but Wiggins will cut into PT and you can wait to get him for those steals with your last pick most of the time in 12ers.
Slim’s Projection: .450/.710/0.6/11.5/2.6/1.6/1.7/0.4/1.3 :30
133 Ramon Sessions, SAC PG, SG The Kings are already flashing three-guard sets, and Collison and Sessions are going to play a lot of minutes together. Very solid value with your last pick or two for a few treys, assists, and nice FT shooting.
Slim’s Projection: .440/.810/0.5/12.0/2.8/4.2/0.6/0.1/1.8 :26
134 Omer Asik, NOP PF, C Beyond boards and a block a game, doesn’t do too much and won’t get huge minutes. FT drain a bugaboo too.
Slim’s Projection: .540/.600/0/9.0/10.2/0.5/0.5/1.2/1.8 :28
135 Gerald Green, PHO SG, SF I just don’t see the minutes, and pre-ranks of him top 100 are outrageous. Should hit some treys for you, but not a guy you’ll have on your roster all year.
Slim’s Projection: .440/.830/1.8/12.0/2.4/0.8/0.6/0.2/1.4 :22
136 Mario Chalmers, MIA PG He’s the only guy of the 3 Heat PG I have ranked – avoiding all 3 most likely.
Slim’s Projection: .440/.770/1.5/11.0/3.2/3.9/1.5/0.2/1.8 :28
137 Andrea Bargnani, NYK PF, C 13.7/5.3/1.1/0.3/1.3 with 0.7 treys and only 1.3 TOs in 23 starts last year, and a good fit for the Triangle offense. There’s upside there, even if it’s hard to believe…
Slim’s Projection: .430/.820/0.8/13.0/4.6/0.9/0.4/0.8/1.4 :28
138 Matt Barnes, LAC SF Like McBob, a low upside stat-stuffer late. Big 2nd half last year was aided by having no Redick on the court, who I think has a big year in 14-15.
Slim’s Projection: .450/.740/1.2/9.0/4.6/1.8/0.8/0.4/1.1 :26
139 Miles Plumlee, PHO PF, C Completely fell off when the calendar turned to 2014, but for a late source of blocks, Frye let go will open up more minutes.
Slim’s Projection: .510/.580/0/9.0/8.0/ 0.6/0.6/1.2/1.4 :26
140 Terrence Ross, TOR SG, SF Young with upside like the ridiculous 51-pointer, but still raw and lacks in most cats right now. Worth the lottery pick at this point.
Slim’s Projection: .430/.810/2.3/13.0/3.4/1.2/1.0/0.4/1.4 :30
141 Mirza Teletovic, BKN SF, PF Kirilenko is already hurt with a back issue, Kevin Garnett is a walking back issue, Teletovic is primed for a breakout with a boatload of treys. ThrAGNOF!
Slim’s Projection: .430/.710/2.3/12.0/4.3/1.1/0.5/0.4/1.0 :26
↑ 142 Marcus Morris, PHO PF Some minutes are opened up with Frye gone, starting the first 3 with Tucker suspended, will be a surprising bottom-end contributor with treys from a PF.
Slim’s Projection: .445/.750/1.5/11.0/4.3/1.3/1.0/0.3/1.3 :26
143 Eric Gordon, NOP SG Yet another offseason knee surgery, played in 115/246 games the past three years. Not touching him.
Slim’s Projection: .430/.800/1.4/15.0/2.2/3.1/1.0/0.2/1.9 :30
144 Brandan Wright, DAL PF, C Not too much depth behind Dirk and Tyson, and both are way up there in age giving Wright a shot at more than expected minutes.
Slim’s Projection: .600/.700/0/10.5/4.9/0.7/0.7/1.1/0.8 :22
145 K.J. McDaniels, PHI SF The upside for a starting role is still there, and not many wings give you blocks. Worth the last pick flier.  Two 4 block games this preseason.
Slim’s Projection: .430/.770/0.8/12.5/5.6/1.4/1.0/1.2/1.7 :30
↑ 146 JaVale McGee, DEN C Great to see him close to playing. A nice blocks gamble.
Slim’s Projection: .530/.590/0/10.0/6.8/0.5/0.5/1.7/1.5 :24
147 Rudy Gobert, UTA C Playing like a monster in preseason. And there’s really no depth behind Kanter and Favors. Showing he doesn’t need a ton of minutes to be useful. FT concerns are definitely still there though…
Slim’s Projection: .560/.580/0/5.0/7.2/0.3/0.3/1.5/1.3 :20
148 Alec Burks, UTA PG, SG Not big on treys, pretty bad TO, and might lose PT to groom Exum late in the year…
Slim’s Projection: .460/.760/0.8/16.5/3.8/3.0/1.1/0.3/2.1 :32
↑ 149 Steven Adams, OKC C Showing some huge promise in preseason. Love him as a final pick – minutes and usage still a concern.
Slim’s Projection: .540/.620/0/7.0/7.1/ 0.8/0.7/1.0/1.3 :24
150 Avery Bradley, BOS PG, SG Brings you some scoring and out-of-position boards, but not too much upside.
Slim’s Projection: .440/.790/1.6/15.5/3.7/1.6/1.1/0.1/1.8 :32
151 Ersan Ilyasova, MIL SF, PF Looked downright awful last year, but was top 50 in 12-13 and came into last year with a bum ankle. Won’t be me seeing if he can bounce back though…
Slim’s Projection: .430/.820/0.5/11.5/6.1/1.1/0.7/0.2/1.0 :24
↑ 152 Kelly Olynyk, BOS C I plain and simple had him too low, but still probably not getting him anywhere. A decent NBA player, but not a good starter and will be stuck in a minutes rut at times in Stevens’ system, methinks.
Slim’s Projection: .480/.810/0.8/12.0/7.1/2.7/0.5/0.5/1.9 :28
153 D.J. Augustin, DET PG There’s been nothing but encouragement for D.J., and nothing optimistic about Jennings. A full split could happen quickly, if not a full changing of the guard. No pun intended!
Slim’s Projection: .415/.880/1.3/10.5/1.7/3.9/0.7/0.1/1.6 :24
154 C.J. Miles, IND SG, SF Deep source of treys and steals, especially if he wins the starting 3 role over Solomon Hill.
Slim’s Projection: .420/.810/1.5/12.5/2.7/1.9/1.0/0.3/1.2 :28
155 Wilson Chandler, DEN SG, SF Wasted a big opportunity last year, Gallinari to take a ton of minutes away.
Slim’s Projection: .430/.760/1.6/12.5/4.6/1.7/0.7/0.6/1.2 :28
156 Dion Waiters, CLE SG Super-duper ThrAGNOF with lower offensive volume with LeBron in town. Should find himself a lot of wide open treys though…
Slim’s Projection: .430/.720/1.5/13.5/2.6/2.8/0.9/0.2/1.9 :28
157 Jarrett Jack, BKN PG, SG Will fill in admirably in the Shaun Livingston role, doing nothing exceptional but being useful.
Slim’s Projection: .430/.840/0.9/11.5/3.1/4.3/0.7/0.2/1.8 :30
↓ 158 P.J. Tucker, PHO SG, SF I just don’t see myself getting him, losing the first 3 games to suspension – Marcus Morris who I think is pretty good and could really eat into Tucker’s minutes when he’s back.
Slim’s Projection: .440/.770/0.8/9.0/6.4/1.6/1.2/0.3/1.2 :28
159 Vince Carter, MEM SG, SF Three year deal shows commitment, easily could start and play 30 minutes at the 3.
Slim’s Projection: .410/.820/1.7/11.0/3.3/2.4/0.7/0.4/1.3 :24
160 Tim Hardaway Jr., NYK SG One of the many reasons you ThrAGNOF!
Slim’s Projection: .420/.820/2.0/13.0/1.7/0.9/0.7/0.1/0.7 :28
161 Alex Len, PHO C With no one else behind Miles Plumlee, who really fell off last year, the former #5 pick could be a really interesting off-the-radar surprise. I still just have a gut feeling on this one.
Slim’s Projection: .510/.660/0/5.5/5.1/ 0.6/0.2/0.8/1.2 :18
162 Wes Johnson, LAL SG, SF Still a little bit of a minutes crunch, and he’s not going to touch the ball much on O, but his value is in Stls/Blks.
Slim’s Projection: .420/.780/1.1/8.5/4.1/1.4/0.9/0.8/1.0 :26
163 Chris Andersen, MIA PF, C The late availability of blocks with a pretty low-risk investment is worth a rank here, especially for deeper-leaguers needing da swats.
Slim’s Projection: .560/.680/0/7.0/6.6/0.2/0.5/1.7/0.9 :22
164 Tony Wroten, PHI PG Looking more and more like he’s coming off the bench, as I was hoping he got a starting 2 role. He’s a big guy who could handle that position, but an off-the-bench guy with horrible FT numbers… Eh… Does get a mini-boost if MCW misses a lot of time, but I’m still optimistic MCW can make it on the court pretty soon.
Slim’s Projection: .430/.660/0.7/13.5/3.4/3.2/1.1/0.2/2.8 :26
165 Doug McDermott, CHI SF Told he’ll need to jack up treys and could start at the 3. Not going to do much besides 3s/Pts though…
Slim’s Projection: .430/.860/1.6/ 9.5/3.2/1.3/0.2/0.1/1.4 :20
166 James Ennis, MIA SF Playing fantastic this preaseson, playing aggressive getting FT opportunities, hitting treys, his explosiveness will mean a ton to the Heat 2nd unit. And if injuries arise (who are we kidding? With Wade, it’s WHEN injuries arise!), look out.
