About the Author

I am a former collegiate basketball player, avid basketball fan, and fierce Fantasy Basketball competitor. I will be writing fantasy advice throughout this season with the assistance of my brother, who has professional playing experience, and who has won most of the highly competitive leagues he’s entered throughout the years. We know what it takes to win in the best leagues. We’ll give tips to drafting a great team, evaluating your team’s statistical categories (Stat Cats) and other teams’ trade proposals, and most of all, we’ll tell you when and how to capitalize on opportunities that arise through real-life trades and injuries throughout the season. Our aim is to provide you with all the best Fantasy information that you’d expect from professional websites, only without the hefty Insider fees. I will also do my best to answer any questions you may have throughout the season.

October is here, which means the 2009-2010 NBA Season is near. That also means that the time to draft this year’s fantasy roster is rapidly approaching. The following are some keys to ensuring your team is at the top of your league come April.

Note: When reading this article, keep in mind that the size of your league will be a major factor in which round guys get selected. My estimates are based around a 14-team league with 12-player teams. Also please be aware that the 5 players listed are not necessarily a top 5 – just the 5 I decided to highlight. I made an honorable mention list to include the players I ommitted for the sake of brevity.

Avoid These Big Name Busts:

1. Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming – For those of you who haven’t heard, Yao has said he will not play this season, as expected. So don’t be the laughing stock of your league by picking a man 4 billion people already know will not play. Meanwhile, his backcourt counterpart has missed one-third of all games played over the past 4 seasons, including 47 games last year. More importantly, he saw a significant decline in production when he did play, averaging 6PPG less than the previous season, which was itself below his career average of 22.1PPG. He says he feels better than at any point last season and is slated for a November return, though he will not commit to any timeline. Regardless, when he does return to action he is likely to be largely inefficient on what is suddenly a terrible team.

Verdict: The risk does not justify the reward for a one-dimensional scoring player with a history of injuries. If he is available in the latter stages of the draft you should consider him then.

2. Shaq – A man so big he doesn’t need a second name. But with a bigger man already in the mold (7’3” Big Z – Zydrunas Illguaskas), and with LeBron James and Mo Williams sharing shots, don’t expect the aging Aristotle to be the focus of the offense on yet another new team with another drastically different system. Factor in that Andersen Varejao will also fetch time, and I’m not sure how Cleveland will manage the rotation. Shaq and Z are both highly paid, highly immobile centers that are incapable of playing on the same team at the same time.

Verdict: Shaq’s time and touches will be limited and his poor free throw shooting is just fuel to the fire. Save your Shaq pick until the last quarter of the draft.

3. Lamar Odom – Lamar is an all around type player who produces moderate numbers in each and every category. Owners also love that he maintains solid percentages (I’ll look past last year’s 62% from the foul line) and he doesn’t turn the ball over much, so he won’t hurt you in any categories. However, Odom received less than 30 minutes per game last year and now Ron Artest is joining the fray in LA. If Ron can keep his act together in Hollywood, Lamar will not have enough time on the court to provide valuable fantasy statistics as he transitions from supporting role to mere extra.

Verdict: Leave Odom for the late mid-rounds at the earliest.

4. Kevin Garnett – Let’s face it. Garnett is 33 years old, he is coming off a serious injury, he’s seen a sharp decline in statistical output since joining Boston, his team signed another top-notch player at his position (Rasheed Wallace), and he’s surrounded by other very good players (See Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo). These factors are all detrimental to one’s fantasy value. Even when he was healthy, Garnett’s numbers did not warrant the draft position he secured in most leagues last year. He notched numbers well below his career averages in every category except for FG and FT percentages and there is every reason to believe that downward trend will continue this season.

Verdict: It is time to remove Garnett from the first round of the draft board, if not the second or third.

5. Carlos Boozer – Between his failed attempt to get traded, and Millsap’s return at the cost of $8,000,000 this year, Boozer’s outlook is much lower than it has been in years past. Coach Sloan has said he remains undecided on who he will start at forward this season. Meanwhile, Boozer insists he has earned the right to be the starter. This spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E. Bringing conflict between player and coach to the attention of the media is bad, but worse still is the conflict between player and fans that is expected to manifest once he dons his uniform at Utah’s first home game. I am not sure how long the notoriously rigid Jerry Sloan and the Utah Jazz management will tolerate him if he becomes a distraction. It could turn into something akin to Milton Bradley’s paid suspension from the Cubs this year (baseball fans?). There’s no telling how the controversy will unfold on the court, but entering his contract year before the much-anticipated 2010-2011 free agency offseason, one thing is certain: Boozer is playing for a paycheck – and that may be the only positive news for fantasy owners.

Verdict: Drop Boozer down to the 3^rd or 4^th round as a precaution. He doesn’t provide significant stats outside of his points, rebounds, and percentages anyway.

Honorable Mention (Andre Miller, Rasheed Wallace)

This is page 1 of 5 of this article. Check out all the rest in the links below to ensure you are prepared for this year's fantasy draft. Then, be sure to come back before the start of the season for more keys to drafting a winning team, including how to form a draft strategy by understanding which popular players will single-handedly win or lose you a category. We’ll also highlight several overlooked and underrated fantasy players (commonly known as Sleepers), and unveil a top ten depth chart at each position.

Check out my article on the top 10 players in every category.  This is a must-read for everyone who has enrolled in a fantasy league but hasn't had time to do their research yet.  We've looked through all of the statistics and compiled a list of the best players in each category for you.  Enjoy.

Check out my final pre-draft article right here. I highlight the top 6 players at every position and give you the list of the top 14 picks in this year's draft.

 Here is one last article as a bonus.  It includes a long list of sleepers, the results of my first fantasy basketball draft, and more news and advice.  I strongly recommend taking a look if you are serious about doing well in your fantasy draft.  For much more, you should also check out Rick Buser's columns.