Fantasy Basketball: Sheikh Gucci League 2019-2020 Draft Analysis

Note: The following is purely my personal opinion and should be considered as such. 

Hoops. Are. Back! This year's draft yielded much better results than last year and it's interesting that so many teams kept similar strategies last year. I think there may have been some movement in trades and waiver pickups already so if your team has changed from what's listed here, let me know and I'll re-evaluate.

1)Team: Va - Giannis

• Owner: Qais
• Drafted Players:
• J. Teague
• B. Hield
• T.  Harris
• G. Antetokounmpo
• C. Capela
• D. Smith Jr
• M. Bagley III
• J. Allen
• T. Young
• K. Bazemore
• M. Fultz
• M. Bamba
• K. Durant
• Pros:
• Greek. Freak
• Solid Rebounders at every position
• Kevin Durant can be an Ace in the hole
• Cons:
• Weak at point guard
• No Shooting guard depth
• Too many question marks on the bench for consistent scoring
• Thoughts:
• Qais is using the point setup objectively with his teams design picking up players who are known for crashing the board while also providing other scoring stats. Harris, Capela, Teague, Bagley, Allen, and Bazemore are all guys who like to get after boards while also trying to get shots up. I expect this team to have a ton of double doubles every week
• There are a lot of question marks with many of the players here as far as consistent playing time goes. Fultz just had corrective surgery done and is hoping to show that he's not a gigantic bust of a pick which for different circumstances is also where DSJ is at. Bamba is a talented young big who's unfortunately part of a talented frontline in Orlando, J. Allen went from a starter to a bench player and may be looking at a slightly reduced role with the Nets.
• I love having KD in the pocket in case he comes back to the game early to finish the season before playoffs. The problem is by the time KD comes back it may already be the fantasy playoffs, and depending on how much the Nets limit him, he might not be the statistical monster he normally is.
• This is a solid team that is going to score a majority of it's points off secondary stats and double doubles, but if the Greek Freak sits frequently this season, which is a possibility in today's NBA, this fantasy team will lose out a lot of fire power.
• Grade: B

2) Team: Magical Elements

• Owner: Paykan Ghney
• Drafted Players:
• M. Conley
• D. DeRozan
• J. Butler
• J. Tatum
• K. Towns
• Eric Gordon
• OG Anunoby
• W. Barton
• D. Dedmon
• G. Dragic
• G. Harris
• J. Grant
• Pros:
• Well balanced Roster
• Multi Position Starters
• Cons:
• Bench players with limited ceilings
• Only one major Stat Stuffer
• Thoughts:
• Issa continues his tradition of locating solid depth. The bench here looks extremely consistent in terms of what they'll provide throughout the season. What I love is just the synergy of this team. The best players on this team, outside of KAT  and Conley are all multiple positional players which means adjusting lineups to maximize points is going to be a strong point for this team. And, as Issa tends to do, there is a lot of flexibility here in moving pieces. People are going to be searching for depth and will sacrifice scoring as the season wears on for depth. And that's where Issa tends to shine.
• The biggest weakness of this team really is just in the lack of oomph that will come from the bench. Don't get me wrong, I think Dragic, Gordon, Barton, Harris and Grant (my dark horse of this team) will have several 30pt streaks. But if KAT goes down this team is going to rely heavily on a favorable schedule to makeup the points.
• Side note - it's not a mistake that Butler is on this team - but I doubt he finishes the season on this roster - and that's by design.
• Grade: A

3)Team: Zion Westbooker

• Owner: Mustafa Masood
• Drafted Players:
• R. Westbrook
• D. Booker
• B. Bogdanovic
• R. Kurucs
• H. Whiteside
• R.J. Barett
• D. Saric
• D. Schroder
• N. Alexander-Walker
• Z. Williamson
• Z. Collins
• J. Harris
• DJ Augustin
• Pros:
• Terrific Bench
• Potential BOOM Team (guys with very high upside if things pan out)
• Cons:
• Multiple starters who may either be absent or on the decline
• Multiple players that may be missing or will miss time this season
• Potential BUST team (guys who may fall off a cliff or never contribute due to depth)
• Thoughts:
• Westbrook has been a fantasy monster for more than a decade now. Booker is a prolific scorer who has huge games more often than not. Zion is likely going to be ROY unless he continues to miss time, and RJ might be a swiss army knife early for the Knicks. NAW is someone people are sleeping on and may be in the running for ROY as well.
• This is a very 'boom or bust' team. There are a lot of players here that are carrying a large amount of stigma in the NBA world due to their situations. The talent is there, but the situations may not be beneficial to that talent. Can Westbrook thrive next to harden with the way both their games have grown over the years? Is D. Booker a star, and will the new additions to the team limit his usage and thus his production? Can Whiteside stay healthy? Can Zion? Is RJ capable of being the star that the Knicks are banking on? Will Schroder get enough time behind cp3? Is Kurucs going to play with his scandal still being decided? This may end up being the best team in the league come March. Or Mustafa might be looking a late year reconstruction of his roster.
• Grade: C

