Hache Man
"Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak"
Re: NBA Fantasy Basketball News 2008-2009
Harrington's Homecoming?
There are plenty of big stories to talk about this morning, so let's dive right in. I'll be chatting live at 1 p.m. today right here with Season Pass subscribers. See you there.
Trade Winds Blowing Through the Garden
Golden State's Al Harrington, who is from Orange, New Jersey and was drafted by Donnie Walsh in Indy, appears to be heading to the Knicks, but there are varying reports about how he'll get there. It could be straight up for Malik Rose or Jamal Crawford, but the more likely scenario has him going to New York in a three-team deal that includes the Clippers. My guess would be that Zach Randolph would go the Warriors, Harrington, Tim Thomas and Cuttino Mobley would go to the Knicks and Jamal Crawford and Mardy Collins would go the Clippers. Update: But just after posting this, the Post's Marc Berman is suggesting that Randolph will go to the Clippers, which gives them a big logjam up front with Chris Kaman and Marcus Camby. Crawford appears to be heading to the Warriors, where he could hurt the value of guys like Anthony Morrow and Kelenna Azubuike, or start at point guard. Stay tuned.
Harrington to the Knicks is a perfect scenario if you own him, especially if Randolph is included in the deal. He would start at power forward for a very potent Mike D'Antoni offense. Z-Bo's value shouldn't change too much in Golden State, except that he would be playing for Nellie, which not the best news for his owners. And whether Crawford goes to L.A. or Oakland, he's still going to score and get minutes. Obviously, there will be a full dissection of the trade when it actually happens, but for now this is all we know. Bottom line: If Harrington was dropped in your league, pick him up immediately.
And on a non-fantasy related note, this move is big salary-wise for the Knicks, in that Harrington's contract expires before the summer of 2010, when LeBron and D-Wade become free agents.
This trade could also have some immediate (and negative) fantasy impacts if you own any of those players. The Clippers are at Philly, the Knicks are in Milwaukee and the Warriors host the Bulls on Friday. None of the traded players would play tonight, and the Clippers have a game on Saturday, too. I also read a report in Newsday that Harrington's back injury is a complete fabrication and was floated simply to justify getting him away from the team. If you own any of the aforementioned players, be prepared to bench them in daily leagues over the next few days if and when the trade becomes official.
Not Too Jazzed in Utah
The Jazz play the Spurs tonight, but it sounds like they'll do so without Deron Williams (ankle) and Carlos Boozer (quad) again. And given the fact the team has to turn right around and play again on Saturday, I wouldn't count on either of them for that one, either. I know that it's frustrating owning Williams right now, especially since he seemed like such a sure bet to be healthy all season. You really can't do anything with him right now other than sit him on your bench. If you do get a strong trade offer, consider moving him. But I am not sure it's possible to get fair value for him right now. One thing has become very clear though, and that's that he came back to early the first time. C.J. Miles, Ronnie Price, Andrei Kirilenko, Kosta Koufos and Paul Millsap should continue to play above their heads while these guys sit. As far as I know, Mehmet Okur will play, but he's obviously not at 100 percent, either. www.utahjazz.ws
Arenas Wants to Play Lottery
Gilbert Arenas is targeting a January return?sort of. Agent Zero is talking a big line about hitting the court in January and playing 40 minutes a night, although he's also said that if the playoffs were happening right now he could play. But he also hinted that he may not even bother if the Wizards are out of the playoff race in January or February, implying that he'd rather let the Wizards finish with a poor record and get a good draft pick then return and win a few meaningless games. This could just be a case of Gilbert being Gilbert, but this does nothing to restore my faith in Arenas being a fantasy option this season. I had no interest in drafting him (even in the 10th round) and I have no interest in obtaining him this season. Next year will be a different story, but the way things have gone for Agent Zero over the past 12 months, I will be surprised to see him play before the All-Star Break (which is in mid-February), and I'm not going to waste a valuable roster spot on him.
