For fantasy basketball purposes, Villanueva’s value goes up following this move. It appears as if he’s finally found a team willing to invest in him and give him the opportunity he needs to succeed. In a per-minute basis, Villanueva has always put good numbers on the board.

Last year, Villanueva averaged 16.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in only 26.9 minutes per game. Stretch that to 40 minutes and Villanueva would be putting up 24.1 points and 9.9 rebounds per game.

With the Pistons, expect Villanueva to play power forward. At 6-foot-11, he has the size to play the position. His all-around offensive game should allow him to flourish. Heading into the 2009-10 fantasy basketball season, he’s definitely a sleeper to explode onto the scene.

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Charlie Villanueva, Milwaukee Bucks – 19.98 PER
With Michael Redd out for the season, the door has opened for Charlie Villanueva. He’s starting now and should get plenty of minutes and plenty of shot attempts. He’s shown All-Star type ability at times in his career and he’ll get a chance to become a fantasy basketball star.

Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves – 17.59 PER
Early on in the season, Kevin Love looked like a draft bust. But as of late, he has really turned it around and now should be rostered in every fantasy basketball league on the planet. In January, he’s averaging 12.6 points and 10 rebounds in only 24 minutes per game. That is simply disgusting. If he plays starters minutes, he could become a star overnight.

Mickael Pietrus, Orlando Magic – 15.86 PER
In his first game back from injury, Mickael Pietrus put up 27 points, ten rebounds and four assists. And while he won’t do that every game, his impressive PER tells us that he’s a capable starter in the NBA. Pick him up on your fantasy team if you want to take a flyer on a player who could blossom as the season progresses.

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After attempting a shot near the basket, Redd landed awkwardly and ended up tearing both his ACL and MCL in his left knee. The injury is considered significant and Redd will face a long recovery process.

In the fantasy world, Redd owners in redraft leagues can safely drop him. In dynasty leagues, he’s still worth keeping around even if he won’t be 100% next season.

On the Bucks, expect Richard Jefferson to pick up much of the scoring. At the moment, he’s scoring more than five points less than he did last season with the New Jersey Nets. With Redd out, look for his scoring to go back up to its previous levels.

Another player who is likely to pick up some of the scoring slack is Charlie Villanueva. He has played very well in the month of January, averaging 19.1 points and 6.6 rebounds on 52% shooting from the field and 48% shooting from three-point land. Even more impressively, he’s putting up those numbers in only 27.6 minutes per game.

Eventually Charlie Bell should get more minutes, however he is currently out injured. If you are looking for a sleeper candidate on the Bucks roster who could break out, consider rookie Joe Alexander. Although his playing time has been erratic, he’s scoring well and he could see his role increase with Redd out for the season.

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Obviously, the two biggest names in this potential trade are Carl Landry and Charlie Villanueva. If Landry lands with the Bucks, he will probably get to play more minutes. In Houston, Landry was stuck behind a lot of players who play at the same position. According to Landry’s per minute numbers, he could do some major damage if given extended minutes. For fantasy basketball purposes, watch to see if Landry’s minutes increase following this potential trade.

Villanueva could also see his value rise. He isn’t a great fit with the Bucks and also has the problem of duplicate talent at his position. On the Rockets, he could see some minutes at power forward to help spread the court for Yao Ming.

All in all, this trade would be good for both of the big names involved. All the role players involved would likely remain irrelevant in the fantasy basketball world.

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Although the NBA season just started, this is a great time to hit the waiver wire and look for gems and fantasy basketball steals. Which players looked good on the opening night of the NBA? Check out these fantasy basketball players.

Mario Chalmers, Miami Heat
Mario Chalmers started for the Miami Heat at point guard and played a great game. Threatening to get a triple double in his first game, Chalmers is a definite pickup in all fantasy basketball formats. The only word of caution is to realize that the Heat were playing the Knicks — who are perhaps the worst defensive team in the league.

Charlie Villanueva, Milwaukee Bucks
Last year, Charlie Villanueva had a hugely disappointing season. He never seemed to be able to get into a groove and it showed by his play on the court. But now Villanueva is healthy, starting and is a good fantasy basketball pickup off of the waiver wire.

Yi Jianlian, New Jersey Nets
Although most of the hype surrounding Yi Jianlian has died down, he’s a player to take a look at. He was bad during the preseason for the most part, however he played very well in New Jersey’s first game.

Darrell Arthur, Memphis Grizzlies
Darrell Arthur was good during summer league, good during the preseason and had a good regular season debut. It’s going to be hard for the Grizzlies to keep him off the court because Arthur is proving to be a steal of a draft pick. Keep an eye on him if he jumps into the Grizzlies starting lineup.

Photo: Newscom

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Andray Blatche, Washington Wizards
Blatche busted out in a big way on Tuesday. Against the Philadelphia 76ers, Blatche had 26 points, eight rebounds, four assists and a block. Equally impressive was his shooting – 12-of-14 from the field, including 1-for-1 from three-point land. Brendan Haywood turned an ankle during the game, which could spell more playing time for Blatche. Pick him up if you have the chance.

Kenyon Martin, Denver Nuggets
If you watch Martin play, you would never guess that he has had to undergo two microfracture surgeries. He’s still explosive and can attack the rim as aggressively as anyone. While the Nuggets have been cautious as they bring him back, expect Martin to play more and more. Now might be a good time to pickup Martin and the wait for his minutes to increase.

Jordan Farmar, Los Angeles Lakers
Rarely are backup point guards overly valuable in fantasy basketball, but Farmar has looked really good lately. He’s in great shape and his athleticism seems improved from last year. He’s had a string of good games and it’s not inconceivable that Farmar could replace Derek Fisher as a starter at some point in the season.

Charlie Villanueva, Milwaukee Bucks
Villanueva was horrible to begin the season. However, now he’s started to turn it around for the Bucks. He’s still coming off the bench but his production has been much better. He’s had 13, 17 and 17 points in his last three games, respectively. He has immense talent and is certainly a player to keep an eye on.

Antoine Walker, Minnesota Timberwolves
Don’t look now but Walker may be inching his way back to fantasy relevancy. In the beginning of the season, Walker wasn’t getting much playing time. In the last three games for the T’Wolves, Walker has played at least 24 minutes and has double figures in all three games. If Minnesota keeps playing him, Walker could quickly become a really nice fantasy option.

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Kirk Hinrich, Chicago Bulls
Hinrich has been horrible over his first four games. He seemingly can’t do anything right and is a big reason why the Bulls sit at 0-4. Is there hope? Yes. He’ll be fine. Consider it a mini-slump that he’ll get over within a few games.

Charlie Villanueva, Milwaukee Bucks
Villanueva has been shooting the ball horribly and still can’t seem to get back into the flow that he had as a rookie. Is there hope? A little bit. He’s in a bad situation, fantasy wise. He’s behind Yi Jianlian in the rotation and it doesn’t appear that he’s going to get minutes anytime soon.

Mike Conley, Jr., Memphis Grizzlies
Conley, Jr. can’t get on the floor for the Grizzlies. With Damon Stoudamire and Kyle Lowry ahead of him in the rotation, the rookie out of Ohio State is stuck at the end of the bench. Is there hope? In dynasty leagues, definitely. In redraft leagues, it’s best to cut bait now.

Jarrett Jack, Portland Trail Blazers
Jack has been awful to begin the season. The bad news for Jack is he has a lot of point guards behind him who can and will step it up if he flounders. Steve Blake, Sergio Rodriguez and Taurean Green are just waiting for an opportunity. Is there hope? Yes but he better turn it around quickly.

Photo credit: Yahoo

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