8/6/2004 04:27:07 PM|||Shep|||Okay, so I just made up the title of this post. It's not necessarily true or anything. But it sounded clever cause it rhymes.
So... where the hell are we? (Is it just me or are there a ridiculous amount of trades going on this off-season? All the more reason to get some good fantasy analysis!)
According to Yahoo (and others):
The Los Angeles Lakers resumed their makeover Friday by trading Gary "The Glove?"Payton and Mr. Vanessa Williams (Rick Fox) to the Boston Celtics for Chucky "Not the Diet Guy" Atkins, Marcus "Could Be Money" Banks and Chris "Wishes He Made More Money" Mihm. The Celtics also received a conditional first-round draft pick and cash in the deal and sent a second-round pick to the Western Conference champions.
So... I'm glad the Lakers got rid of Rick Fox. Actually, not true. I would have rather they kept him, so I could focus my disgust more easily instead of having to split it between two coasts (see also: Kobe Bryant is an Ass Clown). At least being located in Chicago will make it easier for me to heckle Mr. Williams' used-drug-dealer-John-Travolta-Greaseball-wannabe-pimp-and/or-player hairdo. Seriously, worst hair ever.
This is almost sort of one of the fairer trades I've seen this off season. At least it's got that going for it. And it will make these teams fun to watch. They should both be running their asses off to create offense, since the don't have any legitimate post players (well, okay, the Lakers do. I just hate to admit it... but any team could run their half court set through Vlade Divac and be sweet).
Fantasy Impact (Gotta Love the Glove)
Even with Shaq and Kobe on the team, Gary managed 14 ppg on 47% shooting last year. In Boston, there won't be any triangle "holding him back." His points should increase back to around the 19 or 20 he had with Milwaukee and Seattle in 2002, even though he is older. Being able to run with Paul Pierce and Ricky Davis should give him some good assist opportunities, and I would expect him to surpass the 5.5 he had with the Lakers. This clearly makes him a good early round selection for this year's fantasy drafts.
As for Rick Fox? I couldn't bear looking at his stats with his ugly mug staring at me.
Fantasy Impact (Chucky Atkins?)
Atkins will obviously be the starting point for the Lakers now (since Derek Fisher is gone and Payton went with this trade). He'll be less of an option than he was on the Celtics, however, since the Lakers still have more talent than the Celtics (and don't expect Kobe to give Chucky, let alone anyone else, his shots). Marcus Banks could be a sleeper, but I'm not ready to commit to that (maybe next year). He busted out a couple 20 point games last season, but he might get a little lost in the Lakers rotation. Both of them should be able to increase their assist totals since they'll have more reliable targets to get the ball to (as opposed to the 1 they had in Boston). Atkins has 5 apg and Banks 2 last year. If Chucky knows what's good for him, he'll be more selective with his shots, and work on getting the rock to his teammates. I wouldn't bother taking Banks unless your league is really deep. Atkins is a decent pick for mid-sized leagues or later rounds in 8 team leagues. Also he'd be fun to have on a team with someone like Eddy Curry, so you post the following in your league forum: "I'm gonna get Atkins on Eddy Curry so he can break his fat ass down and make him get some damn rebounds." Keep in mind that the recent signing of Damon Jones by the Heat makes him a better pick for a PG than either of the guys I just talked about.
|||109182697999225548|||Payton and Pierce could be fierce