Fantasy Basketball News

NBA.com power rankings

Mon, 19 Jul 2010

Update: 1) Miami: Finding a quality surrounding cast (Haslem, Z, Miller, Jones) for the Super Friends without breaking the bank is just as impressive as getting the Super Friends.

2) L.A. Lakers: Didn't get Raja Bell, which just wouldn't have felt right. Didn't lose D-Fish, which wouldn't have felt right, either.

3) Utah: Considering it lost three of its top eight players from last season's rotation in a week, the Jazz made a pretty good recovery with Al Jefferson and Bell.

4) Boston: Bringing in Lawrence Frank for Tom Thibodeau is a strong play. He'll never compromise on demanding better defense.

5) Houston: Paid through the nose for Luis Scola and Kyle Lowry, but couldn't let a chunk of their core group walk. Brad Miller will help Yao as well; wouldn't surprise me if they played together a lot.

6) Chicago: Ronnie Brewer at $4+ million per seems to make more sense than J.J. Redick at $6+ million per.

7) Orlando: Having said the above, having people around who understand and embrace the culture of a team is important, so keeping Redick around meant more to the Magic than you may realize.

8) Denver: Thinking about Al Jefferson going to the Nuggets to play power forward put me in mind of Max Cherry in Jackie Brown, after he really, really thought about the scheme she'd come up with to take Ordell's money: "It could work."

9) San Antonio: I just have a feeling the Spurs haven't seen the last of Richard Jefferson. Call it a hunch.

10) Dallas: If --if -- Tyson Chandler is healthy, the Mavericks made a great trade this week. Otherwise it was just swapping one bad contract for another.

11) Portland: Still think $6.5 million a year for a backup is ridiculous, but Wes Matthews is a good player and he'll help the Blazers, eventually, when they make whatever trade (Andre Miller? Rudy Fernandez? Both?) they have in their back pocket.

12) Washington: It was just summer league, but dang, John Wall looked good. So did Trevor Booker and JaVale McGee, for that matter.

13) Milwaukee: Felt good hyping Larry Sanders before the Draft, and nothing the Bucks' first-rounder did in Vegas diminished that belief.

14) Oklahoma City: Could be three Thunder (Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Russell Westbrook) on USA Basketball team for the World Championships in Turkey.

15) Indiana: Still don't understand why the Pacers let Sam Perkins go from player development, but adding Clark Kellogg to the mix can only be viewed as a positive.

Summer league rookie rankings

Sun, 18 Jul 2010

Update: Current rookie rankings are as follows:

1. John Wall 2. DeMarcus Cousins 3. Derrick Caracter 4. Greg Monroe 5. Dominique Jones 6. Landry Fields 7. Gani Lawal 8. Ed Davis 9. Quincy Pondexter 10. Larry Sanders

Fantasy Impact: The big movers here are Quincy Pondexter and Landry Fields. Both averaged over 15 ppg in summer league with Pondexter pouring in 27 in his final game with the Hornets. He could be a big help to CP3 and company.

Miami front court completion

Sun, 18 Jul 2010

Update: Chris Bosh is in. Joel Anthony is back, as is Udonis Haslem. Zydrunas Ilgauskas is now official with Juwan Howard expected to sign soon. The Heat's second-round draft pick, center Dexter Pittman, has also signed a contract. And according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the team will re-sign center Jamaal Magloire to a veteran's minimum contract.

Fantasy Impact: With all these old dudes somebody is bound to get injured. So while it may look like a deep front court soon, they most likely will be battling injuries all season. Up next for Miami is rounding out the PG slot.

Penny wants to play with Heat

Fri, 16 Jul 2010

Update: Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway has expressed his desire to sign with Miami. This follows Juwan Howard and Jerry Stackhouse both saying the same thing after Miami signed Lebron & Bosh.

Fantasy Impact: What a joke. Who's next, Charles Barkley and Malone to try and win a ring? This whole thing smells like the Lakers a few years back when Malone & Payton signed to try and win a ring. They failed, so maybe the new look Heat will too.

D.Rose the shooter

Fri, 16 Jul 2010

Update: Derrick Rose has worked significantly hard this off season on his 3 point shot. "It's there; I have a consistent 3-point shot now," Rose said Wednesday night to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. "You'll see. I just have so much confidence in my jump shot now. It's coming along so good. It's past even my expectations at this point."

Fantasy Impact: Watch out league. Rose's range is really the only thing holding him back from being a top 5 player. So if Rose does hit the shot consistently next season, opposing teams will have both Korver and Rose to contend with beyond the arc next season.

Better first 5: Bulls or Heat?

Thu, 15 Jul 2010

Update: Now that the rosters are coming to completion who has the better starting 5, Miami or Chicago?

