Brad: Jeff, in an effort to take your mind away from our RotoExperts fantasy baseball league (where he currently sits in first place), I figure I’d toss some ideas around with you concerning the upcoming NBA Draft. Our Bulls and Celtics couldn’t quite make it to the Finals, so we’ve had ample time to research the next wave of talent about to embark on the NBA journey. I think this season showed us that rookies are becoming more valuable than ever, even though this hasn’t always been the case in fantasy basketball. Last year’s No. 1 pick Derrick Rose contributed from the start and was one of the more reliable point guard options. O.J. Mayo’s ability to score translated flawlessly to the NBA and others such as Michael Beasley, Mario Chalmers, Brook Lopez and Marc Gasol were all key ingredients on winning teams. So now that teams are relying on young players from the very beginning, who are a few names that might be worth considering during next September’s fantasy basketball drafts? Jeff, what was your take on this past season’s rookies and how should a savvy fantasy vet handle rookies this upcoming season?

Each year I get overly excited about the NBA Draft and spend far too much time obsessing over team needs, wingspan, upside potential, and the whereabouts of Russ Granik.  This year, of course, the song remains the same.  I am just as excited about draft night even though the prospects in 2009 are no where near as talented as the crop that came through in 2008.  There are, however, plenty of very good point guards to be had this year.  If you're looking for size, though, you should probably look elsewhere. 

The prize of the draft is Oklahoma big man Blake Griffin.  The jury is still out on whether he'll be more Karl Malone than Kenyon Martin.  Either way, the Clippers will take all the help they can get.  Other questionable "stars" range from the unknown Internationals like Ricky Rubio and Brandon Jennings to the abundant amount of not-quite-ready-for-the-NBA super prospects out there (Evans, Mullens, DeRozan, Holiday, etc.).  Nonetheless talent is available in this year's NBA Draft.  Here's how I see things shaking out as it stands today.