Staff Fantasy Basketball Draft Recap: Analysis of Our 12-Team Head-to-Head League
Round 8
| Pick | Overall | Player | Position | Writer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 85 | Emmanuel Mudiay | PG | Bryan Mears |
| 2 | 86 | Robin Lopez | C | Brett Oswalt |
| 3 | 87 | Gorgui Dieng | PF/C | Dale Redman |
| 4 | 88 | Deron Williams | PG | Russell Peddle |
| 5 | 89 | Robert Covington | SG/SF | Brandon Gdula |
| 6 | 90 | Thaddeus Young | SF/PF | Brett Weisband |
| 7 | 91 | Jordan Clarkson | PG/SG | Shae Cronin |
| 8 | 92 | Dirk Nowitzki | PF/C | Mike Comerford |
| 9 | 93 | Al-Farouq Aminu | SF/PF | Jay Kim |
| 10 | 94 | Wilson Chandler | SG/SF | Jacob Kent |
| 11 | 95 | J.J. Redick | SG | Derek Lynch |
| 12 | 96 | J.R. Smith | SG/SF | Sam Hauss |
This is pretty much the area of the draft where value becomes less obvious and a divide grows between managers grabbing young talent and intriguing ceilings, versus others going for proven commodities and reliable floors.
To wit, Emmanuel Mudiay (122nd in our rankings), Gorgui Dieng (73rd), and Jordan Clarkson (110th) are obvious ceiling plays, while Deron Williams and Dirk Nowitzki represent floors. It was interesting to see our game of chicken on Dirk last this long, and Mike should be thrilled to get him in this range. He's certainly not the fantasy asset he once was, but he still managed to play 77 games last season and finish as the 41st-ranked player in nine-category leagues. He's projected as our 62nd-ranked player this year, while D-Will is 63rd. Both are decent fliers in this range.
J.J. Redick finished last season as the 59th-ranked player in nine-category leagues, and 67th the year before. We have him projected to finish this season 48th overall, so don't sleep on him as long as we did here. Great pick by Derek, getting Redick's points, threes, sterling percentages, and low turnovers this late in the game. The same could be said for Brandon getting Robert Covington at 89, since he finished last season 66th and we have him projected 67th as an elite source of threes, steals, free throw percentage, and manageable turnovers.
My pick: Deron Williams, PG - D-Will, as mentioned above, was a floor play for me here. I still didn't have a pure point guard on my roster at this point (Eric Bledsoe and Victor Oladipo were the only two I had with point guard eligibility) and the position was starting to thin out. I don't expect a full bounce back season for Williams in Dallas, but I don't mind grabbing him in this range for a shot at decent points, threes, steals, assists, and free throw percentage if my team needs help in those categories.
