Kevin Love is the best power forward since Moses Malone.

People always shy away from injured players, but when an injury is a minor and non-recurring one, as in the case of Kevin Love, I don’t think that should be the case.  Love injured his hand doing knuckle pushups.  The hope here is that he learned his lesson and either makes that workout safer or cuts it out altogether.  I’m hoping for the latter because I think Love can be a beast without pressing 255 pounds of muscle onto his poor knuckles.

It’s worth noting that this league has far different settings than a Yahoo! league.  Points are awarded for double doubles, and that dramatically increases the value of a guy who gets one pretty much every night.  He also puts up insane numbers.

Is he a better option than who went No. 3 overall?  LeBron James?

Slightly, basing it on a few key factors:

1. age (24, Love vs. 27, James),

2. team situation (Love is the best player, LBJ shares the ball with two other stars)

3. position scarcity (C-eligible Love, tons of SFs with value)

Love has center eligibility in the league I am playing in, and I am now filling one of my center spots with a franchise player for a team.  The three years of improvement he has to make before even reaching the age LeBron is at now make this almost a no brainer.

It has nothing to do with being a “LeBron Hater” and everything to do with the fact that Love’s game is taylor made for putting up great stat lines and fantasy production.  How can you turn down a guy who puts up 20 points and 15 rebounds, becoming the first since Moses Malone in 1982-83?  Make no mistake, he is as good as the Hall of Fame talent that is Moses.

I give up a lot of trade equity, but I can sacrifice that.  People would have paid more for LeBron in a trade than for Love, in other words.  But I can live with that.  And when you have the second overall pick, it means you have the second to last pick in the second round.  There’s absolutely no way he would have lasted until that pick, injured or not, so the only way to obtain him was to take him since we weren’t allowed to trade up/down in drafts.

I’ll reach for a Hall of Famer.  Everytime (notwithstanding the fact that LBJ is the better player in “real life).  It’s fantasy basketball, and fantasy is far different than real life.

Keeper rankings differ from regular ones, and I’ve decided to evaluate them based as though it were a head to head league (Thus, Dwight Howard becomes a first round rather than a fifth round value, due to his shoddy free throw percentage).

Let’s take a look at the first round of a keeper league:

Picks 1 & 2:

Here, it’s a choice between LeBron James and Kevin Durant.  LBJ offers a better all around stat line, but Kevin Durant has a huge positive impact on free throw shooting due to both his volume and accuracy.  That impact can’t be underestimated, as Durant can single handedly win your team the free throw category week in and week out.  I like to go with James because I like the assists from a forward spot and because he rebounds the ball well.  Durant offers slightly better scoring, but points can be gained at any point throughout the draft.

1) LeBron James, SF/PF, Miami

2) Kevin Durant, SF, Oklahoma City

Sept. 28, 2012, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul (3) during media day at the Playa Vista Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

The THIRD PICK, basically comes down to a choice Chris Paul of the Clippers and Timberwolves four man Kevin Love.  Paul is a league leader in steals every season and it’s a difficult category to fill usually.  Love is a monster on the boards, and if you have offensive rebounds in your league, he becomes even more valuable.  Both offer good percentages.  On an overall level though, Chris Paul offers the stats that are more difficult to find, in assists and steals.

3) Chris Paul, PG, L.A. Clips

4) Kevin Love, PF/C, Minnesota

There is a significant statistical fall off for the FIFTH pick.  In head to head leagues, it is less, and that’s what we’re considering here.  That’s because Dwight Howard offers such a great value in rebounds and blocks.  Dwight Howard becomes a clear 5th pick in head to head, but his free throw percentage makes him a much later pick in rotisserie leagues, where you must receive a final score on your team’s free throw percentage, rather than a week in and week out loss in one category (head to head).

If you make Howard the consensus No. 5 pick, the 6th pick becomes a bit of a more muddled matter.  Russell Westbrook is ranked 5th on Yahoo!’s O-ranks, but has never finished with first round value.  Westbrook has a high ceiling, but Dwyane Wade is a clear cut value.  The problem is that Wade turns 31 in January.

Derrick Rose would be the pick here, but he’s injured.  I’ve taken it as though Rose is not injured for the purposes of these rankings, and assumed that he returns at full strength.  Needless to say, this is a huge assumption, but Rose is true talent and works hard, so I think he’ll recover and still be Derrick Rose with MVP quality.

