I'm Going To Dizz Knee Land
Today's Dose is dedicated to Thursday's trade deadline. In the real world, there wasn't much going on other than the Magic regaining a point guard, and Stephen A. Smith didn't even mention
Aaron Brooks when breaking down the Rockets trading of
Rafer Alston. In the real world, people seemed to be pretty disappointed by the lack of big names, but it seems like that's how this day always goes.
The Magic and
Rafer Alston were the big winners in "reality" yesterday, after the Rockets sent Skip to Orlando in three-team deal. Alston will immediately replace
Anthony Johnson as the starting point guard and will still have the green light to shoot threes. He also still has a solid big man to target on the inside (
Dwight Howard), as well as a pair of wings who can hit from the inside or outside (
Rashard Lewis &
Hedo Turkoglu). The Magic were on their way to a slow decline with Johnson in control of the offense, but Skip is a legit point guard who has the speed, knowledge and skills to help the Magic keep up with the Cavs and Celtics in the East, as well as help guide them through the playoffs. He'll need to have more self-discipline than he exercised in Houston, but I think his teammates and coach can keep him in check. Maybe his field goal percentage and assists will go up, and his turnovers will go down in a more controlled offense. We shall see.
And if you're interested in seeing how all the following traded players' fantasy schedules look now, there's a handy grid as well as an in-depth schedule breakdown column in the
Season Pass, which is now just $4.99.
Enough about reality. Here are the fantasy
winners and
losers from Thursday's trade deadline (and beyond). Be sure to check out the poll at the end.
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Trade Deadline (Fantasy) Winners[/SIZE]
Aaron Brooks
Cause: Brooks should be the new starting point guard in Houston after Alston was traded to the Magic.
Effect: Brooks was very solid when he started four straight games for Houston in December and should get a great opportunity to close out the season as the starter. He'll have to compete with
Kyle Lowry, but already knows the offense and has the confidence of his teammates, giving him a huge advantage. Let's take a look at his four consecutive starts from Dec. 16 to Dec. 22.
Points: 22, 18, 10, 18
Threes: 4, 3, 2, 2
Boards: 3, 10, 3, 2
Assists: 6, 5, 5, 6
Steals: 1, 0, 2, 2
TOs: 1, 2, 1, 2
FGM/FGA: 22-of-45
FTM/FTA: 13-of-14
There are no guarantees that he plays quite that well right off the bat, but I think he is the class of fantasy free agent pickups after Thursday's trades. And that's the best thing about Brooks. He should have been available in most leagues when news of Alston's move to Orlando broke.
Spencer Hawes
Cause:
Brad Miller was traded to the Bulls, freeing Hawes to start the rest of the way.
Effect: I thankfully haven't made too many trade predictions this year, but the one thing I preached was that Miller would be moved. Hawes should already be owned in all leagues and is probably worth a starting fantasy spot the rest of the way. Congratulations if you have held onto him for several months waiting for this day. Now let's just hope it pays off.
Francisco Garcia
Cause: John Salmons going to the Bulls opens door for Garcia to start.
Effect: You know it's been a long day when I forget one of the biggest winners in my original post (which is why he's not in the poll), but Garcia is a clear-cut winner here. He should start at small forward and when you add in that he'll also play some point guard when Beno Udrih is struggling, Garcia should be a fantasy jackpot. Just look at his line from Wednesday – 15 points, four boards, two assists, two steals, two blocks and a three on 7-of-15 shooting - and you'll get a pretty good sense of what should be coming. Actually, my guess is that's a little bit of a down night for him, at least in some of those categories. Just make sure he's not somehow still available in your league.
Larry Hughes
Cause: Traded from Bulls to Knicks for
Tim Thomas and
Jerome James
Effect: I'm still not sure if Hughes has enough gas left in the tank to be a consistent fantasy performer, but I'm willing to take a chance to find out in Mike D'Antoni's high-powered offense. Hughes will likely get some nice run with the Knicks (if he can stay healthy) and can put up numbers in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and 3-pointers. If nothing else, he's certainly worth grabbing until we see how this plays out.
Shawn Marion
Cause: Marion and
Marcus Banks were traded to the Raptors for Jermaine O'Neal and
Jamario Moon last weekend.
Effect: Matrix should be free to roam and help lead the Raptors offensively as he tries to redeem the early part of his season while playing for a new contract. Game 1 in Toronto didn't blow our socks off, but the 10 points, six rebounds, six assists, steal and two blocks were a nice place to start. He should get better as he becomes more familiar with Toronto's schemes and will enjoy playing with
Jose Calderon, as long as Calderon is healthy. If you've hung on to Marion all year, there's no point in trading him now. Things are finally starting to look up for him, except for that poor remaining schedule for
Toronto.
Chris Wilcox
Cause: Traded to Knicks for
Malik Rose.
Effect: Could see big minutes at center and power forward, and is still young enough to run for D'Antoni (or at least, should be). He could emerge as a double-double machine, but keep in mind he's still not a shot blocker and won't get many steals. He's not a must-have player at this point, but if you have someone like
Jeff Foster or
Nenad Krstic eating up a roster spot, is probably worth a flier.
Brad Miller
Cause: Miller was traded to the Bulls, along with
John Salmons, for
Andres Nocioni and
Drew Gooden on Wednesday.
