Fantasy Draft Strategy

[Oznogrd]

Out of curiosity since i know a few people out there rather than use NBA rosters use fantasy drafts (i do more often than not)...How do you draft? do you start with a certain position? Do you go with players you like? Do you think about things like cap room and trading possibilities? I'm curious because i end up fantasy drafting very similar teams over and over.

What I usually do is draft a center first: solely because there are so few good ones in the NBA. I draft the best center available as soon as i get my pick. Next i go after SF, for the same reason as Centers. Thirdly, i get a PF. This seems to be the most stacked position and you can get a decent PF 3 rounds and sometimes 4 rounds in. Next i go with the best guards available:be it PG or SG. After i get a starting 5 based on ability, i look at who's left and try to get the best possible backups/players i like.

[Ashman23]

I draft the best youngest player available, so like you I end up with a similar team , like the Lebrons, and the Wades and the Boshs. Then pick up good support players whom I can trade for more youth or for a gun older player that I can get two or three seasons out of. Usually I have a fantastic young core and muck around with the support cast.

[emi_b7]

I use to draft a PG first, but he have to be a good stopper and shooter (and obviously a good passer), then i try to get a nice C or a PF that can play as C. And then i just look what can i get . I always try to get a star shooter to complete the starting five, like mike miller or somethng like that

[Martti.]

1) Superstar Scorer. (Kobe, King James, Wade, Mcgrady etc.)
2) A big guy (Howard usually stays after first round.)
3, 4, 5, ) Just good guys with overalls.

[JJones]

1) SF (Lebron)
2) PF that you plan on making a Center (Bosh or Howard)
3) SG- someone with amazing speed and a 3 ball and stopper (Jason Terry)
4) PF- a true PF that can dunk lights out and has some shot (Chris Wilcox)
5) PG- a playmaker and scorer (Derron Williams)
5) SG- a SG in a SF's frame that can shoot deep. (Mike Miller)
6) PG- a playmaker that has decent speed (Luke Ridnour)
7) SF- a Stopper decent shooter (Bruce Bowen)
8) PF- a PF that can play PF/C (A. Varejoa)
9) Guard- ok look this is where you pursure a PG that has the height of a SG and has a good steal rating. (Vasilus Sponoulius)
10) C- a pure shot blocker and decent dunker and good rebounder. (Loren Woods)
11 and 12) a dunker and a shooting big man.


Get more strategies here...
http://www.nbaliveforums.com/ftopic44223.php

[Unguarded]

If you have the first overall pick, start with Lebron. He will hold a 99 rating for 10+ years in your dynasty. I slide him over to SG, since there are no other young SGs who can reach 99 without a ridiculous amount of work. After that, just go for value. If Kobe/Tmac or whoever slips to round 2, take them. Keep making value picks, prioritizing overall score and then age/position. Centers, power forwards, and point guards (in that order) will have the most trade value later on. So if you have to choose between an older SG or SF with an 85 and a younger center with an 83, always take the center. In the later rounds, take guys who are young and will develop quickly (they will make great trade bait later on) like Webster, Biedrins, Redick, May and what not. Don't worry about building a cohesive roster... just build value for now.

When the season starts, go all out to trade for the following team (in order of priority):

C - Howard/Bosh/Amare (Amare has trouble reaching and holding a 99)
PF - Bosh/Howard
SF - Iggy/Carmelo
SG - Lebron
PG - Paul

This will give you an unstoppable team full of 99s by year 8 or so. Once you have this team built, put together the following bench as the years go on:

C - Bogut
PF - Bargnani
SF - Josh Smith
SG - Webster
PG - Livingston

When there's a strong offseason draft, you can obviously draft or trade for some rookies to use instead of these guys. Also, always feel free to sub your favorite players for the guys listed above... just realize that they won't perform quite as well in the long run and will lose value with age instead of gaining value.

Note: Iggy reaches and holds 99 more easily than Carmelo, and you will already have awesome offensive numbers, making Carmelo a bit redundant. I highly recommend taking Iggy's suberb defense over Carmelo's offensive superiority, though it's a matter of personal preference.

One idea is to move Lebron to PG and play Iggy/Carmelo at SG/SF. Other possible second-stringers to consider are Aldridge, Morrison, and J.R. Smith (I am sure I am forgetting a few).

[Oznogrd]

Funny unguarded i had no trouble keeping amare at a 99 for 10+ years...he got there in 2 and still had it when he retired...go figure...I just feel like lebron is cheating. And what if you're not first pick? lebron is never there past top 5;-)

[Unguarded]

Funny unguarded i had no trouble keeping amare at a 99 for 10+ years...he got there in 2 and still had it when he retired...go figure

Cool... definitely bump up Amare then. I haven't drafted him personally because Howard/Bosh are slightly younger. I was basing my assesment on the CPU team's handling of Amare.... he just seems to hang out at 93-94 throughout his career. The CPU teams definitely suck horribly at managing their rosters