Give Me The Rock
this is fantasy basketball
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Since I have yet to really wrap my head around Richard Jefferson in San Antonio, and I feel that not all the much is going to change in the fantasy world with Shaq in Cleveland (but if you’re interested, Points in the Paint is covering that one with much thoroughness)… I was left with really no choice but to consider the ramifications of Vince Carter in Orlando (and those other guys in New Jersey). Do not by any means take this to mean that somehow Vince has been moved from my Do Not Draft list. No sir.
Orlando
Honestly, this is a great trade for the Magic. They give up basically nothing (I mean, they only traded for Rafer when Jameer got injured last season, so it’s not like he’s irreplaceable), and get a player who, while I’m loathe to admit it, is an All Star caliber player… as opposed to Hedo Turkoglu, who, I am not loathe to admit, I feel has been playing way out of his pay grade the past couple seasons. He’s basically a poor-man’s VC and they’d probably have to pay him like a normal-man’s VC to keep him, so why not just go with the more proven commodity and get the actual VC, right? I mean, Vinsanity has played 79.25 games on average over the last 4 seasons, while Hedo has gone for only 77.5. Now who’s more of an injury risk?
Holy crap. I’m sticking up for Vince Carter. Look there goes a pig! She has the wings!
So, fantasy-wise? I guess not that much is changing for the Magic either, really… Vince will take up Hedo’s position as “Waiter Behind the 3-Point Line and Intermittent Slasher and Crunch Time Shot Taker” and the rest of the team will pretty much not even notice except maybe there’ll be slightly more scoring and a different accent from that guy who’s not Dwight Howard or Rashard Lewis.
I guess this improves that fantasy standing of Mickael Pietrus who might should now get the start at SG with that guy who missed that alley-oop to win the game in the Finals out of the way.
New Jersey
So much potential. Now if only Jay-Z could convince LeBron to come to NJ in 2010.
Devin Harris and Courtney Lee is a pretty good backcourt to build on. Lee should see a big bump in fantasy value since the Nets are loaded up with a bunch of half-decent to mediocre players at the SG/SF position.
I’m hesitant to say much else since the Nets probably aren’t done dealing (I’m sure their fans hope they’re not). But so far, they’re saying that Yi Jianlian will be the starting PF, meaning he should be fantasy-relevant if for no other reason than he’ll be getting more minutes than their other big men.
Another thing to keep an eye on for the Nets is who steps into Vince Carter’s SF position. Sure, they re-signed Jarvis Hayes, but like I said, half-decent to mediocre. Could it be that rookie Terrence Williams will step up and join Lee, Harris, Jianlian, and Brook Lopez to form one of the youngest starting fives pretty much ever? Harris would be the old man on the block at 26.
Like I said, Potential with a capital P. But can they capitalize? (Oh, I kill me)
I’m sure that much more will be revealed in the coming weeks/months and we’ll figure it all out in the upcoming draft guide. Oh, yes, there will be a draft guide. And this year, I guarantee that it will not contain the magnitude of suckitude that last year’s attempt did. This year, we’re pulling an Orlando Magic/Cleveland Cavaliers move and bringing in some veteran players to make a run at the Draft Guide 2009 title. Of course, it’ll probably have Draft Guide 2009 in the name, so really, that’s the title right there. Done. Count it.
I mean, if you want…
Tired of boring fantasy basketball and want a Real NBA challenge? If so play the Real NBA with PASPNs Mock GM Game
Fantasy players take over for an NBA team as of NBA Draft lottery 2009 and make trades, sign free agents, and then, based on your fictional offseason moves, compete in an 18-week real NBA-like head-to-head season. (8 division games, 4 non-division conference games, 6 out of conference games, 9 home games, 9 away games) This is as close to the NBA as it gets.
If you don’t want to be a GM, fantasy players have the option to create a sports agency, sign clients and negotiate bigger salaries for their clients.
