I finally had my Fantasy Basketball Draft in my 10 team league. I’m not really sure if my players are going to manage enough points to stay competitive, but I think I did well in a lot of the other categories including, amazingly enough, turnovers.

I had the 6th pick in the draft which precluded me from drafting Chris Paul, who I was most interested in.

Here are my 13 players (10 rotation players and 3 bench players), including the order that I drafted them:

Round 1

Kevin Garnett - With this pick, I was trying to avoid someone who was injured significantly last year. I also considered whether they played in the Olympics, although I honestly would have drafted an Olympic athlete if he was the best player available. Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Amare Stoudemire, LeBron James, and Dirk Nowitzki had already been picked. Other top 10 players have significant injury potential that I wanted to avoid.

Round 2

Marcus Camby - I’m not sure how the Los Angeles Clippers will affect Camby’s rebounds and blocks, but I opted for a real statistical difference-maker here. I considered picking someone for assists here (top tier assist man Steve Nash was available, Deron Williams had just been picked), but I opted for rebounds and blocks instead. Also, Camby did not play in the Olympics.

Round 3

Jason Richardson - The big problem with picking Kevin Garnett and Marcus Camby in the first two rounds is that I get no 3 pointers and no points out of them. (Not significant points, anyway.) Richardson boosts me significantly in both of those categories. I considered picking a top tier assist man here, but Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Steve Nash, and Jose Calderon had already been taken. That only left Jason Kidd, and I thought I might be able to get him in Round 4, rather than reaching too far in Round 3 and being hopelessly behind in points.

Round 4

Jason Kidd - I did get him here. I didn’t think he was likely to last until Round 5, and I REALLY needed a top tier point guard if I hoped to compete. Kidd also gets me decent three pointers, rebounds, and steals. His turnovers are horrible, but Garnett and Camby should insulate me well from them.

Round 5

Mike Dunleavy - I’m still worried about points, and Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison, and Kevin Durant all got picked between my last pick and this one, unfortunately. Dunleavy got over 1500 points and 165 3 pointers last year, so he should be a pretty good pick. His field goal and free throw percentages are also pretty nice.

Round 6

LaMarcus Aldridge - Aldridge had over 1300 points, over 500 rebounds, and nearly 100 blocks. I wanted an insurance policy or two in case Camby had problems in Clipperland, but I didn’t want to give up on points to do it. I considered Kirilenko here, too, but I thought I might be able to get him in Round 7 (which I discovered in the next pick, that I wasn’t going to have that chance.)

Round 7

Jamal Crawford - I think D’Antoni is going to do wonderful things for Crawford. I’m still low on points and assists at this point, so I’m hoping that he could help in both. Andre Miller and Tony Parker were picked just before I had my turn, so Crawford was the best player available. He might turn out to be the best of the three, anyway.

Round 8

Tyson Chandler - I considered picking Michael Beasley here, but I went for a safer choice. David Lee, who I considered to be quite a possible sleeper pick, had just been taken. Al Harrington and Richard Jefferson were also not available. Chandler gets me another big rebounder, almost on par with Camby, to along with Camby, Kidd, Garnett, and Aldridge.

Round 9

Rajon Rondo - At this point, I’m looking to nab one more guys for assists (and hopefully to shore up my steals somewhat as well). I have Jason Kidd to lead the charge, and I have Jamal Crawford who I’m hoping will improve his assist numbers. But other than that, I’m pretty low in the assist department. Mike Bibby, Ben Gordon, T.J. Ford, and Derrick Rose just got picked in the four picks before I get to make my selection. I was considering Ronnie Brewer and Rajon Rondo here for steals as well, but I ultimately had to go with Rondo for the assist and steal value (and hope Ronnie Brewer might fall to me in the 10th round).

Round 10

Jamario Moon - I didn’t want to reach too far for anyone, but I also didn’t like my choices much in this round. Jamario Moon had such a stellar rookie season, that I decided to give him a chance here to see how much he can improve.

Round 11

Raja Bell - I’m now into my bench, so I figure I can find guys who I can plug in at various statistical categories in case guys go down. Raja Bell is good for some 3 pointers and some steals. Plus he’s a save bet here.

Round 12

Nick Collison - A 700+ rebounder isn’t normally available in the 12th round, so I figured I’d nab him here. I don’t imagine that I’ll be found lacking in rebounds with Camby and Chandler on my team, but if one of them goes down, Collison could replace him and keep up the rebounding.

Round 13

Grant Hill - I wanted someone who I absolutely, one-hundred percent knew drank Sprite. Actually, I didn’t like anybody here, so I figured I’d go for someone who could do a lot of things fairly well. I considered picking a rookie here, but Jerryd Bayless was just picked. The next best rookie was supposedly Brooks Lopez, and I really couldn’t see him being that great of a rookie, let alone an actual asset to my team in a pinch.

There’s a good chance that Hill will never really see any time on my team. I often watch the free agents at the beginning of the season to find a player that nobody thought would be getting starting minutes, let alone take advantage of them. If I’m quick enough Grant Hill will probably be replaced by that mystery man.

Final Note

I think my team might end up a little low in points, especially compared with teams sporting Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, or Allen Iverson, but I’m hoping that Jamal Crawford (under Mike D’Antoni) along with Jason Richardson will be able to pick up the load for my team.

I’m also hoping that my assists and steals are high enough. I do have Jason Kidd as well as Jamal Crawford and Rajon Rondo, but as the majority of my team are not big on assists, I am a bit worried.

I’m not sure how Crawford will affect my field goal percentage. Hopefully Kevin Garnett counter-acts its adverse affects. I know my players won’t be at the top, but hopefully they are at least in the top half. At least Crawford’s free throw percentage is stellar. I also have Jason Kidd’s poor field goal shooting to deal with, but his lack of field goal attempts should easily be counter-acted by Tyson Chandler and others.

I do have some pretty poor free throw shooters on my team, but none of them shoot very many of them, so Crawford, Dunleavy, and others should easily keep me in the top third of my league.