FSR Reviews the NBA Trade Deadline

Undoubtedly, this will go down as one of the greatest trade deadlines ever. And as much as the flurry of trades we’ve seen this month will change the landscape of the NBA, they will also have a huge impact on your fantasy league. So without further ado, here’s the FSR review of the NBA trade deadline (note: I didn’t include draft picks in the trade, as they have no bearing on fantasy).

Lakers send Pau Gasol to Memphis Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittendon and others-

Gasol has been a monster since coming to L.A., averaging 21.9 ppg, 7.4 rpg and 1.2 blocks. He’s also shooting 65 percent from the field, transforming himself from a good to a great fantasy center. We’ll see what happens when Bynum comes back, which will likely be in late March.

On the negative side, this trade means less shots for Lamar Odom, who’s scoring average may dip to 10 ppg, though he’s seen no effects so far. Still, his rebound and assist totals mean he’s still a fantasy starter in any format.

As many critics have already pointed out, this trade looks like little more than a salary dump for the Grizz. Neither Kwame nor Crittendon are playing much, and neither is a fantasy option. On the bright side, Hakim Warrick is finally getting playing time again and it’s paying off. He has four straight games of 20-plus points.

Nets acquire Stromille Swift from Memphis for Jason Collins-

Pretty meaningless trade fantasy-wise. Neither player is getting on the floor much for their new team, and I don’t expect that to change much this season. Josh Boone’s minutes continue to rise for the Nets, but he’s still too inconsistent to consider in anything other than very deep leagues.

Heat send Shaquille O’Neal to the Suns for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks-

Shaq looked good last night against the Lakers even in a loss. It’s clearly going to take a while for him to get comfortable in the system, but the upside (20 ppg, 10 rpg) is there. That being said, Shaq hasn’t been healthy in years and he’s still very risky.

It’s now clear the real reason the Suns made this trade was to free Amare Stoudemire. STAT hasn’t scored less than 26 points since Marion left, and he’s had games with 13, 13, 15 and 20 rebounds. He has become a block machine this year as well, and looks like a top-5 fantasy guy.

Marion also apparently loved this deal. He looks like he’ll return to his 2005-06 numbers (21.8 ppg, 11.8 rpg) and still help in every category. Mark Blount is also now the starting center for the Heat, and even with his rebounding troubles he’s good for 15-ish points a game.

Hawks acquire Mike Bibby from the Kings for Anthony Johnson, Tyronn Lue, Lorenzen Wright and Shelden Williams-

Bibby made his debut last night and had 17 points in 30 minutes. There’s no reason to believe he won’t be able to get back to his career averages of 16.7 ppg and 6.2 apg. Another plus for the Hawks is the Bibby acquisition will take some of the stress off of Joe Johnson, whose numbers have been consistently falling.

The Kings will go back to relying more on Beno Udrih, John Salmons and Francisco Garcia–and you saw what those three could do earlier this year. Shelden Williams is a nice pickup because of his potential, but unless your fantasy league has a potential category stay away from him.

Mavericks get Jason Kidd, Antoine Wright and Malik Allen from the Nets for Devin Harris, Trenton Hassell, Maurice Ager, DeSagana Diop and Keith Van Horn-

Kidd struggled in his debut with the Mavs, but most point guards struggle against Chris Paul, even the greats. This trade will revitalize Kidd, and he should continue averaging a near-triple double (11.3 ppg, 10.3 apg, 8 rpg). It’s too early to guess the effect his addition will have on the rest of the Mavs, but the only guy who could be hurt is Jason Terry.

Vince Carter seemed to enjoy life post-Kidd, scoring 33 points and dishing out 7 assists for the Nets against the Bulls. Unless VC is traded, the Nets will run their offense through him until Devin Harris returns from an ankle injury. As for Harris, he has always had the ability, and now we’ll see what he can do with it.

Supersonics send Kurt Thomas to the Spurs for Brent Barry and Francisco Elson-

Good trade for the Spurs, but it has little fantasy impact. Thomas is only averaging 25 minutes per game, and isn’t able to play much more than that because of age and injuries.

On the Seattle side, this means a lot more playing time for Nick Collison and Chris Wilcox. Both are at least fantasy backups now. This also means the Sonics will continue to push Jeff Green, but his averages of 9 ppg and 3.9 apg as a starter do not inspire confidence.

