Francisco Garcia has been dropped in my dynasty league. I have some candidates for dropping to pick him up:
Kirk Hinrich Nate Robinson Jameer Nelson Jordan Farmar (I hesitate to drop him, because I think he is talented enough when given the chance) Thabo Sefolosha Linas Kleiza Charlie Villanueva
Do you think any of these guys are worth keeping at all?
Daryl
Daryl,
I worry about Robinson and Hinrich the most out of those guys. N-Rob is just so small and the Knicks don’t seem to have enough faith in him to play him constantly. Hinrich may be about as good as he is going to get right now. I’m not sold on Robinson as a PG because all he does is score. He doesn’t get numbers in assists or steals and that is what makes a PG. I don’t care if he’s a former Slam Dunk Champ – dunk him off your team. As for Captain Kirk, he was a massive disappointment and he did a great job of dragging the Bulls down with him this season.
Rasho Nesterovic, right, isn’t the long-term solution at centre for the Raps, but that doesn’t automatically mean Andrea Bargnani is, either. (Frank Gunn, Associated Press)
Dear RotoRob,
Let us switch gears here. I am looking at guys from other teams right now that haven’t played to their potential (at least in my mind) to maybe try to pry them away from a few owners. One guy I am targeting is Andrea Bargnani.
What do you think of his progress going forward?
Thanks.
Daryl
Daryl,
I think this was the season he was supposed to do it and he didn’t. Rasho Nesterovic (who has an $8.4 million player option for next year) is 33 years old next month and Bargnani is 23 right now, so I think Bargnani is still the Raps’ idea of the centre of the future for them, but he is looking a lot like a 10-11 point/3-4 rebound guy to me. Maybe he steps up his play and gets better, but I think of him more as Darko Milicic (except with more points and less rebounds and blocks) than Zydrunas Ilgauskas. But the similarities (young, European big man who has yet to approach his lofty expectations) are striking. Obviously, Bargnani has a ways to go before he really is the next Dirk Nowitzki.
I have no doubt that Bargnani will get better – remember how long it takes big men to develop — but it doesn’t look like he will get a lot better than he is right now. Did he simply slump all year, or is he just a bust? It’s too soon to tell.
Some guys to look at next year are Francisco Garcia, Jason Maxiell, Devin Harris if you can get him, Ramon Sessions and/or Chris Quinn. Bargnani is the popular pick for people because he is the name, but I think what you see is what you get with him and if you are happy with a centre that nets you the rebounds of a PG, then go for it.
We received several season-ending letters from our basketball readers this week, mostly related to our Daily Dose wrap-up, in which we picked the fantasy studs and duds of each NBA team.
Dear RotoRob,
Typically I don’t quibble and just enjoy the articles, but Mehmet Okur over Andrei Kirilenko for Utah’s “dud” is arguable and Jason Kapono over Andrei Bargnani for Toronto is just flat out wrong. Bargnani was drafted by many to be a No. 2 centre and taken as early as the fifth round, while Kapono was a back-up forward at best and wasn’t drafted in many leagues.
I definitely commend the rest of the picks for duds since they are guys that hurt squads and weren’t just nobodies.
Nashua
Hi Nashua,
You weren’t the only one to suggest that AK-47 should have gotten the call as the Jazz dud (see below), but here’s my reasoning:
While Kirilenko still hasn’t come close to getting back to his peak years (2003-04 to 2005-06), he was much better than last season’s disaster. Note that AK-47 set career highs in FG percentage and 3-point percentage, played more games, got more PT and, other than his blocks, everything else was up. Yes, his rebounding numbers were again greatly disappointing, but Kirilenko was up in FT percentage, steals, assists and points.
Okur, on the other hand, while hardly a major flop, did backslide for the second straight year. First off, for the first time since arriving in Utah, he wasn’t durable, missing ten games. Additionally, he experienced declines in MPG and blocks (he’s almost a non-factor in this department now). His free throw attempts per game were down significantly as was his scoring (a decrease of 3.1 PPG). Hence, he got my vote.
