On October 20, Drafthelp.com staged its second annual hoops draft courtesy of the SportsTalkNetwork. A dozen top basketball minds came together for this vaunted event. We drafted in the following order:

1. Ryan Ward
      Sports Report Nightly on the SportsTalkNetwork, 10 PM to Midnight EST, Monday through Friday
2. Eric the Chainsaw
      Afternoons on STN with Nick, Reid and Eric on the SportsTalkNetwork, 2-5 PM EST, Monday through Friday
3. Jason Jones
      STN pregame and postgame football shows on the SportsTalkNetwork, Sundays
4. Dave Adams
      Reality Check on the SportsTalkNetwork, 10 AM to Noon EST, Saturdays
5. Reid Ditzler
       Afternoons on STN with Nick, Reid and Eric on the SportsTalkNetwork, 2-5 PM EST, Monday through Friday
6. Paul Belfi
      President of the SportsTalkNetwork and host, Pro Wrestling Insider on SportsTalkNetwork, 7-9 PM EST, Tues
7. Dartrell Chapman
      In the Building on the SportsTalkNetwork, Noon to 2 PM EST on the SportsTalkNetwork, Monday through Friday
8. Rick Morris
      Drafthelp.com Fantasy Insider on the SportsTalkNetwork, 8-9 PM EST, Thursdays
9. Ray Flowers
      FantasyBasketball.com
10. Nick Despones
       Afternoons on STN with Nick, Reid and Eric on the SportsTalkNetwork, 2-5 PM EST, Monday through Friday
11. Justin Bain
       Sports Report Nightly on the SportsTalkNetwork, 10 PM to Midnight EST, Monday through Friday
12. Mike Ptak
       Pro Wrestling Insider on the SportsTalkNetwork, 7-9 PM EST, Tuesdays

Special thanks go out to the Afternoons on STN with Nick, Reid and Eric program, which hosted our mock draft lottery on October 19.

The draft was a 10-round affair, in which we selected four guards, four forwards and two centers using a standard 10-category rotisserie system (points per game, rebounds per game, assists per game, steals per game, blocks per game, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, three-pointers made, three-point field goal percentage and least turnovers). We will track our production on the “draftmaster” system, in which we take the production of every player and make no transactions whatsoever during the season. For what it is worth, Dave Adams was our winner in 2004-2005.

On with the draft:

First Round

1. Ryan: LeBron James
2. Eric: Kevin Garnett
3. Jason: Tracy McGrady
4. Dave: Dirk Nowitzki
5. Reid: Kobe Bryant
6. Paul: Dwayne Wade
7. Dartrell: Tim Duncan
8. Rick: Shawn Marion
9. Ray: Andrei Kirilenko
10. Nick: Larry Hughes
11. Justin: Shaquille O’Neal
12. Mike: Jermaine O’Neal

Notes: In many drafts this year, LeBron and Garnett went 1-2 and this one was no different. Ryan virtually dictated Eric’s pick when he went for LBJ. The first round contained few surprises, except for those who might have considered Nick’s selection of Hughes a bit high. Those who looked at my draft board know that I think Nick’s pick was fine.

Second Round

1. Mike: Chris Bosh
2. Justin: Emeka Okafor
3. Nick: Allen Iverson
4. Ray: Gilbert Arenas
5. Rick: Paul Pierce
6. Dartrell: Steve Francis
7. Paul: Elton Brand
8. Reid: Ron Artest
9. Dave: Stephon Marbury
10. Jason: Steve Nash
11. Eric: Richard Jefferson
12. Ryan: Baron Davis

Notes: Intrigued by the dual-eligibility of Bosh, Mike led off the round with this promising youngster – and Justin followed suit with the dual-eligible Okafor. Dave’s pick of Starbury raised my eyebrows. Will our defending champion have the last laugh?

Third Round

1. Ryan: Pao Gasol
2. Eric: Brad Miller
3. Jason: Zydrunas Ilgauskas
4. Dave: Jason Kidd
5. Reid: Stephen Jackson
6. Paul: Vince Carter
7. Dartrell: Ray Allen
8. Rick: Ben Wallace
9. Ray: Peja Stojakovic
10. Nick: Yao Ming
11. Justin: Mike Bibby
12. Mike: Manu Ginobli

Notes: Eric had a tremendous value with Miller, a very underrated fantasy player. Dartrell thought more of Ray Allen’s all-around production than I did. Again, we shall see. The same was true of Ray’s pick of Peja at #9.

