Bobby Jackson, who had been starting for the Sacramento Kings at point guard, suffered a broken cheekbone in a recent game and will have to undergo surgery. Following the procedure, the Kings will know whether or not Jackson will be able to play again this season.

Since the February, Jackson had emerged as a fantasy relevant. He had been getting good minutes and producing decent numbers across the board.

With Jackson sidelined, expect Beno Udrih to get most of the minutes at point guard. Udrih has started most of the games for the Kings this year at point guard but missed time recently due to an ankle strain.

In the first game without Jackson, the Kings opted to start Francisco Garcia at point guard. If that alignment continues, Garcia’s value will increase tremendously.

As for Jackson, he’s certainly a player you can waive at this point. With Sacramento having nothing to play for, Jackson will likely not be a major factor again this season.

Source: Newscom

Beno Udrih of the Sacramento Kings is sometimes criticized for his ballhandling ability. Kobe Bryant is often hailed as a great on ball defender. However, a funny thing happened when the two players came together in a recent preseason game — Udrih pulled out a wicked crossover against Kobe. The result was a swish on a jumper while Kobe fell to the ground.

So far in the preseason, Udrih has done but impress. He’s virtually guaranteed to be the opening day starter at point guard for Sacramento. With his solid shooting and passing skills, Udrih will be a very solid fantasy player.

Kobe, on the other hand, will surely recover from this crossover. However, he’ll likely respect Udrih’s ballhandling a little more next time.

Here is the Beno Udrih video of him crossing over Kobe:

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Chauncey Billups, Detroit Pistons
While Chauncey Billups could have another solid season, there are some red flags. First of all, he has Rodney Stuckey behind him and Stuckey is viewed as the future of the franchise in Detroit. Second of all, Joe Dumars seems ready and willing to trade Billups if the right trade becomes available. If Billups ends up in a bad situation, his value could plummet.

Mo Williams, Cleveland Cavaliers
Common sense says that if you play next to a very good passer like LeBron James, your fantasy value will rise. However, that hasn’t really been the case. A lot of players have gone to Cleveland as good fantasy players and then fall off the map. Williams should be okay but don’t over value him.

Randy Foye, Minnesota Timberwolves
Ever since he’s come into the league, Randy Foye has gotten fantasy love around the draft time. But each of his first two seasons, he underachieved. He’s once again ranked highly but that is based mostly on hope instead of reality. Don’t draft him expecting a huge jump in numbers.

Beno Udrih, Sacramento Kings
While in San Antonio, Beno Udrih had problems with dedication and staying healthy. He played very well in a short stint on the Kings but don’t let that fool you into thinking he’s a safe player. Now that he has financial security, he could fall back into being an undermotivated injury risk.

Rafer Alston, Houston Rockets
The Rockets are on a 20-game winning streak and one of the biggest reasons is the play of Rafer Alston. Alston struggled a bit earlier in the season but he’s playing great right now. Over the last month or so, Alston has really improved and he has become a quality fantasy option.

Beno Udrih, Sacramento Kings
The Kings gave a lot of reasons for why they traded Mike Bibby, but perhaps the biggest reason was because the team thinks it has found a better point guard in Beno Udrih. Udrih is a player who can score, pass and play a little defense. His stats should remain good until the end of the season, considering he’s playing for a contract right now.

Travis Diener, Indiana Pacers
Travis Diener is filling in for Jamaal Tinsley and is filling in nicely. While he’s not much of a defender, that doesn’t matter in fantasy basketball. Diener produces a decent number of points, assists and three-pointers made. He also does a good job of not turning the ball over much.

Earl Watson, Seattle Supersonics
After struggling with his shot horrifically for a stretch of games, Earl Watson as seemingly found his jumper once again. With his jumper returning to his repertoire, he’s now a much better fantasy basketball player. While the Sonics have a number of point guard options, it’s obvious that Watson is their best option at the moment.

From FantasyFanatics.com

Well, All-Star Weekend has come and gone, however, the debate on the “Superman” dunk (was it a dunk or not?) still rages on. As fantasy basketball players, we have bigger concerns on our mind. For one, what are the fantasy effects of all of the blockbuster deals this season? Also, are there any second-half sleepers out there to help you in your league’s stretch run? Here is a look at those questions and more.

Trade Fallout – The Winners:

Kurt Thomas – Power Forward/Center – Spurs – Thomas moves to a team that needs his services in the post. He should get the majority of minutes over Fabricio Oberto and may contribute a double-double statistical line with strong percentages and decent defensive numbers. He has very limited upside. But, you could do worse for a short-term filler at center.

