1. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers: We’re going to ignore the soap opera out in LA and assume Bryant is on the court for the opener in a Lakers jersey. Based purely on what he can do on that court, Bryant is probably the best player in the NBA. He’s also one of the best players in fantasy basketball, if not the best. You aren’t going to find anybody else who can string together 50-points games like Bryant, or anybody who can drop 81 like he did two years ago. What’s more amazing is that he finds time to drop 5 assists, grab 6 boards and snag around 1.5 steals. He can buoy your FT% by himself by attempting 10 a game and hitting over 85% of them, and he won’t kill your FG% with is 46.3% shooting. He even hits a couple of threes a game. The only thing to worry about is the 3+ turnovers, but that should not be much of a consideration with your first-round pick: you want a guy who has the ball in his hands this much.
2. Vince Carter, New Jersey Nets: He doesn’t come close in real life, but in a strict fantasy-basketball sense Vince is a poor man’s Kobe. He provides pretty much the same arsenal, just a tad worse in every category. Playing with the ageless Jason Kidd makes Carter look good every night, and he has elite natural talent. His line of 25 points, nearly 5 assists, 6 boards, 1 steal and almost 2 three-pointers is extremely valuable. Vince can fill it up, but so can a lot of other SG/SFs so you shouldn’t think about drafting him until the middle of the second round.
3. Ray Allen, Boston Celtics: Nobody knows how this new Celtic lineup is going to work in terms of fantasy production, but it’s probably safe to assume Ray won’t have the ball in his hands as much as he did in years past. Then again, he should also find himself open a lot more on the perimeter, and that’s scary. The guy has attempted more than 8 three-pointers a game each of the last two seasons, and he knocks down a tidy 39.7% of them. He can carry your team in threes, and he’s also a fantastic source of help in FT% where he usually attempts over 5 per game and hits around 90% of ‘em. He’ll also give you some help with around 4 assists, 4.5 boards and 1.5 steals to go with 25 points. The FG% isn’t ideal (43.8% on 21 attempts last season), but it’s not for a lack of touch and we expect him to force fewer shots and get more quality looks this season.
4. Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat: Because of the various injury concerns that always seem to be swirling about the 6-4 slasher, Wade is a prime candidate to slide into the third round of your draft (he’s out until at least December). If you’re the patient type and don’t mind rooting for a member of the loathsome Heat, snap him in such a scenario. When he’s on the court Wade is a fantasy goldmine–just take a look at his per-game averages from 06/07: 27.4 points, 7.5 assists, 4.7 boards, 2.1 steals, 49% FG, 80% FT, even 1.2 blocks (!). The Heat just don’t have much depth, and Wade will again be counted on to carry them.
5. Tracy McGrady, Houston Rockets: If we knew he’d play a full slate of games, we’d feel a lot more comfortable drafting McGrady. His tremendous production warrants a pick in the third round, but his chronic bad problems make him somebody we avoid on draft day. He’s managed just 118/164 games the last two seasons and taken himself out of numerous others early. When he is on the court his FG% (never above 43.1% in Houston, always over 20 attempts) and FT% (75.2% on 6.5 attempts career) will kill you. Things could be different this year though, new HC Rick Adelman is the offensive mind behind the Sacramento Kings of the late 90s and early 00s and the Portland Trailblazers of the early 90s. He should open things up a lot more than the strictly defensive-minded Jeff van Gundy. And you can’t quibble with McGrady’s 24.6 points, 1.3 steals, 6.5 assists, 5.3 boards and 1.8 threes from last year.
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