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?
7 Responses to “Transaction Reaction – Hunka Junk Edition”
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November 6th, 2007 at 11:17 am
I understand the sentiment, about the waiver being filled with junk thus far, especially given the teams still figuring out rotations, i.e. Blazers,Wolves,Sonics, Bulls, etc.
Do you think any of the following are worth being excited about. Have none of them made it to your Adds list (or perhasp they were they all drafted, and thus haven’t been picked up):
Ronnie Brewer
Damien Wilkins
John Salmons
Daniel Gibson
I think Brewer has the most long term value of the four (stls,FG%,Pts,TO), though Salmons has a lot of short-term value.
Wilkins – it’s hard to say since the Sonics lineup should see a lot of tinkering.
Gibson – I’m cautiously optimistic, that his playoff breakout from last year was for real, and will lead to him getting 30+ minutes, 2 3’s with okay asts,stls.
November 6th, 2007 at 11:29 am
I forgot to add Mccants to my list of potential excitement.
And some long-term stash away guys with value – Jason Maxiell
Kyle Lowry
Ike Diogu
November 6th, 2007 at 11:32 am
Unfortunately guys I’m having to consider include:
James Posey
Andres Nocioni
Charlie Bell
Walter Hermann
Michael Finley
And I’m in need of points and blocks.
November 6th, 2007 at 12:16 pm
i need blocks and 3s. I picked up Nocioni but am looking hard at Maxiell. Also picked up J.R. Smith, though I’m tempted by Francisco Garcia. Also on the watch list: Hermann, Boris Diaw (just dropped!), and Marvin Williams. Thoughts on long-term prospects of any of these guys?
November 6th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
Hermann isn’t getting PT, and J.R. Smith is always in Karl’s doghouse. Marvin Williams or Diaw would be a good bet, especially Diaw if you think Amare might miss time (the Suns are very skinny up front).
Garcia has shown the ability to shoot 3’s and get blocks and steals, but unfortunately he’s playing behind Martin, Artest, and Salmons, all of whom produce very well too. If Artest were out longer I’d recommend Garcia; Salmons will slide to PG, but I don’t know how many minutes Garcia will get, and even then it’s only temporary until Bibby returns.
November 6th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
JM,
Going with the starter is usually a good bet. Salmons can put up some very good numbers, and may play PG (he did some in Philly) while Bibby is out, so he could have some run left in him. However, Brewer is THE starter at SG in Utah, and will have decent numbers (lacking threes, big steals boost) all year long barring injury or Sloan changing his mind. When it comes down to it, it depends on what you need.
November 6th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
I would pick up garcia and drop jr smith.
I know everyone around has been saying how garcia is a short term play because of artest and bibby, but I would like to disagree. I own garcia in all my leagues this year and anticipate a breakout year for him. I also drafted kevin martin in all my leagues last year and have got the same feeling about garcia. The reason why is Sacramento has an extremely good track record with late first round picks.
This is their track record on draft picks in Sacramento. I left out the last 2 years because it might be a little too early to tell with douby and spencer hawes, but sacramento has done a great job drafting with no lottery picks at all till last year.
2001 pick gerald wallace (25)
2002 pick traded to atlanta
2003 pick traded to boston
2004 pick kevin martin (26)
2005 pick francisco garcia (23)
With wallace and martin they both didn’t develop until their 3rd or 4th years. Garcia also is just a straight up baller and to me is a much better player than Salmons who most people are enamored with.