Three-way deal with Houston receiving Bobby Jackson and Adam Haluska, the Hornets getting Mike James and Bonzi Wells and Memphis acquiring Marcus Vinicius-

Again, very little fantasy impact on this one. Jackson, James and Wells will all play for their new teams, but in backup roles. Unless Jackson finds a time machine, there isn’t a valuable fantasy guy in this trade.

Three-way deal with Cleveland receiving Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West and Joe Smith, the Bulls getting Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, Cedric Simmons and Shannon Brown and the Sonics getting Ira Newble, Adrian Griffin and Donyell Marshall-

Phew, that took a lot out of me. First off, this trade does little for the Sonics that wasn’t mentioned in the Kurt Thomas trade. More playing time and shots for Jeff Green and Kevin Durant, that’s about it.

As for Cleveland, it was an interesting deal. Szczerbiak will continue to hit threes, but has little value anywhere else. Hopefully this trade revitalizes Ben Wallace, but he’s risky at best. Joe Smith has been the Bulls best player this year, but he’s a fantasy backup at best. Weird move for the Cavs.

Great deal for the Bulls. Larry Hughes will likely step into the starting lineup with Ben Gordon remaining on the bench. Hughes arrival hurts just about everyone fantasy-wise, especially Thabo Sefolosha. The Bulls have lacked a consistent rotation all year long, and it looks like it will now continue.

Gooden will take over the PF spot in the starting lineup and should put up similar numbers (11.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg). Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah should both see a boost in minutes, and while they don’t provide much scoring they will help in other areas.

FSR Daily

-First the bad news. Man, was that a slow fantasy sports weekend. Now the good news. Every single injured NBA player returns this week! Well, at least one.

-Jason Kidd is once again on the verge of becoming a Dallas Maverick.

-Maybe Ron Artest’s problem wasn’t with the Kings, but with Mike Bibby. Now that the point guard is in Atlanta, Artest is no longer looking for a trade.

-Youngster Yovani Gallardo will miss the first four weeks of Spring Training because of impending knee surgery. Gallardo had a very promising rookie campaign, going 9-5, 3.57 in 20 games.

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-The Twins’ Francisco Liriano is having problems with his visa and expects to be late for the team’s Spring Training. Add to that the Tommy John surgery that forced him to miss all of last year, and Liriano’s fantasy value is plummeting.

-Rumors of a serious Albert Pujols injury are floating around.

-Kobe’s finger injury is worse than was initially expected, and the Lakers guard is hoping to skip out on the All-Star game. The injury will likely require surgery, something Kobe does not want to do until after the season, so it will probably be a lingering one.

-Devean George isn’t the only one screwing up the Jason Kidd-to-Dallas trade. The NBA is looking into comments Jerry Stackhouse made, insinuating the Nets would buy out his contract and he would re-sign with the Mavs.

-Josh Howard missed the Mavs’ game last night because of back pain, but the forward should return to action after the All-Star break.

-Carolina seems to be banking their running back future on DeAngelo Williams. Several NFL sources are reporting the Panthers are shopping DeShaun Foster.

-If you want an idea of how bad Marvin Harrison’s injury was last season, the Colts receiver may miss the beginning of the ‘08 training camps after having surgery on his right knee.

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-And the Jason Kidd trade is once again off. Devean George has blocked the trade and Mavs coach Avery Johnson didn’t seem optimistic it would get done. Again, if and when this trade goes through, we’ll review all it’s fantasy impact.

-Shaq, or ‘The Big Winded’, will not make his Phoenix debut until after the All-Star break.

-Kobe continues to have problems with an injured finger. He will see a doctor today, but isn’t likely to miss any game time, only possibly the All-Star game.

FSR Daily

-Less than a week after owner Mark Cuban said Jason Kidd would not be coming to Dallas, it looks like Jason Kidd is coming to Dallas. This trade should mean more playing time for Devin Harris, Jason Terry and Erik Dampier among others. We’ll have more analysis of the trade once it’s official.

-Shaq hopes to be ready for the Suns game on Thursday against the Mavs.

-Josh Childress will have an MRI on his knee after injuring it last night against the Pistons. FSR will have the results when they are released.

