Staff Fantasy Basketball Draft Recap: Analysis of Our 12-Team Head-to-Head League
Round 4
| Pick | Overall | Player | Position | Writer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 37 | Kyrie Irving | PG/SG | Bryan Mears |
| 2 | 38 | Bradley Beal | SG | Brett Oswalt |
| 3 | 39 | Rudy Gay | SF/PF | Dale Redman |
| 4 | 40 | Victor Oladipo | PG/SG | Russell Peddle |
| 5 | 41 | Trevor Ariza | SG/SF | Brandon Gdula |
| 6 | 42 | Reggie Jackson | PG/SG | Brett Weisband |
| 7 | 43 | Greg Monroe | PF/C | Shae Cronin |
| 8 | 44 | Nicolas Batum | SG/SF | Mike Comerford |
| 9 | 45 | Jeff Teague | PG | Jay Kim |
| 10 | 46 | George Hill | PG/SG | Jacob Kent |
| 11 | 47 | Al Jefferson | PF/C | Derek Lynch |
| 12 | 48 | DeMar DeRozan | SG/SF | Sam Hauss |
Pick 37 was a great place for Bryan to grab Kyrie Irving. A lack of clarity in Kyrie's injury reports and timetable to return is making fantasy drafters nervous this year, as there's reportedly a possibility that he won't play until January this season. Whether he beats that timetable or not, Bryan has locked down a guy that finished as the 11th-ranked player in nine-category leagues in his first season alongside LeBron in 2014-15. That kind of upside is a fantastic get in the fourth round and I'm even ok with grabbing him a round earlier, depending on what's left on the board. Even more so if your league has an injured reserve spot (ours does).
Brett Oswalt's pick of Bradley Beal seems a little bit aggressive here, as Yahoo has his O-Rank set at 88 and we're projecting him at 87. ESPN's ranking of 57 helps Brett's case a bit, but he probably still could've waited a round or two. Beal's best nine-category ranking over his three seasons in the NBA was last year's finish at 83rd, and he's missed a lot of games due to injury. Still, he's only 22 years old, and if Brett properly predicts this as Beal's breakout year, I'll be eating these words come April.
Reggie Jackson, Greg Monroe, and Nicolas Batum are all buzz-worthy names with rising average draft positions (ADP), as they step into the spotlight as more featured players on their new teams. This is a good range to take a shot on either of them, but our algorithms side with Mike Comerford here and like Batum (40th) over Monroe (54th) and Jackson (77th) in that order.
Jay Kim got fantastic value on Jeff Teague at pick 45, as we have him projected as the 16th-ranked player overall in fantasy hoops this season. For more on why we're so high on him, check out our breakout candidates and top point guard targets. Teague is one of both, in our eyes.
My pick: Victor Oladipo, PG/SG - With my third-round pick, I was deciding between Eric Bledsoe and Victor Oladipo, so I was pretty happy that 'Dipo was still on the board when it got back to me in the fourth. Much like Bledsoe, Oladipo is a very versatile combo guard that gives you help in points, threes, assists, steals, and free throw percentage, while giving you solid rebounds for the position. Also like Bledsoe, his turnovers are too high, so I'll have to consider punting that category with a team that also has LeBron James and his career mark of 3.4 giveaways per game.