4) Team: Brow Shakalaka

• Owner: Burhan Ghney
• Drafted Players:
• K. Irving
• J. Holiday
• O. Porter Jr
• A. Davis
• B. Adebayo
• D. Murray
• R. Hollis-Jefferson
• W. Cauley-Stein
• K. Olynyk
• T.J. Warren
• T. Prince (should've picked the other Holiday!!!)
• M. Smart
• M. Porter Jr
• Pros:
• Balanced set of starters
• Solid Bench which may flourish due to their new situations
• Solid Rebounding Team
• Cons:
• Not real scorers on the bench (must rely on secondary stats)
• Kyrie and AD both have recent injury histories and are playing on teams looking to contend
• Thoughts:
• I love the starting lineup here. Kyrie and AD bring prolific fantasy scoring but in very different ways. Jrue and Otto are going to float around 35 points every game with their positions on their respective NBA teams that call for them to hit the boards and shoot 3s. Both are also capable of of scoring 20 points while dishing out helpers with their unselfish and smart play. MPJ might be a sneaky runner for ROY in the tradition of Second year Rookies. Prince and Warren have been solid fantasy bench players for 2 years now and I don't see that changing. Bam and WCS are going to see a lot of minutes and will grab a lot of boards and dunk the ball - a LOT.
• Smart and RHJ are solid players that do things that don't always show up on the boxscore. Both may be looking to change that persona this year, but it's a mindset that I'm not sure they have. Murray is an xfactor on this team who is looking to breakout for the spurs. Outside of Kyrie and AD i don't see a lot of pop, and if those guys go down Burhan will have to rely on playing waivers and trades and just play the schedule in  a "Sum greater than parts" sort of way. This style of play is what made him a Champ two years ago though.
• Grade: B+

5) Team: Team Mubeen

• Owner: Saad Mubeen
• Drafted Players:
• B. Simmons
• J. Culver
• D. Hunter
• M. Harrell
• D. Ayton
• D. White
• D. Favors
• J. Valanciunas
• T. Bryant
• A. Aminu
• N. Bjelica
• J. Green
• J. Crowder
• Pros:
• Mid-Tier players are great
• Strong bench
• plenty of rebounders
• Cons:
• Lack of Stars
• reliance on aged vets or young developing talent
• Top and Bottom Tier players seem weak
• Thoughts:
• Saad was the only player who autodrafted, and I'm not sure if he set up a deep queue or if he allowed the AI to make his selections. I like the Front court on this team. Ayton should have a larger role this season, as is the same with Harrell playing a Siakam type role for the clippers next to PG and the Klaw.
• I really don't understand the philosophy of this team. The star power is very much lacking. I like simmons as a sneaky pick, but he was the first pick of this team and while he'll provide points in a variety of categories, I'm not sure he'll consistently excel enough to provide solid punch  you want from your first pick. I also believe one of the best reasons to draft Simmons is gone, as he was a rare PG/PF dual position player last year. He might strictly be a pg this season which really weakens his potential. Culver and Hunter are highly rated rookies sure, but Hunter isn't really a stat stuffer and culver is on a team with a lot of talent in front of him. 
• Saad needs to be involved in a lot of trades and may need to restructure his roster soon into the season in order to salvage it.
• Grade: D

6) Team: ER Squad

• Owner: Imad Mubeen
• Drafted Players:
• T. Young
• C. McCollum
• A. Wiggins
• J. Collins
• A. Drummond
• M. Monk
• R. Covington
• M. Turner
• M. Bridges
• E. Bledsoe
• R. Jackson
• A. Len
• W. Matthews
• Pros:
• Strong Guard Play
• Multiple sleeper picks (Wiggins, Collins, Bridges, Len)
• No Jimmy Butler
• Cons:
• Top Heavy team
• Inconsistent Scoring 
• Thoughts:
• I criticized Imad's team last year from being made up of players that Imad picked with his heart and not with his head. This year's team seems to not have the same issue, and that is for the better. I like the depth here. There are several players here who have a chance of breakingout this season. Young, McCollum, and Drummond should have big years as well which means this could be a roster to reckon with.
• While I like the gamble on the sleeper picks in Wiggins, Collins, Bridges, and Len - aside from Collins, I fear all those players have a better chance of just repeating what they did last season, which wasn't fantasy friendly. Still it's hard to criticize this team
• Grade: A

