Fantasy Basketball: The numberFire Hoops Writers' Draft
Round 5
| Pick | Overall | Player | Team | Position | Writer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 49 | Nikola Vucevic | ORL | PF/C | Dale Redman |
| 2 | 50 | Danilo Gallinari | LAC | SF/PF | Alan Goldsher |
| 3 | 51 | Andre Drummond | DET | PF/C | Abe Schwadron |
| 4 | 52 | Jeff Teague | MIN | PG | Jay Kim |
| 5 | 53 | Brook Lopez | LAL | C | Austan Kas |
| 6 | 54 | Jrue Holiday | NO | PG | Russell Peddle |
| 7 | 55 | Victor Oladipo | IND | PG/SG | Sam Hauss |
| 8 | 56 | George Hill | SAC | PG/SG | Jordan Sharp |
| 9 | 57 | LaMarcus Aldridge | SA | PF/C | Alex McDonald |
| 10 | 58 | Harrison Barnes | DAL | SF/PF | Shae Cronin |
| 11 | 59 | Clint Capela | HOU | PF/C | Brett Oswalt |
| 12 | 60 | Serge Ibaka | TOR | PF/C | Brandon Gdula |
I think Brook Lopez is being overlooked a bit this year, so it's possible that Austan Kas got a steal at pick 53. Lopez has been a top-40 player in each of the last five seasons and top-25 in three of the last four. I don't think his situation will be that different on the Los Angeles Lakers, where he should continue to score, block, and give you solid percentages.
Now that he's out of Russell Westbrook's shadow, Victor Oladipo has some nice bounce back potential. On the Indiana Pacers, 'Dipo should be a solid sidekick for Myles Turner and could return to his 34th-ranked value from his last season in Orlando in 2015-16.
Everyone seems out entirely on LaMarcus Aldridge this year, as he slips to 57th in our draft and currently has an ADP of 51.3 across the industry, according to FantasyPros.com. He ranked 53rd in nine-category leagues last year, but that's after ranking in the top-13 in five of the previous six seasons. His days of first-round upside are certainly over, but he could still pay very good dividends for owners who catch him sliding in the middle rounds.
Other than that, Shae Cronin grabbed one of our biggest bust candidates in Harrison Barnes (125th by our projections), while Brett Oswalt secured one of our potential breakouts in Clint Capela (our 35th-ranked player)..
My pick: I really wanted Clint Capela with this pick, but my team construction rendered that a bad idea. With three of my first four picks being centers, I desperately needed a point guard. I like Jrue Holiday perfectly fine in this range, and our rankings agree with me, projecting him 57th overall this year.
