Hey Santino!
I enjoy reading all of the responses you post. I figured I'd take some constructive criticism from you as well. This is my team for the year in a yahoo pro league. 12 Team 9 CAT H2H Standard Draft League. This is a extremely competitive league ($500 buy-in). I went into the draft with tons of preparation, however everyone in my cue kept getting taken from me a 1 or 2 picks before me. Very frustrating, but overall I am not that disappointed about where some players fell to me. I look forward to reading your thoughts on my team. Thanks in advance!

1. (9) Bradley Beal
2. (16) Jrue Holiday
3. (33) Kristaps Porzingis
4. (40) Jayson Tatum
5. (57) Jonathan Isaac
6. (64) Malcolm Brogdon
7. (81) Larry Nance Jr.
8. (88) Wendell Carter Jr.
9. (105) Mikal Bridges
10. (112) Zach Collins
11. (129) Tyler Herro
12. (136) Collin Sexton
13. (153) Derrick Rose

Just wondering, did you have $200 to spend on players, and had $8 leftover? Just curious as to why you didn't want Adams or Draymond (I know you said too many C's) if you were going with a punting strategy that catered to big men. You could still wind up trading bigs at some point.

I like the depth of the team. Your bigs are fantastic, and you did well to target your specific punt. I know you went the route of not ponying up for the elite studs, and it's a tough route to take without one leading the way. Punting so many cats gives you an edge in the others, but doesn't give you a lot of room for error.
As far as picks go, you were right with Bam, he was a tremendous value, as was Rubio for a mere $7. Even if you don't like him, that is nothing. Bridges for %4 is another no-risk pick. You were able to get quite a few guys at minimal values which are awesome, and makes you wonder what your team would have looked like if you went for a first-rounder? It looks like you would have still had many of the same guys. I like Teague for where he's going this year in snake drafts. If you had the money you might as well throw it at him at that point but in relation to what you paid it's ehh for value.

Auction drafts are tough and fun at the same time. If you spend up big for an elite guy, sometimes the rest of the pieces don't look so great, and vice versa if you miss and end up paying too much for the late guys with the leftover money. I think you did a good job to build a competitive team without that top guy and had a few savvy picks to put yourself in a position to get to the playoffs for your first auction.

Hey man hope all is well! I'm indifferent about how it all came out as you most certainly punted blocks and rebounds with fg% and turnovers being sub-par as well. It looks different because KAT was your first pick. You'll definitely be among the top 3 in points and threes. Ft% and steals are going to be strong as well. You are deceptively strong in assists though with a multitude of players that pitch in a handful.

The no big man strat is not something I'd really entertain myself, but so far with what you have done and some others earlier, it's not that bad of an idea. You still give away or put yourself behind the eight-ball in too many cats, but if you are able to execute it well enough it could work. While you have minimal room for error and consistency may be hard to come by, and it may ultimately be more splash than substance, you gave yourself a chance to win.

Thank you for the compliment! And sorry to hear you had the twelve spot, it's a real underwhelming spot to be in. You miss out on the surefire elite and get stuck with guys who could really get back to the middle half of the second (a la Butler). He's no slouch, but you get him without getting a Curry or Jokic as well, with an earlier third-round pick. Nothing you could do about the luck of the draw and have to go with the hand you are dealt with.

I agree with you and think FT% is a definite strength. You have some bigs who get assists, so I think you'll be a little better than average but not so much. You have a solid veteran team, taking a lot of people that get overlooked because they aren't flashy and new.

You pretty much got everyone around where they are going, with Collins being an excellent late-rounder. I Wouldn't have gone with J Rich where you did, and that kind of changes the whole dynamic of your team. He's been going later, and while he is a very good player, hit numbers are going to drop with all the surrounding pieces. He doesn't rebound much and without being the go-to guy anymore his scoring and assists that he got last year should suffer as well. He'll hit threes and get steals, with sneaky blocks for a guard, but will that be enough to rely on? Miles at 85 was better value.

In all, I think you made some good picks and stayed in everyone's price range. I agree with your assessment that you have weaknesses, and some cats that don't appear strong, but you do have people who contribute across the board which will help you compete in most of them. it'll be tough to make moves as you don't have the flashy new toy or exciting sexy breakout picks on your team that garners so much trade interest at this point in time (a few towards the back end, but that'll be hard to trade for an impact guy until they prove themselves more). Guys like Gasol, Horford and J Rich aren't going to wow anyone to trade. That's not a knock on them, it's just how the fantasy game goes. For instance, Morant at 60 carries more hype on the market right now than JRich would even if he doesn't reach his projections. I think this team is a much better real-life team than a fantasy team. They have extensive playoff experience and people you'd ride with. It may not translate fully to our game this year, but it's still nothing to sneeze at.

Thank you for the compliment! And sorry to hear you had the twelve spot, it’s a real underwhelming spot to be in. You miss out on the surefire elite and get stuck with guys who could really get back to the middle half of the second (a la Butler). He’s no slouch, but you get him without getting a Curry or Jokic as well, with an earlier third-round pick. Nothing you could do about the luck of the draw and have to go with the hand you are dealt with.

I agree with you and think FT% is a definite strength. You have some bigs who get assists, so I think you’ll be a little better than average but not so much. You have a solid veteran team, taking a lot of people that get overlooked because they aren’t flashy and new.

You pretty much got everyone around where they are going, with Collins being an excellent late-rounder. I Wouldn’t have gone with J Rich where you did, and that kind of changes the whole dynamic of your team. He’s been going later, and while he is a very good player, hit numbers are going to drop with all the surrounding pieces. He doesn’t rebound much and without being the go-to guy anymore his scoring and assists that he got last year should suffer as well. He’ll hit threes and get steals, with sneaky blocks for a guard, but will that be enough to rely on? Miles at 85 was better value.

