Fantasy Football Strategy Guide 2012: First Round

It's the big day.  You've done your research the past week, and you're feeling pretty confident.  Maybe you know what pick you have, maybe you don't.  Either way, you know which guys you want right?  If your answer is no, then you have not adequately prepared for the draft.  Whether you know where your drafting or not you need to have a top-ten or top-twelve list (depending on the number of teams in your league) in your hand that you are willing to follow no matter the situation.

ROUND 1

The first round of a fantasy football draft is both the hardest and the easiest round in the whole draft.  Come draft day it should be the easiest round when you're actually drafting.  Your first pick should not take more than five seconds.  Realize it's your turn, check your list, and say the highest name on that list.  Pretty simple.  However, what makes the first round so hard is that list.  If you're in a ten team league it should be a list of ten players, and if you're in a twelve team league a list of twelve etc... Hundreds of websites and magazines have their own version of top-however many teams are in your league so feel free to use any of them.  Personally, I think you should create your own list based on your personal preference of players.  This year when I was making my top-twelve (I play in a twelve team league) there were eight players I knew were going to be on the list, and then six players competing for the remaining four spots.  My top eight, in order, is as follows:  1. Aaron Rodgers 2. Ray Rice 3. Arian Foster 4. Tom Brady 5. Lesean McCoy 6. Maurice Jones-Drew 7. Drew Brees 8. Calvin Johnson - In that top eight the part I found really difficult was Rice, Foster, and Brady.  What it ultimately came down to was upside and downside.  I don't think Rice will do any better than he did last season, but last season he ended up as the league-wide most valuable player in fantasy football.  On a per week basis it was Rodgers first and then Foster, but they each missed weeks which brought down their VBD (Value Based Drafting VBD is a way of examining a player's true value, and is why even though Quarterbacks are traditionally the highest scorers running backs are taken before them.  For a full description you can read this article by ESPN's Christopher Harris Great Article That You Should Read   You really should read it because I will be referring to VBD a lot in this blog post).  The reason I had Rice first among those three is that at worst I think he scores 10 instead of 15 touchdowns, but that would still make him last year's fifth best overall.  Foster was the best per week back last year, but I think his production will be lower this year because backup Ben Tate will get more carries.  Brady is the only elite quarterback that should improve from last year to this because he added Brandon Lloyd, but I still can't see Brady finishing higher than fourth in year end VBD while both Foster and Rice have more potential than that.  Because of that very confusing reasoning it went Rice, Foster, then Brady in my personal 2, 3, 4.  

