I took part in a 14-team, nine-cat, head-to-head Yahoo! draft on Thursday, Oct. 21. If you like music or food, you might be familiar with some of the people I was drafting with. This draft is probably pretty typical of standard, nine-cat Yahoo! leagues, so my hope is that it helps you prepare for your draft. The owner list and draft order are as follows:
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Round 1
1. Bob Nastanovich – Stephen Curry PG GSW
2. Steve Alexander – James Harden G HOU
3. Kevin Hogan – Russell Westbrook PG OKC
4. Sam Coomes – Karl-Anthony Towns C MIN
5. Doug Martsch –Kevin Durant SF OKC
6. Janet Weiss – Kawhi Leonard SF SAN
7. David Chang – Giannis Antetokounmpo G/F MIL
8. Stephen Malkmus – Chris Paul PG LAC
9. Lance Rochester – Paul George F IND
10. William Slater - Anthony Davis PF NOP
11. Joanna Bolme – Hassan Whiteside C MIA
12. Matthew Hogan - Damian Lillard PG POR
13. Yuri Ono – DeMarcus Cousins C SAC
14. Jake Morris – LeBron James SF CLE
I would have taken Harden No. 1 so I was happy to see him fall. KAT went 4th instead of his standard fifth, so it will be interesting to see how big of a steal Doug got by getting Durant at No. 5. And look at Anthony Davis way down there at No. 10!
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Round 2
15. Victor Oladipo SG OKC
16. Draymond Green F GSW
17. Kristaps Porzingis PF NYK
18. Paul Millsap PF ATL
19. Klay Thompson SG GSW
20. Jimmy Butler G/F CHI
21. Al Horford F/C BOS
22. LaMarcus Aldridge PF SAN
23. Kemba Walker PG CHA
24. Kyle Lowry PG TOR
25. Isaiah Thomas PG BOS
26. John Wall PG WAS
27. Nikola Jokic C DEN
28. Kyrie Irving PG CLE
I’m leery of the hype and lack of a production from Jokic in the preseason, but I felt like 25 was a good spot to take him. The point guard run was on in Round 2, as four of the last five picks were ball handlers.
Round 3
29. Serge Ibaka PF ORL
30. D’Angelo Russell PG LAL
31. Eric Bledsoe G PHX
32. DeMar DeRozan G/F TOR
33. Brook Lopez C BKN
34. Derrick Favors F/C UTA
35. C.J. McCollum SG POR
36. Myles Turner F/C IND
37. Kevin Love PF CLE
38. Blake Griffin PF LAC
39. Mike Conley PG MEM
40. Rudy Gobert C UTA
41. Jeff Teague PG IND
42. Carmelo Anthony F NYK
Do I think Round 3 is too early for Russell? Yes. Would he have been there when I picked again? No way. I’ve been trying to get him in drafts this year and this was the first time I pulled it off. Sure, I might regret it, but I love the situation he’s in for the Lakers and think he’s going to have a big year. Malkmus said “this one’s for Mike Gallagher” in the chat room just before he scooped up Turner, while Jake ended up with the guy he always seems to end up with – Melo.
Round 4
43. Jonas Valanciunas C TOR
44. Andre Drummond C DET
45. Andrew Wiggins G/F MIN
46. Tobias Harris F DET
47. Aaron Gordon F ORL
48. Jae Crowder F BOS
49. Trevor Ariza G/F HOU
50. Goran Dragic PG MIA
51. Ricky Rubio PG MIN
52. Gorgui Dieng F/C MIN
53. Ryan Anderson PF HOU
54. Jabari Parker F MIL
55. Jusuf Nurkic C DEN
56. DeAndre Jordan C LAC
There was a bit of a center run in Round 4 and I’m officially all-in with the Nuggets bigs. Maybe I could have had Nurkic with my next pick, but with both Denver bigs on my team, I’m set at center. I was going to go forward here, but when Harris, Gordon, Crowder, Ariza, my man Ryno Anderson, and Parker all went, I said screw it and took Nurkic.
Round 5
57. Nikola Vucevic C ORL
58. Nicolas Batum G/F CHA
59. Avery Bradley SG BOS
60. Thaddeus Young PF IND
61. Evan Fournier SG ORL
62. Pau Gasol F/C SAN
63. Steven Adams C OKC
64. Marcin Gortat C WAS
65. Marc Gasol C MEM
66. Gordon Hayward G/F UTA
67. Otto Porter SF WAS
68. Dennis Schroder PG ATL
69. Devin Booker SG PHX
70. Zach LaVine G MIN
Sensing that I really needed a decent small forward before it was too late, I was thrilled to get Batum here. And I was sad to see LaVine scooped up with the last pick by Jake.
Round 6
71. Darren Collison PG SAC
72. Rudy Gay SF SAC
73. Enes Kanter F/C OKC
74. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson G/F BKN
75. Monta Ellis SG IND
76. Bradley Beal SG WAS
77. Robin Lopez C CHI
78. Nerlens Noel F/C PHI
79. Dirk Nowitzki PF DAL
80. Rajon Rondo PG CHI
81. Jordan Clarkson G LAL
82. Joel Embiid C PHI
83. Jeremy Lin PG BKN
84. Danilo Gallinari SF DEN
I was eyeing Kanter, Dirk and especially Clarkson here, and while I probably should have taken the human injury known as Gallinari, I decided to get another point guard instead. With Harden, D’Angelo and Lin, I should at least be competitive in assists. And I’m pretty certain Lin might play more games than the guys taken around him combined (Embiid/Gallinari). And for the record, I think Dirk was a steal at 78.
