Staff Fantasy Basketball Draft Recap: Analysis of Our 12-Team Head-to-Head League
Round 7
| Pick | Overall | Player | Position | Writer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 73 | Markieff Morris | PF/C | Sam Hauss |
| 2 | 74 | Ricky Rubio | PG | Derek Lynch |
| 3 | 75 | Jahlil Okafor | C | Jacob Kent |
| 4 | 76 | Rajon Rondo | PG | Jay Kim |
| 5 | 77 | C.J. McCollum | PG/SG | Mike Comerford |
| 6 | 78 | Marcin Gortat | C | Shae Cronin |
| 7 | 79 | Eric Gordon | SG | Brett Weisband |
| 8 | 80 | Tim Duncan | PF/C | Brandon Gdula |
| 9 | 81 | DeMarre Carroll | SF/PF | Russell Peddle |
| 10 | 82 | Tyson Chandler | C | Dale Redman |
| 11 | 83 | Michael Carter-Williams | PG | Brett Oswalt |
| 12 | 84 | Alec Burks | PG/SG | Bryan Mears |
Markieff Morris had a rough summer, and the uncertainty of his role in Phoenix going forward brought his industry rankings down, finishing at 98 on Yahoo and 83 on ESPN going into draft season. Well, it looks like 'Kieff is sticking it out with the Suns and will continue to hold the starting power forward position there where he posted 71st-ranked value in nine-category leagues last year. We're projecting him as the 74th-best player in fantasy this season, so this is the perfect range for him.
Ricky Rubio is a great pick for Derek in this range, as he can be an elite source of assists and steals this late. If you can absorb or are planning to punt his deficiencies in scoring and field goal percentage, he's an even better pick. We have him projected 59th overall this season.
Rajon Rondo is one of our top bust candidates for 2015-16. Jay reached for him here a bit at pick 76, while we have him projected to finish the season all the way down at 200. Sorry, Jay.
There's a lot of buzz around C.J. McCollum this season, so Mike grabbing him here with pick 77 is notable. His sleeper status has all but disappeared after a strong preseason.
No one seems all that sure of how to value Marcin Gortat this year, despite consecutive seasons finishing 45th and 42nd overall in nine-category leagues. Yahoo currently has him ranked 44th, ESPN has him all the way down at 94th, and our projections have him as the 56th-ranked player going into this season. If Shae Cronin believes that the Polish Hammer can maintain roughly the same value as the last two seasons, while trusting where we and Yahoo have him ranked, he should be very happy about getting him at pick 78.
My pick: DeMarre Carroll, SF/PF - Carroll finished last season as the 54th-ranked player in nine-category leagues, and the year before that as the 53rd. With a new, lucrative contract from the Toronto Raptors and what promises to be an expanded role, he was a no-brainer at pick 81. His points aren't all that great, but his contributions in threes, rebounds, steals, field goal percentage, and low turnovers shouldn't be overlooked in the middle rounds.