As for the Raptors, I agree that Bargnani could have easily taken this one, especially given the expected growth in his sophomore year. However, he stayed healthy, improved his FT shooting and saw an improvement in his assists. Was his year a disappointment? Yes, absolutely. But Kapono completely tanked, and simply didn’t play enough to be of use except in super deep leagues. Like I said, Bargnani is an excellent choice, and now that I look again and consider everything, I am swayed that he probably screwed more owners than Kapono’s precipitous fall did.
Dear RotoRob,
Just wanted to let you know that I had Okur on my fantasy team this year and right before the trade deadline in mid-march I received and offer of Al Jefferson for him. I would be stupid not to take it right? Well, because I am a Jazz fan I held off and Memo came up huge for me in the playoffs. Not only did he solidify my rebounding - he was in the top five in rebounding in the last three weeks of the regular season - but he allowed me to sneak out a huge upset in the semis because he helped me get the 3 pt category. That 3 pt category determined the victor.
Memo had a horrible stretch in the middle of the year, but when the playoffs came he was, as they say, “Money!”
I’d say the bigger dud on the Jazz this year was Kirilenko.
Steve
Hi Steve,
Fair enough, Okur’s stretch play was definitely a factor, but I was looking at the entire body of work. See above for a more complete description of that.
Dear RotoRob,
I won my championship and wanted to say thanks for giving me better advice than those guys at NBA.com. Y’all should really apply for their jobs.
Thanks to y’all I snatched Elton Brand and Brandon Roy off the waiver wires in addition to Chris Quinn, Ramon Sessions and Channing Frye.
Meanwhile Kobe Bryant, Andre Iguodala, Lamar Odom, Nick Collison, Shaquille O’Neal and Andris Biedrins brought home the title for me in a 12-team H2H league.
I’m 300 smackers richer. See y’all when fantasy football starts!
Bruce Bowen, right, was up to his old tricks Wednesday. (AP Images)
Bruce Bowen was up to his old tricks Wednesday night, i.e., pissing off opponents. Well, his elbow to the ribs of Amare Stoudemire only succeeded in firing up Stat, who came up big to lead the Suns to an immense 96-79 win over the Spurs. In today’s Daily Dose, we explore the situation.
Rafer Alston made an immediate impact upon his return; Chris Bosh was lights out; Charlie Villanueva had the finest night of his season; usual durable Shane Battier got hurt; Manu Ginobili is just one of many ice cold Spurs; and Tim Duncan is a double-double machine.
Do try to drag yourself away from Dooce long enough to read up on the latest fantasy basketball tidbits. We’ve got you covered in today’s Dose.
Ben Wallace may still do a fantastic can-can girl routine, but concerns over his back and overall ineffectiveness have really limited his value. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)
Dear RotoRob,
Would you drop Big Ben for Hakim Warrick when your team is:
G - Gilbert Arenas, Baron Davis, Flip Murray, Jason Williams, Rudy Gay, Corey Maggette and Bonzi Wells
F — Carmelo Anthony, Rasheed Wallace, Caron Butler, Al Thornton
C — Amare Stoudemire, Marcus Camby, Al Horford
Sean
Sean,
Yes, Ben Wallace isn’t the same player he once was, especially with concerns over his back, and the Grizzlies need Warrick down the stretch more than ever.
Dear RotoRob,
I was wondering if you would do me a favour and rank these players for me.
I own three of them, and two are free agents. I’m trying to decide which players I keep and which I pick up.
I presently have on my team: Delonte West, Juan Carlos Navarro and Daequan Cook (yes, it’s a very deep league). Bonzi Wells and Flip Murray are free agents. Would you pick either one of them up and cast aside any of the three I mentioned?
Thanks
Tom
Tom,
I see them as West, Navarro and Cook, then Murray and Wells. Murray won’t be well rounded enough to make a real difference and Wells is going to be on and off. I’ve watched Murray warm up and talked to him over the past week and I like him as a scorer, but not as my PG.
