RotoBaller's Fantasy Basketball Mock Draft: Round-By-Round Recap

The most important part of fantasy sports is arguably the part where you draft players.

With the NBA season right around the corner, RotoBaller's team of NBA writers got together and got down to business with our annual mock draft.  Twelve writers went through a slow mock draft through Fantrax.

Let’s dive into the results!

RotoBaller Writers' Mock Draft Recap

Here are the players, in order of draft pick:

1. Pierre Camus
2. Austyn Varney
3. Brady Grove
4. Jakob Ashlin
5. Matt Sparkington
6. Andy Webb
7. Jake Finnen
8. Gage Bridgford
9. Milos Zvekic
10. Dale Johnson
11. Kev Mahserejian
12. Justin Carter

All position eligibility based on Fantrax fantasy leagues.  League scoring is based on standard nine categories (points, rebounds, assists, threes, steals, blocks, FG%, FT%, turnovers).

Round 1

The first round mostly went as planned; however, the big surprise here was Karl-Anthony Towns falling to seventh overall after being a projected top-five pick. Nikola Jokic, Anthony Davis and Damian Lillard are all proven stars, but will most likely not go ahead of Towns in most drafts.

Round 2

Blake Griffin was a bit of a shocker here, going 19th overall. The 30-year-old can certainly produce second round value; however, the Pistons added Markieff Morris as depth in order to rest Griffin more often this season. Paul George fell to 21st here after the news of his shoulder surgery and might fall even further in some mock drafts.

Round 3

The third round features a plethora of young faces who are slowly shaping up to be the next generation of stars. Zion Williamson, Kristaps Porzingis and Zach LaVine all stand out here. All three have second round potential, but come with question marks. Williamson is being hyped up as the next LeBron James. Porzingis is coming off a torn ACL and is in a new city. LaVine was incredible last year, but his injury history is a looming concern. All three look to be high risk, high reward players this year.

Round 4

At this point, most centers are still on the board and the teams have decided not to reach for them. Chris Paul seems to be the player with the most variance coming into the season, yet he is too talented to ignore for too long. Draymond Green is a great pick here and should settle in nicely playing point center and creating chemistry with newcomer D’Angelo Russell. Both Green and Russell will benefit from the absence of Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson.

Round 5

Right on cue, half the selections in the fifth round were centers, including five of the first seven picks. Bam Adebayo has a huge opportunity in Miami with Hassan Whiteside moving to Portland, who also has something prove, filling in for the injured Jusuf Nurkic.

Round 6

Absolutely love Steven Adams and Danilo Gallinari here. Adams has showcased his rebounding, post moves and, surprisingly, a three-point shot this preseason. Gallinari figures to assume the top scoring option with the departure of Russell Westbrook.

Round 7

Domantas Sabonis figures to make a leap in the rankings this year, starting alongside Myles Turner after Thaddeus Young has moved on. Ricky Rubio is a likely candidate for an improved season. One of the few veterans on a young Phoenix squad, Rubio will have the luxury of dishing to rising star Deandre Ayton.

Round 8

Thomas Bryant, Jeremy Lamb and Miles Bridges all look poised to breakout this season while Dejounte Murray is making his way back to form after missing last year with a devastating leg injury during preseason. Andrew Wiggins can be an absolute steal if he can increase his efficiency and defensive stats, but he has been much more valuable in points leagues.

Round 9

The ninth round saw some specialists like Jerami Grant (blocks) and JJ Redick (threes) go off the board. Fred VanVleet and Brandon Ingram could be huge steals at their draft picks. VanVleet figures to hold the fort down while Kyle Lowry recovers from his thumb surgery. Ingram gets a fresh start in New Orleans and we all hope those blood clots do not come back.

Round 10

Unlike last year, there are not many rookies who are projected to make a fantasy impact this year. That being said. RJ Barrett could make his mark immediately in New York and has the chance to break the top-100 players in fantasy if he can improve his efficiency.

Round 11

This round was a mix of back-up guards and veteran wings. Spencer Dinwiddie will be backing up newcomer Kyrie Irving, who has struggled with injuries lately. Dennis Schroder will be backing up newcomer Chris Paul who still has trade rumors circling and could very well be on his way out by the end of the season. Tomas Satoransky will battle Kris Dunn and rookie Coby White for playing in a crowded Chicago backcourt.

Round 12

It was a surprise Joe Harris and Patrick Beverley dropped this far back. Both players should benefit due to playing with new superstars and having much less pressure on the offensive end. In Beverley’s case, the Clippers will be scary defensively. Beverley will most likely be able to play more aggressively which may lead to more steals.

Round 13

Elfrid Payton is interesting here considering the wacky rotations of David Fizdale in New York. There have already been reports of Payton playing his way into the starting lineup over Dennis Smith, Jr. At this point, only time will tell.

Round 14

Last but not least, the final round mostly consisted of veterans. Marcus Morris has been lighting up the preseason in his new threads, but his only strength for fantasy is scoring. Will Barton drastically dropped after an injury-riddled season, but has shown top-100 potential and could be a steal in later rounds.

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