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.

Post from: Expert Fantasy

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.

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Post from: Expert Fantasy

Here is a look at some injured players to make an offer for:

Randy Foye, Minnesota Timberwolves
Foye is sidelined with an injured kneecap. It’s unknown how long he’ll be out but it shouldn’t be any longer than a month. With that in mind, Foye is a good buy low target. He wasn’t that great last year and now with an injury on top of everything, his stock is rather low. When he returns to health, Foye should soon find himself in the starting lineup and playing big minutes.

Mike Bibby, Sacramento Kings
Bibby is a more difficult situation than Foye. Bibby is going to be sidelined for 10 to 12 weeks with a thumb injury. That’s a long time to wait in fantasy basketball. However, if you have a deep roster or can survive with Bibby sidelined, consider offering a trade for him. When healthy, he should resume his role as one of the better fantasy point guards in the league.

Elton Brand, Los Angeles Clippers
Brand has been injured for a while and it’s likely that he was drafted in your fantasy basketball league. That said, fantasy owners are a fickle bunch and the Brand owner might be willing to part with Brand for a low price. If that’s the case, Brand is worth the risk. He’s a fantasy monster when healthy and there’s talk of him possibly being ready as soon as January.

Post from: Expert Fantasy

No longer will the T’Wolves be thinking championship, instead their main goal will be to locate and grow their young core players. It’s going to be another two or three years until people in Minnesota seriously consider the T’Wolves a playoff team.

What makes this situation tough is there are so many players on the T’Wolves who may or may not be fantasy factors. The only real fantasy stud on their team is Al Jefferson. Aside from him, it’ll depend on which players are getting minutes.

Here’s a look at the Timberwolves’ players and their possibly fantasy impact:

Al Jefferson – Jefferson was the crowning piece of the Garnett deal. He’s a stud in the making that should be ready to produce this year. He’s a very good low post scorer who can rebound at a fantastic rate. His feel for the game is phenomenal and he still has room to get a lot better.

Ricky Davis – Davis is getting a lot of fantasy love but his situation is shaky. He doesn’t exactly fit with the youth movement and could easily find himself behind younger players. However, he’s also a likely candidate to be traded to a contending team in need of a scorer. Davis’ fantasy appeal is completely dependant on whether or not he’s starting and playing big minutes.

Randy Foye – Foye showed good promise last year in his rookie season. He can play both guard positions and has a good knack for scoring the ball. He’s not going to average a lot of assists because he’s not a pure point guard, but he should find himself starting at point guard at some point this season.

Craig Smith – After a fine rookie season, Smith is going to look to expand his game. Although he’s undersized, he can rebound and is a beast down low.

Gerald Green – Green is a guy who looks to score. Fantasy wise, his upside is somewhat limited as it stands because he doesn’t rebound or get many assists.

Corey Brewer – Brewer is a rookie with a good deal of potential. He could become a very good fantasy player if he gets minutes because he’s a threat to rack up steals, blocks and rebounds in bunches.

Rashad McCants – McCants has struggled with injuries but he’s another shooting guard option that can score the ball for Minnesota.

Ryan Gomes – Gomes had big games with the Celtics over the last couple seasons. He’s an all around player who can put up fantasy stats at nearly every category.

Sebastian Telfair – Telfair is a very talented point guard. Problem is he’s undisciplined and not very strong. If he could slow down and attempt to learn the game, he has the potential to one day be a starter.

Marko Jaric, Mark Blount, Greg Buckner, Juwan Howard, Theo Ratliff – These five guys could have solid fantasy value or they could have absolutely no value. It’s tough to tell because they are veteran players on a team trying to rebuild. If any of these players earns a starting spot or gets traded, that’s when they’ll enter the fantasy equation.

Post from: Expert Fantasy