How do you guys feel about Mike James? Right now he’s my 5th guard, and I like his play, but it’s hard for to objectively assess his value. He’s really mainly good for points and 3’s and that’s about it. There’s guys like Delonte West and Shaun Livingston on the waiver wire, do you think they would make a better end of the bench guard? Or do you think James could be packaged in a trade for someone else? What is your opinion?

In my experience, guys like James have no trade value. Sure, he’s better than just about anybody on the waiver wire, but it’s not like anyone is going to want to deal specifically for James. So then there are multiple players brought into the deal. Everyone tries to do the 2-for-1, where you deal a guy like James and another similar player for a guy who is an obvious upgrade. How often do other owners take the bait there? Not too often, at least in the leagues I’ve been in. He can be solid, but he’s not exciting. Bad for trade value.

Unless you really need the 3s, I’d dump James for either West or Livingston. If you’re looking for a solid guy to fill a last roster spot for probably the entire year, West is the guy. If you want a short-term fill-in with bigger upside, go for Livingston. It’s more based on your needs.

I was skeptical of West, but he’s proven himself to me over the season’s first two months. He gives you a little bit of everything, so unlike a guy like James, who if is shot isn’t falling can really hurt you, West can still chip in a couple steals or even blocks.

how do you guys feel about kenyon martin? i havent been keepin up to speed with him but he’s seem plagued with injuries this season. he’s been dropped in my league - is he worth a pickup and wat will he do category wise?

what’s you guys’ take on Diogu after tonight’s game? I watched the game and wasn’t that impressed by his performance, especially in the rebounding department. Would you guys recommend keeping Tyson Chandler on the team instead of taking a chance on Diogu?

Well Diogu tore it up the other night, and I’m wondering how much PT he’ll actually get. At 6′8″, he’s really undersized to be even a PF, and paired with Troy Murphy in the block won’t help.

I think we’re a few games/starts out from seeing his value. The Warriors are a good team this year and I could seen Diogu getting 8/8 or better even, but it’s still too early to tell.

In addition, my other players to have on your watch list include:

Rafer Alston (returning from injury…finally)
Earl Watson (could see PT if traded to the dirty dirty)
Kevin Martin (temporary only)
Eddie Griffin (if he’d actually play more).

I guess that is my question too. Griffin threw up a monster game tonight, which really isn’t surprising as he’s alwasy shown this ability if given the PT. I’ve heard some talk that Artest could go to Minny if not to Denver…do you think Griffin will continue to get 35+ minutes with or without the presence of Madsen and the Candy Man? The T-Wolves need to field another scorer to compliment KG/Wally/Hudson. It seems like Griffin could be that other option, while at the same time raking in rebounds and blocked shots.

This last week I’ve rotated through Melvin Ely, Earl Watson, Kevin Martin (tomorrow) and will try to snag Griffin for Sunday. I’ll probably hold onto Griffin to see how he does until either Alston comes back or if Watson gets traded. I don’t really need help in the short term, and I’m trying to find the guys who will be helping me come H2H playoffs. Guys at the “end” of my bench right now include Nocioni, Krstic and D.Stoudamire.

Any imput is appreciated…thx.

News from the Yahoo Post-Game Recap:

“As long as he is playing at that level, he is our starting center,” Wolves coach Dwane Casey said of Griffin, who wasn’t available to reporters after the game.

So, it looks like Griffin might get the PT he needs. Obviously his percentages are horrendous, but I cannot imagine that the fg% will be below 40% if he is starting. If he is starting, and this is a good way to get started, his confidence will be up. Hopefully he’ll be a great source of rebounds and blocks while chipping in some points and threes.

Looks like he might be taking Krstic’s spot on my roster soon. I already grabbed Griffin on speculation for my rotating roster spot…which was Earl Watson…but I need a third PG at some point so I might have to trade in Krstic (or Griffin if he doesn’t perform) for another small.

Anyways, good to see Griffin finally get some burn…cause the Candy Man Can’t (which would be a good name for an article regarding this topic).

laters

- Jeremy

Oh, and for the two comment/questions above:

Kenyon has a bad injury history; a PF with bad knees who relies on his explosiveness to excel. Not what you want in real-life or in fantasy…not dependible. However, you probably took him somewhere in the middle of your draft, which sucks to drop a player you had so high. At this point, I would wait for him to come back a few games and see if you can unload him for some similar talent…not saying you can get SAR for him (whom is injured right now as well), but it’s better than trading him for waiver wire fodder.

Now as for Ike Diogu. There is a reason he dominated the Pac-10 last year, leading it in both points and rebounds. However, I’d wait a few more games to see how Ike progresses and if he stays in the starting lineup. Foyle didn’t seem to like coming off the bench and responded with a good game (for him), especially defensively. And regardless, Ike only got 1 reb in 24 minutes of play. It may end up being a timeshare…(hopefully not though). Chandler…well hopefully he can come back into the starting lineup, as Sweetney isn’t a center at all. But, I think that Deng and Nocioni both deserve to be in the starting lineup (as well as Gordon). Regardless, Chandler won’t average more than 30 minutes a game in Chicago..the new Memphis. So take that into account. It might be another guy to try and trade away if you can. So sorry if it doesn’t help, but overall we need to see a few more games of Ike before making a move.

I think I said everything I needed to say — and a lot more — in my post this morning about Griffin and Diogu.