The remaining six players to complete the top twelve are (in no particular order) Chris Johnson, Ryan Matthews, Matt Forte, Marshawn Lynch, Rob Gronkowski, and Matthew Stafford.  Each of those players has a couple big concerns to me.  For Chris Johnson it is the fact that for much of last year he sucked.  The only reason CJ1K is back in first round talk is because he ended strongly last year by both normal metrics and especially advanced metrics, and the running back field is so weak this year.  Ryan Matthews and Matt Stafford both have injury concerns.  Matthews finally has no competition in the backfield to vulture touchdowns (that's right were looking at you Mike Tolbert), but he still needs to stay healthy, which he hasn't done in the past.  Stafford managed to stay healthy last year, and if he stays healthy he should be worthy of a first round-pick.  However, in previous years Stafford has had some serious health issues so owners may want to draft a good backup for Stafford.  Gronkowski and Lynch both had phenomenal seasons last year, but the question is whether they could sustain quite that high a level of play.  For Lynch the concern is that now that he has his contract will he go back to not playing 100% all the time like he did before the end of last season?  Really, nobody knows the answer to that question, and fantasy owners can do nothing but hope if they end up drafting Lynch. Gronk does not have motivation questions like Lynch, but because of the addition of Brandon Lloyd and defenses keying on Gronk more he may see a drop in production.  Also, even though Gronk is a great red-zone target, he will probably see a drop in touchdowns because it is unprecedented for a player to get that many touchdowns for two straight years.  Matt Forte may run into trouble because the Bears signed Michael Bush from the Raiders who will not just vulture touchdowns, but may also eat into the number of touches Forte gets outside the Red Zone.  However, there is precedent that Forte can succeed because he still performed great with Marion Barber also in the backfield last year.  I spent a lot of time analyzing these six players, but in the end I ordered them like so: 9. Matt Forte 10. Chris Johnson 11. Matthew Stafford 12. Ryan Matthews 13. Marshawn Lynch 14. Rob Gronkowski - Forte I ranked first because we have seen him succeed with another running back in the backfield, and Forte was a top five back until he went down with injury in the latter half of the season (Forte is not an injury concern because it was an ankle sprain, not a major injury, and Forte does not have an injury prone history).  Ranking Johnson tenth was very difficult because we have seen just how bad he can be, but it also makes sense because he could very easily end up as fantasy's number one overall back with his talent.  I think Stafford has the least upside of this group, as I don't see him being significantly better than last year's tenth overall VBD finish, but barring injury I think he has the least downside as well which makes him a good choice.  If Matthews stays healthy he will end as a top-ten overall player in VBD, but I think he will miss at least one game and be somewhat hampered in another.  What makes Matthews a relatively safe pick is that even if he misses time, last year he proved that he could still be a late second round quality back as he finished nineteenth overall in VBD.  If you forecast Lynch's last nine games over a sixteen game season he would have finished fifth overall among running backs and tied for sixth among all players in VBD.  I don't think we will quite see that type of production, but now that Lynch knows how good it feels to be positively portrayed in the spotlight he will continue playing near that level.  I do put Gronkowski fourteenth overall, but I do so with plenty of misgivings.  I think Gronk could put up the numbers he did last year, but he could also get six less touchdowns and 150 less yards.  If that were to have happened last year he would have finished with a VBD of 77, and Michael Bush came in twentieth with a VBD of 86.  Otherwise known as Gronk can fluctuate anywhere from eleventh overall (last year's ranking) to about 25th.  In twelve team leagues that's the difference between first round and third round, so I settled at fourteenth overall.  

So, I ended up with this as my twelve team first round rankings: 1. Aaron Rodgers 2. Ray Rice 3. Arian Foster 4. Tom Brady 5. Lesean McCoy 6. Maurice Jones-Drew 7. Drew Brees 8. Calvin Johnson 9. Matt Forte 10. Chris Johnson 11. Matthew Stafford 12. Ryan Matthews.  

  Feel free to use my rankings come draft day, or even better, make your own.  If you have any questions about these players or other things involving Fantasy Football feel free to email me at JZSportskid52@gmail.com or contact me via twitter @JZSportskid52

Rookie Power Rankings: Summer League Update

I'm not sure if I will keep doing this, but this is version one of the 2012 rookie power rankings.  This is a ranking of who has performed the best, and looks like they will have the best NBA career.  This particular version of the power rankings will not include our uni-browed friend Anthony Davis because he did not play in summer league.  The following is a top ten in reverse order:

10. MICHAEL KIDD-GILCHRIST
MKG would be higher on the list, but he only played one game so he didn't have as much time to build his summer league resume.  In his one game he did impress.  Gilchrist's defense and rebounding came as no surprise, but the fact he averaged 18 points and 5 assists was a little eye-opening.  If Kidd-Gilchrist can combine his toughness and defense with a consistent offensive game he will be nearly unstoppable, and a perennial all-star.  Due to his athleticism the sky is the limit for Gilchrist, and if he were to develop a three point shot, improve his ball handling, and get some offensive moves his game would closely resemble Scottie Pippen.  Gilchrist is around the same size, and he has similar defensive capabilities and offensive explosion to Pippen.  Gilchrist is not the point forward that Pippen was, but he is not a selfish player and could easily average five or six assists a game.

9. HARRISON BARNES
Barnes was just as frustrating as ever this past week at summer league.  At times he would assert himself and be a match-up problem for whoever the defense threw at him, but other times he would fade into the background as a spot up shooter.  Barnes did seem to have a little trouble adjusting to the athletes he was facing as he only shot 40% percent from the field.  However, Barnes was good in transition and ended up averaging 16.8 points per game over the course of his five games.  On the other end, Barnes was great.  He averaged almost two steals and six rebounds, while playing tough defense.  Barnes seamlessly transitioned between playing shooting guard or small forward which showed his versatility on both ends, and proved that he was worth his lottery selection.

