Give Me The Rock

Instead of trying to keep up with the clusterf**k of free agent signings and trades this off season, it’s much easier to let other people do the heavy lifting and then link to their work while making derogatory comments in this post about how they lack the ability to make intelligent, coherent thoughts and they’re loser hacks because of it.

Nah, I wouldn’t do that to the fantasy basketball blogging community. They’re all good people. Even the ones I don’t know. You have to be to make a conscious decision to give up your time for no pay to basically write about basketball statistics for a made up fantasy game when there are other… ahem… slightly more arousing topics available to the would-be-blogger.

So, the community has done what I could not and has stayed on top of every* trade and free agent move this summer. And, believe it or not, they’ve had some smart things to say.

I already reviewed Brand pulling a Carlos Boozer and heading to the Sixers, but Maxmillien from Sport Chit Chat chimes in on Brand and also gives a thorough review of the Toronto/Indiana trade and Corey Maggette’s move to the Warriors.

Speaking of Corey Maggette and the Warriors, it’s a great signing… for Corey Maggette’s bank account. It’s not bad for his fantasy prospects either, although I’m not sure what the Warriors were thinking with the movie. “Hey, we need to be more like the 2007 Clippers” is not something you usually hear from smart basketball teams.

Stephen at Hoops Fantasy hits us up with the good news and bad news we can expect from Maggette joining Golden State. I’d personally lean more towards the good news for fantasy purposes. Nellie Ball makes everyone better!**

Brian McKitish of ESPN reviews all the free agent signings so far in some good detail. He also makes a valid point that I neglected to mention in my post about Brand (although it was brought up in the comments by Hawthorne Wingo). Chris Kaman comes out as a big winner in the Brand signing. Not that he’s going to get any better than he was last year; it’s that the trade allows him to maintain that same level of creepy goodness.

McKitish also loves Mickael Pietrus on the Magic. McKitish loves him to the point where I was worried that he was doing something inappropriate to his body while writing about Pietrus. From the article:

Pietrus is the perfect complement to a Magic team that, first, needed a shooting guard, and second, needed a defensive presence on the perimeter. Last season, he saw meaningful minutes in only one month (March), and he responded by averaging 12.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.4 steals, 0.7 blocks and 1.1 3-pointers in 31.3 minutes per game.

Granted, Pietrus could be a breakout player if he slides into Orlando’s starting SG spot. McKitish is calling for Pietrus to see 35 minutes on the high end, which seems quite optimistic for a team that currently has 5 shooting guards on its roster. Pietrus isn’t quite as exciting at 25-27 minutes a game, although he still could be solid late-round sleeper material. I love you Mickael, just not that way.

The problem with sleepers is that once everyone starts calling them a sleeper, they’re likely overrated. If everything works out just right, Chris Duhon could have some legitimate fantasy value on the Knicks. “Everything” would include the Knicks finding a way to get rid of Starbury, Mike D’Antoni shunning Nate Robinson as a PG altogether, and Duhon playing up to his maximum capabilities.

Stephen Kersey of Hoops Fantasy thinks Duhon could become a 10 point, 8 assist type of player. Sure, it’s possible, but he could also remain a 6 point, 4 assist player. I think either outcome is about equally likely.

Screaming Sports discusses a whole bunch of moves and has this to say about the Bucks/Nets trade:

Look for Jefferson’s fantasy value to at least remain the same, if not go up with this trade. Jefferson will be receiving passes from Michael Redd and Mo Williams, both of whom will set him up nicely for easy baskets.

I’m not sure what’s so great about Michael Redd ‘s passes compared to Vince Carter’s, but ok, I’ll go with it.

Fantasy Basketball Daily discusses the current fantasy winners and losers of the off season. Beno Udrih? Always a winner.

Finally, via Pat’s Sixers Blog, Rotoworld sadly reports that Jamaal Tinsley’s magical mystery tour with the Indiana Pacers has come to an end. Store this in the “padding the word count with redundant words that mean the same thing as each other” file:

Jamaal Tinsley’s contract will likely be bought out by the Pacers, meaning there’s almost no chance he plays another game for the team.

* And when I say everything, I mean everything, including Brent Barry signing with the Rockets.

** Nellie ball guarantee does not apply to Austin Croshere or Chris Webber.