You Can't Go Home
Kevin Garnett will return to Minnesota for his first game since being traded to the Celtics. He was injured when the C's played the Wolves last season, but he'll be out there tonight. If he is inspired to beat Glen Taylor down a little further, KG could post a big line tonight. And as a KG owner, that would be a nice change, wouldn't it? Maybe he'll post a triple-double and we can use it to our advantage in moving him for a more productive player. At least he's healthy and consistent, but the C's have become somewhat of a fantasy nightmare between all the timesharing, ball sharing, winning by large margins, and only turning it on when they feel they need to. Oh well. www.bostonceltics.ws
Injury Notes
Atlanta's Al Horford is iffy for tonight's game against the Bobcats with a sprained ankle. Hopefully we'll have some news before that game starts. [URL="http://fantasyfootball.usatoday.com/content/playerpages/player_main.asp?sport=NBA&id=1551"]Jason Richardson[/URL] is out for Charlotte and it looks like D.J. Augustin will start over Matt Carroll tonight. In addition, little-known big man Alexis Ajinca should start over Sean May. Don't rush out to pick Ajinca up, but keep your eye on him. I actually started Augustin in one league this week and will probably hold onto him. But he'll be a risky play once JR is back.
Yao Ming should play against the Wizards tonight, but how many minutes is anyone's guess. Speaking of this game, I'm still waiting for a full-blown JaVale McGee breakout, but I doubt it happens tonight against Yao. And the fact it didn't happen against the center-less Hawks on Wednesday does make me wonder if it will happen at all. But he's getting the minutes and is very fun to watch. You have to believe the numbers will follow at some point.
Kelenna Azubuike has missed two straight practices with a sprained ankle leaving his availability for tonight's game against the Bulls up in the air. My guess is the Bulls will be without Luol Deng again, as he recovers from a groin injury, but we should know more later today.
Mickael Pietrus is expected to play against the Pacers tonight after missing his last game with a rib injury.
Josh Howard got good news on his wrist injury but still may not be able to go tonight against the Grizzlies. Gerald Green has been starting in his place but hasn't exactly been tearing it up. www.dallasmavericks.ws
Mikki Moore is out for the Kings and it sounds like Donte Greene could get another start tonight. Kevin Martin's comeback sounds delayed by another week and it's unclear when he'll be back. Just keep him reserved if you own him. Jason Thompson and Spencer Hawes will still have inflated value for as long as Kev-Mart and Moore are out. www.sacramentokings.ws
Thursday Duds
What looked like a couple of stellar matchups on Thursday turned out to be some pretty boring hoops. Maybe you chose to watch my boy Big Ben and the Steelers instead ? that is if you could find a place with the NFL Network. And Big Ben is not really my boy, but he posted a nice fantasy line for one of my football teams.
Anyway, the Celtics are clearly rolling right now and stopped the Pistons dead in their tracks in a yawner. This game was a fantasy disaster as only four Pistons hit double figures in scoring, while Paul Pierce managed just nine points for the C's. Rajon Rondo had a nice line, but other than that, there wasn't much here to be excited about. www.bostonceltics.ws
The Lakers took out the Suns with Kobe Bryant leading the way. Pau Gasol scored just four points but added nine boards and nine dimes, while Vladimir Radmanovic hit all five of his 3-pointers in the win. Lamar Odom had 13 points and nine boards and is coming on a little bit lately. But a little bit of LO is just not enough for fantasy owners. I'm not sure he's cuttable, but he's definitely in David Lee territory, meaning he's a very risky play from day to day.
Steve Nash got just nine shots last night, hitting three of them, for eight points and 10 assists. Who would have thought that drafting Nash, Deron or Kidd would be such a painful experience this season? At least Kidd's producing in most categories and Nash is playing. If you own Nash, shop him and see what kind of value he'll bring back. But my guess is that you won't get much good news on that front and it might just be easier to hold onto him. Maybe he'll eventually talk Terry Porter into running, but that's doubtful. You also have to wonder how long it will take Amare Stoudemire to start voicing his displeasure with the new system.
Enjoy the games tonight and good luck with the Harrington trade fallout. It should be an interesting weekend.