8. ROYCE WHITE
White started out slowly, and had a pathetic first two games but picked it up after that.  In his last three games White averaged 10.7 points, 10.7 rebounds (not a typo), and 5.3 assists.  Not incredible on paper, but much more impressive watching.  I originally tuned into the Rockets to see them face the Wizards in White's second game, but he was not who impressed me.  Somebody a bit farther down this list made me want to watch the Rockets one more time, but I happened to see White's 11 point 10 rebound 7 assist game also that evening.  White has been getting compared to a lot of people.   I've heard Charles Barkley, Magic Johnson, and Boris Diaw as the three most frequent comparisons.  Personally, I don't agree with any of them.  Royce isn't as athletic as Chuck, but is considerably more so than Diaw.  I think the Magic comparison is most accurate of the three, but still not right.  White is much bigger than Magic (260 lbs to about 215) and is more of a banger inside.  I'm going to steal a term that my favorite sports writer Bill Simmons used to describe Lebron James' Game 2 against the Thunder.  Simmons called Lebron a "power point" to describe him dominating inside while distributing the ball like a point guard.  That is how I would describe White.  He makes incredible highlight reel passes, but also bangs the boards and scores from the post.

7. DONATAS MOTIEJUNAS (I think he wins the spell check's most hated award)
Motiejunas played three great games at summer league and one absolute dud.  In three good games Donatas averaged about 21 points and 9 boards, while in one other game he put up 1 point and 4 rebounds.  I have no explanation for that besides him possibly getting freaked out by facing fellow Euro Jan Vesely (and that doesn't make sense either).  Either way, Motiejunas has good skill for a big man, and proved that he was able to step all the way out to the three point line (sounds a little bit like some other Euro big man...).  Overall, Motiejuans seemed like a tougher Andrea Bargnani without quite as good a shot.  Bargnani's biggest problem is defense and rebounding, and although Motiejunas doesn't have quite as good an offensive game he is considerably better in those other areas.

6. THOMAS ROBINSON
Robinson was one of the most interesting players at summer league.  He did somethings great, and other things terrible.  Offensively he forced things and tried to do to much, but over time rookies learn their capabilities so that can be forgiven.  Robinson only shot 34% from the field and averaged nearly 5 turnovers a game, but still managed to score 13 points per game.  On the other end though Robinson was fantastic averaging 1 steal and 9.8 rebounds capped off by a 16 rebound performance in his last outing.  Robinson finished third in rebounding in summer league, and should be expected to continue that success in the NBA.  Rebounding is the statistic that most reliably translates from the college game to the pros, and because of Robinson's explosiveness and instincts he should continue to be successful on the glass.

5. BRADLEY BEAL
As a Wizards fan I got to see more of Beal than any other prospect on this list.  I don't know if that hurt or helped Beal's ranking, but it definitely affected it (it also affected how many words I'll spend on him).  After watching Beal a couple things stuck out.  Beal will be a good if not great player on the defensive end.  He averaged a steal and a block, and with his strength and length (rhyme not intended) on the defensive end he is a tough match-up.  Offensively Beal is a pretty good passer who is willing to give the ball up when he draws help defenders.  He only averaged 1.8 assists, but that was more a product of Chris Singleton and Shelvin Mack missing the open shots he gave them.  Beal is also fantastic at getting the ball in transition.  When Beal decides to crash the boards he is a good rebounder, but he also likes to leak out and see if he can get a fast break off an outlet pass.  Jan Vesely (who was by far the most promising of the Vesely, Singleton, Mack class) did a good job of hitting him out on the break, and Beal was a very strong finisher.  That was my favorite thing about Beal, he attacked the basket strong, and if someone was in his way then he was able to get to the stripe by drawing a foul.  Beal did not shoot very well (42% from field, 30% from three), but a lot of rooks have trouble shooting the ball when their fast acclimating to the speed and athleticism of the pro game.  I don't think Beal is as great a shooter as people say, and he is not an explosive enough athlete to get to the hole as often as I would like.  However he has a great basketball IQ and knows what his strengths are on a basketball court.

