You gotta give the Suns management a lot of credit. Unlike the Dallas Mavericks, who are still figuring out that scoring a million points a game will get you into the playoffs, but not much else, the Suns have spent the whole offseason shoring up their defense and reshaping their high-flying roster. Three of the Big Four are still there, but they are now surrounded by a deep roster filled with experience, fundamentals, and stability. Imports include Kurt Thomas, James Jones, Boris Diaw, and Brian Grant. Will they fill the void left by Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson? You’ve gotta like their odds …

The Stud: Shawn Marion, SF
Marion, like fellow all-around stud Andrei Kirilenko, is an enigma. The third option on his team, many casual NBA fans may barely know his name, but fantasy players know that he’s true gold for your roster. He’ll help you everywhere but in assists, and he’s a huge plus in rebounds and the defensive categories. He’s no worse than a mid-first round pick, and is an incredibly safe choice.

The Support: Amare Stoudamire, F/C
Stoudamire cemented himself as a true fantasy force last year, scoring 26 ppg, grabbing nearly 9 rebounds, blocking 1.6 shots, and shooting an absurd 55.9% from the field. He’s earned discussion right alongside Shaq and Yao Ming as far as who’s the first true center picked in your fantasy draft, and shouldn’t slip out of the middle of the first round.

The Supporting Support: Steve Nash, PG
The Suns counted on Nash to be a true team leader last year, and they weren’t let down, as he transformed the team into a tru regular season powerhouse, making everyone else better and putting up grat numbers himself. He’s a true PG in every sense, leading the league in assists, and contributing in three’s, steals, and FT%. The stat that put Nash over the top last year, though, was his 50.2% shooting from the field, almost unheard of from the PG spot. He’s in the running for top PG taken.

The Sleeper: Kurt Thomas, PF
The most important thing to remember with Thomas this year is that he’s lost his center eligibility. Between that and the fact that he’s on a totally stacked team, Thomas might fall way off a lot of draft boards. Remember, though, that on a high-flying team like the Suns, there are a lot of rebounds to be had. Thomas set a career-high in boards last year with 10.4, and that number could go up if he gets enough PT in Phoenix. He’s worth a mid-late round pick.

The Slacker: Jim Jackson, G/F
As far as your fantasy team is concerned, Jackson does one thing and one thing only – shoot three pointers. He’s not worth a roster spot until late in the year, where certain statistical categories dictate your roster more than overall talent. At that point he’ll be worth a spot on someone’s team, but for the first few months of the season you can find better options.

Life sure gets a bit harder once Shaq leaves town, huh? Year one of life post-O’Neal was a complete disaster in Los Angeles. The Kobes struggled to find an identity last year, both when Bryant was on the court and when he was injured. In response, owner Jerry Buss brought back Zen Master Phil Jackson, and made a number of questionable moves throughout the offseason. Jettisoning Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins for Kwame Brown has most Wizards fans chuckling at their good fortune. Spending the number 10 pick in the draft on high school center Andrew Bynum sent draft analysts scrambling for their “D” grades. Still not satisfied, Buss and co. went out and signed Aaron McKie to a 2-year, $5 million deal. Of course, he only scored 2.2 ppg last year and is 32 years old, but hey, he’s supposed to be a pretty nice guy. Anyhow:

The Stud: Kobe Bryant, SG
No one in the league, perhaps, has more to prove than Kobe Bryant. He got what he wanted last year, a team free from the burdens of playing with Shaq and playing for Phil Jackson. And he responded by shooting the worst he has since 1997, having the most turnovers of any non-PG in the league, and watching his team crumble out of his control. He also attempted about twice as many three’s as his career average. I actually like Kobe this year. There’s a lot of pride on the line, and I think that Phil might actually get in his head and teach him to share the ball a bit more. Aside from all the drama, he’s still a early/mid first round pick.

The Support: Lamar Odom, F
Odom is still molding his game and continues to develop into more of a forward than a swingman. His rebounding numbers continue to increase while his days of averaging over 5 assists seem to be a thing of the past. That could be changing, though, with the arrival of Kwame Brown in LA. Odom can now move to his more traditional spot at the small forward position and might start hitting more threes and getting more assists as a result. He’s a solid 4th round pick this year.

