Draft Winners & Losers Rounds 8-13

Round 8

1.         Nicolas Batum (Por - SG,SF)             DWade's Miam...

2.         Rodney Stuckey (Det - PG,SG)         Dark Horse

3.         Elton Brand (Phi - PF,C)                    DreamTeam

4.         Marcus Thornton (NO - SG)             Cliphairs

5.         Carl Landry (Sac - SF,PF)                Sho-nuff Sha...

6.         Emeka Okafor (NO - C)                    **TeAm CaNaDa**

7.         JaVale McGee (Was - PF,C)            Merlness

8.         Mike Conley (Mem - PG)                 Le Knickerbo...

9.         J.R. Smith (Den - SG,SF)                 Pippen Ain't...

10.       Al Harrington (Den - PF,C)             Where's Leon

11.       George Hill (SA - PG,SG)               Repeatabull

12.       Andris Biedrins (GS - C)                  Pohn Wall

13.       J.J. Hickson (Cle - PF,C)                Tykes for Ty...

14.       Mike Miller (Mia - SG,SF)              BigCountry

Winners: Tykes for Ty comes up big with J.J. Hickson.  Antawn Jamison is banged up and Hick has been starting during the preseason and putting up sizeable numbers.  At the pace he's going, he's more than likely to keep that job into the regular season where opportunities will be aplenty on the Cavs. Dark Horse makes a solid 8th round selection with Rodney Stuckey.  Stuckey is likely to be Detroit's leading scorer and should average above 18 points at a conservative estimate.  Rip Hamilton, Ben Wallace, and Tay Prince - the remnant of the one-hit wonder '04 Pistons, are fizzling out faster than the can of Coke I opened and left in the fridge last night.  Ben Gordon won't threaten Stuckey until he gets his head on straight and starts taking higher percentage shots. Le Knicks' Mike Conley may end up being one of the steals of the draft.  Starting PG getting plenty o' minutes.  He is an excellent FT shooter and will knock down the occasional 3-pter.

Losers: Cliphairs. Too easy. Marcus Thornton is now behind Willie Green on the Hornets, which may have been ok if not for the fact that Green plays behind Chris Paul and Marco Belinelli. BigCountry the country may be big, but the team ain't big enough for the likes of Mike Miller who put up stupendously low numbers last year on a far less talented Wizard team.  He's likely to see his value plummet even further this year where he'll be nothing but an afterthought.

Round 9

1.         Jose Calderon (Tor - PG)                    BigCountry

2.         Tyson Chandler (Dal - C)                   Tykes for Ty...

3.         Terrence Williams (NJ - SG,SF)         Pohn Wall

4.         Linas Kleiza (Tor - SG,SF)                 Repeatabull

5.         Rasual Butler (LAC - SG,SF)             Where's Leon

6.         Reggie Williams (GS - SG,SF)           Pippen Ain't...

7.         Louis Williams (Phi - PG,SG)             Le Knickerbo...

8.         D.J. Augustin (Cha - PG)                   Merlness

9.         James Harden (OKC - SG)                 **TeAm CaNaDa**

10.       Mehmet Okur (Uta - C)                      Sho-nuff Sha...

11.       Anderson Varejao (Cle - PF,C)          Cliphairs

12.       Drew Gooden (Mil - PF,C)                 DreamTeam

13.       Brendan Haywood (Dal - C)             Dark Horse

14.       Josh Howard (Was - SG,SF)             DWade's Miam...

Winners Cliphairs Anderson Varejao  is likely to put up consistently solid rebound numbers, not to mention high FG % put-backs.  He probably went in the middle rounds for most leagues so this has to be considered a bargain in the 9th round.  He was solid with Lebron trolling rebounds last year and he's sure to see his numbers tick up so long as Hickson doesn't siphon too many rebounds away. Merlness with Shawn Livingston still trying to come back from his devastating knee injury - DJ Augustin has been getting a bulk of the preseason minutes.

Losers: DWade's Miami perhaps think his team is solid enough to keep Josh Howard on the shelf until he comes back from ACL surgery, but it's very likely that Howard will return to a Wizard team that will have him coming off the bench - especially if the youngsters are playing solid.  There has been no mention of a timetable when it comes to when he may return. Team Canada unfortunately mailed this pick in. Thabo Sefalosha is standing between Harden and the lionshare of minutes he needs to be effective.  May not matter if he can find a waiver diamond in the rough.

