Transaction Reaction - Hunka Junk Edition
Man, has this first week of fantasy basketball been tough or what? Most of us rely on this first week to pick up that one guy who somehow slipped through the cracks or the young gun who has been so impressive that it looks like he’s making the leap ahead of schedule. Instead, everyone is playing sloppy seconds with everyone else’s failed late-round picks. Already in our league guys like Steve Blake, Sam Cassell, and Tim Thomas have been drafted, dropped, and added. Paul Millsap, Joel Przybilla, Charlie Villanueva … all of these guys have shown up multiple times on our transaction list. None of them are particularly exciting.
The truth of the matter is, the reason nobody exciting is getting added is that nobody exciting is out there. Still, you can find a few guys who might be worth a long-term investment - as in, stash ‘em on your bench and maybe, in a few weeks or even months, they might be worth your while. None of these three guys are particularly attractive, but with the junk that’s out there, what do you have to lose?
Yi Jianlian - Perhaps the most stunning that about Yi so far is that he hasn’t been a total disaster while seeing his requisite 20 minutes per game. He’s shown a knack for putting up points, isn’t allergic to rebounds, and even has blocked a few shots, which I’ll admit I wasn’t expecting at all. What I was expecting was some threes, and maybe those will come. The most important thing is, Bucks coach Larry Krystkowiak seems like he’s willing to give Yi some serious minutes when he’s on. The trouble with Yi is that he’s going to be wildly inconsistent for much of the year. But the fact that he’s showing some good signs this early, coupled with the fact that he’s definitely going to see consistent minutes, means that there could be a nice reward for those who wait out the struggles.
Brevin Knight - OK, OK, so the ‘upside’ isn’t exactly there. But on your top 10 list of ‘people who won’t be on their current team in 3 months,’ isn’t Sam Cassell pretty high on that list? If you think Dan Dickau is going to get those minutes, I’m going to respectfully disagree. Knight is the kinda guy who you already know can have serious value if he’s getting 28, 30 minutes per game. He’s already getting about 20. This is a low-ceiling pick, for sure, but if you’ve got an extra roster spot and you need assists and steals, you could do much worse.
Robert Swift - Here’s what we know about the center position for the Sonics. One, we know that Johan Petro is not the long-term answer as a starter, though he may be a nice backup. Two, we know that Mouhamed Saer Sene is not the answer - yet - either. And three, we know that Nick Collison, while a fantasy asset now and then, is just overmatched at center. So where does that leave us? With FBB favorite Robert Swift, who is going to be babied as he comes back from knee surgery. He’s not going to see the PT to be effective right now, once he eases his way back into game shape, it’s reasonable to think that he’ll work his way into some serious minutes. Yeah it’s not glamorous … but right now, who is?