Round 7
85. Nikola Mirotic F CHI
86. Dwyane Wade SG CHI
87. Justise Winslow F MIA
88. Greg Monroe F/C MIL
89. Kent Bazemore G/F ATL
90. Danny Green G/F SAN
91. Wesley Matthews G/F DAL
92. George Hill PG UTA
93. Stanley Johnson F DET
94. Chandler Parsons F MEM
95. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope SG DET
96. Rodney Hood SG UTA
97. Dwight Howard F/C ATL
98. Brandon Knight G PHX
Wade qualifies as a F in Yahoo! leagues so I went ahead and grabbed him, possibly against my better judgment. But maybe, just maybe, he’ll stay healthy. I was queuing up Danny Green for my next pick, but Janet ruined that plan.
Round 8
99. DeMarre Carroll F TOR
100. Julius Randle PF LAL
101. Dario Saric PF PHI
102. Tristan Thompson F/C CLE
103. Terrence Jones PF NOP
104. Elfrid Payton PG ORL
105. Gary Harris SG DEN
106. J.J. Redick SG LAC
107. Kenneth Faried PF DEN
108. Mason Plumlee C POR
109. Will Barton G/F DEN
110. Marcus Smart PG BOS
111. Harrison Barnes F DAL
112. Marvin Williams F CHA
I had Saric and Terrence Jones on my list, but I really thought I could get TJ a round or two later, but Slater was buying the same hype I was. Thankfully Janet took Faried so I didn’t have to think about it, and I was pretty happy to land Harry B at 109.
Round 9
113. J.R. Smith G/F CLE
114. Robert Covington SF PHI
115. Joakim Noah C NYK
116. Taj Gibson PF CHI
117. Zach Randolph PF MEM
118. Jahlil Okafor C PHI
119. Kyle Korver SG ATL
120. Al-Farouq Aminu F POR
121. Emmanuel Mudiay PG DEN
122. Reggie Jackson PG DET
123. Deron Williams PG DAL
124. Bismack Biyombo F/C ORL
125. Jrue Holiday PG NOP
124. Clint Capela C HOU
Covington was the final piece to my forward puzzle and I was happy to get him. Now I just hope he can somehow stay healthy. Reggie Jackson – oh how the mighty have fallen, and I doubt Yuri will be able to hang onto Holiday for too long in a daily lineup league.
Round 10
127. Patrick Beverley PG HOU
128. Courtney Lee SG NYK
129. Eric Gordon SG HOU
130. Mirza Teletovic F MIL
131. Roy Hibbert C CHA
132. Brandon Ingram SF LAL
133. Markieff Morris PF WAS
134. Derrick Rose PG NYK
135. Luol Deng F LAL
136. Tim Frazier PG NOP
137. Willie Cauley-Stein C SAC
138. Frank Kaminsky PF CHA
139. Jared Sullinger F/C TOR
140. Kris Dunn PG MIN
I seem to end up with Sullinger in every draft, and this was no exception. I liked Sticky’s Eric Gordon pick, am thankful I don’t have Hibbert or Rose on my team, and like the sneakiness of Frazier, who could start at PG until Holiday is back.
Round 11
141. Tyreke Evans SG NOP
142. Evan Turner G/F POR
143. Kelly Olynyk C BOS
144. Marcus Morris F DET
145. Seth Curry PG DAL
146. Buddy Hield SG NOP
147. Trey Lyles PF UTA
148. Matthew Dellavedova PG MIL
149. Ben Simmons PF PHI
150. Andrew Bogut C DAL
151. Allen Crabbe SG POR
152. Ish Smith PG DET
153. JaMychal Green PF MEM
154. Josh Richardson G/F MIA
Turner qualifies at G/F and I like his role in Portland. Curry and Crabbe are nice sleepers here, while I’m not sure Simmons and Richardson will still be rostered a couple weeks from now as they recover from their injuries. Injured players are tough to hold in this deeper daily league.
Round 12
155. Jamal Murray SG DEN
156. E’Twaun Moore G NOP
157. Brandon Jennings PG NYK
158. Ed Davis F/C POR
159. Lou Williams G LAL
160. Solomon Hill SF NOP
161. Tyler Johnson G MIA
162. Alex Len C PHX
163. T.J. Warren SF PHX
164. Bojan Bogdanovic G/F BKN
165. Dwight Powell PF DAL
166. Mario Hezonja SG ORL
167. Jamal Crawford SG LAC
168. Jerryd Bayless G PHI
I finished things up with Crawford, who somehow qualifies at SF in Yahoo! leagues. Jennings could end up playing a lot of PG if Rose can’t stay healthy, while Warren, Bogdanovic, Powell and Bayless are interesting sleepers.
Good luck in your drafts!!