Fourth Round:

1. Mike: Carmelo Anthony
2. Justin: Corey Maggette
3. Nick: Jason Richardson
4. Ray: Michael Redd
5. Rick: Jamal Tinsley
6. Dartrell: Kenyon Martin
7. Paul: Antawn Jamison
8. Reid: Chris Webber
9. Dave: Carlos Boozer
10. Jason: Dwight Howard
11. Eric: Andre Miller
12. Ryan: Andrew Bogut

Notes: I thought that Nick had an outstanding value pick in J Rich at #3. If Howard continues his learning curve, Jason will be in fine shape with his selection. Eric’s selection of Miller was scoffed at by many in the room – unjustifiably, I thought – but his production is similar to many other point guards selected in the same approximate place.

Fifth Round

1. Ryan: Tayshaun Prince
2. Eric: Kirk Hinrich
3. Jason: Chris Paul
4. Dave: Rashard Lewis
5. Reid: Marcus Camby
6. Paul: Kurt Thomas
7. Dartrell: Tony Parker
8. Rick: Antoine Walker
9. Ray: Joe Johnson
10. Nick: P.J. Brown
11. Justin: Tyson Chandler
12. Mike: Bobby Simmons

Notes: Ryan took a bit of a chance on Prince leading off the round and I thought that his broadcast partner Justin did likewise with Chandler. Dartrell put together the “deadly combo” of Duncan and Parker with his selection. Personally, I was thrilled to have Walker drop to me at #8.

Sixth Round

1. Mike: Richard Hamilton
2. Justin: Quentin Richardson
3. Nick: Zach Randolph
4. Ray: Jamaal Magloire
5. Rick: Jeff Foster
6. Dartrell: Rasheed Wallace
7. Paul: Lamar Odom
8. Reid: Al Harrington
9. Dave: Chauncey Billups
10. Jason: Stromile Swift
11. Eric: Jalen Rose
12. Ryan: Raef LaFrentz

Notes: There were several picks this round that served as testimony to the shallow center pool. For Paul’s sake, the hype about Odom in the triangle better be justified! I thought that Reid was fortunate to land Harrington at #8.

Seventh Round

1. Ryan: Andre Iguodala
2. Eric: Mehmet Okur
3. Jason: Eddy Curry
4. Dave: Shareef Abdur-Rahim
5. Reid: Drew Gooden
6. Paul: Grant Hill
7. Dartrell: Luol Deng
8. Rick: Sarunas Jasikevicius
9. Ray: Troy Murphy
10. Nick: Jamal Crawford
11. Justin: Michael Finley
12. Mike: Cuttino Mobley

Notes: At the start of the round, I mentioned that I had a player that I really wanted to grab when my turn materialized – and Ryan promptly grabbed him, “Philadelphia’s other AI.” Jason took perhaps the gamble of the draft with Curry at #3. Reid received another good value with Gooden.

Eighth Round

1. Mike: Samuel Dalembert
2. Justin: Bonzi Wells
3. Nick: Matt Harpring
4. Ray: Joel Przybilla
5. Rick: Gerald Wallace
6. Dartrell: Kyle Korver
7. Paul: Primoz Brezec
8. Reid: Josh Smith
9. Dave: Nenad Krstic
10. Jason: Caron Butler
11. Eric: Eddie Jones
12. Ryan: Udonis Haslem

Note: Brezec at #7 may have been a pretty good value pick for Paul.

Ninth Round

1. Ryan: Rafer Alston
2. Eric: Bobby Sura
3. Jason: Jason Terry
4. Dave: Brendan Haywood
5. Reid: Marc Jackson
6. Paul: Damon Stoudamire
7. Dartrell: Nazr Mohammad
8. Rick: Desmond Mason
9. Ray: Luke Ridnour
10. Nick: Wally Szczerbiak
11. Justin: Ricky Davis
12. Mike: Mike Dunleavy

Note: I was thrilled to end up with swingman Mason at #8.

Tenth Round

1. Mike: Al Jefferson
2. Justin Amare Stoudemire
3. Nick: Marko Jaric
4. Ray: Donyell Marshall
5. Rick: Josh Childress
6. Dartrell: Chris Mihm
7. Paul: Speedy Claxton
8. Reid: Damon Jones
9. Dave: Ben Gordon
10. Jason: Marvin Williams
11. Eric: Gary Payton
12. Ryan: James Posey

Notes: Justin took a huge surgical gamble at #2, albeit one that could pay off huge. Having taken Chris Paul much earlier, Jason continued to grab highly-touted rookies here. Ryan concluded the draft with all-around stat contributor Posey.