7) Team: @ Arshad Jaffery Sucks

• Owner: Roman Ghney
• Drafted Players:
• K. Walker
• M. Brogdon
• K. Kuzma
• A. Gordon
• J. Embiid
• S. Gilgeous-Alexander
• W. Carter Jr
• T. Rozier
• B. Griffin
• J. Brown
• S. Dinwiddie
• T. Thompson
• C. Osman
• Pros:
• Balanced Point scoring all around
• Great forwards lineup
• Deep Bench
• Cons:
• Lack of Depth at Shooting guard
• Thoughts:
• The Ghney bros are a force in fantasy, and look no further for proof than this team. From top to bottom I think this might be the best team in the league. Embiid will put up monster numbers whenever he plays and Blake is going to be a stat stuffer for Detroit. Kemba, Brogdon, Kuzma, SGA, Rozier, and Brown are all being thrust into big roles this year with an uptick in usage. Dinwiddie may see a reduced role with the nets, but he’ll likely produce in whatever role he plays. Gordon is still pegged as the secondary star in Orlando.
• It’s hard to find flaws with this team. There is a severe lack of SG here which may make lineup management difficult some weeks, but the amount of scoring coming from all other positions will likely offset those woes. It would take a lot failure by some of the secondary players to really change my mind about this team. It’s a force
• Grade: A+

8) Team: Zu Crew

• Owner: Zuhair Haque
• Drafted Players:
• S. Curry
• Z. Lavine
• Paul George
• Kevin Love
• A. Horford
• E. Fournier
• P. Milsap
• D. Rose
• B. Ingram
• B. Bogdanovic
• B. Lopez
• Isaiah Thomas
• T. Herro
• Pros:
• Strong 3 point shooting
• Scoring - lots of scoring
• Bench has high fantasy point scoring potential at times
• Cons:
• Not many multi position players on the perimeter
• lack of rebounding 
• Bench has a lot volatility
• Thoughts:
• Zuhair was happy with his roster and if you know him, it's easy to see why. The stars on his roster (Curry, Lavine, PG) aren't just great fantasy players - they're also probably his favorite players in the league. We also have Kevin Love who promises to return to his Twolve stat stuffing self now that he's back on a bad team with him being the biggest start on it. Fournier, Rose, Horford, Milsap and Bogdan are going to have several games this season where they simply go off. Tyler Herro is going to score a lot of points as a rookie this year as well.
• While scoring is obvious on this team, there aren't a lot of secondary stat getters here. Love and Paul George are probably the biggest multiple stat getters. Horford is a great all around player, but at this point in his career he's likely trying to just do the little things rather than dominate either end. 
• Grade: B+

9) Team: We Ballin?

• Owner: Usman Hussain
• Drafted Players:
• R. Rubio
• L. Williams
• K. Knox
• P. Siakam
• R. Gobert
• V. Oladipo
• K. Porzingis
• S. Adams
• M. Gasol
• M. Plumlee
• T. Hardaway Jr
• PJ Tucker
• K. Korver
• Pros:
• Strong Rebounders at every position
• Great bigs on this team
• Oladipo is a great stash away pick
• Cons:
• Wait who's scoring points?
• Reliance on aged role players to continue their recent success
• So - who's scoring points?
• Very unbalanced roster
• Thoughts:
• Gobert, Siakam, Porzingis, Adams, Gasol - wow. This is the best big man rotation in the league. I like Rubio as he's due for a big season this year, and oladipo might turn out to be a huge gift in the playoffs. 
• Usmaan kept saying redo throughout the draft. I can sort of see why. The good news here is that this team is going to put up good numbers and should be easy to reconstruct for a big mid season push. This team reminds me a lot of Issas team post draft last year, and with smart management can see similar success. 
• Grade: C

