2011 Keeper Analysis

What a difference a year makes. After one full season of playing, there were quite a few difficult cuts as owners were tasked with whittling down their rosters to just six keepers. My interest lay in seeing which were the high priced veterans or promising young guys ultimately deemed not good enough. Only four teams stayed pat, having drafted "perfectly." Thien, Jimmy, Chris, and Eric-L all elected to keep their first six selections from the 2010 draft. Technically, so did Trieu but he also has a bonus keeper due to his trade with Mikey.

Who were the toughest cuts? Well out of the first two rounds, nobody was tossed back into the redraft rosters. But Korea Korea's GM Steve decided that Vince Carter wasn't up to snuff and released him despite having invested a high third rounder on him. Similarly, Alvin was on the verge of cutting his third round pick, Caron Butler, but managed to trade him the night before the 2011 draft. Both decisions indicate how far Carter and Butler have fallen in fantasy circles. The other third rounder to hit the chopping block was Pierre's Ben Gordon, which doesn't come as much of a surprise after his lackluster season.

Other big names cut maliciously by their general managers: Mehmet Okur, Baron Davis, Shawn Marion (4th round), Richard Hamilton, Andris Biedrins, Jermaine O'Neal (5th), Leandro Barbosa, Mario Chalmers, Greg Oden, Thaddeus Young, Michael Redd (6th).

What about the other end of the spectrum? Five undrafted free agents made keeper rosters this year: Darren Collison, Jrue Holiday, JaVale McGee, Marcus Thornton, and Serge Ibaka. They all have youth and tremendous upside, and prove that paying close attention during the season can have huge benefits. Wait, that should be obvious. As a starting five, these guys wouldn't be all that bad, especially as they mature.

Other low end draft picks that fought their way into owners' keeper hearts. Corey Maggette (12th round), James Harden (11th), Jamal Crawford (9th), Andray Blatche, Lamar Odom (8th), Jason Terry and Joakim Noah (7th). And there there's Yao Ming, who was a huge X-factor heading into last season. Steve had the foresight to pluck Mr. Yao in the 9th round and even at twenty four minutes a game this year, he should be worth the wait.