TDZ's All-Kevin Love Team 2K13

It's that time of year again, when TDZ takes you on a journey into parallel universes, where much-deserving bench players get added minutes and make the jump to top fantasy contributors.

If Star Trek taught us anything, our alter egos in parallel dimensions have facial hair. You think it's a coincidence Ryan Anderson grew his the year he broke out? Mind blown - you're welcome.

There's a nebula off the starboard bow, and sensors are detecting temporal distortions. Let's approach at half impulse and get a closer look at the future fantasy basketball studs-to-be.


Past AKL team members have gone on to great things in fantasy (Ryan Anderson, Ersan Ilyasova, even Jared Dudley), and I expect this class will do much the same. Patience may be a virtue though - I could see some of these players needing another year or even a change of scenery before fulfilling their Kevin Lovely potential.

As a reminder, players qualify if they...

• Average 20 mpg or less
• Aren't rookies

Without further ado: your 2013 All-Kevin Love Team:

Enes Kanter - Center -  Utah Jazz

Despite a 5-star prospect pedigree, Kanter finds himself averaging just 14.3 minute per game as Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, and Derrick Favors are hogging all of the Bigs minutes. If you give this guy minutes, though, good things will happen. On a per-36 basis, he would average 16 ppg and 10.25 rpg, while pulling respectable FG% (.545), FT% (.743) and blocks (1.4). The scary thing though, is that he's just a second year player and will likely exceed these stats in the coming years. Keep him on your radar as a sleeper should one of the Jazz bigs get injured or if he changes teams. *please be the Celts*

Coach him up, big Al.

Andray Blatche - Power Forward - Brooklyn Nets

Blatche is a post-hype selection. You may recall that I wasted precious draft dollars on him last year. Like former AKL honoree Anthony Randolph, Blatche is a temperamental value - you've got to ride him while he's acting sane. Brooklyn agrees with him, and it shows: he's a top-30 player this year in per-48 efficiency, exceeding such household names as Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony. Projecting his production in just 19.4 mpg this year, he can give you a 19.1/10.2 slash, and with sneaky steals (2.2) on a per-36 basis. Kudos to Nick for jumping on the Blatche bandwagon early.

Something tells me I'm going to regret this pick.

Austin Daye - Small Forward - Memphis Grizzlies

Small forward was rather slim pickings this year, but here's hoping that Daye can reach his potential in a new locale. One of the many players exchanged in the Rudy Gay trade, "Almost All Day" Daye is adjusting to life on a winning team. Like Love and Anderson, he possesses the rare quality of height (6'11") and a plus shooting touch (an admittedly unsustainable but still impressive .519 from deep and .864 from the line). Matched up against shorter SF's, he could easily build on .8 blocks per 36. Looking at his first five games with the Grizz, his minutes and production have gone up steadily, and he could be a solid current year grab in the near future.

Daye is growing a thicker chinstrap now in Memphis; this one's a lock.

Jimmer Fredette - Shooting Guard - Sacramento Kings

Just a couple years removed from BYU, it feels like Jimmer has fallen off the face of the Earth. Despite toiling away sparingly in Sacramento (14.3 mpg), he is still exhibiting solid skills in meager minutes. Per 36: 18.9 ppg, 2.5 threes, and best of all is his elite FT% (.908), which is still solid when you look at his attempts per 36 (4.3). Anecdotally, I can also say that he was the only player doing anything good in a woeful Wizards-Kings game I was watching at the gym recently. Here's hoping he gets some added run when the team moves to Seattle.

Woah, woah, I'm just a guy named Jimmer.

Will Bynum - Point Guard - Detroit Pistons

While the fantasy community is waiting for the other Bynum to finally play a game, it's lil Will that's been making the most of his playing time. Per 36 he's been giving the Pistons 18.1 ppg and 7.3 apg, which is what you'd hope to get from a starting PG in fantasy. At "just" 6' tall, he doesn't offer a lot in other categories, but assists tend to be the hardest stat to come by via free agency without sacrificing in other areas, probably because an efficient facilitator is easy to spot from a fan's standpoint. Fortunately, no one can stand to watch Detroit basketball games.

Someone likes this guy even more than me evidently.

There you have it, another proud graduating class. We'll see what they have to contribute to the fantasy world in the coming months and years.