Ben at Work, Decision 2008-09: You choose, or I lose

Which player should Ben keep on his fantasy NBA team?   50%  Devin Harris     50%  Gilbert Arenas     Total Votes: 297

In the coming days, Americans will be making a very tough choice. Do they pick the up-and-coming youngster who hasn't spent too much time in a prominent role? Or the grizzled star who speaks freely and has questionable health issues? I'm speaking of course about the decision you'll be helping me make for my upcoming NBA Fantasy season: Should I keep Devin Harris, or Gilbert Arenas?

As Keanu Reeves might say, "What do you do? WHAT DO YOU DO?" Do I go with the safe (or in this case, safe-ish) choice, or do I roll the dice with a superstar who claims he'll be at full strength by the holiday season but might not play at all? It's the type of problem that has been irking Fantasy geeks since the beginning of time -- assuming you think time starts with the advent of Fantasy sports keeper leagues.

In theory, the answer is simple: Take the guy with two functioning knees. But in the case of a keeper league, it's not that easy. Not only do I get the chance to hold on to one of these two guys for a number of years if I choose, but this season one of them will act as my eighth-round (95th overall) pick. Sure, Agent Zero will miss at least the first few months of the season, but if he comes back close to full strength, I'll get a nice addition for nothing and regain one of the most valuable keepers in our league.

Harris continues to improve, but his playground skills have suffered according to YouTube. (Getty Images)

But do I really want to be burned by Gilbert again? With little chance to defend my title last year because of some draft pick trading the year before (yes, it's a convoluted league), I made a slightly hurt Arenas the focal point of my rebuilding efforts. Not keeping him this year would leave me nothing to show for last year's tank job. On the other hand, over at another website, Devin Harris was the top name in Fantasy sleeper article and voted by basketball writers as the No. 1 candidate to win the NBA's Most Improved Player award. Kinda hard to pass that up for a guy who has had three knee surgeries just during Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

Then again, what exactly has Devin Harris done so far? Sure, he played pretty well for Dallas the past few years and put up solid stats in Jersey last spring, but nobody's about to confuse the guy for Magic Johnson. Plus, this past week he got completely embarrassed on the court by a white dude. A British white dude! You think Carmelo Anthony would have taken that in stride? Bloody hell no!

So with my keeper selections due Monday, I'm asking America for a little advice. Should I go Harris or Arenas? Devin or Gil? Upside or downside? In an extra wrinkle, I can also go in a third direction. Much like in the 1992 election, there's a large-eared third party candidate who's also on the ballot. It's Hawks center Al Horford, who in a perfect world would be my second keeper alongside Kevin Martin (who'll excellently function as my ninth-round pick this year).

But unlike Harris and Arenas, Horford would be a seventh-round pick, leaving me with a free selection in the eighth. So in other words, I'd get Horford and the 95th overall pick. Picks 95 through 98 in this league last year were Udonis Haslem, Ruben Patterson, Corey Brewer and Nene. Keeping Harris or Arenas would leave me with the 74th pick, and last year's 74th through 77th picks were Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace, Andris Biedrins and Mike Dunleavy. Holding onto Horford? Not so attractive anymore.

But hey, that's just what I think. Clearly I need some help with this decision, and now that we have these funky voting boxes on our site, I'd like to ask for your opinion.

A face like this usually means at least four weeks without Arenas in your fantasy lineup. (Getty Images)

Why should you consider Devin Harris? Because he's younger, one of two players on the Nets to average over nine (!) points per game last year, has two working knees, will start the season on the active roster and can be watched every day in HD on my regular cable package (even though it's the YES Network, and I'll have to put up with far too many ads for Yankeeography: Ron Guidry's Dentist).

Why should you consider Gilbert Arenas? Because he's one of the best scorers in the NBA (when healthy), one of the most entertaining bloggers in the league (when happy), a solid midseason addition (in theory), and he gives me the opportunity to yell "Hibachi!" at my TV on a regular basis (which I do anyway).

As for Horford, he's likely got the brightest future of the three, but the chasm between the 74th pick and 95th pick is just too deep. Keeping Big Al would be great, but not if it means I miss out on 15 or so useful players and get shafted with Chris Quinn.

But if you think it's worth it, America, I'm all ears. By Monday I'll make my selection and your opinion just might be what pushes me over the top. Then again, if the Internet-savvy Arenas comes across this column and feels like donating .002 percent of his new, $111 million contract to cover my $220 league fee, I just might have to ignore your votes. Sure, democracy is great and all. But money? You can spend that stuff.