Beno Udrih – Point Guard – Kings – Udrih resumes his role as the Kings starting point guard with Mike Bibby going east to the Hawks. Just in case you forgot, he is averaging 14 points and 5 assists as a starter this season.

Marcus Williams – Point Guard – Nets – The good news, Jason Kidd has left town. The bad news, Devin Harris has arrived in town. Harris will be out a couple of weeks recovering from injury. That will give Williams ample time to audition for the starting point guard job.

Antoine Wright – Shooting Guard/Small Forward – Mavericks – Wright has two things to be grateful for. One, he no longer has to compete with the uninspired duo of Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson for minutes. Two, he is out of New Jersey. Wright could contribute in steals, assists, and rebounds if given 28 to 30 minutes a night. That is not as far fetched as it sounds as the Maverick may start to save the aging legs of Eddie Jones and Jerry Stackhouse for the playoffs.

Trade Fallout – The Losers:

Andris Biedrins – Center – Warriors – Biedrins’ stock is not affected by a trade, but the signing of Chris Webber. Biedrins has not only lost his starting gig to Webber, but some playing time as well. He is really foul-prone, so the drop in his value can not all be attributed to the Webber signing. He is also very young and is a nice buy low candidate for keeper leagues.

Josh Boone – Power Forward/Center – Nets – The Nets have been in search of good big men since the days of Derrick Coleman. While the lot of “bigs” they have now do not have the talent – or nearly the waistline – of Coleman, there are a lot of them. Adding DeSagana Diop to Boone, a recovering Nenad Krstic, the recently acquired Stromile Swift, and rookie Sean Williams makes the front line rotation pretty crowded. There is a large possibility that there will be an open audition at the four and five spot in New Jersey for the rest of the season. If that is the case, then all involved will have diminished fantasy value.

Boris Diaw– Power Forward/Center – Suns – If Shaquille O’Nealcan stay healthy and if he can play 30 minutes a night, then Diaw role and minutes will be minimized for the Suns. But those are some pretty big “ifs”. Diaw’s steals and assists from the center spot can be value. However, his production is too volatile to rely on.

Jarrett Jack – Guard – Blazers – Why is Jack on this list? He has not been traded, has he? The Blazers have not made a trade, right? Well, there is the problem. Jack would have benefited greatly by a move out of Portland. He has moved into the starting lineup recently, at the two-guard spot, at least on a part-time basis. His shooting is too inconsistent to play big minutes at the off guard spot and there are too many options on the bench for Jack to be worthy of a roster spot right now.

Acie Law – Guard – Hawks – Using simple math, you can deduce that Law has a chance of more playing time. Two point guards leave (Tyronn Lue and Anthony Johnson) and one came back in a trade (Mike Bibby). However, beating out Lue and Johnson for minutes is different than beating out Bibby. Law may see some gain in value, but loses a chance to become a truly viable fantasy option.

Second-Half Sleepers

Randy Foye – Guard – Wolves – I have been tooting this guy’s horn for a while. Foye is good. How good? Well, that has yet to be determined, but Minnesota has nothing better to do this season but find out what exactly what they have in Foye. His shooting has been awful this season – currently sitting at 36%. Considering that he shot 43% from the field and 37% from three point range last season, he should raise his field goal percentage considerably the rest of the way.

Luis Scola – Power Forward/Center – Rockets – Scola got off to a slow start this season as he got acclimated to the league. His February numbers: 11 points and 6 rebounds – not eye popping, until you see that he is shooting 63% from the field. He should continue to put up better numbers as he gets more comfortable with the NBA style of play. Averages of 13 points and 7 rebounds is very possible.

Rodney Stuckey – Guard – Pistons – In case you have not noticed, Stuckey has February averages of 11.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in just 22 minutes. Logic tells us that he should see his minutes continue to rise as they ready him – a rest the aging starters – for the post-season. Put Stuckey on the Timberwolves or the Clippers, he would be a top candidate for the Rookie of the Year award.

Louis Williams – Guard – Sixers – Like Randy Foye, Williams should have plenty of opportunity the rest of the way to prove his wares. Williams has a multitude of skills and appears that he will be a fantasy star someday. The question that you should be asking is: will he turn those skills into production this season. He is, at least, worthy of a spot on your watch-list, if not your reserve team. However, I have a little more optimistic outlook for Williams. He could be good for 12.5 points, 3.5 assists, and 1.5 steals the rest of the way on 45% shooting, up from his current 41% shooting.

