C Andrea Bargnani, Toronto Raptors
Many supposed fantasy experts are touting Andrea Bargnani as a sleeper. I simply don’t agree. He’s a streaky player and with more offensive options in Toronto, I think his slice of the pie will shrink. Look at his stats last year as his ceiling for this season.

PF Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics
Since joining the Celtics, Garnett’s stats have suffered while his winning has improved. This year, expect his stats to take another hit. Boston knows he has to be healthy in the playoffs for the team to have a shot, so that means a light regular season load for Garnett.

SF Ron Artest, Los Angeles Lakers
Ron Artest is one of the most talked about players in the NBA these days. But don’t let that fool you. He’s going to only be an average fantasy basketball player this season. His minutes will be lowered and the Lakers don’t need him to shoulder much of the burden on either end of the court.

SG Allen Iverson, Memphis Grizzlies
How many red flags do you need before you avoid Allen Iverson? He has a hamstring injury that could linger. He’s coming off of a bad year in Detroit. He’s on a young team with a lot of scorers. Let Iverson be someone else’s headache.

PG Andre Miller, Portland Trail Blazers
If you haven’t been paying attention, there’s a good chance that Andre Miller may come off the bench for the Blazers. His stats should still be good in that scenario but it definitely hurts his fantasy basketball potential in the 2009-10 NBA season.

Don't Draft Allen Iverson (Image: Zuma Press)

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Miller will step right in and be the starting point guard for the Blazers. He’ll be an improvement over Steve Blake, who started at point guard last year for the Blazers, and could provide the leadership and playmaking needed to make Portland a truly elite team.

In terms of fantasy basketball, this move will likely change his stats drastically. In the last two seasons with the Blazers, Miller saw his points go up and his assists go down. With the Blazers, expect the opposite — his points go down but his assists go up.

A good guess at what Miller will average next year is around 13 points and seven assists. With Brandon Roy also handling a lot of the playmaking, Miller’s fantasy value will take a little bit of a hit. However, the good thing about Miller is that he stays healthy and is usually a consistent player.

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First of all for the Nuggets, they finally have a star point guard to build around. Every since trading away Andre Miller, Denver has struggled to find a floor general. Although Billups isn’t as good as he was a couple seasons ago, he’s still an elite point guard. Expect his fantasy basketball numbers to remain relatively the same in Denver.

The biggest winner on the Nuggets roster is Carmelo Anthony. He’ll get a lot more shots now that he doesn’t have to share with Iverson. Anthony should once again challenge for the league lead in points per game. His percentages should also improve now that he has a player to set him up. The other big winner on the Nuggets is JR Smith. He should see way more time at shooting guard and could blossom into a big time scorer who could lead the league in three-pointers made. The big loser on the Nuggets is obviously Anthony Carter, who will go from starter to limited bench player.

For the Pistons, things aren’t nearly as cut and dry. Iverson likely will first begin as the team’s point guard. But throughout his career, Iverson has struggled running the show. With so many different pieces to feed, it’s questionable whether he’ll be able to be a full-time point guard. If he can’t survive at point guard, that opens the door for Rodney Stuckey to play even more. There’s even a chance that the Pistons could opt to start Stuckey and Iverson in the backcourt and then bring Richard Hamilton off the bench. Another option is for Tayshaun Prince to become a pseudo point guard and let Iverson play off the ball.

Amir Johnson and Jason Maxiell should also see the fantasy stocks rise due to taking up more of McDyess’ minutes. However, rumor has it that McDyess may return to Detroit after a buyout – a la Brent Barry and the San Antonio Spurs last season.

Photo credit: Newscom

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Deron Williams, Utah Jazz
A lot of people have Williams rated outside of their top ten fantasy point guards.  Personally, I think that is ridiculously low.  If you watched how he played in the playoffs, you would have watched a superstar being born.  Williams is going to average a large number of assists and he’s becoming a great scorer on top of that.  I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see Williams finish as a top five fantasy point guard this season.

Check out Williams crossover on Jacque Vaughn in the postseason last year …

Andre Miller, Philadelphia 76ers
Miller will have the ball so much for the Sixers that he can’t help but put up huge numbers.  His assist numbers are going to be there and Miller has always been a good rebounder for his position.  While he isn’t a great offensive threat, he could very well have a career year for Philadelphia this year.

Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics
Rondo is a bit of a risky pick because he’s so young and will have a huge amount of pressure on him this season.  That said, if Rondo lives up to his billing, he could become a star.  He’s already one of the best at accumulating steals and with Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce around him, there’s no reason why he can’t average over seven assists per contest.

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