A special NBA trade deadline edition of the Fantasy Fix.
– Hakim Warrick — Apparently Hakim wanted to wait a few games before showing everyone how happy he is to step in and take Pau Gasol’s place. Gasol was traded from Memphis to the Lakers on Feb. 1, but Hakim didn’t embark on his recent rampage until five games later, on Feb. 12. Since then he has been a great source of points, rebounds and field goal percentage. He’s worth owning in all leagues.
– Jason Kidd (from New Jersey to Dallas) — Kidd’s value should not fluctuate much with the trade. If anything, Kidd’s numbers will be somewhat diminished in Dallas’ half-court system, though overall there is no real cause for concern. Expect more of the same from J-Kidd.
– Ben Wallace (from Chicago to Cleveland) — Wallace may be excited to be on a “contender,” which could boost his value. He relies on his passion (and biceps) to do what he does best — defend and rebound. He may not respect Mike Brown any more than he respected Scott Skiles, though I do not doubt that he will respect TheBron. This should get his rebound, block and steal numbers back on track.
– Wally Szczerbiak (from Seattle to Cleveland) — Wally is everyone’s favorite sleeper in this trade. I’m not so sure that everyone’s wish of a revitalized Wally-World will come true. Wally will have a few games where he’ll hit a good percentage from 3 and finish with 20 points, though he will not be consistent enough to warrant the “biggest beneficiary from this trade” label.
– Delonte West (from Seattle to Cleveland) — Contrary to his teammate above, Delonte, as long as he stays healthy, may see a big boost in production in Cleveland. Dan Gibson is out for four to six weeks and I don’t see Mike Brown giving Damon Jones the starting point guard position in his absence when he has a capable floor leader in Delonte West at his disposal. Delonte gets decent all-around numbers, including steals and 3s.
– Drew Gooden/Joe Smith (traded to Chicago/trade to Cleveland) — Drew will essentially take the healthy Joe Smith’s place in Chicago. He’ll score and rebound. The only difference will be the hair. I wonder what hairstyle Chicago will inspire Drew to rock. I’m not sure anything can beat the soul patch he cut into the wrong side of his head in Cleveland. As for Joe Smith, he will likely not have any more fantasy value. I’m not sure why he was playing so well in Chicago to begin with, though now he will see less time behind Zydrunas and Big Ben in the rotation.
– Larry Hughes (from Chicago to Cleveland) — Larry didn’t have much value as it was until about a month ago, so hopefully you enjoyed his short-lived production. Larry will not start in Chicago, at least at first, and will not continue to play as well as he did during his last few weeks in Cleveland.
– Bonzi Wells (from Houston to New Orleans) — Bonzi is always somewhat of a wild card. When he plays, he always scores, rebounds and racks up nice steal numbers, though the problem for him is getting off the pine (or in the NBA’s case, the metal chair with a plush team logo-embroidered cushion).
– Bobby Jackson (from New Orleans to Houston) — the only thing that could come of this trade is Rafer Alston losing some value. The Rockets have a guy named Tracy playing near 40 minutes per game at the guard position, and Rafer has been approaching the maximum of his minutes threshold (averaging 38 per game the past two months). Rafer’s time and value may decline slightly, though overall things should not be too much different in Houston.
– It’s a game of numbers: The majority of NBA teams have played either 54 or 55 games so far this season. What I advise you do, especially in roto leagues, is deal away the guys who have already played in 46 or 47 games and trade for the guys whose teams have only competed in 52 or 53. Teams in the 52 to 53 range are: the Clippers, Minnesota, Miami, Atlanta, Toronto and Boston. That means it’s not too late to pick up Elton Brand (who reportedly will participate in full team practices in one to two weeks and return to the court not too long after that). The only trick here is if you are in a head-to-head league, you may want to stay away from Boston, since the Celts will most likely sit the Big Three come fantasy playoff time. Only two teams have played “too many” games so far: Orlando and Philly. Maybe Dwight Howard for Al Jefferson isn’t too unfair after all …