Fantasy basketball draft: 14 team results and analysis
By Alex Kouki
Fantasy Basketball Draft: Round 3
1.Mitchell Robinson(NY – C) – Stone Cold
2. John Collins(Atl – PF,C) – MY TEAM
3. Devin Booker(Pho – PG,SG) – Wrecking Crew
4. Pascal Siakam(Tor – PF) – General G
5. Russell Westbrook(Hou – PG) – Breaking Bad
6. Ben Simmons(Phi – PG) – Jokes on U
7. Lauri Markkanen(Chi – PF) – Don’t knock the knicks
8. Kristaps Porzingis(Dal – PF,C) – Apples to Pears
9. Buddy Hield(Sac – SG) – Step 123
10. D’Angelo Russell(GS – PG,SG) – Team Aces
11. Jayson Tatum(Bos – SF,PF) – 1 nighter
12. Chris Paul(OKC – PG) – Big Boyz
13. Khris Middleton(Mil – SG,SF) – Play2Win
14.Robert Covington(Min – SF,PF) – Drewit that way
Value Pick
I’ll swing for the fences and say Westbrook could return some major value here. I have never been confident enough to select him in my past drafts, but the man has consistently been a top 20 player since 2010 – 2011.
Think about that for a second.
He was a round 1 or round 2 player for close to a decade! Yes he is getting a bit up there in age, but perhaps a fresh start in Houston with his old running mate and dear friend Harden can reignite him and boost his efficiency stats.
My pick
I made the decision here to go ahead and punt blocks, only because John Collins was barking at me to take him. Both Curry and Mitchell gain significant value without counting blocks, and Collin’s himself could be a top 24 player in the build.
There is a lot to be excited about this season in Atlanta, particularly with Collins. Their GM, Travis Schlenk, shared the Hawks’ are looking to play both Collins and Young closer to 35 minutes a night (compared to last years’ 30). That is going to result in more opportunity to put up big numbers.
I’m also high on him for another reason.
In a recent podcast with Zach Lowe, Collins shared his aspirations in becoming a more well rounded player, even stating that his goal was to be able to play at the SF position. If he gets SF, PF, and C eligibility this year….I am drooling.
By all accounts, the Hawk had a productive summer and will be a great source of FG%, points, and rebounds for me.
Particularly when you are punting blocks, you want to find guys that can shore up your FG% and rebounds, but don’t hold a ton of their value in blocks. Even though Collins does that for me I will have to pay attention to my steals. Collins only averaged a pathetic 0.4 steals last year.
“Meh” pick
D’Angelo Russell. I don’t know…just…meh. I think last year was a career year for him. He basically had the green light to do whatever he wanted after LeVert went down and still returned round 4 value (#40).
Maybe Curry and Thompson’s shooting will rub off on him, but I just don’t see him outperforming last year considering he is in a new situation, new scheme, and will play second fiddle behind Curry.
Maybe even third fiddle behind Draymond? What’s more, even though the Warriors have denied it, I can’t help but feel Russell could be traded before the All Star break to an unknown situation and that is kind of scary.
One thing is for sure though. Russell will be asked to score a lot until Klay returns. So there is that…
Extra fantasy basketball draft thoughts
Another pretty decent round here. Starting to get an idea of some of the teams draft strategies. With James, Turner, and Booker, Wrecking Crew looks to be building a formidable punt FG% (and maybe TO) team.
Having selected Irving and Drummond in the first two rounds, 1 Nighter drafted Jayson Tatum in the third round. I likely would have gone full into a punt FT% build and taken a risk on Chris Paul here.
In Punt FT% builds, it is very challenging to stay competitive in points, 3s, assists, and steals and Paul is elite in three of those four categories and could be above average this year in points having been traded to OKC.
Fantasy Basketball Draft: Round 4
1. Mike Conley(Uta – PG)- Drewit that way
2. Eric Bledsoe(Mil – PG,SG) -Play2Win
3. Otto Porter Jr.(Chi – SF,PF) -Big Boyz
4. CJ McCollum(Por – PG,SG) -1 nighter
5. Kevin Love(Cle – PF,C) – Team Aces
6. Zach LaVine(Chi – PG,SG)- Step 123
7. Bam Adebayo(Mia – PF,C) – Apples to Pears
8. LaMarcus Aldridge(SA – PF,C) – Don’t knock the knicks
9. DeMar DeRozan(SA – SG,SF)- Jokes on U
10. Clint Capela(Hou – PF,C)- Breaking Bad
11.Brook Lopez(Mil – C)- General G
12. Danilo Gallinari(OKC – SF,PF)- Wrecking Crew
13. Jonas Valanciunas(Mem – C)- MY TEAM
14. Thomas Bryant(Was – C) – Stone Cold
Value pick
Clint Capela. A lot of people have mixed opinions on Capela this year, and I can understand why. Russell Westbrook and his rebound chasing self is joining him. Clint finished as a second round player last year, and he did it on a usage rate of just 17.6%.
Westbrook does command the ball, but without Paul I don’t really anticipate a huge drop in the center’s usage or stat line. He should be the recipient of a lot of easy looks and will still glean a lot of his value from playing excellent defense (1.5 blocks, 0.7 steals).
My pick
I knew I wanted to target another big man to shore up my rebound and FG% numbers – both of which are tough to be competitive in punt block builds. I am happy with JV and think he is going to have a monster year but definitely would have preferred BAM or Aldridge who both went before my turn.
After his trade from Toronto, JV averaged 19.9PPG, 10.7RPG, 2.2APG, and 1.58BPG in just shy of 28 minutes, with excellent percentages. At just 27 years old, its possible Memphis see him in their long term plans, After signing him to a 3 year extension, and at just 27 years old, its possible Memphis see him as a long term piece and could play him just over 30 minutes a night.
Sadly, JV does nothing to improve my deteriorating steals situation (0.4 last year).
“Meh pick”
It pains me to say it, but I think DeRozan might be my pick here. Don’t get me wrong, I love his game and think he is a safe pick in general. He is also very durable. Last year the Spur averaged 21PPG, 6.2APG, 6RPG, a steal and was shooting 48% from the field and 88% from the line. That is a beast of a stat set and good for 4th round value.
The problem I have with DeRozan here is Murray has returned, and White has had another year to develop. I don’t see DeMar’s usage of 28.3% be replicated this year with another ball handler entering the mix. Now if Jokes on U commits to building a 3 pt punting team, then I love this pick. With selections of James, Draymond, and Ben Simmons, it is possible that this is what he is doing.