[Izulde]

We both know that I shouldn't be here
This is wrong
And baby it's killing you, it's killing me
Both of us tryin' to be strong
I've got somewhere else to be

But there isn't someone else who loves me, not in New Jersey anyway, so here I am in Austin while some jerk heads up the Nets job that should've been mine. I shouldn't be here and this is wrong indeed.

On the other hand, it's 98 degrees in Austin a lot more often than in Jersey and I love hot weather, so it's not all bad.

In any event, D-League draft time! I'm going to try and assemble a lot of last year's Anaheim roster if I can, as it was pretty successful. Or should I say, the initial roster, because we changed a lot over the year.

Oh look, the C's feed the Mammoths. That makes me feel a little more warm and fuzzy inside, particularly since we've got SG Nick Sanders, a 2nd round Celtics rookie, as our lone send-down. Not a bad player for this level, though I wouldn't consider him dynamite or anything.

Unlike Anaheim last year, where I was last/first, I'm 6th/7th this season in the draft. Ugh, I hate that spot. I'd rather be at the tail-ends, because I have a better idea of how things are going to shake out. Oh well, have to play the middling hand I've been dealt.

I grab 23 year old SF Jared Dudley with our 1st round pick. He's the best scorer left and he wasn't re-signed by the Lakers, so hopefully he'll stick aroud long enough to be a star for us.

Seth Chambliss, our superstar PG from a year ago, is in Round 2 and what's interesting is his stats are listed for the Tejanos, not the Cats, presumably because the Bucks signed him. Still, I'm going to pass on him and hope he's around for the 3rd, as there's a lot better rated PGs still there. Instead, I take 30 year old C Ken Johnson. Yes, Steven Wilkerson is still available, but Johnson looks like a stronger defensive presence.

PG Seth Chambliss is still there in the 3rd, so I quickly snap him up. He was too good for me last year in Anaheim to risk losing him out to anyone else.

I take PF Jabari Coulibaly in the 4th, a 24 year old rookie who looked great in limited minutes for the Rattlers last year and who I think can break out as a starter this season in Austin.

29 year old SG Matt Caroll is the 5th round selection to make sure we have another scoring option to pair with Dudley and Chambliss.

You can never have too many passers, so PG Larry Gilbert gets the call in the 6th. The 27 year old has great ball-handling skills and showed signs of scoring touch the last two seasons with the Goldenbirds and Timberjacks respectively.

C Aaron Gray has upside and I loved watching him play for Pitt in college, so he's my 7th round selection. This means the end of Steven Wilkerson playing for me, but that's okay. Gray's much more meaningful personally and besides, I have an addiction to centers 7 feet+ tall.

I'm pleased to see PF Brandon Hunter, who was a supersub for me last year in Anaheim, still available in the 8th, so I take him.

The Mammoths get a little international flavor in the 9th round, when we take 24 year old Lithuanian SG Renaldas Seibutus, who was a good sub last year for the Commodores and who should fulfill the same role for us this season in Austin.

Steven Wilkerson finally goes with the last pick in the 9th round, to the Bakersfield Otters, kicking off a run of 6 Cs in 7 picks. We end that streak by taking SF Rodney White as our final draftee, another former Cat who showed flashes of something last season.

No need to sign a 12th man as we get SG Keith Davis, drafted in the 1st round last year by the Celtics. He's been a major bust, so major that he's currently the 12th man in the Mammoths' rotation, though to be honest, he looks better than that.

2009 Austin Mammoths Opening Lineup
PG Nick Sanders
SG Matt Carroll
SF Jared Dudley
PF Brandon Hunter
C Ken Johnson
6th Seth Chambliss (PG/SG)
7th Larry Gilbert (PG/SG)
8th Rodney White (SG/SF/PF)
9th Renaldas Seibutus (PG/SG/SF)
10th Aaron Gray (PF/C)
11th Jabari Couibaly (SF/PF/C)
12th Keith Davis (SG/SF)

The overall impression I get is that this team is a lot stronger than even my dominant squad in Anaheim last year, but of course, a team that looks strong on paper isn't necessarily the best team in the D-League, especially not with the predatory NBA teams always circling overhead, ready to swoop up the top talent.

Steven Wilkerson is the starting C in Bakersfield, by the way. Anaheim looks absolutely horrible this year. I anticipate a slide back to mediocrity or worse for the Cats this season.