Are you a music fan? One of my favourite music memories of recent years is Snoop Dogg being featured in the MTV Icon tribute to Metallica. Working his unique flow to “Sad But True,” this was proof that sometimes the unexpected works out very nicely. Now, I am sure there are a legion of metal-heads out there that found the same performace blasphemous, but to each their own.

Building a basketball team involves finding underrated or underappreciated players and hoping that they fit in well with the core players already on your team. Here is a player who will fit into any fantasy team and make it better. There are still 20 ppg players available, players who are on everyone’s sleeper list, and players who have played in All-Star games. But I think this pick may not be so unexpected, and he should be on everyone’s hot list already.

Round 5, Pick 7: Andre Iguodala, SG/SF, Philadelphia 76ers

Magic Johnson is a Laker. Larry Bird is a Celtic. Michael Jordan is a Bull (have to keep reminding myself the Washington Wizard years actually happened). Allen Iverson is a 76er. The franchise hardly made him out to be a living legend this summer though. If or maybe when the Answer moves on, “The Other A.I.” will get the green light to reach his fantasy potential.

Even as is, Iggy is a solid fantasy producer already. We all know he can fly. He was jobbed out of the slam dunk crown last year as Nate Robinson tried his winning dunk two hundred times before the ball actually went through the hoop. Last year Iggy posted modest gains in points, assists, three-pointers, rebounds, and both percentage categories. He remained a premier thief in the league, swiping 135 rocks in 82 contests last year.

He could do more. There is potential for him to be a true star in the league. We might not get to see it while he has to play third banana to Iverson and Chris Webber.

On this team, he will help lead the charge in steals behind Gilbert Arenas. He brings his solid shot selection to the table. His free throw shooting is average and getting better, but hey, at least he will not be helping “The Big Fundamental” drag this team down from the charity stripe. It remains hard to tell whether the moneyball will be a big part of his game, but he is certainly a modest contributor there.

In the first four rounds, this team grabbed players who come as advertised. In Iguodala, I am shopping in the “Potential” aisle, and I think it will pay off. I have taken players in the fourth and fifth round who are not big-time scorers, so I will be looking to boost those bread-and-butter categories in the next couple of rounds.

Other Team Members:

1.7. Gilbert Arenas
2.6. Tim Duncan
3.7. Joe Johnson
4.6. Marcus Camby