Admittedly this next pick is at least in part, a fanboy pick. The old Dropping Dimes staff here at Gear Live Media, including myself, had a man-crush on this guy from the start. His success in the league remains bittersweet, as my hometown team, the Toronto Raptors, passed on him when they had the #1 pick in the draft. Andrea Bargnanimade some steps forward last season, but Roy was rookie of the year, has played in all-star games, and should garner strong consideration for the 2010 Team USA Olympic basketball team i.e. at this stage in their careers, there is no comparison. This summer he signed a big-time five-year extension with Portland, but the guaranteed dollar bills will not put any damper on his awesome game.

Round 1, Pick 10: Brandon Roy, PG/SG, Portland Trail Blazers

Here are the numbers and league ranks for Roy from last season.

Field Goal Percentage: 0.480 (40th)
Free Throw Percentage: 0.824 (48th)
Three-pointers made: 83 (1.1 per game) (85th)
Points: 22.6 (10th)
Rebounds: 4.7 (76th)
Assists: 5.1 (23rd)
Steals: 1.13 (34th)
Blocks: 0.28 (96th)
Turnovers: 1.93 (54th)

As consolation prizes go, Roy is hard to beat. Eligible at either guard position, he represents the prototype for the fantasy combo guard. He shoots well from anywhere. He scores boatloads of points while keeping the turnovers down. He can clear the 1.1 per game threshold in both moneyballs and steals. Chris Paul will lead the league in assists and steals, and Dwyane Wade puts up more big ball stats, and that is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of why those all-stars are top picks this year. In this draft, Roy is the third PG-eligible guard taken (behind CP3 and Wade) and the fifth SG-eligible guard taken (behind Wade, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and Danny Granger).

Chris Bosh will get picked around this area. Roy does not dominate three-pointers and steals like the elite performers in those categories, while Bosh has not been a big shot-blocker. In picking between these two, it comes down to which weakness you can live with more. Both are the number one scoring options on their respective teams. Al Jefferson and Pau Gasol might remain available in the second round, so I can reconcile not picking CB4 here. Deron Williams was second in the league last year in assists. Like Roy, Williams shoots a good percentage and is serviceable but not top ten material in three-point shooting and steals. Roy will hit the boards more and turn the ball over less. Plus, Roy can slide over to shooting guard.

The Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs still lead the class of the Western Conference. Portland will get grouped with teams like Denver, Dallas, and New Orleans, all strong teams with excellent headlining talent and looking to win a high seed for the playoffs. The competition means Roy and company will play meaningful games right through the end of the season, which for fantasy owners, means production when it matters to us most. Plus, the Blazers added Andre Miller this summer; having a point guard on the team who can distribute the ball like Miller can could help Roy crack the 25 ppg mark this year.