The Supporting Support: Kwame Brown, F/C
I’m not sure there’s any reason, looking at his career numbers, to think that Kwame will get his act together and put up nice stats this year. But then again, he’s got nowhere to go but up, he’s on a new team that traded away two quality pieces to get him, and he’ll get lots of playing time. He’s worth a late round flyer … but nothing more.

The Sleeper: Chris Mihm, C
Take a look at Mihm’s numbers last year if you pro-rate them out to 35 mpg:

13.8/9.4, 2 blocks, 51% FG, 68% FT.

Now that’s certainly not going to win any fantasy leagues, but it’s the numbers of a very solid center. If he gets in the good graces of Phil Jackson in training camp, look for Mihm to have a very solid year. Then again, if there’s pressure to play rookie Andrew Bynum, Mihm could be useless.

The Slacker: Everyone else.
There are lots of guys on this team that have a chance to put up nice fantasy numbers if they got decent minutes. But the reality is that folks like Brian Cook, Stanislav Medvedenko, Devean George and others are going to get limited playing time at best. Guys like Aaron McKie or Andrew Bynum might eventually be worth a roster spot but they’re just not worth drafting. This is going to be a wait-and-see team.

Roster-wise, it was a pretty quiet summer in Detroit, which shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise since the team was just a few points away from repeating as NBA champions. Larry Brown’s departure was the big news, but in fantasy circles, it shouldn’t really have too much of an impact. The Pistons will remain a physical, grind-it-out team with five players who can carry them on a given night. The team attempted to address its depth with the additions of Dale Davis and Maurice Evans, but they will be looking for contributions from some combination of youngsters Darko Milicic, Carlos Arroyo and Carlos Delfino to lessen the burden on the starters.

The Stud: Chauncey Billups, PG
Billups’s main lines of 16.5/3.4/5.8 last year and 16.9/3.5/5.7 from the previous year are almost identical, but he upped his FG% from 39.4 to 44.3, an exorbitant leap. He also hit more than 2 3s per game, and is always one of the most valuable players in FT%, which is easy to overlook, but provides plenty of value. He doesn’t get quite as many assists or steals as you’d like from a top PG, but he’s one of the most reliable players around, and he makes a fine choice towards the end of the 2^nd/beginning of the 3^rd round depending on the size of your league.

The Support: Rasheed Wallace, FC
Nobody expected him to continue putting up numbers similar to those he put up in Portland, but Wallace has remained a solid fantasy contributor. None of his numbers jump out at you, except for perhaps his 1.5 blocks, but he doesn’t hurt you anywhere, and his center eligibility is a big plus. There’s little reason to expect much change from his numbers the last two years. He shouldn’t be a foundation for your team, but he’s an ideal complementary part.

The Supporting Support: Tayshaun Prince, SF
Prince took another big step forward last year and now the question is how much farther can he take it. With all the major pieces returning, you wonder if there will be more opportunities for Prince to improve his numbers. Either way, he’s another player who, like Rasheed, is a solid contributor everywhere without really grabbing your eye in one category. He hasn’t missed a game the past two seasons, which we look at as a huge plus. He’s the type of guy you can draft and just leave in the lineup and not worry about for an entire season. There’s something to be said for players like that.

The Sleeper: Antonio McDyess, PF
No, we will not list Darko as a sleeper, sorry. Instead we’ll go with the old guy, who at 31 really isn’t too old. But missing multiple seasons with knee injuries will give that perception. Anyway, McDyess certainly took to the role of 6^th man last year, but that doesn’t really mean too much to fantasy players. What does mean something is that in the eight games he started, he averaged 14.1 and 9.8, and he shot 51% from the field on the season. If either of the Wallaces goes down, we’d expect McDyess to be plugged into the starting lineup and deliver. That might not make him worth a draft pick except in the deepest leagues, but be ready to pounce if the situation presents itself.

The Slacker: Ben Wallace, FC
Bear with me on this one. There’s no doubt Wallace is a valuable guy to have around, but there will surely be someone in your league who sees those numbers from a few years ago and will expect that kind of production. Hopefully, you won’t be that person. In the 01-02 and 02-03 seasons, Wallace averaged 14.2 rpg and 3.3 bpg. In the 03-04 and 04-05 seasons, Wallace averaged 12.3 rpg and 2.7 bpg. Still great numbers, but not otherworldly. And as he’s taken a bigger role in the offense, he’s seen his scoring increase only marginally, but his FG% has taken a big hit, and his atrocious FT% now cripples teams because he actually gets the line a decent amount. Don’t spend one of your first two picks on him.

