Auction drafts can be a lot of fun, and the appeal at its simplest form is this: You can get any player you want if you're willing to pay the price.
It's hard to argue with that.
But as auctions become the way to go in many fantasy leagues in 2016, they also require much more time -- sometimes around 3.5 hours in baseball leagues with large rosters -- and over two hours in fantasy basketball and football leagues.
That's where the traditional snake-style draft has a big advantage.
Not only is it faster, it also require less mental energy and isn't the exercise in patience that an auction league often is -- just ask the guy who left himself with $8 to spend on his final eight players.
Can you say nap time?
Last season, I was adamant that Stephen Curry deserved the top spot in fantasy drafts ahead of the likes of Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and James Harden, and that worked out as well as anyone could have imagined as Curry put up career-best numbers on his way to a second consecutive MVP award. Where I missed was the rookie class, which saw Karl-Anthony Towns, Kristaps Porzingis and Devin Booker put up incredible numbers for first-year NBA players. It was very difficult to see that coming.
At the risk of irritating the guy on Twitter who claimed Dwyane Wade should be the top shooting guard on fantasy draft boards this season, here's a look at my ultimate draft board if everything goes exactly to plan in a 12-team, eight-category league.
Use this as a guide to help you in your fantasy drafts, and adjust as necessary if you play in 10- or 14-person leagues.
The core
Round 1 targets: Russell Westbrook, James Harden or Karl-Anthony Towns
If I'm drafting first or second, it's hard to go wrong with either Westbrook or Harden. Though Westbrook has the nod as the top player on our Top 200 rankings, Harden's move to point guard and eye-opening play this preseason certainly make him worthy of consideration ahead of Westbrook at pick No. 1. Both players are going to score close to 30 points a game while also providing an excellent source of rebounds, assists and steals. Both are also capable of carrying your free throw percentage, because they each shoot over 80 percent from the stripe and get there 7-10 times per game on average. Where Harden has a clear advantage over Westbrook -- aside from being eligible at both PG and SG -- is from beyond the arc, coming off a season where he made 2.9 threes per game compared to Westbrook's 1.3.
The case for Towns is made if you draft fourth or fifth and he falls to you, which is happening in most drafts. Though the reigning Rookie of the Year is ranked No. 3 in our rankings, ahead of Curry (4) and Kevin Durant (5), Curry is a more popular pick at No. 3 and Durant is also going ahead of Towns in a good portion of ESPN drafts. Nabbing Towns this low is a steal, considering the numbers he put up as a rookie (54.2 FG%, 81.1 FT%, 18.3 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 2 APG, 1.7 BPG, 0.7 SPG), as long as you keep in mind that most of the top point guards are off the board by the beginning of the third round this year so selecting Towns might lock you into taking a point guard in Round 2 and/or 3.
Round 2 target: Paul Millsap
Admittedly, there are a few questions surrounding Millsap. He's 31 and being brought along slowly in the preseason following a non-surgical procedure to reduce swelling in his right knee. On top of that, Dwight Howard replaces Al Horford at center, which could shake things up because Howard is a bigger, less versatile big man than Horford is. But Millsap has long been one of the game's most underrated fantasy options, putting up Draymond Green-like numbers without the fanfare.
If he falls to the end of Round 2 (he has an ADP of 21.8 in ESPN leagues as of Oct. 10), I'm taking my chances that Millsap has at least one more big season left in him. Anything close to the 17.1 points, 9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.7 blocks, 1.8 steals and 0.9 3-pointers he averaged last season and my team is completely stacked heading into Round 3.
Round 3 target: Eric Bledsoe
Phoenix coach Earl Watson already has announced that Brandon Knight will serve as the Suns' sixth man this season, leaving the starting point-guard duties to Bledsoe. And if we're being honest with ourselves, Bledsoe is the better option anyway -- an electric point guard who can push the pace and provide an excellent source of points and steals while getting a bump in assists thanks to the tremendous sharpshooting of backcourt mate Devin Booker.
Bledsoe is coming off an injury-shortened season that ended in late December because of a torn meniscus in his left knee, but I like the chances of him returning to form on the young Suns roster. It's easy to forget that he averaged 20.4 PPG, 6.1 APG, 4 RPG and 2 SPG in 31 games before the injury. If Bledsoe is my first point guard, I'm going to have to look for a second one in the next couple of rounds, but in a perfect world Bledsoe can serve as a second point guard who contributes additional points, assists, steals and 3s to a roster that already includes either Westbrook or Harden.
Round 4 targets: Nikola Jokic or Evan Fournier
The secret is out in Denver -- this Jokic kid can play! You can't wait beyond pick 50 if you expect to grab him, so if I don't take Towns in Round 1 I'm waiting until Round 4 and taking the Nuggets' 21-year-old who averaged 10 points, 7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1 steal in only 21.7 minutes per game as a rookie. With a year of experience under his belt and his minutes certain to rise in Year 2, few centers in the game have the fantasy upside of Jokic this season. It's worth noting that he shot 81.1 percent from the free throw line as a rookie as well, giving him a big advantage over 95 percent of the centers in the league in that department.