4. JOHN HENSON
Henson was a very pleasant surprise for me at summer league.  I thought Henson would be a good defensive player who can knock down an open 15 footer, but he showed more than that.  Defensively Henson was just as good as I thought, getting steals, blocks, and altering a ton of shots with his length.  Offensively he showed a surprisingly developed post game with a hook shot, fade-away, and face-up game that we never saw at UNC.  With his quick feet and nice touch around the basket Henson ended up averaging 18.3 points while shooting an efficient 53% from the field.  My main criticism of Henson is his rebounding.  For a 6-10 long bouncy forward 6.8 rebounds is very mediocre.  Henson's rebounding numbers are a little skewed because in his last game he only had 1 board, but nonetheless he needs to more consistently get rebounds.  Henson didn't do a bad job by any means on the glass though, and overall he looks to be a great get for Milwaukee.

3. TERRENCE JONES
Jones and Henson put up similar numbers at summer league so I debated a long time for who to put ahead of the other in these rankings.  The pros for Henson was that he was a better shot blocker, and he got more steals (translation: better defensively).  Jones main attribute in which he beat Henson was his rebounding (8.6 per game versus Henson's 6.8).  However what made me decide was I looked at each of their "best games."  Your best game can more show what type of potential you have, and it was still close but Jones won.  Henson's best was a 22 point 9 rebound performance in 37 minutes of action.  Terrence was more efficient, and put up 24 points and 12 boards in only 30 minutes of playing time.  Jones is a extremely versatile offensive player who is really strong down low (250 lbs), but also can take you outside with three point range.  Jones is altogether a very explosive player who eats up rebounds on one side, and can attack the basket on the other end ferociously.  Jones biggest question has always been effort, and this past week in Vegas he went 100% and showed off his dominant potential.

2. JEREMY LAMB
That's right, four Houston Rockets made the list.  I might be a little biased because I watched two of their games (I watched three Wiz games, and most teams I only saw once), but they do have some impressive pieces.  I wonder if it would be worth giving up all four of them for Dwight Howard, because I know Houston GM Darryl Morey is probably willing to do it.  Either way Jeremy Lamb looked great.  Defensively Lamb was good, and for a shooting guard he did a good job rebounding with 4.4 per game.  Offensively however was what impressed everyone.  Lamb was second amongst rookies (and were getting to first) in scoring at exactly 20 points per game.  Lamb shot a strong 47% from the field, rarely forced things offensively, and seemed to score easily in the flow of the offense.  Similarly to the way Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant make scoring look so easy, Lamb calmly takes a couple of dribbles left and then pulls up for a fade away with smoothness that you rarely see.  Lamb was not at all a ball hog, but also is not a very good passer and once the ball gets in his hands he needs to work on finding people when he attacks.  However Lamb was dynamic offensively, and is the centerpiece of the Rockets four young stars (If you count Lin as a fifth the Rockets could conceivably put Lin, Lamb, White, Jones, and Motiejunas all on the floor at once to create a very young and exciting group.  If the Rockets wanted to go all rookies they could even put promising un-drafted point guard from Iona Scott Machado at the helm to go along with the other four.) .

1. DAMIAN LILLARD
If you followed summer league at all you knew this position was his.  Luckily for Lillard he'll probably get to hold the top spot for longer than anyone, as he gets the whole off season before Anthony Davis starts competing for the crown.  Lillard didn't just lead all rookies, he lead all scorers with a fantastic 26.5 points per game.  Lillard didn't just score the ball though, and 5.3 assists and 4 rebounds were both above-average among guards.  In an 84-78 victory over the Hawks Lillard poured in 31 points while dishing out seven assists, and gave us the highlight of summer league play with this dunk: Nasty DUNK link you really should click on.  What's so great about that dunk is that he was being compared to Chauncey Billups when he made this play.  Lillard has the composure, shooting ability, and passing skill of someone like Billups, but he also has the athleticism to make Derrick Rose/Russell Westbrook/John Wall type plays like his dunk.  Lillard reminds me most of a better shooting Derrick Rose.  I don't think he has quite the same first step and explosiveness that Rose possesses, but Lillard is a much better natural shooter and a slightly better passer.  I am very excited with Lillard, I think he will become an all-star, and I think he has the potential to be as good as a Derrick Rose.  Not to brag or anything (actually who am I kidding, this is to brag), but in my first article on this site I argued that Lillard should go third overall in the upcoming draft.  So in case you wanted to read a more full breakdown of Lillard here's the link: I Know You Don't Want to Read This, I Just Want to Brag  Overall Lillard wasn't just the rookie MVP, but deserved the Summer League MVP and should be a great part of the future for Portland.

