Staff Fantasy Basketball Draft Recap: Analysis of Our 12-Team Head-to-Head League
Round 9
| Pick | Overall | Player | Position | Writer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 97 | Andrew Bogut | C | Mike Hurley |
| 2 | 98 | Enes Kanter | C | Shae Cronin |
| 3 | 99 | Josh McRoberts | PF/C | Brett Weisband |
| 4 | 100 | Brandon Knight | PG/SG | Bryan Mears |
| 5 | 101 | Omer Asik | PF/C | Kyle Stanzel |
| 6 | 102 | Paul Pierce | SF/PF | Russell Peddle |
| 7 | 103 | Jordan Hill | PF/C | Mike Comerford |
| 8 | 104 | Michael Carter-Williams | PG | Daniel Lindsey |
| 9 | 105 | Gerald Green | SG/SF | Brett Oswalt |
| 10 | 106 | Reggie Jackson | PG/SG | Galin Dragiev |
| 11 | 107 | Jeff Green | SG/SF | Brandon Gdula |
| 12 | 108 | DeMarre Carroll | SF/PF | Sam Hauss |
This is the point in the draft where managers were grabbing their final regular starters and hoping for some of them to hit as big things this year.
Brett Weisband's Josh McRoberts pick comes with plenty of upside, considering he quietly finished last season as the 85th-ranked player in nine-category leagues and should have close to the same role in Miami this year as he did in Charlotte. He gives you great threes (1.4) and assists (4.3) from a PF/C and we have him projected at 94 this season. He's a solid sleeper pick at 106 on Yahoo, but especially at 117 in ESPN leagues.
Last year's Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams is a weird fantasy anomaly this season. People will be attracted to his shiny counting stats (high points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks), but utterly turned off by his percentages and high turnovers. Add in a mysterious shoulder injury and a confusing timetable for return and who knows what you're getting from MCW in his sophomore season. Good luck if you draft him.
Other than that, Reggie Jackson has interesting upside late in drafts as someone who could step up big with Durant sidelined (as he did when Westbrook was out last year). I like Galin Dragiev picking him up there.
DeMarre Carroll at 108 probably represents the steal of the round for Sam Hauss, though, as he finished as the 53rd-ranked nine-category player last year and we have him projected at 82 for 2014-15. Carroll is often forgotten as the clear fifth option for the Hawks and for not having any one category where you'd consider him a specialist (although the steals and low turnovers this late are a great combo). What's great about Carroll is his all-around solid contributions through the nine categories. It might not be sexy, but it gets the job done in the later rounds when most guys are detrimental in at least one or two areas.
My pick: Paul Pierce, SF/PF - I know Pierce is no spring chicken, but I'll take him every day at 102, especially when I'm thin at small forward. I'll admit, my team is probably the oldest in the whole league, but The Truth has never finished worse than last season's 73rd ranking in his entire career and he seems to have plenty left in the tank to still crack the top 100 and then some. The points aren't where they were, but the threes, steals, free throw percentage, and low turnovers will all do quite nicely. Just think of all the corner threes he could hit in Trevor Ariza's role from last year, with John Wall feeding him the ball on the regular.
