The good news for Anthony owners in fantasy basketball is that he will likely be available for the season finale. The Nuggets play the Grizzlies on Wednesday in a game that will likely have playoff implications. The only way Anthony might not play is if that game suddenly becomes meaningless in regards to the playoffs.

If Anthony doesn’t play, that’s a big fantasy boost for Linas Kleiza. Kleiza would get the bulk of the minutes at small forward and has proven to be a very capable player this year when given the minutes. Additionally, you could expect Allen Iverson to carry even more of the load.

When will Anthony be suspended by the NBA? It’s unlikely that it will happen at any point before next year’s regular season. If Anthony is found guilty at some point, there’s a good chance he’ll be suspended for the first couple games of the 2008-09 NBA season.

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Barry has missed the last two months after injuring his calf for the second time. The reports out of San Antonio are that Barry could begin playing later this week. Although he’ll come off the bench, Barry could still play a 15 to 18 minute role on the Spurs.

Before you pickup Barry, you might as well see if he can play and how many minutes he will get. There’s no point in wasting a roster spot on him at the moment. Calf injuries tend to linger so there’s no guarantee that he’ll be much of a player when he returns.

However, if he has a good game or two and plays quality minutes, consider him as an option in the final week of the 2008 fantasy basketball season.

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So far, Fisher has obviously been hampered by his injury. If he can’t tough it out, the Lakers might be forced to shut him down for at least a couple weeks. Needless to say, this is more bad news for the Lakers on the injury front.

If Fisher can’t go any further, Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic would get the minutes. Farmar would likely start but Vujacic would get a big boost in minutes as well. For fantasy basketball purposes, Farmar has the more all-around game and Vujacic is more of a three-point specialist.

Fisher’s minimal fantasy value has to be all but gone now. At any point in time, he could decide that he can’t play any further. If you want to take a flier on a player who can help you in a game or two down the line, look at Farmar and Vujacic.

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In the fantasy basketball world, this is also devastating news to anyone who owned Yao. You will have to figure out a way to survive without one of the better fantasy centers in the game. While Yao’s numbers were slightly down from last year, he was still a force both in the NBA and in the fantasy world.

On the Rockets, you may consider picking up Luis Scola or Carl Landry. Scola should see plenty of shot attempts now that Yao is out. He’ll be the team’s go-to low post scorer. Don’t be surprised if he averages around 15 points from here on out.

Landry is more of a wildcard but he’s supremely talented. His per minute numbers are off the charts. If he gets a big boost in minutes, he could be a fantasy steal. Pick him up if you want a low-risk, high-reward player.

Are you in a huge league? Perhaps you should consider Dikembe Mutombo. He has filled in for Yao well in the past. Mutombo might finally be too old to do anything but there’s always a chance he could again find the fountain of youth.

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In the fantasy basketball world, this trade will make a big splash. All four of the players the Cavs received should see at least a short-term raise in their value. Wallace should start at power forward. Szczerbiak has a good chance at starting at a guard position. West has a chance to start at point guard. Smith likely won’t start but he’ll play a lot.

The biggest winner of those four players is likely Szczerbiak who seems to be the perfect piece next to LeBron James. He’ll get tons of open shots in that system. West could also be a big winner if he becomes the full-time starting point guard. Wallace could possibly start producing more now that he’s on a winner. Smith’s production should close to his previous levels.

Of the new Bulls, Larry Hughes is the player to watch. He could never play well next to LeBron, however he was a fantasy stud back before he went to Cleveland. Now that he’s on a new team, there’s a chance he could flourish. Gooden’s production should be about the same, while Simmons and Brown likely won’t make a dent.

In Seattle, none of those three players will be fantasy relevant. Marshall might intrigue some with his three-point shooting, but he’d need to play big minutes to become worthwhile in the fantasy world.

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With Kidd in Dallas, expect an increase in efficiency from all the players on the Mavericks. Kidd is still a great point guard who is arguably the best in the game at making players around him better. Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard and Jason Terry will now find themselves open more than ever before.

Kidd himself could be in line for a rebirth. He was hating life in New Jersey and will no doubt play with fire now that he’s back in Dallas. There’s no reason why he can’t continue putting up triple-doubles for the Mavs like he was doing for the Nets. You can also expect his shooting to get better now that the teammates around him are better.

The Nets basically received only two players with fantasy potential – Devin Harris and DeSagana Diop. Harris will take over for Kidd as the Nets’ point guard. If Harris is given free reign to play as he sees fit, he may have a lot more success than he did in Dallas in their structured offense. Diop is a shotblocker and rebounder who could possibly put up stats if given extended playing time at center.