-Ben Wallace will miss the Bulls game on Thursday due to a death in his family. Joakim Noah and Aaron Gray will see an increase in minutes because of his absence.

-Initially it looked like Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya would be out until July with a finger injury, but he believes he will return sooner than that.

-Blue Jays closer B.J. Ryan says he’ll be ready by opening day. Given his past performances, as well as his monster contract, Ryan should step right back into the closer role.

FSR Daily

-Most knew this by now, but something’s up with Manu Ginobli. Either he’s taken his game to an entirely new level or Greg Popovich is more comfortable running the offense through him (I would guess the later). But last night he was simply incredible, scoring 34 points, grabbing 15 rebounds and dishing out 6 assists.

-Shaq said he was a little winded after his first practice with Phoenix yesterday. That’s the scary thing for Shaq owners, he averaged a little under 29 minutes per game with the Heat this year, and it’s doubtful he’ll be able to match that number with in the Suns high-tempo offense.

-Tyson Chandler will return to the Hornets lineup tonight to face his former team, the Bulls. Chandler missed two games because of the flu.

-In news that comes as  a surprise to no one, the Knicks are looking to trade Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph. Fantasy owners are okay with anything that means more playing time for David Lee.

-Stephen Jackson is on the verge of joining the fantasy elite. Through four February games, the Warriors’ forward is averaging 26.7 ppg, pushing his season average to 21 per game. Also consider Jackson averages 4.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

-Late round draft pick alert. While the Yankees’ Joba Chamberlain will not start the year in the team’s rotation, he may end up there. The Yankees say they want to limit the pitching prospect to 140 innings in 2008, but even if he can throw 100 innings he’ll be a worthwhile fantasy pickup.

FSR Daily

-Devin Harris owners can breath a sigh of relief, Jason Kidd won’t becoming to Dallas:

“For us to make the numbers work in a deal like that, we’d have to trade away half the team,” Cuban told The New York Daily News. “We’re not doing that, so it just doesn’t work. And, we like our team. We’ve got a lot of room for improvement and we hope to get better. But right now, I just don’t see anything happening.”

-Gerald Wallace will be out through the All-Star break, according to the Charlotte Observer.

-Zydrunas Ilgauskas left the Cavaliers game on Sunday because of back spasms. His return is unknown.

-Interesting information in this Sun-Times piece. Luol Deng is not expected to return until after the All-Star break, but when he does return he will not immediately be put in the starting lineup. Good news for Andres Nocioni owners, and possibly a boost in Tyrus Thomas’ fantasy value.

Getting ready for fantasy baseball - Third Baseman

We are in the golden age of the third baseman. This year there are quality offensive players at the hot corner of all types: vets (Chipper Jones), prospects (Ryan Zimmerman, Ryan Braun and Alex Gordon), base stealers (Chone Figgins) and of course, power guys (Alex Rodriguez).

Four guys (A-Rod, David Wright, Braun, Miguel Cabrera) look like they will go in the first round of most fantasy drafts, but there will be plenty of other options later in the draft. Regardless of when you draft a third baseman, you should have no trouble finding and keeping an above-average fantasy player at the position.

No doubt starters-

Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees

There’s little left to say about A-Rod. He’s easily the most consistent fantasy player available, so if you have the first pick in your draft he’s a no-brainer.

David Wright, New York Mets

For the past three years, Wright has hit at least .300 with more than 26 homers and 100 RBIs each year. When you consider he has 71 steals over those three years as well, Wright is as close to a sure-fire first rounder as their is.

Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers

We’ve already established there is no sophomore slump for offensive players, so you shouldn’t worry about Braun’s youth. His 2007 162-game stats are astounding - 49 homers, 139 RBI and 22 steals - and if Braun slips to the second round don’t hesitate in drafting him.

Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers

Cabrera has essentially been Albert Pujols with a little less power over the last three seasons. I doubt a move to Detroit will effect his numbers much, so .320, 30, 100 is a reasonable expectation.

Second Tier-

Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves

It’s actually tough to say Chipper is a second-tier anything. He’s hit at least .324 each of the last two years and provided power as well. But both injuries and age (36) are huge problems.