Fantasy Impact:

PG: Rose vs Chalmers Advantage Bulls (No comment)
SG: Korver vs Wade Advantage Heat (Not really a comparison here)
SF: Deng vs Lebron Advantage Heat (Lebron is worlds above Deng)
PF: Boozer vs Bosh Advantage Draw (Hard to compare apples to apples.)
C: Noah vs Z train Advantage Bulls (Noah is younger, more athletic, and more versatile then Z. Miami may still add another big, so they could take the edge)

Bottom line is it should be very competitive in the east now with Miami and Chicago's Free agent signings. Never rule out Orlando as a threat either.

Shaq: Dallas or Atlanta?

Wed, 14 Jul 2010

Update: According to both NBA.com and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, there has been discussion recently between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks regarding a swap for Shaquille O'Neal and Marvin Williams. Cleveland is reportedly hot for Williams as a replacement at small forward for the departed LeBron James, and would like to use O'Neal in a sign-and-trade deal to snatch him up.

Fantasy Impact: The Hawks do not seem to want Shaq as bad as say Dallas, who would probably use him as a back up to Chandler. Miami is said to not be in the mix as Shaq burned multiple bridges on his way out. He would make a great fit in either Atlanta or Dallas, so stay tuned on where he lands in the next few days.

Bobcats send Chandler to Dallas

Tue, 13 Jul 2010

Update: After Charlotte's potential deal with Toronto fell through, the Bobcats sent Chandler and fellow center Alexis Ajinca to the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday for center Erick Dampier, forward Eduardo Najera, shooting guard Matt Carroll and cash considerations.

Fantasy Impact: Any time you send Dampier away and come back with Tyson Chandler you have done a good thing. Dirk must be happy about his new center. Funny though how MJ has hesitations on trading Chandler to Toronto only to then send him to Dallas a few hours later.

Bobcats-Raptors trade won’t happen

Tue, 13 Jul 2010

Update: The proposed trade between the Charlotte Bobcats and Toronto Raptors is officially dead, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. The Bobcats had agreed to trade center Tyson Chandler(notes) and forward Boris Diaw to the Raptors for guard Jose Calderon(notes) and forward Reggie Evans.

Chandler told Yahoo! Sports Monday he had even been told he was being traded. The deal fell apart, sources said, because Bobcats owner Michael Jordan began having second thoughts. Jordan, sources said, has been hesitant to trade Chandler.

Fantasy Impact: This is at least the 2nd time Jordan has had cold feet right before a trade went through. Phoenix will still get Hedo in a separate trade. Look for a Charlotte - Dallas trade soon.

Utah close to acquiring Al Jefferson

Tue, 13 Jul 2010

Update: According to ESPN's Marc Stein, "sources told ESPN.com that the Jazz and Timberwolves are on the verge of completing a trade that would slot Al Jefferson's contract into the $14 million trade exception that Utah created earlier this week in its sign-and-trade deal with Chicago for Carlos Boozer."

Fantasy Impact: Because of the trade exemption, Utah will not have to give up any players, only draft picks. With the loss of Boozer, they desperately needed frontline help and Jefferson provides that. Paired with Paul Millsap, the two could be a deadly duo.

Fisher returns to Lakers

Mon, 12 Jul 2010

Update: "I have decided to continue with Kobe, continue with our teammates and the fans of Los Angeles," Fisher said in a statement. "While this may not be the most lucrative contract I've been offered this offseason, it is the most valuable. I am confident I will continue to lead this team on and off the court. Let the hunt for six begin."

Fantasy Impact: Good for Fish and LA, bad for Miami. It seems like Kobe out talked Lebron on this one and got Fisher to sign with LA for less money. Surely Miami will find another PG to pursue but LA would not have been the same team had they lost the vet.

Haslem back with Heat

Mon, 12 Jul 2010

Update: From Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel: "Just heard from Udonis Haslem. He has turned down far larger deals from the Nuggets and Mavericks ... and will be back with the Heat. "

Fantasy Impact: Its not official yet, but this adds another huge piece to Miami's puzzle. They are still going hard after Fisher and Jerry Stackhouse and Juwan Howard have been rumored to be in talks with Riley's new powerhouse. Miami should be the favorite to win the title next year hands down.

Blazers sign Matthews to $34 million offer sheet

Sun, 11 Jul 2010

Update: Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski reports Portland signed Utah restricted free-agent guard Wesley Matthews(notes) to a five-year, $34 million offer sheet on Saturday. Wojnarowski cites an unnamed league executive with knowledge of the deal.
Fantasy Impact: Thats an awful lot of money to pay somebody to backup Brandon Roy. He did play some great D for Utah down the stretch last season, so not a bad reserve to have on your team.