Don’t look now, but the LA Clippers improved their record last year for the third season in a row. Sure, they didn’t make the playoffs or anything, but still, improvement is improvement. That said, they certainly made a lot of moves in the offseason, but whether or not they’ve improved themselves is still up in the air. They lost the NBA’s Most Improved Player in Bobby Simmons, and traded a decent point guard in Marko Jaric for a decent point guard – if this was two years ago – in Sam Cassell. Plus, they signed a decent outside threat in Cuttino Mobley. Will Mobley and Cassell be any better than Simmons and Jaric? Maybe so, maybe no … but how about in the fantasy world?

The Stud: Elton Brand, PF
A couple years ago, Elton Brand was a borderline first-round pick, but not anymore, though it’s no fault of his own. His loss of center eligibility pushes him back into the middle of the second round, but he’s still a solid pick. There aren’t many guys in the league who can put up 20-10 with 2 blocks, so regardless of his position, he’s well worth taking at that point in the draft. He missed some time in both 2002 and 2003, but he logged 81 games last year and should be a solid pick in the second round.

The Support: Corey Maggette, G/F
Let’s do a little Player A/Player B:

Player A: 22.2/6/3.4, 0.8 3’s, 1.1 stl, 43% FG, 86% FT
Player B: 23.9/4.5/3.7, 2.7 3’s, 1.1 stl, 43% FG, 88% FT

Player A is Maggette. Player B is Ray Allen, a perennial 1st or 2nd round pick in fantasy drafts. Maggette gives you pretty similar numbers to Allen, except for the three pointers. Granted, he’s missed between 13 and 19 games in 4 of the last 5 years, but still, he’s probably underrated in most drafts. With Cuttino Mobley and Sam Cassell there to attract more attention on the perimeter, he’s a good bet to improve his FG% and scoring this year, making him a great value pick late in the 3rd or in the 4th.

The Supporting Support: Cuttino Mobley, SG
Mobley is a guy that can be easily overlooked, but he’s a valuable addition to just about any fantasy team. Seeing how consistently he performed in Orlando and Sacramento last year is a good sign now that he’s entering his fourth organization in three years. He’s value lies mostly in his scoring and threes, but he’ll also contribute in steals and will put up decent rebound and assist numbers. He’s a great mid-round pick.

The Sleeper: Chris Kaman, C
I nearly put young PG Shaun Livingston in this spot, but Kaman could be in for a nice year for a couple reasons. One, he’s entering a contract year. Two, he’s a center, meaning he’s automatically got more value in the fantasy world than he does in real life. Three, his per-48-min numbers suggest that given 35 mpg, he’ll be sort of a Jamaal Magloire lite. He’ll be worth a late-round flyer or maybe even better, depending on how the playing time shakes out.

The Slacker: Sam Cassell, PG
Cassell was a rough guy to own last year, and this year doesn’t look to be much better, despite the change of scenery. He’s not even necessarily going to see the most minutes at PG on this team, as Livingston is the point guard of the future. Barring an injury to Livingston, Cassell is probably not worth being on a fantasy roster this year.

The Warriors sure seem like the kind of team that every one is going to pick as an upset to make the playoffs, and then just won’t follow through on their potential. They’ve got one of the most explosive backcourts in the country, and a troop of young forwards with a bunch of different skill sets. But hey, that’s what happens when you’ve got lottery picks for like 20 years in a row. Will this year be any different? It all depends on …

The Stud: Baron Davis, PG

Perhaps no non-Wizard has been the subject of more discussion here at FBB than Baron Davis has over the past few years. We’ve both owned him. We’ve both loved him. We’ve both hated him. The original FBB was titled “Beware Upside”, and Baron might as well have been our mascot. He puts up terrific numbers in points, assists, steals, and threes, and he’s even improved his free-throw shooting. But the injuries come every year. If he played 82 games consistently, he’s a first round pick. But the reality is, he doesn’t come close. If you’re really high on him, take him early-mid second. He could win you a championship there – or lose you one.

The Support: Jason Richardson, SG
You know, this backcourt sure looks a whole like the Gilbert Arenas/Larry Hughes backcourt last year here in DC. Richardson continued to improve his game last year, putting up career highs in points, threes, FG%, assists, and steals. Plus, he’s a huge asset in rebounds for a guard. After T-Mac and Kobe are off the board, he should be considered right up there with Ray Allen.