Effect: Miller is still hurting with a hip injury but was on the verge of being pushed aside by
Spencer Hawes for a terrible Kings team anyway. Now he's back in Chicago and should start at center for a playoff contender. Assuming he's healthy, Miller should carry a hefty load for the Bulls and this appears to be an ideal landing spot for him. He's a good passer for a big man and can hit the three if necessary, but the biggest question is, can he get and stay healthy? He's worth owning in most leagues if you need a center and could emerge as a big winner from this day.
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Andrea Bargnani
Cause: Jermaine O'Neal traded to Heat, opening center job for Bargnani.
Effect: After going through a couple ridiculous hot streaks, Bargnani appears to have hit a wall again. But he will bounce back and once again start scoring, rebounding, bombing threes and blocking shots. He's not a must-start right now, but he is a player that should be owned and held in all leagues.
Thabo Sefolosha
Cause: Traded from Bulls to Thunder for a draft pick.
Effect: Super-sleeper alert. When Sefolosha has gotten run in the past he's delivered in nearly every category possible and early indications are that he will start at shooting guard for the Thunder. I have no idea if he'll get enough touches with
Kevin Durant,
Jeff Green and
Russell Westbrook around, but he very well could. If you're in a deep league and your waiver wire is thin, Sefolosha is worth a gamble.
Jermaine O'Neal
Cause: Traded from Raptors to Heat in Marion deal.
Effect: Will start at center for as long as he's healthy, although numbers won't differ too much from what they were in Toronto. Now solidly in the playoff hunt again which could inspire him to gut a few more games out this time around. Maybe.
Chris Bosh
Cause: O'Neal's gone, so Bosh is once again main man in the middle.
Effect: Bargnani is tall, but not known for crashing the boards, while Marion hasn't exactly been known for attacking the glass for the last couple seasons. If, and it's a real big 'if,' Bosh's knee holds up and he doesn't shut it down for the hopeless Raptors, he could start flirting with those gaudy November averages of 26 points, 10 boards and a block per game again.
Andres Nocioni
Cause: Traded from Bulls to Kings in Miller deal.
Effect: He still won't start but if
Francisco Garcia struggles, or ends up playing point guard, could get some serious run. He could quickly turn into a fan favorite in Arco and could end up being nice source of points, boards and threes. Worth a flier in deep leagues, but should be watched closely over next three weeks.
Shelden Williams
Cause: Traded from Kings to Timberwolves on Thursday.
Effect: After losing
Al Jefferson for the season, the Wolves need big bodies.
Craig Smith was getting ready to come on, but Kevin McHale may now give a serious look at the former No. 5 overall pick from Duke in the 2006 draft. Just keep your eye on him.
Rashad McCants - I'm really not sure if McCants going to the Kings is a good thing or a bad thing, but given the fact he's now playing behind
Kevin Martin, I don't see how that's a positive. At least as long as Martin's healthy. Then again, McCants is young and has proven he can shoot it, so maybe the Kings cut him loose to see what he can do. If he gets hot in one of his first few games for the Kings, he's worth a flier. But I'm not holding my breath.
Kyle Lowry
Cause: Was traded to Houston from Memphis in Alston deal.
Effect: It's hard to say his situation improved, as he's gone from backing up
Mike Conley to backing up Brooks, but he at least has an outside shot a splitting time with Brooks. I don't think it will happen, but it would not be surprising to see Lowry's minutes increase slightly in Houston.
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Trade Deadline (Fantasy) Losers[/SIZE]
Anthony Johnson - Johnson will immediately be replaced by
Rafer Alston in Orlando and you can cut him for whoever you want to pick up off waivers.
John Salmons - Salmons was having a career year in Sacramento but takes a pretty big hit by being traded to a log jam on the wings in Chicago. He has almost no shot at starting and his playing time could fluctuate under
Vinny Del Negro. Owners should probably try to deal him before he starts playing for Chicago.
Joakim Noah -
Brad Miller will likely start over Noah, just as
Drew Gooden would have if he had been healthy. Now
Tyrus Thomas owners have to hope that Noah doesn't start cutting into TT's minutes.
Drew Gooden - Trade to the hapless Kings and his potentially season-ending sports hernia is a bad combination. I would probably go ahead and drop him with
Spencer Hawes and
Jason Thompson appearing to be locked in as starters, but the logical move is to wait a couple days and see what happens.
Jamario Moon - The trade to Miami has robbed Moon of his semi-starting role in Toronto and he could be limited to garbage time with Miami fairly deep at the wings. Especially with the need to develop
Michael Beasley still an obvious puzzle for the Heat to solve.
Craig Smith - The arrival of
Shelden Williams will probably make Smith useless. If you were holding Smith, it might be time to let go.
Tim Thomas - Thomas wasn't providing much fantasy value in New York, so I'm not sure how he's going to get any more opportunities in Chicago. He's going to have to fight more reserves for minutes and leaves D'Antoni's Indycar offense for Del Negro's Saturday Night Special at your local ¼ mile dirt track.
David Lee/Al Harrington - While I'm not too worried about the arrival of
Chris Wilcox hurting Lee and Harrington, it is something to consider.
Jared Jeffries is probably the biggest loser here, not that he was really winning before the trade. Just beware that if Wilcox gets significant run, someone's rebounds are going to take a hit. And those "someones" look like Lee and Harrington to me.
</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD class=subHead vAlign=top colSpan=3>Garnett to have knee evaluated on Friday </TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD class=vaLabel colSpan=3>Kevin Garnett - F - BOS - Feb. 20 