FantasyFanatics.com is a premier fantasy sports community. Need help deciding who to sit and who to start? What about help with a big trade? Chat with the fantasy basketball experts on FantasyFanatics.com.

The Sacramento Kings traded Mike Bibby to the Atlanta Hawks over the weekend for Anthony Johnson, Tyronn Lue, Lorenzen Wright and Shelden Williams. Bibby goes to Atlanta trying to give the team the solid point guard it hasn’t had in years.

In Bibby’s first game with the Hawks on Tuesday, he injured an ankle. The extent of the injury isn’t immediately known. When healthy, Bibby will be a good addition for the Hawks. He’ll make life easier for the scorers around him including Joe Johnson and Josh Smith. He should also feed Al Horford for easy baskets around the rim.

For Bibby himself, this shouldn’t help him or hurt him in the fantasy world. Expect his stats to be similar to what they were when he was with the Kings. He’s a good shooter and an average playmaker. Bibby can get hot and score with just about any point guard in the league.

With regards to the Kings, the only player they received who could have long-term fantasy appeal is Shelden Williams. The other three players they received are all expiring contracts. Williams, even though there’s a chance that he’s just a draft bust, could find a defense and rebounding role with the Kings off the bench.

With Bibby gone, expect Beno Udrih to resume his job as the team’s starting point guard. Udrih as a starter played well for the Kings. The Slovenian struggled when coming off the bench behind Bibby, which dropped him off the fantasy radar. If you need a point guard, go pickup Udrih.

If something were to happen to Udrih, Anthony Johnson is likely the next in line to start in Sacramento at point guard.

Read another perspective on the Bibby trade.

Let’s look at the fantasy perspective of the return of Dwyane Wade and Ron Artest. Both players can be superstar fantasy players, however their arrival will shake up the fantasy value of other players on the team.

Ron Artest
With the return of Ron Artest, the Kings opted to put John Salmons and Francisco Garcia on the bench. This is obviously devastating news to Salmons and Garcia owners. Interestingly enough, Beno Udrih was elevated into the starting lineup. Artest owners should be excited and Udrih all of a sudden becomes relevant in the fantasy world. Keep an eye on Salmons and Garcia to see how much they play in upcoming games.

Dwyane Wade
Wade owners who survived the first couple weeks of the season without him have to be thrilled to get him back this soon. It was unknown when he’d finally be able to return. However, there’s bad news for Penny Hardaway and Dorrell Wright. Hardaway is about to be benched in favor of Wade and Wright is about to be out of the rotation completely. Also keep an eye on Ricky Davis, as he could see his time greatly reduced, as well.

With the beginning of training camp, it’s time to start looking at the early injuries and how those injuries effect fantasy owners.

Tony Battie, Orlando Magic
Battie is likely out for the season with a shoulder injury. Battie wasn’t going to be a viable fantasy option in many leagues, so this injury shouldn’t have a huge impact. The bigger impact is it could force the Magic to start a small lineup with Rashard Lewis at PF and Hedo Turkoglu at SF. If that’s the case, Lewis’ value should rise and Turkoglu should become a fantasy option.

Brandon Roy, Portland Trailblazers
Big things are expected out of Roy this season. Those expectations will have to put on hold for the time being because Roy will likely be sidelined for all the preseason games. While the Blazers are hopeful that Roy will be ready for the regular season, fantasy owners should be on high alert and lower Roy’s stock accordingly.

Yao Ming, Houston Rockets
Yao recently passed a physical, however they found a slight tear in his labrum in his right shoulder. While the Rockets say they aren’t concerned about the tear, it’s not a great sign that Yao is already ailing.

Robert Swift, Seattle Supersonics
Swift, who is coming back from a torn ACL, has tendinitis in that same knee. While it’s not a shock to see him slowed as he attempts to come back from injury, this could hurt Swift’s chances of winning the starting center spot in Seattle.

Antawn Jamison, Washington Wizards
Jamison is day-to-day with a bruised shin. Obviously, this isn’t a huge injury concern. As long as we are speaking of Jamison, he’s about as safe of a fantasy pick as there is this season. There’s no reason why he shouldn’t put up the exact same stats he did last season during this upcoming campaign.

Beno Udrih, San Antonio Spurs
Udrih broke his finger and looks to be out until the start of the regular season. Since Udrih is the third string point guard of the Spurs, it’s highly doubtful this injury was a blip on any fantasy radar.