Harrington's Homecoming?
There are plenty of big stories to talk about this morning, so let's dive right in. I'll be chatting live at 1 p.m. today right here with Season Pass subscribers. See you there.
Trade Winds Blowing Through the Garden
Golden State's Al Harrington, who is from Orange, New Jersey and was drafted by Donnie Walsh in Indy, appears to be heading to the Knicks, but there are varying reports about how he'll get there. It could be straight up for Malik Rose or Jamal Crawford, but the more likely scenario has him going to New York in a three-team deal that includes the Clippers. My guess would be that Zach Randolph would go the Warriors, Harrington, Tim Thomas and Cuttino Mobley would go to the Knicks and Jamal Crawford and Mardy Collins would go the Clippers. Update: But just after posting this, the Post's Marc Berman is suggesting that Randolph will go to the Clippers, which gives them a big logjam up front with Chris Kaman and Marcus Camby. Crawford appears to be heading to the Warriors, where he could hurt the value of guys like Anthony Morrow and Kelenna Azubuike, or start at point guard. Stay tuned.
Harrington to the Knicks is a perfect scenario if you own him, especially if Randolph is included in the deal. He would start at power forward for a very potent Mike D'Antoni offense. Z-Bo's value shouldn't change too much in Golden State, except that he would be playing for Nellie, which not the best news for his owners. And whether Crawford goes to L.A. or Oakland, he's still going to score and get minutes. Obviously, there will be a full dissection of the trade when it actually happens, but for now this is all we know. Bottom line: If Harrington was dropped in your league, pick him up immediately.
And on a non-fantasy related note, this move is big salary-wise for the Knicks, in that Harrington's contract expires before the summer of 2010, when LeBron and D-Wade become free agents.
This trade could also have some immediate (and negative) fantasy impacts if you own any of those players. The Clippers are at Philly, the Knicks are in Milwaukee and the Warriors host the Bulls on Friday. None of the traded players would play tonight, and the Clippers have a game on Saturday, too. I also read a report in Newsday that Harrington's back injury is a complete fabrication and was floated simply to justify getting him away from the team. If you own any of the aforementioned players, be prepared to bench them in daily leagues over the next few days if and when the trade becomes official.
Not Too Jazzed in Utah
The Jazz play the Spurs tonight, but it sounds like they'll do so without Deron Williams (ankle) and Carlos Boozer (quad) again. And given the fact the team has to turn right around and play again on Saturday, I wouldn't count on either of them for that one, either. I know that it's frustrating owning Williams right now, especially since he seemed like such a sure bet to be healthy all season. You really can't do anything with him right now other than sit him on your bench. If you do get a strong trade offer, consider moving him. But I am not sure it's possible to get fair value for him right now. One thing has become very clear though, and that's that he came back to early the first time. C.J. Miles, Ronnie Price, Andrei Kirilenko, Kosta Koufos and Paul Millsap should continue to play above their heads while these guys sit. As far as I know, Mehmet Okur will play, but he's obviously not at 100 percent, either. www.utahjazz.ws
Arenas Wants to Play Lottery
Gilbert Arenas is targeting a January return?sort of. Agent Zero is talking a big line about hitting the court in January and playing 40 minutes a night, although he's also said that if the playoffs were happening right now he could play. But he also hinted that he may not even bother if the Wizards are out of the playoff race in January or February, implying that he'd rather let the Wizards finish with a poor record and get a good draft pick then return and win a few meaningless games. This could just be a case of Gilbert being Gilbert, but this does nothing to restore my faith in Arenas being a fantasy option this season. I had no interest in drafting him (even in the 10th round) and I have no interest in obtaining him this season. Next year will be a different story, but the way things have gone for Agent Zero over the past 12 months, I will be surprised to see him play before the All-Star Break (which is in mid-February), and I'm not going to waste a valuable roster spot on him.
