Nothing needful to say about him, except I’m curious to see whether he does add 3s to his game.

I just wish he didn't play more than half his games on the west coast, often to late for me to watch.

This was a difficult choice Harden or Durrant. A playmaking shooting guard, or a dynamic forward. It seems that the pool for Guard is slightly deeper than PF, plus I am in hopes that KD will be hungrier having had to miss almost an entire season.

After all, it's freakin' James Harden!

That being said Wall gives me elite assists along with decent contributions across the board. If he can improve his percents slightly I think he could pay off this draft slot.

Thompson was a stalwart on my RIHC team last year, when I picked him at 3.09. He ended up ranking #7 on the ESPN player rater. At pick 1.11, that’s not such a steal anymore, but I think I’m getting good first-round value. In particular, for a prodigious 3-point shooter (second in the NBA last year, trailing only Steph Curry) , his overall FG% has been steadily climbing, hitting 46.3% last year (and 44% on treys).

Not a sexy pick, but the Klay/Gasol tandem provides a solid foundation that give me great flexibility in the next few rounds.

One last comment - both these guys have dual positions on ESPN (SF/PF and PF/C). I really like the flexibility of multiple positions for both drafting a team and also game management later in the season.

Very good ast and stl, the only concern is his fg%.

I'm expecting over 20ppg, volume FG% and strong 5+ assist contributions. Like Dave R mentioned, getting used to ESPN eligibility is a new experience for me, but i figured there was enough in the next tier of centers to hang on for another 6 picks.

I think he's a great fit with Curry as the cornerstone of my team. It's to bad ESPN isn't as liberal as Yahoo where he is C eligible also.

Also considered: Jeff Teague (3.03)

I can't complain with production like that

Maybe I ranked him higher than others, but needed his 150 treys.

I was very close to taking Brook Lopez here but didn't want to deal with him and Melo on the same team.

The risk with Lopez is his health. He’s had two seasons that were virtual washouts, although he did manage to play in 72 games last year, and finished the season strong, averaging almost 20ppg after the ASB with 9.2reb, 1.8blk, and 52%/82% in 32 min per game. Great value IF he can stay healthy.

The other guys in contention here were Conley and Tyreke Evans, but I thought Jackson had the better upside, entering his prime years at age 25.

The big knock is that he doesn’t get blocks. His exit from Detroit should bode well for his fantasy future, as he won’t have to share rebounds and court time with Andre Drummond any longer.

But as the number 1 pick he's got a legitimate shot at ROY, and I expect Minnesota to throw him to the " wolves ", so to speak

Also considered: Al Jefferson (5.10)

Ellis has been durable, and with my 5th starting pick I want someone who will be in the lineup, and is solid rather than spectacular. He’ll be the 2nd scoring option on his team. I’ll look for guys with more upside later.

Still young, I'm hoping for an improvement in his FG% to go along with his 80+% from the line, in addition to an expected 17ppg, 5 dimes, and 1.5 steals and 1.5 treys per game

Gallinari likely enters the season as the team's top scoring option. Great numbers in 3p, ft%. My backup choice was Tobias Harris.

I mainly drafted him for his elite threes but his out of position blocks and over a steal per game are super valuable at this point in the draft.

So I ended up with Middleton, who was the “next man up”. I don’t know much about him, and never saw him play until the playoffs last year, when he looked pretty good. But after doing some more research in preparation for this rationale, I’m feeling better. When starting last year, he average 14.5 pts, 4.7 rebs, 2.7 asts, 1.6 steals, and 1.4 treys – pretty good breadth. Also a good FT shooter (86%), and a FG% of near 47% is good for a distance shooter. He ended up ranked #43 on the ESPN player rater last year, which is pretty encouraging, considering he was a bencher player for the first month or so, averaging less than 23 minutes through December. At age 24, this could be his breakout year.

Ridiculously long wingspan and stride length, and a surprisingly adept ball handler – all as evidenced here. Ranked #51 on the ESPN player rater last year, and should be poised to improve – perhaps significantly. Not really a “big” statistically, but seems like a good gambit here.

