Fantasy Basketball: Sheikh Gucci League 2018-2019 Draft Analysis

Note: The following is purely my personal opinion and should be considered as such. I do not consider myself as some Fantasy Basketball Draft Guru, but I wont blame you for thinking I am :) Just know that's not my fault!


This will be the first (and hopefully not the last) draft analysis for the Sheikh Gucci League. The format will look at each team and do "quick-hit" analysis on what I think are the strong and weak points of the team followed by my draft grade and outlook

1) Team: James has a Harden

• Owner: Qais
• Drafted Players:
• M. Fultz
• J. Harden
• T. Hardaway Jr
• N. Mirotic
• D. Jordan
• D. Booker
• D. Caroll
• N. Vucevic
• H. Whiteside
• J. Brown
• M. Bamba
• M. Bridges
• R. Bullock
• Pros:
• Has last years best fantasy player Harden
• Solid Frontcout
• 3 potential breakout players
• Cons:
• Weak at Small Forward
• Very weak at Point Guard
• Noticeable drop in point production after Harden
• Thoughts:
• Qais had a solid draft grabbing James harden, last years best fantasy player, immediately. Harden alone can win you an entire week. Aside from Harden, the front court is very strong with Mirotic expected to carry over his solid year last year with more minutes and familiarity playing with AD. Whiteside and Vucevic are going to be 30+ points per night so long as they stay healthy. Bamba, Brown, and Booker should also be solid contributors who can have stellar seasons as well based on their current roles.
• The biggest problem with this team is going to be at the point guard and sf spot. Fultz may likely be a bust and all the sfs are going to be inconsistent in putting up points. Still, so long as Harden stays healthy (which is a good bet) Qais should be a top team in this league
• Grade: A

2) Team: Magical Elements

• Owner: Paykan Ghney
• Drafted Players:
• K Irving
• Z. Lavine
• B. Ingram
• S. Ibaka
• J. Embiid
• D. Russell
• M. Bagley
• D. Murray
• E. Fournier
• J. Hart
• K. Porizingis
• T.  Young
• T. Thompson
• Pros:
• Well balanced Roster
• Multiple players with Breakout Potential
• Cons:
• Several players with Injury history or injury potential
• Porzingis wont play till later in the season
• Lot's of Boom or Bust gambles
• Thoughts:
• Issa was my "Manager of the Year" winner who found a way to build up a contending caliber team MULTIPLE times last year. His team this year jives with his skills as a GM as there is a lot to play with here. There are a lot of players on this team that have the potential to put up 40+ Points consistently a night, and it may not seem that way till halfway through the season based on changes made in the nba.  I personally loved the move to stash Porzingis, a move I was considering as well since an acl injury doesnt kill a big's career quite as much as a guard since the reliance of quickness isnt that high, and KP's game didnt revolve around trying to dunk on dudes. I also like that there isnt a high reliance on any one player. An injury to a player or two wont flounder this team at all.
• The biggest problem with this team is also it's biggest strength. There is a high level of volatility here. Guys like Kyrie may start off the season on fire and putting up 50 Fpts a game and then suddenly get hurt and sit for the next two weeks. Bagley may hit the rookie wall sooner than later or just have inconsistency throughout the season. This team will require some master level management to get the most out of it, and fortunately, Issa is very capable of displaying such mastery.
• Grade: A (in the right hands) C (in the wrong hands)

3)Team: Kawhi me a River

• Owner: Mustafa Masood
• Drafted Players:
• J. Wall
• G. Hayward
• K. Leonard
• J. Randle
• J. Nurkic
• D. Smith Jr.
• R. Gay
• T. Burke
• D. collison
• D. Powell
• J. Simmons
• M. Beasley
• KCP
• Pros:
• Well balanced Roster
• Very strong Perimeter Rotation
• Very good Big 3 (Wall, Hayward, Leonard)
• Cons:
• 2/3 Big 3 have injury concerns (Hayward, Leonard)
• Solid but not spectacular bench units
• Thoughts:
• Mustafa's debut team is very well rounded with several players having the capability of scoring 30+ a night and a big 3 that should consistently net 40+ so long as they stay healthy. Outside of the big 3, Dennis Smith and Nurkic are standouts that should be very valuable on their respective teams and consistently produce in the mid to high 30s nightly.
• What will be a big question is weather or not Hayward and Leonard can remain healthy this season (more for the latter) as both are coming off Major injuries. The other issue is just that outside of the big 3 and Nurkic and Smith, i think you'll get plenty of 20 points (or less) performances from the bench that will always keep this team from really dominating. It's a solid team, but Mustafa will need to be smart with waivers to make this team a contender. Is he up to the challenge?
• Grade: B