You Can't Go Home
Kevin Garnett will return to Minnesota for his first game since being traded to the Celtics. He was injured when the C's played the Wolves last season, but he'll be out there tonight. If he is inspired to beat Glen Taylor down a little further, KG could post a big line tonight. And as a KG owner, that would be a nice change, wouldn't it? Maybe he'll post a triple-double and we can use it to our advantage in moving him for a more productive player. At least he's healthy and consistent, but the C's have become somewhat of a fantasy nightmare between all the timesharing, ball sharing, winning by large margins, and only turning it on when they feel they need to. Oh well. www.bostonceltics.ws
Injury Notes
Atlanta's Al Horford is iffy for tonight's game against the Bobcats with a sprained ankle. Hopefully we'll have some news before that game starts. [URL="http://fantasyfootball.usatoday.com/content/playerpages/player_main.asp?sport=NBA&id=1551"]Jason Richardson[/URL] is out for Charlotte and it looks like D.J. Augustin will start over Matt Carroll tonight. In addition, little-known big man Alexis Ajinca should start over Sean May. Don't rush out to pick Ajinca up, but keep your eye on him. I actually started Augustin in one league this week and will probably hold onto him. But he'll be a risky play once JR is back.
Yao Ming should play against the Wizards tonight, but how many minutes is anyone's guess. Speaking of this game, I'm still waiting for a full-blown JaVale McGee breakout, but I doubt it happens tonight against Yao. And the fact it didn't happen against the center-less Hawks on Wednesday does make me wonder if it will happen at all. But he's getting the minutes and is very fun to watch. You have to believe the numbers will follow at some point.
Kelenna Azubuike has missed two straight practices with a sprained ankle leaving his availability for tonight's game against the Bulls up in the air. My guess is the Bulls will be without Luol Deng again, as he recovers from a groin injury, but we should know more later today.
Mickael Pietrus is expected to play against the Pacers tonight after missing his last game with a rib injury.
Josh Howard got good news on his wrist injury but still may not be able to go tonight against the Grizzlies. Gerald Green has been starting in his place but hasn't exactly been tearing it up. www.dallasmavericks.ws
Mikki Moore is out for the Kings and it sounds like Donte Greene could get another start tonight. Kevin Martin's comeback sounds delayed by another week and it's unclear when he'll be back. Just keep him reserved if you own him. Jason Thompson and Spencer Hawes will still have inflated value for as long as Kev-Mart and Moore are out. www.sacramentokings.ws
Thursday Duds
What looked like a couple of stellar matchups on Thursday turned out to be some pretty boring hoops. Maybe you chose to watch my boy Big Ben and the Steelers instead ? that is if you could find a place with the NFL Network. And Big Ben is not really my boy, but he posted a nice fantasy line for one of my football teams.
Anyway, the Celtics are clearly rolling right now and stopped the Pistons dead in their tracks in a yawner. This game was a fantasy disaster as only four Pistons hit double figures in scoring, while Paul Pierce managed just nine points for the C's. Rajon Rondo had a nice line, but other than that, there wasn't much here to be excited about. www.bostonceltics.ws
The Lakers took out the Suns with Kobe Bryant leading the way. Pau Gasol scored just four points but added nine boards and nine dimes, while Vladimir Radmanovic hit all five of his 3-pointers in the win. Lamar Odom had 13 points and nine boards and is coming on a little bit lately. But a little bit of LO is just not enough for fantasy owners. I'm not sure he's cuttable, but he's definitely in David Lee territory, meaning he's a very risky play from day to day.
Steve Nash got just nine shots last night, hitting three of them, for eight points and 10 assists. Who would have thought that drafting Nash, Deron or Kidd would be such a painful experience this season? At least Kidd's producing in most categories and Nash is playing. If you own Nash, shop him and see what kind of value he'll bring back. But my guess is that you won't get much good news on that front and it might just be easier to hold onto him. Maybe he'll eventually talk Terry Porter into running, but that's doubtful. You also have to wonder how long it will take Amare Stoudemire to start voicing his displeasure with the new system.
Enjoy the games tonight and good luck with the Harrington trade fallout. It should be an interesting weekend.