Slim’s Projection: .450/.770/1.0/7.0/3.2/0.9/0.7/0.5/1.1 :20
167 Marvin Williams, CHA SF, PF Off his best per-36 season, by far his best perimeter output, and should get big minutes.
Slim’s Projection: .440/.780/1.2/8.5/4.7/1.1/0.7/0.4/0.8 :28
168 C.J. McCollum, POR PG, SG Really if he was anywhere else he could be a major sleeper, still should see productive minutes as main backup G.
Slim’s Projection: .440/.810/1.6/13.5/3.6/2.7/1.2/0.2/1.9 :26
↓ 169 Nik Stauskas, SAC SG While I still see him taking a lot of McLemore’s minutes and being a surprise source of assists with low TOs (along with the given treys and good %s), Sessions is going to play a ton of minutes with Colly in that backcourt.
Slim’s Projection: .430/.830/1.6/11.0/2.2/2.3/0.4/0.1/1.0 :26
170 Boris Diaw, SAS PF, C Late source of out-of-position assists, giving you 2.8 a game last year from a center.
Slim’s Projection: .510/.720/0.5/8.5/4.1/2.8/0.6/0.4/1.5 :24
↓ 171 Marcus Smart, BOS PG Rondo is ahead of schedule and Smart has been pretty awful in preseason. Some slight upside he can start in the second half if Rondo is moved, or play some dual-G minutes with him, albeit unlikely.
Slim’s Projection: .410/.760/1.1/11.0/4.1/3.2/1.2/0.3/1.8 :26
172 James Johnson, TOR SF, PF Listed as a SF reserve could make him really interesting since Terrence Ross is a question mark at best as a starter, per-36s last year were redonk.
Slim’s Projection: .450/.730/0.3/7.5/4.2/1.8/0.9/1.0/1.3 :20
↑ 173 Austin Rivers, NOP PG, SG I mentioned him late last year as a guy to target this year, but the Pelicans came out and said Russ Smith had won a backup PG role. LIARS! Rivers playing a lot of preseason minutes as the combo backup G.
Slim’s Projection: .390/.710/0.5/7.5/2.0/2.4/0.7/0.2/1.4 :22
174 Rodney Hood, UTA SF Sneaky ThrAGNOF upside, the Jazz have a serious lack of other perimeter shooters.
Slim’s Projection: .410/.810/1.2/7.5/3.0/1.2/0.5/0.1/0.9 :20
175 Khris Middleton, MIL SF, PF Finished 75th last year in total value, was durable for 82 games, is versatile enough to play backup to the 2, 3 and 4.
Slim’s Projection: .450/.830/0.7/8.0/2.9/1.3/0.9/0.2/0.9 :24
176 Samuel Dalembert, NYK C I think Jason Smith is going to steal more minutes than you’d expect, still some late blocks upside.
Slim’s Projection: .560/.750/0/9.0/7.9/0.7/0.6/1.3/1.3 :24
177 Carlos Boozer, LAL PF, C Even though he only scores and boards, starting minutes should be there.
Slim’s Projection: .480/.730/0/14.0/8.5/1.7/0.7/0.3/2.1 :28
↑ 178 Kyle O’Quinn, ORL PF, C Our favorite transplanted Irishman, while I love watching him beard it out in real life, the minutes are still a concern. But he’s playing fantastic this preseason following up a 9/7/1.6/0.8/1.8 second half last year.
Slim’s Projection: .500/.720/0.3/10.0/7.2/1.5/0.6/1.4/1.6 :24
179 Marco Belinelli, SAS SG, SF A roster filler with no upside, I think I had him too high considering he does nothing very well. Besides not turn the ball over. And, well, get the Spurs announcers all amped up with Italian cliches…
Slim’s Projection: .440/.830/1.4/10.5/2.7/2.2/0.6/0.1/1.1 :24
180 Kris Humphries, WAS PF, C Backup PF/C minutes galore, with both guys ahead of him old and injury-prone. Solid when given run last year.
Slim’s Projection: .500/.800/0/10.0/6.6/1.0/0.5/1.0/1.0 :24
181 Randy Foye, DEN PG, SG Had a huge year last year, but a greatly reduced role behind Lawson and Afflalo in 14-15.
Slim’s Projection: .410/.850/1.3/10.0/2.1/2.5/0.6/0.2/1.2 :22
↓ 182 Kendall Marshall, MIL PG Eh, I think I looked at him with too much D’Antoni’s-crappy-team/opportunity-colored glasses. This still has him higher than most since assists come at such a premium this year.
Slim’s Projection: .410/.680/0.9/7.5/2.1/6.4/0.7/0.1/2.0 :24
183 Evan Turner, BOS SG, SF In a minutes crunch on a crowded rotations-based team, but could do something useful. Not buying any preseason action.
Slim’s Projection: .420/.760/0.5/10.0/3.8/3.2/0.6/0.2/1.8 :26
184 Bojan Bogdanovic, BKN SG Looks like he’s won himself a starting job, and he’s good for two things. Points and threes. ThrAGNOF!
Slim’s Projection: .440/.810/1.4/11.0/1.8/1.9/0.5/0.3/1.6 :28
↑ 185 Jeremy Lamb, OKC SG, SF His stats will be top heavy during this early run without KD, but as a late pick I really like him even in 12ers. Might catch lamb in a bottle. I mean lightning.
Slim’s Projection: .420/.780/1.3/12.0/3.4/2.1/0.9/0.5/1.0 :26
186 Cory Joseph, SAS PG A sleeper pick due to lack of roster depth, Patty Mills is coming off rotator cuff surgery and Tony Parker is always hurt. Could leave Joseph with a lot more minutes than people expect.
Slim’s Projection: .460/.820/0.4/8.5/2.7/2.9/1.0/0.3/1.1 :20
187 Dante Exum, UTA PG Knew he would fall mightily after publishing the ranks the first time through, just too raw for the NBA to trust for anything right now. Second half chance for minutes keeps him top 200.
Slim’s Projection: .400/.720/0.6/8.5/2.4/2.9/0.8/0.1/1.7 :24
188 Luis Scola, IND PF, C Hibbert could continue to be awful, and Scola is backing up West who has a bum ankle.  There’s just no depth on that front line.
Slim’s Projection: .470/.750/0/8.0/5.2/1.2/0.3/0.2/1.4 :20
189 Ryan Kelly, LAL PF Even though there’s a ton of depth at PF on the Lakers, he’s the only one that can stretch the floor.
Slim’s Projection: .430/.820/0.7/7.5/3.4/1.5/0.5/0.6/0.8 :18
190 Tony Allen, MEM SG, SF A late source of steals and that’s about it, a no-upside deep league play.
Slim’s Projection: .480/.720/0.2/9.5/3.9/1.6/1.4/0.4/1.3 :26
191 Jason Smith, NYK PF, C Late-round flyer for some boards and a block, should see some decent minutes behind Dalembert.
Slim’s Projection: .460/.770/0/8.0/4.8/0.6/0.3/0.9/0.9 :20
192 Iman Shumpert, NYK SG, SF Offers you a steal and a trey, and that’s about it. Tough competition for minutes against emerging Timmay J.
Slim’s Projection: .400/.760/1.1/9.0/3.8/2.3/1.4/0.2/1.1 :28
193 Mike Dunleavy, CHI SG, SF McDermott (maybe) stealing the starting role hurts, as does how good I think Snell is going to be down the road. A role player with no upside.
Slim’s Projection: .440/.820/1.4/10.5/4.1/2.0/0.7/0.4/1.2 :28
194 Tiago Splitter, SAS C No upside, but hits all cats for a roster-filler in deep leagues.
Slim’s Projection: .540/.710/0/9.0/6.2/1.5/0.6/0.6/1.2 :22
195 Hollis Thompson, PHI SF, PF Treys and steals upside if he indeed starts, right now is lightly penciled in.
Slim’s Projection: .450/.740/1.3/8.0/3.6/1.3/0.9/0.2/1.1 :28
196 Mike Scott, ATL PF Can back up the 3 and 4, might take some injuries to really hit on upside, but deep ball threat should keep him usable in deep leagues all year.
Slim’s Projection: .470/.780/1.0/11.0/3.8/1.1/0.5/0.1/1.2 :22
197 Jeff Adrien, HOU SF, PF A rather bizarre waiving by the Rockets.  Contract and role seemed pretty assuring to produce some value.  Post-ASB was 10.5/7.6/1.1/0.6/0.8 in only 24:25 MPG last year – with little 3/4 depth in Houston, could play those minutes again in 14-15.
Slim’s Projection: .490/.660/0/9.5/7.1/ 0.8/0.6/0.7/1.1 :22
198 Shaun Livingston, GSW PG, SG The toe surgery continues to linger, and I’m getting increasingly worried for the vet.
Slim’s Projection: .470/.820/0/7.5/2.6/3.1/0.8/0.3/1.2 :20
↑ 199 Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, CHA  SF He’s obviously a horrible scorer, but the counting stats in the minutes he should play make him barely sneak in at the least minute.
Slim’s Projection: .460/.700/0/8.0/5.9/1.6/1.0/0.8/1.1 :26
200 Donatas Motiejunas, HOU SF, PF Even though he’s not listed as a C on Yahoo, is the only C behind Dwight and could be a sneaky value for out-of-position treys.
Slim’s Projection: .440/.620/0.5/8.0/4.9/0.8/0.5/0.4/1.2 :20