Dream Team versus 2012 Olympic Team

By now you've probably heard the story, and also read what everyone said.   I myself have gotten in a couple arguments about Dream Team versus this year's team.   In every single argument I've been blown away by the ridiculous arguments people have been making.  This years team is "more athletic."  "How would the Dream Team stop Lebron?"  And worst of all "Wouldn't the Dream Team get distracted by the brow?"  (Actually I made that last one up, but it's still probably just as likely if not more than those other arguments)  Last night I felt vindicated.  After one quarter it was 27-17..... Brazil.  The U.S. ended up getting their act together and winning 80-69, but seriously?  Would the Dream Team ever lose a quarter to a starting lineup of Leandro Barbosa, Marcelo Huertas, Alex Garcia, Tiago Splitter, and Nene?  No.  They would destroy that lineup.  Magic and John Stockton would abuse Leandro Barbosa.    Charles Barkley, Clyde Drexler, and Scottie Pippen on the wings versus Marcelo Huertas and Alex Garcia would be an embarrassment.   Inside Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing, and David Robinson would dominate Nene, Splitter, and Anderson Varejao.  Otherwise known as, this would be a blowout, because I have not even gotten to Michael Jordan.  MJ would never allow such a less talented team to jump out to an early lead like that.  Mike would make Huertas and Garcia lose their will to live as he blew by them and proceeded to dunk on Tiago Splitter.   

I totally understand the fact that today's international competition is much tougher than the Dream Team's, but even if you look at the match-ups between the two of them it is no contest.  Magic and Stockton are not as athletic as Westbrook, D-Will, and Chris Paul.  However none of the 2012 guys have Magic's size, and Stockton is just as good an all-around player as any of them.  On the wings Iguodala is just a much worse version of Pippen, and Chris Mullin is basically equal to Harden.  Barkley is a good match up with Carmelo and both would score on each other, but because of Barkley's rebounding he would win the match up.  Larry Bird was old and not very effective at this point, but Clyde Drexler was right in his prime.  Clyde the Glide in his prime is as good if not better than an old Kobe, and would be able to provide a fast break threat for the Dream Team.  Then it comes down to Jordan Lebron and Durant.  Obviously the combo of Lebron and Durant is better than Jordan alone, but this years team will not play them both at the same time without weakening their front court.  With Malone, Robinson, and Ewing matching up against Tyson Chandler, Kevin Love, and Anthony Davis inside the 2012 team will get crushed.  In my opinion the two best lineups for this years USA team is Paul, Kobe, Lebron, Love, Chandler and replacing Love with Durant for a small lineup.  Meanwhile the Dream Team's best lineup is Magic, Jordan, Pippen, Barkley, and Robinson arguably.  Against the first proposed 2012 team lineup neither Magic nor Paul would be able to contain each other, but if Stockton were put in it would be even also.  A in his prime Jordan would absolutely dominate Kobe, but if Lebron was switched onto Jordan then the Dream Team would have other mismatches (plus Jordan would still find a way to get his).  Pippen would do as good a job on Lebron as anyone in the history of basketball, and be able to contain him more than Lebron can contain Jordan.  Barkley would not be able to guard Love, but could do a pretty good job on Durant.  If Love was in Malone would check in and be able to neutralize that match up.  Inside Ewing or Robinson (especially Robinson) would dominate Chandler.  The Dream Team all in all has more superstar level depth off the bench and is clearly better than this years team.  Scottie Pippen might be going to far when he says that they would beat this years team by 25, but they certainly would beat this years Brazil team by 25.  In a seven game series it is conceivable to say that the 2012 Olympic team could steal one game from the Dream Team, but it still seems very unlikely.  Overall the Dream Team is maybe the greatest team possibly ever assembled in an era.  It was one of the strongest competitive stretches in NBA history, and the team contained 11 hall of fame players.  It also so happens that one of those 11 hall of fame players was the undisputed greatest player of all time in the heart of his prime.  Overall, it is absolutely absurd to suggest that this years team is better, and the exhibition game against Brazil just proved that.

