Nene, Denver Nuggets
With Marcus Camby traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, the starting job in Denver falls to Nene. Although he’s been more promise than production in his career, he has the ability to be a player who averages close to a double-double with a healthy amount of blocks.

Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves
If Love is given center eligibility in your fantasy basketball league, consider him a possible sleeper for the 2008 season. At UCLA, Love had a very varied game and could be helpful across the board. He should get time next to Al Jefferson in Minnesota.

Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls
In his rookie season, Joakim Noah wasn’t too impressive. That said, he had spurts of good performance and should get a chance to win a full-time starting gig. If he does, look for him to put up solid numbers in points, rebounds, blocks and steals.

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Del Negro has never coached before but he’s respected around the NBA for having a good basketball mind. He’s also regarded as a good communicator.

In the fantasy world, this is good news for the Bulls. Coming from the Suns, one would expect Del Negro to push the tempo. As a player, Del Negro was always best when he could get out on the court and run. Like Mike D’Antoni, Del Negro also has experience playing in Europe.

If the Bulls do turn into a running team under Del Negro, that will most help the athletic runners on Chicago such as Joakim Noah, Tyrus Thomas and Thaba Sefolosha. The Bulls are expected to take Derrick Rose with the first pick of the 2008 NBA Draft and Rose would definitely excel in an uptempo attack.

While this may be a shaky hire in terms of getting wins in the NBA, this is very good news for the fantasy basketball world.

It’s time for Vinny to put down the golf clubs and pick up the dry erase board.

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While Collins is a good coach, this is very bad fantasy news for all the players on the Bulls. Collins coaches teams to play a slow pace – which will eliminate a lot of fantasy value from the Bulls’ offense.

Collins also isn’t known to mesh well with young players. That mix of slow tempo and bad youth management is a horrible combination for young athletes like Tyrus Thomas and the recently arrested Joakim Noah.

If the Bulls take Derrick Rose with their first overall pick, don’t expect Rose to play a lot of minutes his rookie year. Collins will try to win, like he always does, and that means banking on players with experience and winning know-how.

Perhaps the only player that this could help is Luol Deng. Deng can thrive in the half court setting and Collins will likely lean on Deng to produce on both ends of the court.

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Noah is best known for leading the Florida Gators to back-to-back national championships. He went on to be drafted ninth by the Bulls in the 2007 NBA draft.

In his rookie season, Noah averaged 6.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and nearly one block per game. Noah started 31 games for Chicago and in those games he averaged 9.2 points and 7.2 rebounds.

His arrest on Sunday will most likely result in a fine and possibly community service. He was arrested in Gainesville, Florida, the city where the University of Florida is located.

While the Bulls management can’t be happy with Noah’s latest transgression, it’s doubtful he will face any harsh penalties. He remains a good NBA prospect who could become a solid fantasy center in his second season in the league.

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With the Suns, D’Antoni had a very successful run. Not only did the Suns win a lot of regular season games, he ushered a fast-pace, high scoring era into the NBA. Now teams across the league are looking to score a lot of points, rather than just depend on their defense to win games.

D’Antoni’s Suns teams also produced great fantasy players. From Steve Nash to Shawn Marion to Amare Stoudemire, they all become stud fantasy players under D’Antoni. If he ends up with the Bulls, he automatically raises the stocks of everybody on Chicago’s team.

The player who will likely see his stock rise the highest is Kirk Hinrich. Hinrich struggled last season but if D’Antoni comes on board, you can expect D’Antoni to try to turn Hinrich into a Chicago’s version of Nash. D’Antoni will give Hinrich freedom to lead the team and run, shoot and score as much as he wants.

Other players who will feel a positive impact include Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that D’Antoni can turn Deng into a Marion type player and Gordon into a Leandro Barbosa type player, while allowing Thomas and Noah to reach their full potential on both ends of the court.

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Sean Williams, New Jersey Nets
Although Sean Williams had off court issues clouding his draft stock, he has shown to be a very good basketball player on the court. He’s extremely athletic and has very good timing. If he can stay on the straight and narrow, he looks to be a great find for New Jersey.

Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls
If the Bulls continue to slip down the Eastern Conference standings, expect Joakim Noah to become a big part of their rotation in the second half of the season. He has shown good potential and there’s no reason to believe that he won’t become a solid starter in the league.

Spencer Hawes, Sacramento Kings
Although he hasn’t shown much to date, Spencer Hawes has had a few flashes of brilliance. While those flashes have been few and far between, he’s a legitimate center prospect. If something were to happen to Brad Miller, Hawes is the next in line for big minutes.

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Stromile Swift, New Jersey Nets
Always one of the most athletic players in the league, Stromile Swift is now in the perfect situation with the Nets. With Jason Kidd around to let Swift fully utilize his athleticism, there’s no excuse for Swift not to finally blossom. Kidd will allow Swift to finish alleyoops and easy dunks in the line. If Swift starts, he could put up relatively big numbers before too long.

Nenad Krstic, New Jersey Nets
Nenad Krstic is another player who has come back slowly from a knee injury. He played a bit earlier this season but he was horrible. The Nets shut him down and have brought him back slowly. Now that he’s getting playing time again, Krstic has a chance to live up to the potential he showed in his first couple seasons in the league.

Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls
The Bulls are a disaster right now and Joakim Noah has been a part of the problem. His excitable personality has gotten him into some hot water this season. That said, he’s arguably the best bigman on the Bulls already. He should see a lot of minutes down the stretch run of the season, especially if the Bulls fall out of playoff contention.

Shaquille O’Neal, Phoenix Suns
Yes, the Big Diesel is somewhat of a sleeper in the fantasy basketball world. Most everyone runs away from the idea of picking up O’Neal. His strengths this season have been negated by his weaknesses. But if he’s available on your league’s waiver wire, you may want to think about picking him up. Shaq will be motivated to bring Phoenix a ring and his level of play should improve greatly playing next to Steve Nash.

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Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls
Noah has had good per minutes stats all year and has had a few games recently that could open up some playing time for him. While the Bulls have a loaded front court, Noah is talented and can be a fantasy mainstay once he gets enough playing time. However, for the time being he’s risky until he starts getting consistent minutes.

Mikki Moore, Sacramento Kings
Moore is a decent plug-and-play possibility at center. He won’t be hugely productive but he also won’t hurt you. Moore is adjusting to life without Jason Kidd and is getting better as the season progresses. As a backup fantasy center, he’s not a horrible option.

Channing Frye, Portland Trail Blazers
Frye has shown huge potential in his career, especially back when he was a rookie for the New York Knicks. While he still is struggling a bit after being traded to Portland, he’s playing better as of late. His confidence has improved and it appears as if he’s rediscovered his shooting touch. He’s the type of player who could explode for a big second half of the season.

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