I’ve never seen it happen, but trust me folks when I say that you can even get snaked in mock drafts!  With Chauncey Billups in mind to pair with LeBron James, I had a perfect one-two punch from my first two selections.  But, such is life.  Regroup yourself, and keep on picking!  Instead of going the point-guard way and settling for a lesser player, I decided to take this thing a different route.  As I see the drop-off in big men taking a steep turn by the time I would get to pick again, I had no choice but to take at least one center-eligible player at the turn.  And who better to pair up with King James than one of the most exciting and explosive players in the game?

Round 2, Pick 12: Amare Stoudemire, PF/C, Phoenix Suns

Yes, I know.  Amare Stoudemire is recovering from a knee surgery that kept him out of almost every game last season.  I’ve seen the articles, I’ve read the opinions, and I’ve even exclaimed my own opinionabout formerly injured players.  However, needing a center, and weighing the risk-reward payoff for this guy, I couldn’t let him stay out there any longer.

I’ve talked to fantasy basketball pundits throughout.  Some have said they’ll never touch the guy until he proves himself.  Then I’ve also seen him go as high as 6th in some drafts.  While the former may see a guy that saw 50 minutes of court action last year, the latter (with myself included) see the 20 and 10 guy that graced our fantasy squads for the two years previous.

While I can listen to your thoughts that he’ll never be the same, and will never repeat his 2004-05 performance, I will counter the argument that even if he falls off a little from his past production, he’s still one of the better fantasy big men in the game, and at the 24th pick overall, the value cannot be beat.

Other Team Members:

1.1 LeBron James, SF, Cleveland Cavaliers