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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
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I act as a one-man army for this draft, but it would be neglectful to ignore identifiable mock draft trends that have materialized this summer. This player had follow-up surgery less than two months ago, and only stepped back onto the court last week, but a jaunt around the web reveals that his name is getting read towards the middle-end of the first round. He will be wearing new goggles for the upcoming season. Will drafting him have you seeing double? Or does he reward you by having a great season that vault him back into the conversation of top five fantasy players in the league today?
Round 1, Pick 9: Amar’e Stoudemire, PF/C, Phoenix Suns
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Only a few years ago, Dirk and Kevin Garnett led off the top of each fantasy draft. Back then Dirk was eligible at center for fantasy teams, which made him a truly unique player. Very few centers in the league could rain buckets like Dirk as he shot the lights out from everywhere and he could drop the moneyball.
Fast forward to the present and Dirk still does his thing, game-in and game-out. His draft stock continues to trickle down towards the end of the first round, to the point that he now represents underrated value.
Round 1, Pick 8: Dirk Nowitzki, PF, Dallas Mavericks
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LeBron James and Chris Paul represent the top tier in fantasy basketball this season. Both deserve to own top dog status, and arguing vehemently for one over the other is like splitting hairs. Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and Dwight Howard were penciled in as the heart of the lineup in the first round and represent the second tier. Wade currently leads the pack for the third pick overall, and perhaps Dwight has the least chance of going so high since his negative roto buzz sometimes crosses over into other league formats. I believe he deserves to be a high draft pick in a head-to-head league. That means the third tier starts here.
Round 1, Pick 7: Danny Granger, SG/SF, Indiana Pacers
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I might have to mention this at least ten times during this article. This mock draft is for a head-to-head league. “Superman” can dominate a head-to-head league. Everyone knows about his poor free-throw percentage. Heck, the three little pigs did not do as much bricklaying in making their third house compared to what Howard shoots from the line some nights. Label him a roto killer because he deserves it. Draft all the Ray Allen or Steve Nash-types you want, you will not be able to compensate for the deficit in a roto league. All this negativity and I have not even mentioned his high turnover rate. However, this mock draft is for a head-to-head league (despite the first sentence, I will try to make this the second and last time I write that). In this type of league play, he can lead the league in two of the nine categories and be top ten material in two others. That gives you a great chance to win four of the nine categories every week, and you have a free down to win one of the remaining five categories to seal the win. In head-to-head play, a 5-4 win every week will bring home the title.
Round 1, Pick 6: Dwight Howard, C, Orlando Magic
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Oh, Portland. Will destiny link the names of Sam Bowie and Greg Oden together for all time? As the old saying goes, you cannot teach height. You also cannot teach sheer awesome scoring prowess. Heading into his third year in the league, this guy has lapped Oden in career achievement thus far several times over. As a hoops fan, hopefully Oden can overcome his injuries and show the world what he can do. In the meantime, though? Tell mommy to throw the food guide out the window because this season it will be KD for breakfast, lunch and dinner!
Round 1, Pick 5: Kevin Durant, SG/SF, Oklahoma City Thunder
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LeBron James, Chris Paul, and Dwyane Wade have been taken in this mock draft. To review, this mock draft involves consideration of a standard nine-category head-to-head league.
The player these guys looked up to during the 2008 Beijing Olympics is being taken now. LBJ and CP3 will likely inherit the top two picks in drafts this year, but there is room to debate starting with the third pick overall. Let us look at the argument from the Kobe side of the coin.
Round 1, Pick 4: Kobe Bryant, SG, Los Angeles Lakers
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Yesterday the PGA Championship proved that nothing is a sure thing in sports. Tiger Woods had been money in the bank winning 14 out of 14 majors when heading into Sunday with the lead. He did not play his best. Congrats to Y.E. Yang for stepping up. As the saying goes, that is why they play the games.
I am turning the third and fourth pick of this mock draft into a head-to-head battle. It comes down to what kind of risk you want to take, and how much of a “sure thing” you need. For these purposes, let us roll the dice, relatively speaking.
Round 1, Pick 3: Dwyane Wade, PG/SG, Miami Heat
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Happy belated birthday to Magic Johnson, who turned 50 years old on August 14, 2009. The world was different when news that Magic was HIV-positive hit; no one would have guessed he would live to see his 50th birthday back then. Magic remains one of my all-time favorite NBA players, as well as the standard point guards today must compare their personal and team achievements to.
One of my current faves in the NBA today is the next pick. His career thus far has him looking like the next in the line of NBA “point gods” and most would consider him a “1-A” rather than a number two pick.
Round 1, Pick 2: Chris Paul, PG, New Orleans Hornets
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For his song “Changes”, Tupac Shakur sampled Bruce Hornsby and the Range; the chorus has a line that read, “That’s just the way it is.” The next line is “Some things will never change” but here in the Gear Live family, there have been a ton of changes. My Dropping Dimes colleagues have moved on to other things in life. I wish them all well. I myself have been away from blogging for an extended period of time, but summertime has given me an itch to write about hoops again.
This marks the fourth time a fantasy basketball mock draft appears within Gear Live Media. Unlike other sites, we strived to do a full entry on every player selected. Also unlike other sites, this mock draft will assume a standard head-to-head league with nine categories. Many experts like to post roto mock drafts perhaps because it is so easy to ridicule the free throw shooting of Dwight Howard and Shaquille O’Neal, but most would agree that a head-to-head league is more fun and more interactive. With that said, let’s kick things off with the obvious pick.
Round 1, Pick 1: LeBron James, SF, Cleveland Cavaliers
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