And now, the Yahoo! drafted team Onyx

As explained in one of the posts below, I have two fantasy basketball teams this season, one drafted by myself, one auto-drafted according to Yahoo! rankings. Here is the Yahoo! list:

1) Dirk Nowitzki
2) Marcus Camby
3) Caron Butler
4) Jason Richardson
5) Rasheed Wallace
6) Zach Randolph
7) Randy Foye
8) Stephen Jackson
9) Morris Peterson
10) Nick Collison
11) Quentin Richardson
12) Derek Fisher
13) Mike Conley

First off, let's recap what my reaction to this draft was like:



No waiver moves made yet. This team is competing in week 1 of the head-to-head league right now, categories are FG%, FT%, 3PTM, PTS, REB, AST, ST, BLK, TO. I'm down 6-3 this week.

Picks I liked:
Marcus Camby in the 2nd round: As stated below, I like going big early, since there isn't a tremendous amount of C-eligible talent, despite two Cs starting each day. Plus, Camby is one of the best in fantasy on REBs and BLKs while putting up respectable numbers in PTS, FG% and AST from the C.

Zach Randolph in the 6th round: Picks immediately before Randolph: LaMarcus Aldridge, Danny Granger, Ben Wallace. I think that says it all. Granger I'll spot you, he's going to be a monster this season. Aldridge, OK, I guess since Oden is out, he's the focal point of the Blazers offense down on the block. But Ben Wallace? He's never been a terrific fantasy guy, even in his prime, because he kills you on FT%, doesn't pile up PTS and really only gives you two plus categories — BLKS and REBS. However, with Tyrus Thomas steadily improving and Joakim Noah off the bench in that rotation, the Bulls have three guys who make hustle and energy plays while playing good defense and rebounding well. One of them is 33. Guess who's gonna get tired the quickest? Randolph gives me a solid lock for 18-9, with a shot at 20-10 evern with Curry in the lineup (Eddy isn't exactly a beast on the boards). He also shot 81.9% from the line last season, not too shabby for a big.

Nick Collison in the 10th round: OK, I'm not really sold on this pick. But I had to have a third pick I liked. So, Collison plays behind Robert Swift. Who's semi-injury prone. He'll get his minutes and probably post a respectable 6-8 points and 8-10 boards even as a sub. There.

Picks I didn't like (oh, where to begin!):
Caron Butler in the 3rd round: Don't get me wrong, I like Caron. He's have a nice season in the neighborhood of 20 and 7 a game, with a few assists and steals thrown in for good measure. The problem is, he doesn't do one thing very very well, and he doesn't give me eligibility at a premium position. Plus, he's second-fiddle, and occasionally third-fiddle (can you have 3) in that Wizards offense. Guys picked after Caron: Deron Williams (that hurt especially), Baron Davis, Kevin Martin, Al Jefferson. Deron and Baron both pile up assists in good offenses, get decent steals numbers and play the point. Kevin Martin, fine, he's pretty much in the same situation as Caron, just with less talent. Al Jefferson would have been another fine pick though. Forward-Center eligibility and a near-lock for 20-10 a game. Low block numbers, but he'll probably get better this year, since last season was the first time he had major rotation minutes. And he's the focal point of his offense.

Randy Foye in the 7th round: Hands down one of the worst picks in the entire draft, even without the knee injury. He's a point guard without an offense. His best chance at getting those crucial assists. He's extremely talented, but this isn't going to be his year. Right after him: peja, David Lee, T.J. Ford and Rajon Rondo. Peja gives you plus categories for PTS, 3PTM, FG% anf FT%. Lee, even playing behind Randolph and Curry, will get you 12-10 a game because he plays hard and neither one of the guys in front of him plays any D. Ford, while he's an injury risk, plays in an offense where its tough not to pile up assists — Toronto has a better offense than people think right now. Finally, Rondo. I know most people have a love-hate thing with him, but the way I see it, though Foye is a better player long-term, Rondo has a higher ceiling this year because he has little pressure off the bench for his starting spot, and because he has a decent supporting cast.

Derek Fisher in the 12th round: I love Derek Fisher. He plays hard, works hard and was an above-average point guard who played with two of the league's most difficult personalities through his prime. That being said, he's no longer in his prime. And he's going to be challenged for minutes. And the best offensive weapon in his offense wants to get the hell out of Dodge. If Kobe gets traded, Fisher is beyond worthless; so I'm trying to unload him via trade right now while his value is still decent. If a PG was going to be the focus of this pick, why not take the still-available Mike James or Jose Calderon, who will put up the same numbers as Fisher but have higher ceilings.

Mike Conley: Another atrocious pick. If a rookie PG is the target here, go with Acie Law, who's going to produce and won't be pushed too much. Conley, on the other hand, is competing for minutes with Kyle Lowry, who already has a year in the Grizzlies' system under his belt, and Juan Carlos Navarro, who has been one of the best guards in Europe and who just happens to be best friends with Pau Gasol. On the plus side, at least Yahoo! didn't take Smush Parker with this pick.