In all, I think you made some good picks and stayed in everyone’s price range. I agree with your assessment that you have weaknesses, and some cats that don’t appear strong, but you do have people who contribute across the board which will help you compete in most of them. it’ll be tough to make moves as you don’t have the flashy new toy or exciting sexy breakout picks on your team that garners so much trade interest at this point in time (a few towards the back end, but that’ll be hard to trade for an impact guy until they prove themselves more). Guys like Gasol, Horford and J Rich aren’t going to wow anyone to trade. That’s not a knock on them, it’s just how the fantasy game goes. For instance, Morant at 60 carries more hype on the market right now than JRich would even if he doesn’t reach his projections. I think this team is a much better real-life team than a fantasy team. They have extensive playoff experience and people you’d ride with. It may not translate fully to our game this year, but it’s still nothing to sneeze at.

Thanks Santino for getting back with your assessment!

I agree, I may have reached on JRich, after looking back at it I probably should have waited to see if I could have picked him up later on. I guess there isn't much to do for now, I'll just have to wait and see how these players start the year. Hopefully, some of them can make some noise and maybe I'll be able to make some trades.

Thanks again for the taking your time and sending your assessment!

Hey, Santino!

Got my 2nd league draft done. It is a 14Team 9CAT H2H League.

This is my team (9th pick):
1. Damian Lillard
2. Trae Young
3. Mike Conley
4. Lauri Markkanen
5. Thomas Bryant
6. Jonas Valanciunas
7. Miles Bridges
8. Tomas Satoransky
9. Mikal Bridges
10. Kevon Looney
11. Dwayne Bacon
12. OG Anunoby
13. Markelle Fultz

Overall, I was not happy at first but I had players who fell who I could trade in order to get the categories I am strong at and I'm happy with that. Will look to shop Conley and Valanciunas in order to get a top 20 player, maybe? Looking forward to hear from you, Santino. Good luck this season!

THIS IS MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE HOOPBALL THREAD!
GREAT JOB SANTINO!

Thanks for doing this Santino...I’m in a 12 team, 9-cat yahoo pro league...I know I need another center and will trim a pg or two once their rotations get hashed-out lol:

(4) Giannis
(21) Kemba
(28) Zion
(45) Markkanen
(52) Bledsoe
(69) John Isaac
(76) Sabonis
(93) Delon Wright
(100) Kanter
(117) Sexton
(124) Taurean
(141) Reg Jackson
(148) Markelle

Hi Santino! Thanks in advance if you are able to provide feedback on my team below.

League: 16 team, Weekly H2H 9-cat, Starting 7 players (PG, SG, SF, PF, C, UTL x 2)

R1. Joel Embiid, C (9)
R2. Deandre Ayton, C (24)
R3. Kemba Walker, PG (41)
R4. Mike Conley, PG (56)
R5. Wendell Carter Jr., PF (73)
R6. Miles Bridges, SF (88)
R7. Victor Oladipo, SG (105)
R8. Tomas Satoransky, PG/SG (120)
R9. Norman Powell, SG/SF (137)
R10. Justice Winslow, SF (152)
R11. Davis Bertans, PF (169)
R12. Cody Zeller, C (184)

Personally, I think I came away with a strong team. Strengths will be REB, PTS, FT%, ASTS, while putting up decent numbers in the other categories. My weakest categories are likely TOS and STLS. But I'm biased, so I'd love to hear what an outside set of eyes thinks.

9 cat h2h 12 team

Towns
Butler
Mitchell
Conley
Hayward
Horford
Valanciunas
Rubio
Bogdan
Looney
Herro
Nurk (on il and looking at olynk)

Thank you

Well this is all just relatively speaking on my part. Float out some feelers and see what your fellow league members are looking for. It doesn't hurt to try! Or at least gauge the interest level of members.

Well this is all just relatively speaking on my part. Float out some feelers and see what your fellow league members are looking for. It doesn't hurt to try!

Haha ouu I couldn't hate that payout any more. I've done a league or two that paid the regular season winner before (money back) and I didn't like one bit of it! This one seems to have taken that up another notch. I know rest days and untimely shutdowns can happen in the playoffs, but who in fantasy or reality would be happy to have the best record in the regular season but not win a championship? Sorry, I just had to throw that tidbit in early.

The picks are a little jumbled so I'll do my best at sorting it out in my head. Also what pick did you have? It looks like it's eight or later.

I think you did a good job at balancing out your team to compete in everything.

Your guards are great with Jrue, Conley, Morant, and Wright as your G's. A balance of two reliable vets and 2 exciting young guys.
Klaw and Hayward are multi-cat guys who give you a little of everything and then Isaac as a defensive dynamo to pad that as well.
And lastly, you have a plethora of big men offering different skillsets. Mitch will get you those big-time blocks, Aldridge pitches in, and Clarke is a late-round flier who (if he can get the time) can be excellent at blocks as well.

Your team should be the number one steals team. You'll be near the top at assists and ft%. Your rebounds, blocks, and treys will also be good. FG% is probably your weakest category, but you'll be able to compete in them all week-in, week-out. The draft went very well. I think you're well-equipped to enter the season as is, but always scour the wire and the trade market to see if anyone can help you improve, especially when you're winning. The big question looming over is what type of "load management" will Leonard get this year? I hope it's closer to 75 than 60 again as a fan of the game, but with the depth that Clippers have, they're well prepared to get him frequent rest and ready for the playoffs.

9 cat h2h 12 team
Forgot to mention I had pick 4
Towns
Butler
Mitchell
Conley
Valanciunas
Hayward
Horford
Rubio
Bogdan
Looney
Herro
Nurk (on il and looking at olynk)
Thank you