The game is very Shakespearean in that it is a game within a game about a game. Mock GM mixes fantasy basketball playing with the realities of the business of basketball. The game is definitely not for the casual fantasy fan, but for fantasy players looking for something a little bit more challenging.
Instructions:
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3. Once the league officially begins, picking teams occurs on this page: http://paspn.net/default.asp?p=90&gmaction=4&leagueid=5834&seasonid=53
For more information visit http://paspn.net/default.asp?p=90&leagueid=5834
Or do Shaq, RJ, and Vinsanity pretty much top anything else that’s going to happen this summer? Perhaps that question needs an actual poll…
So, as the period of Free Agency dawns like a black cloud across the country, here’s the news… and it sure doesn’t seem as exciting as The Trades…
Reputable news from CBS Sports.
nbaroundtable has been working hard the past few days (and perhaps longer than that – sorry guys, I haven’t been reading – and as I look at the links page, I fear that the GMTR blogroll just needs to be bombed into the stone age, y’know, like back to 1994 or so. I was looking forward to reading “NBA Without Cable” but that blog has been deleted – which actually makes me feel a little less morose about the state of our blogroll).
Lars Hanson at the BleacherReport has some Free Agent PFs. Although, he does say that Shawn Marion might sign with the Bulls, to which I respond, “Then why did they just draft 2 PFs?” (Granted, after being out of the country for more than 2 weeks, I really have no room to argue with anyone about anthing NBA related right now)
Who knew there was a clothing brand called Free Agent? I’ll sign with them! (Yes, I am going to nominate that for the Worst Pun of 2009 Award. Especially because I don’t even think it’s a pun.)
Thanks to some good advice, we are switching up the format of the fantasy HOF vote to more closely match that of the real HOF. For comparison purposes, it makes more sense to vote on a single class all at once (and makes my life easier as well). No worries though, the two individual votes that I’ve already posted will remain up and running, so if you still feel like voting for Webber or Abdur-Rahim, you can do so on their respective pages.
Vote yay or nay on Chris Webber
Vote yay or nay on Shareef Abdur-Rahim
Now, presenting the remainder of the class of 2008 (and what a sad, sad class it is).* It’ll get better, trust me, but if you feel like any of these guys listed below deserve to be inducted into the Fantasy Hall of Fame, get your vote on. You can always vote for none of the above if you feel like none of these guys are HOF worthy.
Loading ...The Vitals
If you are curious, I’ve included a short rundown of each player with their career and peak stats, as well as their career and peak fantasy-related value.
Derek Anderson
Seasons: 11
Career Stats: 12 pts, 3.2 rebs, 3.4 ast, 1.1 stl, 0.1 blks
Peak Stats (Best 3 years): 15.3 pts, 4.0 rebs, 3.9 ast, 1.4 stl, 0.2 blks, 1.2 threes
Career Fantasy Value: 24.8 VOFRP (average of 2.3 per season)
Peak Fantasy Value: 5.1 VOFRP per season
Peak Fantasy Rank (Season): 44 (1999), 52 (2000), 55 (2002)
I actually liked owning Derek Anderson back in the day when he was on the Blazers. He did a little bit of everything and was sneakily decent in my opinion, which of course doesn’t add up to anything close to the HOF.
Penny Hardaway
Seasons: 14
Career Stats: 15.2 pts, 4.5 rebs, 5.0 ast, 1.6 stl, 0.4 blks, 0.7 threes
Peak Stats (Best 3 years): 19.5 pts, 4.7 rebs, 7.0 ast, 2.0 stl, 0.5 blks, 0.9 threes
Career Fantasy Value: 55.5 VOFRP (average of 3.4 per season)
Peak Fantasy Value: 8.4 VOFRP per season
Peak Fantasy Rank (Season): 5 (1995), 12 (1994), 19 (1996)
At his peak, Hardaway was a very good fantasy player (although he is not quite as spectacular as Little Penny would have me remember). He was consistently a 2nd round fantasy pick until he was forced to have microfracture surgery on his left knee at the age of 30. That basically was the end of his effectiveness both as an actual player and a fantasy player.