Dropped Out: Jodie Meeks, Nick Young, Russ Smith, Tony Snell

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Bryce Krispie Treats
Bryce Krispie Treats
8 years ago

We get to keep two players for two years (Yahoo, Auction). I kept Lillard for 17 and George for 33. After that gruesome injury, I obviously wont be keeping him next year.

My other options (No percentages league) –
Dwight Howard – 25
Paul Millsap – 21

Who would you take? I love me some Millsap, but with Horford back, I dont see him sustaining what he did last year.

Bryce Krispie Treats
Bryce Krispie Treats
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin:

That was my thought as well. I just hope he can keep healthy during the playoff stretch.

Thoughts on Thad Young if he goes to the wolves? Im a wolves fan unfortunately, but what do you think about fantasy and real life? Im a huge fan of him coming up north! If everything goes down as planned, I dont know how we could have gotten anything better for Love.

Slim
8 years ago

Alright I’ve got a couple, 1st up I’m taking James Harden over Chris Paul.

Everything I could say about Harden you covered in the top 10 post so that parts done. Chris Paul is getting a little long in tooth for me. I still think he’s going to have a great year and all, I like Paul at #6, but between the 2 I’m taking Harden. I think injury wise Harden is a safer play and at this point in their respective careers I think my bearded brethren has a better chance of outperforming last years numbers. Also, you mentioned Lin and while Ariza should be just fine replacing Parsons defensively, offensively he doesn’t and that should put even more pressure on Harden. I think Harden could challenge Durant in a stat I couldn’t possibly explain but seems to matter, usage or USG%.

Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin: I actually have a counter for that… wait for it… Harden’s 6+ assists are out of position assists (Ideally I would start him at SF on my fantasy team). So if I start the same amount of PGs as my opponent I would have an advantage. I think it’s enough to negate Paul’s extra assists assuming equal numbers of PGs and their starting SF is your normal 2ish assists guy.

I know the steals and yeah I love steals but for me that’s a young mans category. I feel like as guys get older that category tends to come down. Just in general… It wouldn’t shock me if they actually finished pretty close in the category.

Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin: Yeah I’m with you. The difference is razor thin.

Slim
8 years ago

Next up… I’m taking Wall and Westbrook over Love. Ibaka too?

Elite PGs are irreplaceable and unless I’m willing to reach for one early in the 2nd round I think I would find it difficult to achieve my goal of 2 PGs in the 1st 4 rounds (3 in the 1st 6 rounds) unless I take Wall/Westy in the 1st. If we’re right about Love losing some points and boards then combined with his already low end steals and blocks his stats shouldn’t be difficult to find a round or 2 later. I think my projections have him in the same tier as like an Aldridge or Jefferson. Somewhere in the early-to-mid 2nd round. #12 feels about right to me. Someone to look for around the turn in a 12er when the top 4 PGs are off the board. I’m getting a little ahead of myself but I think I would take Melo and Cousins over Love too, and Cousins over Melo if you were wondering.

Wall/Westy vs Ibaka is a really tough one but ultimately the blocks win out for me too. I would be pretty stoked to get any of these three with my 1st round pick.

My favorite late pick combo would be Wall or Westy with Ibaka or Cousins but that might be asking a little too much. Pairing one of those PGs with either Millsap, Horford, Jefferson, or Aldridge is probably the way to go and I think I like them in that order. Aldridge last due to already poor FG% from the PG. Paired with Melo is just fine too but I don’t think Melo will make it out of the 1st round.

Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin: You kinda ducked that one. So Love is higher than the 2nd round group of bigs. OK I agree, he at least leads the pack. But what about Love v Wall/Westy? If given that choice are you taking Love? I think Love screams Chris Bosh type of decline. That risk feels too great to me. Wall and Westy are nice and safe, well as safe as fantasy can be. Overall though I think the 1st round feels pretty safe (besides Love).

I’ll wait for my Cousins over Melo argument till the next list comes out. My Cousins projection looks kind of silly so I guess that means I’m buying Cousins in the top 10.

Slim
Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin: By our rankings Love plus one of those 2 PGs won’t be possible in a 12er. Waiting for 2 late 3rd and early 4th PGs is interesting. The big run of PGs should be over in the early 30’s, but I imagine a few would still be around. So assuming that’s the plan, who do you like as a 2nd round pick to pair Love with plus round 3 and 4 PGs? You can’t pick anyone in your top 12 ranks, them be the rules.

I’m not saying he’s going to be Bosh. I still have him in the 1st round compared to Bosh who has been more 3rd/4th round since he left Toronto. But I think the decline in stats should be measurably comparable.

As we have theses conversations here’s what I’ve got so far as a working top 12… (RCL style) Durant, Brow, Curry, LeBron, Harden, Paul, Wall, Westy, Ibaka, Cousins, Melo, Love. This of course is without considering fantasy playoff schedule. You know how I feel about the importance of playoff schedules. We’ll get to that eventually.

Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin: I’m on board Millsap at 13. So sure Love/Millsap is a solid start but I’d rather go Cousins/Millsap. I’ve been trying to think who to draft if punting FT% and I’m starting to think Cousins/Millsap 1/2 could be the way to go for it. Then 3/4 going with either Drummond or Jordan, which ever is available and grabbing Howard a few rounds later. The other 3/4 has to be a PG but and I think the top assist man would be ideal. Rondo, Rubio type. Steals are gonna be big time with this build.

1. Cousins
2. Millsap
3. (Rondo or Rubio)
4. (Drummond or Jordan)
5/6. PG and Howard.
7 and on. 2 more PGS (I know you like Calderon and he should work here too.) Maybe Collison will still be around but I doubt it. 1 more big (lots of interesting options late). Gonna need some 3s from wings. Easy enough.

Mikey likes it! Turnovers are a little high but we can work with that.

Slim
Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin: It’s going to be difficult for me to go 2 non-PGs late in the 1st/ early in the 2nd. Waiting till the mid-30s for my 1st PG takes some cajones I’m not so sure I have. Then again from my rankings I might not have a choice. There are several PGs i’m very interested to see what their ADPs turn out to be. Collison, Jrue, Rondo, Elfrid (dont think I’ve forgotten), Lin, Calderon, and Beverley of course! are a few off the top of my head.

Count Macula
Count Macula
8 years ago
Reply to  Slim

@Slim:

The difference is that Bosh was never ranked top 10 overall at any point, so for him to slide to the 40’s wasn’t actually that terrible. Also interesting to point out that he didn’t have a 3pt shot at first, so that hurt him too. It’s worth mentioning that since he developed the 3pt shot he’s been ranked in the top 20s. I think Love’s 3ptm and possible FG% will jump a bit so that will help ameliorate the decline in pts/reb that we’re assuming he’ll see.

Jim
Jim
8 years ago
Reply to  Slim

Slim–I like your thought of 3 PG in the first 6 rounds. I might have to try it. Have you thought about Calderon late mid-rounds and possibly Collison even later? I think those are going to be 2 lower round PGs that could return top 50-60 value (Yahoo). I’ve seen some rankings that have Calderon in the 90’s–a steal IMO. I’ve been tossing around the idea of getting 2 top PGs in the first 5 rounds, then one of those 2 guys late, then spending an early round pick on a top SG like Monta, Kobe or Batum (who will get you plus dimes out of the SG spot). I just can’t decide whether to hold on a SG (assuming I don’t get one in the first round) or draft one early. I’ve been leaning towards taking a top SG early (round 3)–and maybe making sure I get Calderon in round 7, or either Collison or Beverley in round 8-10. Where do you see yourself taking a SG?

Jim
Jim
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

Oh yeah! I had typed that up a couple days ago and never posted it! Then I see the flood of Calderon/Collison talk. Can I try to sell you on my thoughts on Beverely?! I think he was absolutely overrated last year–I got torched by rolling the dice with him on multiple occasions–in fact, I dropped IT3 for him before the season started when I found out PB was starting and IT3 was the backup PG in SAC. By Christmas, I vowed to never say the name Patrick Beverely again. BUT…he’s another year more comfortable in the offense, motivated by being cut by Team USA, Lin is out of the picture and he might get a few of Parsons’ shots–and he’s a PG who qualifies for SG I believe. He also shot 44% after the break. If he could find a way to up his assists by even 1.5 a game, you’d have 2012-13 George Hill with twice the steals. Hill was top 50 that year I think?? Am I selling you!?

Who’s your top SG target, JB? Are you reaching for Kobe–because I’m going to have a tough time not doing that–maybe it’s just because I’m old school. If I’m crazy, call me on it. I just think Kobe is one of those warrior-minded guys who has it in his head to prove the doubters wrong. 20-5-5 is too good to not take a chance on in round 3 or 4. The consequence would be missing out on the Mass PG Exodus in the 3rd round. That’s a sizable risk!

Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  Jim

@Jim: Yeah we’ve gone back and forth a couple of times with Calderon. 90’s is where I would probably be looking to take him (8th round in a 12er just to make sure) but I do agree with everyone that he’s one of the top PGs after round 5. I like Collison a little more due to the steals and I might be on an island here but I like him to actually top Calderon in assists, or at least tie him. I’ve got Collison probably a round earlier than Calderon, late 70’s maybe.

Ideally I would use a PG at SG. Curry, Dragic, Bledsoe, Kyrie will take care of it early and we can still look for PGs later. JB and I both have Kobe and Monte somewhere in the 4th. I assume that means I won’t get Kobe cause someone will probably take him much earlier. I’m not projecting any more than 4th round value I think and there’s no shortage of risk. Monte is nice and safe. I don’t mind him in the 4th at all. Comparatively speaking though I would rather have Gordon Hayward at least a round later or maybe even another of my favorites Oladipo. 2 guys JB and I have in the 40’s that I think might be available into the 60’s. Batum is OK, leaving a fair amount of points on the table. Me and JB both have him after the main PG run which we both don’t want to miss. I would be surprised if Batum makes it on my team.

Beverley is one of my favorite players but he’s earned the moniker ‘better real life player than fantasy asset’. I can’t put him in the top 100 but I don’t think anyone else will either. I’m looking at maybe 125ish. Definitely in the top 150 but I’m with JB, I have a tough time seeing too much improvement offensively. Some for sure, especially if Harden constantly gets doubled (he should be). But still I see him more as a glue guy for a fantasy team lacking in steals or short on PGs.

Frank
Frank
8 years ago

Hi Guys,
Love the discussion. In an 8 CAT league, do you weight the CATs in helping you decide two players who play different positions and thus provide different CATS? If so, could you please prioritize the 8 CATS from 1-8 and explain the rationale for your order? Thanks.

Oh, and finding talk about fantasy hoops in AUGUST makes me feel like a li’l kitten with a new bag of catnip.

Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  Frank

@Frank: There’s 2 categories I favor over all others… Assists and Blocks. The reasoning is that they tend to be the 2 hardest to find on waivers, and I think it isn’t close. Next up is Steals and FG%. High end steals are usually only a handful of guys so you tend to need one or two of them to have an advantage week to week. FG% is also tough to find on waivers. Mostly because waiver pickups don’t tend to be high volume shooters which is what you need to really improve FG%. Usually improving FG% is done with a trade. Next up for me is boards. Not too difficult to find but waiver guys that help a lot don’t tend to do much else (Reggie Evans). The last 3 categories are FT%, Points, and 3PTM. I consider all 3 to be the ThraGNoF categories. 3pt specialists tend to score decent points and tend to be good FT shooters, and since there tends to be plenty of these types I put less emphasis on those categories (Mmm… Timmy Hardaway Jr).

Frank
Frank
8 years ago
Reply to  Slim

@Slim:
Thanks for the insight. Our league is 8 CAT roto and last season I decided to punt FT% and picked up both D12 and DeAndre Jordan.(Thinking my last place in FT% would be balanced with a good finish in FG%, REBs & BLKs). Unfortunately P.George’s late season swoon and a silly trade for Kemba W. cost me a couple of places in FG% and I ended in 2d place. The question is, does punting a CAT in roto ever make sense or is it a fool’s errand to think the pain you get in the one CAT can be made up by strengthening performance in the other seven CATS?

Pada
Pada
8 years ago
Reply to  Slim

@Slim: like your comment.
I’m on board with that + the “little” reach for Wall/Westbrook in the 1st round as a consequence, so as to be sure to get an elite PG, if you can’t secure a top6pick.

I would disagree slightly on the importance of the PTS category. I had bad experience in the past, when I drafted BPA (overall value BBM) in the first 3rounds, and I did not secure enough points… then I struggle (especially in roto) the rest of the season… you can find some Pts & 3s & FTs on the waiver, but hard to fight still with the leaders and no consistency usually on those WW pick ups.

Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  Pada

@Pada: In roto every category gets much closer together for importance. I definitely tend to focus on H2H, I just find it more enjoyable to play, especially in March/April. So yeah, for Roto I’d rank em a little different and closer together.

Assists/Blocks
Steals
FG%/Points
FT%/Boards
3s

kenny kelly
kenny kelly
8 years ago
Reply to  Slim

@Slim: Do you have any roto rankings listed anywhere?

Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  kenny kelly

@kenny kelly: Nah I tend to focus far more on H2H for draft prep. I’m not sure I would rank things too differently though. During the draft I would just try to focus more on keeping each category as even as I could.

The biggest difference I think that would make a guy go up or down in ranking would be the 2 percents. In H2H those categories have far more volatility, tougher to predict, so I put less importance on them. Over the course of the entire year in roto they become easier to predict and I’m pretty sure far more difficult to make up ground in.

Pada
Pada
8 years ago

Hi, next question would be related to punting:

1. where/when do you consider going for a FT% punt in both ROTO & H2H in competitive leagues? I generally see the 1st team starting to punt in end round 1 in H2H…. and round 3 in ROTO…your call?
=> this year, in H2H I may be tempted to take Drummond maybe at the turn with a Ibaka pairing or redundant? I guess I would still start a team with the top6 (+Wall+Westy+Carmelo) and not sure about Cousins, Ibaka, Love… you?

2. would you target Dummond as n°1 for FT% punt or the lack of points would still lead you to Howard?

thanks

Slim
Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  Pada

@Pada: H2H. I’ve been looking for where to punt FT% and there’s 2 places I see. The 1st I mentioned a couple comments above this, Cousins/Millsap and Drummond or Jordan late 3rd/Early 4th. Then Howard not before the 6th… in a 12er. So 36ish for Drummond/DeAndre, I really shouldn’t be calling him just Jordan for multiple reasons. 60ish for Howard. This seems

The 2nd place I see is LeBron. Maybe Blake falls. A high end assist wing and big might make up for the lack of a PG cause early 3rd is gonna be Drummond/Jordan, dang it I did it again. 4th needs to be a PG and in this build I would love for that to be MCW! 5th can be Howard but we still need PGs. So LeBron. Griffin. Drummond/DeAndre. MCW. Howard. How about that build? Only gonna happen if Blake falls in your lap late in the 2nd. Gimme your thoughts too JB. I’m also debating Drummond as a late 2nd rounder with LeBron if deciding to punt FT%. Pairing Drummond with DeAndre so early is going to leave us short a fair amount of points.

I know we are a little worried about DeAndre and I do think he loses some minutes (and stats) but with punting FTs I think he’s still a 3rd rounder with 10 boards and 2 blocks still feeling like a floor.

Slim
8 years ago

Next up… the 14 through 18 bigs… and Dirk.

I’m leaving Millsap out because I think we are in agreement that he’s ahead of all of the 2nd round bigs. OK… there’s a lot going on so I’m going to take it in reverse draft order based off our 1st round grades.

#12 we’re picking Cousins. Who do we pair with Cousins? Millsap, moving right along.
#11 Melo, Unless we are punting FG% I would like to avoid Aldridge. Melo is high end points with low end stl/blk (for a 1st rounder). With him I like either Jefferson or Horford.
#10 Westbrook. Once again unless we plan on punting FG% I want to avoid Aldridge (Although this isn’t a bad option). Pretty much the same as Melo. I’d prefer Jefferson or Horford.
#9 Wall. See Westbrook
#8 Love. The biggest thing here is that we are lacking in FG% and blocks from a big. I think we could punt Blocks here and go with Dirk as the 1st option and Griffin as the 2nd. Griffin should make up the FG% and hopefully with Love the FT% should be OK. But… If Jefferson or Horford falls I like them better. If Aldridge falls we could punt FG% here too. Lots of options but they pretty much all favor punting a category.
#7 Ibaka. Tough one… Do I take whichever of these that are left? Yeah I think so. We’re looking for points and that’s about it. I like Dirk with Ibaka quite a bit but we will be seriously lacking in steals which I don’t like to punt. Not a big deal. We’ll find some steals with our wings later. I don’t mind Blake here either. Aldridge works too but I’m not thrilled about it.

Ok so based off that mess I’ve got it in this order…

#13 Millsap, Jefferson, Horford, Dirk, Griffin, Aldridge.

I’ll think about it some more but that’s where I’m at at 8:00 in the morning… Last thing. Melo, Wall, Westy with Dirk, Griffin? I’m not all that excited by the lack of blocks. These are definitely not my ideal pairings.

padara
padara
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin: hi guys, working on your ranks & projections, I agree with you on the turn with Cousins/Millsap or Ibaka/Millsap (I feel owners cautious with lack of points of Ibaka), but the more I think about it, the more I find it a mess to be competitive in AST….. by picking 10-12 this year, you can miss : Curry, Paul, Wall, Westy in 1st rd, then Lawson, Conley, Lillard, Irving, Dragic? in the PG run at the beginning of round 3, meaning you’re way fXXXX late in this category…. your FT% does not smell good either….
I’m gonna work on that simulation, but yes, your ideas are welcome for how to catch back, esp. in root, because maybe in H2H, it could be the year of a AST punt??.
cheers

Slim
Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  padara

@padara: I’ve never punted assists. I’m sure it’s possible and I would focus on a few low TO guys. If I’m going to lose assists I better win turnovers. The FT% for Cousins/Millsap is off to a bad start but it’s not impossible to work with. Especially since it’s essentially from 2 bigs and we should be up to 20+boards and 2.5+blocks per from the pair.

I think late 3rd/early 4th will have some PGs left on the board. They aren’t as reliable of course but Jrue, Kemba, Rubio, Rose (but I’m passing), MCW should still be around. Since the next pick isn’t until 60ish I would want to get 2 PGs before that point and hopefully one with high upside assist numbers. Good spot for Rubio I think. This is a tough build but I think it’s doable and the counting stats would be off to a great start.

Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin: I think Jrue is a risky pick. Tyreke Evans came on pretty well last year. There’s definitely risk that Tyreke takes a fair amount of PG duties leaving Jrue without the good assist numbers we’re both hoping for. Brow is the #1 option, I think Gordon and Tyreke are offensive options 2 and 3 leaving Jrue as potentially an afterthought. I don’t want to believe it’s going to happen, just saying the potential is there.

Slim
Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin: I think we’re higher on Jrue than most. I just think there’s a fair amount of risk. December was a good month for Jrue and you know Tyreke wasn’t too bad then either. They could coexist. So yeah the risk is worth the reward, I’m good with that.

Richo
Richo
8 years ago

Hey guys, loving the early rankings! I followed your rankings and advice all the way from Australia last year and it led me to winning the league I’m a part of- so thanks Slim & JB.
We’ve got a keeper rule that’s a bit different, you can nominate a keeper but only after the 1st round. When your keeper is ‘drafted’ by another team, you forfeit your next pick to keep them. This really favours the last pick in the draft because if they take pick 12 and 13 and they have a player that is expected to go early 2nd- they only lose a late third rounder to keep them.
3 of my ’14 championship team will go in the top 6 picks so I’ve got Millsap, Drummo or Kobe to keep. My plan was always to keep Drummo, draft D12/Deandre/Rondo, and punt ft% as I have a little bit of a man crush on him.
My league will have 6-7 roster spots plus 4-5bench and 10 or 12 coaches.
Is there any draft position where you would consider keeping Drummo over (I assume your mancrush) Millsap? If I get pick 10-12 (assuming Wall and Westy are gone) in the lottery is it worth taking a Lillard with 13-15 so I don’t get three talls?
It’s late here so I may have carried on a fair bit. Keep up the good work! (Loving the podcast!)

Richo
Richo
8 years ago
Reply to  Richo

@Richo:
*9 cat, weekly h2h, locked line-ups
*if I get pick 10-12 I would be hoping Millsap slips beyond my 2nd pick and I get Millsap as a keeper because it would only cost me a late third round pick which is great value.
If I were to have pick 6-8 though I would assume he would go just before my second rounder- meaning not great value for the pick and I could possibly get better ‘value’ in nabbing Drummo late. My fantasy bball mind is working way too hard for August.

