) with something here and I'll consider changing it or I'll let you know why I made the decisions that you see below. Also, let me know if you think something or somebody is missing and I'll try my best to accommodate.Surefire Players. They're more than likely going to produce on a consistent basis, so If these players are still available by the late mid to the late rounds, take them asap.
PG - DeAngelo Russell, Markelle Fultz (GOAR), Kyle Lowry, Kyrie Irving, Dennis Schroder, John Wall, Kemba Walker, Jeff Teague, Damian Lillard, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry, Patrick Beverley, Lonzo Ball (GOAR), Eric Bledsoe, Jrue Holiday, Dennis Smith Jr (GOAR), Chris Paul, Mike Conley, Goran Dragic, Ricky Rubio
SG - Demar Derozan, Khris Middleton, Victor Oladipo, Avery Bradley, Bradley Beal, Andrew Wiggins, CJ Mccollum, Klay Thompson, Devin Booker, James Harden, Dion Waiters, Evan Fournier (EF), Tim Hardaway Jr, Gary Harris (GHD)
SF - Gordon Hayward, Carmelo Anthony, Lebron James, Giannis Anteokounmpo, Otto Porter, Jimmy Butler, Paul George, Kevin Durant, Danilo Gallinari, Harrison Barnes, Trevor Ariza, Kawhi Leonard, Tobias Harris, Wilson Chandler
PF - Kristaps Porzingis, Serge Ibaka, Kevin Love, Paul Millsap, Draymond Green, Blake Griffin, Anthony Davis, Dirk Nowitzki, Lamarcus Aldridge, Ben Simmons (GOAR)
C - Joel Embiid, Jonas Valanciunas, Myles Turner, Andre Drummond, Hassan Whiteside, Dwight Howard, Nikola Jokic, Karl Anthony Towns, Jusuf Nurkic, Rudy Gobert, DeAndre Jordan, Brook Lopez, Demarcus Cousins, Marc Gasol, Nikola Vucevic
Outsiders looking in, these guys will most likely get the playing time and be in the starting lineup/rotation, but varying factors may prevent them from being consistent statistically. I could be wrong. Draft with caution.
PG - Isaiah Thomas (Injured Stash), Kris Dunn, Derrick Rose, Reggie Jackson, Malcolm Brogdon, George Hill (GHS), Elfrid Payton, Jeremy Lin, Rajon Rondo (Injured Stash)
SG - Eric Gordon (EG), Dwyane Wade (DW), Marcus Smart, JJ Redick, Malik Monk, Tyreke Evans, Jordan Clarkson, Lou Williams, Jamal Crawford, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Buddy Hield, Zach Lavine (Injured Stash), Will Barton
SF - Demarre Carroll, Robert Covington, Thaddeus Young, Jabari Parker (JP), Chandler Parsons, Rudy Gay, Brandon Ingram, Josh Jackson (GOAR), TJ Warren, Jaylen Brown, Nicolas Batum (Injured Stash)
PF - Dario Saric, Kelly Olynyk, Aaron Gordon, Markieff Morris, Ryan Anderson, Pau Gasol, Gorgui Dieng, Enes Kanter, Julius Randle, Marquese Chriss, Zach Randolph, Trevor Booker, Derrick Favors
C - Al Horford, Robin Lopez, Greg Monroe, Marcin Gortat, Clint Capela, Steven Adams, Tyson Chandler, Willie Cauley Stein
Potential gems, the overlooked players that only a few know about. These players could have a breakout season or an opportunity to provide statistically depending on the circumstances. It's likely possible they can obtain heavy minutes right away when the season starts, or maybe later on in the season, but whether or not they decide to make a big impact in the league (when they do get the minutes) is a big if. Late round pickups/stash aka don't let these guys be the woulda coulda shoulda that you wish you would've taken in the draft.
PG - Frank Ntilikina, De'Aaron Fox, Jamal Murray, Justin Holiday
SG - Allen Crabbe, Rodney Hood, Milos Teodosic, Kent Bazemore
SF - Jayson Tatum, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Taurean Prince, Denzel Valentine
PF - Lauri Markkanen, Domantas Sabonis, Ersan Ilyasova, John Collins, Nikola Mirotic, Kyle Kuzma, TJ Leaf
C - Willy Hernangomez, Skal Labissiere, Jarrett Allen, Dewayne Dedmon
Notes:
GHD - Gary Harris will have a few competition among his teammates. There are a handful of backcourt players that will need their shots, and also the rise of Jokic, the addition of Millsap, and Wilson Chandler could result in less ball time for the guards, but on the other hand, Gary is in on his extension, so it's your call whether or not you want to take a chance on him early to prevent someone else from snatching him. (Murray, Mudiay, Harris, Nelson, and Barton)
For the Jazz, pay attention to their SG and SF spots. Rodney Hood could very likely be the steal of the draft. Joe Johnson and Joe Ingles deserve a mention as well, but my gut feeling tells me, Rodney Hood, all the way.
