C Ben Wallace, Detroit Pistons
It seemed like Ben Wallace’s career was over. In the last few seasons, he did next to nothing. But he’s starting for the Pistons at center and he’s putting up stats. It might not last but he’s valuable for the time being.

PF Marreese Speights, Philadelphia 76ers
Although Marreese Speights might not get many minutes on a consistent basis, his per-minute numbers have been very good so far in his NBA career. If there’s an injury to the front line, his value would skyrocket. As it is, he holds a decent amount of value.

SF Danilo Gallinari, New York Knicks
If you are in a league that values three-point shooting, Danilo Gallinari is a player you should get on your team. Playing for Mike D’Antoni in New York, Gallinari is sure to hoist a ton of threes this season.

Danilo Gallinari - New York Yankees (Image: Zuma Press)

SG Rasual Butler, Los Angeles Clippers
Although he’s coming off the bench, Rasual Butler has a steady role so far for the Clippers. He’ll help you in three-pointers made and he can pick up stats in a variety of categories. Not a great fantasy option but he’s a solid filler with upside.

PG Jason Williams, Orlando Magic
It’s difficult to roster a backup point guard in most fantasy basketball formats, but if it makes sense in your situation, go ahead and pickup Jason Williams. He could put up very good per-minute stats playing with a talented Orlando squad. He’s averaging nearly ten points and seven assists in his first two games of the 2009-10 NBA season.

Post from: Expert Fantasy

The New York Knicks claimed Williams off waivers and they are reportedly talking to him right now about a contract. While it’s been a while since White Chocolate was relevant in the fantasy basketball world, signing with the Knicks would make him relevant once again.

The 33-year-old native of West Virginia would likely have a chance of starting for Mike D’Antoni. A point guard in D’Antoni’s offense is worth rostering on your fantasy team, as we saw last year with Chris Duhon. Once given the reins to D’Antoni’s offense, Duhon averaged 11.1 points and 7.2 assists last year for the Knicks.

While Duhon will likely start again for New York, D’Antoni may decide to go with Williams. A very good passer, Williams could rack up the assists when playing for the Knicks. His points per game would also improve.

Keep an eye on if Williams ends up with the Knicks. If he doesn’t, he’ll likely return to fantasy basketball irrelevancy.

Post from: Expert Fantasy

The 33-year-old point guard hasn’t given any specific word about why he retired, but one can assume it is injury related. Williams has struggled with injuries in recent years and his once explosive play had slowed considerably.

With the Clippers, who was going to be one of Baron Davis’ main backups. But now the White Chocolate legacy will only live on in the form of YouTube videos. Here is a video of Jason Williams doing what he did best:

Post from: Expert Fantasy

With the Clippers, Williams will give the team a very capable backup point guard. With Baron Davis as the starter, there’s a pretty good chance that Williams will get some starts considering Davis’ injury history.

Going into the 2008-09 NBA season, Williams is no longer a draftable player in fantasy basketball. However, if something is to happen to Davis and Williams is thrust back into a starting role, he has proven to be capable in the last few years.

Here is a video of White Chocolate in action:

Post from: Expert Fantasy

Looking at it from an NBA perspective, the Suns are doing this trade to try to win a championship this season. They’re small ball formula simply wasn’t going to get them past teams like the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Lakers with Pau Gasol. Now, with O’Neal on their side, the Suns suddenly have a chance to win a championship. It was a risky trade by general manager Steve Kerr because of Shaq’s age and health, but it was a trade that improves the Suns’ chances of winning a championship this season.

In the fantasy world, the most important player being moved is Shawn Marion. On the run and gun Suns, Marion was one of the best fantasy players in all the land. Will he still be great on the Miami Heat? He should still be very good but there’s a chance that his fantasy numbers come tumbling down. The good news is he should get more touches in Miami. The bad news is he doesn’t have Steve Nash to spoon feed him easy baskets and he’ll join a team that is going nowhere fast.

Overall, you simply have to take a wait and see approach with Marion. He’s played well without Nash in the past so all hope isn’t lost. But this is a bad situation in Miami. If you can trade him and get good value for him, go ahead and trade Marion now because he’s not going to become a better fantasy player. At best, he’ll remain at the same level.

In fantasy basketball, O’Neal has become a bit of an outcast in recent years due to his horrible free throw percentage and high turnovers. However, you might take a look at him now that he’s in Phoenix. His field goal percentage should go through the roof playing with Nash and he should be motivated to finish the season of strongly. If you want to take a risk, betting on vintage Shaq performances from here on out is a decent bet to make. Injuries would probably be your biggest enemy.

The sleeper of this trade is Marcus Banks. Pick him up immediately if you have the roster room. He should start in Miami before long and could produce pretty well. He was a bad fit in Phoenix but he has the ability to beat out Jason Williams for the starting job and is a player who could put up 14 points and five assists a night.

Post from: Expert Fantasy

SG Carlos Delfino, Toronto Raptors
Delfino has quietly been on fire as of late. He has scored at least 13 points and pulled down at least six rebounds in each of his last four games, including 24 points and eight rebounds against the Cleveland Cavaliers recently. While he hasn’t started a game all season, Delfino is becoming a big part of the rotation for the Raptors.

PG Sebastian Telfiar, Minnesota Timberwolves
With both Randy Foye and Marko Jaric out with injuries, Telfair is forced to play major minutes at point guard for Minnesota. Telfair has responded with some big games recently. In three out of his last four games, Telfair has scored at least 16 points. Telfair has always had the talent, he just needs to understand the mental part of the game.

PG/SG Daequan Cook, Miami Heat
If you want to take a flier on a rookie, especially in a dynasty format, consider Cook. In the limited time he’s played for the Heat, he’s been very good at scoring the ball. He’s averaging over ten points per game despite playing less than 20 minutes per contest. While he’s not a fantasy option right now because he still racks up the DNP-CD’s, he’s definitely a youngster to keep an eye on.

J-Will to Cook …

Post from: Expert Fantasy