Shaq for Shawn? Pau for Kwame? On the heels of two of the more interesting NBA trades in recent memory, I will do my best to explain the fantasy fallout of the two deals as well as other trends in the wonderful world of fantasy basketball!

Joe “Inconsistency” Smith — Your guess is as good as mine as to what makes this former No. 1 overall pick put up the monster numbers he has been posting. Inconsistency is his middle name, though recently he has been worth starting. His last week was highlighted by a 25-point, 10-rebound, 9-for-18 shooting night on Feb. 4. The Bulls were not at full health, though there were no significant injuries to their bigs that game.

Earl Watson — Congratulations to those of you who had Lil’ Earl in your lineup on Feb. 6. A triple-double (23 points, 10 assists, 10 rebounds) never hurts your team’s chances of winning. In addition, if Earl Watson is in your starting lineup, it is likely that you don’t win too often, so kudos to you and Mr. Watson for putting your team in a better position for a victory.

Thabo Sefolosha — Adding a player as fantasy-irrelevant as Thabo Sefolosha had never crossed my mind before I looked at box scores to figure out who to mention in this week’s column. It turns out that, upon further review, Thabo is one of the most productive free agents available right now. Granted, Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon have been out with (temporary) injuries. Through five games in February, Thabo is averaging 13.4 points, six rebounds, four assists, 1.2 steals, one block and just under one 3-pointer per game. It is worth noting that Chicago has been unhappy with its undersized backcourt for quite some time now, and Thabo’s emergence could lead to yet another unexpected trade, which would involve either Ben Gordon or Kirk Hinrich.

Rajon Rondo/Kevin Garnett — Who needs KG when you have Rajon Rondo? Ever since Kevin Garnett’s ab strain was significant enough to make him sit out (something KG simply does not do unless he is forced to), Rondo has “stepped up” and posted wonderful individual numbers for his fantasy owners. Rondo is not a great source of threes for a guard, though his assists and points are just where you’d want them to be, and his steal, rebound and field goal percent numbers are stellar to say the least.

Mike Bibby — The veteran is still a bit rusty, as can be seen by looking at his numbers since his return from a hand injury in January. His play has been especially suspect this past week. You may have to deal with a few games of grossly poor shooting numbers, though overall, Bibby’s threes, assists and points make him worth having on your roster.

Darko Milicic — At least the Grizz front office can feign confidence in Darko and tell him that they felt that Pau was expendable considering they will still have Darko manning the middle. Milicic was in dire need of an ego stroke; his numbers had been suffering and he claimed that his confidence was as bad as it had ever been. Now that Pau is gone Milicic will get minutes by default and should approach a double-double plus two blocks or so per game.

Dorell Wright — Dorell has been inconsistent this season, though his potential is unquestionable. With the trade, Wright could start posting numbers reminiscent of a poor-man’s Shawn Marion. As a side note, Marion will continue to post similar numbers to what he did in Phoenix.

Carmelo Anthony/Anthony Carter — I guess 49 points gets you mentioned in a fantasy column, though I’d like to spend a little more time focusing on a much less heralded teammate of Melo’s — Anthony Carter. He posts very solid numbers across the board, especially assists and steals — two valuable categories.

TJ Ford — This delicate Ford is back on the road, driving and dishing, though he has taken a back seat to Spanish import Jose Calderon. No longer the starter, TJ may not retain his starting gig until next season. As long as he stays healthy he should continue to post solid numbers, especially in the assist category (no fewer than six per game).

Rafer Alston — “Skip” is definitely one of the more undervalued fantasy players around. Granted, his shooting percentage won’t exactly win you that category for the week, though his assist and 3-pointer numbers are enough to give any team in any league a significant boost.

Chris Paul scored 42 points on Feb. 6. Chris Paul is averaging 16.2 points per game in February. How does he do it? By scoring a total of eight points in two of the other three games in the month. However, overall owners have nothing to complain about; CP3 has been the best (yes, the best) fantasy player in 2007-08, posting career numbers in points, assists, steals, 3’s and field goal percentage.