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Apr. 4 -- Matthew: Hola, amigos. I’m back from two weeks in Cozumel, and yes I’m still pale. For those of you still in your twenties, enjoy your tans. These days, I have two skin tones – pale and pasty, or red and crispy. A little SPF 30 goes a long way, but I do long for those days when I’d return from Hawaii and people thought I was Puerto Rican. These days, I think I could pass for a Swede. But enough about me, this is a hoops column! Josh manned the ship admirably without me, of course getting some assists from Shawn Peters, Josh Whitling and…um, Imaginary Terrell Owens. An inspired genius, that’s my writing partner. Josh, how did you manage to survive for three weeks without me?

Josh: When a teammate’s gone everybody’s gotta step up. I see myself like the Suns and your vacation was like Amare’s injury. Only three weeks is a whole lot shorter than an 82 game season. Working with the Imaginary Terrell Owens would’ve been a blast. Notice I say “would’ve been”. I couldn’t get past his walking around shirtless, constantly doing crunches, and spitting rhymes that could make Kevin Federline look like Nas.

How about this insane NCAA tournament? I got third place in my office pool, and that’s with only picking one Final Four team. A down year for office pools to say the least. Matthew, you ready to talk about the stretch run in The League?

Matthew: Well, it’s that time in the basketball season where some teams are battling for playoff seeding, and others are prepping for the draft. Many fantasy owners are in a similar position, where they are either looking to spend their winnings, or wondering who to keep for next season. Since so many other columns focus simply on great keeper opportunities for next season, we here at the Are You For Real offices have decided on a new spin. (OK, it might not be new to you, but give me a break, I still am finding sand in strange places.) We decided to take a look at a few busts from last year NBA draft, guys who clearly were not for real this season, and see if they just might be for real come next year. Let’s take a look.

Matthew: Ike Diogu is an interesting player – for one, he was born on September 11, 1983. I’ve always wondered what it must be like for people born on 9/11, that their birthday has become a symbol for one of the worst days of our lifetimes. Not good times, bad times. But all that being said, Diogu was drafted by the Warriors to provide an inside presence. The name Elton Brand was bandied around a lot, and if that’s who Diogu was supposed to be, it hasn’t happened yet. Averaging a meager 6.1 PPG, with 2.80 RPG, Diogu has looked a lot more like Jud Buechler (in fact, his stats are frighteningly similar to “Jud The Stud’s” 1992-3 season) than Brand. But, is this just rookie rust, or is Diogu the latest in a long line of busts for the GSW?

Matthew: Unreal. I like Diogu, and by all accounts everyone else does as well. But hey – I’m a nice guy, and let’s just say I don’t quite have an NBA style game. Diogu so far is not as valuable to the team as Adonal Foyle, which frankly is just not acceptable. Even if he makes the leap and doubles his stats next season, that’s still just 12 PPG and 5 RPG, and that ain’t roster worthy. Leave him be.

Josh: Unreal. … if Adonal Foyle is still there next season. If Adonal Foyle is still with the Warriors next year, he, not Ike will continue to get the minutes at center. Power forward is already manned by Troy Murphy. Ike had a couple of nice games early this year, and everyone was doing the Diogu. Meanwhile, I told you this was not his year. He only played over 30 minutes in two games this season. In those games, he averaged 21.5 points (on 19-25 shooting) and 9.5 boards. This guy has great hands and post moves. That said, all of us know that playing time dictates numbers, and if Foyle’s there, Diogu’s numbers won’t jump that much. Also, 6-8 255 is not ideal size for a center. Watch for the Warriors to deal Foyle or Diogu this summer. Otherwise I think his breakout season is not next year, but the year after that.

Josh: No way George Mason would’ve beaten North Carolina in the NCAA tournament if this guy would’ve stayed in Chapel Hill this year. Instead, the Hawks picked him second overall. They drooled over the “potential”. They also saw a selfless talent. A consensus All-American as a high school senior, Williams had no problem being the sixth man on last year’s Tar Heels title team. They gave him playing time too. Marvin averages 23.8 minutes per. He just didn’t put up the numbers. Eight points and 4.7 boards aren’t scaring anybody. He’s shot 44 percent from the field and only 26 percent from behind the arc. He had only three double-doubles. All in 29 or more minutes, and all against Western Conference, up-tempo teams. Being as long and selfless as he is, you’d also like to see him average much better than .3 blocks, .61 steals, and .7 assists.

Josh: Unreal. Say it with me, everyone, “They should have picked Chris Paul.” If they did that, then outside of Zaza, they’d have a really nice starting lineup. CP3 at PG, Joe Johnson at SG, Josh Smith at SF, and Al Harrington at PF is not a bad lineup at all. Then you’ve got Josh Childress coming in off the bench with the ability to play multiple positions. When you desperately needed a PG, why would you draft a guy that’s a clone of at least two of your other building blocks? I don’t know what point guards they might find in this year’s draft. Dee Brown headed for ATL maybe? He won’t have the impact of CP3 or even Raymond Felton. Sorry, back to Marv. You didn’t want him this year, and you don’t want him next year. Unless Al Harrington gets traded for a point guard, There’ll Be Nothing Marvelous About Marvin in the 2007 season.

Matthew: Unreal. While the draft pick might not replace Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan in NBA lore, Williams is forever going to be compared to Chris Paul who the Hawks quite clearly could have used. On a side note, his full name is Marvin Gaye Williams, so he really should be used to hearing “Let’s Get It On.” He might want to think about applying that to his game. Averaging 8 PPG and 4.7 RPG is just not enough for the second overall pick of the draft. With guys like Josh Childress, Al Harrington and AYFR fave Josh Smith on the Hawks roster, this was a completely unnecessary move by Hawks management. For fantasy purposes, he’s also worth passing on again next season.

Matthew: Well, what have we learned here? That a bust is a bust is a bust? Perhaps not. After all, we aren’t fortune tellers, just two guys with strong opinions. Next year, someone will break out, and it could be Diogu, Williams or someone else we’ve chosen to ignore. Next week, we’ll take another look at folks’ prospects for next year.

Josh: If you’re a fan of either of these guys’ teams, you were undoubtedly letdown this year. Maybe not, since these teams aren’t exactly postseason staples. Bottom line. Both of these guys could be very good. I just don’t see it being next year without their franchise making personnel moves.

Matthew Greber and Josh Heisner are fantasy experts for NBA.com. Their column Are You For Real? runs every Tuesday as part of the NBA.com Premium Scouting Report. Contact them at greebs@TalentedMrRoto.com and JHeisner@TalentedMrRoto.com.

The views expressed by the TalentedMrRoto.com represent only the views of the writers; they do not represent the views of the NBA or any NBA team.