Richo
Richo
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin: Thanks, we got the idea for our keeper rule from the draft in Aussie rules football- that’s what they do when players in the draft have fathers who played for a club- the club can choose to forfeit their next pick and ‘keep’ the son.
Thanks, Millsap was never in my mind as a keeper until you had him so high. The only way I could see myself not keeping him now is if someone picks him 1-2 spots before my second round pick. If I can get him with a third or late 2nd I will. The keeper rule also means Millsap is more likely to be the first pick in the second round because most players that are chosen with pick 13 will be kept by other teams lowering the options.
I’m now dreaming of a Brow/LBJ/Harden to pair with Millsap.

Boom Shakalaka
Boom Shakalaka
8 years ago

Can we talk a little about Brandon Jennings or should we call him BJ because he suck ballz last year in Detroit.

Where do yo rank him this year and where would you rank him if you were punting his terruble .373FG%. If you punt his FG% in BBM he goes from finishing with 10rnd value to 4th value last year. Im thinking he would be a major steal in my draft if I dont reach for him ….. ESPN has him listed going 8th round but what do they know? lol

Last years stats
.373/.751/1.9/15.5/3.1/7.6/1.3/0.1/2.7 : 34

Marl
Marl
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

I have Jennings in my team last year w/ Brow-my 1st rd pick(last pick),Dirk, Westbrook,Bledsoe,Beal, Drummond, Korver,Caroll, De andre, Howard(via trade for D Rose-my 2nd rd pick). Its a 10 team league H2H. Punt FT, TO. I ended up still winning always in FG(tnx w/ my great bigs). Jennings is a great assist,steals,3s-thats it for him. Ended up champs for that league. Thanks for de andre(last pick) howard trade, and injured westbrook who fells in 4th,ist pick.

Marl
Marl
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

Agree! Can KJ Mcdaniels hit 1-1.5 3s a gm(upside)? with a 25 min. playing time .

Keep it up JB and Slim. Your far better than yahoo/espn. Great Job for all
your ranking analysis!

Marl
Marl
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

Can I drop Avery Bradley to get KJ Mcdaniels?
I have westbrook ,calderon, g hill and j nelson as PG with only Wesly Mathews, and Green(GS) as wings.

My Bigs are:
Ibaka
Bosh
Favors (via J Parker trade)
R Lopez
Jonas V
J Henson

What are my needs JB and Slim to win our Yahoo Winner League 1902.

Slim
Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  Boom Shakalaka

@Boom Shakalaka: I’m pretty sure I’ll rank him so low he won’t make it on my team. I like to punt FG% but Jennings could very well lose some playing time and I don’t punt playing time! After listening to the Pistons guy (@JoeDexter) on the Pod I’m backing away even further. There’s just too great a chance Jennings struggles and Stan Van turns the PG spot into a timeshare with Augustin. I’m with JB. He’s after Collison, Calderon.

Slim
Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin: Is Augustin a keeper in the REL for $1? If we assume 20 min then I’m starting to think yes.

Slim
Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin: Cory Joseph is awesome. I felt for a while there I was all alone in that thinking. Here’s to hoping he can get some minutes at the 2. I think he, like Reggie Jackson, could start for over half the teams in the league at PG.

Slim
8 years ago

So we’re through 18… Next up I’m taking Kawhi Leonard with either Curry or Paul giving Kawhi a top 20 ranking.

Based off our rankings the run of bigs will be over at #18 and lets assume we drafted one of the top 2 PGs in Stephen Curry or Chris Paul. We’re about to have 2 picks pretty quickly and then a long wait till we get another in the mid-to-late 40’s. At that point there should be some bigs available, Favors, DeAndre, Pau, BroPez so missing a big in the top 3 picks shouldn’t set us back too much in their categories. However at that point the options at PG have all but dried up. Now I like Collison and Calderon to be solid #3 PGs, but if I have to make them #2 PGs then that’s going to leave us way behind in PG stats and digging through the Lins, Burkes, and Beverleys of the world hoping for a miracle. One of those would be fine, but if we need 2 to fill out our 4 PG minimum we’re probably never going to win assists even with a top guy like Chris Paul.

So now that we’ve decided we want a PG in either the late 2nd or early 3rd round which do we prefer? If we go with a PG in the 2nd then Kawhi probably disappears before our 3rd round pick leaving us choosing between Batum, Bosh, or Vucevic. It’s OK but for my money I’d rather take Kawhi in the 2nd and still be left with a few options for an early 3rd round PG. Like I said before this is going to leave us short on bigs but I feel like the options for bigs in the 4th/5th round is going to be vastly superior to the options for PGs.

Finally there is one more option… Skipping the wing player all together and going with 2 PGs and 2 Bigs in the 1st 4 rounds. This is probably going to be the ideal option. There are tons of good wings in the 5th/6th rounds and we would have no worries about position for the rest of the draft. Unfortunately without one of the bigs in our top 18 we are left with solid, yet unspectacular options in Bosh or Vucevic. Since I think Kawhi has a much greater chance of returning 1st round value I’m going to be willing to take the risk of not getting a big in the 1st 3 rounds to get him.

Slim
Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin: Yeah I guess in a really deep league I would take the PGs ahead of Kawhi, well not Kyrie, but there are several PGs that would be more important.

There’s always outliers and if they fall that’s great but my draft day plan can’t take that into account. If someone throws me off my plan cause they are too good to pass up then I will make adjustments to the plan when the time comes. But I feel like going into the draft with some pairings I know I would like is still ideal. Pairings is the last thing I want to be thinking about on draft day. I want that to be predetermined, at least 95% predetermined. Oh and when I say pairings I’m strictly talking about the 1st 2 rounds. After that the plan turns into something resembling a flow chart, with multiple ‘branches’. It gets pretty complicated around the 5th/6th rounds.

So something like this…

1.Curry
2.Kawhi

3a. Dragic 3b. Lillard 3c Kyrie

4a1.Favors 4a2. Jordan 4a3. BroLo 4a4. Pau
4b1.Favors 4b2. BroLo 4b3. Pau

5a1a.Parsons 5a1b.Hayward 5a2c Thad

6. Noel

etc etc etc… Much easier with a pencil and paper. Confused yet? I’m not saying that’s right. I’m not to this point yet but this is what I like to go into a draft with. It’s a plan with many contingencies (less contingencies late because I know who I want). If I fall off my path its usually pretty easy to get back on.

Slim
Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin: Not bad… it’s no Locksley and Bagel. Now there’s a pairing that can’t miss! Ahh Mel Brooks. All other comedians wish they could be as funny as him.

Yeah, we’ll see if you take Noel in the 5th. I think the main thing here is that I don’t think anyone is considering him that high. I think. But umm, yeah I’m not high on winging drafts, or drafting wings high. Damn you Mel Brooks, you’ve got me speaking in puns. But yeah, you take your Noel in the 5th (assuming you need defensive stats) and I’ll take Faried (assuming I need everything else).

Slim
Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin: This one was supposed to be about Kawhi. Oh well, next up is the dozen or so PGs. Think that might get it’s own post though.

Ryan Perkins
Ryan Perkins
8 years ago

Hey guys loving the early ranks, you’re the only site kickin right now for the upcoming season.

My question is going back to the importance of categories in drafts: my league is an auction league with your regular 8 cat plus field goals missed and double doubles. Field goals missed kind of goes along with FG%, but I noticed last year the double doubles held way more value than I anticipated. With that being said, would it deter you from getting guys like BroLo and Marc Gasol and pay more attention to the Love’s of the world?

Appreciate the feedback.

Slim
Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  Ryan Perkins

@Ryan Perkins: Yeah, what he said. Except for Tristan. but Randolph I don’t know. Someone like David Lee is big time. Faried or Monroe. Guys who usually fall down draft boards for their lack of blocks don’t fall nearly as far with those categories. I don’t think there’s too much movement for PGs. Rubio looks scary from the FG front but he’s gonna give a ton of dub-dubs and the volume shouldn’t hurt too much.

BroPez and MGasol are interesting but with those categories they definitely both move down a bit in the rankings. Love is OK but honestly I think Jefferson might top him with those settings. It’s close. Love is a big that hurts FG% and should get more misses than big Al. Will he get more dub-dubs than Jefferson, probably but it should be pretty close. I think it’s really neck and neck between those 2 with those settings.

Patrick
Patrick
8 years ago

keep up the good work guys. loving the addition of the podcast as well, lots of info in the debates, bring more people in to discuss maybe? but it might get a bit messy, i dunno

one question: i don’t understand why lillard is at 19. i had him last year and although fun to watch, kind of killed me in fg%. also steals and assists low for a PG ranked that high. sort of 1 dimensional other than consistency.

also loving slim’s drafting strategies in the comments section btw, i hope razzball remains a secret

Patrick
Patrick
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin: yeah that’s a selfish hope. fair enough. looking forward to the complete list, discussions, shuffle arounds, and the beginning of the season

Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  Patrick

@Patrick: Lillard isn’t the prototypical pass 1st PG but he’s probably going to be 2nd in points and 2nd in 3s for all PGs (behind Curry). He’s one of the best FT shooters in the game and the 5 attempts was a pretty good volume. The assists and steals bum me out too but I feel like he’s young enough that he should still be able to develop more to this part of his game. Not missing a single game for his 1st 2 years is definitely something I put value in too. If we were drafting based strictly off last years numbers then Lillard probably should be a few spots down but out of that big mess of 2nd/3rd round PGs I feel like Lillard has the most upside.

DICK BAVETTA
DICK BAVETTA
8 years ago

Usings your rankings I did my own personal Mock draft by myself… so sad. lol

Whats the good and the bad you see from this team? 10 team H2H 2 keepers. Mine are West and Lawson.

PICK ROUND
6 1 IBAKA
15 2 LILLARD
26 3 VUCEVIC
35 4 RWESTBROOK
46 5 NOEL
55 6 Ty Lawson
66 7 Teague
75 8 Calderon
77 9 WEST
86 10 T.HARRIS
95 11 M.MORRIS
106 12 SULLENGER

DICK BAVETTA
DICK BAVETTA
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

I just cant get enough of Tobias Harris I must just like saying the name…. say it with me “TOE-BY-ASSSS” awkware moment.

