My typical morning post looks at a recap of the previous night’s games and offers three up’s and three down’s for the night. While there were a few games played last night, it was the trade deadline and not the games which stole the NBA show yesterday.
So with that in mind, and I am sure many of you wondering what yesterday’s events mean for your fantasy players, I am going to do a special trade deadline version of three up and three down. I will give you three guys who were traded, or affected by trades, that I think gain value and three who lose it.
Let’s get this thing started:
Three Up
Ramon Sessions: I have been begging for this guy to get traded and be unleashed on the fantasy world for a while now and it has finally happened. Sessions now goes from waiver wire fodder even in the deep leagues to a must own guy in all leagues in my opinion. In the four games Sessions has started this season he is averaging 17.8 points and 11 assists per game. Last season in 38 starts he averaged 14.5 points and 5.9 assists per game. Needless to say when he gets the chance to play he can be a fantasy contributor.
Playing for the Lakers is different than playing for the Cavaliers, obviously, he won’t get as many shots and he’s playing with Kobe Bryant who likes to have the ball in his hands, a lot. But still, he should be logging 30 minutes per game at least and 13 points and 6 assists is perfectly within reason. At this point that’s just as good or better than the likes of Darren Collison, Devin Harris and Jeff Teague who are owned in a whole lot of leagues.
Gerald Wallace: Everything I have read is telling me that Wallace is likely to produce the same kind of numbers in New Jersey as he did in Portland, but I am expecting better myself. For starters, Deron Williams is the best point guard Wallace has ever played with, by like a million percent. And, Wallace is going to be a bigger part of the offense in New Jersey I think. Portland had a lot of guys looking to get their shots in and Wallace was just one of them. In New Jersey there is Deron Williams, but he only scores as much as he does because he has to. Marshon Brooks and Anthony Morrow are scorers too, but Wallace will be one of the top options on the floor at all times and he’ll be the only legitimate inside scoring threat. Humphries has done well to make a living on put backs and a very basic post game, but Wallace will hands down be the go to guy when they want to get the ball inside, even as a small forward. I like Wallace as a potential trade target in fantasy leagues
Nick Young: This is really a win-win for Nick Young and for Jordan Crawford. Young doesn’t have to play behind Crawford any longer and Crawford doesn’t have to watch over his shoulder and wonder when Young will get hot and take his job again. The Clippers needed a scorer and that’s what they got in Nick Young. Blake Griffin can score, but they needed someone else and Young fits the bill. I think he comes in to LA and takes the starting shooting guard job right away. Young is averaging 16.6 points per game this season and I think he can continue to put up those kind of numbers or better. The upside is you don’t have to worry about those games where Crawford gets hot and Young only plays 15 minutes. Crawford and Young owners can rejoice together today.
Three Down
Marcus Camby: You shouldn’t have been relying on Camby to start with, but I understand that the center position is shallow and that explains why he is owned in as many leagues as he is. That said what Camby was doing for you, nine boards and a block and a half per game, is going to take a hit. Camby was really the only center in Portland, but in Houston there is Samuel Dalembert who Camby will be backing up now. If you really need boards and blocks than you can hold on to the big man, but I would start looking elsewhere.
Darren Collison: Bad news coming out of Indiana for Darren Collison folks. Reports yesterday were that the Pacers acquired Leandro Barbosa to allow them the flexibility of starting George Hill at the point. Collison has been struggling while Hill has been excelling and now these reports just make matters worse. What Barbosa does is give the Pacers an instant offense kind of guard off the bench to fulfill the role of George Hill if he goes to the starting lineup. Just the other day I had said that Collison was starting to become expendable in standard leagues and this just cements it. Keep an eye on this situation over the next few games, it could be interesting.
Richard Jefferson: Some early reports out of Golden State are that Richard Jefferson is going to get the starting small forward job in Golden State. I am not a Warriors insider, but that doesn’t make much sense to me. Jefferson is washed up at this point and while Dorrel Wright has struggled this season, he’s 26 and he has upside. And Wright is heating up with 50 points and 10 three’s in his last three games. I can’t refute these reports, but I don’t think the Warriors are stupid enough to give Jefferson anywhere near the 30 minutes per game he was getting in San Antonio which should crush the little fantasy value he did have.
Who is up and who is down for you after yesterday’s trading deadline? Did I cover the bases or did I miss someone? I’d love to get your thoughts on the topic and any questions you have coming out of the trade deadline.
