Fantasy Basketball: The numberFire Hoops Writers' Draft 2018-19
Round 2
| Pick | Overall | Player | Team | Position | Writer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | Joel Embiid | PHI | PF/C | Dale Redman |
| 2 | 14 | John Wall | WAS | PG | Shae Cronin |
| 3 | 15 | Ben Simmons | PHI | PG | Jay Kim |
| 4 | 16 | Chris Paul | HOU | PG | Austan Kas |
| 5 | 17 | Andre Drummond | DET | PF/C | Jordan Sharp |
| 6 | 18 | Paul George | OKC | SG/SF | Michael Rondello |
| 7 | 19 | Jimmy Butler | MIN | SG/SF | Tom Whalen |
| 8 | 20 | Rudy Gobert | UTA | C | Alex McDonald |
| 9 | 21 | Kevin Love | CLE | PF/C | Sam Hauss |
| 10 | 22 | Jrue Holiday | NO | PG/SG | Brett Oswalt |
| 11 | 23 | Kyrie Irving | BOS | PG/SG | Russell Peddle |
| 12 | 24 | Kemba Walker | CHA | PG | Ian Goldsmith |
The young, budding Philadelphia superstars tend to go in this round, but be aware that we've got Ben Simmons projected at 28th, largely due to his low free throw percentage and high turnovers. He's a semi-bust in our books at his 12.3 average draft position (ADP) across the industry.
Austan Kas got a bit of a steal here with Chris Paul falling to him at 16th. CP3 has finished in the top-10 in nine-category leagues in each of the last 11 seasons (just read that again), including a ninth-place finish last year. Sure, he misses more games than he used to, but he's such a strong multi-category threat that you can't let him slip too far in a head-to-head league like this one.
Jimmy Butler obviously comes with some risk with your second-round pick, since he's very much on the trading block, but he'll apparently start the season with the Minnesota Timberwolves, and we've got him 15th in our projections. His value being maintained in a new location is certainly not a sure thing, but he's finished in the top-15 in nine-category leagues in each of his last four seasons with various casts of characters in Minny and Chicago. He'll be fine.
Some might think that Sam Hauss reached a bit for Kevin Love at 21, but we've got him projected at 18 this year. Remember, back when Love was the unquestioned first option in Minnesota, he was a perennial top-five option. He might never reach those heights again at age 30, but now that LeBron James has moved on from Cleveland, the top-20 is well within Love's reach after he finished 26th last year (his best finish yet as a Cavalier).
My pick: Kyrie Irving finished as the 14th-ranked player in nine-category leagues on a per-game basis last year, his first with the Boston Celtics. Sure, the Celts get Gordon Hayward this season, but that's not enough to make me unhappy to have Irving fall to me here at 23rd. We're projecting him to finish 16th this year, ahead of other point guards like Jrue Holiday and Kemba Walker in this range.
