Dallas Mavericks
Despite his recent lapses in judgment, the Mavericks are behind forward Josh Howard. The list includes an infamous radio interview where he fessed up to smoking marijuana, a late night birthday party following the Mavs losing three of their first four playoffs games, and his attempt to hit triple digits in a 55-mph speed zone, though at 94 mph he fell short of that goal. While there were rumors that Howard might be traded this offseason following a disappointing 2007-08 season, new head coach Rick Carlisle has committed to helping him revert to the J-Ho that was so productive in the previous two years. Fantasy owners should pay close attention to his stock this draft season as it will likely fall. Howard’s across the board production is worth taking a gamble on in the high-middle rounds.
Denver Nuggets
When the Nuggets traded Marcus Camby to the Clippers this offseason it was a bittersweet moment for center Nene Hilario, who lost a friend but gained an opportunity to start at center. The front office believes Nene is an all-star talent and capable of being their center now and into the future if his health cooperates. Since being drafted in 2002 by the Knicks (he was traded that night with Camby to the Nuggets), Nene has managed to play in a mere 293 of a possible 492 regular season games. He recently told the Denver Post that his rash of physical setbacks has been “a good thing”
because “they made me learn a lot of things spiritually.”
It’s a nice feel good story, but given his track record, it will be difficult for fantasy owners to invest in this much risk.
Golden State Warriors
The release of Kosta Perovic last Friday leaves the Golden State Warriors with just Ronny Turiaf and Al Harrington to compete with starter Andris Biedrins for minutes in the middle of the Warriors lineup. Last season, Biedrins played just 27.3 minutes per game and that was enough to produce averages of 10.5 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks. His 27 double-doubles were one more than Pau Gasol and just two less than David West and Kevin Garnett. If he surpasses 30 minutes of court time per game for the first time in his career, you have to figure those numbers will climb making him a valuable player in fantasy leagues.
Houston Rockets
Forward Chuck Hayes continues to recover from a broken nose suffered during workouts at the end of August. He is expected to miss another three to four weeks, but could be cleared in time to join the team for the start of training camp September 29 at the Toyota Center. He’s expected to battle fellow power forwards Luis Scola, Carl Landry and Joey Dorsey for playing time this season. Unless he somehow wins that battle, he has minimal fantasy value .
Los Angeles Clippers
Knicks president Donnie Walsh told the New York Daily News that forward Zach Randolph was almost shipped to the Clippers in July. When the Knicks pulled out, the Clips dealt for Marcus Camby. It’s clear they have been searching for a post presence to fill the large void left by Elton Brand and despite Camby’s success—he ripped down a career high 13.1 boards per game and posted the highest block per game total in 10 years last season—it’s difficult to imagine him filling the shoes of Brand. Count on this season’s version of the Clippers post play to feature impressive defensive production and very average offensive outputs. Camby and Kaman remain top-10 center options, assuming good health, due to exceptional rebound and block totals.
Los Angeles Lakers
Last week, the big development was that MVP Kobe Bryant would be announcing on his website the date on which he would have surgery to repair ligament damage and an avulsion fracture in his right pinky finger. In the spirit of the current presidential campaigns, he has now flip-flopped. "When the doctors told me recovery from a procedure could be 12 weeks, I just decided now was not the time to have surgery,"
Bryant said on the website kb24.com. "What it really came down to for me is that I just didn't want to miss any time 'punching the clock' for the Lakers, given all we are trying to accomplish as a team this NBA season."
I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt, but nevertheless it will be interesting to see if the injury affects his shooting this season. To date, it has not seemed to have much effect on him. In his first 15 playoff games last season, Bryant connected on over 50 percent of his shot attempts. In the finals, he shot slightly over 40 percent. He shot 46 percent in the Olympics, despite more than half of his shots coming on three-point attempts.
Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies have received a plethora of trade offers for point guard Kyle Lowry, but they continue to rebuff all conversations. The main reason for this is that Lowry showed glimpses of the player many scouts thought he’d become late in the season by averaging 11.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.4 steals after the All-Star break. When you look at his last two months from a per 48 minutes perspective, his potential becomes much clearer. Those numbers are 21.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 2.6 steals. The Grizzlies feel that having the third year player around challenges Mike Conley to be better and keep improving. The unfortunate catch-22 that presents for fantasy owners is that the two young point guards’ fantasy contributions will be limited because of split minutes.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Rookie forward Kevin Love claims to be fully healed from a sore Achilles tendon that forced him to miss the Timberwolves final Las Vegas Summer League game in July. The injury also caused him to back out of practicing with the U.S. Olympic team shortly thereafter. Fantasy owners should be confident they can draft him without concern of this previous injury getting in the way. They should not be confident in the rookie receiving consistant minutes. Fellow power forwards Ryan Gomes and Craig Smith were both re-signed this summer. Their presence will likely limit Love to 20 minutes per game. Currently, the Wolves also have five centers, including Al Jefferson. Coach Randy Wittman will be forced to play Love every night by his superiors, but Minnesota has too many big veteran bodies for Love to get the 25-plus minutes per night that he needs to contribute.