4) Team: The Weekenders

• Owner: Burhan Ghney
• Drafted Players:
• B. Simmons
• V. Oladipo
• K. Middleton
• A. Gordon
• E. Kanter
• G. Harris
• D. Sabonis
• J. Valanciunas
• M. Gortat
• M. Brogdon
• R. Rondo
• M. Smart
• J. Green
• Pros:
• Extremely Balanced roster
• No real weak players or major injury concerns for star players
• Multiple Position players
• Cons:
• No Superstar players (though a Simmons breakout year may change that)
• Difficult waiver decisions due to solid bench
• Thoughts:
• Burhan won the league last year and a lot of that came due to his ability to hit in a large waives (especially on the weekend) with various players putting up solid 30+ point production when his team most needed it. This team has much of the same quality with just a strong balanced roster that is capable of hitting in waves and enduring through opposition star performances. The sum is certainly greater than the parts here, but the parts are top notch as well.
• The only real weakness in this team will revolve mismanaging rotations. Lineups and live nba matchups will play a huge part in the decision making process. Luckily the team is constructed in a way that it can withstand a bad decision or two in any given week, and Burhan was a champion for a reason.
• Grade: A

5) Team: Jimmy G Buckets

• Owner: Imad Mubeen
• Drafted Players:
• S. Curry
• J. Butler
• L. Markkanen
• D. Ayton
• K. Dunn
• K. Knox
• T. Evans
• D. Gallinari
• R. Covington
• M. Harrell
• J. Okafor
• J. Crowder
• Pros:
• Personal connection to players
• Breakout potential with multiple players
• Future hall of famer Kris Dunn
• Cons:
• Personal connection to players
• Lauri will start the season hurt
• banking on players from repeating performances from last season
• Jimmy Butler
• Thoughts:
• Say what you will about drafting strategies - but there is a certain joy from getting the players you adore on your team. Imad drafted a team that is essentially of his favorite players in the league, and regardless of how the season plays out, I dont think there is an owner in our league happier with his team than Imad.
• The problem with all of this is that it means that there was very much a Heart over Mind strategy at play here, and while it's a chance at a "Perfect Victory" it often ends in despair. Lauri wont be on the Bulls to start the season and the team in general has no aspirations to win which means they may not let Lauri be in a position to do that. Tyreke Evans broke out last year, but with his age and change in team, can he capture the same magic. Steph Curry may be one of the best pgs to play the game, but GS is notorious for keeping their foot off the accelerator during the season and they have the most talented roster of all time making star performances harder to come by. Th end of the bench here is also pretty forgettable with Okafor, harrell, and crowder just trying to stay in the league. There is potential for a real contender here, but it will likely come at a cost of trading some beloved players for some essential ones.
• Grade: C

6) Team: Team Mubeen

• Owner: Saad Mubeen
• Drafted Players:
• R. Rubio
• D. Mitchell
• K. Durant
• H. Barnes
• C. Capella
• J. Lamb
• D. Saric
• D. Favors
• J. Grant
• I. Thomas
• D. Nowitzki
• Kelly Olynyk
• Larry Nance Jr
• Pros:
• Strong Guard lineup
• Lots of scoring (ppg) potential
• Valuable trade pieces
• Cons:
• Very Top Heavy team
• Best production will come from Durant who himself may be an inconsistent source of pts
• Thoughts:
• Saad's team seems to be very top heavy. Rubio, Mitchell, Durant, and Capela will be doing the heavy lifting here, with the latter trio being the most reliable (and most relied upon) options. Saric, Barnes, Lamb, and Favors should supply some solid Fpts off the bench (30ish on most nights never peaking much higher or dipping much lower).
• The bench is going to be the weak point of thi steam. IT may never be the player he was for the celtics, Dirk is on his farewell tour, Kelly O has a tough time finding playtime for Miami, Grant is a solid player who does things that don't get recorded on the stats page. The waiver wire and finding a way to trade some of those solid rotation players for another star will be key moving forward. As is this doesnt seem like a contender yet, but the potential for growth is obviously there
• Grade: B