To put it bluntly, in fantasy basketball this helps everyone associated with the Mavs. On the other hand, it’s difficult to predict how this will affect the Nets. Chances are they’ll be a massive transitional period before we figure out how all the pieces will fit with Kidd gone.

Jason Kidd Mix …

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Not too long ago, there were rumblings Arenas would possibly miss the rest of the season. However, with the news that Arenas is well enough to start working out on the court, it’s not too unreasonable to expect him back within the next couple of weeks.

Antonio Daniels, who has started in Arenas’ place at point guard for the Washington Wizards, started off playing well but has tailed off of late. He has dealt with a few injury issues of his own and right now isn’t much of a fantasy option.

If you have Arenas on your fantasy basketball team, a good idea would be to gauge his market value. If you can get a good guard for him in a trade, that’s still likely the way to go. However, if your team is doing good and you can take a risk on him, attempt to trade for Arenas right now for pennies on the dollar.

Read Gilbert’s blog for his thoughts on the Shaq trade and other stuff.

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If this trade goes down, Jason Kidd owners would have to be happy. Kidd would be motivated and happy once again. In the NBA, never underestimate the power of happiness. While Kidd’s stats are pretty good right now, expect his stats to be much better on the Mavs.

Also for the Mavs, you can expect improved play from Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard and Jason Terry. Kidd is a great point guard and would automatically become the leader of the team. He’ll get the stars around him easy shots, like he always does.

In New Jersey, the outlook isn’t as pretty. Harris at best would put up the same stats he’s averaging now. Although, it’s likely that his stats would go down. Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter also won’t be helped by losing Kidd. DeSagana Diop would likely not be a major part of this trade, however he might get a look at center for the Nets.

Overall, this trade is good news in the fantasy world for Kidd and everyone on the Mavs. For the Nets, this is bad fantasy news. As a fantasy basketball owner, look to buy players on the Mavs and sell players on the Nets. If you do it now before others see how it will play out, you might be able to get good value.

At this point, the trade has hit a snag thanks to Devean George but we’ll see how this plays out in the next day or so.

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In the fantasy basketball world, this trade also has a huge impact. With Gasol on the Lakers, he’ll be surrounded by a lot of good scorers and rebounders, which will negatively affect his scoring and rebounding totals. However, he should also become a more efficient player because he won’t have to do anything he isn’t capable of doing.

Specifically, expect his scoring average to go from 18.9 to a number closer to 16. His rebounding should go from his current 8.6 to somewhere in the neighborhood of 7.5. However, his assists should go up, his field goal percentage should go up and even his blocks should go up as he’s able to concentrate more on defense. All in all, it should be a wash, fantasy wise.

Kwame Brown and Javaris Crittenton two first round draft picks were sent to the Lakers. Word is that Brown will be bought out and become a free agent. While it’s safe to say Brown is a bust, if a team signs him and gives him a starting spot – he could become serviceable in the fantasy world. Crittenton is a very good talent whose true worth is in dynasty fantasy leagues. At 20-years-old, Crittenton is a young prospect with a very bright future.

Once the Lakers get back Andrew Bynum from injury, they should become a force in the Western Conference. A starting lineup of Gasol, Bynum, Lamar Odom, Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher is extremely formidable.

As for the Grizzlies, expect them to struggle even more now. Rudy Gay and Mike Miller will become the go-to players on a nightly basis, which is good news for fantasy owners of Gay and Miller. In a separate trade, the Grizzlies dealt Stromile Swift for Jason Collins to the Nets in a move that will offer even more flexibility. With both Gasol and Swift gone, expect more time for Darko Milicic and Hakim Warrick at the bigman positions.

Check out True Hoop, where Henry Abbott breaks down the trade and talks about The Memphis Side of the Story.

Also check out the Grizzlies and Lakers message boards, where fans are sounding off.

Kobe Bryant’s reaction to the trade …

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If Andersen is successfully able to get back onto the court at some point this season, most people expect that he’ll end up back with the Hornets. While the Hornets have a number of talented bigmen, Andersen showed enough promise that the Hornets would likely want him back.

Andersen is a very athletic bigman who can put up good per-minute numbers. During the 2005-06 season, Andersen was averaging around five points and five rebounds before being suspended. His best season was the 2004-05 campaign when he averaged 7.7 points and 6.1 rebounds in 21.3 minutes per game.

While he isn’t much of a fantasy basketball prospect, he’s at least worst keeping an eye on. At 29-years-old, Andersen is still young enough to improve and depending on what kind of shape he’s in, he could eventually become the first bigman off the bench for the Hornets at some point this season. If you are in a very large league, that might be good enough to pick him up.

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