If I'm able to get Towns in the first round, I don't need a second center yet and am more likely to pass on Jokic for Fournier, who quietly put up big numbers last season and will see his usage rise this season following the trade of Victor Oladipo to Oklahoma City. Fournier turns 24 the first week of the season and enters his fifth year in the league after averaging 15.4 points and 2 3-pointers per game last season while also contributing as a passer (2.7 APG), defender (1.2 SPG) and marksman from the free throw line (83.6 percent).
The middle rounds
Round 5 targets: Devin Booker or Trevor Ariza
Booker qualifies as a shooting guard while Ariza is eligible only at small forward, and both offer strong upside at the thinnest positions in fantasy hoops this season. Booker's stock isn't as high as some might expect given his huge rookie season, and that's due to the return of Bledsoe and Knight, but he doesn't turn 20 until Oct. 30 and he's lighting up the scoreboard again this preseason. At this stage in Booker's career, he's mostly a points and 3s guy, limiting his fantasy upside, but many are calling him the next Klay Thompson and there's no denying how useful Booker can be to your fantasy team as a scorer and 3-point shooter.
Meanwhile, Ariza is certainly the more versatile of the two in terms of filling the box score, and it's exciting to think about the potential Ariza has while playing under Mike D'Antoni in Houston. As a glue player who consistently contributes steals and 3s while serving as a secondary scorer, rebounder and distributor, Ariza is a solid get at this stage in the draft.
Round 6 targets: Gorgui Dieng
Dieng may be the most overlooked player in fantasy hoops this season, and there are plenty of reasons why that's the case. For one, he's not a big-time scorer, which immediately takes him down a notch and removes him from the fantasy radar of many. On top of that, he's overshadowed on the talented young Minnesota roster by the likes of Towns and Andrew Wiggins and incoming rookie Kris Dunn, just to name a few. Let's not forget Ricky Rubio and Zach LaVine, either.
But that shouldn't discount Dieng's production on the floor, and as long as he continues to average right around 27 minutes this season there's no reason to think he can't continue to positively impact every statistical category like he did a season ago when he averaged 10.1 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 1.7 APG, 1.1 SPG, and 1.2 BPG while shooting 53.2 percent from the field and 82.7 percent from the line. He's a sneaky good second center on your roster, and he's coming off a season where he appeared in all 82 games.
Rounds 7/8 targets: Ryan Anderson and Julius Randle
At this stage in the draft, we're talking about picks 73-96 in 12-team drafts, I love the idea of adding a power forward with a perpetual green light from 3-point land like Anderson in Houston and I also love the versatility that Randle provides entering his second season as a rebounder, scorer and underrated passer. Both of these options can help a roster, and deciding on the one to draft comes down to what the team needs at this point in the draft.
Anderson has a chance to flourish under D'Antoni, and you can see the potential here based on the way he's being used in the preseason. The 28-year-old veteran combined for 20 3-point attempts in games against the Knicks and Pelicans, making 11 of them, and averaged 23.5 points and 6 rebounds in those games. While Randle is a non-factor in the always important blocks and steals categories, hurting his value, he is a double-double machine and I expect his assists to rise from the 1.8 he averaged as a rookie thanks to his rare ability to pass the ball well for someone his size.
The late-round fliers
Rounds 9/10 targets: Jusuf Nurkic and Joel Embiid
Nurkic and Embiid are both players you'll have to get right around pick No. 100 if you want them on your roster, and for good reason -- both are lighting it up in the preseason and gaining attention by the day.
Nurkic was regarded as the Nuggets' center of the future as recently as 2014-15, but the emergence of Jokic last season shifted those plans a bit. Still, Nurkic is only 22 and a huge presence in the middle with an enormous upside if he can stay healthy. In his first three preseason games, he averaged 18 points, 13.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2 steals and 1 block in only 27 minutes per game. Injuries limited him to 62 games as a rookie and only 32 last season, but at this stage in the draft that's a risk I'm willing to take.
Embiid, the third overall pick in 2014, is finally ready to make his NBA debut after missing his first two seasons in the league because of foot injuries. His 7-foot, 250-pound frame dwarfs teammate Nerlens Noel, and his rare skill set for someone his size has been on display in the preseason despite a minutes restriction of only 12-13 minutes per game. Embiid is a player who will require patience, because he may not be cleared to play extended minutes for a while and he isn't expected to play in the second of back-to-backs, but there's so much upside here he's worth it -- especially in dynasty leagues where you can keep him in the fold for a number of years.
After pick 120 targets: Shoot for the moon
At this stage in the draft, it's time to go big regardless of the risk. After all, many players drafted in this range will be cut after a week or two and can be had on the waiver wire. Your job is to find one who won't, and to unearth a gem who has a chance to be big a major contributor in one way or another -- maybe it's a raw rookie with big upside, or a reserve slated to play behind an injury-prone starter, or a specialist who can carry you in a specific category.
Some of the ones I like this season include versatile rookie Dario Saric in Philadelphia, bouncy big man Clint Capela in Houston and underrated stretch-4 Mirza Teletovic in Milwaukee. I also have my eyes on Allen Crabbe and Seth Curry after pick 150.
There it is -- the players I am targeting in fantasy basketball drafts this season while taking ADP into consideration. To those of you in my leagues, please forget everything you just read. To everyone else, feel free to use this information to dominate your league on your path to the championship this season.