That gives Rose the nod over both Westbrook and Wade.  As for where Wade eventually goes, I do believe there are a few other guys I will consider before him, because if you’re in a league that sticks together more than a few seasons, he’ll retire on you.

5) Dwight Howard, C, L.A. Lakers

6) Derrick Rose, PG, Chicago

7) Russell Westbrook, PG, Oklahoma City

Oct 01, 2012; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Andrew Bynum (33) poses for a photo during media day at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

For the EIGHTH pick, the guy I have to key in on is Andrew Bynum.  He’s not Dwight Howard, but he is the clear focal point of a talented 76ers team that could end up shocking people.  Pairing Bynum with talented playmakers Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner could really pay off for Philly.  Bynum has the potential to do even bigger things than he did in L.A., and he was already the second best center in the league.   Bynum posted 18.7 points per game, 11.8 rebounds per game, and 1.9 blocks per game, while shooting 55.8 percent from the floor and 69.2 percent from the line.  At only 24 years of age, Bynum has over a half decade of prime basketball left, making him a clear cut choice here.

8) Andrew Bynum, C, Philadephia

After Bynum, there’s really three guys I like to take before Wade finally hits the board.  Point guards are so important in fantasy basketball.  It’s hard to mine assists from other positions, so getting a premier point guard who can both score and rack up dimes is invaluable.  There’s two very good ones that both offer a lot of value for many years to come, and I’m not sure which would be the better option, but they both have to go here one-two, in succession.

That duo would be Kyrie Irving of the Cavs and Brooklyn point guard Deron Williams.  Irving posted 38th highest value on BasketballMonster.com’s algorhthym as a rookie, while Williams finished right behind him at 39.

Irving is younger and could potentially have a higher upside.  The Cavs are building around Irving and making it his team.

Oct 1, 2012; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Point guard Deron Williams poses during the Brooklyn Nets media day at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim O

Williams, on the other hand, will experience better percentages this season than he did last year (40.7 percent FG) with more talent surrounding him (resulting in better shots).  He’ll also have a host of targets to dish the ball to, and Williams is capable of putting up big numbers, as he averaged over 10 assists per game four consecutive seasons in Utah.  His field goal percentage was as many as 10 percentage points higher then too, because Williams tends to flourish with more talent surrounding him.  He’s still just entering his prime at 27, too.

Overall, I think I like what Williams can do in Brooklyn with such a great starting five (and MarShon Brooks off the bench).  Irving is by no means a bad choice here, but Williams is more proven and a safer pick.  There’s something to be said for playing it safe early in drafts, too.

9) Deron Williams, PG, Brooklyn

10) Kyrie Irving, PG, Cleveland

There’s one last guy at PICK 11, that I want to take before Wade.

LaMarcus Aldridge of the Trail Blazers is a great fantasy player because of his dual position eligibility and overall talent.  There’s not a lot of great centers in the league today and having a star power forward that can plug the C spot (I’m talking Yahoo! leagues here) is a huge advantage.  Aldridge posted the 9th highest Y! ranking last season and finished 9th on Basketball Monster, as well.  The Trail Blazers’ lineup and team is decimated, but Aldridge will continue to put up 21 points and 8-9 rebounds per game, while shooting 50-plus percent from the floor.

11) LaMarcus Aldridge, PF/C, Portland

I finally break down and take Dwyane Wade here at 12.  The rest of my draft now becomes centered on a shorter term approach than it would if I took any one else in the first round.  Wade is about to turn 31 this season, but should be good for three more seasons.  Middle round guys like Paul Pierce, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and Steve Nash are all feasible and more valuable guys for this Wade-led team.

Sept 28, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade (3) poses for a photo during media day at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

It’s hard to pass on Wade at PICK 12, but if you really don’t like the approach of trying to win a championship the first couple years (I think that is foolish, but that’s another topic for another day), you could go with a number of guys that offer better long-term potential than Wade:  Paul Millsap, Serge Ibaka, Stephen Curry and Josh Smith, to name the most potent.  We’ll look at them in the round two evaluations, closing out Wade with pick 12.

12) Dwyane Wade, PG/SG, Miami…