Aramis Ramirez, Chicago Cubs

Ramirez slips to the second tier because of injury concerns. He’s missed 30 or more games twice in the last three years, so that has to be a concern. What isn’t a concern is his production when healthy, making Ramirez a second-to-fourth round pick.

Garrett Atkins, Colorado Rockies

His numbers dipped slightly in ‘07 (.301, 25, 111), but if Atkins can put up those numbers consistently few will complain. The .112 point drop in his OPS (.853 from .965) is a slight concern, though.

Chone Figgins, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Chone came to fame as a utility man, but in 2007 he spent most of his time at 3B and it looks like he’ll start the ‘08 campaign there as well. I doubt he’ll hit .330 again, but as long as he gets 600 plate appearances, he’ll give you 50 steals and 100 runs scored.

Adrian Beltre, Seattle Mariners

Beltre will never be a great player, just a nice one who had one great season. He’ll hit for some power and knock in some runs, but Seattle’s ballpark will always limit his ceiling.

Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals

Zimmerman’s only 23, but he’s no longer a prospect (1325 MLB at-bats). That being said, it’s still unclear what we can expect from him. He hasn’t yet hit .300 or 30 home runs, but his potential means he’ll be gone before round 10.

Mike Lowell, Boston Red Sox

If you think Lowell will go .324, 21, 120 again, then good luck with that. He will be a run producer with some power, but clearly a second-tier third baseman.

Edwin Encarnacion, Cincinnati Reds

Encarnacion has always hit for some average and some power, but neither at elite levels. He’s a mid-to-late round pick, but probably no better than a back-up fantasy 3B.

Hank Blalock, Texas Rangers

Blalock was hurt last year, but appeared to finally appeared to be returning to his 2002-03 numbers. Still, since ‘03 he’s done nothing but decline, making him a risky fantasy starter.

Troy Glaus/Scott Rolen

Both of these guys have been bad the past couple of years, and we’ll see if either can turn it around in ‘08. Beware of drafting either too early, their names are bigger than their stats.

Prospects-

Josh Fields, Chicago White Sox

You can’t mention Fields without talking about Joe Crede, the Sox incumbent third baseman. Sox GM Kenny Williams has said the two won’t be on the roster together, but there’s been no trade yet. Fields hit 23 homers in only 373 at-bats last year, so his upside is very intriguing.

Kevin Kouzmanoff, San Diego Padres

Kouz has always hit at every level, though some doubt his ability at the major-league level. I don’t, and think he’ll give you average with some power somewhat late in the draft.

Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals

Year one was disappointing, apparently hitting major league pitching isn’t easy. Gordon will be a star, but in two or three years. This year he should be okay, but not a consistent starter.

FSR Daily

-Kevin Garnett is not expected to return to the Celtics’ lineup before the All-Star break. No one player has really stepped up to replace KG’s fantasy numbers.

-Monta Ellis is the real deal. He’s averaging 26.7 ppg this month after last night’s 34-point effort against the Kings. Ellis has scored at least 20 points in six of his last eight games, including two 30-plus point outings.

-Warriors head coach Don Nelson is now saying that Chris Webber will only play the center position for Golden State. Webber likely will not have any fantasy impact this season and this news is less than positive for Andris Biedrins’ owners.

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-Looks like Stephon Marbury will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery to remove bone spurs from his left ankle. This means Jamal Crawford will continue to play 40-plus minutes a game and Nate Robinson will remain a capable fantasy backup.

-Brandon Roy is out until Monday due to a death in his family and will miss the Blazers game tonight in Indiana.

-All kinds of interesting stuff in this Sun-Times report. Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon will be out for tonight’s game with the Jazz, while rumor has it the Bulls have looked into trading center Ben Wallace to the Knicks. A Big Ben departure would likely mean more minutes for Joakim Noah, possibly making the rookie big man an attractive fantasy option.

-This Sacramento Bee story talks about the possibility of Ron Artest going to the Denver Nuggets. A move to Colorado would seriously hurt Artest’s fantasy value, as he wouldn’t likely get many shots playing with Carmelo and A.I. Artest has scored at least 20 points in six of 12 games since returning from injury.

-It does not appear Andrew Bynum will be coming back any time before mid-March.

-Now that the Erik Bedard trade is finally official, will the O’s and Cubs renew Brian Roberts trade talk?