LeBron James is heading to the Miami Heat.  What does that mean for the NBA, fantasy owners, Cleveland fans, Heat fans and the rest of the world?

The NBA now has a team that in theory can compete with the LA Lakers for a Championship.  In reality though, the Heat are three great players, (James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh) with absolutely ZERO depth.  In their attempt to clear out enough cap space to land LeBron, Bosh and resign Wade, they have completely destroyed their roster.  Some people would say that it was a great move.  Others would say that the season is very long and you need key role players to make it through the season and the playoffs.  LeBron has shown that he can take his team all the way on his own but was never able to finish the job by himself.  He hopes that the new Big-Three will make that possible. Read the rest of this entry »

Here is the first set of rankings for the upcoming Fantasy Basketball season. These are just preliminary rankings and they will change as we near the beginning of the season.

Read the rest of this entry »

Here is a list of the top 100 NBA players in terms of fantasy basketball.  I’ve asked two colleagues of mine to rank them along with me.  Hopefully this can be of some help to you.  Now, as the season nears, the rankings will most likely change so keep checking back for more updates.  BC= Brandon Craver, SH= Steve Hampton and TJ= Terrance Jackson.

Player                                       Pos.     BC SH TJ  AVG.

It is now becoming clearer and clearer that the only reason the proposed trade of Amare Stoudemire to the Golden State Warriors hasn’t gone through is Amare’s unwillingness to sign a long term deal with the Warriors. I don’t get it. The NBA just announced that the salary cap will probably drop again and throw a huge wrench in the Summer of 2010 free agency frenzy. Why wouldn’t you take the security of a long term contract?


Take into consideration that Amare will be one of many superstar free agents to hit the market with only a few teams able to take on major salary. If the Warriors made the trade and signed Amare to a long term contract, he would almost certainly get the kind of money he would command on the open market. He would also be the focal point of the team for years to come.


I don’t know. Maybe he thinks he can get a better deal somewhere else. I don’t really see that happening though with LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh set to become free agents at the same time. Plus it was just announced that Amare will need another surgery performed on his ailing eye to remove fluid. Take the money and run Amare.

Don’t be surprised if you see a player on your fantasy team that has an injury that he would usually play through, sitting the bench this week heading into the All-Star break. Coaches of NBA teams will be more likely to rest nagging injuries this week due to the extra rest from the All-Star break. Players like Manu Ginobili, Chris Paul, Rudy Gay and Chris Bosh will most likely be sitting out this week. This will give these superstars almost an entire week to recover from tiny sprains and strains.


It sucks for your fantasy team but it makes total sense for the real teams. Take a look at your roster and see who has been slowed by a sore ankle or a tender knee. If they are a big time player, there is a good chance that they won’t dress for games or might see a drop in minutes to be on the safe side. Or if they are a player that is the future of the team and they don’t want to take any chances, they will probably sit also. Plan accordingly when setting your rosters this week.

It is looking more and more like the Phoenix Suns might be considering star PF Amar’e Stoudemire. Stoudemire has shown that he is not happy with his lack of involvement in the offense. After their last game against the Warriors, he had this to say about the lack of pick and roll plays setup just for him. “It is harder,” Stoudemire said. “When you’re in the flow, everything flows. When you’re not, sometimes it’s hard to get involved.”


With an option in his contract allowing him to opt out for the 2010 free-agency pool, he will most likely take advantage of the teams that don’t get LeBron James, Dwayne Wade or Chris Bosh. The Knicks would be the perfect destination for Stoudemire and it makes sense for both sides. The Knicks could offer a package built around David Lee to land Stoudemire. That will give them value in return for Lee that won’t spill over into the “Summer of LeBron” in ‘10. Stoudemire would be reunited with D’Antoni and the offensive attention that he so desires. The Suns would be able to sign Lee at a fraction of what Stoudemire makes and would probably get some decent draft picks out of the deal. There is no reason for a deal like this to not happen.


These next few games leading up to the All-Star break will determine a lot for the Suns on whether or not they will actually break up their team even more. They have a 3 game road trip against Detroit, Philly and Cleveland before they head into the break and those 3 games will tell us whether the Suns will be active or not. If Stoudemire ends up in New York, you can bet his fantasy value will go through roof. If you own Stoudemire keep your fingers crossed and if you don’t own him, try to get him on your team because if is traded to NY he will be unstoppable once again.