First off, I’m not so happy with this team.  But, it’s my fault because I forgot one major thing about this draft… I WAS DRAFTING WITH EXPERTS!!!  Yeah, all those sleepers I had in mind that I’ve been able to wait on in “normal” drafts?  I got snake bit on almost every single one of them!  SIGH.  But, enough of me being a girly-man.  I can do that later after this post.  Here are the specifics on the draft and what went down with my team.

The Pro Fantasy Sports Experts League is a 14-team league, which consists of the following sites/publications:

ESPN The Magazine
DIME Magazine
Sports Illustrated
Talented Mr. Roto
Roto Commando
Fantasy Sports Magazine
Pro Fantasy Sports, the host
and… Dropping Dimes

There were multiple people representing Sports Illustrated and PFS, so for those of you that counted eight teams and wondered how that made 14, now you know… and knowing is half the battle.  In any case, it’s a standard H2H league as far as categories and we start PG, SG, G, SF, PF, F, C, C and four bench spots.  I had the fifth overall pick and for your viewing (dis)pleasure, here’s my team with brief commentary on each pick:

1st round: Dirk Nowitzki, PF, Dallas Mavericks (5)
How do you go wrong with picking Nowitzki?  He gets a lot of points, boards, triples, and excellent percentages.  The only drawback is knowing that he’s a fan of The Hoff, but I can get over that as long as he stays healthy and produces.

2nd round: Rashard Lewis, SF, Seattle Supersonics (24)
While Ray Allen is like a heavy downpour raining jumpers and treys from all over the court, Lewis is like a steady rainfall.  Another 20-point season isn’t out of the question, so bring the galoshes.

3rd round: Gerald Wallace, SG/SF, Charlotte Bobcats (33)
This is my Scarlett Johansson pick - still growing in their respective game, gets props for their performance, and you know that they’re just going to get better.  Plus, in fantasy hoops circles, Wallace is a sexy pick… any chance I can draft Johansson?  No?  Guess that’s the wrong type of fantasy.

4th round: Raymond Felton, PG, Charlotte Bobcats (52)
Felton came on strong at the end of the season and should get enough burn even with Brevin Knight still on the roster.  The potential for something like 18/8 each night could not be passed over!  This is probably my best pick in the whole draft.

5th round: Morris Peterson, SG/SF. Toronto Raptors (61)
Laugh all you want Satten, but you know what they say down in Tennessee and Texas - “he who laughs last… shame on you… if fooled, you can’t get fooled again.”  Umm, yeah.

6th round: Pau Gasol, PF/C, Memphis Grizzlies (80)
This is my cavalry pick.  Hopefully, by the time he gets back my team’s scalp isn’t chopped off.  This is my worst pick because I will get absolutely nothing for about two or three months.

7th round: Channing Frye, PF/C, New York Knicks (89)
Frye is a great talent and has a lot of potential, which should be tapped a little more now that he should be getting more consistent minutes on the floor under Isiah Thomas.  Of course, this is assuming Renaldo Balkman doesn’t take away Frye’s job… okay, YES, Frye has nothing to worry about.  So, I had to give Balkman some love and put his pic up above because it’ll never happen with the Knicks.

8th round: Wally Szczerbiak, SG/SF, Boston Celtics (108)
Ohmigod!!!  Where’s my kewpie doll?!?!?!  I just spelled Szczerbiak’s name without looking it up… ohmigod, I just did it again!!!  WOO HOO!!!  Dang, I’m good!  And so is Wally.  No, seriously.

9th round: Alonzo Mourning, C, Miami Heat (117)
All the centers I thought would fall into my lap didn’t.  So, since I wanted to get a center that would produce at least in the blocks category, I had to go with Zo here.

Full disclosure: At this point, I had to leave to do another draft (FIGHT CLUB!!!), but felt fairly strong in my queued up picks.

10th round: Antonio Daniels, PG, Washington Wizards (136)
I would much rather have Daniels’ BFF, Tim Duncan, but obviously he went rounds and rounds ago.  But, since I needed a backup point guard, I had to go with Daniels and hope with a season under his belt, he’s feeling comfortable with the offense and can drop some dimes to Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison, and Caron Butler.

11th round: Marquis Daniels, SG/SF, Indiana Pacers (145)
There are no morals or ethics in fantasy sports, just results.  This pick and the pick before me, Stephen Jackson, is proof of that.  Daniels may get a chance to play a little more with charges filed against Jackson, who could miss an indefinite amount of games… oh wait, there are no morals or ethics in real sports either!

12th round: Charlie Bell, PG/SG, Milwaukee Bucks (164)
This pick was made because I think he has a chance to rush for over 1,000 yards.  Especially with that offensive line.  However, I don’t like the fact that he fumbles at least nine times a game.  What… wrong Bell?  Oops, sorry.  How about double-digit scoring the last two months of the season?  That’s enticing for a bench guy, right?  He’s the Midwestern version of Leandro Barbosa.

There you have it, the boys I’ll be going to war with.  I’m not totally happy about it, but at least I didn’t pull a Zeke and did something like draft Chris Taft with my fifth overall pick.  I’ll keep you all updated on how the thrashing is going in this league as the season goes along.