10) Team: License to Lillard

• Owner: Usama Talib Bhatti
• Drafted Players:
• D. Lillard
• L. Doncic
• D. Gallinari
• L. Markkanen
• D. Howard
• D. Russell
• S. Ibaka
• J. Morant
• F. VanVleet
• J. Winslow
• K. Huerter
• J. Johnson
• J. Jackson
• J. Nurkic
• Pros:
• Terrific Perimeter Production
• Solid Bench
• Great balance
• Cons:
• Big men depth is lacking
• Thoughts:
• Sama pulls a complete 180 in his draft this year. Funny how not autodrafting can change the construction of a team. This team is very well balanced. The players on this team are either multi faceted point scorers or strong rebounders which is an ideal level of construction. I think there’s some worry near the end of the bench, but nothing that can’t be resolved through some smart play on the waiver wire. Nurkic is a great IR player to have as he can have some great upside come Fantasy Playoffs
• Grade: A

11) Team: Lovin da Hood

• Owner: Hasib Zabih
• Drafted Players:
• R. Rondo
• J. Harden
• K. Leonard
• J. Randle
• D. Jordan
• T. Ross
• D. Sabonis
• E. Kanter
• JJ. Redick
• B. Portis
• D. Wright
• E. Payton
• I. Rabb
• Pros:
• Big 3!! (Harden, Klaw, Randle)
• Solid front line rotation (PF/C positions)
• Cons:
• PG point production may be an issue
• SG Depth isn’t very good
• Thoughts:
• That big 3 looks monstrous. Even if you expect Harden’s numbers to take a hit playing next to Westbrook; Randle should make up for it greatly with his role on the Knicks. Kawhi may rest from time to time this season, but it shouldn’t be nearly as much as last year. I like D. Wright on the bench as well as Kanter. Both should get plenty of run on their new teams. Sabonis is a sleeper pick and should be a double double machine. Deandre Jordan as well.
• While I like Wright, He’s not a stat stuffing guard. And that’s the biggest weakness on this team. The guard play is pretty mediocre. I don’t see a lot of obvious moves right off the bat that can be made, but there will certainly be a reliance on that big 3 to come in and save the day. Good news is, that trio most certainly will more often than not.
• Grade: A-

12) Team: Team Ice Ballers

• Owner: Nauman Bakhrani
• Drafted Players:
• J. Murray
• B. Beal
• J. Lamb
• D. Green
• N. Vucevic
• K. Lowry
• G. Hayward
• D. Powell
• J. McGee
• K. Oubre Jr.
• J. Isaac
• L. Nance Jr
• A. Holiday
• Pros:
• Strong Frontline
• Bench is litered with multi-faceted scorers
• Rebounding
• Cons:
• End of bench is weak
• Mid-Tier players aren’t stat stuffers
• Thoughts:
• I really like Beal in fantasy this year. He’s gotten paid and has full control of a Wizards team that’s hoping to make noise in the playoffs. I expect him to be a leader in fantasy. I also really like Vucevic, who I think is an absolute monster in the paint. He’s going to have a lot of high scoring and rebounding double doubles. There’s decent balance on the bench and I can see several players getting additional positions added as the year goes by.
• D. Green, Hayward, KO, Isaac, and Nance all sort of scare me. What makes them good players in the NBA doesn’t necessarily get reflected in the boxscore. Hayward is the most likely to explode in terms of production, but his play last season was very disappointing.
• Grade: B-

13) Team: Andre the Giant

• Owner: Arshad Jaffery
• Drafted Players:
• D. Fox
• D. Mitchell
• LBJ
• J. Jackson
• M. Robinson
• C. Sexton
• J. Ingles
• C. Lavert
• B. Clarke
• H. Barnes
• N. Batum
• D. Garland
• L. Kennard
• Pros:
• LBJ
• Strong rebounding at every position
• Great SF rotation
• Cons:
• Inconsistency riddled bench
• LBJ might be under lots of load management this year
• Thoughts:
• I like the small forwards on this team a lot. Lavert and LBJ have constant triple double potential. Batum, Barnes, and Ingles will constantly be flirting with high scoring double doubles. I think Mitchell is looking to take the next step with his play and he finished really strong last season. I love the pickup of JJJ.
• LBJ is the obvious centerpiece of this team, and I can see the lakers resting him a lot this season. I think this may be more obvious come fantasy playoff time and can really hurt this team’s longevity. I think the bench will be inconsistent all season long and riding the waiver wire may be a gamble since the bench isn’t weak, just may not perform for stretches in a week. With proper lineup management though I think this team will be great throughout the season. I worry for the playoffs though.
• Grade: B