Picking at 20 and 21... What about Gasol?

[ZenBaller]

Hey fellow fantasy managers,

I'm in a very deep league with 20 teams and expert managers. Unfortunately our draft lottery this off-season gave me the 20th pick. I've been researching and thinking for some time now who to pick at 20 and 21 and I've come up with many scenarios. Ideally I should draft one or two centers because all good ones will be gone by the 3rd-4th round and we play in a 2 center league.

Anyway here's what I'm concerned with... all the elite centers (Amare, Howard, Duncan, Bosh, maybe Yao too) will be gone by the time I pick. There's a chance that Pau Gasol and Al Jefferson will still be free and Jefferson is clearly my first choice. But what about Gasol?

His assists and fg% have gone up since joining the Lakers but his rebs have decreased from 9.9 to 7.8 mainly because of Odom and his ppg is also down because of the many scoring options of the team. Now that Bynum is returning, his ppg and rpg may fall even more...

So do you think Pau is a good 20th pick? What kind of players would you recommend at 20 and 21? I'm open to any suggestions..

Thanks,
Zen

[fraanciiscoo]

question who is taken?

[Pinot love]

I think Gasol is more than solid here. The larger the leagues the more his and Amare type stats are favored.

[ZenBaller]

question who is taken?

This is the list with the players that imo will be gone until my pick 100%.

LeBron James
Chris Paul
Kobe Bryant
Amare Stoudemire
Dirk Nowitzki
Dwight Howard
Kevin Garnett
Dwyane Wade
Gilbert Arenas
Tim Duncan
Deron Williams
Elton Brand
Yao Ming
Chris Bosh

14 players.... If one of them is still available, I'll take him, it's a no brainer. After the elite, there's a another big group of players with similar value which makes them hard to choose. It all depends on the draft strategy or just who you like. Most of them will be available at 20-21 where I pick.

Allen Iverson
Carmelo Anthony
Baron Davis
Al Jefferson
Caron Butler
Josh Smith
Shawn Marion
Steve Nash
Joe Johnson
Vince Carter
Andre Iguodala
Carlos Boozer
David West
Pau Gasol
Brandon Roy

[Curtis Lemansky]

I seriously doubt that Marion will be available at 20.

Howard definitely will be available at 20 but I'd heavily recommend to avoid drafting him in the first 3 rounds.

There is an outside chance that Deron might be there at 20.

From your candidates list:

20/21 is a bit too high for Roy and JJ.Also it is a bit of reach for Igoudola and Carmelo.I'm not very high on Nash this year after the significant drop in his stats after Shaq trade so I'd not consider him at 20/21 either.

Even though their stats were satisfying,I'd say 20/21 are a bit high for Carter and West.Something between 25 to 35 range would be more reasonable.

I'd also add Marcus Camby to your list.As much as questionmarks he has,he was still a top-10 player last year.Given that he is a center,he would fit your strategy very well.

So who are we left with?
Caron Butler
Josh Smith
Allen Iverson
Baron Davis
Marcus Camby
Pau Gasol
Al Jefferson
Carlos Boozer

Your first list(14 players minus Howard plus Marion) is 14 players long so I'd say there is a good chance that one of these players will be available.So you should take whoever is available from the list below at 20/21.

My order of preference would be(if more then one of the these players is available)
Baron Davis
Allen Iverson
Caron Butler
Marcus Camby
Josh Smith
Al Jefferson
Pau Gasol
Carlos Boozer

My humble suggestion would be not to be too much concerned about picking a center at the expense of losing the best player available.There are plenty of centers to go in a 20 teamer(Kaman and Bynum around late 30's/early 40's & Mehmet Okur/Dalembert/Biedrins/Oden/LaMarcus Aldridge around 60's & Okafor/Bogut around 70's and Noah around 120's.).

IMO getting two players from that list would be a really good start to build a team.

[tkunit]

why is anthony even mentioned.....taking gasol at 20 would be alright I wouldn't take him any sooner however. Look for players like smith to possibly slide.

[Bang' Em Smurf]

Always look at David West... most under rated PF in the league

[UnRealGM]

that list is crazy, why would marion be available? caron butler will be gone too.

[ZenBaller]

Always look at David West... most under rated PF in the league

Yes worth a look. He improved his blocks last season, he's definitely a top 35 player.

that list is crazy, why would marion be available? caron butler will be gone too.

Well Marion is a top 15 pick if you still live in 2006 when he had 18/10/2/1.5.

After many years his steals went below 2 pg , his blocks below 1 pg and he averaged only 14 ppg with half a 3p. I know Heat sucked last season especially in the 2nd half but they won't be much better next year. They'll probably make a playoff run with a healthy Wade and a good rookie season from Beasley but I don't expect Marion's number to raise much. Drafting him in the top 10 is way too early and after 30 too late. The top 3 days are long gone. He might be a good pick for me at 20-21.

Anyways, thanks for the input guys. If you have any other ideas keep them coming.

[DNYLkiller]

I'd take Baron and Pau,

[jazzfan1971]

I took Pau #16 in FFL, then Jefferson with my 2nd rounder.

Unlike these folks, I'm a believer in drafting for position instead of talent. I figure you can get your small guys later in the draft.

Just my way of doing business though. I like Pau this year, his stats in LA were super clean last year, and I see no reason they could't even be better this year. I wont be terribly surprised of both guys are gone by #20.

Good luck.

[Alex_De_Large]

Carlos Boozer, Al Jefferson, Pau Gasol, Chris Kaman or Marcus Camby if you are looking for a good center and all those 20 are already selected.

[amb1ent]

boozer has c eligibility?