7) Team: Team Harambe

• Owner: Roman Ghney
• Drafted Players:
• R. Westbrook
• N. batum
• O. Porter Jr.
• B. Griffin
• L. Aldridge
• J. Murray
• T. Harris
• J. Jackson Jr
• M. Morris
• B. Lopez
• K. Bazemore
• A. Aminu
• R. Anderson
• Pros:
• Lot's of multiple stat-getters
• Big 3 potential (Westbrook, LMA, Griffin)
• Bench has high scoring (ppg) potential
• Cons:
• Outside of of Westbrook, no one is going to blow you away with Fpts
• Steep Drop-off in talent after the big 3
• Thoughts:
• Roman was a tricky opponent for all last year, since he had a collection of player where the majority played together. This meant he would have quiet days in the week, and then day's where he just dominated the day just from a single NBA game. This year's team isn't following that strategy it seems as there is a lot more team variance here. Westbrook will be leading the charge for this team as is often the case with him, while LMA and Blake should be 40+ players fairly consistently throughout the year. There is also some solid bench options with Batum, Porter, Murray, and Harris being reliable 30+ players who can also push to 40 some nights.
• The rest of the team is fairly mediocre, and while Lopez and JJJ can have unexpectedly big roles on  their respective teams, you'll likely find the bench constantly in flux as the season goes on. I dont think this team is at a contender level, but it wont take much for this team to make the playoffs this year.
• Grade: B

8) Team: Zu Crew

• Owner: Zuhair Haque
• Drafted Players:
• M. Conley
• C. McCollum
• A. Wiggins
• G. Antetokounmpo
• M. Gasol
• R. Jackson
• B. Portis
• B. Hield
• T. Gibson
• D. Rose
• P. Gasol
• E. Moore
• Avery Bradley
• Pros:
• Balanced Selection of Guards
• the Greek Freak
• Trade Potential
• Cons:
• Injuries
• Steep drop in production after CJ
• Point guard depth
• Thoughts:
• "With the first overall pick..." - Zuhair hit gold in the lottery with the first overall Pick which he used, rightfully, on the Greak Freak. Giannis is one of a handful of players who can put up 60+ points in a game, and will likely do so multiple times this season. Portis, Jackson, Wiggins, Hield, and McCollum are all great candidates to have breakout years this year, and the rest of the bench will be flirting with 30 Fpts throughout the season
• It's going to take a lot of luck for this team to be dominant. There are a lot of assumptions in play here and if they dont pan out much of the team will look very pedestrian. The trade potential is there with a strong selection of role players, but there will be a reliance on getting one more star level player on this team. Still, the Greek Freak should help pad the stats early to give Zuhair the time to make such adjustments.
• Grade: C

9) Team: We Ballin?

• Owner: Usman Hussain
• Drafted Players:
• C. Paul
• J. Redick
• L. James
• D. Green
• A. Horford
• D. Fox
• Z. Randolph
• T. Young
• C. Sexton
• S. Adams
• D. Wade
• D. Waiters
• G. Hill
• Pros:
• Lots of potential at the PG Spot
• Multiple Multiple-Stat-Getters
• Lebron James
• Cons:
• End of the bench may as well be waiver wire pickups
• Box Score fillers may not fill the box score enough to score big
• Boom or bust rookies
• Thoughts:
• Usmaan has built a team that's filled with players who aren't at all 1-dimensional. Multiple players here are capable of not just scoring double digit points but also contributing with a little bit of everything; rebounds, steals, blocks, assists. CP3, LBJ, Green, Horford, and Adams are going to find ways to affect the box-score even if htey aren't scoring
• While these players may fill the boxscore, outside of Lebron and CP3 I'm not expecting the other players to really do enough to consistently push beyond the mid 30s. Couple that with a fairly dismal end-of-bench and this team has it's worth cut out for it. Still, the trade potential is fairly solid here, and the rookies trae young and sexton can be real wildcards to push this team into the playoffs.
• Grade: C

10) Team: Rose before Hoes

• Owner: Usama Talib Bhatti
• Drafted Players:
• K. Lowry
• B. Beal
• T. Warren
• J. Johnson
• K. Towns
• G. Dragic
• J. Bell
• L. Ball
• E. Payton
• J. Richardson
• G. Monroe
• J. Barea
• K. Oubre jr
• Pros:
• KAT
• Solid Pg rotation
• Cons:
• Auto drafted
• SG and SF positions are mediocre at best
• PF is very weak
• Thoughts:
• KAT is on this team and is predicted to most likely be the fantasy player of the year this year. Beal is a solid 2 guard option. The bench is filled with some solid rotation players, though the potential isnt all that high.
• Really this team is lacking some sort of tie that makes this collection of talent of viable use. It's very much an auto-drafted team as context does not play a role here at all. Josh richardson isn't projected to play as well as he did last year, Beal and Wall continue to fight each other for significance. James Johnson is aging and is limited, Dragic was an All-star last year but that was in a weak pg class in the east. Peyton can't shoot, Lonzo Ball has to play next to lebron now.... I think the good news is that there are a lot of pieces that can be traded here, the bad thing is that it will require a lot of work not just to make the trades - but to make trades that are meaningful enough to bring this team together. This team looks like it's going to struggle save for KAT heroics
• Grade: D