Robert Horry
Seasons: 16
Career Stats: 7.0 pts, 4.8 rebs, 2.1 ast, 1.0 stl, 0.9 blks, 0.7 threes
Peak Stats (Best 3 years): 9.4 pts, 5.0 rebs, 2.8 ast, 1.4 stl, 1.0 blks, 0.9 threes
Career Fantasy Value: 32.7 VOFRP (average of 2.0 per season)
Peak Fantasy Value: 4.9 VOFRP per season
Peak Fantasy Ranks: 31 (1994), 47 (1995), 59 (1997)
+1 for a 16 year career. Minus infinity for being a top 100 fantasy player in exactly 5 of those seasons.
Damon Stoudamire
Seasons: 13
Career Stats: 13.4 pts, 3.5 rebs, 6.1 ast, 1.1 stl, 0.1 blks, 1.4 threes
Career Fantasy Value: 44.4 VOFRP (average of 3.4 per season)
Peak Stats (Best 3 years): 18.9 pts, 4.1 reb, 8.7 ast, 1.5 stl, 0.2 blk, 1.8 threes
Peak Fantasy Value: 6.5 VOFRP per season
Peak Fantasy Ranks: 25 (1995), 32 (1997), 33 (1996)
It’s easy to forget this now, but Stoudamire busted out immediately after becoming the first ever draft pick by the Raptors, winning the rookie of the year award in 1996. His peak three seasons were his first three in the league, where he averaged that 18.9 point 8.7 assist line above. It looked like Stoudamire was in for a perennial all-star caliber career, but then he got traded to those famous Jail Blazers, ended up going to rehab for a few marijuana incidents, got benched for almost an entire season, then got kicked to the curb by the Blazers and slowly petered out of the league over the last few years.
Eric Snow
Seasons: 13
Career Stats: 6.8 pts, 2.5 reb, 5.0 ast, 1.2 stl, 0.1 blk, 0.1 threes
Career Fantasy Value: 13.0 VOFRP (average of 1.0 per season)
Peak Stats (Best 3 years): 10 pts, 3.4 reb, 6.9 ast, 1.8 stl, 0.1 blk, 0.1 threes
Peak Fantasy Value: 4.3 VOFRP per season
Peak Fantasy Ranks: 51 (2002), 80 (1998), 86 (1999)
Remember that year Eric Snow decided to score 13 points a game for some strange reason? That has to be one of the flukier fantasy years in recent memory.
Jason Williams
Seasons: 10
Career Stats: 11.4 pts, 2.4 reb, 6.3 ast, 1.3 stl, 0.1 blk, 1.7 threes
Career Fantasy Value: 32.2 VOFRP (average of 3.2 per season)
Peak Stats (Best 3 years): 12.5 pts, 2.6 reb, 7.7 ast, 1.4 stl, 0.1 blk, 1.8 threes
Peak Fantasy Value: 4.5 VOFRP per season
Peak Fantasy Ranks: 54 (2002), 56 (2003), 58 (2001)
One of the interesting things about this HOF vote is being able to take a close look at the stats for guys whose actual performance diverts wildly from the image in your head. For some reason, I remember Williams as the white chocolate assist-machine with a strong fantasy game. In reality, he was a decent but never great number 1 fantasy PG for maybe 3 out of his 10 seasons and was constantly hurt and missing games with injuries.
*If you’ve felt we’ve missed someone, leave a comment or send an email letting us know. Sam Cassell will be in the class of 2009, since he was finally waived after being traded to the Kings this past season. Antoine Walker could have been counted in this class since he didn’t play in 08-09, but he has yet to “officially” called it a career.