What dont you like about him? I had him last year and ya he flopped pretty hard but I think it all had something to do with his high ankle sprain. After the season news came out saying he was dealing with the injury even when he came back and that’s why his 3, STL and BLKS all went below than one a game. BUT his %’s both went up he was like 80% from the line and shot 5 a game i think.

Dont sleep on Tobias he gunna do what was expected of him and i would be suprised of he became a 1+ guy you always talk about. Final ADP for the year im saying TOP 60 guy making him a steal.

I dont see him playing any less than 30 mins a game and

Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  DICK BAVETTA

@DICK BAVETTA: Looks pretty solid. I don’t think the 5th PG is too necessary. A few more boards would be nice. So yeah if one of those PGs was a big I’d like it a little better. I lurve me some Markieff this year. I was begging JB to throw him in the top 75 but he wouldn’t do it. The projection I gave him just looks silly.

DICK BAVETTA
DICK BAVETTA
8 years ago
Reply to  Slim

@Slim:

I remember him alway being in on the cusp of picking him off the wire last year and I’m in a 10 team league so he making some noise last year. Now that Channing Tatum is gone I see a nice bump in minutes and touchs for Marieff Morris.

In my league the only positions we have are G F C. Is the 5th point gaurd still too much. I grabbed Jose cause I thought id be getting crushed on 3pts with out him. Which PG would you want to change if and for what big?

Slim
Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  DICK BAVETTA

@DICK BAVETTA: Nah with those settings I’m good with Calderon since he’s only your 5th guard.

I like Tobias this year too… at that price. I have him right on that top 75 border. If he’s around in the 80’s i’ll have a tough time passing. I like Markieff a little better. I feel like he has less competition for playing time.

Gonna be strange watching the NBA this year and not seeing Bavetta.

Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin: Y! has plenty of funky pre-draft rankings but Markieff at 134 is just plain silly. Tobias at 96 feels about right.

And you’re going to love this one… Noel is up to 47! So… how come your so down on Noel this year? I kid but come on. That is way too high to call him any kind of sleeper. There’s no way I’m taking him in the 4th. Favors at 65 is laughable. Him I will take in the 4th…

Peter Nincompoop
Peter Nincompoop
8 years ago

JB & Slim…I’m back from my hiatus and have been catching up on all of your posts/comments. Great stuff per usual. I have a quick question for the two of you to chime in on. I’m in a keeper league where you get to keep 10/year and end up having a 15-man roster after the draft and cut-off date. Seeing that each team retains 2/3rd’s or their roster each year, there’s a premium on drafting rookies (i.e., all are in the draft pool in addition to each team’s cuts).

I lucked out and ended up getting the #4 overall pick in this years upcoming draft. Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins will undoubtedly go #1 and #2, but I would be able to select Dante Exum, Julius Randle or Marcus Smart (my next three favorites) at the 4th slot. My current ten keepers are young and legit (e.g., Walker, Oladipo, Jackson, Batum, DeRozan, Leonard, Drummond, Jordan, Sullinger and Sanders), but I’ve been getting hit up with offers for the 4th pick. Without getting into additional details involved in the aforementioned offers, what it boils down to is whether Nerlens Noel or Derrick Favors is worth swapping the 4th pick for? I like both players and wouldn’t mind keeping either instead of Reggie Jackson or Larry Sanders, but just wanted to see what you both thought.

Many thanks as always.

Slim
8 years ago

@Peter Nincompoop: Yep, I would take either for the 4th round pick. In a dynasty I think Reggie is untouchable, especially considering you’re already a little short on PGs. It looks like he won’t sign an extension with OKC which means he’ll be a RFA next year. I could certainly see him getting a nice payday and a starting PG job next year. For me this comes down to Sullinger vs Sanders. Jordan plus Drummond is a solid start to blocks but I don’t think it’s too much better than middle of the pack. I’m also not a big believer in Sullinger. I don’t see much more than an average talent. So I would take the trade for either (Favors 1st) and stick with the 4 bigs of Drummond, DeAndre, Sanders, Favors. I also don’t think Randle deserves to be in the conversation for 4th pick. For your team I think Elfrid Payton would be my top choice if the trade falls through. I wouldn’t be thinking anymore about rebuilding either. This team is definitely good enough to compete now.

Peter Nincompoop
Peter Nincompoop
8 years ago
Reply to  Slim

@Slim: Thanks guys. I’ll let you know if the Favors deal ends up getting done.

Lasandro
Lasandro
8 years ago

Haha greatest Always Sunny homage I’ve seen yet. Tip of the cap to you, sir

padara
padara
8 years ago

Hi Guys,
have you made some rankings simulations? if I plug Slim’s projections for J.Parker & A.Wiggins, I get roughly top80-85 for Wiggins, top90-95 only for Parker….?
I have not yet listened to the last podcast, but your rankings seem high reach for both with little hope for the value to beat the draft position.
Cheers

Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  padara

@padara: A couple of things… 1st I made my projections having no idea where JB had these guys ranked. So the rankings compared to the projections are going to be off, also this is just a 1st iteration of the ranks and of the projections. Things will change. Also I think JB has these 2 ranked much higher than I do, I’m more in the 70’s for both. 2nd my projections don’t really take into account the upside for more. You’ll notice I only put 30 minutes for both, JB thinks 34 minutes for Parker. It doesn’t seem like a lot but if you prorate my numbers with the extra minutes I bet the increase in rank would be significant. And finally, I absolutely think taking Parker in the 4th round is a reach. I do not believe he comes in as the #1 option on that team. I think Knight is still the top outside threat, I think Antetok is going to be a monster, Henson and Ilyasova should see good minutes, Middleton should get some run. So conservatively 80’s/90s feels reasonable. But the upside for top 50ish is going to keep their draft day price tag really high.

I bet my numbers for Faried puts him in the 50’s and JB has him in the 70’s. These things will happen. As we discuss it though guys will go up and down, numbers will change. Like JB has already said he thinks he’s got Faried a touch too low.

padara
padara
8 years ago
Reply to  Slim

@Slim: I’m with you here! I made some simulations and yes, they become top50 with 36minutes. it’s strange as they’re right in the same range with the same minutes but different stats!

where do you have the Greak ranked?

last question: would you trade in a keeper league (3/4yrs hold) Parker or Wiggins for Cousins? Where do you see these young guys in 3years for example? top20? top10?
thanks

Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  padara

@padara: Nice. That makes me feel all smart and stuff…

I currently have Antetok at 79. Y! predraft has him at 111. So I’m hoping to steal him in the 8th/9th round I think. I haven’t projected him yet, I’m interested in seeing how he does for the Greek team. I thought he looked like a different player in summer league. I was impressed with his aggression and ability to finish at the rim and of course his length for steals and blocks is amazing. His jumper is still a work in progress but looked much better already, especially from 3-pt range. 1/1/1 3s/stls/blks, absolutely. 12-14 points I think. 6 boards and 2 assists feel low. His numbers are going to look really really good.

Yes I would trade one of them for Cousins (assuming I get to keep Cousins for 3/4 years too). Next year I think they both are in the top 50. In 2 years I think Jabari is going to push for top 30 and Wiggins should be pushing top 20. I don’t think Jabari hits 1st round value due to a lack of defensive stats and I think Wiggins needs to improve his shooting a significant amount to be a 1st round pick. Both could and if I was betting on one or the other I would bet on Wiggins. Cousins should maintain his borderline top 10 value for the next 3 years, I wouldn’t be worried about that at all.

cooler83
cooler83
8 years ago

I don’t really understand why Carmelo Anthony doesn’t get more love on the draft board. I have him ranked #7 on my list just after James Harden. I understand that last year Carmelo’s rebs and blocks got inflated by injuries to key front court players which resulted in an overall rank of 7 in 9 cat leagues last year, but everyone has to remember that even in 2012-13 with his rebs and blocks down, Carmelo still finished with an overall rank of 8. Both years he ranked higher than your MAN Serge Ibaka! This year, with the SF position kind of thin, and Carmelo’s huge out of position points/3ptm at the PF spot, he deserves a higher ranking! 11 is waaay too low for a proven top-8 commodity the last 2 years!

cooler83
cooler83
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin:

Ya I was looking at Melo’s per game rankings in 2012-13 9-cat and he was ranked 8th whereas Ibaka was ranked 11th. To be fair, I expect to see something around the 2012-13 Melo since I agree that his rebs/blks were inflated. Just hard to justify picking Ibaka over Melo since Melo outperformed Ibaka in per game rankings 2 straight years in both yahoo and bballmonster rankings.

Another thing with Ibaka is that by picking up a guy 1st round that is not a big scorer forces you to draft points in the later rounds, where it is more difficult to get a scorer other than a Derozan-like player in the 4th-5th rounds. In my experience with mock drafts this year, there are tons of big men in the later rounds that you can pick up for blocks if you miss out on Ibaka early (e.g. Rolo, Gortat, Duncan, Hibbert, Favors etc.). I just find that whenever I mock-draft Ibaka early, my teams are always low on points. That, combined with Melo’s historical per game value has me sold on Melo at #7. Although I like Ibaka at #8!! Lol….

Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  cooler83

@cooler83: Yeah I find points to be much easier to find than blocks or assists (why I would take Wall/Westbrook over Melo) and JB and I both think there’s room for Ibaka to still improve on his numbers (ditto for Wall/Westy).

As for those later picks… RoLo’s value comes mostly from his low TOs and 2 percents. The 1.7 blocks were nice but I think represent the high end and it’s almost half of what Ibaka does. Gortat is OK but he has a lengthy injury history and huts FT%. Duncan is going to get the minutes crunch and probable rest late in the year. In H2H I don’t want him at all. Hibbert is impossible to trust. Someone will take him within the 1st 100 picks but it won’t be me. He lost minutes last year and that could absolutely be the case this year. Hibbert was droppable at the end of the year. I’m way off Hibbert unless I really fubar my bigs. We love Favors but I have a feeling we won’t be the only ones. I think there will be some serious competition to draft him.