Round 10

1.         Leandro Barbosa (Tor - PG,SG)         DWade's Miam...

2.         Mike Dunleavy (Ind - SG,SF)            Dark Horse

3.         Dorell Wright (GS - SG,SF)               DreamTeam

4.         Evan Turner (Phi - SG,SF)                  Cliphairs

5.         Yao Ming (Hou - C)                           Sho-nuff Sha...

6.         Shawn Marion (Dal - SF,PF)             **TeAm CaNaDa**

7.         Boris Diaw (Cha - SF,PF)                   Merlness

8.         Wilson Chandler (NY - SF,PF)          Le Knickerbo...

9.         Beno Udrih (Sac - PG)                       Pippen Ain't...

10.       Matt Barnes (LAL - SG,SF)               Where's Leon

11.       Kyle Korver (Chi - SG,SF)                 Repeatabull

12.       Ron Artest (LAL - SG,SF)                 Pohn Wall

13.       Will Bynum (Det - PG)                       Tykes for Ty...

14.       Taj Gibson (Chi - PF)                        BigCountry

Winners:  Dark Horse Mike Dunleavy's minutes have been reaching the upper 30s in the preseason and if he can sustain this for the better part of 82 games - this may end up being THE steal of the draft.  All of this is contingent however on how well he meshes with Granger and Hibbert.  This year's draftees kept away from him like kryptonite, but it may be their loss and DH's gain.   Pippen Ain't has another potential "steal of the draft" here in the 10th round with Sac's starting PG Beno Udrih. 

Losers: Repeatabulls Kyle Korver hasn't played much due to some pre-season injuries, but that's not what makes this pick a loser.  New Bulls' coach Tom Thibodeau hasn't been enthralled with Korver's poor defense from what little he did see - which doesn't bode well for the 3-pt specialist since his coach is almost exclusively known for his defensive prowess.  Where's Leon While Matt Barnes has been a great mid-late round fantasy pickup, this year he has joined a system that is known as a fantasy stat killer.  I'd dare so not many great players that aren't the focal point of the offense would see much uptick in their fantasy value.  Barnes, while a heady player, is not known for his basketball IQ which is desperately needed if one wants to thrive in the triangle in their first year.  Barnes should do a splendid job for the Lakers, but for your team he may be more of a millstone.

Round 11

1.         Greg Oden (Por - C)                           BigCountry

2.         Courtney Lee (Hou - SG,SF)             Tykes for Ty...

3.         Michael Redd (Mil - SG,SF)             Pohn Wall

4.         Udonis Haslem (Mia - PF,C)             Repeatabull

5.         Jamario Moon (Cle - SF)                     Where's Leon

6.         Tiago Splitter (SA - SF,PF,C)             Pippen Ain't...

7.         Travis Outlaw (NJ - SF,PF)                Le Knickerbo...

8.         DeMar DeRozan (Tor - SG,SF)          Merlness

9.         Grant Hill (Pho - SG,SF)                    **TeAm CaNaDa**

10.       Jarrett Jack (Tor - PG,SG)                  Sho-nuff Sha...

11.       Darko Milicic (Min - PF,C)                 Cliphairs

12.       Marvin Williams (Atl - SF,PF)            DreamTeam

13.       Richard Jefferson (SA - SF)               Dark Horse

14.       Wesley Johnson (Min - SF)                 DWade's Miam...

Winners:  Merlness Meet Toronto's starting SG, DeMar DeRozan - while he is a FG% liability, he is getting a good chunk of minutes and with Canada's lone team in full-blown rebuilding mode that likely won't be changing any time soon.  DWade's Miami made an excellent sleeper pick with Wesley Johnson.  Rambis loves the grinders and while he isn't full healthy, Wesley Johnson has been grinding this preseason.  The TWolves are another one of those rebuilding franchises that have nothing to lose - and will likely let their promising rookies get as much on-the-job training as possible.