New Orleans Hornets
After averaging a paltry 3.7 points and 2.1 rebounds in 57 games last season, the Hornets are expecting a bigger contribution from second-year forward Julian Wright this season. After coach Byron Scott snuck into some of Wright’s voluntary workouts last week, signs are not positive. "I told Julian I would be disappointed if he doesn't average 15 to 20 minutes a game,”
Scott told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “He understands the type of pressure that I'm putting on him to make sure he comes to camp ready and have a great preseason. Hopefully, he's up for the task."
Other reports have indicated a halfhearted effort towards workouts this offseason. Throw in the presence of veterans James Posey and Rasual Butler, and there is enough reason for fantasy owners to avoid Wright altogether.
Oklahoma City Thunder
For those people who once doubted that Oklahoma City could support a professional team or fill a 19,000 seat stadium 41 times a season, the OKC faithful would like to serve you a healthy portion of crow. The team is down to it’s final 1,000 season tickets and while it’s tough to imagine the recent re-signing of center Robert Swift pushing potential buyers off the fence, it’s clear the fan base is there without question. The team’s average age is just 24.1 years old and will likely feed of the energies from the home crowd. It is reasonable to expect the young squad to have its struggles on the road while posing a tough matchup at home.
Phoenix Suns
Center Shaquille O’Neal put a definitive expiration date on his career this week telling News 13 in South Florida (where he maintains a home), "My basketball career will be over in 735 days, and being an educated man, I've always had things to fall back on,”
O’Neal said. The self-proclaimed Big Aristotle would like to become Deputy Aristotle and return to his work in law enforcement in Florida. Shaq’s fantasy value hit an all-time low last season. He will probably see even fewer regular season minutes with the addition of rookie Robin Lopez.
Portland Trail Blazers
Former Clippers point guard Shaun Livingston entertained the Trail Blazers and Timberwolves in private workouts this week and league sources expect him to sign with either one of those teams or the Miami Heat next week. Livingston worked out in Portland last Friday and at least a couple sources around the league believe the Trail Blazers are the leader in the race to sign the 23 year old. League executives who have watched him estimate his return to full strength at anywhere from 70 to 85 percent noting that he has shown some of his old explosion in workouts. The same observers have noticed Livingston tire easily and that he clearly needs more time to build back the strength in his knee. Any team who signs him would be making an investment in their future with very few if any short-term gains.
San Antonio Spurs
Rookie George Hill is saying the right things as he prepares for his first NBA training camp. He appears excited and thankful about the chance to compete on one of the league’s better teams. "It is a great opportunity to play for the Spurs. You can't be in a better situation than I am in right now,"
Hill told NBA.com. "Also, it will be great learning from talented players.”
Hill is expected to be groomed to be the point guard-of-the-future once Tony Parker decides to become a stay-at-home dad.
Sacramento Kings
Scouts have always regarded swingman John Salmons as an athletic player with plenty of potential, but players like Andre Iguodala, Mike Bibby, Ron Artest, and Kevin Martin have largely blocked him from significant playing time. That seems likely to change now that Martin is the only real viable fantasy performer on the Kings’ roster and the team is seeking another consistent producer. While center Brad Miller enjoyed a comeback season of sorts last year, Salmons also showed a spark. While averaging a mere 7.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 0.74 steals when coming off the bench, those numbers improved to 17.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.6 steals in just over 38 minutes in 41 games last season. If he earns a starting role heading into this season, he should be a good sleeper option in fantasy leagues.
Utah Jazz
Point guard Deron Williams dismissed concerns over his potentially being worn down following Olympic play in Beijing. "We've been over this,"
Williams told the Salt Lake Tribune. "I played 20 minutes a game, so 20 minutes of working out a day is about 2 hours and 20 minutes less than what I do when I'm at home.”
Williams also plans to play in the 2010 World Championships and 2012 Olympics if asked. At this point, it seems fair to give him the benefit of the doubt regarding his ability to be ready to go this season.
