As we’ve been discussing pretty often this season, it’s been pretty slim pickings at the center position.  And while we’ve certainly seen the emergence of one or two guys, the reality is that things are only getting murkier in the middle.  The concept of shared minutes in the middle is not a new concept, but it’s also becoming more and more of an issue for those of us looking desperately for decent third C.  Let’s take a look at some of these “community center” situations, as well as one or two that are changing.

Portland

The Community Center in Portland is officially open for business.  Sunday night against Atlanta, the Blazers first went with Joel Przybilla, then tired of him after 8 minutes, turned to LaMarcus Aldridge, and eventually spelled him with Jamaal Magloire.  All three of them have seen minutes go up and down since Przybilla’s return, and if you think that’s bad, Raef Lafrentz is threatening to return to the lineup soon as well.  If you have to pick one of these guys to own it would probably be Aldridge but that’s only in VERY deep leagues and for VERY patient owners.  All of them are marginal starters if they get a guaranteed 25 mpg, and right now that’s very far from the case.

LA Lakers

You know, I thought that once Kwame Brown moved 3,000 miles away from me, he was done ruining my life.  Wrong again!  As if being a constant disappointment while playing for my Wizards wasn’t enough, now he’s busy sabotaging my late-round draft pick Andrew Bynum.  Which isn’t to say that Bynum wasn’t on thin ice as it was.  Bynum lost his starting gig to Brown but even before that he’d been struggling.  His last four games as a starter produced 5.3/4.5 with 1.5 blocks and shoddy FG%.  Both Brown and Bynum need at least 30 mpg if they’re going to have any fantasy value and if they’re both healthy that’s just not going to happen.  This is a situation to avoid until further notice.

New York

It’s been awhile since we’ve had something to say about New York, so why not take advantage when we have the chance?  Ever since Channing Frye went down with a sprained ankle, Eddy Curry has really stepped up his game.  If you’re looking for blocks, obviously you’re looking in the wrong place, but I think Curry gets shorted because of that.  The fact is that he’s put up 20+ points seven games running, and chipped in over 7 boards and a FG% well north of fifty.  Prior to this streak, Eddy had landed on quite a few waiver wires but that’s just silly.  Even when he’s not this hot, he belongs on a roster because he’ll have these streaks.  The community center will open back up once Frye returns, but Curry should remain on rosters once that happens and could even be startable.

Memphis

Here is an actual e-mail that I sent to DM a few days ago:

To: DM
Subj: lord help me
I just spent a legitimate 3 minutes considering picking up Stromile Swift.

Here’s his response:

To: BV
Subj: re: lord help me
oh yeah, i do that every day. in fact, i think i might do it soon.

Let’s remind ourselves about Stromile Swift for a minute, shall we?  For one, he’s been a disappointment every single stop along the way.  For two, if he’s not on the “Eddie Griffin Memorial Never on my Team Again” list, he absolutely should be.  He’s a shining example of a guy who is quite simply far more trouble than he’s worth.  If Swift for some reason goes on a hot streak, and you own him, trade him for anything you can get your hands on, because he’ll have no value once Pau Gasol returns.