Losers: Pohn Wall, I know it's the 11th round - but this is definitely on the short list for Worst Pick Of The Draft.  Redd has played with the Bucks for his entire career which spans nine seasons, but given his recent slew of injuries and surgeries it wouldn't shock me if he never plays another game making this pick as good as a 'Pass.'  Here's another guy whose career that's likely to be chalk full of injury - Greg Oden. Making BigCountry our other loser of the 11th round.  The future looks very dim for young Greg Oden, which is really a tragedy given the amount of potential he had coming out of college.  I have a feeling that durability and injury likelihood in the next crop of big men will be a huge factor when scouts roam the country.  Will we see Oden in 2010? I'm going to say, probably not.

Round 12

1.         Omri Casspi (Sac - SG,SF)                 DWade's Miam...

2.         Charlie Villanueva (Det - PF)             Dark Horse

3.         Jeff Teague (Atl - PG,SG)                  DreamTeam

4.         Francisco Garcia (Sac - SG,SF)          Cliphairs

5.         Jason Thompson (Sac - PF,C)             Sho-nuff Sha...

6.         DeJuan Blair (SA - PF,C)                   **TeAm CaNaDa**

7.         Tyler Hansbrough (Ind - PF)             Merlness

8.         Jonny Flynn (Min - PG)                      Le Knickerbo...

9.         Kirk Hinrich (Was - PG,SG)               Pippen Ain't...

10.       Derrick Favors (NJ - PF)                     Where's Leon

11.       Corey Brewer (Min - SG,SF)             Repeatabull

12.       Shane Battier (Hou - SF)                    Pohn Wall

13.       Spencer Hawes (Phi - C)                     Tykes for Ty...

14.       Gordon Hayward (Uta - SG,SF)        BigCountry

I gotta admit - not one single pick from this entire lot stood out - as a complete miss or hit.  If anything, more were misses.  Looks like most of us were mailing it in by the 12th round.  Look for most of these players to be tossed back and forth among each other's teams as add/drops.  Very few will likely see their owners all the way till April. 

Round 13

1.         Josh Childress (Pho - SG,SF)             BigCountry

2.         Ersan Ilyasova (Mil - SF,PF)             Tykes for Ty...

3.         Chris Andersen (Den - PF,C)             Pohn Wall

4.         Tayshaun Prince (Det - SF,PF)           Repeatabull

5.         Glen Davis (Bos - PF,C)                     Where's Leon

6.         Martell Webster (Min - SG,SF)          Pippen Ain't...

7.         Mario Chalmers (Mia - PG)                Le Knickerbo...

8.         Thaddeus Young (Phi - SF,PF)          Merlness

9.         Quentin Richardson (Orl - SG,SF)     **TeAm CaNaDa**

10.       Ramon Sessions (Cle - PG,SG)          Sho-nuff Sha...

11.       Steve Blake (LAL - PG,SG)               Cliphairs

12.       Marco Belinelli (NO - SG)                  DreamTeam

13.       Mike Bibby (Atl - PG)                        Dark Horse

14.       Richard Hamilton (Det - SG,SF)        DWade's Miam...

Winners:  DreamTeam and Merlness: Marco Belinelli is the best of this shoddy bunch.  He seems to be getting most of the minutes at the SG/SF position in the preseason rotation.  With Marcus Thornton sucking, he should be good for a few stats.  Pohn Wall may have the real winner if Andersen comes back sooner rather than later and dominates the glass like yesteryear.  Thad Young is a good pickup if only because his minutes will be higher than most on this list.  Specer Hawes is injured and if Young can play well he could become a fixture in the Philly lineup.

Losers: Tough to single any one person out.  Blake isn't liable to get much of anything.  Bibby is only getting time because Jeff Teague is injured. Tay Prince and Rip Hamilton have been garbage this preseason in a team full of wings fighting for time.  Glen Davis? Martell Webster's back is starting to tighten up. Mario Chalmers - anyone on the heat not named James, Wade, or Bosh can forget about it.  Q. Rich has proven - even when given time on the court - he is completely unreliable. Josh Childress is another injured mug.  Ilyasova could actually get an honorable mention since he has potential and with the Bucks' slew of injuries he'll see an uptick in his minutes.  It'll be interesting looking back at this draft come playoff time to see who were the real difference makers.  The real steal may still be out there, waiting to be discovered.