Image via WikipediaThe NBA's version of Super Friends have joined forces in South Beach and permanently altered the face of the NBA, not to mention the first round of fantasy hoops drafts. If you're such a fantasy hoops junkie that you're keeping up on things in mid-July, then you know that fantasy titles aren't won in the first round. They're claimed in the middle and later rounds by knowing the sleepers from the busts. So while the casual fan and also-rans in your fantasy hoops leagues are still droning on and on about
LeBron James,
Dwyane Wade and
Chris Bosh, let's get a leg up on the competition and discuss the effect that trades and signings have had on less-newsworthy players.
Now he'll handle the point for a team that runs-and-guns under coach Mike D'Antoni and has plenty of players who can finish his passes (e.g., Amare Stoudemire, Anthony Randolph, Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler). Fantasy leaguers should remember when he teased us with a tantalizing second half of his rookie campaign: 16.7 ppg, 7.6 apg, 1.4 spg, 2.0 3s. His final nine games looked like this: 17.2 ppg, 9.8 apg, 2.0 spg, 1.3 3s. In fact, if he can harness the restraint and fundamentals that Brown taught him in Charlotte and turn them loose in the freedom of D'Antoni's offense, he could be the top point-guard sleeper this fall.
He should be a shoo-in for 20 points, 10-plus rebounds and 1.5 blocks. Jefferson's arrival could spell trouble for Paul Millsap or Mehmet Okur, because one of them will have to come off the bench. Starting Jefferson at center, Millsap at power forward and bringing Okur in as the sixth man makes the most sense to me, but we'll have to wait to see what Sloan says as the season nears.
Raja Bell, SG, Jazz
In Utah, he'll be a defensive stopper, which is a bit of a misnomer in fantasy parlance, because he's averaged only 0.7 steals per game during his career. Consider him only in very deep leagues for his triples.
Haywood is slated to start, so Chandler shouldn't have much of any value on draft day. Still, if he's healthy and Haywood goes down, he could be a rebounding machine. Just remember that he won't give you much of anything else.
More likely, Harrington will be a productive fantasy option (via scoring, rebounding and hitting some triples) for a few weeks at a time when injuries open up a full load of minutes.
Luke Ridnour, PG, Timberwolves
With PGs Jonny Flynn and Ramon Sessions on the roster (and Ricky Rubio overseas), Ridnour will have a tough time finding any fantasy value. At least he has Darko Milicic to pass to now.
The Heat get a ball-handling 3-point shooter and Miller gets a chance to win some titles as a role player. Unfortunately, the move officially ends Miller's days as a quality fantasy option. He should get enough assists and 3s as a reserve to help in deep leagues, though.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas, C, Heat
The Heat signed Ilgauskas only for depth in the frontcourt. With LeBron, D-Wade and Bosh hitting most of their shots and crashing the boards, there won't be enough minutes or rebounds left to make Ilgauskas relevant in fantasy this season.
Josh Childress, SF/SG, Suns
He has a fluid game and can score, board and play D, so he'll fit in well with the Suns. While he'll have great percentages and decent rebounds for a swingman, he won't knock down a lot of 3s, and he will likely be limited to a reserve role with the Suns. That means he should have some value, but with limited upside.
Hedo Turkoglu, SF, Suns
Care to guess how many times Hedo has shot 42 percent or better during the past seven seasons? Twice: 45.4 percent in 2005-06 and 45.6 percent in 2007-08 with the
Orlando Magic. He must be grinning ear-to-ear knowing that he's going to ball with Steve Nash this season, though. Turkoglu will benefit from getting the ball from Nash at the right time in the right place. So expect him reach that 45-percent mark again this season while scoring 15-plus ppg and at least a couple of 3s per game. However, playing alongside dish-master Nash surely will decrease Turkoglu's assist production.
Leandro Barbosa, SG, Raptors
Barbosa's fantasy value may be resurrected with the Raptors, assuming he starts. Remember that during the 2006-07 campaign he averaged 18.1 ppg, 4.0 apg. 1.2 spg and 2.4 3s. Since the Raptors don't have Steve Nash handling the point (or even Chris Bosh to help out in the post), those numbers should remain career-bests for Barbosa.
Shaun Livingston, PG, Bobcats
D.J. Augustin and Livingston will battle to replace Felton as the Bobcats' starting point guard. Either could be a sleeper with a full set of starter's minutes. It's safe to say that Livingston surprised everyone by averaging 15.5 ppg, 6.3 apg and 3.6 rpg while shooting 62.7 percent from the field and 83.3 percent from the charity stripe in eight April games.
Matthews can play D and knock down 3s, so he's worth keeping an eye on if he can lock up quality minutes -- but there's the rub with so much competition for playing time.