The Hawks and Nets are probably the top teams from a few (see below for more) with undiscovered gold mines. In ATL, Dwight Howard, Paul Millsap, and Penny Hardaway Jr are all gone, and if history is any indication, then Ersan Ilyasova and Kent Bazemore will get their volume shots and minutes. Dewayne Dedmon and rookie John Collins may very likely see nice rotation minutes as well. Similar situation in Brooklyn and Chicago, Brook Lopez and Bogdanovic/Wade, Butler and Rondo are gone making room for new faces to potentially shine.
JP - Jabari Parker did average 20 ppg last season, but it was due to the fact that Khris Middleton was out for pretty much the majority of the season. Adding to your difficult decision, he's also one of those few players on an extension season, so it's up to you how early you want to take him.
GHS - George Hill would be in the surefire category, but there are a few uncertainties about him, as well as being with the Kings where I just have to leave him in the 'outsiders looking in' category.
EF - Evan Fournier is a tricky one since he did average 17 ppg last season consistently enough, however the situation in Orlando is a one that many should avoid if there are better options available in the draft. The only player on the Magic that you can really rely on is Vucevic.
DW - Not sure how coach Lue will use Dwyane Wade, but given the fact that IT will be out for basically the first half of the season, Wade should be a decent player for the short term. It's still risky to draft him anywhere close to or above the mid-round selections though, given his age, the uncertain minutes he'll receive, and a bunch of rotational players on the Cavs roster.
EG - For Eric Gordon, it might be somewhat of a struggle to put up numbers relative to last season. Chris Paul and James Harden will have to get their fair share of minutes at the PG and SG positions respectively (as opposed to last season where they could swap out Patrick Beverley and move James Harden to the PG slot). So unless the Rockets decide to go with a consistent small ball lineup where James Harden can slide into the SF role, letting Eric Gordon play SG simultaneously with Chris Paul at PG as well, then I don't know how the sixth man of the year can repeat last season. It'll be interesting to see his performance this year. With that said, draft with caution.
GOAR - Great opportunity as a rookie.
Injured Stash - If you have room and/or are thinking about the long term, then these guys could be steals of the draft by the second half of the season, if they come back healthy that is.
Notable contract year players:
Avery Bradley
Brook Lopez
Carmelo Anthony (Early Termination Option)
Chris Paul
Demarcus Cousins
Derrick Favors
Dwyane Wade
Ersan Ilyasova
Greg Monroe
Isaiah Thomas
JJ Redick
KJ McDaniels
Lou Williams
Rajon Rondo
Robert Covington
Sean Kilpatrick
Trevor Ariza
Trevor Booker
Tyreke Evans
Will Barton
Aaron Gordon (Restricted)
Clint Capela (Restricted)
Dante Exum (Restricted)
Elfrid Payton (Restricted)
Jabari Parker (Restricted)
Julius Randle (Restricted)
Jusuf Nurkic (Restricted)
Marcus Smart (Restricted)
Rodney Hood (Restricted)
TJ Warren (Restricted)
Zach Lavine (Restricted)
Danny Green (Player)
DeAndre Jordan (Player)
Dirk Nowitzki (Team)
Enes Kanter (Player)
Jamal Crawford (Player)
Jeremy Lin (Player)
Kevin Durant (Player)
Lamarcus ALdridge (Player)
Lebron James (Player)
Milos Teodosic (Player)
Paul George (Player)
Rudy Gay (Player)
Thaddeus Young (Player)
Wilson Chandler (Player)
Teams that can produce new breakout players
Chicago Bulls
Indiana Pacers
Brooklyn Nets
New York Knicks
Atlanta Hawks
Utah Jazz
Sacramento Kings
My top sleeper picks for the first round. Let's just assume that the top players are no longer available (eg. Curry, Westbrook, Durant, Harden, Lebron, Giannis, Anthony Davis, KAT, etc), don't be embarrassed to draft these guys in the first round, it might pay off for you in a surprisingly good way.
Kristaps Porzingis
Joel Embiid
Ben Simmons
Blake Griffin
Jusuf Nurkic
Hopefully, yahoo's rankings aren't terrible.