The Supporting Support: Troy Murphy, PF
Murphy rebounded very well last year – both literally and figuratively. He returned from an injury-plagued 2002 to put up a double-double with career highs almost across the board. He added nearly a three-pointer per game to his fantasy arsenal, and is going to be worth a mid-round draft pick this year.

The Sleeper: Andres Biedrins, F/C
Biedrins didn’t really turn any heads last year, but he’s got all the makings of a fantasy sleeper this year. He’s a block machine, is a pretty strong rebounder, and – on top of all that – he’s got center eligibility, which drastically increases his value. If he’s able to take away minutes from Adonal Foyle with a strong showing in training camp, he’ll be worth a late-round flyer.

The Slacker: Mike Dunleavy, SF
The Warriors have made it no secret that they haven’t been thrilled with the play of Dunleavy, as he’s been on the trade block as long as we can remember. He’s always on and off the waiver wire, and with good reason. He’s incredibly inconsistent, and just hasn’t lived up to his potential. Now entering his fourth year, it might be that last year was as good as it gets. If that’s the case, spend your late-round draft picks on players with more upside. Yeah, I said it – upside.

Last year was expected to be a banner year for the Jazz. After a surprisingly successful first year A.M.S. (After Malone and Stockton), they shored up their front-line with big free-agent signings, and their starting PG was on the verge of a breakout season. The Jazz were pretty consistently picked as playoff contenders. The result? 26-56, and it’s back to the drawing board. The drawing board told them, apparently, to give up Raul Lopez, Kirk Snyder, Curtis Borchardt, and three first round draft picks for Deron Williams and … Greg Ostertag. Um.

The stud: Andrei Kirilenko, SF
So things didn’t go so well for AK-47 last year. That’s ok. There’s no reason to think that he won’t be fully recovered from his broken wrist, and he seemed to fully recover from his knee problems last season as well. His injuries mean he might fall towards the bottom of the first round this year, and if that’s the case, you should take him. The one reservation you have to have taking him – other than the injury risk – is that it’s tough to take a guy in the first round that won’t score 20 points. But if you can get Kirilenko in the first and a guy like Allen Iverson in the second, you’re off to a great start.

The support: Carlos Boozer, PF
While Kirilenko is coming back from a broken wrist – something that can heal – Boozer is coming back after missing 30 games with a “sore foot” that never really recovered. Is it better now? I mean, I guess so, but a sore foot sure sounds like something that could happen again. Boozer is sort of a Zach Randolph clone fantasy-wise, and the injury risk means he should fall pretty far before you consider taking him.

The supporting support: Deron Williams, PG
You have to think that Jerry Sloan has a ton of confidence in this kid, as he gave up 2 first round picks this year and another one next year to get Williams. He’ll be thrown into the fire and could put up something like 13/7 this year. That said, there were a lot of folks claiming Carlos Arroyo was going to blow up last year, and that didn’t exactly work out. But we think Williams is worth a shot somewhere in the middle rounds of your draft.

The sleeper: Kris Humphries, F
Humphries was a first round pick last year, but didn’t make much of an impact. Another year under his belt, though, and a thinner roster, means he might get more minutes. He won’t have any value unless the injury bug strikes again, and he shouldn’t b e drafted this year under any circumstances, but he’s worth watching.

The slacker: Matt Harpring, G/F
Harpring returned from an injury-plagued 2003 to play in 78 games last year, but his stats were pretty disappointing. He seems uninterested in shooting 3-pointers any more, His rebounding and scoring have dropped, and he’ll never be much of a defensive asset. He should be on and off fantasy rosters all year long. Don’t waste a draft pick on him.

It was, all said, a pretty good year for the Sonics. Heck, it was a great year. Actually, it was about 15 wins better than anyone thought. The Sonics finished first in their division, and then made a decent showing – eventually losing to the Spurs - in the playoffs. But, for a top team, there are a surprisingly small amount of fantasy options. Really, only Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis were definite fantasy starters. But they shoot plenty of threes as a team, so there should be some other guys with value, right? Maybe …

The stud: Ray Allen, SG
Allen is nothing if not consistent. He’ll always be good for somewhere around 20/4/4 with 2.5 3’s and a steal. He’s T-Mac/Kobe lite, and is a great “safe” pick in the early second round. He’s getting older (30 this year), and just about all of his numbers took a slight hit last year, but he should be good for a Top-20 performance this year.