Wizards Offseason Recap

Sorry for such a long break, but three weeks at sleep away camp prevented me from blogging.  Now that the draft is over, and the bulk of off-season signings has ended we can recap what happened.  To recap the Wizards offseason:  Wizards trade Rashard Lewis for Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza,  Wizards draft Bradley Beal and Tomas Satoransky, Wizards re-sign Cartier Martin.

Trading Lewis for Okafor and Ariza tightened up the Wizards cap space for the next two seasons, but also added considerable talent to the team.  With that trade the Wizards adopted a "win now" attitude that doesn't necessarily suit them.  Since trading Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler in the 2009-2010 season the Wizards had been patiently rebuilding.  The rebuilding effort was not going very well as none of the young talent they acquired was excelling.  This past season they traded Javale Mcgee for Nene in a surprising move.   The Wizards lacked veteran leadership and scoring so they gave up one of their best young assets.  At the time a "win now" move like that was highly questioned because it still did not push the Wizards to a playoff team level.  With the Lewis trade and the drafting of Beal the Wizards have become a fringe playoff team that looks like it can finish anywhere between 6th and 10th in the conference.   The problem with this whole strategy is that unless either Wall or Beal turn into a superstar the Wiz will never be better than a fringe playoff team.  I don't think either Wall or Beal will be a superstar, and by tightening up the Wizards cap with this acquisition that prevents them from ever acquiring a superstar.  This trade has pitted the Wizards in that dreaded zone where you can never quite contend for a championship, but you still have a good team that you don't want to blow up.  Many Wiz fans will be content to be a decent team that is not most well known for it's blooper real, but others will be left wondering whether the Wizards could have pursued a superstar with cap freedom and young talent on the table.   TRADE GRADE: B+

Drafting Bradley Beal with the third overall pick filled a need at shooting guard, gave the Wizards a good talent, and got a player that fits in perfectly with John Wall.  The problem with Beal is not that he is not going to be good, the problem is that he is not going to be great.   Beal will probably end up as a not quite all-star level talent that average 14-18 points 4 assists and 5 rebounds while playing above-average defense.  The other high end talents that the Wizards could have taken at this pick were Dion Waiters, Thomas Robinson, Damian Lillard, Andre Drummond, and Harrison Barnes.  Lillard seems like he is going to be a good player, but the Wizards would not be willing to spend their first pick on someone who plays the same position as their star.  Drummond was also not being considered because he has potential character issues, and the Wizards were committed to steering clear of players like that.  Robinson might have been in consideration, but with Nene, Okafor, Trevor Booker, Jan Vesely, and Kevin Seraphin all around his size the Wizards were looking to fill their need at shooting guard.  That leaves the Wizards with Beal, Waiters, and Barnes all as high caliber shooting guards.   Beal is a great shooter who seems to have a very solid all around game.  Waiters is a 230 pound wrecking ball who attacks the rim, but is an only mediocre shooter.  Barnes is a 6-8  athletic shooter who has had questions about his aggressiveness and assertiveness.  The Wizards knew they needed shooters so they didn't look into Waiters too closely and it ultimately came down to Barnes and Beal.  Barnes seems to have more questions about his work ethic and intangibles so the Wizards played it safe and took Beal.   The Wizards did not draft Beal thinking he would be a superstar, and based on his last two years in the pros John Wall doesn't look like he will ever be considered a superstar.  Without a superstar the Wizards current squad will never contend for a championship, and that is why the Beal pick was a good not great one.  Barnes is four inches taller, longer, more athletic than Beal, and has all-star potential.   The Wizards didn't have the balls to take a risk and it cost them the potential chance at really mattering in the NBA.  PICK GRADE: B-

