Iggy/Crash/JJ

[ChronicKerr]

I am going to take either Kobe or Granger round 1. Who would be the ideal pair for both of these players out of these guys? Thanks!

[NetsForce]

Joe Johnson has the least risk. Take either Johnson or Iguodala. Johnson gets you more 3's, Iguodala will get you more steals.

I fear Iguodala might get off to a slow start similar to last year as he continues to try and learn how to play with Brand though...

[ChronicKerr]

Thanks. Any recomendations on Kobe versus Granger and who would pair better with whom?

I'm guessing Kobe and Johnson or Granger and Iggy would be the best combinations. Which pair you takin?

[Maritimer]

I'd go Granger/Iggy and go PG next round. I'm worried that Crawford will cut into JJ's ball handling time. I'm also a bit wary of Kobe. As LA continues to add weapons and as Kobe matures I think you'll see him defer more and more. I don't think his assist number will change, but rather Bynum will see more touches and Artest will spell Kobe more often. He's got a crazy number of minutes in him now -- I wouldn't be surprised to see Phil reign in Kobe's playing time a little bit. Granger, on the other hand, is one of the few guys in the league who should get 1.5 steals, blocks and threes. With the depth of OK centres these days, it's important to get blocks from your wing players if you want to win that cat.

[ChronicKerr]

Kobe is as consistent as they come and is always a top 5-7 player. His stats went down last season and he still finished top 5. I don't see them going down a whole lot more, steals may even go up. Granger is more injury prone and is more prone to having an "off" season - even for him that will be top 25. Granger averaged 1 steal even last season. Why the sudden .5 per game jump? Granger has 3's and blocks on Kobe. Kobe has basically everything else, except ft% in which he's sweet at as well.

[NetsForce]

I'd also take Kobe over Granger. If Granger plays like he did last year then you can argue that he's the better fantasy bball player than Kobe, but:

1. I'm not sure if he's going to be able to maintain that level of play.
2. I expect Granger to see less time at power forward this year (potentially affecting his BPG average) as the Pacers try to get more playing time for Hibbert and Hansbrough.