The support: Rashard Lewis, F
I was a Lewis owner for the first time last year, and it really wasn’t as rewarding as I hoped it would be. Sure, he hits threes, and as a result has nice points totals, but the drop he’s made from 7 rebounds in 2002 to 5.5 last year is pretty significant for a small forward. Considering he’s not a major plus anywhere else, and is a pretty serious liability in assists, I’m not sure he’s worth drafting before the 4th – maybe 5th – round.

The supporting support: Luke Ridnour, PG
So, I know, we really plugged this guy last year, and he didn’t live up to all the talk we made. But did we (er, I) learn from this? Heck no! Another year of experience under his belt, and no Antonio Daniels around to take away PT, and Ridnour could – COULD – be a 15/8 guy with 1.5 3’s and steals. Could.

The sleeper: Vitaly Potapenko, C
This might be the worst sleeper pick of the year. I mean, I don’t really expect Potapenko to do all that well, but he’s pretty much the only guy they have playing center, so … nevermind. No sleeper here. Let’s move on.

The slacker: Vitaly Potapenko, C
Much better.

Ah, rebuilding. Sometimes it just has to be done, and the time is now in Portland. They posted their worst winning percentage in over 30 seasons last year, and Blazers management responded by letting two of their top three scorers leave (Damon Stoudamire and Shareef Abdur-Rahim) with nothing in return. The leading returning scorers are Zach Randolph, Darius Miles and Ruben Patterson – a motley crew to be sure. That said, the biggest plus in rebuilding teams is that there are minutes to be had, and you can be sure there will be a sleeper coming out of Portland this year. Who will it be? If only we knew:

The stud: Zach Randolph, PF
Points and boards. Boards and points. And now, injuries. Randolph might be a nice plus in a few areas, but his total lack of defensive numbers, assists and threes make him far less valuable than you would think. It’s very tough to pass up a 20-10 guy in the third round, but that might not be a bad idea with Randolph. His shaky knee (he had surgery on it last year) is just more cause for concern.

The support: Joel Przybilla, C
This could be one of the most interesting picks in the draft. Przybilla has been haunted by injuries and a lack of consistent playing time his whole career, but remember, he was a lottery pick only 5 years ago. You can’t ignore the numbers he put up at the end of last year, averaging over 3.5 blocks per game over the last 30 games, as well as nearly a double-double. That kind of potential means he will be drafted, and he’s a great risk if you can grab him late.

The supporting support: Sebastian Telfair, PG
All in all, it was a pretty nice rookie campaign for Telfair. He showed steady improvement, gained the trust of the coaching staff, and watched his assists numbers increase while his turnovers decreased. He should be a nice utility player this year, and maybe even a decent 2nd point guard.

The sleeper: Travis Outlaw, F
Admittedly, the last two guys we discussed can be seen as sleepers, so we’re digging a little deep here. But Outlaw is a nice guy to keep an eye on. A high school pick 2 years ago, he’s been quietly improving and as he’s seeing more minutes he’s putting up nice numbers from a fantasy perspective. He won’t be a real contributor this year unless there are some injuries on the team or unless he takes great leaps, but those things could both happen. He’s definitely a name that we think could be drafted in next year’s draft.

The slacker: Darius Miles, F
There is undoubtedly going to be a guy in your league who thinks that with Shareef Abdur-Rahim out of the picture, Miles is going to blow up this year. As evidence, they’ll use his breakout, 47-point performance in the second-to-last game of the year last year. They will then draft him way too early, and be really disappointed with the results. Miles will certainly be worth something to your fantasy team this year, but if you take him before the 9th round or so, you’re going to be the guy I just described.

What a bummer, huh? Pegged by many to be right at the top of the West with the Spurs and Kings, the Timberwolves didn’t even make the playoffs. Why? Well, for one, Latrell Sprewell returned to his former self – off the court, not on it – and Sam Cassell was injured and full of complaints himself. Now that they’ve jettisoned Tweedle-Dreads and Tweedle-Dum, hopefully they’ve gotten rid of all their distractions, and folks will fall in line behind the leader. But who will fall where?