By taking Bradley Beal the Wizards filled their need at shooting guard, but depending on your opinion of Shelvin Mack and Chris Singleton they still lacked depth at point guard and small forward.  In terms of talent I would say Singleton showed more promise in his rookie year, but not by that much.  So it would really come down to the talent available as to which need to fill.  At point guard there was Tyshawn Taylor and Doron Lamb as the only two viable options.  There was much more depth at small forward as Jae Crowder, Draymond Green, Quincy Acy, Quincy Miller, and Khris Middleton were all taken in the ten picks after the Wizards selection.  Because the Wizards played it safe with Beal it would makes sense if they took more of a risk with this pick.  Of the potential selections Green, Miller, Taylor, and Lamb were the only ones who were considered to have first round potential.  6-8 Czech shooting guard Tomas Satoransky was another player who had been mentioned in the first round who was still available.  Satoranksy is an athletic guard who can handle the ball well, attack the basket, distribute the rock, and do a lot of the "little things."  His biggest question was his lack of shooting ability,  the little amount of improvement that he has shown over the past couple years, and his only middling success on a relatively low-level European team.  Otherwise though he seemed like a great choice for the Wizards, I mean whenever you can draft someone with the same questions as the guy who you used a top ten pick on last year and couldn't start over Rashard Lewis you have to do it.  Instead the Wizards should have went with one of the other four options.  Doron Lamb was the leading scorer on a team that produced the first, second, 18th, 29th, and 46th picks who could shoot the ball well and was a good decision maker.  Lamb played mostly off the ball though in college, and I'm not sure if he really will play the point at an NBA level.  Taylor on the other hand is an explosive point guard with streaky but sometimes deadly shot that has had effort questions in the past.  He's basically a better shooting, but obviously not as athletic John Wall.   Both backup point guards seemed to be late first round talents, and their upside was not as high as I would like.  Draymond Green is a leader who can shoot the ball, attack the basket, dish out dimes, post up, crash the boards, and do anything you want basically.  One problem, he's not a good athlete.  He has quick feet and good hands, but is not very fast, and is not a good leaper.  Due to his lack of athleticism there are questions about whether his game will translate to the NBA.  Personally I think he would be a great locker room presence who can space the floor and make the team more exciting to watch.  Ernie Grunfeld likes to draft athletes though so maybe it is inconceivable that he drafts Green.  In that case we are left with Quincy Miller.  Miller is a 6-10 small forward that can shoot the ball.  He can score from anywhere on the court and with his 7-1 wingspan he blocks shots and wreaks havoc on the defensive end.  He didn't do just that in his one season at Baylor, but he was coming off an ACL surgery so some of his athleticism may not have been there.  Coming out of high school many considered him a potential top ten pick, and even after a relatively weak college season Chad Ford still had him ranked No. 17 on his big board on draft.  He's had questions about his effort and his tendency to shoot tough shots instead of attacking the basket.  It is clear that at 215 lbs he also needs to bulk up, but his most frequent comparison is Kevin Durant and that alone should warrant a first round pick.  If the Wizards had taken Miller they would have filled a need, and also potentially taken the steal of the draft.  Miller has the potential to be a 20 point a game scorer who also rebounds and blocks shots while spacing the floor offensively.  How Tomas Satoranksy is a better option than him or any of the other players mentioned above cannot be explained without a) not being able to keep a straight face  b) having a severe head injury or c) being the same organization that took Kwame Brown first overall (oh wait...).  PICK GRADE: D-


OVERALL DRAFT GRADE: C

The only post draft move that bears any notice is the signing of Cartier Martin.  He will be a swing 2-3 who plays behind Beal, Jordan Crawford, Ariza, and Singleton.  Otherwise known as he will be the Wizards resident bench warmer.  I still love you though Cartier, you were one of the few players to ever be the best shooter on a team, and still not play.  I actually think you deserved to play more, but I don't think re-signing you will affect the team in anyway.  So instead of giving your signing a grade I'll give the whole offseason a grade (because I love you Cartier I'm going to give you a picture though).


OVERALL OFFSEASON GRADE: B- (For getting considerably better, but still not reaching the potential that was there)