I expect a huge breakout coming at some point, but he needs to increase his efficiency, both by getting to the free-throw line more often and by taking more 3-pointers instead of long twos.

Averaging 20 points, 4.1 RB's, 3.5 assists, and 1.3 steals last year, I'm expecting at least the same, after all he's in a contract year. Maybe he will improve from beyond the arc, he did average a 3 per game two years ago.

Also considered: Dirk Nowitzki (7.06)

Gortat is a sure bet for 13-14 ppg, 9 boards, and around 100 blocks. Solid production in round 7.

And finally - i waited until round 7 to get my starting SF - yay.

The Magic are a young, fast, athletic team and should be exciting to watch this season, and Payton will be running the show.

He’s also my first player with PF eligibility. Hibbert was the backup plan, but he was center-only.

If MCW was gone, Mudiay would probably have been the go to guy for this pick.

Strongly considered Mirotic and Terrance Jones here and they promptly went right after I picked.

Jones has a career .531 FG% and if he pushes towards the 30 minutes per game mark this season.

Hopefully he can deliver a dozen points per, 6-7 assists, 3-4 Boards and 1.5 steals per.

Would have chosen at 8.12 if I was thinking: probably J. J. Redick (9.03).

If my rookies aren't good, my team has its work cut out for it

I wanted Kobe here, but he get sucked up round the turn.

Several of the projections I’m working with have him ranked around 90th, so I don’t think this is a reach at all. Eric Gordon was a consideration, but I just don’t trust him to be able to stay healthy.

This pick presumes that Porter will get starters minutes in Washington. In the postseason, he averaged 33 min, 10 pts, 8 rebounds, 1.8 ast, 1.2 steals, and 1.2 treys (10 games). Not a statistically compelling sample, but it shows the potential, and at age 22, he has the chance to emerge as a stat stuffer.

If Gordon can stay healthy, a major issue for him, I am expecting a career high in threes and an uptick in asssists with Jrue limited to start the year..

Unfortunately, a ruptured Achilles ended his season in March. This is a notoriously difficult injury to come back from , but the Mavericks gave Matthews a max contract this offseason, so they don't seem too concerned...

Not expecting mush else, 13 ppg, a few boards and little on the defensive end. At least his FT% is solid

Next in queue: Stanley Johnson, F, Det

Hopefully once healthy, and hopefully sooner than later, Parker can put up some numbers that made him last years rookie of the month for November. That should mean double digit scoring, 6 or so boards, and some assists and steals.

Two Johnsons on this turn! One with speculative upside who might crash and burn, and one who should provide a stable foundation, but without a lot of upside (barring other Celtics injuries.)

Last year, his 2nd, he averaged 13.1ppg, 3 boards, 1.5 steals and assists and nearly 2 triples per. I'd be happy with those numbers at this juncture.

That would be a reasonable return for a round 13 investment

It's just a shame i didn't have 3 picks here, because i would have hoovered up Alex Len and John Henson here too.

Rondo is in town, DeMarcus is down low, I'm thinking another step forward for McLemore.

If named the starter, or at least logging starters minutes, this pick could be OK. If not he gets tossed back on the scrap heap. I'm sure we will all have our fair share of those

I really wanted Gary Harris here and thought he would make it to me until G took him just in front of me. Payback for Kyrie I guess.

That's ok. I went with Marco instead, as i think Ben Mclemore will be a bust, and Marco has the chance to put big numbers in a reserve role.

NOTE: While many of my picks were made automatically by the queue this in no way undermines the value of the selections made. It is a simple thing to establish a queue according to perceived value/needs and then tweak it as the drift progresses. I realize there is a sense of satisfaction in "selecting" Player A, but logging on to drafttime and checking the progress is also like opening a well wrapped present when you see which of the wonderful gifts you wanted has actually been given you. I do heartily recommend trying it.

Did I mention last nights line? 16 points, 12 RB's, 2 steals, and, get this, 2 threes. Preseason, I know