11) Team: Prince Williams Loves Carroll's

• Owner: Hasib Zabih
• Drafted Players:
• D. Lillard
• K. Thompson
• C. Anthony
• K. Love
• D. Howard
• J. Teague
• P. Milsap
• R. Hood
• E. Gordon
• J. Lin
• T. Prince
• D. Dedmon
• MKG
• Pros:
• Extremely balanced and solid Starting Unit
• Consistent Fpts production expected from all players
• Very good SG rotation
• Cons:
• End of the bench is very weak
• No Player is expected to peak above 50 (only Lillard and Love)
• Thoughts:
• Hasib has a solid team that has a great balance in scoring possibilities. Consider this team to be another one of those "Sum is greater than parts" types akin to the Weekenders. Kevin Love may be the player who bucks the trend as, without James, he may revert back to his Twolves days.
• Aside from not having an extremely high scoring potential from any one player, the biggest weakness on this team is at the end of the bench. MKG isnt much of a scorer (ppg) at all, J. Lin may have suffered the injury that derails his career. Gordon, Hood, Teague, Milsap, Howard, and Melo are all trying to show the league they can still ball and overcome past experience/injuries. Whether or not they fit into their new systems/situations is a fairly big gamble and will influence the dominance of this team.
• Grade: B
  
  
  

12) Team: Team bakhrani

• Owner: Nauman Bakhrani
• Drafted Players:
• K. Walker
• J. Holiday
• K. Kuzma
• A. Davis
• W. Cauley Stein
• D. Augustin
• J. Collins
• J. Parker
• J. Ingles
• B. Bogdanovic
• L. Kennard
• F. Ntilikina
• A. Crabbe
• Pros:
• Anthony Davis
• Very Strong PG rotation
• Multiple Multi-Position players
• Cons:
• Jabari is a reach
• Rotation players will struggle to hit 30 at times
• Very top Heavy
• Thoughts:
• Nauman really loved having Anthony Davis (for good reason) and selected him immediately again. Walker and Jrue are really good options at pg, and Frank N needs to have a breakout season on a KP-less Knicks team if he wants to continue his NBA career. There are a lot of solid 3pt shooting options here.
• The rotation players here are going to be fairly weak so the big guns are going to have to do a lot of pushing for this team to advance. Luckily Anthony Davis is one of those talents who can carry a Fantasy team mostly on his own - granted he stays healthy. The PG rotation is extremely solid and having Jrue means you can offset him at the SG spot so you dont have to worry about not playing the right guard. I need to also make note of the jabari pick as a bulls fan. He's looked bad, and likely wont look much better as the season progresses. The irony of this team is that a few a trades can really push this team into contention (so long as health isnt an issue) and Nauman is notorious for not being a trader. Maybe he changes that this year?
• Grade: B

13) Team: Andre the Giant

• Owner: Arshad Jaffery
• Drafted Players:
• E. Bledsoe
• D. DeRozan
• J. Tatum
• Q. Acy
• A. Drummond
• D. Schroder
• R. Hollis-Jefferson
• R. Gobert
• J. Allen
• J. Jackson
• B. Bogdonovic
• D. Cousins
• M. Hezonja
• Pros:
• Strong 3pt shooting and Rebounding team
• Primary wings can play multiple positions
• Outside of Cousins, no major injury concerns heading into season
• Cons:
• Top Heavy
• Cousins will be out most of the Fantasy Season
• Consistency in Production
• Thoughts:
• Arshad's team last year really seized the reigns early of the league and if not for some trades that didn't work out in his favor, had one of the best teams in the league. His current team however doesnt seem to have the same oomph to it coming out the gate. DeRozan and Drummond were strong producers last year. Allen and Tatum have nowhere to go but up this season after a very unexpected strong showing last year. Josh Jackson and Bogdonovic are potential breakout players this year after flashing potential last year, and Hezonja and Bledsoe are trying to make the best of a new situation and put it all together. Gobert may be a steal. The potential for this roster is there.
• The players at the end of this bench are extremely weak. RHJ, while a personal favorite player, isn't much of a scorer and may not be expected to help on the boards as much as he did last season. Acy is just a 3pt shooting role player who wont be an integral part of any team's offense. Bledsoe and Schroder are solid point guard pick ups, but both are playing on teams where there is already a designated ball handler who is head and shoulders better than them. Andre Drummond may have a down year due to the flux with his situation in Detroit. Outside of DeRozen, who is also in a situation which may reduce his impact in fantasy, there just isnt a consistent option for high Fpts on this team, which is very different from Arashad's team last year that was carried by just two players. The team has potential, but it will take some patience and good decisions (or a lot of luck) to truly utilize this team to it's best.
• Grade: C