The Stud: Ndudi Ebi, SF
I kid, I kid. Of course, the real stud here is none other than Kevin Garnett, perennial number one fantasy pick in just about every league. This year may be more up in the air due to the rise of LBJ, but that’s not a knock on KG. He’s as consistent as ever, a 7-category player who even hits three-pointers once in awhile. He dominates in boards, and his assists and steals are spectacular for a forward. Oh, and he hasn’t missed a game in 3 years. He’ll be gone after the second pick in every draft, and rightfully so.

The Support: Marko Jaric, G
Yes, really, this is the next best fantasy prospect on the Wolves. But really, Marko is a nice sleeper pick this year. He’ll get plenty of minutes, contributes in 3’s, steals, and assists, and should be a nice 3rd guard. Think Andre Miller with fewer points but more threes.

The Supporting Support: Wally Szczerbiak, SF
Something is rotten in Wally World. Originally drafted as a big, versatile shooting guard, Szczerbiak has turned into little more than a spot-up shooter. He grabs a rebound about every 8 minutes he’s on the court, isn’t particularly interested in “passing”, and his defensive numbers are pretty dismal. He’s gonna be on a roster, but don’t let it be yours.

The Sleeper: Eddie Griffin, F
There aren’t many people with the skill set that Eddie Griffin brings to the fantasy basketball table. A big plus in blocks, he also helps in three pointers and rebounds, despite only getting 21 minutes per game last year. Imagine what he could do with 35 mpg. If he gets those minutes, he’s a top-50 fantasy player waiting to happen.

The Slacker: Michael Olowokandi, C
I’ll admit, after his 12.3/9.1 with 2.2 blocks in 2002, I was ready to watch the Kandi man explode with the T-Wolves. But now, it’s time to cross him off your draft lists. He’s probably got some potential still, but at this point the odds of him reaching it are so slim, he’s not worth taking.

That went pretty well, right? I mean, the Nuggets posted their highest win total in over 15 years in 2004, got over 60 games from the oft-injured Marcus Camby, and shocked the Spurs with a Game 1 victory in their playoff series – before losing the next four. Nonetheless, last year has to be looked at as a success. Unfortunately, the offseason has not seen much action whatsoever. Desperately needing a solid SG, the Nuggets couldn’t come up with one. Most recently they failed to land Michael Finley, but still, this is a pretty solid team, with a crowded front-court, which is always good for fantasy purposes, and a crowded point guard spot, which is usually bad for fantasy purposes.

The stud: Carmelo Anthony, SF
It’s fair to say that it was a pretty rough year for Carmelo Anthony. Between the pot bust, the Stop Snitching DVD, and the attempted extortion (of Carmelo, not by Carmelo), he certainly had a lot to deal with off the court. And it showed – sort of – on the court. He had slight dips in just about every category, and was surpassed by Dwayne Wade as the 2nd best player to come out of the 2003 draft. That said, he still put up over 20 ppg and 5 boards, and could be slightly undervalued this year. He’s a nice guy to target in the 4th or 5th round.

The support: Marcus Camby, C
Could things be turning around for Camby? His games played the last 2 years – 72 in ’03-’04, and 66 last year – are the 2 highest totals of his career. His 199 blocked shots last year led the league by a pretty large margin, and he contributed a double-double, as well. If he could be counted on for 65-70 games again this year, he’s a top-5 center. Draft at your own risk.

The supporting support: Kenyon Martin, PF
At this point, you have a pretty good idea what you’re going to get from K-mart. About 15 points, 8 boards, a block, a steal, decent FG%, poor FT%, and 5-15 missed games. He’s solid roster filler, and a nice mid-round pick.

The sleeper: Julius Hodge, G
Remember how I said that the Nuggets couldn’t come up with a SG in the offseason? That’s only partially true. They did draft Julius Hodge, a little-bit-of-everything player from NC State, who given the chance could step in and be a nice player this year at the 2 spot. He’s not worth drafting, but he’s certainly worth keeping an eye on.

The slacker: Andre Miller, PG
It’s time to face the facts. And the facts are that Andre Miller is never going to recreate the 10.7 assists that he logged during that magical season in Cleveland. And now that he’s losing time at the point to Earl Boykins (he’s still seeing a lot of time at the 2), he will probably not reach 7 assists anytime soon. He’s no longer a top PG, and in fact I wouldn’t draft him unless you’re doing so as a 2nd PG.