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Timing, as they say, is everything. Going into the start of the 2008-09 season, we here at GMTR were pretty damn low on Yao Ming. He was a 7’6’’ monster with a history of foot problems: the man had averaged a mere 53 games a season over the previous three seasons. He had fractured his foot in February 2008 and missed the rest of the regular season and all of the playoffs. Then, only a few months after going through surgery, he declared himself fit enough to play in the Olympics for China.
I’m not sure how you could look at those facts and think Ming was in for anything other than another injury riddled year. Naturally, I stayed away from Yao this past fantasy season like he was the swine flu (and recommended that every else do as well) – then watched in dismay as he racked up an all-star caliber year while playing in 77 games. It absolutely made no sense.
But now Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports is reporting that it’s likely Yao could miss the entire 2009-10 season after re-fracturing the same bone in his foot as he broke last year. It appears that Ming did indeed come back from his surgery too quickly last summer, not allowing his foot to heal properly. Not surprisingly, the Rockets are being quiet about the subject for now.
We of course wish Ming the best and hope he can come back healthy (and anyone who’s played in a 2 center league has to agree with that). But it looks like the man’s feet may no longer be able to withstand the punishment of playing 82 games a year in the NBA.
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Carnival of the NBA #65 is up over at Full Court Pest. In addition to some sweet NBA links (the Sports Agent Blog is infinitely more fascinating than the words “Sports Agent Blog” would have you believe) see the Pest expose the Bill Simmons as a Twitter plagiarist.
I almost feel like a heretic for saying this, but I’m actually not a big fan of the NBA draft. At least the television watching part of it where guys I don’t really know get drafted at a glacial once-every-fifteen minutes pace for 4 hours so that I can catch a funny looking outfit or a bad draft pick in between 500,000 words from Stuart Scott. Believe it or not, my life is better than that.*
But while the spectacle of the draft is one of the most overrated things in the NBA, the reaction and analysis of the draft is important… well, kinda. This article by Jeff Andriesse of RotoExperts.com looked at the first round picks during the last decade who averaged 30 or more minutes per game during their rookie seasons. He found that just 29 rookies over the past 10 years averaged 30+ minutes a game (an average of less than three a year for the mathematically challenged). And if the experts are correct about the quality of this draft class, then we are probably looking at the under on the number of rookies who will significantly contribute to their team in 2009-10.
But in the spirit of at least one rookie in 09-10 being worth our fantasy time, what did some other, smarter, people have to say about the draft
Matt Buser did a live draft chat over at his new site, busersports.com. Man, that is the one draft related event I would have liked to been at if only to bombard him with questions like, “so, when this draft thing all gets sorted out, I think you and me should get an apartment together” and “did you get those panties I sent you in the mail?” Oh boy, I like Buser a little too much.
Bust a Bucket (home to the world’s greatest header) had another live draft chat with some of the basketball blogosphere’s best and brightest: A Stern Warning, With malice, T-Wolves Blog, BlueBlitz.Net, Hoop Heads North, and 2nd Round Reach.
Barley’s Mouth finishes off the live chat threesome with their own sick and twisted recap of the draft and follows it up with an ode to Michael Jackson and draft recap all in one. Like Michael, the recap is incredibly entertaining, but I wouldn’t leave your children alone in the house with it.
Speaking of Brendan at 2RR, he already has some preliminary day after draft reaction up including some smart words on the Nets. Although I’m not so sure about the Yi Jianlian part.
I’m not sure if Evil E sleeps or is even human, but he already has updated depth charts for every team in the league based on yesterday’s draft.
If you’re like me and don’t like to actually watch the draft, but still want to be able to speak coherently about it or drop some nuggets at your cocktail parties this weekend, then Empty the Bench has a great recap of the draft complete with honorary awards.
And while it’s still too early to grade the fantasy implications of the draft picks, it’s never too soon to grade the suits.
* Actually, my life is not better than that. Instead, I watched 4 hours of Michael Jackson music videos.
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