I guess the big thing for me is that I feel like missing on a wing just isn’t that big of a deal, at least compared to missing on the 15 pts/ 2+ blocks bigs or the 20 Pts/8+ ast PGs. I have found that those are far more difficult to replace.

cooler83
cooler83
8 years ago

I have a question for you guys. This situation came up recently in one of my mock drafts and I was wondering what everyone’s thoughts were. I get 10th overall pick in a 12 man roto league. I get Ibaka in the 1st rd and Al Jefferson in the 2nd round. I was hoping to get Wall or Westbrook but they were already taken by the time it was my turn to pick in the 1st round. By the time it comes back to me in the 3rd round, I definitely want to draft a PG. Problem is, Millsap is still available and I know how much you guys love him. I end up drafting Conley since he was the best available. If it was up to you, would you draft a PG knowing that a high ranked big man was available? Also, by the time it came to me in the 4th rd, I was looking to draft another PG since I know Conley is not really a high assist guy comparatively. My best option was Jrue Holiday, but the problem was that Nikola Vucevic was still available. I ultimately decided that Vucevic’s value was too much to pass in the 4th round. Overall my draft went ok after. I ended up grabbing Teague in the 5th rd, and Calderon in the 7th rd to shore up my PGs. Wondering what your thoughts were and what you would do in my position!

Lasandro
Lasandro
8 years ago

Hey @jb Gilpin and @slim, I had a quick question: seeing that I’ll be playing in a 7-team 12 cat L, how much change would there be in your, say, top 20 list, taking into account the extra cats? Would someone like kawhi crack the list with his great a/to and %s?

poponuts
poponuts
8 years ago

how come it is until top 75? i thought updated to top 200 already 🙂

dadilemma
dadilemma
8 years ago

Hey JB, Slim

On what exact grounds do you put A. Davis above S. Curry? Not worried by his 60-sth-game seasons and/or the addition of Jrue/Asik/RAnderson to take the points/rebs/touches away from The Brow? Seems to me Steph is a safer bet for no2 as his stats may remain quite intact with a possibility to go up. I don’t see Davis being in such a beast mode as in March.

Also can’t see Vucevic being THAT high, as well as making it reasonable to draft any rookie before 50th pick. But maybe that’s me being burned at potential many times 😉 Keep up the work guys!

Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  dadilemma

@dadilemma: I’m not too worried about the supporting cast either. They all know the Brow is the best player on the team and I agree about Asik. I think Brow playing more PF and less C is only going to help him stay healthy. As for health, we were saying very similar things about Curry a few years ago and my take on him is the same as my take on the Brow now. He’s too young to give him an ‘injury prone’ label. There’s 2 reports I’ve heard that I really like. 1) That he’s working on a corner 3-pointer. 2) That he’s put on 20 pounds. Added weight should help him get pushed around less and an added 3-pt shot would put his per-game ranking well ahead of Curry. Is Curry safer? 6 of 1, half a dozen of the other I think.

I like Vucevic too and I think he’s 1b to Chris Boshs’ 1a.

I don’t have either rookie top 50 either but I think both are going to get drafted in the 5th round in a 12er (top 60) so if I want Wiggins or Parker that bad then that’s where I’m going to need to take one. I’m up in the air about whether or not I would draft either in the 5th round in a 12er, it depends on a lot of different things.

Henry
Henry
8 years ago

Hey guys, any advice for auction drafts? It’s my first year doing one and I’m having a hard time valuing players. Do you think it’s worth paying up for top 5 players? (12 team $200 budget btw)

Did a mock draft and ended up with this team:

1. Anthony Davis (NO – PF,C) $77
2. Paul Millsap (Atl – PF,C) $30
3. Nikola Vucevic (Orl – PF,C) $24
4. Chandler Parsons (Dal – SF,PF) $19
5. Victor Oladipo (Orl – PG,SG) $13
6. DeMar DeRozan (Tor – SG,SF) $12
7. Pau Gasol (Chi – PF,C) $8
8. George Hill (Ind – PG,SG) $3
9. David Lee (GS – PF,C) $4
10. Kevin Martin (Min – SG,SF) $4
11. Darren Collison (Sac – PG) $2
12. Taj Gibson (Chi – PF,C) $1
13. Tyreke Evans (NO – SG,SF) $2

I feel like I waited too long for a PG. Any thoughts? Thanks!

poponuts
poponuts
8 years ago

my league is starting soon! I need the top 200 (c’mon mates!) haha just kidding. make it happen though 😉

poponuts
poponuts
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin: @JB Gilpin: thanks mate! glad to hear that. no pressure 😉

Richo
Richo
8 years ago

Can Sanders and Henson co-exist? With my extensive knowledge of Milwaukee (they wear green right?), they seem like the same player to me. I’m tempted to take a late flyer on Henson and just cross my fingers (read: wait) for Sanders to do something stupid.

Phamtastic
Khang
8 years ago

Henson was a steal last year, and will be this year. Hopefully word doesn’t get out till it’s too late lol

Rob
Rob
8 years ago

Just wondering, are you going to post Slim’s projections for top 150?
Also, I’ve been trying to go with PGs as my strategy in mock drafts. I’m trying to win FT%, 3s, asts, stls and pts. This is one team I got using this strategy with the 4th pick (10 team H2H):
1. Curry
2. Lillard
3. Millsap
4. Monta Ellis
5. Oladipo
6. Hayward
7. David West
8. Markieff Morris
9. Geroge Hill
10. T. Jones
11. Alec Burks
12. Stuckey
13. Jordan Hill

kenny kelly
kenny kelly
8 years ago

First of all, love the site and I appreciate the time you put into it.

Are these rankings based on head-to-head or rotisserie? Also, are you open to critiquing my current rotisserie rankings?

kenny kelly
kenny kelly
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin:

I’m not expecting you to take a ton of time to look this over, but if you can just quickly identify the rotisserie rankings that are way off base that would be awesome.

1. Kevin Durant
2. Anthony Davis
3. LeBron James
4. Stephen Curry
5. Chris Paul
6. James Harden
7. Carmelo Anthony
8. John Wall
9. Russell Westbrook
10. DeMarcus Cousins
11. Serge Ibaka
12. Kevin Love
13. LaMarcus Aldridge
14. Al Jefferson
15. Damian Lillard
16. Dirk Nowitzki
17. Blake Griffin
18. Kyrie Irving
19. Kyle Lowry
20. Goran Dragic
21. Chris Bosh
22. Paul Millsap
23. Kawhi Leonard
24. Al Horford
25. Nicolas Batum
26. Ty Lawson
27. Joakim Noah
28. Mike Conley
29. Marc Gasol
30. Rajon Rondo
31. Andre Drummond
32. Rudy Gay
33. Nikola Vucevic
34. Brook Lopez
35. Jrue Holiday
36. Ricky Rubio
37. Kemba Walker
38. Derrick Rose
39. Kobe Bryant
40. Eric Bledsoe
41. Victor Oladipo
42. Deron Williams
43. DeAndre Jordan
44. Chandler Parsons
45. Wesley Matthews
46. Klay Thompson
47. Monta Ellis
48. Gordon Hayward
49. Thaddeus Young
50. Dwight Howard

kenny kelly
kenny kelly
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

Just to follow up. Here’s how I ended up after my draft. Anything good or bad stick out? Thanks.

1. (5) Stephen Curry PG,SG
2. (20) Blake Griffin PF,C
3. (29) Chris Bosh PF,C
4. (44) Eric Bledsoe PG,SG
5. (53) Chandler Parsons SF,PF
6. (68) Derrick Favors PF,C
7. (77) Kyle Korver SG,SF
8. (92) Darren Collison PG
9. (101) J.J. Redick SG
10. (116) Terrence Jones SF,PF
11. (125) Giannis Antetokounmpo SG,SF
12. (140) John Henson PF,C
13. (149) Rodney Stuckey PG,SG

Boom Shakalaka
Boom Shakalaka
8 years ago

Hey JB n Slim,

I’ve been doing some mocks and I’ve been seeing some real draft values based on you ADP’s and would your take on it. I’m in a 10 team keeper league drafting GGG FFF C UTL UTL UTL BNC BNC. My keepers are Westbrook in the 4th and Lawson in the 6th. Since I already have two elite PG’s Im wondering which of these value picks would you tareget if you already new ud have westbrook in the 4th and lawson in the 6th. I find myself jumping all over Millsap and M.Gasol but I feel like they dont mesh well with Lawson and Westbrook….. What would your strategy be?

1-10
11-20 Ibaka
21-30 Millsap/Horford
31-40
41-50 Rubio/Kemba/Vucevic/M.Gasol
51-60
61-70 Favors/P.Gasol
71-80 MCW/Calderon
81-90 Knight/Collison
91-100 Markieff
101-110 Gina Anet…….???
111-120 T.Jones/Sullinger/Draymond

Boom Shakalaka
Boom Shakalaka
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin:

Lets say I have a late 1st round pick and grad Wall and couldnt get MCW. Who would look to taret in the 7th round?

Slim
Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  Boom Shakalaka

@Boom Shakalaka: I think every one of those is a steal where you think you can get them. Since we never know in the real draft I’ll add another to your list. I’d like to add Faried in the 60s. Just as much potential as Favors and I like him a little more than Pau Gasol even just for this year. Faried in the 7th has keeper potential if he does live up to my lofty expectations.

The only other thing I’m thinking is trying to figure out the order of those last 3 picks. There’s a way to get all 3… I’m not sure what it is, yet.

JungMin
JungMin
8 years ago

Hi JB n Slim,
i was wondering why you put Terence Ross so low? Jodie Meeks is 98th while Ross is 140, but the two have incredibly similar stat line predictions. Plus Ross has more upside and doesn’t have KCP competing for minutes. if there’s a reason why u put Ross so low, plz tell me! just wondering if it’s okay for me to draft him a bit earlier.

Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  JungMin

@JungMin: Yeah I don’t think Meeks’ steals carry over. Could be an outlier and I think there’s a legitimate fight for minutes that Meeks could loose. That’s pretty easy to put a number on. Ross is turning 23 and is far more athletic than Meeks. He got his 1st taste of real minutes last year and if he takes the next step he could easily outproduce Meeks this year with the same amount of minutes. It’s tough to put a number on ‘upside’ for a projection.

I don’t mind Ross earlier than 140. It’s an upside gamble though. He could be your 1st drop or he could lead the league in 3s.

JungMin
JungMin
8 years ago
Reply to  Slim

@Slim: Thanks guys! got ross a bit earlier, like i said and passed up on meeks……hope it pays!

Richo
Richo
8 years ago

Hey guys, had my draft today. Thanks heaps for your work over the last few months- hope the podcasts pick up again now that’s done 🙂 I had pick 5 in a 14 teamer.

1) Curry
2) Kawhi
3) Millsap
4) Drummond (keeper)
5) Jrue
6) Wiggins
7) D-Will
8) Giannis
9) Henson
10) Draymond
11) KCP

I’m definitely short in big men but I just kept getting value guards and wings. Tried to make up with it reaching for Henson but I’ll be ok with the way our roster is organised.
Wanted Beard so bad but couldn’t turn down Curry at 5, he’ll definitely be PG/SG in ESPN yeah?
Can’t wait to send/receive stupid trade offers!

Richo
Richo
8 years ago
Reply to  Richo

@Richo: It’s about 8 hours after the draft and I’ve just realised I can call my team ‘Kawhi U Jrue Dis?’ Hahaha, way too proud of myself.
http://thinketg.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/y-u-do-dis.jpg

Richo
Richo
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin:
I’ll be real dirty on choosing Curry over the beard if Curry isn’t SG.. I wanted Beard heaps more, felt really sad when noone took Curry and I had to

kenny kelly
kenny kelly
8 years ago
Reply to  Richo

@Richo: Really light on the boards, but Millsap and Drummond are good value picks. Good overall.

Richo
Richo
8 years ago
Reply to  kenny kelly

@kenny kelly:
My league roster is:
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
G
F/C
Bench x4

I’ve got a lot of SG/SF players (Kawhi, Wiggins, Giannis, Draymond, KCP) which gives me flexibility. I need Millsap and Drummo to hold down the PF and C slots with only Henson as a back up.
I figure if I play those dual position wing players in the SG and G slots I will make up for rebounds. Giannis and Kawhi could get 6 each which is great for guards.

Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin: I’m not 100% sure but if we were doing an all-time fantasy draft I think I’m probably taking Oscar Robertson 1st overall.

But yeah I agree with these guys. Another big would be good. I think KCP is redundant since you’re already so high in steals. I’d drop him for an upside PF/C.

Richo
Richo
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin: Definitely Wilt! Didn’t he average a triple double for a season because he was sick of people calling him a ball hog? They didn’t take defensicve stats, but apparently he had 11 blocks in his debut game too

Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  Richo

@Richo: I don’t think this is so obivous… this is before 3s, steals, blocks were kept track of but it’s obvious Oscar would win 3s and Steals, Wilt takes blocks.

Wilt Career – .540/.511/30.1/22.9/4.4
Oscar Career – .485/.838/25.7/7.5/9.5

Are you really punting FT% if there’s only 5 categories? Wilts FTs is on 11.4 attempts per game. It’s punted no matter who you add with him.

Wilt got up to 8.6 APG as a career high. Oscar averaged a triple double once and came really close 3 other times. Wilt played less than 40 games in a season 3 times. Oscar never.

JungMin
JungMin
8 years ago

I had a real nice draft, 4th pick in a 12 teamer and got

round1: KD(crazy value….nobody wanted him smh)
2: Chris Bosh
3: Al Horford
4: Jrue Holiday
5: Victor Oladipo
6: Derrick Favors
7: Jose Calderon
8: Roy Hibbert(for the blocks….)
9: Markieff Morris
10: Elfrid Payton
11: Mario Chalmers
12: Terrence Ross
13: Draymond Green

I’m a bit short on boards(hoping Bosh goes back to his toronto days), but the real problem is the lack of SG depth on my squad. Oladipo and Ross are the only players who are eligible. i should have picked more SGs but i just couldn’t pass on Payton with the 117th pick and Chalmers with the 124th…..too much value, especially with LeBron gone…. do you guys think any of these guys are going to become SG eligible? or should i try to trade one of my PGs for a SG? if so who should i target?

JungMin
JungMin
8 years ago
Reply to  JungMin

@JungMin: oh yeah, FYI it’s a 9-cat head to head league

JungMin
JungMin
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin: defnitely will do! thanks for the fast reply!

Slim
8 years ago
Reply to  JungMin

@JungMin: That looks like a real good draft. 3 people really passed on Durant? That’s pretty stupid… Bosh there is OK, I don’t think his boards go up all that much. Of course Horford that late more than makes up for it. I like Jrue and Oladipo there. Favors in the 6th is unreal. I’ve seen it far too much. Calderon is just fine as a #3 PG plus Durant almost gives PG level assists. I’m not sure you needed a big shotblocker like Hibbert. But there’s some upside there and you should have a top 3/4 blocking team. Elfrid at 117 is unreal. Enjoy. I like Chalmers some too this year. I don’t mind that at all. Ross works just fine there and I think Draymond is the next Shawn Marion.

So the only ever so slight negatives would be Hibberts uncertainty, A few boards since Bosh/Hibbert can’t be relied on for 10+ a night, and a slight lack of SG depth. The SG is easy to find on waivers, you will have a choice between several decent ones if Ross doesn’t work out. I think losing a PG for some boards wouldn’t hurt you at all in assists/steals/3s. If you could package Hibbert and Rio/Elfrid for a top 50ish big with at least 1.0 Blocks then I think you would be way ahead of the curve (not a baseball reference). Faried would be my 1st target, especially since Durant makes up for his FT shooting.

If I had to give a number to your draft, it’s easily a 9 outta 10 draft.

JungMin
JungMin
8 years ago
Reply to  Slim

@Slim: thanks for the great reply! okay, top 50 big it is!

Patrick
Patrick
8 years ago

yo please comment on my team, i think i got good value

1) KD
2) Milsap
3) Horford
4) MCW
5) Oladipo
6) Monroe
7) Brandon Knight
8) Frye
9) Draymond green
10) Meeks
11) Henson
12)Wright Marcus
13) Marcus Smart

Patrick
Patrick
8 years ago
Reply to  Patrick

@Patrick: Kinda weak on ast and blocks

Patrick
Patrick
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin: ya ppl started to get smart after round 5, favors, markeif, jones, all my potential blockers were taken 🙁 i’ll send a trade offer for more blocks hopefully favors owner will bite

Patrick
Patrick
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin: considering im on a 14 team league i’m happy

Patrick
Patrick
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin: that do you think of oladipo for favors and terrence jones? the dude with favors drafted him 3rd :/

Jon
Jon
8 years ago

Please help me with my team. just traded conley/lin/1st round pick for lillard/4th pick. Did I overpay for lillard?

Here’s my final team:
16 Team H2H 9 Cat Dynasty Basketball
PG Damian Lillard
SG Klay Thompson
G Reggie Jackson
SF Lance Stephenson
PF Anthony Davis
F Josh Smith
C Derrick Favors
C Jonas Valanciunas
Util Draymond Green
Util Jordan Hill
BN Nik Stauskas
BN Vince Carter

Richo
Richo
8 years ago
Reply to  Jon

@Jon: How many keepers does your league allow? What sort of quality of player goes in your first round of the draft?

Jon
Jon
8 years ago
Reply to  Richo

@Richo: this has been drafted already so most probably the pick is for next year. We have to keep 3(1 under 21) player.. Traded p-bev for my jordan hill. How’s my team now? Thanks

Jon
Jon
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin: its a 3 keeper league(1 under 21 player). I think giving up first rounder for next year hurts since we only have to keep 3. Anyway, planning to keep lillard, davis and stauskas for nxt year.

Anyway, have traded jordan hill for patrick beverly. Any weakness on my final team? Thanks so much..

Jon
Jon
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin:

Finally got a deal done. P Bev/Stauskas for elfrid Payton. Is that a good deal or have overpaid? getting payton will help my assist and steals . And I think Payton will not ruin my FG since he’s not a volume shooter. Any thoughts on this? Thanks.

Jon
Jon
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin: Thanks JB. You’re a great help. Cheers!

ArchVince
ArchVince
8 years ago

Good Day JB, been reading your posts a lot and it has really help me, especially in understanding/gauging the value of players.

Anyways, I am playing in a 12 CAT (the extra CATs are A/TO Ratio, and Minutes played) in a 10 team league. I would just like to ask your opinion on what I what i did (picked) wrong and what was right, and also what can I do to improve my team?

Here are my picks (in order/by round)
6th pick/1st round = Melo
2nd round = Ibaka
3rd round = Batum
4th round = Vucevic
5th round = MCW
6th round =Beal (might have reached a bit here?)
7th round = Hibbert (needed the blocks since Vucevic doesn’t BLK a lot)
8th round = David West
9th round = Calderon
10th round = Frye
11/12/13/14 = Terrence Jones, Corey Brewer, Miles Plumlee, Draymond Green

ArchVince
ArchVince
8 years ago
Reply to  JB Gilpin

@JB Gilpin:

I might have overvalued Hibbert a bit (hoping he steps up without George), I really wanted the block badly 😛 Should I have gone for Tyson Chandler instead? By the time I picked up Hibbert, the only available ‘decent’ big men who were starters were Hibbert, Chandler, and Bogut.

Also, are there any areas/CAT where my team seems weak in your opinion? I might consider trading some of players, if so which player should I consider expendable and which player should I be aiming to get?

Thanks for the help again, looks like i’ll be visiting your site very often from now on 🙂